Arizona republican., 1906-03-26
THE SALESMAN
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 store. Competition is greater today than ever before. and greatly lessens the chance of rise of other than the most proficient. The probability is that the average salesman, whether in the country or in the city, will not rise very high in his calling, nor is the member of any other business or profession likely to. There must al- ways be more soldiers than officers. i am simply comparing the opportuni ties offered the country store sales man with those enjoyed by the city store salesman. I believe that If one is satisfied with an ordinary degree of financial success, and cares more about himself, his family, his neighbors, and his citizenship, than he does about his actual money income, then he is far better off in the country than in the city.
 Not one inside salesman in a hun dred is a good salesman, and most in side salesmen possess little real selling ability; consequently it must be as sumed that one can earn a living be- hind the counter even if he cannot de- velop more than the rudiments of salesmanship. The ordinary salesman seldom shows any marked character istics while a boy He is simply an OIQlllafY y, nary boys do, and he will go in the direction that his parents point or his playrnates happen to suggest. But the first-class salesr0an develops from the boy who has himself perfectly in hand, who understands men and things, and who is a leader of boys who generally has his own way, not by force but by persuasion. and who governs his play mates simply because he knows ho Y to handle them.
 Such a boy knows how to buy his own clothes. and does it.
 If the parents object to his buying his own clothes, and to attending to his own affairs, yet in so far as he does do business as q boy he proves to| his rents that he is really competent r. to what they would not allow him . do He is a trader and knows how to place a value upon things, and above all. knows how to impress others with their value.
 While a good talIler does not neces- sarily make a good salesman, the good salesman. is almost always good talker. Either he talks much and well or else he talks less and very well. There are some salesmen who have lit tie to say, and who seem to possess the ability of saying much or little. But cornparently all successful sales men are fluent takers; in other words they know how to represent that which they have to sell. They know how to present the good points of their goods, so that the buyer will want 10 buy; and, further, they possess the power of persuasion, that power which ena- bles them to make the buyer feel as they feel. and want to do as they want him to do This is not mesmeric DOW CT or anything supernatural. It is sim ply a natural ability, born of nature, and developed by experience.
 The successful salesman must un- derstand human nature. He must know how to approach a customer. He must anticipate his customers wants. and he must be genial, meeting people easily. and he himself easy to ap- proach The grabbed boy, the conser- vative boy. the boy who is not popu- lar with his fellows. is not likely to. make 9 good salesman
 The salesman is pre-eminently a business man. Selling is permanent Iy removed from anything savoring Of professionalism. The fact that selling is pure business. and even cold-blooded business, offers no excuse for lack or school training. A liberal school edu-
 
 reasonably sure to be of material as sistance to the salesman. While would not recommend a classical col lege course, I see no objection to 1t. It can in no way interfere with hls success. although it must be admitted that, perhaps in some cases, the four years of college spent time can be used to better advantage. At any rate. the salesman's school education should pass through the higher grades of the common schools.
 If one is to devote his life to the selling or management of mechanical articles. like machinery or electricity, graduation from an institution of technology is to be highly recommend ed.
 The more the salesman knows about what he sells, the better able he is to- sell it. If his goods be of a scientific or mechanical nature, a liberal train ing in a scientific or mechanical insti- tuition is next to essential to flush suc- cess.
 The salesman, above all. should be well posted on the common topics Of the day and be able to converse in telligently upon popular subjects. reasonable amount of talk, or general talk, is necessary for the cOnsumma- tion of trade, and all this talk cannot be directed to the goods themselves. vast amount of it is of general and social import. To successfully carry on an animated and interesting con versation. a salesman must be a we'll informed man, his knowledge encom- passing men and things in general.
 MT. Charles F. Abbott general man ager of the Warner Brothers company of New York city, in a letter to the author, says:
 "I would not advise anyone to be- come a travelling salesman unless ms character was well formed and he had himself well in hand. The tempta- tions on the road are unlimited ana, only those of strict integrity and ot strong weIl-in- hand character can hone to maintain their equilibrium. The travelling salesman is away from