The Washington herald., 1908-05-22
HOW TO SELL GOODS
J. D. Kenyon Lectures on
Science and Business.
RESTS ON FUNDAMENTAL LAW
SPEAK .r Gives Interesting Talk I'm
Hall of Commerce on Business
Building - SaIesmanship Reduced
to Close AnaIysis-Nev Secretary
of Organization Assumes Duties.

of Organization Assumes Duties.
The hall of the Chamber of Commerce
was 1led with business men and their
employees last night 10 hear the lecture
of J. D. Kenyon. of New York, on the
subject Of Business building" Mr..
Kenyon. who is vice president of the
! Sheldon School of Scientific Salesman
/ ship, Of Chicago, is organizing business
| science clubs in the principal cities Of
the country, and he will hold a meeting
tonight at the auditorium of the Y. NJ.
| c. A. for the purpose of organizing such
club in Washington
/ Mr. Kenyon explained that his subject
was Business building" rather than
Business getting" because, in his mind,
/ there was a vast difference between the
two. One was founded on scientific prin-
cipIes and the other on a selfish principle
where greed was the principal motive.
/ Mr.. Kenyon based his talk TO the busi-
ness men upon the broad ground that in
modern life every field Of effort for the
/ betterment of mankind was being put on
/ a scientific basis, where certain funda-
mental laws we're obeyed. He instanced
/ the law, medicine, and other professions
| where practitioners had left the field OF
/ experiment and were now grounded upon
/ certainty and were moving IL a straight
/ line 70 higher achievement because they
were moving according to law and ae-
| cOrding to reason and logic.
Science Applied to Business.
Mr.. Kenyon showed that this same
! scientific method was being applied to
! business. He said the scientist had come
TO the front in the past few years in the
/ field OF production, and that the result
| had been the manufacture OF commodities
upon a vastly cheaper scale. The trust
/ had come in when the individual failed
to reach the goal, competition had come
/ In among trusts, and the process was still
/ going on for the lessening Of the cost Of
production By every means possible 10
! large capital and human ingenuity
/ What, to his mind. was Of more i'm
| portance, science had now been applied
/ to the disposal Of goods, or salesman
! ship. He declared that selling goods was
susceptible OF being reduced 10 a scientific
basis. and that it had come about through
| studying various phases Of the problem
OF disposing Of the manufactured product
/ in a rational, logical, and hence sue
| cessful way.
| The speaker said there were four. and
only four. facts involved in a business
| transaction or sale Of goods; First, the
salesman; second, the customer; third, the
goods, and fourth, the exchange or clos
/ ing Of the transaction. Around these sim
! pie principles. he said, every experience
/ in the business OF the wcTld grouped
itself, and ia the final analysis consisted
/ OF these four steps.
/ The salesman might be a person. an Rds
vertisement. an institution. or an automa-
/ ton. The goods were manufactured COM
modities, service, or ideas; but whatever
/ the business. the four things always en-
/ tered in.
Salesmanship the speaker defined as the
power TO persuade people to purchase at
la profit" or, as he designated 1t, "a pod
| Of peas"
Talks ON Business Ethics.
| With this statement OF principles, Mr.
Kenyon talked two hours. holding his
| audience interested. intently following
him through a general statement OF bust
/ ness ethics, which evidently made deep
/ impression upon those who heard it, The
power Of persuasion he designated as the
/ basis Of success in bushes. Imagination
was a great help; health was a necessary
/ element; observation should be trained,
memory should be acquired and devel-
/ Oped to the highest degree. and concen-
/ tratiOn was Of the greatest service 10 the
/ business man.
In the customer. he said. the salesman
must gain his attention, excite his inter-
/ est, create a desire, and impel a decision
to bug the goods.
/ At the close Mr.. Kenyon made brief
reference to the organization of the pro-
posed club. and invited all interested in
/ it 10 come 10 the Y. NJ. c. A. building
tonight
Secretary Assumes Duties.
| Thomas Grant. the new secretary OF the
! Chamber of Commerce. was installed in
office yesterday at noon. At that time he
met the executive committee and was made
! acquainted in a general way with the
nature of his duties. It was determined
/ that the secretary should give bond TO
/ the amount Of $1,000 to insure the faith
| ful performance Of his duties
! There we're meetings yesterday OF the
| committee on membership. at which steps
were taken TO take up the cases Of the
members in arrears and seek to bring
! them into full membership in the body.
| The school committee also held a brief
session. it having come to the attention
OF the members that an effort might be
made TO enact the Dolliver bill as a rider
/ to one of the appropriation bills. The
| committee took steps to forestall such
/ action, If possible