The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1909-05-15
A KNOWLEDGE
OF TERRITORY
STUDY, MORE STUDY, AND THEN
SOME, IS THE REQUISITE or
THE SUCCESSFUL TRAVELLING
sALEsMAN--KNoW WHAT YOUR
CUSTOMERS USE.

That knowledge Of the territory
you are to travel over is essential to
successful selling goes without saying.
The only way to secure this know
ledge Is to study IL from all angles.
You will be able to learn the lay of
the arteries of commerce from the
map, but the real knowledge OF the
territory must come from a study of
II while on 1t. II is not enough to
know that the towns you make are
large or small dull or busy. You
must know the country back OF the
towns and the people 70 this country.
Study what the soil will produce and
II IL is capable of supporting a great
er population than that inhabiting 1t;
study the habits and characteristics
of this popuiation-if they are prompt
to pay those with wI.onl they deal
you can reasonably expect prompt
payment from your customers. Study
the needs of the people who inhabit
the country back of the towns you
make, and endeavor to supply these
needs. Remember that the Sahara
desert would be a poor place to sell
snow plows. The successful business
is built up by a close study of the
needs of the people, and in supplying
this need you have 20 be broad
enough to discern the need of any
article of commerce in any given To-
cality, whether it is used there or not;
and convincing enough TO show to the
dealer it is to his prof1t TO handle it,
You must keep in view the fact that
ma EFrIA
daily being brought forth, and If your
study of the territory has not been
thorough and complete you will fail
in your efforts to market new articles
and apply new methods, and you will
fan behind in the race with your more
able competitor " .r
Secure as large an acquaintance
with the inhabitants Of your territory
outside Of the dealers you sell as pos
sible. This will give to you the per-
sona1 interest of the consumer in your
goods, in your house and in you.
You should be able to divide your
territory into sections according to
soils, and at any time Judge accurate
ly as to the crop conditions in any
section, for upon these conditions the
of the, towns depend to a
greater or less extent.
1t is well to have clearly defined
ideas in reference to probable success
of any dealer who has decided to To-
cate on the territory and you should
be in a position to outline the good
features of the territory to a farmer
or settler who contemplates settling
in the territory You say that this
would require you to be an encyclo-
pedia of all things that relate to the
territory. That is Just the idea, Just
what want to impress upon you
Know everything possible about the
towns comprising your route and the
country back Of them, IL you would be
highly successful.
You must bear in mind that differ
ent nationalities have widely differ
ent ideas concerning merchandise, and
you must be able to present your line
so that the points that appeal to the
dealer and his trade are brought out,
This cannot be done unless you study
the needs and characteristics of the
population inhabiting the territory in
your charge. If you do not see the
Importance of making a study of the
route would advise that you do not
entertain the idea of selling goods as
a travelling salesman, for you only
waste your time and your employer is
not going to let you waste much of
his money
1t is not a theory / am endeavorinf
to impress upon you; IL is an accepted
fact among the concerns employing
travelling selling force that the man
who knows all about his route is the
man who produces the business 1t is
also realized that some men have the
faculty of being able to pick up this
knowledge to a greater extent than
others, but If you are not observant
and able to pick up this knowledge
stay off the road.
The travelling salesman is still look
&c upon, even in these days of tele-
phone, telegraph and an excellent rural
delivery that distributes news quickly
as a bringer of news into the COM
munity he happens to find himself
His customers look to him to be able
to give them impressions as to condi-
tions and events that have transpired
in the country he has passed through.
It is up to the salesman. If he would
be successful, to crafty this desire
Yet Row can he If he has not the
knowledge of the territory that he
should have? The most successful
statesmen soak up all the information
in regard to the country they travel