The Washington herald., 1913-05-25
SELLING Ills WAY to- MILLION, DOLLARS.
So Br IRVING RALLEn A.
14E - E0hr tfI : way -. g. -.

L7 RE you my sales manager
"a 81 sI5. .T c,.ss waved hi, hand :.
dismissal
Then manage my statesmen.
want more sales"
And back ! went to the first private once
I ever owned with that internal question
bothering me more than ever.
Something must be done to show Silss
Crabb / was a real sales manager.
In spite OF the fact that my direct selling
idea had increased the profits OF the En-
pire company over IS per cent. my boss had
no pensioners on his pay roll-no man in his
employ could rest on past laurels.
With Silas Crabb you had to win a wreath
every day or get on the pay roll.
So I began to go after the answer TO that
question with all the energy and all the in
Quisitiveness had IN me.
l started out on a weeks trip ostensibly TO
visit some Of our big distributing points.
but in reality to interview some sales man
ayers and find out what they did to earn
their salaries.
The first man called upon showed plainly
that his idea of good sales managers
duties was TO cut down expense accounts
and lay out economical route lists
Silas Crsbb, knew, didn't want that kind
OF sales manager.
He was paying me 5000 year and no. for
the kind OF work SOS a week clerk could do
Beautiful Theories Not Wanted.
The next sales manager talked to defined
his duties as firing men who were not MAX
ing good and hiring ten new men at a time
in the hope OF one making good and keep
ing all salaries way down TO offset the ex-
pense Of the men WHO failed.
We couldn't do that In the Empire COM
pany. Our good men wouldn't stand for II
and the mediocre ones couldn't. Salaries
were too high to permit anything of that
kind.
But at my third interview struck fire.
Maxwell was the man 8 name. He Wasat the
head Of large wholesale house and acted as
his own salesmanager.
He Deaned back in his chair and looked at
me quizzically.
do you want a lot of beautiful theories
Heming. or DO you want the real stun"
told him what / wanted. ! HAD to have
the real thing. Theories didn't go downvoruh
a tinker's teakettle with Silas Crabb. and
simply had to have some information to
starr on.
Heming,' said Maxwell, all can give
you will be the sales managers problem.
I've had it to contend with for years and
know. You'll have to find your own answer.
And il you can hit the right solution. let me
know. I've been working on II for twenty
years and can't solve 1t yet
Shoot" said l. And he did.
The good sales manager. Heming, and
a,,I n Sc
good, Is the man who can increase sales with
out increasing expense. And II he can in
crease sales and decrease sales expenses.
well. I'm looking for him and so are ten
thousand other manufacturers"
went back to my office. knew that Max
we'll had told the truth-that that was the
problem and that the only sales manager
Silas Crabb would ever reta in would be the
man who answered it correctly.
On my desk foun a note.
What did you do your trip besides
what you told me you were going 10 do?"
answered the note in per son and told
Crabb that had been out trying to find out
what a sales manager ought to do TO hold his
toH
And did you?" inquired Crabb.
i've found the problem a nd now I'm going
tn find the answer" and back / went TO my
Office.
Everything has to have starting point
So started with my own road experience.
What could have done that didn't do to
sell more goods?
And the answer, though simple. took quite
a while to develop.
III had known more about my goods would
1 have sold more goods?
The Answer to the Problem.
No. know my line and so did the Empire
statesmen.
WORK!
That was it.Just plain, simple work. II l
had worked harder, put in more hours day.
I'd have increased my orders in number and
size
The average man needs q boss, a boss whose
eye is on him all the time. The salesman on
the road is only human He is his own boss
and naturally he allows himself a little
leeway.
A little late getting up in the morning, a
little longer time for lunch, couple less calls
q day, and when the end Of the year comes
around, the amount of time wasted is ap-
palling
A man can be a success and still not get
all out Of his territory that should be pro-
duced- And as thought it over, realized
more and more that had hit the right trail.
The more mental notes referred to in regard
to the way other fellows handled themselves
while on the road away from the house the
more knew was right. The man who Is
carrying a seasonable line has to hustle. He
has to place his goods while the placing is
good. But the fellow handling food prod
uct like ours--an all year round proposition
gets slack.
The first thing did was to put on sales
mans contest. I arranged it so every man
had a fair show at one Of the three prizes
put up. thought that - incentive " was the
thing they needed TO keep them going. But
the contest was fzzle. 1t increased the bust
ness while it was on, but the minute the prizes
were awarded, back dropped business into
the same old rut again.
Indignant at Report Scheme"
But that contest proved one thing. II
proved that If our men would work harder
they would sell more goods; it forged another
link In my chain Of evidence.
But how TO get EN- working and how to
re an 'ern u-orkJng1 That was the problem.