Evening star., 1914-10-26
BEST TRADE PLANS
FOR LATIN AMERICA
Hickman Price Tells How to
Sell Goods in Southern
Republics.
SELL WHAT THEY WANT,
AND USE THEIR LANGUAGE
United States Manufacturers Can
Get Fair Trial and Must Meas.
ure Up to Promises.

OAV " II w - AVAAA41SS'
Proper business methods are being
who desire to establish trade with
Central and South American countries.
In this connection Hickman Price, one
of the publishers of Ell Commercio. ex-
port journal, in writing in the Fourth
Estate, says in part:
The newspapers of the United States
will enjoy an unusual prosperity if all
American manufacturers do a capacity
business.
There is no better way in which the
average American manufacturer can
more quickly receive a complete and
careful presentation of the facts per-
tanning to the large market awaiting
him throughout Central and South
America than through the daily news
papers published in this country, If
the newspapers will do their share in
this exceptionally important work.
"One of the most amazing things
about the situation confronting the
United States in it's rela atoms to the
Central and South American republics
Is the absolute ignorance of educated
and successful business men as to the
sort of people who live in the southern
countries, and the conditions governing
the life of those people whom we
vaguely call Spanish Americans.
Much Like Ourselves.
1T is so perfectly apparent to any
one who has lived in the south that
the people. taken in the aggregate.
are much what we ourselves are: they
enjoy the good things of life, and want
b,,x
quality; they spend enough time in
making money SO that they may be
able to enjoy spending it, and as a
matter OF fact, get good deal more
out OF what they spend than we do.
fhey nave many wonderful cities
with wide and well paved streets, mag
nincent public buildings and palatfal
private residences; beautiful parks
adorned with all manner of rare flow
ers and fine statuary: they are highly
cultured, and In matters of painting
and evidences of the fine arts the aver
age Latin American city has such
treasures as New York, London or
Paris might be proud to boast of.
in arriving.
Selling Them Shoes.
THE French makers have supplied
the people with shoes for years be-
cause the Latin American prefers the
pointed toe, and the French makers
have acceded to this desire and have
gotten the market well in hand
Should a shoe salesman come to
you and say:
Quite so, 1 know you prefer the
pointed shoe, but do not use it; do
not strive for much elegance of
appearance. but be content with what
] offer you, and be glad that a sales
man from such great firm and such
wonderful country does you the
honor of selling goods to you"
would you feel like giving him a
good. big order. or like setting the
dog on him?
when the matter is presented In
this way, it is not difficult to UNDER
stand why a good many smart sales
men have failed in their attempts to
make Latin America another in their
lists of conquests.
Question of Language.
along. this same line comes the
question of catalogues and correspond
ence.- How can it be possible that well
Informed business men want to know
whether it is necessary to have q
translation made of their catalogues.
and why they cannot carry on corre-
spondence in English with the people
of the Latin countries?
We beg that these inquiries will put
themselves in the place of the pros
pective Latin American recipient of the
catalogue or correspondence.
If a salesman entered your store with
all his catalogues printed in Spanish,
would you be as likely to do business
with him as you would be to give your
order to man of any nationality who
should bring you catalogues in Eng
lish?
The buyer has a natural curiosity, to
say nothing of the suspicion that al
IN w
does not fully understand, and the
mysterious book with it's handsome
cuts, presented by an unknown sales
man, is poor Introduction to the con-
hdence of the average buyer; he may
keep the catalogue as a curiosity, hop
ing some day that he may be able to
learn the English language by a study
of it's contents. but as catalogue 1t
has no present nor future value.
Letters Unintelligible.
Then consider the lack of courtesy and
consideration implied by a reply to a
letter which you have written when
you cannot understand one word that
has been written to YOU This is not sc
hard on a person who lives in a big
center of population, where he car
almost always encounter some one who
can translate anything from French tc
Eskimo, but 1T is real hardship to the
man VINO may nave written because lie
needs some article in gerat hurry
for use or his hacienda, and who, after
waiting for weeks, gets letter which
he cannot read. and which no one or
the place can make head or tail of.
He simply says TO himself that hi
is through with such a careless way
of doing business, and that a man wht
Is guilty of such thoughtless discour
tesy is not the man with whom hi
wishes to do business.
"A mistake of this kind may cause
the inquirer a loss of several hundred
thousand dollars if, for instance, he
has set date for the harvesting of the
coffee and it is found that the bearings
of the pulper are in bad shape.
Bad American Habits.
He writes to American house
saying: Let me know by cable if yol