Norwich bulletin., 1915-01-04

An intensely interesting talk on saleernanshIP, grouped under the three ialty, was given by Fl. Whitehead of BoRton, before members of Norwich eo1nciL No. So9, United Commercial Travellers, and their friends, in Pythlan hall on Saturday evening. The talk followed q short business meeting of the council which was presided over bY Senior COtnci!or Alexander Jordan Shortly after o'clock MT. White head, who was brought here especial ly to give this talk on Saleamanship, was introduced by Mir. Jordan. To q majority Of these present no introduc- tion was necessary, as they had heard Mir. Whitehead speak on 3. different division of the same subject, Sales n1anShlp, in the town hall, quite re- cently, when he waS brought here from Boston by the Norwich Buhiness Mems association. Mir. Whitehead talked for over an hour and then he very willing ly passed an additional half hour or more in answering questions brought up by a number of those present. AIr. Whitehead said in part: There are three kinds of salesman shSp-Nholesale. retail and speciality. Wholesale salesmansllip is selling goods for resale; speciality salesman ship is selling goods to the consumer by solicitation; retail sales1nanship is selling goods tc the consumer In 8 store. We are interested tonight in the first one principally and in the sec end one casually.
 The majority of travelling salesmen operate under the laws of wholesale salesnlanship. Those who sell spec 1altioS for resale still operate under the laws of wholesale salesnlanship. One big similarity between speciality and wholesale sSLleEm2nship is that both have the same big problems of loCat- ing and Interesting new prospects and pAaftfFN.- Shea he line.
 Eight Points.
 In studying the problem of whole sale salesnlansilip, of course the queS- ton of the character and morals of the salesman and tho house for hich he works occurs most readily to the mind; for today, more than ever, we realize the need for d high moral code in our methods of doing business. This, however, l am not going to touch up- on tonight, for it must be obvious to everyone present: We will discuss wholesale salesmenShip tonight under eight factors or eight heads. The first of these to he considered is the goods.
 We must llroW the goods. Not just i the prices, but we must know how they are made; where the raw material comes from; what competitors have to offer, etc; to what uses the goods can be put. Get some human interest news of them. for it is helpful in se- curing or rekir ding interest in your proposition. Mr. Whitehead then gave a number Of interesting examples of putting human interest into the pro- positions.
 The Buying Motive.
 The second feature is to find the buying motive. There is always q reason or a motiVe which induces q prospect to become @ purchaser We can divide the buying motive under four heads, viz. profit, utility, protec- ton and personal qualification. ClaS- sical music has a theme or motive. if l may so TSe the word, which is the personal appeal--the harmony rhymth, tempo. The rendition of the whole varies according to the player Now, WI ile the main theme is the same in every case, the appeal of har- n1ony, etc, varies according to the likes Of each listener. One man is ap- pealed to by rhymth, another by har- mony.
 Do just this same thing in planning your sales and talks. Let one of these four motives be the man theme to run through your sales talks. This does not mean, iT Profit is the motive YOU must talk profit, first last and all tne time. 1Ou must give facts about your goods and their possibilities, but profit will occur at various points in your sales talk.
 That Is our natural or main mo- tive. The indiVjdEalized motive, may OF may not be the same. That you can only tell by personal contact with your customer. Obviously, you cannot use the same motive for the same goods with all people. Suppose a small buy CT as Jealous Of a competitor, The fact that his competitor has bought will often sell him. The natural motive in this case is profit; the 1ndivadualized motive is pefsor al qualification. Sup~ pose you are selling insurance or cash registers or investments. Protection Is the natural motive. Tine indivadual- tzed motive can only be arrived at by knowledge of the customer; the abil- fty to analyze character as expressed by Tnarnerfs1as, dress, speech, etc.
 Delivering Selling Talk.
 The etird fectoT is when to use questions. We may call these the two methods Of playing our composition or delivering o-sr SeIins talk.
 Use reason why for articles of new use; use suggestions for articles of which yc.pr customer knows the use Reasons why include what the articles will do, what it will same him in time energy or money; what he is losing by not having Ii. Suggestion is used when he knows ths use of the goods or examples of when to use reasons S7hY,'' and wben to use suggestions, and went on to say:
 nInd oGrif your customer knows and admits the value of your proposition If so. don't harp on it, but suggest that he buy now. In brief, if neces- saIy for him to change his method of working or 6oing something, use req sons-wIly. When no change is nec- essary, use Eggestions-talk quality, service, etc.
 Answering Objections.
 Tho fourth factor is to have 8 pre- pared sales talk and prepared answers to objections. Reduce your selling talk Go writing. Weakness of expression and logic show in the written words that are often hidden by ones person. ality when spoken. Put each talking