Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-09-29
WHY'S Sales Congress
Proves a Real Success


Appearance, performance, comfort,
service and price-these are the five
principal attributes of the successful
motorcar, according to the con-
sensus of opinion as expressed by the
star statesmen attending the John n.
Willys Sales Congress, which was
concluded in Chicago Saturday, Sep
tember S, after sessions lasting three
| days aboard ship on the Great Lakes.
Factory executives. who took the
trip, agreed that the affair was the
most successful undertaking of its
kind in the history of the company.
AS one of them expressed it: More
information concerning the actual
, requirements of the public was OBJ
tanned during those three days than
could be gathered by the usual meth
DDS in years."
BY the usual methods. he re-
ferred to the customary letter-writ-
ing system and personal investiga-
tion throughout the territory at
! large.
The sole purpose of the Congress,
according to the plans as outlined by
Mr.. Willys, was to get the factory
heads into the closest possible touch
with the motor buying public from
coast to coast and border to border.
No sooner were the star statesmen
| aboard the steamer South Ameri-
| can" at Toledo on the morning of
! Wednesday, September 5th, than
they were notified that the first bust
ness meeting would open at $50
o'clock.
On the previous afternoon those
who had already arrived in Toledo
| tor the cruise had listened to an
! instructive discussion concerning
| Changed Conditions That Make
! Necessary More Thorough Methods
in Selling" and also a talk on how
they could best harmonic their
sales activities with the advertising.
The Wednesday morning session
the first one on the boat was largely
devoted to discussion of the suggest
ed 4andard sales procedure. WHY'S
| Overland, Inc, has recently inaug-
urated a system of standardizing
sales methods which has proved
amazingly successful in various dis
tricts where it has been adopted.
On Wednesday night the question
of service in relation to sales was
i ably explained. This was followed
by an open discussion of the subject
and also discussion of several other
topics having to do with labor saw
ing tools and methods. 1t was
brought out conclusively that good
service is necessary to sales.
At each session on Thursday and
Friday the statesmen were urged TO
make every possible suggestion
which would tend to carry out the
main idea-satisfy all public require
ments by the finest detail.
Every man who spoke, and each
of them had something to say at
one time or another, insisted that
the most successful motorcar is the
one which excels in appearance, per-
formance, comfort, service and price
Those points of merit, it was con-
ceded, tell the whole story of Over
land and Knight success.
Henry Walker. of Dillonvale, Ohio,
the high record salesman of them all,
said 1T Is not remarkable that
more Willys-Overland products have
been sold at retail this summer than
ever before in the company's history.
1t is more remarkable that those
records, which we have just made
were not attained a long time ago
This, for the reason that we sell a
product comprising all of the five
essential points of motorcar merit
while the average car boasts of one.
With some cars, appearance is the
outstanding feature. With others, II
is comfort and others boast princi-
pally of performance. The Overland
statesmen can boast of them all and
more important, prove them all by
actual demonstration. That is why
our selling records are so enviable. y
Just before the party disbanded in
Chicago. a farewell luncheon was
served at the La Sale Hotel. A few
hours later the star statesmen were
on their trains bound for home, each
with a firm determination and abso-
lutte confidence that he will achieve
even greater selling records when
the next WHY'S Sale Congress rolls
around.