The Washington herald., 1917-01-28
AUTO sure TO PROVE
FRIEND To Drummer
Salesman in Rural Districts Is Finding
1t Valuable.
BY "Sr" GRoGAN.


How to get the most out Of each work
ing day is the task that confronts the
head of every business. The day con-
tains only so many working hours and
during these hours II best results are to
be obtained It Is necessary to conserve
every minute and use it to the best pos
sible advantage.
Sales managers always have experience
ed great difficulty in routing men SO
that they can cover their territories to
the best advantage Railroad schedules
are adamapt. They have been worked
out to suit the needs of the road with
due regard to handling of both pas
sengers and freight, especially the lat
ter, for that is the most profitable
revenue.
calls in day and only a certain per-
centage of these calls will result in or
ders. Consequently when travelling by
rail 1t may be necessary for him to skip
some towns that IL takes too long to get
to or to get out of. Occasionally in
order to keep up with his schedule, 1t
may be necessary to leave town before
he has fully covered it. Some statesmen
are able to manipulate train schedules
so that they can do fairly well in getting
over their territory. BY doubling back,
driving from one town to another, CATCH
ing night trains and resorting to other
expedientS, they cover consderabl ground
on trip. But by this manipulating of
schedules and scheming in other ways,
the mind of the man Is often on how
close can he make connections at the
next town. rather than on how best to
meet the arguments that the prospective
purchaser puts up against his goods
Sorle firms have met this condition
cutfinR no liz of he
mans territory. but this at the same
time lessons his productive ability, for
there is only a certain amount of busi-
ness in any section of the country and
II is hardly possible for one man to
control it all Other firms have resorted
to the automobile and found 1t to work
out very satisfactorily. These firms in
stead of working the larger towns to the
limit, as they did before, now get all
that is to be gotten all along the line.
The route is laid out not with regard
TO railroad schedules, but rather with
regard to the customers that are to be
found in the territory. When any par
ticular town has been worked, the rep
resentative gets in his car and starts
for the next place on his route list. 1t
makes no difference to him if it's early
in the morning or late in the afternoon,
he is free to so when it best suits his
convenience.
En- route to the next city of any size,
there are probably half. dozen villages
in between. In many cases it has only
been since the coming into use Of auto
mobiles for statesmen that these country
dealers have been called upon by the
jobber's representative. Previous to this
time they had been in the habit of oc-
casionally visiting the nearest market or
writing to some house that they knew
of and ordering in this manner. Besides
they were out of touch with the outside
world, and often made purchase in excess
of their needs and So netines of articles
that did not prove ready sellers.
Automobiles have made better sales
men of the men using them because they
give them an opportunity to be out in
the air, take their mind of their work.
and focus attention on something else
when not directly engaged in their selling
work Also it enables them to make
towns at night where hotel accommoda-
tions are better than are to be found in
many of the country establishments. II
a particular town has not a good hotel.
il is generally an easy matter so to ar
range business when travelling by motor
car that one can get to the next city or
town where the meals and rooms are bet
ter.
Also the automobile has done away
with the wait around the station for the
train that was due at 7:2O but does not
come crawling along until about 1O:3O
and then unloading the Iuckless indi-
vidual at his destination in the wee hours
of the morning.
True, the automobile cannot always be
used exclusively, for as yet in the pres
ent condition Of the roads Of the country
it is not possible nor practical to MAKE
jumps of n couple of hundred miles by
moto' car but al the end of this jump,
it is possible to hire a car and cover
territory more fun than was formerly
the case with jeTkwater railroads and
horse and rig.