Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-05-02
ELLEN YOUNG
DOCTOR OF SALES
BY Ruth Leigh
Author OF .'Ths Human side OF Re-
tail Selling" The A b Q OF Retail
ing" etc

l ask when i apply for a position!
l don't want to ask so much that l
lose the work. yet l don't want to
get less than l am worth"
"A good question" Miss Young
assured Brett Armstrong. the young
accountant. II, too am faced with
that problem frequently. and have to
do some hard thinking about 1t. or
course, there's no hard and fast rule
about this point. Each persons sal
airy problem Is On individual mat
ter"
well, is 1t better to ask a high
salary first?"
Il think It is better to value ones
services too high than too low" n
swered Ellen Young. Remember
this: IL you don't place a good high
value on your w services no one
else will. or course. this value must
not be exorbitantly high. You must
not have such an inflated opinion of
yourself that the salary you ask Is
out of all proportion to the services
you can render, but other things be-
Ing equal, / have found that unless
you place . high value on your SER
vices, you seldom get the proper
respect due them. In other words,
II you mention q good sum for your
work the mental reaction of the per-
son to whom you mention Is some-
thing like this: He must be pretty
good IL he commands that salary.
or at least he must have great con-.
fdence in his W ability to ask that
much.'"
That's what 1 think. Ny dad. on
the other hand" Armstrong told her.
says that business men think that
young people who come in asking
for thaaa hfO solo rims ara nhaakv "
I'm afraid / don't agree with
your father. Suppose you were an
accountant with several years expe-
rience seeking a position. You had
been receiving. say. $40 a week, and
you we're convinced your services
were worth more. You asked for
$50 in your next position Don't
you think that the prospective en-
ployer will think more OF you II you
are convinced that your services are
worth $50? Bear this in mind: 1t
Is always possible to reduce ones
asking salary to effect some sort of
compromise. But once you mention
a figure hat is low you cannot pos
sibly increase it,"
Now in the case you mention. if
l were a good accountant asking for
$40 a week, the man wouldn't think
much of me. He'd probably think ]
was some cheap piker," agreed Arm
strong.
Ellen Young nodded. Asking too
low a salary. being too humble about
the value of ones services in BUSH
ness is a great weakness in many
otherwise capable people. II you
start working for a oncern at too
low q price 1t will take a long time
to reach a higher figure in the lad
der. because your future increases
will always be compared to the sal
airy you received when o started"
AT least they can't help admirins
your nerve, II nothing else" laughed
Armstrong.
But you must be reasonable. 1t
would be ridiculous for you, a COM
p~aratively young accountant, to ask
a mar for six or seven thousand dol
lars a year when you have had only
two years experience. 1t Is. how
ever, far better to place a high value
on your services than a low one"
Guess I've got my mind made up
now about the salary I'll ask" re-
marked Brett Armstrong as they
shook hands.
This young man did Ellen Young a
good turn, not long after. by recon-
mending her services to a bookstore
proprietor, Ed Kroener, who want
ed her suggestions about his store.
An interesting point about book
stores will be discussed in tomoT-
rows paper.
Let Miss Leigh answer your busi-
ness questions on buying, selling, ad-
yertising. employment, etc. ASK
your questions clearly and give alI
the facts. Questions requiring tech
meal answers will be sent by mail.
Others will be answered in This COL
umn.
Business Questions Answered
/ have often wondered what was
the best possible use ! could make
of salespeople during dull hours or
on rainy days. They say there IS
nothing to be done when ] remark
about their sitting around idly. What
can you suggest that l tell them to
do?
PROP. DRY GOODS STORE.
There are three things l have
often suggested to s~alespeople to do
with their spare time. First. to take
care of their stock and its proper
display in the department. This
sounds commonplace, but most peo-
ple don't do II. They can also use
this spare time actually studying
their goods. handling 1t. looking at
il. Show them by illustrations o
much can be learned by students OF
this kind
Second. teach them to solicit out
side business. This is a wonderful
way Of getting business and most
dealers don't realize II. Let your
people go out with samples, and visit
customers right at their homes. This
may not sound like store retailing.
but IT. is mighty good. profitable
business.
Third. teach your s~alespeople to
solicit business by mail and tele-
phone. Customers are f1attered by
personal attentions of this kind. Call
up customers; tell them about new
goods; write them little notes of a
personal character suggesting that
they call at the store to see new
things. You'll be amazed at the
amount of business this will bring.
Copyright, 1s22, Public Ledger Co.
He Knows Whereof He Speaks
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