The Washington times., 1922-04-18

ioint of transportation which carries
on 20 the last link in the pipe line,
which is the retailer. Now any man
ufacturer who thinks that he has
made sale because he has moved
his merchandise out OF this tank
along To one or the other links of
that pipe Is making greas mistake.
Brokers, wholesalers, jobbers and re.
tailers do not use merchandise: they
merely handle II. Let a manufac-
turer move a thousand cases OF his
merchandise into the warehouse of
a wholesaler and until that mer-
chandise moves along the pipeline
of distribution to the ultimate con-
sumner, the only effect Is 20 clog the
pipeline at that point.
THE only sale that really counts
is a sale made TO the person who
will wear the stuff out or eat II, or
in some way render the reproduction
of that merchandise necessary. The
merchandise must pass clear out
through the end OF the pipe before
the sale has really been completely
made. At the end of the last link In
this pipe line of distribution, we have
a tap. and through that tap, ninety
odd per cent OF all merchandise sold
into the hands of the ultimate con.
sumer. That tap is the retail sales
person behind the counter. Expert
ments made recently have shown US
that this tap is just 45 per cent open
today; that 55 out of 100 sales made
by advertising are killed by. sales
people.
1--WE don't sell articles. we sell the
need for or the use of an article.
Twenty years ago Mr.. Simmons Of
the Simmons Hardware Company
said to the statesmen in hardware
stores: Don't try to sell augers;
sell the customers holes and he
will have TO buy an auger to
malse them. The same thing
is true of everything that ynu
and / try to sell. For example, let's
take the case OF mems overcoats.
Perhaps. you think you bought an
overcoat last fall? You didn't buy an
overcoat. What you bought was
warmth, comfort, protection. style,
fit. appearance. You bought the
functions OF the overcoat. Every
woman who buys clothes buys style
first and the other considerations
she does not buy a cloak or suit; she
buys the function of the cloak or
suit to her. II is always true that
what we must sell is the use 20 which
the article is to be put. To find that
use we must look at, the article
through the eyes of the prospective
customer and consider what could
the customer do with this article IL
she or he bought IL.
Better Education Needed.
"It is a fact that the good will OF
our customers on which the success
of our business depends no less than
the reclaiming OF 55 per cent OF sales
which might be and are not made as
the result Of our advertising, rests
in hand OF the retail salespeople.
What are we going to do about itT
What are we going to do to realize
that 55 percent OF loss sales? The
answer must be found in education.
The Associated Advertising Clubs
OF the World are. without question,
the greatest marketing organization
in the world, and therefore. we have
felt that II was our duty to not only
get in back OF a movement for better
advertising. but to enable the re-
tailers using this better advertising
to secure it's full benefit through
backing II up by better salesmanship.
Therefore, our educational depart
ment has prepared two courses: one
short course in advertising which
the retailerf-or the person in his
establishment who takes care of his
advertising-may take up, and the
other one a short course in retail
selling for the benefit OF the sales
people In the retail stores.
The short course In advertising
is generally put on by our local ad-
veFtising clubs, and is meeting with
great success in all parts of the
country. Some OF our clubs are also
putting on the short courses In retail
selling, while, in other cases, the
retailers prefer to put this course on
in their own stores"