Evening star., 1923-11-21
STIFF 1924 FIGHT
SEEN IN MOTORS
Auto Manufacturers Depend.
ing on Executive Ability in
Sales Competition.
BY j. c. R0YLE.
pecial Dispatch 20 The Star.

Special Dispatch 10 The Star.
NEW YORK, NoveIHoer 2l.--Execu-
tive ability is the Weapon with which
the automobile manufacturers are
seeking to meet the stiff competition
they know is in prospect in 1924. The
field for this ability, the makers say.
Is not in the factory, but in the sales
rooms. Innovations Of equipment or
motor cars may continue to be the
visible weapons used In the 1914 ngnt'
but the main dependence of the indus
try will be on aggressive and Imam
ctally successful retail dealers.
.Deaicr Turnover a Bugbear.
Dealer turnover" which means the
number of automobile. dealers who an
nually fall by the waysidc, has be-
come q bugbear to all companies.
About 10 per cent Of the Ford agen-
cieS change hands every year, while
the changes of the other companies Is
estimated by some executives at about
25 per cent Death causes 2 per cent
OF these shifts. but the largest fac
tors are lack Of capital. lack Of aS-
gressiveness and lack OF executive
ability. OF these the latter Is the
more potent. Next In rank Is lack OF
capital, although manufacturers con-
cess II the dealer knows how to man
age his business.
Records maintained by some of the
larger companies show many inter
esting examples of how men, sue
oessful in a small way in other lines
OF business and possessed OF limited
capital. have made modest fortunes
as automobile dealers After study
ing these records. the leading COM
panieS have started vigorous cam
paigns TO entice such men into the
automobile sales game.
One company in Detroit recently
advertised for dealer recruits Over
1000 replies were obtained from men
in all walks of life. from the pulpit
10 the BARRIERS chair, and the COM
pany obtained thirty new dealers
who have made marked successes.
View of Company Executive.
An executive of the company said
today: The automobile industry has
become stabilized. The glamour and
romance arc pretty well out OF IL
and the men who succeed in II are
TO como in, but go after him. Auto
mobiles now are such stable mer-
chandise that any one having COM
mon-sense business ideas can sell
them"
Some companies and some large
distributors have established schools
OF sslesma nship. They have con-
Tinced men in all walks, of life that
spare, time. Even those companies
who have not adopted this spare time
or bell-ringinS" method Of approach
nrs. Increasing their regular sales
one of the prime attractions Of
fered new dealers is larger dis
courts. Few companies to date have
.Ii"':rd more than 80 per cent. even
10 .helr distributors. but there is a
tendency today 70 increase dealers
compensation.
sntcs Schemes Considered.
one company is considering an
ailowance of 40 per cent to some of
ITS wholesale distributor while another
infse ing 70 concern 3lice Is said to be pregar,
company some time since increased
It's dealers discount from 171h to 30
rer cent. While there is little likeli-
make horizontal increases in dealers
discounts. there is ample evidence
mat the right man can obtain a very
liberal contract with any of half 4
dozen high grade manufacturers
Another change that is becoming
more apparent is the breaking down
OF strict territorial lines for deal
who so far has annihilated sales
boundaries. but there are rumo-s that
some other companies will adopt
somewhat milder, regulations:
Already there has been a breaking
down of strict dealer boundary lines
in cities and villages where there is
no direct company representation ur-
der the vicinity contract" plan. I'm
der this arrangement the company
employs one distributor in the large
centers, who in turn appoints asso-
ciate distributors. all of whom receive
the same discount. These latter are
given exclusive rights in the city or
village where they are located. but
in any town where there is no direct
dealer representation any of this
group may solicit sales.