Milford chronicle., 1954-01-15
WITH PROPER SALES EFFORT, 1854
SHOULD BE GOOD YEAR FOR BUSINESS

SHOULD BE GOOD YEAR FOR BUSINESS
During the last few weeks there has been
the usual new-year flood of reports and fore
casts. The reports deal factually with bus
mess experience during 1858 and look
ahead to what is expected in 1854.
Measured by production and sales, 1858
was boom year in anybOdys book. Prac-
tlcally every business sold it's output and
came up with a reasonable profit. Practi-
cally everyone who wanted to work had
job, and at good wages. There were, of
course, some soft spots during the latter
enthusiastically in such fields as appl-
ances and automobiles, where production
has been running at extremely high levels.
Even so, there was nothing resembling a
real slump. Certain farm prices also drop
ped-but agriculture's income is very high
as compared with almost any previous per-
iOd.
What's going to happen in 1854? In the
crystal ball business there can be no UNI
animity of opinion. But the concensus is
that the economic machine will continue to
roll along in high gear-eVen though it may
not race it's motor to quite the extent as in
the recent past. This belief is based in large
part on the fact that the public at large is
earning more money, and has larger saw
ings, than ever before. To take one eX-
on deposit in mutual savings banks alone.
Even so, hard-headed businessmen in
large numbers believe that financial success
in the coming year will depend on aggress-
i've selling to a greater extent than we have
known since World War H. Just after the
war, of course, there was a huge backlog Of
hungry demand for almost every ,cOnceiy-
able kind of manufactured article, and even
inferior goods found ready buyers, for lack
of anything better. This situation gradu-
ally corrected itself as the factories hit new
production record after new production rec
ord Now, as the Wall Street Journal re-
Gently pointed out, "The public must be sold
harder because it's already bought so many
of its needs" An outstanding example of
this is the autOmObile-65 per cent Of Am
erican families own a car now, as against
"a per cent in 1913.
The Journal polled IS representative
American corporations on the question Of
sOuped-up selling. Sixty-six expected COM
petition to be tougher this year than last. A
leader in the appliance field said, cts going
to be the manufacturer with a strong sales
organization, and who can keep his pro-
ductiOn costs in line, who survives" A
spokesman for a major motor manufacturer
said that there will be hot competitive bat
tie for the consumers favor and money
"Such as this country has not seen in over
Is years." An executive of a big company
making electrical products observed, "The
1854 edition of salesman will have to stop
thinking about his product only and con-
centrate instead on the customers needs. -
From leading paint and building concern
came this view: Competition is certainly
back with us in no uncertain terms" And
a very significant observation came from a
spokesman for farm equipment company,
who said, "a lot of younger men in sales
have never experienced a highly cOmpeti-
tive situation such as now. It'll take some
time and hard work to get the best out of
them"
All of this should add up to good news
for the consumer. The buyers mar ket is
here in full flower.