Business English Part 92

13. Two weeks later than (11) write a telegram from Borroughs & Brown to the W. F. Wiggins Mfg. Co., asking why the machines have not been sent.

14. Send a telegram from the W. F. Wiggins Mfg. Co. to Borroughs & Brown, saying that, owing to a teamsters'

and shipping clerks' strike, they have not been able to fill any of their orders for the last two weeks.

The machines have been sent. (State how and when.) Write a letter, confirming the telegram.

15. Borroughs & Brown write to inform you that the strike was the cause of the delay in the shipment of the machines you ordered ----. The machines were shipped ----. Add a courteous close.

=Exercise 269=

Conduct a transaction of your own, using the above as a model, except in the method of payment.

IV.--THE SALESMAN

Salesmanship is a branch of distribution about which many volumes have been written. We cannot consider it minutely from the personal view of the salesman, but can only touch upon it from the point of view of distribution. The salesman is merely a force in distribution like correspondence, circulars, and advertising. But the salesman has the advantage over these in that he is able to bring his personality to bear in the problem of getting business. It is by means of his personality that the salesman gets the attention and confidence of the customer,--a thing which is extremely hard to do in a letter, a circular, or an advertis.e.m.e.nt. Securing a buyer's confidence is very important, because no suspicious customer has ever yet bought anything.

In addition to a pleasing personality a good salesman must have a wide and thorough knowledge of his wares. If he does not know his goods, the sale drags; whereas, if he knows everything good there is to be known about them, his enthusiasm instills enthusiasm into the customer.

After bringing his knowledge and his enthusiasm into play, he must next call on his perseverance and his tact; perseverance to keep at the customer until he gets the order, and tact to know in each case just how to go about getting the order and just when to stop. Many salesmen talk too much; many more do not talk enough.

=Exercise 270=

_Oral_

In talking on any of the following subjects be sure you know just what you are going to say before you begin, and then say it clearly and convincingly. Don't say too much and don't say too little. Just exactly how much you should say no one can tell you. You must watch your audience. If they look puzzled, give more details; if they look bored, try shorter, more concise sentences, or bring your talk to a close.

After you have explained all your points, sum them up briefly at the end. Remember that your talk must, first, attract attention; second, hold the interest; and third, create enthusiasm and desire to buy.

To supplement what facts you get from observation, study advertis.e.m.e.nts and catalogues to get material for (9) to (20) below:

1. Get up a talk to persuade a freshman or a group of freshmen to subscribe to the school paper.

2. To persuade girls to contribute to a fund to be used to buy suits for the football team.

3. To induce particularly uninterested freshmen to buy tickets for a school activity; for example, a debate.

4. As a real estate agent induce a cla.s.smate to establish a home in your neighborhood.

5. Try to sell the manager of the baseball team a new line of athletic goods.

6. Try to sell a set of d.i.c.kens' (or any other author's) works to a boy who is not fond of reading.

You must enjoy the books that you recommend.

7. Try to sell the cla.s.s or the teacher a new kind of loose leaf note book for science or English work.

8. As an agent for the publishers try to sell this text book to your English cla.s.s or to your English teacher.

9. You are trying to sell an automobile to a farmer.

By means of concrete examples develop the following items into a talk:

_a._ The business opportunities to be gained.

_b._ The social opportunities to be gained.

10. Get up a talk to sell a runabout to a physician who has a small practice. Suppose that he owns a horse and a buggy. Be tactful.

11. You are a salesman for an automobile house and are trying to sell a gasoline car to a man who is partial to an electric car. Meet the objections to the gasoline car and put forward its advantages.

12. You are trying to sell an electric runabout to a woman. Develop the following into a talk:

_a._ Ease of operation.

_b._ Noiselessness and comfort.

_c._ Elegant appearance.

13. You are trying to sell the manager of a local express company a motor truck. Gather all the data you can and present it in a talk on why he should replace his horses and wagons with motor trucks. Be as specific as possible.

14. Get up a talk showing why a man with considerable means should trade his two year old car as part payment for the latest model.

15. Get up a talk to sell a phonograph.

16. To sell an electric washing machine.

17. To sell a piano.

18. To sell a vacuum cleaner.

19. To sell a subscription to a magazine.

20. To obtain an order for groceries or teas and coffees. The offer of premiums might add to the effectiveness of your talk.

=Exercise 271=

The following paragraph was adapted from William C. Freeman's _Advertising Talks_.

George Washington's Cherry Tree Story has served a good purpose through all of these years. "I cannot tell a lie" is a phrase that has been used in every schoolroom in America to impress upon young minds the importance of truth telling. The phrase is also serving its purpose outside the schoolroom. In all professions and in all kinds of business, men know that in order to make good they must tell the truth.

There never was, in all the history of the country, a greater movement than now toward universal truth telling. There is not even that winking at "white"

lies that used to prevail. The man who does not make a direct statement, who does not earn a reputation for being honest, has no chance of succeeding. Time was when the trickster was regarded as shrewd and was accepted in the community as being right both socially and commercially. To-day the man who has money without a reputation for integrity is a bankrupt, as far as real friends and public opinion are concerned. The expression "I cannot tell a lie" has been changed to-day to "I will not tell a lie even if the lie seems more expedient than the blunt truth." So George Washington's Cherry Tree Story is as good to-day as it ever was.

Prepare paragraphs on the following suggestions, expanding each by examples:

1. As a salesman, be honest with your customers.

2. Cultivate tact.

3. Cultivate a conscience.

4. Learn to avoid friction.

5. Acknowledge your mistakes.

6. Don't criticise.