PERSONAL SALESMANSHIP DIVISION
Though the volume of business secured through the medium of the mails is increasing at a rapid rate, the bulk of the business of the country is done by personal salesmen.
Leaving out of the discussion the question of retail salesmanship, the personal salesmanship plan—the employment of traveling salesmen—is the least expensive method of selling goods at wholesale. To sell certain low-priced specialties to consumers, the mail order plan is sometimes best, for the reason that it is necessary to reach a large number of possible buyers to find a few actual buyers. This can be done at less expense by letters than by traveling salesmen.
More is being learned about how to use the mails to promote business—how to make the follow-up system an assistant to the salesmen. The manufacturer whose goods are sold to the trade, by salesmen, is learning how to build up his own business by assisting the dealer to sell his goods. He advertises to interest the consumer, he follows up the consumer and the dealer, and in the end assists his own salesman to sell more goods.
Much good literature has been written on the subject of salesmanship, plenty of advice about being systematic in his work has been given the traveling man, but very little has been written on the subject of making sales records and reports of assistance to both the house and the salesman. Some suggestions on this phase of the question are made in this discussion.
Routing Salesmen. How to route his salesmen to the best advantage is one of the important problems of the sales manager. He must first decide how often the territory should be covered, then the extent of the territory he will attempt to work, and the number of men required. When this has been done, the territory of each man must be laid out, and a route which will enable him to cover the territory with the smallest mileage, must be selected. The territory should not be larger than a man can cover in a specified time, but large enough to require all of his time.
Map and Tack System. To know just where each man is at all times—to be able to locate Smith or Brown instantly, every day—is very necessary. Perhaps the best method of doing this is by the use of what is known as the map and tack system.
State maps, printed in colors, are fastened in the bottoms of shallow drawers, a drawer for each state. Sharp pointed tacks, with heads covered with silk in a great variety of colors, are used for various classifications, and colored silk cords are used to indicate routes and territory boundaries.
To each salesman is assigned a specific color, by which he is always known. Tacks with heads of the proper colors are placed in the map at the towns on his territory. A cord is then strung from tack to tack in the order in which he will cover the territory. When the salesman leaves a town the cord is removed from that tack, coiled up, and placed over the tack at the next town. The tack at the end of the cord always shows the present location of the salesman. Fig. 31 illustrates a map with cords—represented by the heavy lines—indicating salesmen's routes.
Fig. 31. Map Showing Operation of Map and Tack System Courtesy Browne-Morse Company
Other tacks, with heads of a different color or coiled wire heads for holding labels, are used to indicate special facts—as, competition strong, customer ready to buy, claim to be adjusted, or collections to be made. These are placed at the side of the salesman's tacks and are a reminder to write to him, about the special matter, at that town. If an inquiry is received or a good prospect developed, in some small town not regularly visited by any salesman, a special tack is placed in the map at that point. A cord of special color is then strung from this tack to the nearest stopping point on any salesman's route. This is a reminder to write the salesman instructing him to make a special trip to this point outside of his regular territory.
Fig. 32. Traveler's Route Card
Route Cards. It is not always advisable to attempt to lay out the entire route of a salesman in advance, neither is it always possible for him to make the towns in the time calculated. It is wise, therefore, to require the salesman to keep the house constantly advised about his stopping places. When the route is a long one, a route card, as shown in Fig. 32, should be mailed to the house weekly. The card should be 3×5 inches in size, to fit the standard size card drawer. Route cards of all salesmen, whether there are five or fifty, can then be kept in a card tray in the manager's desk.
Reports of Calls. The successful sales manager of the modern type is learning to get more and more business from his territory; he is not satisfied to show a large volume of business in a large territory, unless he feels that he has secured all of the business possible from every town. If Baker sells two dealers in Peoria, well and good; but why did he fail to sell the other five dealers in the same line? And it is not in a fault-finding spirit that he asks why; if he knew why, perhaps he and the salesman could together work out a plan that would solve the difficulty and secure from one to five new customers.
Fig. 33. Salesman's Report of Calls in Each Town
The salesman knows better than anyone else why he has failed to sell certain dealers; he is the man who becomes familiar with the actual conditions in each town—what competitors' goods are most popular, reasons for local business depression such as crop failures or labor disturbances, and any causes for dissatisfaction with the goods or business methods of his own house. Possibly the sales manager is not in a position to change conditions, but certainly, he cannot solve the difficulties unless he knows what they are. The salesman should, therefore, assume that there is at least a chance that he will receive assistance by keeping the house posted on every detail that might affect his trade.
The only way in which practical results can be secured is for the salesman to make a report on every call made, in every town on his route. A form of report card is shown in Fig. 33. This is intended for a brief report of calls in one town. Space is provided for reports of seven calls, but if there is a larger number of dealers, more than one card is used. On the back of the card, a full line is allowed to each dealer for remarks.
The salesman is instructed to mail one of these cards, in an envelope specially provided for the purpose, from each town on his route. When received, the sales manager examines them, makes his notations, and files them according to salesmen's routes. When the salesman is next in the house the sales manager goes over the cards with him, and they discuss each case individually.
Forms of report cards differ, naturally, according to the business. In some lines more specific information is needed in each case to enable the sales manager to judge intelligently the chances for future business. Fig. 34 represents a card used in one business for a specific report on each call made. The form shown in Fig. 35 provides for a brief report including suggestions regarding the date of the next call.
Follow-up of Dealers and Salesmen. In the modern advertising campaigns of manufacturers in many lines, an effort is made to secure inquiries from consumers, though the goods are sold through dealers only. The inquiry is usually secured by a promise of a free sample, a handsome catalog, or other piece of printed matter.
These inquiries should always be referred to the nearest dealer, and in answering the inquiry, the name and address of the dealer should be given. In addition to the inquiries received from advertising, manufacturers in certain lines invite dealers to send them the names of good prospects. One of the large paint manufacturers asks the dealer to send two lists—one of people who are talking of painting their buildings, one of people whose buildings need painting. The manufacturer of a widely advertised washing machine asks for the names of all possible buyers to whom the dealer has talked washing machines, without making a sale.
The object of all this is to enable the manufacturer to assist the dealer to sell more goods of his manufacture. Sometimes the margin of profit to the manufacturer is such that he can afford to maintain an extensive follow-up on the names, and even send one of his salesmen to assist the dealer to close the sale.
Fig. 34. Specific Report on Individual Calls
Fig. 35. Salesman's Report of Call and Follow-up
The manufacturers of one of the popular pianos has secured excellent results from the operation of such a system. In this system, the card shown in Fig. 36 is used to follow-up both the inquirer and the dealer. It will be noted that columns are provided for a record of the postage on every letter or piece of printed matter mailed. The prospect receives a letter once a month, while once in two months a letter is written to the dealer asking for a report.
With the first letter to the prospect, a postal card acknowledgment form is enclosed. On the postal, space is provided for names, which the prospect is asked to fill in with names of friends who might be interested in pianos. By this simple expedient, an original inquiry is often added to with a half-dozen new names.
Fig. 36. Card Used for Follow-up of Dealer and Inquirer
With the first letter to the prospect, there is also enclosed a formal letter of introduction to the dealer. This letter, which is addressed to the dealer, reads as follows:
The bearer of this letter wishes to inspect our pianos. We shall esteem it a favor if you will kindly explain the merits of these instruments and give—— ——an opportunity to thoroughly examine them.
Respectfully,
At the time of referring the inquiry to the dealer, the blank shown in Fig. 37 is filled in and mailed to the salesman in whose territory the dealer is located. The lower half of the blank is for the salesman's report to the house.
Fig. 37. Notice of Inquiry Sent to Salesman, with Blank for His Report
Salesman's Expense Accounts. Detailed expense accounts should be mailed to the house weekly. A conveniently arranged form, with columns, for regular expense items such as hotel, R. R. fare, livery, etc., will greatly assist the salesman in making up his accounts. Such a form is shown in Fig. 38. This is a card 3"×5" in size, punched to fit a small ring binder small enough to be carried in the pocket. Both sides of the card are used, providing for a record of expenses covering a period of one week.