Another point of importance along this general line of thought is that of guarding against forced sales. Once in a great while it may happen that a salesman does not have in stock the shoe he knows the customer should have. Perhaps the customer may have a foot of such unusual shape that it requires either a custom-made shoe or some special model not carried in stock. Even though the salesman were to force on such a man a pair of shoes that would not give him service, there could be no permanent advantage. If the customer did not later return the shoes for a claim he would probably pocket his loss with the feeling that he had been beaten.
C. A. Reynolds, president of the Keystone Leather Company, Camden, New Jersey, who, as a young man, was a retail shoe salesman, tells of an experience of his that illustrates this point. A customer entered the store, asked to be fitted, and explained that he was having considerable trouble with his feet. Upon examining the foot the young salesman (who was Mr. Reynolds) noticed that it was of such a shape and in such a condition as to require a special type of shoe that was not kept in stock. The salesman frankly explained the facts and then advised the customer where he could get the shoe he needed. The sale had been lost, but the customer was pleased because he found what he wanted in the store to which he had been directed. He returned to thank the young man for his advice. And he did more; he later brought his wife and three children to be fitted where he knew they would receive service.
It was a matter of losing one customer to gain four. The experience illustrates the difference between the short-sighted policy of “a sale at any cost,” and the true basis of selling on the foundation of service.
CHAPTER XII
THE SALESMAN’S RESPONSIBILITY
SELLING P.M. GOODS
PURPOSE OF THE P.M.
Among retail merchants there has in the past been a great deal of discussion concerning the advantages and disadvantages of the system of offering the salesman special premiums for the sale of certain of the goods in stock. Probably every shoe salesman knows that P.M. is an abbreviation for the term Premium Merchandise, Premium Money, or, as it is sometimes known to the salesman, “pin money.” It represents a special commission offered the salesman for the sale of certain specified goods.
In every store there is some of the stock that calls for extra effort and skill on the part of the salesman in disposing of it. The goods may be slow-selling lines, discontinued or broken styles, extreme sizes and widths, or in some instances the premium may be placed on certain grades of higher priced goods. Whatever the reason may be in the individual case, the premium is offered as an incentive to the salesman to put forth extra effort to move the P.M. stock. From the standpoint of good merchandising it is important for the retailer to turn over his stock as quickly and as often as possible for the reason, as already mentioned, that the profit is made only when the goods are sold and that capital tied up in dead stock is wasteful.
By keeping a daily record of sales according to sizes and styles, the manager is able to tell at a glance just which goods are moving and which are the “shelf-warmers.” Some stores, when it is found that a shoe has not moved within thirty or sixty days, immediately make inquiries to determine the reason. If it is found that there have been objections to the shoe, expressed by the customer, and if the management decides that these will permanently interfere with sales, the goods are at once classed as P.M.’s and arrangements are made to dispose of them promptly. The truth is that the longer goods of this kind remain in stock the more difficult it will be finally to get rid of them.