Letters From an Old Time Salesman to His Son

by Roy Lester James

Before you get ready to tell me to keep my comments to myself, I want to tell you about an introduction I once had to a brother knight of the grip. It was in my early days of order-teasing that I met up with a prune peddler on my territory by the name of George Shifflett. George was one of those typical grocery salesmen of the old school. Happy, well formed, jovial, a hale fellow well met, fairly radiating good fellowship and, at the same time, a salesman plus. I was called in to a strange city, and before going I told George about it and mentioned that time would perhaps hang rather heavily on my hands. George sat down and wrote a little note of introduction to a friend of his, whom he said would give me an entree to anything and everything in that town. Although the letter was not sealed, I didn’t think to read it, but as soon as I arrived I hunted up George’s friend and presented my credentials.

His friend was also a peddler of the George type. He immediately opened up the letter and this is what it said: “This is my friend—treat him kindly and often.” Just how well George’s friend obeyed this admonition is neither here nor there, and there’s no use rubbing it in by referring to the customs of ancient times, suffice to say that the only point in the story in connection with my relations with you is that in the comments I am continually making on your business, I am merely trying to treat you “Kindly and often”—not in the way George’s friend treated me, but I hope in a more beneficial and less bibulous manner.

But, to get down to this leader salesmen campaign—I naturally begin first to look for holes in such a plan, having gone through a good many campaigns myself, but for the life of me I cannot find any in your plan. It’s about the finest thing I’ve ever seen. You know the trouble with most national campaigns is that you have one house, or one bunch of salesmen, competing with another on a product on which the selling conditions vary greatly, one part of the country with another. But, in this one the salesmen merely compete with the salesmen at the local branch, in an effort to determine just what man in each class is the better salesman on a fairly wide line of products. I cannot think of anything that would create more rivalry among your salesmen than your plans, for the convention program that is laid out is both recreative and educational and the big point that I’m sure will not be overlooked by the men is the opportunity it affords the winners to become better and more personally acquainted with the men who direct their movements and destinies.

You know, when I used to be a salesman I looked on the Chicago office as being only just a little lower than the pearly gates—almost as unattainable and a place that could only be reached in the way of a visit by the manager and an occasional special salesman. I wondered how I could ever be picked for a better job when the fellows who do the picking had never seen me. It took me quite a while to break into that holy of holies, and as I look back at it now, it seems I must have had a lucky star for I finally got in, but I had to wait a good many years and I didn’t have the opportunity to win an introduction such as is planned for the winning leader salesmen in your campaign.

Now Red, listen to me—the success of this campaign doesn’t depend entirely on the amount of enthusiasm that your department sales manager and the branch house managers generate. Not at all—they’ll have the enthusiasm in sufficient quantity all right—just leave that to the managers and salesmen.

This campaign will be won by one thing—plans—Red, that’s the word—plans. No salesman is going to kid himself into winning this campaign. The fellow who wins will be the chap who first realizes that there has been a change come over business in the last few weeks. He’ll have a good idea of just who he’s gunning for and his list will include every merchant that has hinges on his door. He’ll have samples and selling arguments on each of the campaign items and he’ll not make the mistake of underestimating the amount of goods that it’s possible to sell each customer. Last, but not least, for the full length of the campaign he’ll be up in the morning before the proverbial rooster has a chance to crow, and like the sign in the drug store window, he’ll “work while you sleep.”

Red, it’s your job to lead. Are you giving those boys the suggestions and selling arguments that it’s your place to supply? You know the finest compliment that can be paid you at the convention is to have not one, but several of those snappy winners slide up to you and tell you just how much help you really gave in those plans.

Now, don’t give me the “busy signal.” Of course, you’re busy—why shouldn’t you be, but listen Red—this campaign is the most important thing that your company is putting on this year—make it your first and most important duty—lead ’em, Red, lead ’em!

You know, Boy, every time I think of your job and your problems, I’m reminded of the difference between a real live salesman in a clothing store and one of the wax dummies in the window of that same store. Both are salesmen after a fashion, and the poor wax dummy that sits behind the plate glass all day is doing his best and helping to sell goods in a measure, but Red, you never bought a suit of clothes of one of ’em in your life, now did you? No, you bet you didn’t, but the boy with the Elgin movement and the snappy sales argument, behind the counter teased many an order away from you, now didn’t he? All right—now the thought I’d like to leave with you just before I take off my shoes and make a midnight raid on the ice-box is:

That department sales manager chair that you’re sitting in was never intended for the outer casing of a mummy—shake ’em up, Red, and make it snappy!