“It requires judgment and decision of character, but you can learn to do it.
“When a woman goes into a cloak and suit department, she is not satisfied to buy until she has been made to feel that she has pretty well canvassed the assortment, seen practically everything in the stock at the range and along the line she is seeking.
“She has merchandise imagination and thinks of the possible garments back there in the stock that she might have liked better.
“In this regard a man is somewhat easier to handle.
“It is a fact often demonstrated that clerks can close a sale more quickly where the stock is kept on hangers instead of piled on tables.
“The preliminaries are more quickly covered. Having walked down the line the customer is better satisfied that the whole selection is placed at his disposal.
“There is no secret about it. Nothing held back. No mysterious pile of garments on a table that he cannot see.
“Note the tendency of the customer to investigate a pile of coats—lifting up the corners and looking at the patterns.
“A coat in plain view, taken off the hanger, is more obviously a thoughtful selection of a garment definitely suited for him and he is the more ready to make it his own.
“The important thing in closing a sale is to narrow down the choice as soon as you can to one or two strong possibilities, flanked by a bad one—that is, a style or a pattern that you know the customer doesn’t want.