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Tactics In Selling
by
“I brought him up to the credit window and said to the credit man– Gee! I had to be diplomatic then–‘Now, this is Mr. Man from New Orleans. You know that cotton has been pretty low for the past season and that he has had a little misfortune that often comes into the path of the business man. He, you also know, has squared this with everybody concerned in an honorable way,–although on account of the dull times he was unable to make as large a settlement as he wished to–isn’t that the case, Joe?’ said I. He nodded.
“‘Yes, but things are picking up with me, you know,’ said he.
“‘Yes; so they are,’ said I, taking up the thread, ‘cotton is advancing and times are going to be pretty good down in the south next season. Now, what I’ve done,’ said I to the credit man, as if I had never spoken to him about the matter before, ‘is this: Joe, here, has learned a lesson. He has seen the folly, and suffered for it, of buying so many goods so far ahead. What he aims to do from this time on is to run a strictly cash business, and to buy his goods for cash or on very short terms. We have picked out five hundred dollars’ worth of goods–I’ve closed them pretty cheap–and you shall have your money for this, the bill fully discounted, within sixty days. Then in future, Joe, here, does not wish to buy anything from you or anybody else that he cannot pay for within that time. One bump on the head is enough, eh, Joe?’
“‘Yes; you bet your life. I’ve learned a lesson.’
“‘That’ll be very satisfactory, sir,’ said the credit man, and everything was O. K. You see, I had put the credit man in the position of making short terms and I had tickled Joe and given him something that he needed very badly at that time–credit. This was about the smoothest job I think I ever did. I really don’t believe that either the credit man or my customer was fully onto my work. Joe, however, has thanked me for that many a time since. He’s paid up my house promptly and used them for reference. They could only tell the truth in the matter, that he was discounting his bills with them. This has given him credit and he’s doing a thriving business now, and has been for several years. He is getting long time again from other houses.”
“Smooth work all right,” said one of the boys, touching the button for the buffet porter.
“Once in a while,” said the book man, “you have to pull the wool over a buyer’s eyes. I never like to do anything of this sort, and I never do but that I tell them about it afterwards. The straight path is the one for the traveling man to walk in, I know; but once, with one of my men, I had to get off of the pebbles and tread on the grass a little.
“We really sell our publications for less than any other concern in the country. We give fifty off, straight, to save figuring, while many others give 40-10-5, which, added up, makes 55, but, in truth, is less than fifty straight. Once, in Chicago, I fell in on a department store man. I put it up to him and asked him if he would like certain new books that were having a good sale.
“‘Yes,’ he said, ‘but I tell you, John (he knew me pretty well), I can’t stand your discounts. You don’t let me make enough money. You only give me 50 while others give me 40-10-5.’
“‘All right, I’ll sell them to you that way,’ said I. ‘We won’t worry about it.’
“‘Very good then,’ and he gave me his order.
“Next season, when I got around to him, I had forgotten all about the special terms that I had made this man. But after he said he would use a certain number of copies of a book, he jogged my memory on that score with the question: