While we are on this word quality, I know, from observation, that the best of apparatus, plates, lenses, paper and chemicals, etc., help in building business. Many of your customers in the commercial line are men who know a great deal about photography, either directly or indirectly. Some of them have their own photographic departments for general work, as in the case of lithographers, photo-engravers, roto-gravures, engineers, architects and adver tising people. They all use photographs and have more or less knowledge of photography. If you have good apparatus in your place of business, they will know it, you know it, and if you know it and they know it, they have double confidence in you and you have in yourself, which .is building business.
To go back to that word "service." It is one of the most-abused words in the entire English language. Service means to help somebody. If a cus tomer comes into your place or calls you to see him, and he is a little unde cided as to just what he wants, if you are acquainted with sales plans, jobbing methods and general merchandising and advertising methods ; in fact, with the use of photographs, as every commercial photographer should be, you can be of great assistance in telling this man what he wants, and the chances are that you will increase your order many times. Not only that, that customer will think many times later on of what you have done for him.
I have in mind a man now who jobbed an article that was known prac tically all over the country. He had done some advertising and I had solicited him several times to use photographs. He had always told me that, as his line was known all over, he did not see any use for photographs. But I thought I knew better and was only waiting for a favorable opportunity to bring my views before him in the right way, which came a little later when he wanted to get out a small printed leaflet to accompany his commodity and which necessitated complete photographs of his line. Then I showed him where, by distributing photographs to his jobbers for their traveling salesmen to take out with them on their trips, along with their other photographs, if it did noth ing more than remind the retailer that the line was still on the market, it would do some good. He reluctantly placed a small order. I know he thought he was stung, but when he was complimented by the jobbers on his new move and received requests for more photographs to completely equip their entire sales forces, accompanied by orders for his goods beyond his wildest dreams, he fairly swamped me with work and is a big booster for photographs today.
That is what I mean when I say service. When you show a man where he can sell more goods by the use of photographs, you are helping that man as well as helping yourself, which is service, and when you give service you are building business.
Another way service comes in is promising and delivering orders. I was in a commercial studio not long ago when a customer came in and was told by a photographer, "Mr. X, your prints are not ready. I was sick and will have to give them to you tomorrow." I know the customer was disgruntled, and I know if he gets half a chance he will not go back there again. This happened several times during my brief visit. A business man's word is con sidered one of his best assets. We are dealing with business men in commer cial photography, so, therefore, not keeping promises is one of the surest ways to tear down a business.
Still another word as to this term "service." Service, to my mind, does not always mean delivering a print to a man in five minutes, even if he wants it, for, as stated above, service means helping people to help themselves. If you give a man something that may only help hint temporarily and comes back eventually as a boomerang—that is not service. No print made and delivered in five minutes will give permanent service, except possibly to an engraving house, and is eventually a boomerang to you. If properly explained, it is usually the case that more time can be obtained on a job to the ultimate satis faction of all concerned.
Again, I have often turned down orders from people I knew could not use photographs effectively. Unless you can see some real use for them, it is better to discourage their use. I know of a concern, which had an extensive line of photographs made, which were not the right kind and did not prove any help to them, with the result that they became soured on the whole photo graph business, and no one has been able to interest them since.
Now, as to soliciting. Personal soliciting is by far the best way of build ing business. I know from experience that it is mighty tough, and in looking back over the time I was solicitor for a commercial studio in a large city, I remember now that it was one of the toughest and most discouraging times of my life. It is the Most gruelling experience one can have, and again, when you know how and business comes good, it beats baseball, war and everything else for excitement and exhilaration. I have never felt so good in my life as I have after closing a good-sized order, and I have never felt so bad as to be walked out of an office in front of all the clerks, practically "kicked out," because I did not yet know my business and could not interest the man.