Now, for a few points as to successful soliciting. If you get in to a man, I do not care who he is or how busy, and you have something that will help him, he is going to "stop, look and listen." He has no lime these days to fool with so the first thing is to have something that will interest him, and which, if he buys, will help him. To take a concrete example. We will say a man is a manufacturing confectioner. He has from twelve to fifteen and more salesmen on the road selling a very perishable commodity, which neces sitates a corps of people to keep up the samples and which means the breaking of boxes of goods at a great expense, especially when the particular goods happens to be jobbed for some other manufacturer. Even with the greatest of care, the salesman will often find, long before completing his trip, that his samples are in poor shape, or, in case of chocolates, he cannot carry them in hot weather. Also, his complete line of boxes cannot be shown as it would be impossible to carry them. You know all this before you go to see a man, and, in going in to see him, you have something to interest him if you have a port folio of colored photographs of candy. It interests him—why ? First, because it is his own line, and, second, you have something that will help him—help him how ? By saving him from three to four hundred dollars a month, if he has twelve to fifteen salesmen, in samples alone. Not only that, the salesman can show the complete line to the customer at all times, and the salesman has no heavy sample cases to hinder him in catching a train. Furthermore, almost anyone likes to look at colored photographs of goods he knows, whether he expects to buy or not.
The foregoing is good salesmanship. Nine times out of ten you will land him if you proceed along that course—have something that will interest and help him and save him money. This example is equally applicable to any con
cern which has salesmen on the road, whether the commodity be trucks, plows, cash registers, dresses ; in fact, any firm that employs salesmen is a prospect for photographs if handled properly.
As for the kind of solicitor to have. I have seen youngsters just out of high school make good, while I have seen old-time photographers fall flat. It resolves itself down to the same thing hereinbefore mentioned—what applies to other lines of business will apply to commercial photography. Good, clean appearing, interested men, who might make good selling other lines, will undoubtedly help your business if backed by service.
A while back I mentioned. that it would be well to join clubs, etc. When you come in contact with those people--talk photographs. You will have an opportunity from time to time without appearing to talk shop. Know the interesting things going on in photography and you will have interested listeners. Moving pictures form an excellent opening, and, during the recent war, there were many exceedingly interesting developments photographically, and ability to talk on these developments intelligently could not help but attract listeners, which brings it up to building business. If one had a knowledge of color separation and correction, such as was used by the aeroplane photog raphers in the war, and could explain those things clearly and simply, it is building business, for it is attracting others to your knowledge of your own line. In other words, bc alive, progressive and keep up with the times, not only in photography, but on general business. Read up-to-date.magazines. Do not let the other fellow have anything on you. Keep everlastingly at it—do what vou know you ought to do, and your efforts will surely bring success.