BUILDING AN ORGANIZATION-SELECTING MEN 1. Planning the selling campaign.—Before any steps can be taken toward the building of a selling or ganization, the plan of the selling campaign must be mapped out and the trade channels selected in accord ance with the principles laid down in the Modern Business Text on "Marketing Methods." Not until this has been done, can the best type of salesman be determined. To call upon dealers in small towns, and to take orders for case lots, will require quite a differ ent type of salesman than is required to sell the same goods in carload lots to jobbers. The man fitted to place exclusive agencies for a specialty might be of little use in a campaign in which salesmen would have to go directly to the consumer with the same specialty. A man who is at home in the mining camps of the West would be out of place in a mining com pany's executive offices in the East, altho his mission in either case might be to secure a contract for blast ing-powder.
This distinction is twofold. That a man can sell carload lots to jobbers does not indicate that he would be successful in selling case lots to dealers. The suc cessful specialty salesman might be a failure at placing exclusive agencies. The chances are that the salesman who was liked in the mining company's executive ofr fices would not arouse a spark of interest on the part of the mine superintendent. The general principle to be observed is that the salesman should be fitted for his territory and should feel at home with the class of prospects upon whom he calls. He should be at least of the same caliber as his prospects, and should know something of their characteristics and habits, and should enjoy calling upon them.
2. Testing out selling methods.—In the case of a new proposition, the most important thing in develop ing the sales organization is to secure a few men who can test out the details of the selling plan previously determined upon, make such changes in it as may be necessary, suggest proper equipment, work out an ef fective selling talk and devise the details of personal selling methods; and who can, above all, set a pace and show what can be done in the way of sales.
In staple lines, too, field methods must be worked out if the new proposition is to compete successfully with older lines. For example, a bardware concern that sold a new and ingenious knife-sharpener, met with but little success by merely turning the propo sition over to their regular salesmen. Finally, one of the best men was put on the proposition to make a study of it and work out successful selling methods. He found that in the few cases where sales had been made the knife-sharpener had not moved from the dealers' counters. He worked out a method of tak ing the knives of the dealer and his clerks and sharp ening them with a few deft moves. When he had aroused their interest, he encouraged each of them to try the sharpener on his knife. He then secured a promise from the dealer and his clerks to make at least twenty-four demonstrations to each dozen of the sharpeners.
The salesman's second visit to the dealers a week later revealed the fact that the sharpeners moved rap idly under the new method and that the dealers, as a consequence, were ready to reorder. This method was passed on to the other salesmen of the concern, and enabled every one of them to make large sales of the sharpener. A great many sales opportunities are missed because special selling methods of this sort are not worked out.
3. Pacemaker and new men.—A salesman of the type described can be very helpful in studying the product, helping devise sales literature and preparing the material with which to train other men. His ex perimenting is so important that the sales manager who is developing methods for the selling of a new commodity can well afford to spend some time with him in the field. In that way only will the sales man ager be able to strengthen the weak points in his pros pective campaign. It is better and more conservative to give this salesman time to get into the producing class before trying to put on other men.