In a few exceptional cases the concern guarantees the salesman a drawing account. That is, they agree to pay him a certain amount of money periodically for a stipulated time, and this amount is to be deducted from his commissions; but he will be under no obliga tion to pay back any money if his commissions fall short of the amount of the guaranteed drawing ac count. In general, the practice of allowing drawing accounts is being much curtailed.
9. Promotion of salesmen.—Every salesman, espe cially if he be a good salesman, is ambitious. While his first goal is to increase his sales and his income as a salesman, he will usually have a latent ambition one day to assume more responsibility on the selling end of the business. It is not to be expected that the salesman will identify the interests of the house with his own unless provision is made for satisfying his am bition. With the sales manager of broad vision, this ambition of the salesman will be reciprocated. The sales manager will be just as anxious for the salesman to develop as the latter is himself. The sales man ager should see to it that in all reasonable ways his am bition for the salesman parallels the salesman's ambi tion for himself.
The salesman may be tied to the house by being al lowed to acquire an interest in the company. IIe may be encouraged to acquire and develop qualifications that will make him first a successful working manager of a territory and later manager of a district office. This should not be difficult. Ordinarily, a growing business—and every business under the right manage ment will be a growing business—can absorb men as fast as they are developed. New departments should be headed by men taken from and developed in the business. There will be no definite limit to the prog ress of a business directed by men developed in this way and by executives capable of developing such men. It is this vision always before him of the oppor tunity to secure a position just as big as his ability entitles him to that will grapple the ambitious and able salesman to the house with hooks of steel.
10. Considerations as to territory.—Territory is a distinct asset to the house. The sales manager should have a clear idea of the value of this asset and the re turns to be expected from it. A territory that is too small will discourage the salesman. and prevent his pro ducing a large volume of sales. A territory that is too large will be skimmed, and the house will not get all the business to which it is entitled. In the early
stages of a proposition, the territory, in comparison with the number of salesmen, is generally large, and consequently the house can be liberal with territory. Eventually there comes a time, however, -when terri tory must be worked intensively if the house is to con tinue to grow. If, when the house has covered as large an area in search of business as the nature of its products will permit, territories are twice as large as they should be, the house will be doing but half the business that would be possible if territories were di vided in two and the force of salesmen doubled.
H. Blocking out territor y.—Figures showing con ditions in any locality may be obtained from the fol lowing sources: the United States census and other government reports, and trade journals ; records of the firm's personal investigations made by the sales manager, his assistants or field representatives ; and the publications of listing and directory concerns whose business it is to compile this sort of information.
The sales manager will know what kind of people or firms are possible prospects. From one of the sburces enumerated, the number of prospects in the entire area to be covered should be ascertained by sub divisions. For example, if the whole United States is to be covered the nmnber of prospects in each county may be the basis of apportioning territories. In the case of a jobbing house which serves a more limited area, the number of prospects in each town may be tabulated. Next, the number of prospects that a salesman can call upon daily should be determined. Then it should be decided how often a territory must be thoroly worked. The wholesale grocery house will have its salesman call upon its customers every two weeks. The dry-goods salesman will probably call about four times during the year. In the case of some specialties where a man is sold but once, it may be well to allow a considerable time to elapse before a particular town or county is gone over again. With the information indicated in band, it will be possible in most lines, by multiplying the number of prospects that can be seen in a day by the number of days that should elapse between workings of a territory, to esti mate the number of prospects that should be con tained in the ideal territory.