The salesman should welcome an opportunity to cooperate witb his company, in the handling of slow paying customers and in adjusting complaints. While it is in most cases bad practice to have a sales man do any part of the routine collection work, it is highly desirable that he deal with special cases. It is frequently the case that an account is disputed, be cause the customer may rightfully feel that he is en titled to an allowance on account of certain defects in the goods, delay in shipping, improper packing, or something of that sort. Unless such matters as these are adjusted satisfactorily, a customer will be lost to the house. The same thing holds true of all com plaints. The salesman should realize that the best sales practice is to make the adjustment complete and satisfactory before trying to get further business from the disgruntled customer.
Probably one of the most difficult branches of the work in which to get the salesman's active cooperation is the advertising. A great many salesmen are prone to look askance at the virtues of advertising as applied to their particular products. This has been true in connection with almost every advertising campaign.
A great many firms have failed for no other reason than the absence of the cooperation of the salesman in turning inquiries into orders, in cashing in on the gen eral publicity. This cooperation on the part of the salesman is looked upon as an important link in the chain in every advertising campaign. The salesman should feel under obligation to follow the instructions of his house regarding the advertising, he should fol low advertising leads immediately and should report upon them promptly. IIe will be amply repaid for this cooperation in increased orders.
5. Relation to sales manager.—The salesman's work in the field is arduous. Most sales managers are careful, first, to refrain from requiring any in formation from their salesmen that can be secured from any other source, and secondly, to reduce the salesmen's clerical work to a minimum. There are, however, some reports which sales managers deem essential. Expense accounts must be fairly detailed, route slips must be made out, and formal information reports must sometimes accompany orders. If the salesman considers that any of this work does not properly belong to him, or that it is taking up too great a portion of his time, he should discuss the mat ter frankly with his sales manager. Many a good salesman has lost favor with those at the home office because he has been careless and neglected his reports.
A salesman should consider himself a business man and organize and dispatch his work in the same or derly manner in which the home office performs its duties.
At times the house may desire to test the selling possibilities of a new article or to carry on some simi lar experiment. It may desire to push for an espe cially large sale of a particular commodity, or to re duce to a minimum the sale of an unprofitable one. Loyal cooperation demands that the salesman throw himself into these experiments or special campaigns with his whole heart and that he give the sales man ager his best support in carrying them to a successful conclusion.
When a firm enters foreign markets, the salesman may be of material assistance in providing for the safe and prompt handling of shipments, in seeing goods thru the custom house, and in making advantageous arrangements for collections.
Most houses publish a house organ for the benefit of the men in their selling organizations. A great many house organs are notable chiefly for their dearth of salesmen's contributions. The salesman looks for ward eagerly to the arrival of his house organ, bring ing him news of what the other fellows are doing and how they are doing it. He receives from it a great deal of inspiration. He helps his house and his fel low salesmen when he contributes to it. The salesman should cooperate with the house-organ editor to make the paper a real clearing-house for information.
Closely connected with this obligation is his duty to contribute for the benefit of the whole organization, any new selling point that he may have worked out and put into effect. Altho to do this may, on first thought, appear to be against his own best interests, especially if there is a prize contest of any sort in progress, no salesman will question that the best in terests of the house and himself are, in the long run, identical.
Something was said in the last chapter about methods to be used in working a territory. The sales man is not cooperating with the house to the fullest extent unless he assumes the moral responsibility to get the best out of his territory at all times. It has been said that the salesman on the road keeps the plant going. He carmot do that unless he puts forth his best efforts for eight hours a day, six days a week. The house is entitled to the salesman's cooperation in keeping the office running at full capacity. He should make sure to send in all of the business to which the house is entitled from his territory.