Radio broadcast .. (1922-30)

RADIO BROADCAST. with these facts as with the general observations Mr. Green has thus been enabled to make with regard to door-to-door selling on a city-wide scale. As indicated at the start, he has found that, above all, this phase of radio merchandising requires the closest sort of supervision. Most of those applying for a selling job of this kind are not of the highest type. Far from it. Many have made a failure in practically everything else they have tried. Consequently, it pays to make a special effort to pick the best possible people for the work in the first place. Secondly, the proposition offered to them must have merit. There must be a reasonably good opportunity for those qualified for the work to make a fair living at it. Next comes the training of the men and a close contacting of them by the store as a means of keeping a definite check on their activities. Among the Baltimore dealers with whom Mr. Green has worked, the training has been done by Parks & Hull but the checking up on the men has been largely up to the individual dealer. Even with these precautions, there has been a high rate of turnover among the house-to-house salesmen — although not nearly so high as it might be other- wise. It is only necessary to compare results of dealers in other localities who have embarked upon the plan in a hap- hazard fashion with those in Baltimore to realize the truth of this assertion. YCI DDirresY Personal Turnover "After all," says Mr. Green, "this turnover among salesmen is not as bad as it might be. That is, providing the dealer keeps in close touch with them. Each salesman of fair ability has a few good sales in him. These come almost as a matter of course. Perhaps they may be made to relatives or to friends but, as far as the dealer is concerned, they are sales which probably would not come to him otherwise. As long as the dealer sees that they are not forced sales and that the salesman has not attached a lot of 'strings' to them in order to get a commission prior to his departure for parts unknown, things are not so bad. "This is not a defensive statement for a high rate of personnel turnover. It stands to reason that the more success- ful salesmen the dealer can develop, the better it will be for him. I only men- tion it as a redeeming feature about one of the worst phases of outdoor selling." To the dealer, outdoor selling as recommended by Mr. Green means that he will have to carry a larger stock and be reconciled to a very necessary in- crease in office overhead. Two crews of, say, seven men each should keep a goodly number of sets out on demon- stration. Usually, it is necessary for the dealer to have from 25 to 50 or more sets on hand, depending, of course, on the extent of his proposed efforts in taking his store to the homes of prospects. These L. G. PACENT (Pacent): "The home talking picture field is on the threshold of a great development. Equipment for home use is per- fected and all that is needed is for leading producers to supply pictures and discs." X transactions naturally require quite a little additional book- keeping, model forms having been prepared for this purpose under Mr. Green's direction. (Four of these forms are illus- trated on the first page of this article.) The importance of knowing just where all sets are at all times and their exact status can hardly be over-emphasized. Yet it is a factor many dealers neglect. Contrary to the practice of some dealers, Mr. Green urges salesmen to make as many demonstrations as they can. How- ever, these are not made indiscriminately. The simple ex- pedient of paying salesmen commissions ranging from 10 to 15 per cent, of the sale largely takes care of this. Similarly, dealers keep a close check on the length of time sets are allowed to remain in homes, usually limiting this to two or three days. The fact that from 40 to 50 per cent, of demonstrations made under these conditions result in sales is, in itself, sufficient vindication of the method. Payments to salesmen run from -S25 a week to three and even four times that much in exceptional cases. A. A. SCHNDKIUDERHAHN (Schn- deriderhahn Co): "Women buy 65 per cent, of all radios." X FLOYD A. ALLEN (General Mo- tors): "Too many superlatives and too much braggadocio appear in altogether too many advertise- ments." X GEORGE E. HULL (Parks and Hull): "Know your product! There is no better way to sell it success- * X DR. LEE DEFOREST (DeForest): "I believe the radio industry has made tremendous strides during the past twelve months. The industry has little to worry about in the matter of market saturation." X CHARLES T. LAWSON (Day-Fan): " I feel that the kind of advertising program a dealer should put over is the kind that runs on a regular schedule throughout the year." X C. E. STEVENS (Stevens): "The electrodynamic loud speaker is here to stay. We have by no means ex- hausted its possibility." X ERNEST KAUER (CeCo): "If ... the average broadcast sponsor is more intent on selling soap, tobacco, oil, or shoes than he is in the interest of the radio public, then the solution is to make the radio industry econ- omically responsible for broadcast- ing's cost." Selling Assistance How much direct selling assistance can the dealer give to his representatives? "Usually not a great deal," says Mr. Green. "The store can supply a few leads but the one outstanding reason for employing door-to-door crews is to get to people who cannot be reached through the regular store sales channels. It is largely up to the salesman's in- genuity to which may be coupled his preliminary training, literally to search out prospects 'where they ain't.' This requires a lot of perseverance and foot- work. If a good salesman makes enough calls, however, he'll find some prospects. Then it is up to him to turn them into customers. Meanwhile, it is up to the dealer to see that he is making enough daily calls, in addition to keeping a check on all demonstrations." Crew Manager Receives Salary In most instances, it has proved ad- visable to have salesmen work in crews under a manager who receives a small salary plus a commission on all sales produced by his men. This assures a careful, intensive working of all avail- able territory. It likewise prevents a single salesman skimming off the cream, skipping haphazardly here and there. Table model sets are usually used in demonstrations for convenience in handling. After the prospect has been sold on the idea of owning a radio, the selection of a cabinet is a compara- tively simple matter. "House-to-house selling does not necessarily mean high-pressure selling," says Mr. Green. "There has been too much of that attempted in the past. (Concluded on page 122) 86 DECEMBER 1929