This is a new release of the original 1928 edition.

1928. In this treatise, an attempt is made to present the elements of salesmanship and show how they may be profitably applied to retail selling. The chief reason for the presentation of this book before the public was the many requests that came from salespeople in the department stores where the author lectured, asking for the incorporation of the lecture material in a permanent form. Contents: modern developments; knowing the goods; knowing the customer; elements of personality; selling process; appealing to the imagination; selling by suggestion; store system and method.

1928. In this treatise, an attempt is made to present the elements of salesmanship and show how they may be profitably applied to retail selling. The chief reason for the presentation of this book before the public was the many requests that came from salespeople in the department stores where the author lectured, asking for the incorporation of the lecture material in a permanent form. Contents: modern developments; knowing the goods; knowing the customer; elements of personality; selling process; appealing to the imagination; selling by suggestion; store system and method.

ELEMENTS OF RETAIL SALESMANSHIP BY PAUL WESLEY IVEY, PH. D. Merchandising Investigator, Lecturer, and Counselor. Lecturer on Salesmanship, Northwestern University., 1920. INTRODUCTION In the following treatise an attempt is made to present the elements of salesmanship and show how they may be profitably applied to retail selling. Until recently, retail stores have not seen the wisdom or the necessity of systematically and scientifically training their sales people in selling goods. With the widening scope of mail order business and the increasing competition be tween towns due to better transportation facilities, methods of selling goods are receiving attention that a few years ago would have seemed misplaced. Selling service has now become as important as selling goods. The significance of this new development and its application to retail stores forms the ground plan for the material herein presented. The chief reason for the presentation of this book be fore the public at this time is the many requests that have come from salespeople in the department stores where the author has lectured asking for the incorporation of the lecture material in a permanent form. It is with the hope of gratifying the wishes of these students of salesmanship as well as that of satisfying a distinct need now felt by progressive retailers for a practical text for store classes in salesmanship, that this treatise appears in its present form. If it serves to make the salesperson see the educational possibilities in her work and the re-1 The feminine gender is used throughout this book because ninety-fire per cent of the customers and salespeople in department stores are women. of better service to communitywelfare, it will have accomplished the purpose for which it was intended. No originality is claimed for the principles of salesmanship herein introduced. However, some of these have been applied in a new way and related to retail selling where heretofore they have for the most part been presented in relation to other phases of selling goods. This intimate relating of general principles of salesman ship to retail selling by means of illustrations and special retail problems makes the book of special value to the retail salesperson, although the student of salesmanship in high schools and colleges will find much that will be of interest. For the source materials the author is indebted to many merchants, salespeople and teachers with whom he has conducted the teaching of salesmanship. Also, the many books on salesmanship, especially the more recent ones, have contributed numerous important ideas, individual acknowledgment of which would be impossible. Most important of all sources, however, is the selling experience that the author is fortunate enough to have had. It is believed that this combination of practical experience with theoretical knowledge is sufficient qualification for presenting the most important elements of retail salesmanship. PAUL W. IVEY. Chicago, Illinois. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAG 7 INTRODUCTION vii I MODERN DEVELOPMENTS i II KNOWING THE GOODS 25 III KNOWING THE GOODS Continued 43 IV KNOWING THE CUSTOMER 64 V KNOWING THE CUSTOMER Continued QC VI ELEMENTS OF PERSONALITY 116 VII ELEMENTS OF PERSONALITY Continued . . . 140 VIII THE SELLING PROCESS ...

In this treatise, an attempt is made to present the elements of salesmanship and show how they may be profitably applied to retail selling. The chief reason for the presentation of this book before the public was the many requests that came from salespeople in the department stores where the author lectured, asking for the incorporation of the lecture material in a permanent form. Contents: modern developments; knowing the goods; knowing the customer; elements of personality; selling process; appealing to the imagination; selling by suggestion; store system and method.