BUSINESS MEN BACK UP PRINCE’S CALL TO INDUSTRY

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6886, 16 April 1929, Page 9

BUSINESS MEN BACK UP PRINCE’S CALL TO INDUSTRY

PERSONAL CONTACT. Tho stirring and brilliant speech of the Prince of Wales at the Mansion House in which ho urged the need of up-to-date salesmanship, was the sole topic of conversation in business and industrial circles. Appended are some of the opinions expressed to the "Evening Standard" by the leaders of industry:— Lord Aberconway, chairman of many coal and iron companies:— “The Prince’s speech was full of good sense and showed a real appreciation of business conditions and the importance of enterprise in tho widest sense." Lord Ebbisham, president of the Federation of British industries: — "'We must back the Prince up in everything he said, "I have listened with especial interest to that portion which dealt with the importance of personal contact between sellers and buyers. We must advocate the necessity of personal visits of representatives of firms to their clients overseas, so that the purchaser and seller may come face to face." Lord Hayter (formerly Sir George Hayter Chubb) head of the famous lock and safe firm:— "There is an enormous amount of truth in what the Prince said about the necessity for better salesmanship. "The average young Englishman of to-day is very careless about foreign languages and does not trouble to learn them. He expects every foreigner to speak English. That does not pay where industry is concprned." Sir Woodman Burbklge (chairman and managing director of Harrods): "I think it is a groat pity that we have not kept up tho old apprenticeship system. That gave knowledge to the young people and trained them in the goods they had to sell." General the Hon. Sir Herbert Lawrence, the banker and industrialist: "In the iron and steel industry wo arc now well represented abroad. As a result there has been an improvement in orders from foreign markets, and these, I am convinced, null steadily increase."

Sir Herbert Austin, chairman of Austin Motors (who has just returned from a tour abroad) said:— “It is often not so much the companies’ representatives who are at fault as the country’s representatives abroad—the people at the consulates. Often they themselves patronise foreign products in preference to British ones. They ride in foreign cars.” Mr H. B. Wallis, secretary of the Committeo of Salesmanship referred to by the Prince of Wales:— “We are getting in touch with a very large number of individual firms and with trade bodies of all kinds. By the spring we hope to have, a very large amount of information not only from this country but also from overseas.” Sir Gilbert Vyle, president of the British Engineers’ Association:— “I would like to assure the Prince that in the past years wo can trace a great improvement on the lines he suggests.” Mr Davidson Pratt, general manager of the? Association of British Chemical Manufacturers:— “I feel that enough is not done in studying the language, psychology, and requirements of the foreign customer.” Mr Walter Lines, president of the Toy Manufacturers’ Association:— “Wo havo the goods and if we used half the push' and salesmanship of the Americans our goods would sell far better than the American product.”