SALESMANSHIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 3882, 7 August 1928, Page 10

SALESMANSHIP.

MEN THE BETTER SELLERS

AUCKLAND, July 30. Some of the principles of good salesmanship, with observations on the special abilities of men and women in that field of work, were set out by Dr P. Fennelly, of London, in an address at the weekly luncheon of the Auckland Rotary Club. Experiments made in London had shown that in selling goods a man was more capable than a woman, but that in spending the money a woman w'.s superior to a man, 'said Dr Fennelly. This was one reason why 90 per cent, of the money spent in shops was disbursed by women. Another discovery was that men were better at selling women’s goods, except such articles as lingerie, than women themselves. The converse was true of men’s clothing. A woman knew better than man what clothes—shirts, ties, and socks—suited him best. Hence in some business houses, saleswomen had been replaced by men and vice versa. v However, as he had been away from England for 18 months he could not speak of the latest devolpments there. A conflict existed in the mind of everyone who went into a shop to buy. He wanted the article, but he also wanted to keep as much of the money as possible. The salesman’s object should be to make the customei* forget the internal conflict. Sales were made by suggestion not argument, and by a sympathetic relation between buyer and seller. Above all was the maxim: “If truth won’t sell it don’t sell it.” Any falsehood or deception must come out in the end.