wants it is far better to take it for granted that he is looking for the best we have, than to ask what price he wants to pay. It tickles a person's vanity to have the salesman offer the best, whether they want it or not. The average person, perhaps, doesn't feel able to buy the best or most costly, but he is delighted nevertheless to think you thought he could.

SHOW THE LARGE SIZE!

Many a dollar sale is lost by asking whether a twenty-five, fifty or dollar article is wanted, instead of taking for granted that the dollar size is the one that the customer came after.

To thoroughly know everything about each item of merchandise handled, and have the ability to impart this knowledge to the customer in an intelligent and interesting way, is absolutely essential. When buying anything I like to be told the relative merits of articles shown me without the necessity of conducting a cross-examination. So, when selling goods, I try to treat a customer just as I wish to be treated when buying.

Letting the customer judge for himself just by seeing the goods and knowing the prices is not sufficient. Something interesting in favor of an article you want to sell can be said about everything you have in the store, from sarsaparilla down to pen points; and nothing should be considered so insignificant that a good line of selling talk is not worth while.

Tact and knowledge of human nature are important factors in the making of salesmen. The successful salesman is so quick to judge a person that as soon as he meets a customer he knows just what to do and say to make the best impression.

ADDRESS CUSTOMERS BY NAME.

Knowing customers so that you can address them by name makes them feel that you value their patronage enough to take the trouble to remember them. We often hear people remark that it is queer they are not known personally in stores where they trade frequently; and as often hear them say how pleased they are to be known in a store where they hardly expect it.

Enthusiasm is another essential in successful salesmanship. Lots of confidence in the goods we have to sell and plenty of enthusiasm in the selling talk cannot possibly fail to attain the end sought.

Much has been said and written about selling

additional items associated in some way with one or more articles already sold. In this connection I have found that merely suggesting something else does not bring results as often as actually showing the article at the same time.

For instance, if a man buys a shaving stick, and a shaving lotion is suggested, he immediately thinks of his bottle of bay rum or witchhazel at home as being not nearly used up, and decides that he does not need it; but if an attractive bottle of lotion is shown, and its merits briefly explained to him, in many cases a sale is made.

Courtesy, tact, enthusiasm, and a determination to improve on the other fellow's sales methods are all the qualifications necessary for a salesman—and all this can be acquired by any one.

A FEW SUGGESTIONS.

BY ANNA B. SCHLUMBERGER, DENNISON, IOWA. During my apprenticeship days my cardinal rule was: "Never allow a customer to walk out of the store without selling him something."

That was a good rule, but I outgrew it. To-day my motto reads: "Always sell a customer something more than he intended to buy when he entered the store."

The latter is a much better code of ethics, because it not only embraces the first, but broadens it, and opens up a field of vast possibilities. Enthusiasm, alertness, courtesy, dignity, and tact-it brings all these into play. I often call my customers' attention to the latest articles in sundries, etc., and I find that they appreciate this, just as much as they appreciate being shown the latest arrivals in dress goods or haberdashery in stores where such things are kept.

When a customer asks for a small package of cotton, I try to sell a ten-cent package, not a five-cent one. With every tooth-brush sale I suggest tooth-paste; with every hair-tonic sale, a hair-brush or comb; and so on and vice versa. When you sell a hot-water bottle, direct the customer's notice to those knit covers which are so sanitary and really necessary in the sickroom. Call the housewife's attention to your superior household ammonia, or to some of that fine triple extract of vanilla.

In an agricultural community it pays to call the farmer's attention to formaldehyde, condi

tion powders, spraying mixtures, dip, etc. One must be well posted, however, and able to talk intelligently on these subjects. It will not do to put on that wise, know-it-all air, for the modern farmer is very apt to be informed along these lines.

He gives you credit for knowing about drugs and chemicals; extend that same courtesy to him in regard to secd-corn, stock, etc.

Push first-aid goods. Do not let your patrons go to the department store to buy cheesecloth, for instance, for the sick-room when you

have five-yard packages of plain sterile gauze on your shelves. Consider the resources of the modern pharmacy, and then think what a vast field lies before one!

Of course there is a limit to everything. Good judgment must always be exercised. One must not overload the customer, so that the next time he needs something in the drug line he will feel that he cannot afford to come back. True salesmanship recognizes that a satisfied. customer is the best foundation upon which to build future sales, and acts accordingly.

By goggles is meant any glass or spectacle used to protect the eyes.

It is a good plan to have a small mirror on the counter where your goggle stock is displayed so that your customer may see himself as others see him. A skilful salesman will not attempt to sell a pair of goggles with large lenses to a customer of small physique. He should strive to suit the style to the face, for certain styles are better adapted than others to particular types of faces. It is not an intentional pun to say that a sense of fitness should be observed.

Aim to add service to your sales and hence develop the appreciation of quality on the part of your customers—and then they will come back.

Little attentions, such as care to the proper fit and adjustment, are appreciated and take but little time. It is a very small matter to dip shell ear bows in hot water and bend them until the goggle is held snugly and comfortably against the face. A little twist to a cable temple will often make the necessary difference in adjustment.

There are special types for various kinds of work. It is hardly possible to suit any one design to all requirements. Perfect adaptation should be the aim, and frequently the loss of an eye or total blindness is the result of the use of an improper goggle.

*Extracts from a paper read before the Pennsylvania Pharmaceutical Association.

As in the case of regular glare glasses, the lenses are of vital importance. For use as a protection from glare due to artificial light, before furnaces, over welding arcs, etc., cool shades are necessary. Colors excluding red and violet rays are sought and there are several excellent standard shades obtainable. A dark green smoke, known as an industrial smoke, reducing the glare and cutting out the heat rays, at the same time enabling the wearer to see distinctly, is much in demand among the largest industrial plants.

A bifocal goggle, or one with two color. lenses, one-half clear and the other half colored, one or two shades of the same color, is used to some extent. These are of value for welding and furnace work, but their use is largely a matter of preference.

Goggles held in place by head bands, while popular, seem to be less generally used than those with flexible cable temples.

A DIFFICULTY. One of the main difficulties encountered in catering to the industrial trade is the lack of general standardization of styles and colors. Practically every plant has its safety engineer, each of whom has his own pet ideas and theories, and many valuable ones, which must be thrashed out before you can convince him that there is a style ready-made to meet the difficulties he is trying to overcome in a different manner. Do not infer from this that we depreciate the value of the safety engineer. He is quite as essential as the production engineer or the efficiency man.

The lenses of safety glasses used as a protection from heavy chips and large particles, vary in thickness from 2.6 mm. to about. 3.8 mm. They should be clear white, free from imperfections, and especially treated to resist sharp blows and to prevent shattering, as far as possible.

There is much talk about special glass that will stand theoretical tests, which, in a way, are useful; but any glass will break when hit with sufficient force. The important feature is, what becomes of the pieces after they are broken?

The most effective goggles of this type are so constructed as to hold the broken glass firmly in the frame. A narrow strip of metal, extending over the surface of the lens nearest the eye, makes it difficult to force pieces back and tends to throw the splinters forward, away from the eye.

THE QUESTION OF PROFIT.

To the dealer, the most interesting phase of any subject is, of course, the profit. That depends entirely upon the line you handle and how you handle it. If you have the right goods, each pair of goggles should be sold at an approximate advance of 100 per cent over the dealer's cost. Of course while the Stevens-Ashurst bill is being thrashed out the manufacturer can only suggest to the dealer what his selling price should be.

In selling goggles, as in selling any line of merchandise, you will not move your stock unless you make some effort to do so. Goods hidden away, or placed in some inaccessible corner, will collect dust and lose interest on your investment. One of the most successful drug stores in Reading, Pennsylvania, has devoted an entire window to the display of

goggles upon several occasions with excellent results, and it maintains a permanent display in a large show-case near the soda fountain.

In dressing a counter or window, goggles should always be displayed with their containers. The case belongs to the goggle just as much as the metal box does to the shaving stick.

It is a good plan to mark your prices plainly, although we know that some dealers still regard this practice with disfavor. We are pleased to note, however, that this prejudice is rapidly disappearing.

SEASONABLE AT ALL TIMES.

The high winds blow dust about and dry up the secretions of the eye. The cold winter winds are far less uncomfortable and snow glare much less disagreeable, if the eyes are protected. Of course there are certain times of the year when the sales of goggles are greater than at others, but it is not true that they can be sold only at certain seasons of the year.

Circulars can be prepared and orders solicited from the members of local country clubs, gun clubs, automobile clubs, etc. Just now, the National Guard are buying goggles freely.

It has been found by careful study that goggles are not being distributed adequately by garages, automobile dealers and the like, hence the advantage to the druggist of developing this line while the demand is still liquid. We believe that the retail druggist is one of the logical distributers of goggles. He is becoming more and more the outlet for lines that other merchants do not have the ability, the foresight, or the means to handle. The motorist in doubt always asks to be directed to the best drug store.

The dealer's stock can meet every practical need if he limits it to not more than twelve styles. There is no reason why $15.00 or $25.00 thoughtfully spent should not enable the dealer to install a goggle department that, if properly run, should yield approximately 100 per cent on an investment, frequently turned

over.

The most satisfactory range of retail prices is from 25 cents to $1.50 a pair. Styles sold at less than 25 cents are generally worth about what they cost, while at a higher retail price than $1.50 the consumer does not always get good value.

The chain stores can buy goods somewhat cheaper than can the independent merchant, but after adding their cost of doing business they cannot sell them any cheaper, with the exception of some novelties.

If they do buy an article for five cents that costs you seven cents, they have no odd scale of prices as a rule, and will sell that article for 10 cents the same as you.

The ultimate consumer buys it just as cheap from you as from the chain, so where has its cheaper buying injured you?

In fact the chain competition is a good tonic for a merchant, as it causes him to wake up and learn the modern methods of retailing and the advantage of handling goods for which the advertiser has created a demand.

It makes his store a better place to trade and boosts the town in general. It forces him to get acquainted with his stock and his customers' wants, leads him to read the trade papers and books. He learns to know merchandise and marketing methods and becomes wide-awake, a better business man and a better citizen.

Buying right is not all, though, as after the goods are bought they must be moved, and this the chain store is an adept at, as we all are aware. Their method, however, lies before every merchant, and that is-proper display. Walk into a chain store and then walk into the store of the merchant in the same city who says it is getting his trade. What do you find. as the answer? Almost without fail, display.

NOT MUSSED OR JUNKY.

In the chain stores you find the counters filled but not junky, you see price cards on every tray, you find no trays half empty or filled with shop-worn, mussed or soiled goods.

You find all articles of a kind in trays or sections by themselves, and all goods of a general nature together on a counter, such as needles, safety-pins, thimbles, thread and the like. In the jewelry department you find all

*This paper is extracted from an article which appeared in Printers' Ink under the title "The Chain Store a Tonic with the Advertiser's Help."

By ROLLA A. DAKE,
Mayville, Wisconsin

cards scrupulously clean and not a tarnished article displayed. Among the toilet goods every bottle or jar that is supposed to have a label has one attached.

At the hardware counter you find no rusty goods. In the crockery department there is no chipped or cracked china. No soiled or short lengths of ribbons, lace, or embroidery. Everything is neat and attractive; and it pays, as the syndicate's receipts show.

You often hear people say that every time they go to a chain store they always buy articles that they had no intention of buying, but that they looked so attractive they could not resist. This is one of the secrets of success-display.

The saying that "cleanliness is next to godliness" is nowhere more exemplified than in the chain store. The clerks are always neat and affable. The girls behind the candy counter are healthy looking and of good appearance. The store's one idea is to make a good impression upon the customer.

THE OTHER WAY.

Now step into the store of the wailing independent merchant and check up these points. The counters are not filled or arranged neatly; the goods are piled up in all positions, articles are hanging from the ceiling every square foot and obstructing a clear view of the store. You find shop-worn goods, and dust in abundance. and slow-selling articles of inferior grade that show the stain of time.

You ask this merchant why he does not rearrange his displays and handle advertised and quality goods; he says "What's the use of fancy display? If they want the goods they will buy them anyway, and as to advertised goods, if I buy them I pay for the advertising."

He is not a modern merchant; he is a fossil. He has no price tickets on half his goods, as he says customers can ask the price if interested, and besides, they get into wrong trays and mix everything up.

Right here I want to say that if there is any one thing that helps more than any other to move goods it is price tickets. Price tickets

sell goods and sell them faster than any clerk. Goods placed in the windows or on the shelves and counters without price tickets will not move half as fast as with them. This I know. The price on an article tells the shopper the amount asked, and she can thus do the major part of her shopping without help from the clerk, and tickets placed on articles that are good merchandise will sell those articles twice as fast and in much greater quantities than otherwise, as the price if right is always a great selling point.

BROTHERS OF THE OLD SCHOOL.

Price tickets often make sales that would not otherwise be made. These two factors of price tickets and display are important factors in fighting the chain store with its own methods.

In an independent store the shelving is also often found reaching nearly to the ceiling, and filled with goods beyond the range of vision. If there is dead stock in that store, and it is not under the counters, then the place to look for it is on the top shelves, and there it will be found.

I read once of a department store that was sold after having been conducted by two brothers of the old school for many years, and when inventory was taken bolts of cloth were found back on the top shelves that fell to pieces while being measured, they were so old and

rotten.

If there is anything that keeps down the turnover it is poor buying and high shelves. Regardless of the line, goods displayed beyond the range of vision are slow sellers.

Every line of goods is taking up so much room, and overhead should be charged against each line, and those not paying will soon be found and can be cleaned out. The four factors that I sincerely believe are the fundamentals of success in any line are right buying, proper display, real advertising, and an accounting system that accounts.

MODERN METHODS.

Many stores are all right on the first two, but fall down on the last two. I will take up the accounting first and leave advertising to the last, though I by no means consider advertising the least. Indeed I fully believe that no store with the right kind of advertising and sales promotion behind it has yet dipped its colors to the chain.

To get back to accounts: I wonder how

many of the average merchants who have gone down in the battle ever kept an accurate stock record and merchandise checking list. In other words, a record of the amount and kind of goods on hand at the day's close, and a list of all staples that are necessary to have on hand. This method is used by all chains and most successful independents, so that staples are never out of stock and the customer forced to look elsewhere. The surest way of losing trade is to have to say, "We are just out, will have it in later." The customer is forced to go elsewhere to get the article, and often finds the other store a better place to trade.

Ask the average merchant what rent and overhead his window costs him. Does he know whether the goods are displayed with adequate fixtures in such a way that the advertising value of that window is equal to the overhead taxed against it? Does he know whether each clerk is paying him or not? They can make or lose trade-which are they doing?

Any merchant can buy just as good candy as the syndicates and sell it just as cheap. Ask him if his candy department is paying, and if not, why? Is it shrinkage or overweight? What percentage of stock is understock, that is, goods under the counters and in the stockroom? Ask these things of a successful merchant or chain manager and he can tell you. Can the merchant who is hanging by the eyelids and crying "chain-store menace?"

ADVERTISING THAT FAILS.

The Waterloo of the average merchant is advertising. To him it is the same as flipping a coin-"heads he wins, tails he loses."

Spasmodically he throws his hat into the advertising arena and drops a few dollars in the well of poor copy and backs out again. He will buy a few inches of space from the local paper, scribble a few lines for the advertisement at dinner between the soup and nuts, and when this poor brainstorm of a puny advertisement pulls no returns he crawls into his shell with the answer that advertising does not pay.

Again he will be persuaded by some smooth talker to donate for his name and address on a laundry card or on the guest rules to place in the local hotel, and he calls that advertising. He would call it insanity upon your part if you told him to step up to the people on the street and yell, "I am John Jones the World's Greatest Clothier," yet that is what he does through