GUI5TOMER PREPARATICDN

A customer rushed into a barber shop one day and demanded a quick shave so that he could catch a train in a hurry. Did the barber grab his razor and immediately start shaving this fellow who was in such a rush?

He did not. He lathered the fellow's face thoroughly, and then proceeded to rub that lather into the chin with what looked like great deliberation, until the customer, watching the clock, began to get nervous. But the barber knew his business. When he got the face well lathered, he grabbed his razor and had those whiskers off in a jiffy. He knew customer preparation.

And it is just as important in the retail lumber business as it is with a barber. The retailer who overlooks the theory of working on his trade constantly is overlooking a vital

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bet, because preliminary preparation is the chief secret of sales success.

Preliminary preparation in the building game means to keep your trade constantly advised as to who you are, where you are, what you have to offer, and what you mean to them in a service way; to keep them sold on yourself in your character as a building merchant so that when the time comes for them to build anything in your line, it will not be necessary for you to go through all the motions of convincing them concerning yourself and your ability to help them. Have them convinced in advance.

That's customer preparation. Remember, the best lathered face is the easiest shaved.