More Selling Thoughts

The most thoroughly and completely discredited selling idea in the whole realm of merchandising is the one that says that a greatly superior product will create its own market.

Back in the days when the great writer and philosopher -and cynic-Thomas Carlyle, lived and wrote and studied in England, a certain pessimist went out on London Bridge one day with his hands filled with genuine gold sovereigns (about ten bucks each) and offered them for sale to the thousands who crossed the bridge for one shilling each. And he never got a customer.

That was a better test than you could make of such a matter today, because then most of the bridge-crossers were pedestrians, and the remainder were in very slowmoving vehicles, while today they would all flash by in motors, and the pessimist would have a very poor chance to show his wares.

So Thomas Carlyle, writing of the matter, remarked: "Thousands of people cross London Bridge every daymostly fools." What the cynical Carlyle was saying was that most men are fools, because those who crossed the bridge were a fair cross-section of the population.

What that pessimist who found no buyers for his gold was doing was tearing to shreds the oft-repeated (though of later origin) mousetrap theory. Few alleged truths are better known to readers generally than the one that says: "If a man preach a better sermon, write a better book, make a better mousetrap than his neighbors, the world will make a pathway to his door, though he live in a wilderness."

For a generation that remark was credited to Emerson. A few years ago someone instituted a search of all Emerson's writings, and failed to find it. Today the muchrepeated axiom is a maverick; no one knows who owns it. Modern merchandising has likewise discredited its truthfulness.

Do you, Mister Salesman, believe for a minute that the world will beat a path to your door to buy something of yours, just because it is a better product than the other fellow has for sale, regardless of the comparative sales efforts? How would you like to stake your ability to make a living for the wife and kids on such sophistry as that?

Merchandising has amply demonstrated and conclusively proven that even though your mousetrap may be five times as efficient and valuable as the next best one on the market, the public will never come and ask for it unless you make them-and keep on making them. Since civilization began-but more particularly in the last two decades of intensified merchandising-men with inferior products but superior merchandising and selling methods, have fairly shot the feet from under makers of better products in the open markets of the world. Better products starve to death every day, while inferior ones prevail. Different merchandising. That's all.

Grey's "Elegy In a Country Churchyard" completely contradicts the better mousetrap philosophy. His "mute, inglorious Milton," who was buried unknown and unsung, was blood-brother to the maker of that better mousetrap.

And, by the way, Milton himself wrote that, "they also serve, who only stand and wait." They may serve. But they don't SELL !

Jack Pomeroy, Lumber Merchants Association of Northern California, left San Francis.co May l5 for a two-week business trip to Washington, D.C.

Nate Dodds, retired lumberman of May 14 for Hot Springs, Arkansas, to baths at the famous "Spr."

FAN MAIL

Los Angeles, left take the mineral

Jack certainly rang the bell with the Thomas Jefrerson editorial April I issue. I have never seen better writing.

Don Ross, Merchandise Manager SUCCESSFUL FARMING Des

Moines. Iowa.

Recently sp€nt some time on the West Coast and was thus introduced to your excellent magazine. Thought it was very well organized and instructive. Please enter my subscription.

Joe Sutton, Camden, Maine.

l{ow aYailable to dealers from our California plants

Lumber Two

'We now carry the following Baxco Pressure Theated Foundation Lumber in stock at Alameda and Long Beach for immed.iate sbiptnent to dealers:

Douglos Fir 545 AtS 2x4,2x6,2x8,2x10, 3x4,3x6,4x4ond4x6.

Special sizes will be purchased from local stocks and pressure treated withour delay.

'We offer prompt custom treating service at both our Alameda and Long Beach plants. Your lumber can be delivered to us by truck or treated in transit in carload quantities. Consult us for additional information.

Douglos

Inmon-Poulsen

Coost

Honley

High

Baxco Pressure Tteated Foundation Lumber is impreg. nated with preservative salts in accordance with Fed. Spec. TT-tV-571c. k is approved by FHA, Uniform Building Code - P.C.B.O.C., State Architect for rnudsills in School Construction, and U. S. Government Specifications.