Selling WiII Be Returning

By Jcrck Dionne

One of these dcrys nol so lorr ofr, one will return to our midst who hqs been missing lor quite some time, qnd when he comes it will probcbly be to set up a petmqnent residence qmong us. I specrk oI SELLING.

For the pcst severcl yecrs there hqs been so selling, All lumber ccrd building lolks hqve devoted themselves, through no choice oI their own, to the science (il you mcry ccrll it that) oI buying. Or should we scy, procuring? All goods crnd products thct hcd cny vqlue oI crny sort sold thernselves. A buyer's mqrket oI mcrgnificent dirnensions qnd unheqrd-ol intensity prevcriled in crll worthy industries.

So business got entirely out oI prcrctice ct selling things. Ii likewise lost prcctice in the gentle qrl oI credit tixing. Time w<rs when scrles were preceded by c thoughtful lbok crt the credit rcting oI the buyer. Thct dcry pcrssed, clso, cmd is siill missing. Collection losses beccrme c thing unheqrd oI. All q m(m hcrd to do to stcry in business wcs get somelhing to sell. Not necessqrily the ihings it hcd been cccustomed to selling, either. Almost cnything would do.

' Old hcbits were forgotten. No longer did the scrles mqnqger ccll his lorce in to debcte crnd prepcre wily wcrys cnrd mecns lor inducing bashlul custqmers to buy their goods. No longer did scrlesmen prcrctice silver tongued selling or the iudicious cppliccrtion ol such smcll bribery <rs "licker" or steck dinners, to get some guy's ncrme on the dotted order line. No longer wcrs it even considered necesscrry to prcctice ordincrry civility when meeting old or new customers. Business simply becqme cr mctter oI doling oui sccrrce goods to clcrmorous buyers when there wcs crny to dole out, crnd hiding out the rest oI ihe time to keep lrom being hqrqssed.

It is still lhct wcy in most lines, crs cr mqtter oI lcrct. But with every dcry ihct pcrsses-bcrring the dcmncble strikes thcrt blccken the luture oI this country crnd oI all business cnd indtrstry-the time is coming necrrer when things will be in generous supply cg<rin crt prices people ccsr afford to pcry, qnd when the gentle crt oI selling will return to tcrke the lront seqt thcrt it used to occupy in the domcrin oI business. It is so much ol q ceriqinty thcrt it seems only lcrir to suggest lo one cnd all thcrt it might be cr good time right now to get out the old text book on selling qnd merchcndising, mcrking lriends crnd inlluencing scrles, etc., cnrd get brushed up on thct end oI ihe gqme.

Time wcs when the sales end ol every business wcrs the most importcrnt end. We used to scry-crnd truthlully -thcrt millions could be lound to mqnulcrcture satislcrctory goods, iI thouscrnds could iust be loccted who could creqte cr mcrrket lor them. Those dcrys crre coming bcrclc crnd it won't be long crnd when those dcrys come, they will come in c hurry. When the buyer's mqrket loses its dyncmite, cnd seller's end ol business will suddenly get cr touch of the V-Bomb energy. Don't you doubt it. So it wouldn't be cr bcrd idec lor crll oI us who sell things in order to ecrt, to lecrrn to scry "plecse" and "thcrnks" in sweet cnd dulcet tones, such crs would cppecrl to cr prospeciive buyer who can't mcrke up his mind.

Yes sir, the time is at hcrnd when salesmen will need: the curiosity oI q ccrt,' the. tenccity oI c bulldog; the de' termincrtion oI cr tcpci driver; the diplomcrcy oI c wcrywcrrd husband,'the pctience ol a wile,'the enthusicrsm oI c llcrp' per; the lriendliness oI c child; ihe good humor of cn idiot,'the simplicity of c jcrckcss,' the qssurance oI q college boy; the energy crnd sticktoitiveness oI cr successlul bill collector.

How crre you fixed clong those lines?

New Grades Adopted For Redwood Lumber

San Francisco, December Z-Revised Specifications for Grades of California redwood lumber have been adopted, it is announced by the California Redwood Association.

These new grades were adopted after many months of intensive study by the Association's grading committee in consultation with mill managers and sales managers of the producing companies. The objective was to develop from the redwood logs lumber which will best serve the needs and desires of redwood users, while keeping within the possibilities of practical and economical sawmill operation'

Specifically, the primary accomplishment of the new grades is to make available to users the maximum volume of redwood lumber in all heart grades. Sapwood is confined to the smallest practical volume of lumber, segregrated into grades useful for purposes not requiring the degree of resistance to decay and insect attack that is provided by the heartwood. The accomplishment of this end entails changes in mill and sales practices, as well as in grading.

The previous practice of having grades containing sapwood in limited amounts has been dis,continued. Now grades are either heartwood grades or sapwood may be present in any amount. Names assigned to the grades are intended to indicate more accurately the quality and usefulness of each grade.

The revised yard grades include three heartwood grades. Clear All Heart redwood, the highest quality finish grade, is retained. Select Heart and Construction Heart are for contact-with-the-soil and other uses with high decay hazard, where redwood's durability has long served well.

The yard grades containing sapwood are A Grade, a high quality finish lumber; Utility, made in one-inch thickness only, for such uses as barn boards and garage siding; Sap Common, for general construction uses where decay resistance is not of primary importance, and No. 3 Common.

Special purpose grades have been retained, usually without change. These include Foundation Grade, regularly stocked by lumber dealers in many localities and Irrigation lleart, specified for irrigation structures by many large land owners. Structural grades have been revised, although the highest one, Dense Stru,ctural, remains unchanged. Among the other special purpose grades having wide usage are Shop, Tank Stock, Expansion Joint redwood and Ties. Rules are included for lath, shingles, and shakes.

Revised grading rule books will be available about the first of the year from the California Redwood Association, 405 Montgomery Street, San Francisco 4, California.

Vcrn Nuys Ycrd Doubles Size

Rulan V. Harman, manager of the Northwest Lumber Co., Van Nuys, states that they have doubled their yard space, the additional space being 210 by 80 feet. This has been graded and a wire fence put around it. They have bought a l0-wheel Chevrolet truck and two lift trucks.

He also says that it is the company's intention to put in a.stock of doors, plywood, and hardware when these materials are available.