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William Filene's Sons Co., Gilchrist Co., C. F. Hovey Co., E. T. Slattery Co., R. H. White Co., and Shepard Norwell Co. Three different classes are formed during the year, each class attending the school for a term of 12 weeks. The session, as previously stated, is from 8.30 to 11.30 five mornings a week, which means that 15 hours a week, or 180 hours a term, are allowed the girls by their firms, for training. Pupils are selected from the selling force of the cooperating stores and always receive full payment of wages while they are taking the course. They are chosen by the store superintendents, whose selections must be approved by the director of the school. When the school was in the pioneer stage, the girls selected were sometimes those "who would not be missed," but now that not only superintendents, but buyers and floor managers as well, acknowledge that the course of training is advantageous to the business, many of the most promising saleswomen are sent. This is as it should be, for the more able girls are quick to apply to the store work the principles taught at school, and their influence in training their associates strengthens and dignifies the department. In other words, a better investment is made when a promising girl is selected than when one of mediocre ability is chosen.

At the beginning of the course, each pupil is asked to fill out an application blank which contains various questions designed to give an idea of her habits and tastes and to furnish needed statistics. (See Appendix, p. 75, for form.) In dealing with a class of this kind, individual work is essential. This need has been met during the last few years by means of the members of the teachers' training class, an account of which will be found in another chapter. Each member of the teachers' class is responsible for one or more saleswomen, toward whom she acts in the capacity of teacher and adviser, and the information given in the application blank helps the teacher to discover the individual needs of her pupils.

That this pioneer school has succeeded so well is due to many factors, chief among them being the cooperation of the stores. This has been gained largely by an endeavor to deal fairly with both employers and employees and by the compelling argument of the increased efficiency of trained sales people. Another factor has been the growth in esprit de corps within the stores themselves, a sentiment which has been fostered by the training of sales people to intelligent service rather than to arbitrary obedience to rules. Yet another is the earnest desire of progressive business men to promote in every way the health, happiness, intelligence, and consequent power of their employees.

Under these favorable conditions, the school of salesmanship is working out its purpose, a purpose which, determined early in the history of the school, permeates all its teaching. It is fourfold:

First, to make advancement in the profession of selling depend on efficiency and not on years of service. In some stores the veteran of the counter, no matter how unwilling and unintelligent, is advanced on the supposition that her years behind the counter, often despite the evidence of her record of sales, have made her worthy of promotion. This custom takes away any incentive to increased effort on the part of the ambitious young saleswoman.

Second, to increase the pupil's power and judgment—that is, to awaken her intellect, to equip her with ideals of service, to help her acquire the qualities she needs, and to teach her to use her mind and ideals in the work that is hers to do.

Third, to discover whether or not a girl is fitted for the vocation of selling. If she is not, as some are not, because of mental or physical handicaps, the school attempts to find for her some other occupation which will be better suited to her powers, and so make her work something more than drudgery, at the same time removing from the ranks of selling one who is incapable of furthering the interests of the business.

Fourth, to give the girls worthy standards of all kinds. This is the broadest and most important of the aims of the school, for it deals with the girls as individuals, not as mere workers. Many of them leave the stores for one reason or another, and, for them, the school provides a training quite as valuable as if they were still selling, a training which they receive from no other source. Improved standards of living, better habits of thought, higher interpretations, and ideals these develop the power of the industrial worker because they take root in character and bear fruit in all human relationships. The course of study has grown with the school and the teaching method has developed at the same time in line with the problems which must be met in order to achieve the high purpose toward which the work is directed. Personal experience in selling gained by the director of the school and her associates, observation of many untrained workers, and conferences with superintendents as to qualifications for success in salesmanship have made known the subjects most needed in the teaching of salesmanship. During the first years of the school's existence it was the custom to ask the members of each graduating class what subjects had proved most helpful to them; what additions to the course they might recommend; what in their opinion might well be omitted. The answers, given in writing, were an invaluable guide, for the genuineness of the statements could not be doubted. Careful records are kept of the progress of the graduates and the loyalty of former pupils prompts many suggestions as to the greater usefulness of the school. All of these influences have helped to shape the course of study.

Chapter II.

THE COURSE OF STUDY.

SALESMANSHIP.

The subjects included in the course of study are those which careful analysis of the selling problem has revealed as most needed by sales people in their daily work. The underlying purpose in the selection of subjects to be taught was outlined in the beginning, under four heads, as follows:

First, to instill a regard for system and to cultivate habits of attention to detail.

Second, to instruct in subjects which increase knowledge of the stock to be sold.

Third, to teach the essentials of the science of selling, and to develop in the individual power for self-training.

Fourth, to teach right thinking toward selling as a profession, to stimulate a sense of responsibility, and to influence toward high ideals of thought and action.

The term is too short for inclusion of all the subjects that might seem desirable; those that are considered essential are the following:

Subject.

Salesmanship....

Textiles.....

General merchandise..

Hygiene and physical edu-
cation.
Arithmetic.....

Store system.

English.
Color.

Design...

Aim.

To teach the technique of selling and to develop a professional attitude toward the work.

To give information about the stock and to develop an appreciation of its qualities.

To promote good health and develop an attractive personality.

To develop accuracy.

To give familiarity with the rules and forms of the store.
To develop forceful speech.

To train color sense, to set standards of good taste, to
Jdevelop a sense of beauty.

Although the immediate aim in all the work is the occupational need, the ultimate aim, as the outlined purpose suggests, is personal development of the pupils and resulting growth in character. As a girl learns to be a better seller of merchandise, she learns also to be a more intelligent buyer, and the training which she receives in courteous service makes her a more gracious and influential member of society. Such subjects as textiles, color, and design are as valuable to a girl in her personal life as in her industrial relation; and

arithmetic, English, and hygiene are of practically unlimited application. In brief, the training is intended not simply to help a girl to earn her living, but to make the most of her life, by showing her how to make full use of her resources.

The subject matter of the several courses will be treated in this and the two succeeding chapters, the method of teaching being considered in another chapter.

SALESMANSHIP.

The study of salesmanship is divided into four parts:

1. Lessons on the technique of selling and other closely related work of saleswomen.

2. Informal discussions of pupils' daily experience.

3. Store system.

4. Demonstration sales.

1. The first lesson deals with one of the simplest and most concrete of a salesgirl's experiences, the response to customers' inquiries. Since most of these questions are asked specifically about the storethe location of departments, merchandise carried, facilities provided for the convenience of customers-the lesson is named Store directory, although the teacher does not confine herself to questions dealing exclusively with the store. After establishing the principles of accuracy, distinctness, and courtesy as essentials in giving information, the class, divided into store groups, is drilled on the geography of the store and the disposition of merchandise. The building is placed in relation to the points of the compass; the near-by streets are named; entrances, exits, elevators, stairways, and fire escapes are indicated on simple diagrams drawn by the pupils. The general distribution of merchandise according to floors is next discussed, and finally the smaller details are considered. Special service features, such as rest rooms, nearest telephone, post office, and restaurant, are located; and the best way to reach important public buildings, places of historical interest, railroad stations, theaters, and other wellknown stores is made clear. Pupils are led to see that directing customers is a legitimate part of their work and that when this is done with intelligence and courtesy, the favorable impression made upon a customer is likely to react advantageously to the saleswoman and to the store.

The care of stock.-Many girls who like to sell are not fond of housekeeping, and this fundamental lack leads to much loss from damaged stock, incomplete lines, and misplaced articles. The relation of good stock keeping to successful selling is a completely new idea to the pupils. They know, in general, that some one must look after the stock, but the great advantages of good work in this connection and the disastrous results of neglect are not

realized until the importance of the subject is developed according to a carefully detailed plan. When it is understood that damaged, shopworn, old merchandise leads to the inevitable mark-down sale; that a department which must resort frequently to such sales to secure money and room for new stock is not in a prosperous condition; that a department which is not yielding a good profit can not increase wages; the simple but necessary work of stock keeping becomes invested with new interest.

Of all the many interesting questions connected with salesmanship perhaps the approach to the customer is most provocative of lively discussion. This must be considered in various relations-the kind of department involved, whether a spacious suit section, or a busy, crowded small-wares counter; the type of customer represented; the implied or expressed policy of the store; the spirit and interest which should animate all human relationships. Two points receive especial emphasis the importance of making a favorable first impression, and the desirability of placing before the customer as soon as possible specimens of the merchandise which she has come to look at or to buy.

Presenting the merchandise, or in the more expressive parlance of the store, talking up the merchandise, is the logical next lesson. Among the topics developed in this lesson are: The information desired by customers; the sources of information; the choice of English; the selection of the points most likely to appeal to various types of customers; the force of such presentation when well expressed; the sense of power and the feeling of confidence which a saleswoman has when she knows and believes in her stock, and the psychological reaction of a customer under these circumstances.

Closing the sale has to do with the critical last stage of a transaction when a customer is especially open to influence. At this point, the exercise of tact and judgment is essential. The often seemingly insignificant factors which win or lose sales are reported and discussed, and the lesson is concluded with emphasis on the desirability of having a customer leave the department with a pleasant impression of the saleswoman who has served her and of the store in general.

A re-stating of many principles already taught is a part of an allinclusive lesson on service, in which the theory of selling developed through the class discussions, and the policy and ideals of the store management, are interpreted in the light of the modern spirit of business. Almost without exception, saleswomen connect "service" with housework-waiting on the table-something involving patronage; service done to society is a new idea, and service as a life ideal seems to be the principle needed to give significance and motive to their work. The pupils gradually see that serving a customer is not

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