Follow-up Letters Return this book on or before the Latest Date stamped below. A charge is made on all overdue books. U. of I. Library HOI/ 25 193 9 JflN 16 I9« 1 : ’ ** . x i « * O U 'q/w O V «. ' JIJ y - 9 / Q/p " •' u ^ - 1 3 134 d MM -3 135 ■ 5 14685-S NOV 2 1918 Follow-up Fetters J>jr O.H.Kepley Published b y The American Multigraph Sales Company Fast 40 * h Street and Kelley Avenue Cleveland. Ohio Copyrighted 1917, by The American Multigraph Sales Company INTRODUCTION fe 5/. 3 K mi F IVE years have passed since I called ten prominent business men on the ’phone, and asked: “What is a follow-up letter?” Eight of those men begged the question, but finally said it was some sort of a circular or form-letter, and two said it was an imitation typewritten letter. That was five years ago — and I found ten broad-minded suc- cessful business men, retail and wholesale, who had not the slightest conception of one of the greatest factors that was even then building some of our cor- porations of national importance. None of those ten men spoke of follow-up letters in the plural. Yet that is the only way they can be spoken of. Follow- up letters are just what the name implies — letters, followed one after the other, until the desired result is obtained. While the last few years have brought many converts to follow-up letter advertising, there are thousands of good business men who do not yet com- prehend the intention and uses of follow-up letters. I shall first attempt to logically explain the intention — the reason why — of follow-up letters. Further on T shall give you actual examples of successful follow- up letter campaigns. If you will carefully study, : first the principle of follow-up letters — then the ap- plication of the principle, as shown by the mass of J " data accumulated from various successful advertis- ers, this book should make it possible for you to im- ^ mediately start a follow-up letter campaign in your own business. 1 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates https://archive.org/details/followuplettersOOkepl CHAPTER I OU can not benefit by what will follow unless you understand me. Everything depends up- JL on our getting a common viewpoint — speak- ing the same language, as it were. So often we find intelligent men differing with each other over trivial matters, and it is generally because they do not approach the subject from the same angle. Two men might stand on opposite sides of a fence, one side of which had been painted black and the other white, and they never would agree on the color of that fence until each took a look at the other fel- low’s side of it. Practically all intelligent people thought the world was flat until Columbus demon- strated that it was round. The unbelievers were not fools — quite to the contrary, in fact — but it was not until Columbus gave the people a common viewpoint that an agreement was reached. All our older business men recall the time when a page advertisement in a newspaper or magazine was rare indeed. Many remember when newspa- per advertising was looked upon as a luxury to be indulged in by the few, and not as a business neces- sity. The growth of sign board advertising has been within very recent years. Electric display advertis- ing has become popular even more recently. All of this has been the result of changing conditions and changing viewpoints. The letter is rapidly taking a position of great importance in the advertising and selling field. Thousands of firms are mailing millions of letters — and some houses have built up business of national importance through the mail alone — yet this form of advertising and selling is accepted and understood 3 by only a comparative few of the mass of advertisers, and misunderstood by many. If we are to intelligently consider the usefulness of follow-up letters, we must first agree on the mean- ing of the term, “follow-up letters”. It isn't difficult, for Webster defines “follow” thus: “To move be- hind in the same path or direction”. Naturally, a follow-up letter campaign would mean one letter following the first, and another and another and so on indefinitely, each going in the same path. Even a layman must agree that this is a reasonable and log- ical definition for follow-up letters. But there are various kinds of letters — sales let- ters, collection letters, advertising letters, promotion letters, and many others, so we naturally wonder to which classification the term “follow-up” applies, and why. The explanation is simple: Every letter that is written is sent for a purpose. Until that pur- pose is accomplished, the letter has only partly suc- ceeded. A sales letter is written for the purpose of making a sale, and if the first letter fails it should be followed by another letter, and another, and another, until the sale is made. A collection letter is sent to get money, and if it fails its followers should go on and on until one finally “brings home the bacon”. Advertising letters are intended to bring inquiries and when one or twenty fail, the twenty-first should not end the series unless it gets what it goes after. Let us apply the follow-up principle to our daily lives. If you start to drill a well, and stop just before you strike oil, you have wasted the labor and money it took to drill, haven’t you? Even when oil seekers go the limit in depth and fail to strike oil, do they say oil wells are mythical and quit the business? Not at all. They drill another well, and keep on 4 drilling other wells, and every now and then they strike oil — which is the follow-up as applied to that business. When a baby learns to walk, the first at- tempt must be followed up by other attempts until the child finally walks. Even the food that you eat must be taken daily — followed-up indefinitely in order to sustain life and action. So, the term follow-up is not a theory. It is one of the basic principles of life and progress. In everything we do we must have an objective point and if we stop short of that point, we not only fail in our effort but we waste at least a great portion of the time and energy spent in getting as far as we did. If you write a letter intended to sell something, and you do not sell with the first letter, it is your plain, com- mon-sense duty to send another letter, and as many more as necessary until you do sell. And the same applies to collection letters, or any other letters. Con- sequently, we must conclude that follow-up letters, if used, must in all cases follow each other continu- ously until the purpose is accomplished. So, now that you and I are beginning to “speak a common language,” we can agree on the meaning and purpose of follow-up letters, and as a result we can intelligently discuss the necessity for such letters. If you have anything to sell, advertise or collect, the universally accepted method is to send a man di- rect to the person you propose to deal with. In sell- ing and advertising you also have the option of pub- lishing your desires in newspapers or magazines, and trusting to luck that the man you want to reach will read it. Both methods have merit, but no shoe was ever made that would fit every foot or be in good taste if worn on every occasion. Let me make it very plain that I do not attack 5 the proven worth of newspaper or magazine public- ity, as they play an important part in the business world. But neither should be used to the entire ex- clusion of other methods of advertising. Sign boards are good advertising, when properly used. Good show windows are an important kind of advertising. Electric displays are acknowledged to be good ad- vertising for certain lines of business. But there is only one method of advertising and selling that is acknowledged to cover practically every commodity, and that is the man method — sending a man to speak your message. Assuming we agree that if we could meet every customer face to face, or do all our advertising and selling through personal representation, we could ac- complish the maximum result, I am going to follow that statement by saying that a personal letter is the next thing to a personal call. If I am correct — if a personal letter is more forceful than anything except a personal call — the letter takes a very important place in advertising and selling, simply because per- sonal calls on everyone we wish to sell to or advertise to are out of the question on account of the prohibit- ive cost. It is only fair that we briefly analyze the various methods of advertising and selling and make com- parisons before we go further. A show window attracts only a small percentage of those who pass. It would be difficult to estimate how many actually buy goods because they saw them in a show window. Results can not be traced. An electric display may be read and admired by thousands, yet only a few hundred may be inter- ested in the goods advertised. For instance, a big concern in Kentucky makes flour mill machinery. 6 An electric sign in Buffalo would not pay them be- cause they would be advertising to thousands where only a few possible purchasers exist. Sign boards are read by millions of people every day, but you never saw printing presses advertised on them because the millions do not buy printing presses. Yet sign board advertising of some popular brand of tobacco or a soda cracker seems to pay, be- cause millions do buy tobacco and soda crackers. An advertiser who sells only in the city of Pitts- burgh can’t afford to advertise in magazines of na- tional circulation. He can’t afford it because there would be too much waste circulation to be paid for. Only a small percentage of the people in Pittsburgh would see the ad. But what about the Pittsburgh merchant who advertises in his own daily papers? Doesn’t he pay for waste circulation? Do you think that every per- son in Pittsburgh who wears shoes reads every shoe ad in the daily papers? Of course they do not. But the shoe merchant does pay for the entire circulation of the paper in which his ad appears. The follow-up letter is the last form of adver- tising we will discuss. To begin with, there can be no waste circulation. The advertiser picks the peo- ple he wishes to sell goods to and writes them person- al letters. The merchant who has show windows need not wait for people to pass the windows. He can invite the individual to his store. The manufac- turer of flour mill machinery can select the firms that would probably be interested in his product and personally talk the matter over with individuals through letters. The printing press manufacturer can write direct to publishers and printers with as- surance that his advertising will reach the firm and the individual it is intended for. The biscuit maker and the tobacco dealer can write direct to jobbers or purchasers without wasting money on advertising tobacco to shop girls and crackers to those who eat in restaurants, hotels or boarding houses. Isn’t it quite plain that everything that is sold has its individ- ual market? Work shoes are sold to working people — electric fixtures to those who build — furs to wom- en — trousers to men. So why not advertise to the people who buy your goods , and not to the multitude who are not interested? At this point I will say a word on the relation of advertising to selling. Advertisng IS selling. There is not one bit of difference between sending a salesman to get an order and sending a letter with order blank enclosed, so far as your objective point is concerned. In both cases you are attempting to sell something. The trouble is that you expect the letter to be more than human — to do more than a salesman could do. Let me give you a viewpoint that probably has never occurred to you. A few mo- ments ago I asked two men to talk in a conversation- al tone for one minute each, while a stenographer noted the conversation. We found that the men av- eraged 100 words per minute. In one hour, speak- ing continuously, a man will speak 6,000 words. Assuming that a prospect lets the salesman talk half that time — the other half being taken up with the prospect’s conversation — the salesman speaks 3,000 words in an hour. The ordinary single page letter contains less than 300 words, so that it would take ten full page letters to say as much as the salesman says in one hour. If, after one hour’s conversation, a salesman returns and reports failure to sell, you say: “What do you expect on your first call? Go back and stick until you get the order”. Yet, that same good business man will start a series of letters to prospects, mailed from one to three months apart, and wonder why he doesn’t get enormous immediate results. Three little letters, each of which has three minutes’ conversation in them, sent days or weeks apart — and some men have expected wonderful re- sults from letter campaigns like that. It would be just as logical to expect a salesman to call on a pros- pect, talk three minutes, and bring in an order. No sane business man ever expected salesmen to do that. Then why expect letters to do what men can not do? Then there is the great difference between the cost of personal letters and personal calls. It costs a dollar an hour for the time of the average salesman. Working at top speed, a salesman cannot be expected to talk to more than eight prospects a day. It costs only a postage stamp, plus a little labor and paper, to talk to a prospect by letter, and you can talk to hundreds of thousands a day if you care to. The to- tal volume of sales is generally in ratio to the num- ber of people you ask to buy your goods. That is, if you call on 1,000 people this year, and 10,000 people next year, your chances for selling next year will be ten to one over this year. Then if you really wish to expand your business, why limit your possible sales to the number of men your salesmen can see? For the price of one salesman you can tell your selling story to at least 300 prospects per day. The letter also has the advantage of securing in- terviews and attention that the salesman cannot get. I recall a story told recently: A salesman had been calling on a purchasing agent for several weeks but could not get a satisfactory answer or even a fair in- vestigation of his goods. Finally, in desperation, he 9 went to the general manager, who immediately said : “Oh yes, your Sales Manager, Mr. Crane, has been writing me for some time. I am interested in your stuff and will have the purchasing agent look into it at once.” The purchasing agent was called in, an investi- gation made, and in three days the salesman had a nice order. All because his firm had been paving the way for him by sending advertising sales letters to officials of firms where he was calling. This is an absolutely true story and when we an- alyze it there is sound reasoning behind it. You would be far more interested in a salesman’s story if you had seen a quantity of advertising matter ex- plaining the product, than in something you had never heard of. And if the sales manager of some concern has been writing to you, isn’t it natural that you should feel more friendly toward the representa- tive of that firm? There is no magic in selling goods. There is nothing weird or mystic about advertising. People just do not buy anything unless they know what they are buying, and the easier you make it for your pros- pect to feel close to you — to understand your prod- uct — the easier your sales will be. There are always two ways to do anything — the right way and the wrong way. Advertisers are not giving enough thought to the right and wrong meth- ods of advertising. Make your method fit your in- dividual problem. No one would charter an express car to deliver a one-pound package. But many ad- vertisers charter the entire circulation of some ad- vertising medium in order to deliver goods to one per cent, of the people who read the medium. In fact, when we have a one-pound package to deliver 10 we let Uncle Sam take it, don’t we? Why? Because that is the most direct and cheapest means of trans- portation. By the same reasoning, why not ask peo- ple to buy your goods through the cheapest, most di- rect and efficient medium? Advertising in any medium of general circula- tion, the personal appeal is difficult and in most cases impossible. Every reader knows that the same ap- peal is being made to thousands of others. You catch only those who happen to want your goods just at the time they read the advertisement. But when a personal letter goes to any man or woman it is a private invitation to trade with you. You are pick- ing the people you wish to sell goods to, and you know that they will receive your message. And if this form of advertising is cheaper than advertising to the multitude, on a chance that some will buy, by what manner of reasoning should any business house continue to advertise wholly along old lines? As I have said before, all forms of advertising are good, if properly used. For general prestige, general publicity is necessary. But no form of ad- vertising so completely covers the field as Direct- Mail Advertising. That this type of advertising and selling is no longer an experiment is evidenced by the successes of our big mail-order houses, as they get all their business by this method. n CHAPTER II HE follow-up rule is a common-sense rule. It cannot fail. It is based on human nature, A and the laws of nature itself. You can start a ball rolling on level ground, but to keep it rolling you must keep pushing — applying the follow-up. The child in school may be shown the picture of a cat, and told that it is a cat, but the performance must be repeated over and over before the child mind stores away the mental picture of the word c-a-t. The teacher applies the follow-up. The mer- chant tells you that his goods are the best on the mar- ket, but if he never sees you again, you forget him. But if he conies to you every week, year after year, with the same forceful claim, presenting new facts, you will unconsciously accept his statements as true — sooner or later. On the morning of November 15th the Susque- hanna Motor Car Company mailed the letter which follows to 350 prospects. The evening of the 16th they had sold 20 covers, and before the end of the week had sold every cover in stock. There is noth- ing particularly unusual about that letter, but it got results. I believe it was Hugh Chalmers who said : '‘The success of any business man is 90% horse-sense.” That is all there is to writing follow-up letters. Cut out the flowers. A business letter is not a political oration, and does not run to figures of speech. It is intended to be YOU on paper — your conversation, your arguments, your appeal, just as you would make it in plain words to a prospective customer in your place of business. The follow-up principle applies to any business. Here is a photographic supply house that wanted to increase the business of their film finishing depart- 12 SUSQUEHANNA MOTOR CAR COMPANY CADILLAC AUTOMOBILES SUPPLIES REPAIRS STORAGE WILKES-BARRE, PA. SCRANTON, PA. Wilkes-Barre, Pa., November 18, 1916. G & J TIRES Mr. S. C. Whetraore, Jermyn,’ Pa. Dear Sir:- Re-Radlator Covers, A cover for the radiator of your car is essential for best performance of your car during cold and freezing weather. Radiator covers not only aid in preventing the radiators from freezing, but they also retain the heat and thereby aiding the motors to quickly acquire the proper degree of temperature to insure the best motor efficiency, which would otherwise be lost. This last feature is very important during the cold and freezing weather , Which i| now rapidly approaching. For a number of years we have been experimenting with covers of different types. and have at last been for- tunate in securing a cover made exclusively for Cadillac Cars. These Covers are not only efficient and handy, but are also good fitting and the price of $5.00 is reasonable considering the workmanship and style. The enclosed folder will give you the details and idea of appearance on car of your type. We have them in stock. May we put one on your car? Yours very truly, Susquehanna Motor Car Company c - Manager RAR/'KM. 13 ment. They mailed 227 of the first letter, received 104 answers, and added 252 new names to their mail- ing list. To this 252 names they mailed letter No. 2, and received films for finishing from 5% of the list in the first mails, and they are still making customers from that advertising. Nashville, Tenn., Nov. 15, 1916. Miss Alleen Jones, Waynesboro, Tenn. Dear Miss Jones: — We want to ask a favor of you and in a way to do you a fa- vor also. Have you any friends or acquaintances who own Ko- daks but who do not have their finishing done by us? If you will give us the names and addresses of three such persons, to- gether with the size and make of their Camera, we will send you in return, free of charge, a very neat and attractive little Kodak Album. Use the inclosed card, signing your own name and address, with the size and make of your camera. We also want to take this opportunity of thanking you for the orders sent us. You may rest assured that every strip of your film is developed and every print is made by experts who have the one idea of “results” in mind. Trusting that you will send us the list at your earliest con- venience, we are Respectfully yours, GEO. C. DURY & CO. Per G. C. D. Nashville, Tenn., Nov. 1, 1916. Miss Faydine Webb, Wilders, Tenn. Dear Miss Webb : — We understand that you own and use a Kodak. When you take pictures you want to see your films finished right, don’t you? You want the prints to be the very best possible. Well, that is what we want too. The men in our finishing department are experts, who work with the one idea of “results” always in mind. We have up-to-the-minute apparatus, use the very best of ma- terial and have men who know how. We sincerely believe that 14 we can give you better finishing than you can get elsewhere, and we would like very much to develop and print your next roll. By the way, it’s very near Christmas now and Kodak pic- tures of your own slipped into one of our Gift Calendars would make very attractive and inexpensive gifts. These Calendars are extremely pretty this year and you had better order right away before our supply is exhausted. Very respectfully G. C. DURY & CO. P. S. We are enclosing convenient mailing wrappers for sending in your films. The Salcura Company, of Milwaukee, sells to physicians and druggists. They started the first of a series of letters as follows: All that stands between you — and a series of REALLY BIG PROFITABLE SALES is- — a 2c stamp — a letter — 5 minutes time, and the mail. Of course, if you have all the business you really care for — and expenses do not bother you — then we can under- stand why you do not answer — but if you have the natural desire to increase your trade — not only for self protection in case some clients drop away, which is impossible to prevent, and you wish to secure larger profits from your persevering and deserving efforts, etc., etc. We do not show this as an example of a perfect selling letter. It could be picked to pieces by an ad- vertising “expert”. But — out of 400 mailed — it pulled 30% replies , and 80% ORDERS resulted from the replies. That seems to be the “proof of the pudding”. The same concern mailed another letter — the fourth of a series to 5,000 names — which started as follows : I wish it were possible to be with you, instead of send- ing this letter — because then I could find out personally without delay just why you did not answer the correspond- ence sent you. 15 You were very much in need of help when you wrote, and we answered as quickly as possible, offering it to you — yet you maintain a silence that is very peculiar, etc., etc. This letter might be even more severely criticized by advertising men, but 1800 replied , and 1800 BOUGHT, which proves, regardless of opinion to the contrary, that it isn’t always the “clever” letter that gets results. What truck dealer would refuse to spend $7.50 to sell a truck? Yet, two letters mailed by Danner Bros, to a list of fifty people whose names they se- cured from personal calls at their exhibit at the State Fair, actually sold one truck outright, and interested several prospects who probably purchased later. The entire mail campaign cost less than $7.50. Dear Sir: — Well, how did you enjoy our Fair? Richmonders are very enthusiastic and everyone is of the opinion that it beat anything ever held here, — particularly as to the completeness and high standard of the farm exhibits. Now that you have settled down to business, we suppose that you have pretty thoroughly digested the literature which we gave you on the powerful little Hudford. We feel sure that it will fill your requirements, and know that it will prove to be the best investment that you ever made. May wt suggest that you place 5^our order immediately? Na- turally we want to make this sale as soon as possible, but our suggestion is not wholly selfish, as we only have a few trucks on hand for immediate delivery. As soon as these are sold we cannot guarantee delivery as the factory is even now behind on our orders, and market conditions will be still more severe in a short while. We wish to take this opportunity of thanking you for the interest shown, and ask that you immediately fill in and return the enclosed card, as the writer is arranging several demonstra- tions in your immediate neighborhood within the next two weeks. Yours very truly, DANNER BROTHERS CO. 16 We have been expecting to hear from you every day, in reply to our letter of October 27th. You will recall that we asked that you let us have an op- portunity of giving you an actual demonstration of the power- ful, yet economical Hudford, in order that we might satisfy you that it is all that we claim it to be. The writer has one demonstration booked, not so far from you, and if you feel sufficiently interested at this time, would like to run over and show the truck to you. Remember, the horse eats its head off whether it is working or not. When the Hudford is not paying for its board it is stand- ing in the garage costing you nothing. Needless to say, one truck can do more work per day than three teams. You can save many dollars by discarding the animals and using a Hudford. No other truck can be operated as economically; no other truck is so fairly priced; there is no one ton truck on the market, at any price, that can do more work. Trusting that you will fill in and mail the enclosed card, and permit us to show you, we are, Yours for money saving, DANNER BROTHERS COMPANY. Thos. J. Hay, Chicago distributor for Chandler automobiles, sent a series of four letters to 1500 names. He picked these names from financial rat- ing books in twelve counties. The letters were mailed ten days apart. They received 236 replies, and from these four active dealers were secured, contracting for 60 cars, 19 of which had been delivered when this was reported to me. As these letters netted $25,080.00 in immediate sales, with far more in sight, we reproduce the entire series, and recommend these letters as an excellent example of highly efficient fol- low-up. The undersigned has recently had your county added to his Chicago territory for the distribution of CHANDLER automo- biles. One reason this territory was given to me was because we have developed a fine trade throughout all of the territory controlled under the Chicago office and there was comparatively little business being developed from your county. 17 THIS OF COURSE IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY. CHANDLER cars have been selling rapidly in every county in this State where we control the sale, and cars sold in territory surrounding you will have more or less influence on sales in your county. The CHANDLER, as you know, is one of the greatest suc- cesses ever known in the automobile business; owners are suc- cessful in the use of the car, dealers are successful in the profits they make from the sale of the car, distributors have been suc- cessful in selling large numbers throughout the United States and the factory has been phenomenally successful in manufactur- ing a good car in sufficient quantities to give us all a chance to make some money. Now, the logical thing to do in the automobile business is to tie to a success ; do not pick a dead one, do not pick a car simply because they give a longer discount than we offer, but look around to see what cars are selling — investigate the CHANDLER Company, the distributor and the Chandler car and you will find an unbroken line of success. Frankly, all that is necessary for you to do to participate in this success, is to undertake the sale of this remarkable car. I say remarkable, simply because it is successful and it could not be successful year after year if the cars themselves were not satisfactory to the people purchasing the car. Now, this is a new territory to me and I want a dealer. If you are interested, I would like to hear from you. There is no question but what the car can be sold and I am going to do in your county the same as I have done in every other county under my control — I am going to get a successful and money- making dealer in the county. If this interests you, wire us, write us or call on us, or indicate that you would like to have our salesman call on you; at any rate, do not let this opportunity get away from you, as we are prepared not only to give you the balance of this year, but an- other season under your contract. It is a big opportunity — now is the time to get started so that people will know you are going to have the CHANDLER next year. You had better let us hear from you at your earliest oppor- tunity, as we are going to close this matter within a few days. Yours very truly, THOS. J. HAY. 18 A few days ago I wrote you about the sale of Chandler cars in your city. Perhaps you did not receive this letter, or if you did get it, you were not in a receptive mood the day it came. Since the date of my former letter, ten days ago, forty deal- ers in my territory have sold 80 Chandler motor cars, at an average profit of $250.00, or $500.00 average earnings per dealer in this ten days time. These dealers are just such men as you and I, but they are profiting by the present excellent condition of general business and the unusual opportunity to sell auto- mobiles. Any good live dealer in any good town in my territory can sell ten Chandler cars in a season; this means $2500, earned on just a small business. Some of my dealers sell 50 to 75 cars, their profit amounting to from $12,500 to $20,000. The automobile business is just what you make it — if you are content to sell but one car, you make a small profit, but a little extra work and hustle might result in the sale of 50 cars and you cash in in a big way. I have been dealing in automobiles for eighteen years and have helped many a man to make a good sized fortune. I have the cars to sell — the rest is up to you. Do not tell me that Chandlers have not sold in your territory, but kindly remember, as I told you in my last letter, that this territory has just been turned over to me and I am going to get you or some other man selling CHANDLER cars before I quit. It is easy money, profitable, pleasant and fascinating business — others are making money on it, some are making a little money and others are becoming rich. It is the easiest, nicest and most attractive business in the world. I have known men to make a success of the automobile business after the doctors had given them up. The out-door work is beneficial to anyone; the time you waste in hauling your friends around is the very time that could be used to sell automobiles. I do not believe you can show me a better, more profitable and more pleasant business than sell- ing automobiles. This is not a get- rich-quick scheme — we are not asking any- thing in the way of a risk on your part. You can certainly use the car you buy for a demonstrator. If you have any doubt about your ability to sell one or two cars, I would not advise anyone to undertake it, but the chances are here; the automobile business is now about the second or third largest business in the United States and it is growing faster than any other line of 19 trade — new roads and new needs are making new markets every day. THINK IT OVER AND LET ME HEAR FROM YOU. Yours very truly, THOS. J. HAY. I really thought that my last letter to you was so appealing and so attractive that you would have at least answered it. Kindly keep in mind that I am not selling stocks, lightning rods, gold bricks or blue sky. I am offering to sell you territory and with this goes the privilege of selling Chandler cars. I re- peat — it is a privilege, because unless you make your contract with me and purchase a demonstrator and arrange your terms with me, you are not in a position to reap the profits on the sale of Chandler cars in your territory. Now remember, I do not charge you anything for the terri- tory and I am willing to sell you your demonstrating car at a wholesale price. Really, I am taking all the chances — if you buy a demonstrator, tie up my territory and then fail to sell a suffi- cient number of cars to make me a little profit, why really it is myself that loses rather than you. You know I buy this territory of the Chandler Company just the way I am passing it out to my dealers, except that where I ask the dealer to invest in a $1295.00 Chandler car, less the dealer’s discount, I agree to buy one and a half Million Dollars’ worth of Chandler automobiles, I put up a very heavy cash deposit with them, I employ 75 to 100 people to help me market these cars, I obligate myself for extensive ad- vertising and the rent on Michigan Avenue is rather high. Now, you do not have to do many of these things. All I am trying to get you to do is to buy a car, put up a very small deposit, sign a contract so that we will understand each other and have you try out the automobile business. I could cite you hundreds of cases where I have started dealers who had to borrow the money to buy their first demonstrators, and I am ashamed to ad- mit that some of these same dealers have more money to-day than I have, but I continued to work for another concern eight or ten years while these fellows were building up their own business. Remember, when you sell automobiles, you are in business for yourself and you can make it big or sell out and quit whenever you choose. Your earnings depend entirely on your energy. You sell the car over and over and therefore only have invested the price of one or two cars at a time in your business. We can deliver 20 the cars one at a time out of Chicago, or we can ship them two in a carload from Cleveland. Do you really consider going into the automobile business? I am not trying to sell one car at a wholesale price — what I want is a dealer in your town and I realize that a great many begin- ners hesitate to buy more than one car, but I am willing to take a chance after the prospective dealer shows a disposition to invest in a car. It is the only business that I know of where your en- tire stock is a source of pleasure to the entire family — you can use it all day long demonstrating to prospective customers and take the whole family out for a ride in the evening. I maintain it is one of the finest businesses in the world — the nicest part of it is you can make a lot of money along with the f im * Yours very truly, THOS. J. HAY. When I started out I decided to write you four letters and this is the last one. If this does not pull an answer out of you, I am going to quit spending any more postage trying to interest you in Chandler cars. Of course, I understand you did not invite me to write you at all, and inasmuch as I have not heard from you, probably all three of the other letters went into the waste basket; and were it not for the fact that I decided to write four of these letters, I might as well have made the last letter the last rather than this one. What I would like to know is what is wrong with my letters? I laid this out to you in a very attractive, persuasive and profita- ble way. Now, everybody that writes advertising letters tells me that three or four letters are sure to get an answer, and in order to make sure that I do get an answer from this fourth letter, I am enclosing herewith a stamped envelope and would like to have you simply drop me a line right now, it won’t take a minute, just to tell why you refuse to get into the automobile business or why my letters fail to hit the mark. If in my persistence I have offended you, I apologize in ad- vance, but I believe this letter is going to get under your skin to such an extent that you are going to write me and tell me to “go to ” or you are going to tell me that you already have an old car to trade, that you do not like my car, that you have bought another car or that you are against the automobile busi- ness anyhow, or some other reason. In fact I want to prove by 21 this series of letters whether or not I am right in wagering with some of my employes that out of the set of four letters I would get answers from at least fifty per cent of the people. I have already had answers from forty-five per cent of those addressed. We mailed out two thousand of these letters; these are, as you probably noticed, process letters, printed, with the names filled in, but I sat in my office on a hot August day and personally dictated the contents. I do not believe I could have made the letters any stronger or put more truth in a less num- ber of letters if I had personally dictated each letter and had it written on a typewriter. Now, I have told you the whole scheme — I have nothing whatever to conceal — the cards are on the table. I can prove every assertion I have made in any of these four letters — it is just a question as to whether or not you and I can get together on the sale of CHANDLER CARS. There is no bunk in these letters — it is a straight-out business proposition. Other people sell cars — why can’t you? I do not know whether these are the right kind of letters or not, but I am again going to ask you to do me the favor of using the enclosed envelope and telling me what you think of this method of going after the trade on Chandler cars, but most of all — if I have any chance of doing any business with you ; if not, I will not inflict you with any more of my advertising, but if you see there is the slightest chance, believe me I will make the next series eight letters and put you on the mailing list. What do you say? Yours very truly, THOS. J. HAY. It takes time to convince on paper, just as it does with word of mouth. We expect salesmen to talk volumes, and are well satisfied if they land the business, at that. But some apparently well bal- anced business men send out a SINGLE letter, that could be spoken orally in three minutes, and expect it to bring results that hours of sales talk could not get. And here is an example of what letters will do in the jewelry business. In order to secure the “specials” which Hugh Connolly offers his trade, it 22 is necessary to present his letter at time of purchase. He has a mailing list of nearly 7,000. On his letter of Nov. 14th he sold 1000 tea strainers, which means that 1000 people had to visit his store. The letter, mailed at 10:00 A. M. brought customers into the store with the letter by 3 :00 the same afternoon. The letter of Dec. 7th sold over 600 of that special, which was all he had. Connolly sends these letters out each month — with results always as satisfactory as the instances cited. Because of the many little gifts you always find necessary to give at Christmas, I have selected an extremely inexpensive arti- cle that is well worth your attention. It is a tea strainer in good quality plate, gold lined, and fitted with an ebonized wood handle. The design is excellent. You will not realize how good it is until you see it. Like all of my goods it is absolutely guaranteed. The cost is 39c. My mailing list has reached almost 7,000. Because of the in- creased number who buy these specials I am able to purchase at lower prices. The specials offered you are offered at our cost at quantity prices. And the more I can sell, the cheaper I can offer these specials to you. Generally only those who are customers of this store are put on my list to receive specials. Sometimes a customer asks me to put on a name of a friend. This I have done. Lately so many have asked, that I have offered this to all. If you have a friend or relative whom you think would like to receive these specials, write the names on the card I have enclosed. Put your name at the bottom and mail to me. I do not wish a “large” list but just one of interested customers. I believe this service will be of increasing value in the coming months and desire to give you the best it is possible to offer. As quantity buying alone can bring down the price, an interested mailing list will prove to our mutual advantage. Yours for better “Specials”, HUGH CONNOLLY, per Roy T. Connolly. Last month’s tea strainers were such a success that your spe- cial for this month will be along the same line; an excellent gift for a moderate price. 23 Once before, 1 offered you a sterling pie knife at less than cost of a plated one. The price has advanced but it is offered for the same amount — 79c. If you haven’t seen it, a surprise awaits you. Full size with a solid silver hollow handle, finely plated blade and of a shape and style to go with almost any pattern now on the market. This pie knife will be for sale this year only as a customer’s special. Please get yours early as I haven’t enough to supply the demand. Yours truly, HUGH CONNOLLY. Starting Saturday, December 9th and continuing until Christ- mas, this store will remain open each evening until nine P. M. W e will make every effort to aid and satisfy you in your buy- ing, but would- request you to shop as early as possible. This is because of the limited size of our store. Follow-up letters are nothing more or less than your show windows. You would not think of dress- ing a show window on the first of June and leaving it unchanged until the next June. You change your show windows continually so that you may present to the buying public an ever changing appeal to buy your goods. Mrs. Jones may pass your window to- day when dress goods are displayed, and be uninter- ested; but tomorrow your display of hosiery may at- tract her to your store, simply because she happened to need hosiery on that day. That applies in the same sense to follow-up letters. The only difference is that you take a chance on Mrs. Jones passing your window, while the letter goes direct to her. Lumber seems a dry sort of business, but “Burn- side,” the lumber man of Denver, seems to inject a lot of personality into his follow-up letter advertis- ing, and he is getting results: As a buying guide, my list will make more money for you than it can in your waste basket. Unless the janitor does your buying, a waste basket is no place for a perfectly good list. 24 Good lumber, (bought at a fair price) plus service, means profit for you. When orders are generally scarce, a dependable manufacturer suffers least for want of them. That is because “up-to-snuff” retailers have learned who their business friends are. It is something for YOU to think about. Yours truly, J. H. BURNSIDE. The durability of the stock you buy is just as important as the dependability of the firm from which you buy it. Did you ever handle Red Cedar boards? Did you know you could get Red Cedar boards just as well as Fir, Hemlock, or Pine? If red cedar has stood the test of being put into the ground and put on a roof — the two hardest tests that it could be put to — and is in constant demand, do you not think it would stand the rot test any place it was put? I can supply you red cedar in straight or mixed cars with shingles and fir. I will be very glad to quote you prices on ap- plication. This stock is air dried. Try some of it in a mixed car. SAY! How do YOU feel about YOUR LOSS of money and prestige, caused by delays on “prompt” shipments? Almost any old mill can handle easy orders that you aren’t in much of a hurry for; it takes the best of efficiency and organi- zation to meet emergencies. If you will send me your HARD orders, the ones you are in a hurry for, I can prove to you the re- liability of the mills I represent much more quickly, for you will be watching for results and performance will count with you where pretty sales talk would only be an aggravation. Shoot your hard ones in to me; but put on your order all that you want in the car. Do not expect to get any additions in — unless you wire them. When you send in your orders, be sure to tell me if you are up against it, for your need always brings special service. I can smooth out the wrinkles caused by worry over delayed ship- ments, and bring a smile of contentment to your face. Yours truly, J. H. BURNSIDE. 25 Gentlemen : — The Gray’s Harbor Lumber Company of Hoquiam, Washing- ton, have wired me that they want to sell several cars of 2x4’s No. 1 Common S1S1E, assorted as follows and at prices shown. 100 2x4—8' No. 1 Common S1S1E 40c $14.00 45c $15.25 200 “ 10 U 20.50 21.75 400 “ 12 U 18.50 19.75 300 “ 14 U ....... 18.50 19.75 500 “ 16 u 19.50 20.75 400 “ 18 u 20.50 21.75 200 “ 20 a 20.50 21.75 This is the only assortment I can give you at the prices noted, which show a discount of $5.50 off on 10' and longer and $10.00 off on 8' lengths. This is first class stock. I can recom- mend it to you highly. Wire or telephone your order at my expense for a nicely as- sorted car of 2 x 4’s like the above. I am only authorized to sell a limited number of cars at this price, as .their regular dis- count is $5.00 off on any other assortment of dimension. Do not wait — send your order in at once. If I have not shown deliv- ered price on your rate of freight, your price will be on the basis of discount noted above for this assortment. Yours truly, J. H. BURNSIDE, Our country is prosperous — building is increasing — you want the best of service, therefore I am expecting a successful New Year. If I had no business from you last year — I want some this year. If you sent me orders last year — I hope for more this year. I am willing to work, and work hard for them, too. There is a difference between wishing and doing. When you want accomplishment, you must choose those that have ability, the organization and the capacity to do your will. Because I am determined to succeed, I represent only success- ful firms who will help me succeed ; firms that can and will help you. I do not offer you better grades than you buy. I do offer you stock that is correctly manufactured — graded to sell and stay sold. I offer you intelligent handling of orders and the best serv- ice a carefully organized system is capable of giving. In order to care for customers in a way that will bring them 26 back voluntarily, time after time, you must make money. So must the mills I represent. Therefore, I do not try to lure you with price alone — I offer you reliability and reasonable prices. Today, the market is strong and is properly represented by the enclosed list. Sales are and have been greater than cut and ship- ments. By placing your orders at once, you will insure yourself against further price advances and of better deliveries. The “BURNSIDE WAY” can help you. The sooner I have a chance, the more I can help and I want to do a lot for you this year. I will appreciate having you tell me how I can do it best. Yours truly, J. H. BURNSIDE. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours. May each day in this Holiday Season be overflowing with good cheer and much pleasure for you and may you be very happy and very successful all through the coming year. I owe it to you, in part, that MY business has been so pleas- ant and successful this year. True — I haven’t had any of your orders — but, it has been good to have the chance to TRY for them. Sort of puts “pep” in a fellow to have to work for things he wants — makes the game worth while. It is going to seem mighty good to get orders from you this next year. You know, just getting orders doesn’t satisfy me. To me, they are the means of making staunch friends, of building confidence and of having a part in making your business both pleasant and profitable. In Nineteen Seventeen, don’t wait until you want to BUY something. My experience and best efforts are always at your service and I want very much to help make Nineteen Seventeen a good year for you. Sincerely, J. H. BURNSIDE. The ordinary business man usually thinks “his business is different” — plans that succeed in similar lines would fail for him. That sort of man would never try to advertise Macaroni through the mail — but the Southern Macaroni Manufacturing Co., of New Orleans, is not an ordinary concern. Their let- 27 ter A33 was written to secure contracts. It pulled $296.07 in actual orders from new accounts and $8902.95 in contracts. Sales Manager Loughney calls this the “$9000 letter,” and it cost the firm only $57.08. THE SALES EXPENSE ON CON- TRACTS WAS ONLY SIX TENTHS OF ONE PER CENT. Letter A49 had a post card enclosure that enabled Mr. Loughney to key it, and counting only the traceable results of this letter, it produced $2793.00 in orders for prompt shipment. The letters cost $21.61. The sales expense was seven-tenths of one per cent. Letters FI -2-3 and 4 were used in a campaign ahead of the Southern Macaroni salesmen in a new territory where practically no sales had been made prior to this campaign. The letters were mailed every other day, and the final letter was timed to reach the buyer just before the salesman arrived. This “drive” produced $3640.65 in new business for prompt shipment in three weeks. Sales expense, in- cluding salary and traveling expense of salesman, was eight-tenths of one per cent. Haven’t you seen reduced profits staring you in the face be- cause of the present situation in the flour and paper markets? Hasn’t your profit already been cut because of the advanced price on products using flour in their manufacture and on products packed in card board cartons and fibre containers? Then you will find this letter mighty interesting and will look on it as an opportunity. Let’s take the macaroni end of your business. The leading manufacturers in the country have in the past offered their brands of macaroni at $1.80 for the 10c size, and $1.90 for the 5c size with a free deal of one on ten, and a jobber’s discount of 15%. These prices were based on their ability to buy macaroni flour on a basis of $5.00 and $5.50 a barrel as in former years. The price on macaroni flour this year ranges from $8.00 to $8.50 a barrel, and there are prospects of this price going still higher. Formerly cartons for macaroni cost from 8c to 10c a box. Now they cost from 14c to 18c and it seems probable that the highest 28 price has not been reached. Fibre containers that once cost 5c to 5^4c each now cost from 10c to 12c each, and there is no use telling you that wages have advanced from 15 to 30%. You can see this on your own books. There is very little hope for an early change in the present conditions. Many macaroni and spaghetti manufacturers have already discontinued their free deal, and eventually they may be compelled to reduce the jobbers’ discount or advance their list price. I am giving you an opportunity to protect yourself on your macaroni and spaghetti requirements at a fair price until March 1st, 1917. The enclosed contract offers you high quality, guar- anteed, LUXURY brand macaroni, spaghetti and elbows at: 24 — 10c size packages to the box @ 1.80 48 — 5c size packages to the box @ 1.90 Less 15% delivered; with 2% additional for cash 10 days. WE ALSO GIVE A FREE DEAL OF ONE BOX WITH EVERY TEN. Will you sign it today, fill it out with your requirements until March 1st, 1917, and return it to me? I will then return to you a signed copy for your files. Because of conditions already discussed, this offer can’t be held open very long. It will be necessary for us to buy flour in order to protect you, and we will have to move quickly. This offer, therefore, is subject to immediate acceptance. I am sure you recognize this as a real opportunity, so why not send in the contract while it is fresh in your mind? Yours for protection, SOUTHERN MACARONI MFG CO., A3 3 R. A. LOUGHNEY, Sales Mgr. Well, the excitement is over and we are getting down to busi- ness with new plans and new enthusiasms for the coming year. I sincerely hope your most progressive and profitable plans will pan out successfully. I just want to tell you of a good resolution that will not be used as a paving block where New Year resolutions are supposed to go. We have made up our minds to make the LUXURY ac- count bigger and better for you this year. New equipment and new facilities for handling our macaroni and spaghetti will en- 29 able us to turn out a product that is even finer than the splendid quality you have been receiving. We want to start the New Year right by including in our good resolution prompt service — but I will need your co-opera- tion*. Everybody stopped buying during the latter part of De- cember, and orders are coming in now in such quantities as to make me dubious about our ability to give you prompt service unless we get some idea regarding the date you will need an- other shipment of LUXURY. You, of course, understand that we will have to take orders as they come and fill them. Won’t you, therefore, drop me the enclosed post card giving me a shipping date on the card so that we can handle it efficiently and prevent unnecessary or annoying delays? I am sure you will need some LUXURY soon. You may even need it right away, so will you give this your prompt atten- tion and mail the card today? Yours for service, A49 R. A. LOUGHNEY, Sales Mgr. How is the weather today in Down in New Orleans I am sitting in my shirt sleeves at the desk, the windows are open and there is a fine breeze. It is mighty pleasant and today is no exception. Most of our days are warm. Personally I would rather kick around for about half an hour in a good healthy snowdrift but — this is just the kind of weather to make good macaroni. That is why LUX- URY has proven its superior quality in competitive tests all over the United States. It is cured by nature, and you, of course, appreciate that when nature gets busy on the job she can outdo any artificial propo- sition. The latest type Mazda can’t beat the sun nor can the latest type steam-heating device beat old Sol when it comes to curing macaroni and spaghetti. I am sorry you have not time today to listen to an explana- tion of how we make LUXURY. I know a demonstration of our manufacturing methods would enable you to see why we so cheerfully guarantee LUXURY brand macaroni, spaghetti, el- bows, etc., to give absolute satisfaction. Yours for a prosperous 1917, FI R. A. LOUGHNEY, Sales Mgr. 30 A couple of weeks ago we started a new account — one of the biggest wholesale grocers in the West. He tried a little LUX- URY macaroni and spaghetti and today we received a letter tell- ing us what he thought of it. He is highly enthusiastic. He has placed a big order for an additional supply and he says frankly, “Your product is the near- est to the genuine imported Italian macaroni and spaghetti we have got hold of and we know we can place it to good advan- tage.” It is usual to think of Italy when we think of the best maca- roni. When we started to make LUXURY macaroni and spa- ghetti we had this in mind. The enclosed letter from the captain of an Italian steamship will give you an idea of how closely we have followed our ideal. This letter was written some time ago. The captain was in again last week to order a supply for his next voyage. Yours for a prosperous 1917, F2 R. A. LOUGHNEY, Sales Mgr. Primarily the retailer is in business to make a profit. So are you and so are we. There are two ways of figuring a profit, however: — First a big profit on a sale that won’t repeat; Second a fair profit on a sale that shows a quick repeat through the sell- ing of goods which are satisfactory. It is about a sale which repeats that I want to talk. It re- peats through quality. In other words, the buyer is satisfied and comes back for more. They have to try it the first time, how- ever, before they can determine its quality. So an article must have an attractive appearance, otherwise it is hard to make the first sale. The LUXURY macaroni and spaghetti carton is distinctive. It looks like quality at the first glance. The color scheme is attractive and the carton is a high grade piece of first-class lithography. It attracts and pleases the eye, therefore, it is very easy to convince the buyer that the quality of the contents is in keeping with the outside appearance. That is why LUXURY sells so quickly the first time. The re- tailer sees the sample and it attracts his eye. He knows if it is attractive to him it will be attractive to the consumer, so I believe you will agree with me that we have taken care of the first step in successfully merchandising LUXURY macaroni and spaghetti. Yours for a prosperous 1917, R. A. LOUGHNEY, Sales Mgr. 31 F3 Your time is valuable, I realize this and I, therefore feel sure you will appreciate the effort I have made to save it. I have writ- ten you a number of letters giving you different points on LUX- URY macaroni and spaghetti. I showed you that we made possi- ble a quick first sale because of an attractive carton. I showed you we had quality and this quality brings repeat business. There is another feature about LUXURY macaroni and spa- ghetti which will be interesting to you. Our carton is wrapped in a high grade of heavy wax paper. This wrapping is perfectly sealed by automatic machinery. It is air-tight and moisture proof and in these days of sanitary precautions you can readily under- stand how LUXLTRY will make an impression on the woman who buys food for her family. Many a good brand loses out on repeat business because of the inability of the purchaser to remember the name. “LUX- URY” is a word that is used in every day conversation. It is easy to remember. Because of the curing process that LUXURY undergoes it takes less time to thoroughly cook our macaroni and spaghetti than any other brand with which we have come into active com- petition. The carton attracts the eye for the first sale. The wax paper wrapping insures a clean package. It looks good on the table and its appetizing appearance goes a long way in reselling it. In addi- tion it tastes good because it is made of the right kind of flour, and we know from experience that once LUXURY is used in a territory it sticks. I have told you these points, as I say, in an effort to save your time. I have in mind the saving of the time of our salesman. With your present knowledge of LUXURY you will be in a po- sition to talk to him quickly and I know you will be interested in a trial order. Normally, when an argument like ours is advanced it is gener- ally in the way of explanation for a high price. You, therefore, will be agreeably surprised to learn the price at which we are sell- ing LUXURY. It is lower than our standard competitors. Mr. Blackman, our salesman, will be in He will have samples of LUXURY and once you see them you will be con- vinced that our story of quality has a true ring. He will quote you a price that will be an agreeable surprise in these days of high prices. I believe his visit will result in a mutually satisfactory arrangement. Yours for business, F4 R. A. LOUGHNEY, Sales Mgr. 32 Thus we see the wonderful combination of the follow-up letter and the salesman. The prime object of all advertising is to interest people in something that you have for sale. A salesman is supposed to be competent enough to increase that original inter- est into an order. You cannot “time” display adver- tising so that it will reach a prospective customer just before the salesman calls. But you can “time” a letter, and thus you get all the benefit of the “inter- est” your advertising creates. The New York office of the Grand Rapids Fur- niture Co. first sent out an illustrated letter to a list of 3000 names, and were so satisfied with the results that they have gradually added names until they now have a list of more than 100,000. The real ob- ject of all retail advertising is to draw people into the store , and the big volume of business must come from additional goods sold, other than the particular article that drew the visitor to the store. If Mrs. Vanderlip receives a letter offering to help her on color schemes, she may visit the store for the sole purpose of getting just that information, but a clever salesman will politely draw out her various other de- sires, and probably land a nice order — in all of which transaction both the customer and the store is bene- fited. Dear Madam : You are entirely welcome to any suggestions in color scheme or design without our intruding in any way on your preferences, or those of your decorator. We shall be pleased to have you visit our galleries or send for sketches of any particular article of furniture you are considering. You will find our service department entirely free of sales ef- fort, just as we have conducted it for many years. Yours very truly, GRAND RAPIDS FURNITURE CO., W. F. STEWART, Gen. Mgr. 33 One retail store manager makes it a rule that a head of one department must write one letter each week, and that letter is sent to the follow-up list. As there are about twenty departments, the prospective customer receives a different appeal in each letter, and it is almost impossible to send twenty letters, on twenty different articles, without striking ONE that the customer needs at that very moment. And do not overlook the fact that the other nineteen let- ters ARE NOT WASTED. They are advertising of the highest tvpe, and they are STAMPING THE NAME OF THAT STORE, and its goods, indelibly on the customer’s mind. An interesting story has come to my attention re- garding the Tel-Tex Manufacturing Co., of Terrell, Texas, makers of blouses, aprons, house dresses, etc. At the time these people took up direct-mail adver- tising their business seemed hopelessly involved. They were unable to pay the expenses of a salesman, and were forced to turn to some simple, and ex- tremely rapid and direct method of getting immedi- ate orders. In less than six months, with follow-up letters, this concern was on the road to permanent success, and today, a successful concern, they are do- ing 90% of their business by mail. The Texas Seed & Floral Co., Dallas, Texas, had been sending their catalog to anyone requesting it, and in many cases never heard anything further from the catalog. Very few orders came in from that source. They adopted the plan of sending letter No. 1 to everyone requesting a catalog, with the re- sult that business has greatly increased. In the back of the catalog is a page requesting the recipient to send in a list of names of neighbors or friends, in return for which courtesy they are given a few pack- 34 ages of free seed. This has built up a big mailing list, to which letter No. 2 is sent, which has also pro- duced big business. Your letter just received asking for one of our catalogs. We are very glad to send it to you under separate cover. If it does not reach you promptly please let us know and we will send another one. The catalog we are sending you is our 1917 general spring cat- alog. We have listed this year many new varieties of garden and field seed with our regular standard ones. We are offering as prizes $500.00 in cash and we trust that some of them will be of interest to you. You will note that we have the only Seed Laboratory in the Southwest. We also have the only Trial Grounds, which is oper- ated by an expert in order to determine the best varieties of seed for the South and Southwest. It is our aim to give you the very best that money can buy. If after looking over our catalog there are any questions you would like to ask about our seeds, plants or bulbs, the method of cultivation regarding any crops, please do not hesitate to write us, as it will only be a pleasure to help you in any way that we can. Any order sent us will have our very careful attention and will he fully appreciated. Yours respectfully, THE TEXAS SEED AND FLORAL CO. We are mighty glad to tell you that one of your friends has given us your name stating that you are interested in good Seeds, Plants, Blubs, etc., and that you would like to see one of our catalogs and we are glad indeed to mail you one today. If it does not reach you promptly, please advise us so we can send you another one. This is our 1917 general catalog, it is a very large book, in fact, it is more than a catalog — it is really a guide to farming and gar- dening in the South and Southwest. We keep a very careful rec- ord of our customers, but we do not find your name in our records and we certainly want you for a permanent customer. You will note in our catalog that we have the only private Seed Laboratory in the Southwest. We also have our own Trial Grounds where we are constantly testing out new varieties in order that we may offer our customers Seeds and Plants that suc- ceed in this climate. 35 We are surely going to look for a trial order, but if you are not in the market just now, possibly you would like to have some in- formation about some particular Seeds, Plants or Bulbs or you might like to have some advice with reference to some particular crop that will do the best on your land. We will only be too glad to have you write fully so that we can help you in every way pos- sible. Trusting that we may hear from you promptly as we are anxious to serve you. Yours very truly, THE TEXAS SEED AND FLORAL CO. On Sunday. Dec. 1 Oth, 1916, the Newark Branch of the Detroit Cadillac Motor Car Company re- ceived a telegram from the factory announcing an increase in price on all Cadillac cars, to be effective at midnight, Dec. Nth. By noon Monday 7000 per- sonally addressed letters were in the mail. We can’t get Sales Manager Benj. C. Mott to “loosen up” with actual figures, but he does say: “The amount of returns which we derived from this letter in act- ual sales I won’t tell you, for you wouldn’t believe it. Sufficient to say, we did two months’ work in four davs’ time.” Just think of that — TWO MONTHS’ work done in FOUR DAYS. An im- possible feat with salesmen. An impossible feat with any other type of advertising. Just four days existed in which to get that information into the hands of possible buyers, and the information HAD TO GO DIRECT. There was no taking chances that the possible buyer might read it in the paper. ONE follow-up letter did the work. Mr. E. G. Ward, December 11, 1916. 65 Van Ness Place, Newark, N. J. Dear Mr. Ward: An announcement of the greatest importance has just been re- ceived by us from our factory in Detroit. At midnight on Thursday, December 14th, the prices of all 36 Cadillac automobiles will be increased one hundred sixty dollars ($160.00). This increase has been necessitated by the increase in cost of materials, labor, etc. Our factory was faced with the problem of either an increase in price or a decrease in quality. It has ever been the policy of the Cadillac Motor Car Company to build their car better, hence the increase in price. All orders placed before Thursday, the 14th, will be booked at present prices. Therefore, if you expect to purchase a Cadillac car this year, we would suggest that you ’phone immediately and put yourself in a position to save this one hundred ^sixty dollars ($160.00). We are arranging to keep our salesroom open evenings until Thursday to make it easy for interested persons to view our var- ious models. Also, we are enclosing return envelope and hope you will ad- vise us whether or not you are interested. We will be very glad to forward you contracts covering the purchase of one of our var- ious models, and make the entire transaction subject to satisfac- tory demonstration at some future date. We are also enclosing copy of telegram received from the factory which will make clear our position. Will you not let us hear from you at once? Very truly yours, DETROIT CADILLAC MOTOR CAR CO. BENJ. C. MOTT, Sales Manager. Every once in a while you see an advertisement in which some firm makes an attempt at “putting their business pride” into the copy. It’s hard work — and it takes years of general publicity to get the general public to believe that such advertising is sincere. Display advertising is too “cold” — too impersonal. You can’t get confidential. Your business may be built on honor, and you may be quite sincere in ad- vertising the fact, but the statement carries a lot more weight if you pluck a fellow by the sleeve and get him off in a corner and tell him about it. We are not prone to believe the fellow who shouts his vir- tues from the housetops. 37 Firman L. Carswell, president of the Kansas City company that bears his name, is proud of his prod- uct, and willing to back his judgment. But he doesn’t make much public fuss about it. We are re- producing two of Mr. Carswell’s letters, which he states pulled an average of 75% in actual orders. I am ready to prove every word I have written you about the Road Boss by letting you be the Judge and Jury. I am willing to trust you before I ask you to trust me. If you can think of a fairer or squarer plan than for me to send you the grader all freight charges prepaid with the understanding that you can return it to me at my expense after 90 days free use if not satisfactory in every way, then I want you to write me what it is and I will agree to it. I know the Road Boss will stand up back of any engine and on any road, and I want you to know it. I know it will save you at least one-third the cost of grading and I want you to know it. The machine itself is my proof. Take it and use it and see for yourself what it will save you in the cost of grading. If the work it does isn’t satisfactory, send the machine back to me at my ex- pense and it will not have cost you one penny for the time you have used it. Consider my price of $595.00 freight paid. It means a clear saving to you of at least $100.00. More than this, I ask you to compare the actual construction of the Road Boss with that of graders selling through Agents at $100.00 or more than my price on the Road Boss. I am telling you the truth when I say that I could cut an easy $100.00 out of the cost of building the Road Boss by substituting cheaper material, but if I did this I COULD NOT GUARANTEE THE ROAD BOSS FOR TWO YEARS AGAINST BREAKAGE and I could not afford to take the risk of sending it to you freight paid on 90 days free trial with the privilege of sending it back to me at my expense, because I would be afraid the machine would not stand up. It is possible to use a light grader with an engine just as it is possible to haul corn in a spring wagon but the result in either case is not satisfactory. It is impossible to hold a light grader to its work because there isn’t weight enough to keep it on the ground. The result is when you strike an obstruction with a light grader you either break the machine or it jumps over the obstruc- tion. The big Road Boss plows right through no matter how 38 hard or how tough the ground is. The Road Boss will not quarry rock or pull stumps, but: it is a safe grader to use in both rocky and stumpy ground and it will stand more use and abuse than any other 10-foot grader ever built. This is a strong statement but I stand back of it absolutely and will prove it to your satis- faction if you will write me to send you the Road Boss freight paid on free trial. Write your own terms under which you are willing to try the Road Boss and let me hear from you. You will begin to save money the day the Road Boss begins to work for you. Hoping to hear from you, and with best wishes and kind re- gards, I am Sincerely yours, You have touched the pride of my business when you ask me to tell you about the Road Boss, because this grader was built good enough to ship out freight paid on 90 days free trial with the understanding that if it breaks or doesn’t save you a third in the cost of your grading over the old method of doing the work with horses, you are to send the machine back to me at my expense and your township won’t be out a penny. That’s a pretty liberal offer, isn’t it? Absolutely you take not one chance in the world when you tell me to send you the Road Boss. The machine must be strong enough to do your work — it must make good everything I claim for it or back the machine comes at my expense. Consider my price of $595.00 freight paid to your station — an easy $100.00 less than any other ten foot blade machine that can begin to compare with the Road Boss. Compare the specifications with those of other machines and then you will really begin to appreciate this machine. It has a mold board 24 inch thick; the heaviest ever used on any grader at any price; it has the strongest front and rear axle ever used on any grader at any price and the machine can be shifted on the rear axle through positive worm gears so quickly and easily that a ten year old boy can do it. This is a true state- ment or I wouldn’t put it in this letter. Not only are the fea- tures I have mentioned better than you can find on any other grader regardless of price but every single thing about the Road Boss is substantially and carefully built. Unless the engine grader you order WILL HOLD UP ON THE WORST ROADS YOU HAVE AND NOT BREAK 39 it certainly is not a success and not the machine you want. Nat- urally the first question you ask is “Will your machine hold up back of any steam or gas tractor regardless of power or size, or the condition of the road?” and my answer is YES. If my grader doesn’t hold up, then ship it back to me at my expense and your township will not be out one penny. Another thing: The Road Boss is guaranteed against break- age for two years and any part breaking in this time, flaw or no flaw, will be replaced absolutely free of charge to your township. THIS IS THE ONLY GRADER BUILT THAT CARRIES THIS GUARANTEE BACKED BY A RESPONSIBLE CONCERN. When a man knows he is right it’s easy for him to tell his story. I know I am right when I say that money can’t buy a grader built as substantially as the Road Boss and I am telling you the truth when I say that practically $10,000.00 was spent in perfecting this grader and making it the splendid machine that it is. My customers did not pay any of this money, either. The first few Road Boss graders I built did not suit me and after seeing them in operation I did not believe they would stand up as they should SO WE PUT AN EXPERT ON EVERY ONE OF THESE GRADERS and staved with the machines for three months and then WE BUILT THE PRESENT ROAD BOSS. After proving beyond all question of doubt that the Road Boss was as nearly INDESTRUCTIBLE as it was possible to build a grader I VOLUNTARILY WITHOUT BEING ASKED TOOK BACK EVERY ONE OF THE FIRST ROAD BOSS GRADERS THAT I HAD SHIPPED OUT AND GAVE EACH CUSTOMER ONE OF THE BRAND NEW MA- CHINES. To replace each one of these machines and do the other things that resulted in the present Road Boss Grader, cost more than I made last year on all of my grader business and sev- eral thousand dollars besides, but this was the only square thing to do, and I did it. You won’t find a Carswell Road Boss anywhere that isn’t mak- ing good and if you put a Road Boss on your roads it will make good, too; and you can feel absolutely sure that I will stand back of the machine and see that it gives you the service and satisfac- tion you are entitled to. I will do this as cheerfully after you have paid for the machine as I will before BECAUSE YOUR SATISFACTION IS THE VERY HEART AND LIFE OF MY BUSINESS. 40 I am honest in saying to you that I believe if you will take the Road Boss and use it this year that it will just about pay for it- self in the extra work you will get done. Men who are using the Road Boss make greater claims for it than I do. They say you can save a third to a half the cost of grading as compared with the cost of doing the work with a light grader. There is no lost time, no lost motion with the Road Boss. It stays with the job no matter how tough it is and when you are finished you have a road that is really graded. The Road Boss was built to do the hardest grading, just like the 30-60 tractor was built to do the hardest pulling. I know that if once you saw the Road Boss work you would tell me to ship you one right away. I have given you the facts just as they are and I hope you will tell me to send you a Road Boss ALL FREIGHT CHARGES PAID with the understanding that you can ship it back to me at my expense if it isn’t satisfactory in every way. My low price of $595.00 will save you at least $100.00 and is made possible only through the co-operation of my friends and customers. I am mighty glad you wrote me and I sincerely hope you will give the Road Boss a free trial in your township. With best wishes and kind regards, I am Sincerely yours, I have tried to illustrate to you that follow-up let- ters fit any kind of business. If there are limitations I have never found them. The letters illustrated are not intended to be used as samples. They represent the personality and selling methods of some other man. He puts his sales talk on paper. Why not put yours on paper? If you can talk you can write a letter , for a sales letter should be just what you would say if you had the prospect in front of you. Use horse sense. Line up your arguments in consec- utive fashion, with a separate appeal in each section, and bombard your prospective customer with such regularity that the hole made by the last letter can- not close before the next letter arrives. Thus you “bore in” and eventually reach the business heart 41 of the man you are after. It is no more logical to send letters so far apart that the others have been forgotten when the last arrives, than it would be for a surgeon to perform an operation by making an in- cision of 1-32 of an inch every sixty days. In both cases the hole would have closed before the time for the next operation. No difference how illiterate you may be, if you have something to sell that is worth selling, and vou know WHY it is worth sell- ing, and you KEEP ON TELLING THE PUB- LIC WHY it is worth selling, you will sell it. Pro- vided, of course, that you tell your story to people who can he interested in your goods. Don’t adver- tise to a million when only five hundred can possibly buy. That is horse-sense. 42 HOW TO PRODUCE FOLLOW-UP LETTERS CHAPTER III S O far I have told you what follow-up letters are, what they have done for others, and what they can do for you. I have yet to find a bus- iness man, worthy of the name, who would admit that he was incapable of producing the same success that someone else had produced before him, if given an equal chance. I now propose to tell you how follow-up letters are produced, and give you your equal chance with every competitor. If the Mail Order House is hurting your business; if your big competitor across the street is taking away your customers one by one; or even if you have had the simple excuse that you did not know how to handle follow-up letters, I am going to wipe out every barrier, and start you at the tape with your competitors — with an equal chance for all. Brains run this race, and the sooner you start training yours, the sooner you will outstrip competition. The Multigraph is the machine that has been used by practically all the mail order and follow-up let- ter successes in this country. I will tell you briefly what it is : The type composing unit of the Multigraph is the Multigraph Compotype (shown at the left of the illustration on page 44). The basic features of this machine are two channeled cylinders, mounted end to end on a cast-iron base set on a tubular stand. One cylinder is a type-supply drum; the other a printing drum. The type-supply drum carries indi- vidual type in three typewriter faces — Pica Type- writer, Elite Typewriter and Oliver Printype — for printing through a ribbon. 43 The Multigraph No. 36 Printer Senior (Complete Equipment) This Senior equipment consists of the Multigraph No. 36 Printer Senior, for both form typewriting and real printers’ printing, with Automatic Paper Feed, Electric Power Drive, Printing-Ink Attachment, Signature Device, and Auto- matic Platen Release, stopping the machine instantly when paper is not fed. The type composing and distributing companion to the Multigraph No. 36 Printer Senior is the Compotype. On this, type is set semi-automatically. The seg- mental printing drum of the Multigraph No. 36 Printer Senior is easily removed and attached to the Compotype. The Flexo-Typesetter, shown on page 46, may also be used with the No. 36 Printer Senior. The type is set by semi-automatic process. The left hand turns the wheel shown at the left side of the machine until the indicator is opposite the type character desired. The right hand then pulls the trigger and the individual type is shot into the chan- 44 nel of the printing drum. These two operations are rapid and their repetition sets the form. Reverse them and they distribute the form when the letter has been run. When the type has been set in the printing drum it is fastened by little metal clips or bands to pre- vent endwise movement, but the individual type characters have sufficient lateral play in the channel to produce the slight inequalities characteristic of the ordinary typewriter. Corrections are made with great ease in a short time. The printing drum is segmental and when the type is set it is transferred from the Compotype to the Printing Unit (shown at the right of the illus- tration on page 44). This unit, as shown, is equipped with Automatic Feed — holding 500 sheets of paper at one filling; Electric Power Drive — driving the machine at a speed of from 2,400 to 4,800 per hour and using the current from an ordinary light socket; and Signature Device — imprinting a fac-simile sig- nature in colored ink at the same time the letter is run. The segmental drum prints a form measuring 8x1 D/4 in. or 65 lines of typewriting. Several seg- ments may be had so that composition may be done on the Compotype while a letter is being run on the Multigraph Printer. After the segmental drum with the composed let- ter on it has been locked in place on the Printer, it is covered by a broad typewriter ribbon that is car- ried on two spools in an opening in the printing drum. This ribbon is 21 feet long, moves automat- ically from one spool to the other in much the same manner as on an ordinary typewriter, and reverses automatically when the end is reached. As the 45 The Flexo-Typesetter, Model No. 39 This little machine is the composing-half of Junior Multigraph No. 40 Printer Junior equipment. It can also be used with the Multigraph No. 36 Printer Senior. It is a gravity typesetter composed of three banks, each containing forty-two columns of type. The upper bank contains figures and special characters, the middle bank capital letters, and the lower bank small letters. The type can be rapidly removed from the bottom of the column and slid into the channels of the printing drum by the use of a light tubular composing fork. printing drum revolves, each line in turn comes in contact with a rubber cylinder or platen, thus pro- ducing real typewriting, a complete typewritten let- ter with every revolution. A simple device regu- lates the type pressure, so that it will correspond to the light or heavy touch of the individual who is to match in the address, and by the same means uni- formity of color is maintained as the ribbon becomes worn. After the letters are Multigraphed they can be filled in on a correspondence typewriter, using rib- 46 bons that match in color and shade the ribbon used on the Multigraph. When the run is completed, the segmental drum is removed from the Printer, the type cleaned with a simple cleaning solution, the drum again placed on the Compotype and the type distributed, or the form may be kept standing, ready for use at a sub- sequent date. Type composition may also be done on another form of Multigraph composing unit, called the Flexo-Typesetter, if desired, illustrated on page 46. An operator soon acquires a speed of a line a min- ute in composition, while distribution is even faster. The Multigraph Senior is also a Printing Ma- chine , having an attachment that uses the same ink that printers use, and producing work equal in qual- ity to that produced by the printer. Operated by electricity and equipped with automatic feed, it prints from either electrotypes or type at a speed of 2400 to 4800 per hour. This is the Multigraph equipment most generally used by larger business houses that send out quan- tities of follow-up letters and printed matter. For those who require only a limited quantity of form letters and printing there is the Multigraph Junior. This is a smaller model of the Multigraph, hand-operated, and has no attachments except a two- roll printing-ink attachment, with which good print- ing may be done in limited quantities. It has a printing surface of iy 2 inches. (See page 48). The Junior equipment is the ideal equipment for retailers, small manufacturers, agencies, restaurants, offices, etc. Purchasers of Junior equipment can trade it in on Senior equipment at full purchase price any time within ninety days. 47 The Multigraph No. 40 Printer Junior The Multigraph No. 40 Printer Junior is a smaller machine than the regular Multigraph, but does the same character of form typewriting. It has a removable printing drum, six inches in diameter. The printing sur- face is 7 l / 2 inches by 13J4 inches or 78 lines of typewriting. It will take paper 9 inches in width. Hand fed and hand operated. Weight, 50 pounds. This machine cannot be equipped with Automatic Feed, Electric Power Drive or Signature Device. It can be equipped, however, with a simple, two-roll Printing-Ink Attachment, with which real printing with printers’ ink may be done in limited quantities. The Illustration above shows the machine equipped for form typewriting only. Either Multigraph Senior or Junior equipment can be purchased on terms — 20% down and easy monthly payments. Either equipment should earn enough to pay installments as due. There is really nothing more to say about the mechanical features of the Multigraph. I have ex- plained that it produces a perfect typewritten letter, and also printers’ printing. The next thing that interests you is cost of production. (1) Cost of typewritten letters varies, but on a 48 fair average, an ordinary office employee can set up, correct, print 1000 copies, and distribute the type on a letter of thirty lines in two hours. The total cost of production of 1000 letters should not run over 75c. In smaller offices the spare time of the sten- ographer can be used, both for running the Multi- graph and filling-in the addresses. In larger offices, the cost of filling-in will depend on the salary paid stenographers. (2) Cost of printing also varies, according to the amount of type composition on the page. Plates can be used, or regular printers’ type faces can be se- cured in Multigraph type. An ordinary letter-head can be printed for less than $1.00 per thousand. To figure safely, you can save from 25% to 75% of your printing bills. That is quite an item, even if your bills are only $500.00 per year. Fifty per cent., or $250.00, is well worth looking into. Those who have bills ranging under $500.00 yearly have a much greater percentage of saving, as printers charge more in small quantities. Where accurate register is not necessary, any num- ber of colors can be run, although almost perfect register can be gotten. You have now been carried through the follow- up mechanical process. First, I have told you what others are doing with follow-up letters. You know that it is true, for the big successes of many Multi- graph users stand out as monuments to mark and prove the fact. In the back of this booklet is a list of a few well known Multigraph users, and a few testimonials. Read and be convinced. Next, I told you what the Multigraph is — what it will do. And finally, I told you what you could save. It is all there for you, and vou have the information that will 49 equip you for a running start in the race for business. We have an office near you, with trained men in charge of it. They will come to you and prove that we can help you, and after your Multigraph is in- stalled, they will stick by you and help you “make good”. You cant buy a Multigraph unless you need it. Ask us to send a man to help you solve your prob- lems. He will not try to sell you. He will let you sell yourself, if you need it, and if you do not, he will tell you so frankly. Be fair to yourself — to your business future. You are giving the best of yourself to building your business. Don’t let your neighbor, or your competitor build a business monument that will stand longer and loom larger than yours. Forget the old notions of the past. Forget that we once crossed deserts in oxcarts. Forget that mailcarriers once ran barefoot, rode ponies or in stage coaches. Face about — tell yourself the truth — tell your- self that you aren’t keeping pace with the runners. Get on the Business Limited and ride the cushions a while, and you won’t feel the bumps of competi- tion so keenly. This is plain talk, but it is true talk. You can’t face backward and run forward. You are living in the past and present, and you are forgetting that your name and your business should run on long years into the future — even after you are gone. Now take us at our word — it will only cost a stamp — and make us prove that what you have read is true. 50 A Few Representative Multigraph Users m LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF li« INOIS Convince rs — TEAR OFF HERE