Increasing Human Efficiency in Business A Contribution to the Psychology of Business

Twenty years ago the head of an industry now in the million-a-month class sat listening to his "star" salesman. The latter, in the first enthusiasm of discovery and creation, was telling how he had developed the company's haphazard selling talk and had taken order after order with a standard approach, demonstration, and summary of closing arguments. To prove the effectiveness of "the one best way," he challenged his employer to act as a customer, staged the little drama he had arranged, secured admissions of savings his machine would make, ultimately cornered the other, and sold him. "That's great," the owner declared the instant he had surrendered to the salesman's logic. "If we can get all our agents to learn and use this new method of yours, we'll double our business in three years." Then followed discussion of the means by which the knowledge could be spread. "I've got it," the manager announced at last.