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Show 15 IIEIM TOLEDO Willys - Overland People Stage a Most Remarkable Remark-able Contest. SALESMEN ARE FETED Winners Enjoy Trip to Factory Fac-tory and Are Awarded Prizes. The John N. Willys rct;ill miles con-Brmw, con-Brmw, whl h wa hold at tho Willys-Over-h. iidquiirterH in Toledo durlnK the ).tsl week, was, perhaps, of morn Interna Inter-na to llM! iiulomobile buyliiK public at lan; an well as lo the man who soils ,-.,,, tiian anylhinK that has yet been dune hy tho biK Toledo automobile rnanu-lac rnanu-lac turinK t'ornorn, a-ecorfllng to Manager Aivii IliuwnliiK of the BrownitiB Auto & Supply company, local Willys-Overland uh-il rlhuloi s. I'ur a. lone time a number of orlRlnal ' plans and methods to Increase sales and manufacturing efficiency have been under un-der way, closely supervised hy John N. Willys, president of tho company. But In the congress Jl'8t closed it would seem (hat Mr YVIMvm came closer to getting a first-hand view of public demand than anvoiie III the industry. II has been necessary, according to Browning, fur quantity producers of motor mo-tor tars to sense public demand more quickly than any other manufacturer. Catered to Public. The very future of their business has been at sialic, because the minute inanu-laclurcrs inanu-laclurcrs take their fingers off the buying buy-ing pulse of the public, over production of an article not In demand, or under production of an article Intensely desired, might result. " A large part of the Willys-Overland company's success, no doubt, has been duo to tho fact that it catered to the public's demand. But Mr. Willys was of the opinion that a shorter, quicker and more accurate route for this Information could be found. He set out to obtain it and the recent retail sales congress was the result. Obviously the men to speak most authoritatively au-thoritatively on what tho public wants are the men who actually sell the most cars to the public In other words, the "star salesmen." Accordingly, some months ago the plans for the .lolin N. Willys retail sales congress con-gress were named. liclall salesmen of Overland and Willys-ICnight Willys-ICnight automobiles In every part of the i: tilled States were grouped in classes and set out to establish individual sales records for a three months' period. Of the thousands of contestants entered only ;Ut were given the opportunity to act as delegates to the congress on a basis of personal performance. No financial credit accrued. The entire plan wns based on the element ele-ment of honor and tho distinction gained through the leadership. The contest, in tills wav, lacked any of the harmful effects ef-fects that come through speeding up an organization to temporary effort, for a certain period, through unusual remuneration. remuner-ation. Salt Laker Wins Prize. Tim contest camo to a close on Wed nesday, August 22, find announcements were made through the country naming delegates to the congress which started in Toledo on Tuesday, September 4. Salesman Klmer Hector of the Browning Brown-ing Auto & Supply company ot Salt Lake City, won the distinction of being the "star salesman" for this territory, and was delegated to make the trip to the factory. After an Inspection of factory facilities at Toledo and a dinner which was tendered ten-dered the delegates by Mr. Willys at the Toledo club, at which time substantial recognition was made of records or unusual un-usual merit, through the presentation of some very handsome cups and trophies that were offered as honor awards by official of-ficial and department heads of the company, com-pany, the entire party participated in a groat lakes' cruise on the chartered steamer "South American," holding meetings meet-ings aboard and finishing their journey in Chicago at the end of the week. Among the subjects discussed on the cruise were "How Not to Sell Automobiles," Automo-biles," "Fitting the Car to the Buver," "Treating the Public Right," "The Evils of Exaggerated Claims," "Why Kfficlent Service la Imperative," and scores of topics on other phases of salesmanship. The steamer schedule provided an opportunity op-portunity to Inspect the great service facilities fa-cilities of the Willys-Overland organization organiza-tion at Detroit and Chicago. |