Show I c DRUMMER An occupation that Is always attractive to the average AmerIcan American Amer Amer- ican boy who sees only Its surface surface surface sur sur- face features and does not take Into consideration the energy and hard work so essential to Its success It Is a profitable cail- cail call callIng Ing however for those who S master its difficulties and attend attend at at- tend strictly to business By C. C W. W JENNINGS z NE of the most attractive of jf business men to the average average average aver aver- age youth Is the drummer ij- ij or traveling man or commercial com corn 5 n 44 mercial traveler or commercial commercial com corn mercial salesman or tra trayS tray trav- vo v- v S o sling lIng salesman as ho he Is called In various various va Ya- va- va rious parts of the country This admiration ad ad- on the part of the American AmericanS S boy who Is always on the lookout for or some sone lifework that appeals strongly strong strong- ly to his idea of what Is both agreeable agree able ible and profitable is duo to the appearance appearance appearance ap ap- ap- ap of comfort and prosperity which the traveling man presents when on the road This of or course Is La only a feature of the business busi busl- ness and does not do away with the tact fact that underneath this apparently free care exterior there Is Is the same necessity for Cor the exercise of good business bustness business busi bust ness ability and application that characterize characterize char char- most other occupations Your boy who has an nn ambition to adopt this calling be made acquainted aco acquainted ac ac- ac- ac o at once with the facts in the I case He should be convinced right at atthe the start that the traveling mans man's gold goldIs Is not all glitter and that he is one of the hardest worked individuals to be found Cound among those who are tr trying ing to toS S get on in the world That wagon load of oC trunks which he heS S EO so blandly orders sent to the sample rooms of the hotel has to be unpacked every everyone one of them and the contents 5 attractively spread out on counters and shelves shelves and and he must do it all himself because it Is his taste and andS S knowledge of goods which must be used in arranging them so attractively S as to hypnotize the tho local customer into buying After a afew few hours these S samples must nil nu De again and sent on to the next ext town The S traveling mans man's easy affability and lucky happy expression is not assumed assumed assumed as as- much for Cor pastime but for the purpose of selling goods and to sell goods In these days of strenuous competition competition com corn petition means the hardest kind of werle and study and acuteness And furthermore as ho he works on a commission cornS com corn S mission basis either directly or indirectly indi l q his success depends entirely upon his own efforts This is more general in his case caso than In most oc oc- oc- oc But If It your our boy still sUll insists on being za a drummer It is Quite possible for Cor him himS to be one and also have ahead of him I S the prospect of as great success ss as atS attends attends at at- S tends the other branches ot of mercantile S tile Ule life Ufe Tho The best way for him to begin la Is with some wholesale house the larger the Institution the better bettor However unless In the rarest of instances he will not be able to earn his living the first year for Cor this time will be spent S largely In getting acquainted with the rudiments of the he business Say h he Isa is isa isa a good healthy lad tad of 16 or so with the ordinary common school tion Uon He had better choose th the thO particular particular particular par par- line of or mercantile b business he wishes s to follow Collow before he makes h his s beginning as it will be somewhat difficult difficult dif dir to make a change afterward He will b be paid anywhere from froin 50 I to for Cor the first years year's work or 01 from rom 4 to 1250 1260 a month and will bo lo loput I put to work In the stock room S l Let t us for foz example sa say that h he 1 t has chosen a wholesale grocery firm firmand I It t and that he Is assigned to the soap soapS S department Here he will see an almost atS almost al at- S most endless variety of soaps from the high priced dainty kind used In my ladys lady's boudoir to the y yellow laundry soap and it will be his duty to see Bce that this stock Is Is- kept up and is always in order Whenever When- When over ever any of the goods aro are depleted he will report to the head of the department department depart depart- ment mont and they will be replenished Then he should be careful to noteS note S of the way visiting customers are attended attended attended at at- tended to by resident salesmen and after a year or so he ho will have opportunity opportunity opportunity of waiting upon somebody himS him him- S self If he makes maltoS good at this he 5 will bavo have more of J. J ho o same work to todo todo 5 S do and after awhile will be beable beU beable beable able to show t at no ho ho can take care caie of or orthe U S the most troubles les me me of f customers Then Then Then-It It may may be after tour torn or 01 five uIo years' years work work work-he he can a realize his ambi tion Uon to be sent on the road 0 During all this time timo h he will have S been absorbing everything he possibly can from rom the regular traveling men IDen when they come back to headquarters tera studying their methods of ap approaching t and and- handling the retailers and the general technical of the business H He t will also And that S one of the fundamentals of a traveling salesman Is to know all about the goods he handles This Includes a close analysis of the soap Itself a knowledge of the process of manufacture manufacture ture turo of where the raw material comes from Crom of Its Ita chemical composition of Loop JJ the prices at which It is sold and the lowest price at which It can be sold profitably of what the freight rates will be to the town of the tho customer of the terms of sale of the financial standing of the merchants he will encounter encounter encounter en en- counter In his search for trade of what competitors are able to offer In Inthe Inthe inthe the way of prices quality elC ec In short he ho must be able to answer satisfactorily every possible question I and argument that may be offered by bya I a prospective buyer And finally finally- which Is the crux of the entire matter ho he he must be able to get the mans man's order The most successful drummer of soap probably knows more about soaps of all kinds than any other man manon manon manon on earth During this process of acquiring knowledge and experience your boys boy's pay has steadily grown from the orIginal original original inal eight or ten dollars a month of the first year to nearly double that the second and up to 30 30 or 40 40 by bythe bythe bythe the time h he is waiting on customers On the road load he will be started at at 75 75 to a month and traveling expenses expenses expenses ex ex- ex- ex and he must be able as always always al at- I ways during his traveling salesmanship salesmanship salesman salesman- ship to earn his pay He will probably probably abl ably be given an unimportant section of a little corner of oC new territory until until un un- un til he ho has proved himself when his route will gradually be bo enlarged according according ac ac- ac cording to the needs of the firm and his own peculiar ability Seime Some traveling travel ing men are more successful among village merchants than In the large cities and vice e versa From this point on there is steady advancement as your boy grows In experience experience experience ex ex- ex- ex and nd ability and he will be begetting begetting begetting getting acquainted with the other goods handled by his firm so as to sell everything on its Mst st st. As he advances his pay will Increase until It ft reaches and passes the general average average av avo av- av er ge of about 1800 a year and exp ex ex- ex- ex p He will find that the firm Is expectIng expecting expect expect- lag ing Ing him to be able to take care of larger and larg larger r contracts until he can can go to a newcomer newcomer who is opening a large retail store In St. St Louis or Chicago or Minneapolis or 01 some other other oth oth- er large city and persuade him to place his entire order der or nearly all with his firm even though It should I amount to as much as By Bythe Bythe the he time he reaches this height he will willbe willbe be 36 getting anything from tram to a year Some traveling salesmen salesmen salesmen sales sales- men earn even more than this Once a traveling man always a traveling man Is generally the case but If your boy has the domestic Instinct Instinct instinct In In- and wishes to settle down he will not lack opportunity for he can become th the head of the local sales department department department de de- de- de at a good salary alary or else he i ican can take up the buying end which Offers offers of- of fers ers even even greater pay Anyhow he helas has las achieved a large largo and last last- lag Ing ng success I Some boys who live In small towns have made their start by getting a job jobIn jobIn jobin In one of the local stores learning all they could about the business and made it a point to attract th the favorable favorable favorable favor favor- able notice of visiting traveling men with the result that the latter have them to their own firms and the latter have put them Into the stock department or even on the road at living remuneration Copyright 1910 by the Associated Literary Lit Ut- crary Press I |