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Show BUYERS HAVE MANYJACHINES "Educating a customer up to the point of purchasing the latest product of the automobile manufacturer has become a 'science," says Paul Nichols. "Some years ago, when competition was less severe, the prospective pur chaser of a motor car was guided largelj by a trade mark that Is to say, a few cars only had becomo standardized and tho buyer was influ enced almost entirely by the reputation reputa-tion of a machine, price and equipment having little or no bearing on his selection, se-lection, for modern refinements wcro universally lacking and almost .ill makes brought a good price due to tho fact that demand was fnr greater than supply. "During those earlier days befoie the merchandising of automobiles was thought of. the purchaser made up his mind what lie wanted without shop ping, for there was but slight choice between cars selling at a price he could afford to pay Through a process proc-ess of evolution the automobile no longer sells wholly on reputation, there aro no longer a few machines reaping the harvest, and seldom does a prospective purchaser risk a final decision without first investigating and testing every machine dangling within his financial reach "Today there are a bewildering number num-ber of cars of different makes and design de-sign offered, each claiming supremacy in construction and equipment "The minute a man signifies his in tention of buying a motor car. he is laid siege to by a horde of salesmen who battle for supremacy from the time he steps out for his morning paper pa-per till the night key locks them out of hearing. Even though he might havo been opinionated before this onslaught, on-slaught, he soon concludes after numerous nu-merous interviews that his favorite isn't such a wonderful car after all, that there are others just as good, and possibly better for the same money, mon-ey, and finally considers himself in the same class with the man who searches for the sweetest lump in a bowl of sugar, and finds they all taste just alike He is no exception on the contrary, he's a fair representa tive of every prospective purchaser met and dealt with "Therefore, to be able to land him high and dry above the bark of competition com-petition requires scientific handling. It requires science to be able to gain a man's confidence which is pre emi-f emi-f nent in the selling of a car |