Tales of the Road

Tales of the Road, by Charles N.
Crewdson

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Tales of the Road, by Charles N.
Crewdson Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to
check the copyright laws for your country before downloading or
redistributing this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook.
This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project
Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the
header without written permission.
Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the
eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is
important information about your specific rights and restrictions in how
the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a
donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved.
**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts**
**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since
1971**
*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of
Volunteers!*****
Title: Tales of the Road
Author: Charles N. Crewdson
Release Date: July, 2004 [EBook #6103] [Yes, we are more than one

year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on November 6,
2002]
Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TALES OF
THE ROAD ***

Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team.

[Illustration: "He is the steam--and a big part of the engine too-- that
makes business move"]
TALES OF THE ROAD
BY CHARLES N. CREWDSON
ILLUSTRATED BY J. J. GOULD
1905

Dedicated to Alex C. Ritchey, Salesman. the Author's Friend.

CONTENTS.
I The square deal wins II Clerks, cranks and touches III Social arts as
salesmen's assets IV Tricks of the trade V The helping hand VI How to
get on the road VII First experiences in selling VIII Tactics in selling--I

IX Tactics in selling--II X Tactics in selling--III XI Cutting prices XII
Canceled orders XIII Concerning credit men XIV Winning the
customer's good will XV Salesmen's don'ts XVI Merchants the
salesman meets XVII Hiring and handling salesmen XVIII Hearts
behind the order book

ILLUSTRATIONS
He is the steam--and a big part of the engine too--that makes business
move
Larry let business drop entirely and danced a jig
"Whenever I let go the buggy handle the baby yelled"
"Tonight we dance, tomorrow we sell clothes again" "I listened to
episodes in the lives of all those seven children"
"I braced the old man--It wasn't exactly a freeze but there was a lot of
frost in the air"
"You ought to have seen his place"
"My stomach was beginning to gnaw, but I didn't dare go out"
"In big headlines I read 'Great Fire in Chicago'"
"Well, Woody," said he, "You seem to be taking things pretty easy"
"You'd better write that down with a pencil" said Harry
"Shure, that cigare is a birrd"
"He came in with his before breakfast grouch" "I'm treed" said the
drayman. "They're as heavy as lead"
"What explanation have you to make of this, sir?"

"He tried to jolly her along, but she was wise"

The author wishes to acknowledge his special debt of gratitude to the
SATURDAY EVENING POST, of Philadelphia.
CHAPTER I.
THE SQUARE DEAL WINS.
Salesmanship is the business of the world; it is about all there is to the
world of business. Enter the door of a successful wholesale or
manufacturing house and you stand upon the threshold of an
establishment represented by first-class salesmen. They are the steam
--and a big part of the engine, too--that makes business move.
I saw in print, the other day, the statement that salesmanship is the
"fourth profession." It is not; it is the first. The salesman, when he starts
out to "get there," must turn more sharp corners, "duck" through more
alleys and face more cold, stiff winds than any kind of worker I know.
He must think quickly, yet use judgment; he must act quickly and still
have on hand a rich store of patience; he must work hard, and often
long. He must coax one minute and "stand pat" the next. He must
persuade--persuade the man he approaches that he needs his goods and
make him buy them--yes, make him. He is messenger boy, train
dispatcher, department buyer, credit man, actor, lawyer and
politician--all under one hat!
By "salesman" I do not mean the man who stands behind the counter
and lets the customer who comes to him and wants to buy a necktie slip
away because the spots on the silk are blue instead of green; nor do I
mean the man who wraps up a collar, size 16, and calls "cash;" I mean
the man who takes his grip or sample trunks and goes to