The Rotary Balita no. 704 (September 11, 1952)

(ED's NOTE: Below is reprinted in full Pete Teodore's article published recently in the Business Section of the Philippi Herald. Having used the Rotary motto as the basis of s article your Ed thought it rises to have it reprinted in the Balita for the benefit of those who failed to read it.) Most of our businessmen sometimes forget the importance of the basic salesman's formula for a successful sales campaign: the "YOU" approach to think first of the other fellow before one thinks of self. As a matter of fact, when one analyzes the lives of great men who have become successful in the different fields of human endeavor, one realizes how wise and true is that Rotary motto: SERVICE ABOVE SELF-HE PROFITS MOST WHO SERVES BEST. Men have helped and served others sincerely and profits have come not only in terms of money but also in terms of lasting friendships which money cannot buy. In the case histories of the most successful businesses in the United States, we find that the "You" approach has ultimately paid big dividends. This philosophy is responsible for modern sales promotion. Butler Brothers of Chicago was one of the first wholesale houses to inaugurate a customers' store service. As far back as 1910, this company, which was then selling entirely by mail, established a staff of merchandising experts traveling regular routes. calling on customers. They helped the store owners in arranging store displays, in putting up special promotions, and in building up sales volume. They took no orders but eventually, human gratitude was responsible for millions of dollars worth of business for Butler Brothers. The basic "YOU" approach behind modern sales promotion was responsible for the growth of the National Cash Register Co. which was one of the first to send out qualified men to help as many retailers as possible, whether or not they were customers, to give expert advice in building sales volume. Ultimately, a store with an increasing volume of business must need a cash register and the National Cash Register representative was there to help the store get it. Ingersoll Watch Co. to prevent price-cutting among their dealers applied the "YOU" approach by providing dealers with model forms for simplified accounting and assisted in instituting a better costing system. The reasoning was that when a mer- chant sees in black and white the folly of price-cutting and its effect on profits, he will try to avoid cutting prices. The moral is: to reap benefits, we must first benefit those with whom we deal. The "You" approach is a simple formula that all good men, consciously or unconsciously, are applying in their daily lives and are proving that it is a sound formula in business and in the professions, in dealing with their employees and friends and in dealing with the members of their families. For men who serve best must profit most.