Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922)

HOW TO SELL BY TELEPHONE

cannot see the smile on his face. She cannot
examine the goods he is offering. There is
only a voice to persuade her into buying.

Despite these difficulties, large businesses
have been built up in Canada and the U.S.A.
by telephone alone. And, as all the golden
voices in the world are not in America, there
is no reason why a retailer in England should
not do the same.

That few shops in this country sell by phone
at present only makes the opportunity bigger.

Houses on the telephone are worth selling
to. They are owned by people with money.
That is the main advantage of selling by
phone.

But, as well, there is the personal touch, and
the fact that phoning is many times quicker
than canvassing or circularizing.

How many hours a year a retailer can save
himself if he uses his phone, is shown by com-
paring the average time taken in ordering
goods in a grocery store:

A telephone-order takes 1 minute 57 seconds.

An order at the counter to take away, takes
2 minutes 8 seconds.

And an order at the counter for delivery,
takes 6 minutes 30 seconds.

Too many dealers regard the telephone
merely as a machine for taking customers’
occasional instructions, and for ordering goods
from wholesalers.

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