3.* By sending postcards, bulletins or letters you can get prospective salespeople to a recruiting meeting. Two things should be considered: what does the mailing piece say and to whom is it sent? Good results have been obtained with one-page bulletins. An excellent mimeographed job is okay. If the quality of the mimeographing is subject to question, use printed bulletins. Be sure there’s some art work on your bulletin. Dress it up! Further information on bulletins can be found in the chapter on “How To Publicize Your Sales Meeting.”
A San Angelo, Texas, direct salesman said, “I’ve used postcards with good results. Try them.”

* * June 16, 1960
* * We have several openings. If you are interested in either part-time or full-time work, report to 3609 Lynndale at 2 P.M. on Tuesday, June 21st. Please be prompt. William Crane Hassell Company

To whom should mailings be sent? That’s the BIG question . . .
Some companies have

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Many companies use sales meetings as a means of recruiting sales people. For instance, nearly all of the direct selling companies conduct recruiting meetings, because recruiting is the life blood of direct selling. There must be constant, continual recruiting. Therefore, companies selling through outside sales people usually conduct regular recruiting meetings.

You’ve heard of such companies. Their salespeople have knocked on your door. Here are the products they sell:

Special insurance policies* Albums
Mutual funds* * * Photograph coupons
Vitamins* * * Pre-need cemetery plots
Cosmetics* * * Real Estate promotion
Brushes* * * * Freezer food plans
Housewares* * * Cookware
Water softeners* * * Chinaware
Books* * * * Silverware

Mass recruiting requires a great degree of skill.
In effect, a recruiting meeting is a group selling job. Instead of selling a product or service, you sell a business opportunity. The Gist objective

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IV. The Buzz Session

In most sales meetings, participation is quite desirable. That’s why it has been stressed throughout this book.
The buzz session is a splendid means of getting participation. It’s chief use is in breaking a large group into several smaller groups so that individual participation will be physically possible. It gets the timid fellow in the “act/’ prevents a few loudmouths from hogging the show.

An entire meeting may be constructed around the buzz session technique. On the other hand, a buzz session can be staged as one of several events. If you’ve ever heard a buzz session, you know how it got its name. The talking sounds like a swarm of bees! A buzz session is sometimes called a “six by six,” for reasons that will become obvious.

How to conduct a buzz session?

To conduct a buzz session, you should first announce the topic of discussion. It can be any subject on which discussion is desired.

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III. The Brainstorming Procedure

Some executives say that brainstorming is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Others say it’s a waste of time. Brainstorming is creative thinking on a group basis. The group should not exceed 20 people because everyone should be brought into the “act.” A chairman and two recorders are needed. Comments are made so rapidly that one person cannot record all of them. So the recorders accept alternate comments.

How to select a subject for brain storming?

Many subjects are suitable for creative thinking. Non-technical subjects are best. They give everyone a chance to contribute. Ideal subjects:
“How can more store traffic be created?” “What should we name our customer magazine?” “How can our merchandise be promoted in the off-season?” “What are some new methods of finding prospects?” “What new uses can be suggested for the versatile salad mixer?”
Select

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The general assembly is adjourned. The various committees then convene in separate meeting places. Each committee appoints a chairman and a recorder. Their functions are exactly those implied by their titles.

Every member of each committee should be urged to give his thinking. Participation is vital.
At an appointed hour, the general assembly is reconvened. Committee chairmen read reports prepared by the recorders of their respective committees. These reports may be final. Or they may be preliminary reports, followed by more committee work.

After final reports are given, there should be a summary and evaluation in the general assembly. If appropriate, have mimeo^ graphed summations distributed.

Keywords: Sales, Marketing, Business,
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A committee should be appointed for each problem. Sometimes a problem will have more than one phase, however. In this event, it may be best to appoint a committee to work on each phase of the problem. For example, consider the problem, “What can be done to give better customer service?” This might have two distinctly separate phases. One could involve treatment of the customer while he’s in your store. The other phase might have to do with service at the customer’s home or office.

For maximum effectiveness, committees should consist of four to seven people. Each member should have a knowledge of the problem. His occupation should be related to the matter. Where one is not acquainted with the situation, valuable time is lost in bringing him up to date. Even then his effectiveness is questionable. You may have a few experts in the crowd. Spread them around. Use them as consultants.

Keywords:
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A group of bakery owners met for the first time. It was an enjoyable meeting. The fellows were glad to get acquainted with each other. Also, the program included some interesting speakers. They returned to their homes with the feeling that it had been a good meeting. In some ways it had. But little had been done to solve the problems of the industry. Little had been done to improve the industry. Instead, there had been a succession of speeches that superficially stabbed at a few festered places, not nearly reaching the core.

The next year they met again. This time they noticed that extra curricular conferences were quite profitable. As one bakery owner explained it, “After the meeting I spent an hour with four other fellows. They have the same problems as I do. I got more help from that one hour than I did from the two-day meeting.” The group soon realized that long-winded speeches were ineffective. One baker said, “Let’s get to the crux of things. Let’s

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20 WAYS TO BE A GOOD CONFERENCE LEADER

1. Anticipate needs. Before the conference get all the data you think may be needed. The discussion can go off in any direction. Even a guided discussion can take unexpected turns. So have all the files at hand. It will save time.

2. Eliminate interruptions in advance. It’s folly for a dozen people to be idle while one person talks on the telephone. “I simply tell our switchboard operator that none of the conference group will accept calls during the time of the meeting. This saves a lot of interruptions,” said a Florida businessman.

3. Have an open mind. If you don’t, why hold a conference? If an employer is determined that things will be a certain way, there’s no need for a conference. Merely an announcement will serve the purpose.

4. Get them acquainted. Be sure all conference members have met each other. A friendly atmosphere relaxes everyone. Be sure to create it.

5. Try to analyze.

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Most sales executives don’t enjoy problem solving conferences. That’s because they don’t like problems.
Good sales leaders are promotional minded. They’re creative. They’re organizers and producers. Thus, they don’t enjoy “fence mending.” They want others to do the problem solving.
But problem solving cannot always be dumped in the lap of a subordinate. The difficulty may be of paramount importance. Sales may suffer sharply if a solution is not effected. Therefore, problem solving conferences cannot be shirked.
“What the devil are we going to do about slow moving items?” This is the way many problem solving conferences are begun. But there’s more to conference procedure than asking a few others for their opinions. There’s a standard conference procedure to follow.

1. State the problem. Be sure it’s a single problem, small enough to be tackled. Time is often wasted in the discussion of

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These three basic releases should be taken to the city editor’s desk. The best contacts are personal contacts. In large newspaper offices, it is not always possible to see the city editor himself. Personal contact with his assistant is usually satisfactory, however. All stories should be taken to the editor two days before the release date. This helps the editor plan his paper. It helps him make room for your story. Keep the conversation brief. You create a more favorable impression with busy newspaper men if you can transact your business quickly.

Typical approach: “Good morning. I’m John Brown. I’m handling the publicity for a big sales meeting that’s coming here next week. Here’s a story for you. If I can be of further help in covering it, you’ll find my name and phone number on the release. Thank you.”

How to get extra newspaper coverage

Of course, many sales meetings need and deserve no newspaper publicity of any

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