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V O L . X X V I I . N o . 1 1 . Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman Bill at 3 East Fourteenth Street. New York, Sept. 10,1898.
. . . The Credit Man as Salesman.
. . .
A VALUABLE ADDRESS MADE BY JOHN P. BYRNE, OF LYON & HEALY, WHICH SHOULD BE
READ BY EVERYONE HAVING HIGH IDEALS OF BUSINESS GOVERNMENT.
John P. Byrne, secretary of the Lyon & healthy mental and physical condition every day
the year, but the credit man, to whom his firm
Healy corporation, read an interesting in
has intrusted so much of its policy, should, by
paper recently bearing the caption which practice and drill, himself acquire some "policy,"
for the time being, assume a virtue, though
heads these remarks, before the Chicago and
he have it not.
We have learned from our tenderest years how
Credit Men's Association at the Grand
are first impressions and how necessary it
Pacific Hotel, Chicago. It is able, com- lasting
is for us to be ever alert to such impressions in our
prehensive, and just what we would ex- contact with others. The man of the world has
to hold, as 't were, the mirror up to nature—
pect from a man of Mr. Byrne's experi- hut
his own nature—and profit by the reflection. And
ence and talents. It is especially, valuable this habit (I don't exactly mean the looking-glass
once acquired, one's cordiality of manner
because it is the opinion of a practical «habit)
becomes second nature, and in turn makes a man
worker, and not a theorist. We are glad loved by his wife and children, courted by his
admired by his friends, and he may
to notice that many of the representative neighbors,
even be elected to office in a club or association
trade papers in other industries have without salary
However, going hand in hand with this hearti-
quoted Mr. Byrne's remarks with no little ness,
publicly and above board. I should prescribe
commendation. The speech was so excel- a moiety of common sense, begotten of a sound
polished and educated by experience and
lent that we take pleasure in publishing it mind,
observation, which includes a constant interest in
all that is being done and said by fellow credit
in full.
men, especially by those whose wits are sharpened
THE CREDIT MAN AS SALESMAN.
in the friendly contact of associations, such as this.
At first sound or sight this may seem paradoxi-
cal, as for many years both the customer and the
salesman have looked upon the credit man mainly
as their joint and common enemy, the blighter of
their prospects and the unsurmountable obstacle in
their pathway to fortune. But gentle customer,
and sometimes gentle traveling man, be of good
cheer! " T h e old order changeth, yielding place
to new." From this night onward, as the direct
result of this meeting, lo! all will cease, and the
lamb will lie down with the lion, but his resting
place will not be immediately beneath the lion's
diaphragm. And these are the ways in which it
shall be done.
Firstly, the cold and lifeless science of credit
making shall be relegated pretty well to the rear,
save on occasion when it may be used to convince
an undesirable seeker for credit that the foresight
and the wisdom of the credit man have told him
that the outlook for business throughout the coun-
try is so hazy and possibly so discouraging that
the house is not opening new accounts now (un-
less doubly secured by a satisfactory guaranty.)
In the place of this hard science, I would put
some warm flesh and blood that would convince
the prospective customer that his advances of
friendship and patronage were being met in a cor-
dial manner by a cheerful, satisfied soul, whose
digestive organs were in good order; in short, by
a credit man, not repellent but inviting.
I am told that in the distant past, down east,
there lived credit men who never allowed any
other thought to enter their minds save credits,
credits, credits, financial statements, attachments
and replevins, and it must have been one of those
who moved to Chicago some years since, doubtless
with the hope of reforming. He eventually was
called upon to serve on a jury in our Criminal
Court before the Honorable Judge
. The
Court was not favorably impressed with the intel-
ligence of this particular jury and therefore spent
much time in explaining the meaning of the ex-
pression "Reasonable doubt," as it cut quite a
figure in determining the guilt or innocence of the
prisoner at bar. The Court then catechised this
particular credit man, to see if his explanation had
the desired effect; " O h yes, your honor," said he,
" I understand the meaning of 'Reasonable Doubt,'
when I have reasonable doubt I always want cash
in advance."
Of course, I admit that no one is in perfectly
And, please let me say at this point that I take it
for granted that my auditors do not expect me to
say anything about the rules that should guide
credit men, as credit men. For obvious reasons,
I'll leave that to others. My subject is the credit
man as a salesman, and all that he should in my
opinion do to increase the sales and multiply the
friends of his house.
It may be asserted that so much graciousness
and bonhomie will encourage a debtor to ask fa-
vors with freedom. To this I will say that if a de-
serving debtor may not occasionally look to his
friends when in need, then to whom would you di-
rect him? As to an undeserving one, the experi-
ence and discernment of the credit man should
dictate the course to be pursued. I freely confess
that I am one of those who admit that moderately
long and satisfactory dealings, give the debtor a
moral right to ask and expect reasonable accom-
modations from the creditor. Some credit men
(and all lawyers) insist that a renewal should al-
ways be backed with personal or collateral se-
curity ; but I beg to differ. Of course, there are
times when this is prudent, but in the case of one
who has earned your confidence by uprightness of
action and length of business connection, I con-
sider such demand an ending of business relations
and friendship. The times when it is imprudent
not to demand such security is when an extension
is sought by a new customer, by one who has no
claim upon you or by one whom you believe to be
in a failing condition. No self-respecting man
will ask a renewal of his first bill, and a man with-
out self-respect cannot be insulted by your reason-
able demand.
In this connection I might say .that we all know
"the old and valued customer," who has been on
the books long before the present generation of
credit men left school or college; we know that he
feels himself to be superior to all the rules that the
wisdom of the house has caused to be promulgated.
We know that the sentimentality of the '' gover-
nor" for him is the growth of many, many years;
we immensely admire the "governor" for it, and
we would not be so heartless as to blight such a
decrepit plant. Some day we may find ourselves
in the nursery business, and what would then be
our opinion of the cruelly pitiless barbarian of a
credit man, who would destroy this flowery link of
friendship with the past? Perish the thought.
But, nevertheless, the credit rnan knows that
$2.00 PER YEAR.
SINGLE COPIES, 10 CENTS.
the aforesaid superannuated debtor is going from
bad to worse. He asks for and obtains renewals
on almost everything that matures and his pur-
chases do not decrease. To reverse the formula of
a well-known credit man he does not "increase his
remittances and decrease his purchases." Yet,
something must be done, but it must be done dip-
lomatically. I have found it well in such a case to
act as the guide, philosopher and friend by financ-
ing his business for him, at least as much of it as
concerns my own house. Call in all his notes and
acceptances and make out a new set due so much
per fortnight. Make each of the new notes small,
then get him to sign them. You will find and he
will find in a comparatively short time that the
total indebtedness has been decreased amazingly.
You will thus have accomplished your object and
at the same time you will make the customer feel
that you have been his good friend, as indeed you
have been. You have besides brought some order
and system into that old gentleman's business life.
Write pleasant letters, whether it be to a pa-
tience-trying customer or to an agreeable one. A
soft answer turneth away wrath and more flies are
caught by the use of honey than vinegar.
First and foremost, your own self-respect and that
of your house will not admit of the vulgarity of
quarreling; secondly, you were not commissioned
by the Almighty to teach the moral law and good
breeding to all of your customers, and thirdly, you
will be sure to prepare an unpleasantly warm (or
maybe cold) reception for your traveling man on his
next trip. I know it is hard to put up with many
unjust claims, impudent letters and frequent de-
mands for extensions, but you must remember the
position of your house and its high reputation and
must forbear, unless frequent repetition has made
patience cease to be a virtue. In this latter case,
your break with the offender should be final.
As showing the value of suavity and friendship in
correspondence, I might remind you that one of the
earliest Chicago credit men, as well as one of the
foremost, invariably stamped on his letters the cut
of a pair of hands in friendly contact, and under-
neath them the solitary word "Shake." The tre-
mendous success of this firm which he helped to
found, and the magnificent fortune which he left at
his death, proved his wisdom ami excellent judg-
ment. He fully believed in the credit man's power
as a salesman.
Gentlemen, no credit man can hope to be even an
ctisistant salesman who has too many rules. Rules
too numerous naturally cause one to become too
rigid in contact with his fellow man; delays, friction
and enmities easily and surely follow. This line of
conduct hardly serves to increase the popularity of
the establishment—or its longevity.
The credit man who hopes to be at the same time
a salesman will not aspire to possess a large and as-
sorted library of financial statements. An honest,
well-to-do merchant will not sit down and make out
such a document every time he opens an account
with a new creditor, nor will he mal
ly for an old creditor ; it is preposterous to expect
it. He very likely will furnish it to a mercantile
agency after taking his inventory; the creditor can
inform himself there, and the courts have decid-d
that such a statement is as good as if made to the
creditor direct.
Gentlemen, the great majority of mankind is hon-
est and the modern method of doing business on
credit is based and founded on that truth.
//' the
contrary were true, we credit men would be engagtd at
some other occupation.
If you agree with me, and I hope you do, then do
not, unless all other practicable avenues for obtain-
ing information are closed, put such an obstacle in
the way of the new applicant for credit, or I must
again say you and your house will not be destined
long for this commercial world. It is not the method
of the credit man who aspires to be a salesman.
My friend, Mr. Skinner, in a recent paper, read
before this association, wisely and tersely stated the
duties of a credit man. I do not see how it could be
put in fewer or more graceful words. He said it is
"to sell the largest amount of goods at the smallest
percentage of loss," and after all is said and done,
(Continued on page 6.)