Sales Campaign 101

When it is found necessary to sell a product there must be some definite series of plans by which sales are to be made. These plans make up what is commonly termed a sales campaign. Such plans may be made in outline; they may be worked out to the smallest detail. Obviously, where every possible means is to be used in making sales it will usually be preferable to make an outline of the scheme and fill in the details as far as possible. How far this will be possible will depend greatly upon the size and certainty of the plan which is to be pushed. A dealer with limited capital who wishes to exploit a new product will necessarily be unable to do much more than make a broad outline of the things he expects to do, and the general means by which he helps to accomplish them.

On the other hand, take the case of a large industrial in the jobbing trade. Suppose this to be a leading wholesaler of all kinds and grades of tobaccos. This huge industrial, having ample capital and far-reaching trade relations, decides to go into the retailing business. It is possible for such a concern to plan a campaign in detail for a year ahead. This campaign they can carry out as planned, for they have the trade experience from which to draw in making trade plans and the funds to put these plans in execution.

Trying Out. Business is uncertain. This uncertainty has brought about the use of methods the object of which is to determine whether or not a plan under consideration will pay. This is known as "trying out." The general scheme of try-outs is simplicity itself. Instead of risking a large sum on a venture of any kind, as small an amount as possible will be hazarded for the purpose of trying how the "paper plans" materialize. IT this test results favorably it is probable that the entire scheme may be made to go. If it fails it means that the plan must be remodeled.

Try-outs may be applied to schemes in general, but more commonly are used to determine the relative pulling powers of circulars, letters and advertisements.

Trying Out a Scheme. The ordinary method of trying out a scheme is as follows: A manufacturer may have a line of goods which he has never pushed, but for which he thinks there is a sale. He will make up enough of these goods to supply a small territory and then proceed to work that territory with the means that he has at hand. He is not able, of course, to do extensive publicity advertising or advertising for anything but direct sales in this territory, but he can use every other method of trade-getting that there is known. He may circularize the place, distributing samples, send out letters, co-operate with the dealer and use every means possible to work up a demand except conducting a general publicity campaign. Experience in the marketing of his regular product will help him in determining whether the results are such as to put his new product on a profitable basis.

Sure Schemes. This method of trying out a scheme is the opposite of that used by a large manufacturer or jobber, who has the money and who knows that his product will succeed. When the promoters of Uneeda Biscuit started out they did not need to make any try out, for they were satisfied that the scheme was all right and that it would pay. To quote a later example, when the same firm which had made such a success of a certain well known breakfast food decided to put out another similar product they did not need to make any try-out in a limited territory, for the experience of the promoters and the field for the product made it sure that the marketing would be a success.

For a large manufacturer or jobber there is one thing to be remembered, that the try-out does not get the impetus that a campaign does. As a general thing, a sales campaign will not reach its "gait" until everything has gotten to running smoothly. In a try-out campaign the employees who are handling it cannot become thoroughly accustomed to their work; then each may not have the faith in the product that the promoter does; finally, unforeseen obstacles are all the while coming up. This explains the reason why in marketing a product that so many times it is necessary to put a great deal more money and energy into a campaign than was originally planned.