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Part 2 Part 3
Analyzing marketing Product decisions
opportunities

John Keith/Shutterstock.com
Gustavo Frazao/Shutterstock.com

7 Sales Dialogue: Creating and

5 Strategic Prospecting
and Preparing for Sales
Communicating Value 150
7-1 Effective Sales Dialogue 152
7-2 Encouraging Buyer Feedback 154
Dialogue 110 7-3 Creating Customer Value 155
5-1 The Importance and Challenges of Prospecting 112 7-4 Interesting and Understandable Sales Dialogue 157
5-2 The Strategic Prospecting Process 112 7-5 Engaging and Involving the Buyer 159
5-3 Prospecting Methods 114 7-6 Supporting Product Claims 163
5-4 Developing a Strategic Prospecting Plan 119 7-7 Group Sales Dialogue 165
5-5 Gathering Prospect Information to Prepare for Sales
Dialogue 122
8 Addressing Concerns and
6 Planning Sales Dialogues and
Presentations 128
Earning Commitment 172
Addressing Concerns 174
8-1 Anticipate and Negotiate Concerns
6-1 Customer-Focused Sales Dialogue Planning 130 and Resistance 174
6-2 Sales Communications Formats 131 8-2 Reasons Why Prospects Raise Objections 174
6-3 Sales Dialogue Template 138 8-3 Types of Sales Resistance 176
6-4 Section 2: Customer Value Proposition 140 8-4 Using LAARC: A Process for Negotiating Buyer
6-5 Section 4: Linking Buying Motives, Benefits, Support Resistance 179
Information, and Other Reinforcement Methods 142 8-5 Recommended Approaches for Responding
6-6 Engaging the Customer 146 to Objections 181
8-6 Securing Commitment and Closing 184

Contents v

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Part 4 10Adding Value: Self-leadership
and Teamwork 218
Distribution Decisions
10-1 Effective Self-Leadership 220
10-2 Working with Different Levels and Types of
Goals 222
10-3 Account Classification 224
10-4 Establishing Territory Routing Plans 227
10-5 Stage Four: Tapping Technology And
Automation 231
Jirsak /Shutterstock.com 10-6 Increasing Customer Value Through Teamwork 235
10-7 Building Teamwork Skills 238

Endnotes 244
Index 247

9 Expanding Customer
Relationships 194
9-1 Assess Customer Satisfaction 197
9-2 Harness Technology to Enhance Follow-up
and Buyer-Seller Relationships 198
9-3 Ensure Customer Satisfaction 201
9-4 Expand Collaborative Involvement 209
9-5 Work to Add Value and Enhance Mutual
Opportunities 209

vi Contents

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ACCESS TEXTBOOK CONTENT ONLINE—
INCLUDING ON SMARTPHONES!

Includes Videos & Other SELL5


Interactive Resources! C H APTER

Information Systems:
An Overview

C H APTER

Computers: The Machines


Behind Computing

Access SELL ONLINE at www.cengagebrain.com

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
1 Overview of
Personal Selling
LEARNING ObjEctIvEs
After completing this chapter, you should be able to:

1-1 Define personal selling and describe its unique 1-5 Discuss five alternative approaches to personal selling.
characteristics as a marketing communications tool.
1-6 Understand the sales process as a series of
1-2 Distinguish between transaction-focused traditional interrelated steps.
selling and trust-based relationship selling, with the

© Photo Credit Here


latter focusing on customer value and sales dialogue. 1-7 Describe several aspects of sales careers, types of
selling jobs, and the key qualifications needed for
1-3 Understand sales professionalism as a key driver in sales success.
the continued evolution of personal selling.

1-4 Explain the contributions of personal selling to society,

Cornejo/Shutterstock.com
business firms, and customers.

Here
After finishing this chapter go to

© Photo Credit
Santiago
PAGE 23 for STUDY TOOLS.

In the current business environment, buyers are under intense pressure


to solve problems, realize opportunities, and cut costs. They are cautious,
risk-averse, and have an abundant amount of information about
potential suppliers for the products they purchase. Further, they hate
to waste time in unproductive meetings with salespeople. This means
that successful salespeople must discard high-pressure sales “pitches” in
favor of a customer-oriented sales approach. Salespeople must be capable of
establishing dialogue with customers to focus on the customer’s needs and
situation before making a purchase recommendation. According to Hampus
Jakobsson, CEO of Brisk, a customer relationship management (CRM) software
company, today’s buyers value education on the products and services they
are looking for more than they do a traditional sales pitch. He recommends

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
working with customers to make sure they understand the value provided by
your offering, rather than employing an aggressive push to influence them to
make an immediate purchase. Mr. Jakobsson notes that sales organizations
will accomplish more by allowing customers to make their own assessments,
with salespeople furnishing timely, relevant information to assist customer
decision making.1

A productive sales approach first defines customer needs, rather than “selling to” customers. Jamie Anderson,
then illustrates how the sales organization can deliver the senior vice-president of marketing for SAP, a German
value the customer is seeking, and ultimately leads to multinational software company, says: “Business-to-
customer acknowledgment of the value to be gained. business buyers are so time-challenged, they don’t want
This results in a mutually beneficial joint decision be- the dog and pony show. They don’t want the dance. They
tween the buyer and seller. With this approach, the sales just want the vendor to be informed and to understand
process is much more about “selling with” customers where they are and what they need at that point.”

CHAPTER 1: Overview of Personal Selling 3

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1-1 Personal selling 1-2 TrusT-BaseD
DefineD relaTionshiP selling
The successful professional salesperson of today and the Trust-based relationship selling (a form of personal
future is likely a better listener than a talker; is more ori- selling) requires that salespeople earn customer trust
ented toward developing long-term relationships with and that their selling strategy meets customer needs
customers than placing an emphasis on high-pressure, and contributes to the creation, communication, and
short-term sales techniques; and has the skills and pa- delivery of customer value. As illustrated in Exhibit 1.1,
tience to endure lengthy, complex sales processes. As trust-based relationship selling is quite different from
portrayed in the chapter introduction, today’s salesperson traditional selling. Rather than trying to maximize sales
strives to deliver relevant presentations based on unique in the short run (also called a transaction focus), trust-
customer needs, and meeting those customer needs re- based relationship selling focuses on solving customer
quires teamwork between salespeople and others in the problems, providing opportunities, and adding value
organization. For more on teamwork, see “Professional to the customer’s business over an extended period.
Selling in the 21st Century: The Importance of Team- Chapter 2 will provide detailed coverage of how
work in Sales.” salespeople can earn buyers’ trust.
Personal selling, an important part of mar-
keting, relies heavily on interpersonal interactions 1-2a importance of Customer Value
between buyers and sellers to initiate, develop, and
enhance customer relationships. The interpersonal As personal selling continues to evolve, it is more
communications dimension sets personal selling apart important than ever that salespeople focus on deliv-
from other marketing communications such as adver- ering customer value while initiating, developing, and
tising and sales promotion, which are directed at mass enhancing customer relationships. What constitutes
markets. Personal selling is also distinguished from value will likely vary from one customer to the next
direct marketing and electronic marketing in that depending on the customer’s situation, needs, and
salespeople are talking with buyers before, during, and priorities, but customer value will always be deter-
after the sale. This allows a high degree of immediate mined by customers’ perception of what they get in
customer feedback, which becomes a strong advantage exchange for what they have to give up. In the simplest
of personal selling over most other forms of marketing situations, customers buy a product in exchange for
communications. money. In most situations, however, customers define
Although advertising value in a more complex manner, by addressing ques-
is a far more visible activ- tions such as:
personal selling An important ity, personal selling is the ● Does the salesperson do a good job in helping me make
part of marketing that relies heavily or save money?
most important part of
on interpersonal interactions
between buyers and sellers to marketing communica- ● Is this salesperson dependable?
initiate, develop, and enhance tions for most businesses. ● Does this salesperson help me achieve my strategic
customer relationships. This is particularly true priorities?
trust-based relationship in business-to-business ● Is the salesperson’s company easy to work with, i.e.,
selling A form of personal selling marketing, where more is hassle-free?
requiring that salespeople earn spent on personal selling
customer trust and that their selling ● Does the salesperson enlist others in his or her
than advertising, sales pro-
strategy meets customer needs organization when needed to create value for me?
and contributes to the creation, motion, publicity, or public
communication, and delivery of relations. In this book, we ● Does the sales representative understand my business
customer value. typically describe personal and my industry?

customer value The selling in this business-to- Personal selling also recognizes that customers
customer’s perception of what business context, in which would like to be heard when expressing what they
they get for what they have to a salesperson or sales team want suppliers and salespeople to provide for them.
give up, for example, benefits from interacts with one or more In days gone by, personal selling often consisted of
buying a product in exchange for
money paid. individuals from another delivering a message or making a pitch. That approach
organization. was typically associated with a “product push” strategy

Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Exhibit 1.1
Comparison of Transaction-focused Traditional selling
with Trust-Based relationship selling
Transaction-Focused Trust-Based
Traditional Selling Relationship Selling
Typical skills required Selling skills, e.g., finding Selling skills
prospects, making sales Information gathering
presentations Listening and questioning
Strategic problem solving
Creating and demonstrating unique, value-added solutions
Teambuilding and teamwork
Primary focus The salesperson and the The customer and the customer’s customers
selling firm
Desired outcomes Closed sales, order volume Trust, joint planning, mutual benefits, enhance profits
Role of salesperson Make calls and close sales Business consultant and long-term ally
Key player in the customer’s business
Nature of One-way, from Two-way and collaborative
communications with salesperson to customer Strive for dialogue with the customer
customers Pushing products
Degree of salesperson’s Isolated from customer’s Actively involved in customer’s decision-making
involvement in customer’s decision-making process process
decision-making process
Knowledge required Product knowledge Product knowledge
Competitive knowledge Selling company resources
Identifying opportunities Competitive knowledge
Account strategies Account strategies
Costs
Identifying opportunities
General business and industry knowledge and insight
Customer’s products, competition, and customers
Postsale follow-up Little or none: move on to Continued follow-through to:
conquer next customer ● Ensure customer satisfaction
● Keep customer informed

● Add customer value

● Manage opportunities

in which customers were pressured to buy without 1-2b importance of sales dialogue Business
much appreciation for their real needs. Today, sales
organizations are far more interested in establishing sales Dialogue conversations between buyers
and sellers that occur as
a productive dialogue with customers than in simply Sales dialogue refers salespeople attempt to initiate,
pitching products that customers may or may not want to the series of conver- develop, and enhance customer
or need. In our highly competitive world, professional relationships. Sales dialogue should
sations between buyers
be customer-focused and have a
buyers have little tolerance for aggressive, pushy and sellers that take place clear purpose.
salespeople. over time in an attempt to
CHAPTER 1: Overview of Personal Selling 5

Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Goodluz/Shutterstock.com
Selling in Action them mentality,” competitiveness, egos, finger-pointing, and “it’s not
my job” attitudes. To build team consensus, it is important to involve
The importance of Teamwork in sales sales and service personnel in the decision-making process. By doing
so, all team members will recognize their ownership in the final
Christine Corelli, a corporate trainer whose clients include Honda, Century decision, solution, or idea. Individual ownership in team decisions
21, Pepsi, and Caterpillar, addresses the importance of teamwork in sales: leads to a stronger commitment to the decided line of action. Ms.
Today’s customers are more service-savvy than ever. Sales and Corelli stresses that maintaining effective teamwork between service
customer service must perform together as a highly effective team and sales personnel is an ongoing process that constantly seeks
working toward the same goal—increasing sales and developing a improvement. Service flaws must be identified and eliminated.
reputation for superior customer service. Anything less can quickly She believes that salespeople should share what they hear in the
send customers to your competitors. Working toward a common field, and likewise, that customer service needs to keep salespeople
goal requires open communication, a sense of camaraderie, and well informed. Perhaps most importantly, both sales and service
trust that everyone will do their part to please the customer. To personnel must be fully dedicated to excellent customer experiences.
achieve effective teamwork, it is important to discuss the obstacles
Source: “Aligning Your Sales and Service Team for Results Through Teamwork,” from www
to teamwork, including, territorialism, fear of conflict, an “us versus .christinespeaks.com, (May 5, 2015).

build relationships. The purposes of these conversations As you can see, sales dialogue is far more than idle chit-
are to: chat. The business conversations that constitute the dialogue
● Determine if a prospective customer should be targeted are customer-focused and have a clear purpose; otherwise,
for further sales attention. there would be a high probability of wasting both the cus-
● Clarify the prospective customer’s situation and buying tomer’s and the salesperson’s time, which no one can afford
processes. in today’s business environment. Whether the sales dialogue
features a question-and-answer format, a conversation
● Discover the prospective customer’s unique needs
and requirements. dominated by the buyer conveying information and require-
ments, or a formal sales presentation in which the salesper-
● Determine the prospective customer’s strategic priorities.
son responds to buyer feedback throughout, the key idea is
● Communicate how the sales organization can create that both parties participate in and benefit from the process.
and deliver customer value.
Throughout this course, you will learn about new
● Negotiate a business deal and earn a commitment from technologies and techniques that have contributed to the
the customer. evolution of the practice of personal selling. This chapter
● Make the customer aware of additional opportunities provides an overview of personal selling, affording insight
to increase the value received. into the operating rationale of today’s salespeople and sales
● Assess sales organization and salesperson performance so managers. It also describes different approaches to per-
that customer value is continuously improved. sonal selling and presents the sales process as a series of

Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
knowledge base that has been developed by academics,
corporate trainers and executives, and professional organi-
zations. Second, sales meets the criterion of making a sig-
nificant contribution to society, which is discussed in the
next section of this chapter. Third, through professional or-
ganizations such as the Strategic Account Management As-
sociation (SAMA) and through a common sales vocabulary

Pressmaster/Shutterstock.com
such as that found in textbooks and training materials, sales
meets the professional criteria of having a defined culture
and organization of colleagues. Fourth, sales does have a
unique set of professional skills, although these skills vary
depending on the specific nature of a given sales position.
Two areas in the study indicated that sales needs addi-
Successful salespeople must be able to
tional progress to be viewed as a profession on a par with law,
make sales calls and build relationships
medicine, and other long-recognized professions. The first
at the same time. area has to do with how much autonomy salespeople have
to make decisions and the amount of public trust granted to
salespeople. Whereas many business-to-business salespeo-
Customers want to be heard ple have considerable decision-making autonomy, others
have very little. Public trust could be improved by a widely
loud and clear when expressing accepted certification program such as the Certified Public
Accountant (CPA) designation for accountants. At present,
what they want from suppliers however, very few salespeople have professional certifica-
and salespeople. tion credentials. Although many salespeople do have con-
siderable autonomy, public trust in certification programs is
modest; thus, the results are mixed as to whether the sales
interrelated steps. The chapter concludes with a discus-
profession meets this professional criterion.
sion of several important aspects of sales careers, including
The final area where sales needs to improve is ad-
types of selling jobs and characteristics and skills needed
herence to a uniform ethical code. Many companies have
for sales success. In the highly competitive, complex in-
employee codes of conduct and some professional orga-
ternational business community, personal selling and sales
nizations have ethical codes for salespeople, but there is
management have never played more critical roles.
no universal code of ethics with a mechanism for dealing
with violators. Until such a code is developed and widely
1-3 eVoluTion of accepted in business, some members of society will not

Professional selling view sales as a true profession.


Whether or not sales is viewed as a true profession
comparable to law and medicine, salespeople can ben-
For the past several decades, there has been a steady efit tremendously by embracing high ethical standards,
increase in the complexity of the business world, the participating in professional organizations, and working
level of competitive activity, and buyer expectations. from a continually evolving knowledge base. In so doing,
These developments have driven an increased focus they will not only be more effective but also they will
on sales professionalism by the most progressive help advance sales as a true profession.
sales organizations. Sales professionalism requires a Future evolution is inevitable as tomorrow’s profes-
customer-oriented sales approach that uses truthful, sional salesperson responds to a more complex, dynamic
nonmanipulative tactics to satisfy the long-term needs of environment. Also, increased sophistication of buyers and
both the customer and the selling firm. of new technologies will
In examining the status of sales as a true profession, demand more from the sales professionalism A
one study found that sales meets four of the six criteria next generation of sales- customer-oriented approach that
that define professions, and that progress is still needed people. Exhibit 1.2 sum- uses truthful, nonmanipulative tactics
to satisfy the long-term needs of both
on the other two dimensions.2 This study concluded that marizes some of the likely the customer and the selling firm.
sales meets the criterion of operating from a substantial events of the future.3

CHAPTER 1: Overview of Personal Selling 7

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
1-4 ConTriBuTions of
Personal selling
As mentioned earlier in this chapter, more money is spent on
personal selling than on any other form of marketing com-
munications. Salespeople are usually well compensated,

Sales Momentum
and salesforces of major companies often number in the
thousands. For example, Xerox has 15,000 salespeople,
Johnson & Johnson has 8,500, and Coca-Cola has 9,130.4
Sales is becoming more professional, as We now take a look at how this investment is justified
indicated by a growing number of publications by reviewing the contributions of personal selling to society
and a market for web-sites with professional in general, to the employing firm, and to customers.
development materials and reviews.
1-4a salespeople and society
Salespeople contribute to their nations’ economic growth
As noted in Exhibit 1.2, salespeople are using more
in two basic ways. They stimulate economic transactions
technological tools and processes to improve sales pro-
and further the diffusion of innovation.
ductivity. For a discussion on how salespeople are using
LinkedIn in selling, see SaleSpeople aS economic Stimuli Sales-
economic stimuli Something “Technology in Sales: Us- people are expected to stimulate action in the busi-
that stimulates or incites activity in
the economy.
ing LinkedIn to Improve ness world—hence the term economic stimuli. In
Sales Productivity.” a fluctuating economy, salespeople make invaluable

accounts. I spend about three hours a day on LinkedIn to develop


new business. I recommend that salespeople constantly assess their
contacts on LinkedIn and cultivate contacts in your specific business
sector. As you develop your connections, LinkedIn is a great way to
organize individuals within specific companies. I deal with some
large multinational companies, so there can be numerous people
involved in making purchase decisions. I can learn a lot about these
people and how they fit into the purchase decision process. When I
make initial contact with these people, my familiarity with them and
their information needs shows that I have done my homework and
that I care about their specific requirements. I integrate information
Technology in Sales from LinkedIn with our customer relationship management software
so I can easily see work experience, education, and shared contacts
using linkedin to improve sales Productivity I have with prospective and current customers. Finally, it is critical
that you keep your LinkedIn profile up to date, and establish links to
Anna Bratton is a Strategic Accounts Business Development Twitter and Facebook. You know that customers will be looking at
Executive with Salesforce.com, a leading sales technology company. you on social media, and making a good first impression is critical in
She offers her advice on how to use LinkedIn, a social networking today’s complex business world.
site used primarily in the business sector, in the sales process.
Salespeople are increasingly using LinkedIn to find prospective Source: Anna Bratton, “Ten Tips for Using LinkedIn for Sales Prospecting,” posted on the Salesforce
.com website at http://www.salesforce.com/uk/socialsuccess/social-sales/10-tips-for-using-linked
customers and stay current on new developments with existing -in-sales-prospecting/, accessed May 26, 2015.

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Exhibit 1.2
Continued evolution of Personal selling
Change Salesforce Response

Intensified competition More emphasis on developing and maintaining trust-based, long-


term customer relationships
More focus on creating and delivering customer value

More emphasis on improving sales Increased use of technology (e.g., mobile devices such as tablets and
productivity smartphones connected to the company’s sales support content;
customer relationship management software)
Increased use of lower-cost-per-contact methods (e.g., social media
such as LinkedIn and Twitter to generate leads and maintain contact
with customers; telemarketing and email for some customers)
More emphasis on profitability (e.g., gross margin) objectives
Fragmentation of traditional Sales specialists for specific customer types
customer bases Multiple sales channels (e.g., major accounts programs, telemarketing,
electronic networks)
Globalization of sales efforts
Customers dictating quality Team selling
standards and inventory/shipping Salesforce compensation sometimes based on customer satisfaction
procedures to be met by vendors and team performance
More emphasis on sales dialogues rather than sales pitches
Demand for in-depth, specialized Team selling
knowledge as an input to purchase More emphasis on customer-oriented sales training
decisions

contributions by assisting in recovery cycles and by potential customers. Sometimes those customers ulti-
helping to sustain periods of relative prosperity. As mately purchase the new product from a lower-cost out-
the world economic system deals with issues such as let; nonetheless, the information provided by the original
increased globalization of business, more emphasis on well-informed salesperson contributes critically to the
customer satisfaction, and building competitiveness adoption of the innovation and more widespread popu-
through quality improvement programs, it is expected larity of the new product. The role of salespeople in the
that salespeople will be recognized as a key force in ex- diffusion of industrial products and services is particu-
ecuting the appropriate strategies and tactics necessary larly crucial. Imagine trying to purchase a companywide
for survival and growth. computer system without the assistance of a competent
salesperson or sales team!
SaleSpeople and diffuSion of innovation While acting as an agent of innovation, the salesper-
Salespeople play a critical role in the diffusion of son invariably encounters a strong resistance to change in
innovation, the process whereby new products, the latter stages of the diffusion process. The status quo
services, and ideas are distributed to the members of seems to be extremely
society. Consumers who are likely to be early adopters satisfactory to many par- diffusion of innovation The
of an innovation often rely on salespeople as a primary ties, even though, in process whereby new products,
services, and ideas are distributed to
source of information. Frequently, well-informed, the long run, change is the members of society.
specialized salespeople provide useful information to necessary for continued
CHAPTER 1: Overview of Personal Selling 9

Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
progress or survival. By encouraging the adoption of in- gather customer feedback. For example, retailers and
novative products and services, salespeople may indeed service providers routinely use Facebook to solicit cus-
be making a positive contribution to society. tomer feedback. In the business-to-business sector, buy-
ers are increasingly sharing their opinions, identifying
1-4b salespeople and The employing firm problems, and asking for vendor recommendations via
Twitter and LinkedIn. Customer relationship manage-
Because salespeople are in direct contact with the ment programs such as Chatter by Salesforce.com are
all-important customer, they can make valuable contri- incorporating social media to improve collaboration be-
butions to their employers. Salespeople contribute to tween customers and the sales organization.
their firms as revenue producers, as sources of market Some would argue that salespeople are not trained
research and feedback, and as candidates for manage- as market researchers, or that salespeople’s time could
ment positions. be better used than in research and feedback activi-
SaleSpeople aS Revenue pRoduceRS Sales- ties. Many firms, however, refute this argument by find-
people occupy the somewhat unique role of revenue ing numerous ways to capitalize on the salesforce as a
producers in their firms. Consequently, they usu- reservoir of ideas. It is not an exaggeration to say that
ally feel the brunt of that many firms have concluded
pressure along with the that they cannot afford to

360b/Shutterstock.com
management of the firm. operate in the absence of
Although accountants and salesforce feedback and
financial staff are concerned with profitability in bottom- research.
line terms, salespeople are constantly reminded of their
responsibility to achieve a healthy “top line” on the SaleSpeople aS futuRe manageRS In recent
profit and loss statement. This should not suggest that years, marketing and sales personnel have been in strong
salespeople are concerned only with sales revenue and demand for upper management positions. Recognizing
not with overall profitability. Indeed, salespeople are the need for a top management trained in sales, many
increasingly responsible for improving profitability, not firms use the sales job as an entry-level position that
only by producing sales revenues but also by improving provides a foundation for future assignments. As pro-
the productivity of their actions. gressive firms continue to emphasize customer orienta-
tion as a basic operating concept, it is only natural that
maRket ReSeaRch and feedback Because sales-
salespeople who have learned how to meet customer
people spend so much time in direct contact with their
needs will be good candidates for
customers, it is only logical that
management jobs.
they would play an important role
in market research and in provid- Along with the
ing feedback to their firms. For ex-
management of a firm, 1-4c salespeople
ample, Xerox uses a system called
and The Customer
SCOOP to store customer infor-
mation gathered by the salesforce.
salespeople occupy the Given the increasing importance
This information fully describes somewhat unique role of building trust with customers
each sales territory in terms of Xe- and an emphasis on establish-
rox and competitive products cur- of revenue producers ing and maintaining long-term
rently in use, machine types, age, relationships, it is imperative
and potential replacement dates. in their firms. that salespeople are honest and
Marketing executives use this in- candid with customers. Sales-
formation to develop market forecasts and to help de- people must also be able to demonstrate knowledge
velop marketing and sales strategies for various customer of their products and services, especially as they
segments.5 compare competitive offerings. Customers also ex-
The emergence of pect salespeople to be knowledgeable about market
revenue producers A role communications technol- opportunities and relevant business trends that may
fulfilled by salespeople that brings ogies gives salespeople affect a customer’s business. There has been a long-
in revenue or income to a firm
or company.
and their organizations standing expectation that salespeople need to be the
more opportunities to key contact for the buyer, who expects that they will
10

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coordinate activities within the selling firm to deliver
maximum value to the customer.

As salespeople serve
their customers, they

Kevin_Hsieh/Shutterstock.com
simultaneously serve their
employers and society.
The overall conclusion is that buyers expect
salespeople to contribute to the success of the buyer’s firm. Individuals that figure out that all
Buyers value the information furnished by salespeople, customers are different and can adapt,
and they expect salespeople to act in a highly professional will be the most successful.
manner. See “An Ethical Dilemma” for a scenario in which
the salesperson must think about where to draw the line in
sharing information with customers.
encounter unique sales situations and customers. This
As salespeople serve their customers, they simulta-
is referred to as adaptive selling. Because salespeo-
neously serve their employers and society. When these
ple often encounter buyers with different personali-
parties’ interests conflict, the salesperson can be caught
ties, communications styles, needs, and goals, adaptive
in the middle. By learning to resolve these conflicts as
selling is an important concept. Adaptive selling is
a routine part of their jobs, salespeople further contrib-
prevalent with the need satisfaction, problem-solving,
ute to developing a business system based on progress
and consultative approaches. It is less prevalent with
through problem solving. Sales ethics will be discussed
mental states selling and essentially nonexistent with
in detail in Chapter 2.
stimulus-response selling.

stimulus response selling


1-5 alTernaTiVe Personal 1-5a

selling aPProaChes Of the five views of per-


sonal selling, stimulus
adaptive selling The ability
of salespeople to alter their sales
response selling is the messages and behaviors during
In this section, we take a closer look at alternative ap- simplest. The theoreti- a sales presentation or as they
proaches to personal selling that professionals may choose cal background for this encounter different sales situations
and different customers.
from to best interact with their customers. Some of these approach originated in
approaches are simple. Other approaches are more so- early experiments with stimulus response selling
phisticated and require that the salesperson play a strate- animal behavior. The key An approach to selling where the
key idea is that various stimuli can
gic role to use them successfully. Five basic approaches idea is that various stim-
elicit predictable responses from
to personal selling have been in use for decades: stimulus uli can elicit predictable customers. Salespeople furnish the
response, mental states, need satisfaction, problem solv- responses. Salespeople stimuli from a repertoire of words
ing, and consultative selling.6 All five approaches to sell- furnish the stimuli from and actions designed to produce the
desired response.
ing are practiced today. Furthermore, many salespeople a repertoire of words
use elements of more than one approach in their own and actions designed to continued affirmation
hybrids of personal selling. produce the desired re- An example of stimulus response
selling in which a series of questions
Recall from earlier in the chapter that personal sponse. This approach
or statements furnished by the
selling differs from other forms of marketing commu- to selling is illustrated in salesperson is designed to condition
nications because it is a personal communication deliv- Figure 1.1. the prospective buyer to answering
ered by employees or agents of the sales organization. An example of the “yes” time after time, until, it is
Because the personal element is present, salespeople stimulus response view hoped, he or she will be inclined
to say “yes” to the entire sales
have the opportunity to alter their sales messages of selling would be proposition.
and behaviors during a sales presentation or as they continued affirmation,
CHAPTER 1: Overview of Personal Selling 11

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Fig. 1.1 StimuluS ReSPOnSe APPROAch tO Selling

Salesperson
Provides Stimuli: Buyer
Responses
Statements Continue
Sought:
Questions Process Until
Favorable Purchase
Actions
Reactions and Decision
Audio/Visual Aids
Eventual Purchase
Demonstrations

The salesperson attempts to gain favorable responses from the customer by providing stimuli, or cues, to influence the buyer.
After the customer has been properly conditioned, the salesperson tries to secure a positive purchase decision.

presentation, have some advantages for the seller. The


sales message can be structured in a logical order. Ques-
tions and objections from the buyer can usually be antici-
pated and addressed before they are magnified during
buyer–seller interaction. Inexperienced salespeople can
rely on stimulus response sales methods in some settings,
and this may eventually contribute to sales expertise.
The limitations of stimulus response methods, how-
ever, can be severe, especially if the salesperson is deal-
Opolja/Shutterstock.com

ing with a professional buyer. Most buyers like to take an


active role in sales dialogue, and the stimulus response
approach calls for the salesperson to dominate the flow
of conversation. The lack of flexibility in this approach is
also a disadvantage, as buyer responses and unforeseen
Telemarketing sales representatives use interruptions may neutralize or damage the effectiveness
stimulus response selling, relying on of the stimuli.
comprehensive scripts that are read or Considering the net effects of this method’s advan-
delivered from memory. tages and disadvantages, it appears most suitable for
relatively unimportant purchase decisions, when time
is severely constrained and when professional buyers
a method in which a series of questions or statements are not the prospects. As consumers in general become
furnished by the salesperson is designed to condition the more sophisticated, this approach will become more
prospective buyer to answering “yes” time after time, problematic.
until, it is hoped, he or
mental states selling An she will be inclined to say
approach to personal selling that “yes” to the entire sales
1-5b Mental states selling
assumes that the buying process for Mental states selling, or the formula approach to
proposition. This method
most buyers is essentially identical
and that buyers can be led through is often used by telemar- personal selling, assumes that the buying process for
certain mental states, or steps, in keting personnel, who most buyers is essentially identical and that buyers can
the buying process; also called the rely on comprehensive be led through certain mental states, or steps, in the
formula approach. sales scripts read or deliv- buying process. These mental states are typically re-
AIDA An acronym for the various ered from memory. ferred to as AIDA (attention, interest, desire, and ac-
mental states the salesperson must Stimulus response tion). Appropriate sales messages provide a transition
lead customers through when using sales strategies, particu- from one mental state to the next. The mental states
mental states selling: attention,
interest, desire, and action. larly when implemented method is illustrated in Exhibit 1.3. Note that this ver-
with a canned sales sion includes “conviction” as an intermediate stage
12

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Exhibit 1.3
Mental states View of selling
Buyer’s Mental State Common Sales Tactics

Attention Build rapport with the prospect, ask questions to generate excitement for the
sales offering
Interest Discover buyer needs; uncover purchase decision process; gain precommitment
to consider purchase of seller’s product
Desire Build a sense of urgency; demonstrate the product; persuade the buyer to try the
product, e.g. a test drive or hands-on involvement with the product
Action Overcome buyer resistance and make the sale; multiple attempts to close the sale
are sometimes used

between interest and desire. Such minor variations are confusing, and even counterproductive to sales effec-
commonplace in different renditions of this approach tiveness. We should also note that this method is not
to selling. customer oriented. Although the salesperson tailors the
As with stimulus response selling, the mental states presentation to each customer somewhat, this is done
approach relies on a highly structured sales presentation. by noting customer mental states rather than needs.
The salesperson does most of the talking, as feedback See “An Ethical Dilemma” for a situation in which the
from the prospect could be disruptive to the flow of the salesperson is contemplating the movement of the pros-
presentation. pect into the “action” stage.
A positive feature of this method is that it forces the
salesperson to plan the sales presentation prior to calling
on the customer. It also helps the salesperson recognize
1-5c need satisfaction selling
that timing is an important element in the purchase de- Need satisfaction selling is based on the notion that
cision process and that careful listening is necessary to the customer is buying to satisfy a particular need or set
determine which stage the buyer is in at any given point. of needs. This approach is shown in Figure 1.2. It is the
A problem with the mental states method is that it is salesperson’s task to iden-
difficult to determine which state a prospect is in. Some- tify the need to be met, need satisfaction
times a prospect is spanning two mental states or mov- then to help the buyer selling An approach to selling
ing back and forth between two states during the sales meet the need. Unlike the based on the notion that the
customer is buying to satisfy a
presentation. Consequently, the heavy guidance struc- mental states and stimu- particular need or set of needs.
ture the salesperson implements may be inappropriate, lus response methods,

Fig. 1.2 need SAtiSFActiOn APPROAch tO Selling


Uncover and Continue Selling
to Satisfy Buyer Until Purchase
Needs Needs Decision

The salesperson attempts to uncover customer needs that are related to the product or service offering. This may require
extensive questioning in the early stages of the sales process. After confirming the buyer’s needs, the salesperson proceeds
with a presentation based on how the offering can meet those needs.
CHAPTER 1: Overview of Personal Selling 13

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
An Ethical Dilemma
Courtney Jacobs sells corporate sponsorship packages What should Courtney do?
for the Bellview Blasters, a minor league hockey team a) Be a loyal employee and
in New England. The packages include advertising in follow her manager’s
game programs throughout the season, signage in the directive.
arena, and a block of season tickets. The packages range b) Try to convince her
in price from $5,000 to $10,000, depending on the size manager that a customer-
of the ads and signs, and how many season tickets oriented approach will be

Svetlana Chebanova/Shutterstock.com
are included. Courtney’s sales manager is pushing the best over the long run.
salesforce to sell as many $10,000 packages as possible. c) Tell her manager that
Courtney tries to match the sponsorship package to she will try to sell more
the budget and needs of each potential customer $10,000 packages, but
rather than pushing the $10,000 packages. Her sales continue her current
manager is not happy and told Courtney, “You need to sales approach.
get with the program and max your sales of the $10,000
packages. This is a good deal for sponsors. What’s the
matter—don’t you believe in your product?”

this method focuses on the customer rather than on the persuasive part of the sales message without adequate
salesperson. The salesperson uses a questioning, probing attention to the buyer’s needs.
tactic to uncover important buyer needs. Customer re-
sponses dominate the early portion of the sales interac-
tion, and only after relevant needs have been established
1-5d Problem-solving selling
does the salesperson begin to relate how his or her offer- Problem-solving selling is an extension of need sat-
ing can satisfy these needs. isfaction selling. It goes beyond identifying needs to de-
Customers seem to appreciate this selling method veloping alternative solutions for satisfying these needs.
and are often willing to spend considerable time in The problem-solving approach to selling is depicted in
preliminary meetings to define needs prior to a sales Figure 1.3. Sometimes even competitors’ offerings are
presentation or written included as alternatives in the purchase decision.
problem-solving selling An sales proposal. Also, this The problem-solving approach typically requires
extension of need satisfaction selling method avoids the de- educating the customer about the full impact of the ex-
that goes beyond identifying needs fensiveness that arises in isting problem and clearly communicating how the solu-
to developing alternative solutions
for satisfying these needs.
some prospects when a tion delivers significant customer value. This is true in
salesperson rushes to the cases where the customer does not perceive a problem

Fig. 1.3 PROblem-SOlving APPROAch tO Selling


Generate Evaluate Continue
Problem Alternative Alternative Selling Until
Solutions Solutions Purchase Decision

The salesperson defines a customer problem that may be solved by various alternatives. Then an offering is made that
represents at least one of these alternatives. All alternatives are carefully evaluated before a purchase decision is made.

14

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
or even when the solution seems to be an obviously ben- usage of consultative selling in recent years. He says that
eficial course of action for the buyer. According to The consultative selling requires knowledge of the custom-
Brooks Group, a leading sales training firm, problem- er’s strategic priorities and how the customer can pursue
solving selling is not so much about convincing someone those priorities as they make major purchase decisions.
to buy, but rather it is about offering a logical solution to Salespeople must determine exact customer needs and
a problem faced by the client. Of course, the salesperson the varying information needs of multiple individuals on
is trying to make the sale as soon as possible, but first they the buying side. For example, a company that is consid-
must learn exactly what the problem is and determine ering a fleet purchase of company automobiles may want
the best solution from the customer’s perspective.7 To be to focus on maintaining a given quality level while si-
successful in problem-solution selling, salespeople must multaneously working toward a corporate priority of re-
be able to get the buyer to agree that a problem exists ducing travel costs. The consultative salesperson in this
and that solving it is worth the time and effort required. scenario must be able to address the needs of all of the
The problem-solving approach to selling can take a individuals who influence the purchase decision, while
lot of time. In some cases, the selling company cannot clearly addressing the corporate cost-cutting priority.9
afford this much time with each prospective customer.
In other cases, the customers may be unwilling to spend

The TrusT-BaseD
the time. Insurance salespeople, for example, report this
customer response. The problem-solving approach ap- 1-6
pears to be most successful in technical industrial sales
situations, in which the parties involved are usually ori-
sales ProCess
ented toward scientific reasoning and processes and thus
find this approach to sales amenable. The nonselling activities consultative selling The
on which most salespeo- process of helping customers reach
ple spend a majority of their strategic goals by using the
1-5e Consultative selling their time are essential products, services, and expertise
of the sales organization.
Consultative selling is the process of helping cus- for the successful execu-
tomers reach their strategic goals by using the products, tion of the most important strategic orchestrator
services, and expertise of the sales organization.8 Notice part of the salesperson’s A role the salesperson plays in
consultative selling where he or
that this method focuses on achieving strategic goals of job: the sales process.
she arranges the use of the sales
customers, not just meeting needs or solving problems. The sales process has tra- organization’s resources in an effort
Salespeople confirm their customers’ strategic goals, ditionally been described to satisfy the customer.
and then work collaboratively with customers to achieve as a series of interrelated
business consultant A role
those goals. steps beginning with lo- the salesperson plays in consultative
In consultative selling, salespeople fulfill three pri- cating qualified prospec- selling where he or she uses internal
mary roles: strategic orchestrator, business consultant, tive customers. From and external (outside the sales
organization) sources to become an
and long-term ally. As a strategic orchestrator, the there, the salesperson
expert on the customer’s business.
salesperson arranges the use of the sales organization’s plans the sales presenta- This role also involves educating
resources in an effort to satisfy the customer. This usu- tion, makes an appoint- customers on the sales firm’s
ally calls for involving other individuals in the sales or- ment to see the customer, products and how these products
compare with competitive offerings.
ganization. For example, the salesperson may need completes the sale,
expert advice from production or logistics personnel to and performs postsale long-term ally A role the
address a customer problem or opportunity fully. In the activities. salesperson plays in consultative
selling where he or she supports the
business consultant role, the salesperson uses inter- As you should recall
customer, even when an immediate
nal and external (outside the sales organization) sources from the earlier discus- sale is not expected.
to become an expert on the customer’s business. This sion of the continued
role also includes an educational element—that is, sales- evolution of personal sell- sales process A series of
interrelated steps beginning with
people educate their customers on products they offer ing (refer to Exhibit 1.1), locating qualified prospective
and how these products compare with competitive offer- the sales process is in- customers. From there, the
ings. As a long-term ally, the salesperson supports the creasingly being viewed salesperson plans the sales
customer, even when an immediate sale is not expected. as a relationship manage- presentation, makes an appointment
to see the customer, completes the
Terrence Hockenbull, an accomplished sales con- ment process, as depicted sale, and performs postsale activities.
sultant in the Philippines, has observed the increased in Figure 1.4.
CHAPTER 1: Overview of Personal Selling 15

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Fig. 1.4 tRuSt-bASed SAleS PROceSS

Selling Foundations
Trust and Ethics Initiating Customer Developing Customer Enhancing Customer
Understanding Relationships Relationships Relationships
Buyers
Strategic prospecting Engaging prospects and Building value through
Communications
Assessing the prospect’s customers through postsale follow-up
Skills
situation sales dialogue and Assessing value and
Discovering prospect’s presentations relationship performance
Selling Strategy needs Co-creating and Creating new value
Based on Customer Planning value-based sales validating customer opportunities
Needs and Value dialogue and value Increasing customer value
presentations Earning customer through self-leadership and
Sales Territory
commitment teamwork
Each Customer
Each Sales Call

Understanding Creating and Delivering and


Customer Communicating Increasing
Value Customer Value Customer Value

The three major phases of the sales process are initiating, developing, and enhancing customer relationships. Salespeople
must possess certain attributes to earn the trust of their customers and be able to adapt their selling strategies to different
situations. Throughout the sales process, salespeople should focus on customer value, first by understanding what it is, then
by working with customers to create value, communicate value, and continually increase customer value.

In this conceptualization of the sales process, salespeo- honest, and dependable. They must also be competent
ple strive to attain lasting relationships with their customers. and able to display an appropriate level of expertise to their
The basis for such relationships may vary, but the element customers. Finally, the trust-building process is facilitated if
of trust between the customer and the salesperson is an salespeople are compatible with their customers; that is, if
essential part of enduring relationships. To earn the trust they get along and work well with each other.10 These attri-
of customers, salespeople should be customer oriented, butes are reflected by Jordan Lynch, a Workforce Manage-
ment Consultant with ADP in Denver, Colorado:
The key to having productive relationships with
your customers is genuine trust. From day one, I
work to earn the customer’s trust by consistently
doing what I say I will do. This means that I must
be realistic and not overpromise in terms of what
we can do for our customers. It is important to
show the customer that you truly care about their
Martin Good/Shutterstock.com

success, and of course, basic honesty is essential.


Customers expect me to be an expert in our field,
and to get answers quickly if I need to call in other
experts to suit the customer’s needs. I want to do
business with trustworthy people, and I firmly
In consultative selling, the salesperson believe that my customers feel the same way.11
is a lot like an orchestra conductor. The Another important element of achieving sound rela-
salesperson must involve all parts of tionships with customers is to recognize that individual
customers and their particular needs must be addressed
the selling firm.
with appropriate selling strategies and tactics. In selling,
16

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CHAPTER XIV
Preaching in Four Asiatic Languages

I N other chapters are given the facts concerning the beginnings


and development of the English work in Rangoon. The beginning
among the natives is of equal interest to the inquirer after missionary
information. When a mission without resources begins operations in
a foreign country, it may be supposed that it would be very modest in
its undertaking. But in the case of Methodism in Burma, and some
other parts of Southern Asia as well, rightly or wrongly, it has
pursued exactly the opposite course. With a mere handful of
workers, including missionaries and their helpers, our people have
from the beginning undertaken about every kind of mission work
possible. Within two weeks from the time Bishop Thoburn landed in
Rangoon he had organized an English Church of seventy members
and probationers, and from the membership thus brought together
there were volunteer workers raised up to preach among peoples of
three different native languages. As the streets were always
thronged with these people, it was always easy to get a
congregation. This hopeful beginning was in perfect keeping with the
theory of missions long in vogue in a large portion of India—that from
these self-supporting English Churches there would be raised up the
workers who would evangelize the heathen peoples around them.
William Taylor was the great apostle of this policy, and most of the
Methodist missions not included in the North India Conference were
founded on this theory by him and those that caught his spirit.
This theory has fatal defects we now know, but it was believed
and put to the test in the way indicated; and while it did not succeed
in accomplishing all that it was hoped at the beginning, it did
accomplish more than any other theory of missions has done in the
same time in proportion to the number of missionaries employed,
while its expenditure of mission money for years was almost nothing.
This movement carried Methodism into every city in Southern Asia
that had a considerable English-speaking population. It gave us
English Churches in all these centers. Our methods aroused other
missions to do more for these people than they had ever done
before. More than this, it committed us to general mission work over
this area, and that with no outlay of mission money until safe
foundations were laid in all the centers occupied.
Moved by this impulse and flushed with the warmth of a great
revival, these laymen in Rangoon began to preach in Tamil, Telegu,
and Hindustani. It will be noticed that all these are languages of India
proper, indicating that these English-speaking laymen had
themselves come from India, and so were familiar with the
languages of the native immigrants to Burma. But most of our
English-speaking laymen were from Madras or the Telegu country,
so that the preaching in Tamil and Telegu were continued; but for a
long time we were unable to keep a layman interested who could
preach in Hindustani, and it was discontinued, except at irregular
intervals.
There were converts from among the heathen Tamil and Telegu
people from the start. They were baptized, and later on some Church
organizations were formed and some schools kept for the children of
these people. Preaching was kept up in the English Church and at
half a dozen other places in Rangoon; in Dalla, across the Rangoon
River from Rangoon, among the coolies in the mills, and in the jungle
villages, and in Toiurgoo, and later in Pegu on the railway. The
Tamils and the Telegus were generally found together, and we could
sometimes get a layman who could preach in both languages,
though generally we had to engage different preachers.
As time went on we learned several important facts about these
people and this work that we did not know at first. We very soon
discovered that we lost heavily among our converts by these
immigrants returning to their own land, and that our people were not
so distributed in India that they could care for them in their native
land on their return. But this continual loss made it out of the
question to hope for much permanency in this kind of work. Another
weakness was that the men did not bring their families with them.
And while we got the men converted, they were still connected with
heathen relatives in India to whom they would return. But the
immediate weakness was in the fact that there were few women and
children to complete the Christian families and Christian
communities. So family life, school, and Sunday-school work was not
possible.
As the work extended somewhat, we were met by the fact that
we must depend on paid agents, and could not hope to go beyond a
very narrow limit by unpaid volunteer preaching and subpastoral
care. Applicants for such places were not wanting. Many of these
men in course of years applied, and in turn were found, with few
exceptions, wholly unfit for permanent responsibility. In the case of
the Tamils especially, this was true. The breakdown of this class of
mission employees was nearly complete. This was due to two
causes. The one seems to be in the Tamil race itself. They do seem
to lack the element of reliability generally in everything that has not
the highest monetary value attainable as its goal. It is astonishing
how many of these employees failed us at this point. There was the
further difficulty, in that we had to employ the men who drifted into
Burma as the dislodged members of other missions in India, who
were either unwilling to accept the regulations of their own missions,
or were not of its better material. We seldom employed a man
without certificate of character, and we imported some agents under
special recommendation; but our experience with them was
generally unsatisfactory for the highest interest of the mission. But I
am happy to record that some were very true and reliable.
But the greatest weakness was on our part, in being unable to
give the missionary supervision necessary to insure the highest
success. We have never been strong enough to give a missionary to
this work among immigrants to Burma. Without this close missionary
supervision, we can not hope to succeed largely. Then we did not
have the money to extend the work largely so as to acquire the
momentum, and that would place at our disposal enough candidates
to enable us to sift them and employ only the most worthy. But a
great deal of good has been done with a very little outlay of money,
and this work will be continued, though only incidental to the larger
mission plans. We must make the Burmese people our real
objective.
For reasons already given, we have been slow in taking up work
among the Burmese people. These reasons were in brief, too few
missionaries to spare even one man or woman to make the
beginning, and for years no missionary appropriation at all was made
to Burma. When a little money was given us, we made the best use
of it. But we did baptize Burmese before we had any missionary
appropriations or missionary to these people. Some inquirers from
several miles out on the Pegu River came into Rangoon, and sought
out our missionaries. Bishop Thoburn being in Rangoon at the time,
a boat was secured and a party made up to visit the village and
investigate this new opening. The village was found, and the bishop
preached, with a young Eurasian girl as his interpreter. The interest
created was considerable, and before the day was over several
candidates were baptized. The initial step could not be followed up
as we could wish, but two years later I arrived in Burma, and after
some months was able to visit this village and the surrounding
country. It was a great joy to find some of these converts still true to
all they knew of the gospel. One of them could read the Bible, and
he had a copy of the good Book and some good tracts. Later on in
this region, but a little further from Rangoon, we had our first
considerable awakening among the people.
In Rangoon we had one Burmese boys’ school, which for two or
three years gave promise of much usefulness. These boys came
from the country and city, and were bright young lads from nine to
fifteen years of age. They were instructed in the secular studies, and
at the same time taught the Bible. A Sunday-school was kept up
also. If this school could have been well cared for under a missionary
who knew the language, it could have become largely useful and
permanent. It finally was broken up by the Burmese teacher going
wrong. But if a trained missionary had been in charge, another
teacher could have been employed and the school sustained. During
the continuance of this school there were a number of boys baptized
in the school, and that with their relatives’ knowledge, and there was
no special opposition to it. Bishop Thoburn was much impressed
with this fact, as such an occurrence in one of the schools in India
among the Hindu or Mohammedan boys would have broken up the
school. In all the schools we have had, mostly in large villages in the
district, the same accessibility to the young Burman has been found.
Among the missions which have become strong enough to found
a good school or system of schools, they find not only that the
Burmese are ready to send their boys and pay the fees according to
the Government school code, but that these same schools are the
best missionary agencies, both for the conversion of the Burmese
and the Christian training of prospective preachers and teachers. For
the latter, years under immediate Christian training are
indispensable. As Buddhism is founded on a system of monastic
schools, where the boys are indoctrinated in the teachings of that
faith, it would seem that any policy which looks to the overthrow of
Buddhism should contemplate replacing these Buddhist schools with
Christian schools. And when we find the Buddhists themselves
seeking education in Christian schools, and willing to pay good fees
for the privilege, the prospect for the Christian schools becoming the
greatest auxiliary of evangelism is very encouraging. It is my
conviction that no nonchristian country in the world presents the
prospect of extensive usefulness of the Christian system equal to
Burma.
So eager were we to begin mission work among the Burmese,
that we took up with whatever opening presented itself. So sure were
we that we would not get the ear of the home Church, and so get the
necessary funds really to establish the Burmese mission work, that
we were ready to accept whatever the field offered that promised to
give us access to the Burmese people.
Our first opportunity was thrust upon us. We embraced it with
perhaps too much eagerness. But this is a question raised in the
light of subsequent experience which no man could foresee. In the
early part of 1893, I received a message from the deputy
commissioner of the Pegu District, saying that he was opening a
large tract of newly-drained rice land to settlement and cultivation in
his district, and if I would start a colony of Burmese cultivators on it,
he would put at the disposal of the mission from two to three
thousand acres of land. This was a very singular proposition, as I
had never seen that official but once, and had never been in that part
of his district, and had not planned such an undertaking. I went up
and made a hurried investigation of the region, and found it a part of
a large plain that for a short time each year had too much water for
even rice cultivation, which grows in water often a foot deep. The
Government felt certain its new drainage canals, dug at considerable
expense, would drain this plain. And as its soil was the most fertile
possible, and covered with a light grass, which would easily yield to
the ordinary native plow, it seemed desirable to co-operate with the
district officials, and take up a large section of the land. The deputy
commissioner offered to put at our disposal three thousand acres of
land, for which we were to have a title as soon as we put it under
cultivation. Having no mission money of any account to go on in the
conventional method of founding a mission, it does not at all seem to
be wondered at that this inviting offer of land was looked upon as a
providential way of founding an industrial mission.
Just at this time, in a thickly-populated part of the district, some
forty miles away, a company of twenty-eight Burmans, whom I had
not seen before, sought me out, and asked me to help them get
some land. Taken with the offer of the land by the district officer, it
seemed a rare opportunity to get forward with our mission.
The season being far advanced, it was imperatively necessary to
act quickly because these Burmans had to make their arrangements
for the year, and the opportunity to get this land or any other so well
situated we thought would never come again. This combination of
urgent features led us to take the land and make the venture at
once.
There was a great deal of planning to launch such a scheme. We
did not want to be involved financially. We did want to lay a good
foundation of evangelism and to establish schools. The plan finally
adopted was that we were to aid the Burmans in their dealings with
the Government, and in selling their rice. We were to furnish schools
for their children and to preach to them. But we were not to become
financially involved, either for the running expenses of the colony, or
for the tax due the Government. The plan was one of mutual
helpfulness. To this plan all parties cheerfully agreed.
It was nearly time for the rains to begin when the papers were
secured allowing us to move upon the land. Meantime a good many
of the people who would have gone with us a month earlier dropped
out during the delay in getting the land. But we succeeded in
gathering one hundred and twenty people, and moved on to the land
about the first of May. We still had time to build a village out of the
bamboo poles and thatch, out of which these cultivators’ houses are
always made. This was rather a hopeful beginning, and we had
assurance of twice as many people to follow.
Just at this time we met with an example of the careless
disregard of a financial obligation often found in the Burman. His cool
indifference to a promise, however well secured, is frequently
refreshing in its audacity. The Burmans were to furnish all the cattle
to work the land. We were to lay out no money whatever on the
business features of the colony. Four head men of the colony had
been recognized by the deputy commissioner. They had pledged two
hundred cattle security for the tax due on the land. Their cattle would
have been entirely sufficient to cultivate at least a thousand acres
the first year. But when the houses were built and the colony began
business, it became clear that only a small number of these cattle
were really in the hands of the colonists. Their explanation was that
many of the men having most cattle dropped out, as the
uncertainties of getting the land for the crop remained over the
venture. This we learned later was true in part. More of them had
dropped out because they did not want to put in all their cattle, while
some of the colonists had none, or only a few, and they were heavily
mortgaged.
But these men had pledged to the Government, officially, cattle
which they did not possess. In this they deceived us, a not very
difficult matter, as we were new to the country and unacquainted with
the characteristics of the Burmese people. But if we were deceived,
the deputy commissioner had more reason to regret having been
duped, as he was an officer in the province for many years, and
supposed he knew the Burman. He also drew up the revenue bond
which they signed. He indeed planned and extended this bond,
entirely apart from the revenue regulations, I believe. Therefore,
when we reproached ourselves in not being as farsighted as we
should have been, we still could shield our humiliation behind the
much greater defeat of the pet measure of this official.
If we had been willing simply to save the mission from all
financial obligations, and retreat from the enterprise without any
dishonor, we could have done so when we learned that these
Burmans were unable to carry out their part of the contract. But it
would have been equivalent to the utter collapse of the enterprise.
While we were in no way financially obligated to meet what they had
failed to meet under our general agreement, yet in my mind I have
never been convinced that it would have been the wisest thing to do,
even if we could have foreseen the final outcome, which we did not
at that time even suspect. Then every honorable man must give his
character to the enterprise he launches.
Our second surprise came only a few weeks later. I had secured
money outside of mission funds, for we had none of the latter, and
bought sufficient cattle for the colony. This was beyond all our
agreement. The men began work well enough, and soon had a
promising beginning of cultivation. As the young rice began to show
in the fields, the water which had been slowly rising over the plain
during the increasing rains suddenly covered all the fields to a
dangerous depth. A foot of extra water will not hurt much if it goes
down within two or three days. But this flooding of our land covered a
score of square miles of the country. Then it slowly dawned on us
that the Government engineers’ drainage system was a failure, and
with it our colony was doomed. We had depended upon the work of
the engineers, and their canals could not carry off the water, and we
were the sufferers. The colony slowly melted away while the water
remained.
Let it be noted that though the Burmans failed us, and some of
our acutely sympathetic friends have assured us all these years that
this failure of the Burmese character was inevitable, yet it was the
failure of the work of the Government engineers that destroyed our
colony. The Burmans were at work until the floods came, and they
remained weeks after all ordinary hope of making a crop was gone;
while the failure of the drainage scheme developed early, and the
whole plain remained flooded for six years until supplementary
canals were dug. If we failed by overconfidence in the adroit
Burman, we failed with double effect when we trusted to the skill of
the Government engineers.
A very unpleasant incident occurred about the time the colony
was drowned out. The deputy commissioner, who had gone out of
his way to induce us officially to enter upon this colony scheme,
turned against us in a very unaccountable way. He misrepresented
our undertaking to his superiors. He accused us of exacting
oppressive terms of the Burmans, when the exact opposite was true.
We had gone far beyond all our agreement with them, and gave
them better terms than any other people ever gave to any cultivator
in Burma. In the end it was easy enough to show wherein this
unwise official was wholly in error. But it was not until his official
opposition had wrought its work on scattering the colony, and had
made success in recognition impossible. This episode is an
unpleasant matter to record. I would omit it entirely if it did not bear a
vital relation to the defeat of a missionary enterprise. But I am glad to
be able to say that he is the only official of British blood who ever
gave our mission or missionaries in Burma during my experience
there any annoyance or ungenerous treatment in a business way.
The officials have been courteous gentlemen always, and I have
been much in business transactions with all classes of them for a
decade. Our missionaries of long experience in other parts of the
empire have been delighted in making much the same report.
While the colony was broken up and scattered in a way that
forebade us to hope for any good to result from our undertaking, it
was not really so bad as we believed at the time. We had not
baptized any of the colonists, though a number of them had
indicated that they wished baptism in the early beginnings of the
colony. When they scattered abroad in the country doubtless they
made reports very discouraging. But we have much reason to know
that there came to be quite a general feeling that we had sought the
good of the people. There have been many evidences of this, but
that which is clearest proof, is that every year since Burmans in the
same neighborhood have urged us to undertake some such
enterprise again. But there were other evidences.
The colony was begun in April, 1893, and was abandoned
entirely by the end of the year. Just at this time Rev. G. J. Schilling
and wife came to us to take up the Burmese work. I had been the
only man among our small band of missionaries for nearly three
years. My assistants were supplies picked up in the country. I got
very weary often with the heat and much work. But I was often worn
greatly for lack of counsel in the responsibilities of the mission. There
have always been some of the truest friends among the laymen in
Rangoon, but naturally they can not take the responsible care of the
mission. The coming of Mr. and Mrs. Schilling was a great joy to me
and all our lady missionaries.
A little incident occurred the second day after the arrival of our
friends, which shows the playful side of missionary life. They arrived
in the afternoon, and early next morning I took Mr. Schilling with me
a day’s journey by steam launch through one of Lower Burma’s
many tidal creeks to a village where we had some Christians. We
were so busy we did not allow the new missionary even a day to look
around the city of Rangoon, but hurried him immediately into the
district. I had the journey planned, and could not delay the trip for
pressure of work in the city.
At six o’clock in the evening we arrived at the village of
Thongwa, a place of five thousand people. After some three hours’
looking about the town we were tired, and as always in Burma when
taking exercise, very much heated. I proposed a swim in the river to
cool us down so we could sleep. Mr. Schilling, being a strong
swimmer, plunged out into the stream, and did not pause till he
reached the opposite side of the river. I, being a very moderate
swimmer, remained near the shore. But I was impressed with the
dark river lined with palm-trees on a moonless night, with no light
except from the stars and a faint glimmer from the lamps of the
village. I wondered at the temerity of my fellow-missionary on this,
his first night in a tropical country! Perhaps I was not wholly innocent
in the practical joke I attempted. Just as I heard a splash on the
opposite side of the stream I called out, “Brother Schilling, I forgot to
tell you that there are alligators in this river.” There was a splash, a
plunge, and heavy breathing of a swimmer exerting all his power in
the haste to recross the stream. I was amused at the effect of this bit
of information on the missionary recruit. But his amusement arrived
only as an afterthought. His first efforts were all spent in getting to
my side of the river. He reasoned, “In haste there is safety.” When he
recovered his breath he told me that just as I shouted “alligator” he
had stepped on some slippery member of the tribe that lives in the
muddy ooze of all tropical tidal creeks, and to his imagination the
word “alligator” made that squirming creature a very real menace to
his personal safety. There were alligators in the stream, but they
were several miles further down and, as far as I knew, quite
harmless.
Another experience which befell some of us some months before
this had features about it too grim for humor, but which may be
recorded to show the reality of life in a tropical land. Shortly after the
colony was flooded, I made one of my visits to the people. Several
times I had to travel in a small boat, a dug-out log. To return to
Rangoon I took to the stream after nightfall, and traveled within a
mile or two of the railway, and then, the current of the stream
becoming too swift for the oarsman, we took to the water, and waded
against the current until we reached the station. The particular
occurrence occurred when the water was at its highest over an area
many miles. The occasion of my making these journeys at night was
that I could catch a train bringing me to Rangoon in the morning for
my many duties there. As the whole country was flooded, we
undertook to guide our boat thirteen miles from the colony to the
railway all over an overflowed, treeless plain. Our party consisted of
a young Swiss I had in charge of the colony, a Malay servant of the
Swiss, who acted as steersman, and a Telegu, a very lazy man, who
would not row, and so got a free ride, grudgingly allowed by myself.
The Swiss and I had to do all the rowing, no easy task through the
protruding elephant grass, which rose several feet above the water
in some places. In addition, I undertook to pilot the boat, the open
hollow-log canoe, always difficult to keep bottom downward. Without
any object to serve as a guide, my own sense of locality, as we had
no compass, being my only resource, the downpour of rain every
half-hour—all made a combination of circumstances calculated to fill
us with doubts as to our success in reaching the railway at all, while
the dark hours of the night passed slowly on. We had no light with
us, and at times it was exceedingly dark; but the moon showed its
half-filled face occasionally. Late in the night we came near to some
abandoned grass hut. As an unusually heavy storm was
approaching, revealed to us by the beating of the rain on the quiet
water of the plain, we concluded to steer our unstable craft in
through the open doorway of the hut. There were several feet of
water in the hut and on the adjacent fields. As the hut was large
enough to accommodate our boat and the roof was intact, we hoped
to have shelter until the rain had passed.
We had our misgivings, because we feared the snakes, driven
from the grass of the plain by the water, would be finding quarters in
the house. This proved to be a very true surmise. We had just got
into the house, when our free passenger, the Telegu, took out his
matchbox and a cigar and prepared to smoke. I thought I could use
that match to better advantage, and demanded it. As the match
flashed and then burned steadily for a moment, we searched the
thatch sides and roof and bamboo supports for snakes. We were not
disappointed. Here and there were the glistening coils of snakes
tucked away; but our greatest nervous shock came on looking
immediately over our heads, when we were startled to see a very
large snake coiled on top of the rafter, while the glistening scales of
his whitish belly were only two or three feet above some of our
heads. We immediately prepared to leave this place in possession of
its venomous occupants. Softly we moved lest we shake snakes into
our boat. The Swiss was very eager to avoid colliding with a post
and shaking a snake into the boat, especially as we were all
barefooted, having removed our shoes.
We took to the storm again, the worst of that weary wet night,
thankful to have escaped keeping company with the snakes. About
one o’clock at night we found the railroad, and rested until the train
came. I look back on that night’s experience with vivid recollections.
The long piloting of the boat without guide of any kind for thirteen
miles, and then to have made our exact destination, was no ordinary
achievement, of which I have always had some pride. The
experience with the snakes in the abandoned house seen by the
flash of a match makes a memory too vivid to avoid an inward
squirming to this day. These disconnected experiences are given to
break the monotony of prosaic account of mission work, and to
indicate to the reader that there are realities in journeyings about the
inhabited parts of a tropical country calculated to impress the
memory.
Mr. Schilling’s coming to us was very timely. He began Burmese
very soon, in which Mr. Robertson joined him. We at once planned to
open a station for a missionary outside of Rangoon. We selected
Pegu, a town on the railway fifty-six miles from the capital city, and
on the road to Mandalay. We chose this town because it was the
nearest station to our broken-up colony, from which also we could
work another region which had been given to the people for the
colony, and from whence we could reach half a hundred villages of
Burmans unsought by any missionary. We needed a town, also,
where we could have a physician for the missionary’s family. A place
was desired where land and missionary buildings could be secured
economically.
Large Image at Pegu

Mr. Schilling was supported by the vigorous missionary Church


of Montclair, New Jersey. They paid his passage and his salary, and
for the mission house. So prompt was their response and so
generous, that the mission was very greatly uplifted. Mr. Robertson
lived with Mr. Schilling, and they both made rapid progress in
learning the language. In a few months inquirers began to be found.
Some lapsed Christians were picked up, and they tried to work them
into some Christian usefulness. Before the end of the year they were
beginning to preach in the vernacular. Altogether our prospect of
doing mission work among the Burmese was becoming promising,
and we were all filled with cheer.
Within a little more than a year each of these brethren was doing
aggressive evangelistic work. Mr. Schilling remained at Pegu, and
traveled somewhat widely in the regions east and north. Mr.
Robertson was given the district south of Pegu and east of Rangoon.
He lived at Thongwa, the village where our Burmese work was first
undertaken in a systematic way. Mr. Robertson had married Miss
Haskew, of Calcutta.
Mr. Schilling, at the suggestion of some of the Burmese who had
been with us in the colony enterprise, organized a new movement to
build a village near the place where we had formerly located, but not
subject to floods, into which the Christians and their families would
move, separating the Christian community and providing a school for
their children. About one hundred and fifty people came to the
village, and a simple church was built and a school begun. Quite a
number of these people were with us in the original enterprise, and
they and their friends had had some Christian instruction. Mr.
Schilling preached earnestly to the village, and baptized about thirty
people in a few months’ time. So we came to have a visible Christian
community in the wake of our colony scheme, and that within two
years of our first beginning. If, as we are accustomed to say, we
failed in the colony, still but for the colony we would not have been in
that region at all. If we had not founded the colony, we would not
have had a village. We are encouraged this much, that though we
failed in our unusual departure in this region for reasons stated, we
had more to show at the end of the two years from the failure than
the most successful enterprise on the conventional mission lines that
I know of in Burma has had during an equal length of time at the
beginning of their history. If we count the money invested, the same
comparison holds good.
The village still exists, and though it has suffered many
vicissitudes, due in part to the nature of pioneer mission work, and
partly to lack of continuous missionary direction, yet we have contact
with the entire community of that region, and within the last year and
a half our missionary in charge has baptized a number of converts in
the village and community.
Before a year from the time he took up his residence in
Thongwa, Mr. Robertson’s health failed seriously, and he had to give
up his labors and go to the hills of India. This was in 1896. At first we
thought he would soon be with us again; but this was not to be. He
has been kept in India by the exigencies of his health at first, and
latterly by the exigencies of the work. The Thongwa circuit has been
supplied as best we could do it to this day, and has never had
continuous missionary residence or supervision such as is needed. It
has had only such attention as could be given it by men whose
hands were more than full elsewhere.
During 1896 two young men were sent out by individuals who
wished to do a generous thing for missions through a representative.
Mr. Krull arrived in April, and Mr. Swann came in October. Much was
hoped from this arrangement. The young men were religious, and
faithful in their efforts. A mistake had been made in both cases, in
that neither man was educated sufficiently to enable him to master a
foreign tongue, or to meet the responsibility of leadership. After a few
months the supporter of Mr. Swann declined to pay the small salary
he had agreed upon, and the young man had to retire from the field,
as he was not sent out by the Mission Board. Mr. Krull continued as
an auxiliary mission agent for nearly five years, for which he
contracted, and his friend loyally supported him to the end. Then, he
being convinced that he was not adapted to do the work of a
missionary, returned and began secular work. However, he still has
responsibilities as a local preacher.
These young men were not qualified for the work for which they
were chosen. In this they were not to blame, as they could not have
understood the needs of a mission field. They were not selected by a
Mission Board. But the whole experience is added to like experience
elsewhere in proof that the best way to aid missions is through
regular channels, or through men whose judgment has been proven
in responsible positions.
Mr. Schilling’s health was impaired during 1897, and early in
1898 he and his family returned to America. So within two years we
lost two missionary families from our ranks, greatly to the distress of
those that remained, and the detriment of the entire work. Our
promising beginnings among the Burmese suffered most.
For a year we awaited re-enforcements. Early in 1899, Rev. Mr.
Leonard and wife were sent to us from India. Mr. Leonard at once
moved into the mission-house at Pegu. Without delay he began the
study of the Burmese language, and as he had high linguistic ability,
he acquired a working use of the language. Before the end of the
year he was preaching without an interpreter, and was doing some
necessary translation.
One of the first steps towards putting the Burmese work on a
better foundation was the beginning of a school for the boys of our
Burmese Christians. For years I had hoped to see this done. Pegu
had been chosen for the residence of a missionary partly with this
end in view, as it is accessible, is free from some of the evils of a
great city like Rangoon, and simple habits of life can be maintained
more easily. The last is most important. Expensive habits are so
easily learned and so difficult to unlearn, that we can not be too
careful about the training of the children of our Christian community.
This school was begun with about six boys, and soon grew to an
attendance of twenty. Some of these paid full school fees. Their
instruction was the best. They were given regular lessons in secular
subjects and daily Bible instruction. Much of the latter was committed
to memory. It would surprise some of our Sunday-schools and some
of our Christian people to find how carefully the Bible is taught in
mission schools. Mr. Leonard did most thorough work in this matter,
and we hope in this school to prepare for future service promising
boys. Those who know what it means to work with the only material
available in the beginning of a mission can appreciate our solicitude
for enough properly-trained workers. These preachers and teachers
so much needed must come from our own schools.
Mr. Leonard has been very successful in getting access to the
Burmese. He baptized more than one hundred converts from
Buddhism during 1900. This shows how accessible the Burmese
people are. If it were true that the Burmese have been exceptionally
hard to reach hitherto, it is not so now. We have access to all classes
of them, and we are positive of winning them to Christ and of
founding our Church among them just as rapidly as we can be re-
enforced to do this work. Mr. Leonard has twice the territory to look
after that one missionary should have.
Our latest work to be done is that among the Chinese. We were
led into this work by two circumstances. In Rangoon we found a few
Chinese Christians who were not looked after by anybody, and to
these were added some of our own Chinese converts from Malaysia
and some from China. As Rangoon and Burma are the natural
termini of the immigrants from China by sea and overland, we have a
large Chinese population in Rangoon, and this same population is
very evenly distributed in all important villages of the province. These
Chinamen marry Burmese women, so that they become identified
with the Burmese people. As we aimed at the conversion of the
Burmese, it was easy to begin preaching for those that were
Christians, and to fortify the foundation of our mission to the
Burmese.
As in other work, we had to employ just such preachers as we
could pick up. But in 1897 we secured a young man trained by Dr.
West, of Penang, who has done faithful preaching in Rangoon and
vicinity. There have been some thirty baptisms since he came to us.
This work is so important that it must be done by somebody. There is
a demand for as great a school for these people as we have founded
in Singapore or Penang. But its support is not in sight.
CHAPTER XV
A Unique Enterprise

I N March, 1897, the Rangoon Orphanage was removed to the


Karen Hills, east of Tomgoo, and established on an industrial
basis, where it has been maintained these four years under the new
plan, and it has become the “Unique Institution of the East,” as one
discerning official called it.
When one starts an enterprise that is entirely new he is called
upon for his reason for doing so. So long as he proceeds exactly as
other people, he needs no apology. But in all conservative countries
to go contrary to “custom” is to invite criticism, even if one’s efforts
are an advance on the established order. One curse of India is that
its people are enslaved by “custom;” and some of these customs are
very bad, and most of them are wholly unprogressive. Custom has
bound chains on the people, and they have worn these chains so
long that they have come to love their bonds better than liberty. In
most matters “change” is undesired, and to announce that a plan is
“new” is enough to condemn it hopelessly with many, and to start a
thousand tongues to attack it.
It has been shown elsewhere how pitiably situated are the poor
of European descent in all parts of Southern Asia, there is a greater
percentage of these poor dependent on some form of public or
private charity than among any people I know of in any land.
Perhaps in no country do the social customs do more to unfit the
poor to help themselves. I am persuaded also that very much of the
charity of the country, of which there is a great deal, is unwisely, if
not harmfully, bestowed. Rangoon, for instance, like all Indian cities,
has a charitable society made up of ministers and officials, which
dispenses a great deal of relief. Studying its methods as a member
for six years, I became convinced that, while very much good was
done, the system pauperized a relatively large number of people,
who should have been self-sustaining.
In this general dependent condition of a large part of these
people, there is the ever-present and acute distress of poor or
abandoned children, for which there have been established many
Orphanages and schools. All managers of these Orphanages are
appealed to by indolent or destitute parents to give free schooling,
including board and clothing, to their children. The truly orphaned, or
the abandoned, children are always touching our sympathies, and
appealing irresistibly to us for aid. The number of children born in
wedlock, as well as out of legal bonds, who are abandoned by
parents or legal relatives, is astonishingly large. The result of all
these combinations is to fill our Orphanages; for the innocent child
must not be allowed to suffer all the consequences of others’ sins.
So the “Orphanages” are found everywhere to care for these
children of European descent, whether they be Anglo-Indian or
Eurasian.
The founding of the Methodist Orphanage in Rangoon has been
noted elsewhere. In managing this Orphanage for a number of years
after the custom of the country, I became convinced that while the
amount of relief and protection given to child-life during its earlier
years was exceedingly great, there was a very serious defect in the
system of conducting all such institutions. I have intimated elsewhere
how little ordinary work is done by anybody of European extraction in
the whole of Southern Asia. This applies generally to the schools,
including even the Orphanages. Everything that can be done by
servants is delegated to them. It may surprise many American
readers to know that “orphanages” and “homes” for Eurasians in
India depend on the work of servants, and very little on the inmates,
much as other establishments of the country. This, too, not only in
those things where the work is beyond the power of boys and girls to
do, but in many kinds of work which it is considered “improper” or
“undignified” for them to engage in.
It is considered right and proper for the girls to learn to sew, in
addition to learning their lessons, and sometimes to arrange their

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