Whenever a germinant thought comes seize your pen and write it down. “Have upon your study table, always accessible, a good-sized substantially bound blank book. He always has at hand information of value to men in his line of trade, and in time they come to realize it and look forward to his coming, saving him some kind of an order even if they are not much in need, because they want a chance to talk with him.” – The Successful Salesman, By Frank Farrington, 1918 He visits with representatives of the local commercial organizations and advertising clubs and gathers much information that he tabulates in a pocket notebook. He studies openings in towns where there is a possible opportunity, and he puts the right men in touch with them. One salesman I know buys the local newspaper in every town he enters and reads the personal columns as well as the advertisements in search of men who may be or may become possible customers. A name overheard, a name suggested by a fellow traveling man, a name secured by visiting with someone from a town you do not make, a name seen in a local newspaper-any such name may be that of your prospect. “There should be a book in your pocket all the while ready for the name of anyone who might be induced to handle your product. The rule is to leave no rainy-day work to be done when it is not raining for in this climate our profits are limited by the amount of outdoor work we get done.” – Circular, Issues 46-105, By Agricultural Experiment Station, College of Agriculture, 1914 The Salesman In planning rainy day work, do first the jobs which are in danger of getting in the way of the next dry weather work. This enables him to plan quickly the work for a rainy day. “One farmer I know keeps his notebook in his pocket to jot down the tasks which can be performed on a rainy day. The following excerpts I collected show the pocket notebook’s history and demonstrate that far from being the domain of the modern hipster, the pocket notebook has always been used by men from many different walks of life. I spent many hours combing through the google book archives looking for references on the use of pocket notebooks by ordinary men during this past century. The repositories of eminent men’s personal effects nearly always includes a pocket notebook full of their ideas and musings. Pocket notebooks were part of the arsenal of a long list of great men from Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Edison (we’re working on an in-depth post of how these men used their notebooks for the future). And far from being a modern fad, the pocket notebook has a long, important, and manly history. The truth is that you don’t need to use a Moleskine (unless you really like them)-even some note cards clipped together will do. The company shills their pricey Made in China notebooks as the notebook of Hemingway, Van Gogh, and Matisse, when the company that currently makes them only got into the business in 1997.īut don’t let the pocket notebook’s current image dissuade you from carrying one around. Some find the Cult of the Moleskine and its faux history understandably distasteful. It’s become so popular that I’m afraid it has come to be seen as trendy or faddish, and this is putting some men off to starting this important habit themselves. The idea of carrying around a pocket notebook has become quite popular these last few years, revived by the introduction of the current incarnation of the “Moleskine” into the market.
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