When John H. Patterson and his brother took over the company, cash registers were expensive (US$50) and only about a dozen of "Ritty's Incorruptible Cashier" machines were in use. There was little demand for the expensive device, but Patterson believed the product would sell once shopkeepers understood it would drastically decrease theft by salesclerks. He created a sales team known as the "American Selling Force" which worked on commissions and followed a standard sales script, the "N.C.R. Primer." This was the first known sales training manual in existence. The philosophy was to sell a business function rather than just a piece of machinery. Sales demonstrations were set up in hotels (away from the distractions of the buyer's business) depicting a store interior complete with real merchandise and real cash. The sale prospect was described as the "P.P." or "Probable Purchaser." Once initial objections were swept aside and the P.P. admitted to internal theft losses, the product was demonstrated along with large business charts and diagrams. The deal was sealed with a 25 cent cigar.
When John H Patterson and his brother took over the company cash registers were expensive (US$50) and only about a dozen of "Ritty's Incorruptible Cashier" machines were in use There was little demand for the expensive device but Patterson believed the product would sell once shopkeepers understood it would drastically decrease theft by salesclerks He created a sales team known as the "American Selling Force" which worked on commissions and followed a standard sales script the "NCR Primer" This was the first known sales training manual in existence The philosophy was to sell a business function rather than just a piece of machinery Sales demonstrations were set up in hotels (away from the distractions of the buyer's business) depicting a store interior complete with real merchandise and real cash The sale prospect was described as the "PP" or "Probable Purchaser" Once initial objections were swept aside and the PP admitted to internal theft losses the product was demonstrated along with large business charts and diagrams The deal was sealed with a 25 cent cigar