THE SECRET OF SELLING THE NEGRO (1954)

bring move that over there you got the level on that Joel hey how's this video coming through are the lights hot enough don't forget the DOL in close all right be sure and stay clear at number two camera and all set stand by [Music] a [Music] the [Applause] [Applause] hello I'm Bob Trout I've got a story here that I think is big really big because it's bound to have a terrific impact on business I'm talking about a new market a big New Market Millions upon millions of new prospects with $15 billion to spend that's right

I said 15 billion that's a lot of money isn't it the surprising thing is that it's a fresh market still full of opportunities it grew up so fast got so big in a hurry that few of us realize its scope now these days nobody's likely to pass up chances to sell and yet right here in our own front yard there's a neglected Market there's money waiting to be spent to get the story of this Market to be able to tell you the secret of selling the Negro we did a lot of digging we talked to

Leading businessmen to customers and to salesmen we went to Washington DC we set up cameras and other key points around the nation and out of this all there emerged a story the story of a new [Applause] [Music] market yes this is the market we're talking about the new negro family their name is Wells or Wilson Smith or brown or Alexander or Breen they live in Chicago in Atlanta or New York in Detroit St Louis Angeles any one of a thousand cities and towns all over the country families such as this are enjoying new Prosperity they

have new interests new standards of living a buying power they've never enjoyed before they're good prospects for practically all types of goods and services all too often though they are overlooked prospects why because of some good valid reason no they're overlooked because of mistaken ideas because of out ofd ideas about how the Negro lives and how he buys the truth of the matter is that the Negro lives pretty much the same as other folks he buys pretty much the same way too but just the same a lot of old doubts and opinions keep cropping up

over and over again ah I don't like to do business with Negroes they're Drifters you can't keep track of them yes although a lot of people think that way the truth is that one out of of every three negro families living in cities today owns its own home that figure comes directly from the United States bureo of census maybe so but Negroes are poor credit risks not more of a credit risk than any other group actually the Negro home buyer meets his payments Faithfully often more Faithfully than other race groups in the same economic level

that's the information we got from people who ought to know the National Association of real estate boards well maybe but I've always heard that Negroes buy shotty poor quality merchandise no it's just the other way around according to Leading researchers in proportion to population and income Negroes buy more quality products than any other comparable United States group you see there are a lot of confused Notions about the Negro customer but when you dig right down and find out about them they just don't hold water Negroes own homes they meet their payments Faithfully they buy good

brands of merchandise so why let a lot of old-fashioned ideas hurt profits take a look at the real facts here in Washington DC the nation's capital some amazing facts and figures about this new market have been uncovered for a firsthand report we would like to take you directly to the United States Department of Commerce to hear this story from the secretary of Commerce himself here is the honorable Sinclair weeks the Secretary of Commerce of the United States in the Department of Commerce we are constantly alert to trends that mean a healthier National economy Better Business

for the nation as a whole recently we have been interested in a rising young Market one that represents a huge potential for goods and services I'm referring to the new negro Market the tremendous buying power of this group is backed of course by an increased earning power the average negro family's income is at a record high in fact since 1939 it has increased more than the average income of all other Americans just take a look at a few figures an official Department of Commerce report shows that at least onethird of the Negroes living in cities

earned from $2 to $5,000 year today the average negro wage owner brings home a paycheck four times larger than the one he collected in 1939 as a whole the Negro Market has a total income of about $15 billion every year and after taxes negro families still have many billions of dollars to spend here is a buying power that cannot help but have a tremendous effect on our national economy and and on business prosperity in general when these dollars are spent for a wide range of goods services and employment business everywhere is bound to feel the

impact this new buying power has resulted in a class negro Market a profitable above average income group of consumers for example the nation's largest newspaper and magazine research organization Daniel starch and staff reports these significant figures more than 51% of the readers of Ebony magazine have a record player in their homes almost 64% own a television set and almost 78% enjoy the convenience of an electric refrigerator it is also a fact and this is from the magazine the food field reporter that Negroes spend almost $3 billion a year for food alone per capita they buy

more cosmetics drugs and toiletries than anyone else in the country and their children are better educated too because since 1930 enrollment in negro colleges is up 25 200% but really to recognize the importance of this class negro Market we must realize that something has been happening economically in our country people are on the move the population is Shifting the makeup of Metropolitan populations today is different than it was just a few short years ago to give you a better idea of what we mean we set up several cameras Candid Cameras in a number of shopping

locations take a look at these [Music] Shoppers notice what a large proportion of them are negro what's the reason it's simply this Negro families are moving into the cities where there are more job opportunities here they find occupations with more Pres presti and security jobs that pay more money as a result negro families today often make up the largest part of Central City consumer prospects a shoe store in Chicago's Loop for example reports that more than 50% of its customers are Negroes in another case a drugstore located at a transfer point in a non- negro

neighborhood finds that its negro customers total 25% the trend is plain the new negro families today are moving into more populated areas to the cities where there are more stores more buying opportunities since 1940 in San Francisco alone the Negro Market has increased by 89% in Chicago by 81% Houston Texas 45% Philadelphia 50% the impact of this new buying force is so so tremendous that actually in 14 major United States markets a product cannot be number one without negro support a product must have the backing of this big new buying power to be a leader

in the field what do you have to sell chewing gum or cars toothpaste or Transportation whatever it is here are millions of prospects and these prospects are everywhere negro customers can no longer be pigeon holes they cannot be classified as prospects who trade only in certain stores certain neighborhoods today Negroes shop downtown they shop in supermars they shop in small neighborhood stores they'll buy from anyone who wants to sell to them but we all know that before you can sell to customers you've got to get to know them you must understand something about them what

do the Negro customers buy why do they buy how do you sell to them let's find out let's hear the opinion of men who have spent a lifetime studying the buying habits of customers the world over here is what sales psychologists have to say about selling to the Negro The Secret of selling to the Negro is expressed in one word that word is recognition now there's nothing unusual about that people want to be recognized they need recognition that's basic in all of us but perhaps because he's had so little of it the Negro needs even

more he needs to feel important and appreciated this need is a very real and important one it shows up even in many of the Negro shopping habits anyone who sells or wants to sell to the Negro customer should know about some of these habits three habits in particular play a big part in every sales transaction to begin with most Negroes buy by brand they ask for products by name they're quick to turn down off brands do you wonder why well listen to what this customer is thinking that last hat I bought just didn't hold up

at all you see for a long time the Negro has been sold a lot of shoddy second class Merchandise so now he asks for name brands in order to make sure he gets his money's worth buying by brand that's the first important negro buying habit now for the second the Negro buys good quality merchandise symbols of quality and Prestige are very important to the Negro customer this woman for example is buying fine Crystal wear but she is also buying the admiration and approval of her friends and relatives listen to her thoughts my isn't it beautiful

I can hardly wait to show it to thally and Joan it's a well-known fact that many negro customers are influenced by the opinions of others what their friends may think of a certain item often decides whether or not the sale is made so remember the Negro buys quality merchandise that's the second important point and here's the third thing to remember when selling to a negro customer when he specific specifically asks for one thing don't try to sell him something else don't try to switch him at the point of sale if you do he'll probably react

something like this doesn't he think I've got the money to pay for it there's a reason for this reaction again because he's had experience with cheap merchandise the Negro resents being offered a substitute he wants to be sold on quality not price the Negro buys by brand he buys quality and he doesn't like to be switched at point of sale these are the keys to selling the Negro customer another point the Negro family does things together as a group The Family works as a unit it lives as a unit and it buys as a unit

when you sell to one member you many times sell to all it's also true that many places of entertainment are still close to the Negro so he spends more of his money for the things that are available to him often for items that are considered luxuries another trait of the Negro Market is the fact that it is a pre-sold Market we know that the Negro buys by brand and he buys the brands that he knows something about where does the Negro buyer get this information we know that negro customers are turning more and more to

the Publications that are tailored specifically to their needs that give them the news and the information that they want to read about many leading businessmen and companies already know this that's why so many of them are taking this direct sure route of reaching the Negro customer the vice president of advertising of the Gru and watch company for example says this in many important cities throughout the United States Negroes are important customers of the credit jeup therefore it seemed that Ebony magazine would be a very important advertising medium for us we would say it was very

well received and from our Viewpoint a very successful campaign from the Remington Rand company comes this statement our records show that advertising in Ebony has been effective in many ways as all good advertising should it it has built a terrific amount of Goodwill and has brought a volume of sales and sales inquiries a representative of the alaga syrup company makes this statement because of ala's regard for the influence of ebony in the Negro Market advertising space was doubled ala's long experience in selling to Negros now takes the most direct route to its best customers reaching

Ebony's two 2 and a half million audience in every issue and here are the statements of still other Business [Music] Leaders yes many Business Leaders are discovering the most direct and most efficient way of reaching the new negro market look here at the results of the same advertisement in two different Publications Ebony and another General magazine you can see that proportionately more men and women read the ad in eony than the one in the other magazine and they did a better job of remembering it too a greater percentage of readers noted Associated and remembered the

ad in Eon but now wait a minute if the Negro Market is so big and easy to reach why aren't more companies going out after it well often because of the feeling that there's something entirely different unusual about selling to the Negro but is it really so different what do salesman say the successful salesman who do a good job of selling in negro communities how do you go about getting the order how do I get the order well to tell you the truth I don't do anything anything different that is I've been calling on these

accounts long enough to know that the Negro just wants to be treated like everybody else no matter who you're calling on a little friendliness and courtesy help a lot but naturally anybody resent being patronized or talked down to so I usually call a man Mr Brown Mr Smith or Mr whatever his name is until he tells me to call him by his first name and of course I always stick to business I stay away from talk about race or religion or politics that goes for talk about negro celebrities too you know this business about what

good prize Fighters and singers the Negroes are who cares when a guy's in business no matter what color his skin is he's interested in making a living in making money that's uppermost in his mind I guess maybe what I'm saying is that I try to help any way I can sometimes with displays or ad materials or an idea once in a while the important thing is that if it helps push sales for the dealer it helps push him for me too H handle the Negro account just like any of your others don't patronize stick to

business get interested in the account pitch in and help anywhere you can sounds like pretty good sales advice that's the secret of selling the Negro well how about it what do you think of this new market it can open new outlets for you and for everybody who sells goods or services it's still possible to get in on the ground floor when this Market is just beginning to grow and to expand the facts and the figures that we see here are just a small sample of what they promise to be next year and the years after

that yes here are men and women with money to spend and they spend it for exactly the same things as you and I and everyone else they buy almost every type of product and service that you have to offer and they can be reached like everyone else through Publications that appeal to their interests and desires that deliver the kind of loyal readership that can be proved both in surveys and in down toe sales here is a readymade market waiting to be asked to [Music] buy here are millions of customers for what you have to sell

customers with f billion to spend [Music]