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Is there an industry that's more of a commodity business than envelopes? It's hard to differentiate yourself when you're selling envelopes, but Mackay Envelope Corporation of Minneapolis has gained steadily in sales and market share by stressing salesmanship-inspired, energized, superior salesmanship. Through building personal relationships and through research, Mackay develops elaborate files on customers and potential customers--not only business data but also information on each contact's education, family, particular interests, and life-style. The goal is to focus on the individual across the table. The relationship resembles a marriage in the attention the salesperson pays to little things, like obtaining a Rose Bowl program for the Michigan football fan whose team was playing there on New Year's Day. Such attention to detail requires well-trained, alert salespeople. Harvey Mackay himself spends evenings with candidates and their spouses and tests them with long telephone conversations. Once hired, they routinely take Dale Carnegie and Toastmasters courses. These teach the salespeople to listen and speak well. The company rewards top performers for collaborative work as well as for landing big contracts. You can't be Number One with every customer or potential customer. But you can win the confidence of a lot of them, so that if something happens to the number one supplier, as Number Two, you're next in line. Good leadership from the top and recognition of stellar sales performance yield a focused selling strategy--the best way to pump volume and boost market share. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts of various business articles that appeared in the March-April 1988 issue. Among the articles summarized are "The Revitalization of Everything: The Law of the Microcosm," by George Gilder, "Jimmy Carter: The Statesman as CEO," by Alan M. Webber, and "Planning As Learning," by Arie P. De Geus.