Electro-Hygiene Sales Manual

[hygiene903]

The most recent arrival at my house is the Electro-Hygiene Sales Manual for the model 285. Think it may have been printed in the late 50's or early 60's, as it still has the rubber handle grip instead of vinyl, but also has the disposable bags. When the 285 was introduced in 1955, it originally had a blue cloth shake-out bag.
It was pitched as not just a vacuum cleaner, but a complete home health system, and the book has lots of info on demonstrating its various uses, the health talk, closing the sale, and overcoming objections. Looking forward to comparing it to the Galaxy Prestige Sales Manual, which I still have from the days when I was selling them.
Jeff

 

[davevac]

Too funny

A home health system, huh ?

Let us know if the sales manual mentions other brands (competitors) such as
Kirby.....how to respond if the potential buyer asks why the Electro-Hygiene
is better than the Kirby.....

Where did you find the manual ?
Nice addition to your collection.

 

[lesinutah]

Nice

I had that auction saved. It was a bit rich for me I thought Jeff would be perfect for it. Weird how it's you who won.
I bought a new coil for my 1949 model 145, brush roll and fan for 2049, and like 5 bags and adjust o rite caps, old royal oiler caps, and spacers. I can finish my old 145, fix the 2049 fan I cracked and put brush roll on it.
I also got 1908-1950-1960 ads. I got a 1908 ad and a few apex ads, 1920s royal ad and Cadillac vacuum. I think Torrington vacuum was one of older ads.
I wanted manual but misc parts and ads are consolation prize.
I can tell you what the manual says. It basically says the salesman let's the potential customer be in charge of demonstration. It tells you to compare vacuums head to head and it's scent chamber helps clean air flow over any vacuum and it releases clean air while it cleans the carpet.
I read a few pages on the pics of it for sale.
I found it weird people actually thinks the demo vacuum is different than the vacuum they would receive.
This I imagine instills superior build quality and the person has to assume the sale. It gives many scenarios of situations. I used to do sales on the telephone. This seems much harder. I think people back in Jeff's day are alot more cordial and friendly to salesman. I'm guessing more friendly than if you tried to today.
I could be commenting on the manual you haven't received yet.
I imagine I'm not far off though. Jeff did you soup up your demo vacuum. I really have no idea how it's possible. I believe you sold 400 amp models. They are super quiet and the hygiene had the scent chamber with superior attachments. The bag on my hygiene 980 is nicer than my royal 880.
How many vacuums did you sale. We're cannisters sold differently. Did you sale handvacs or give them to buyers.
Thanks
Les

 

[hygiene903]

Hi Les,

Congrats on the goodies you picked up as well! I'm assuming you got the parts & brochures from the Henry Co. I like dealing with them.
I've really enjoyed perusing through the manual since it arrived. Brought back lots of memories of my selling days, and this manual and the sales and demo procedures are almost the same as the one for the 903 upright, other than the 903 had the hinged headlight with the crystal chamber underneath. The 903 upright and 966 tank were the Electro-Hygiene models I sold. We showed the benefits, extolled the virtues, discussed the role of the Electro-Hygiene in health and sanitation, and pulled many dirt samples with the scope. Other brands were never mentioned or compared unless the customer brought it up, and when they did we would respond with "that's a good cleaner, but..." and tell them something that was either better or exclusive with the Electro-Hygiene.
And nowhere in the manual does it say to let the customer be in charge of the demonstration. But we did let them participate, running the machine, checking out the attachments, etc. The main thing was to point them in the direction of making a purchasing decision.
I think the reason some people thought they would get a different machine than the one that was showed to them was that was the way some other companies operated. But NOT Electro-Hygiene! There was no such thing as a demo machine or "souped up" demo machine. The one you showed them was the one they bought. I usually had a trunkful of vacuums so that if I sold one I could grab another one at the next appointment.
I never sold the 231 cannisters, so I have no idea how they were sold. The 966 tank was sold a bit differently than the uprights, being a different machine. More emphasis was put on the hose, since it was used for everything and the rug nozzle was an attachment and not part of the machine. I didn't demo power nozzles, as they hadn't been introduced yet. And when I went back to Electro-Hygiene and sold the Galaxy Prestige a couple years later, it was also demoed differently. You started with the deodorizing/sanitizing unit and built it up from there, into the pull around vac, then the hand vac, and finally the upright cleaner. The 980 Electro-Hygiene was also sold the same way. As for the hand vac, they were available at the store, but never given to buyers or demoed or sold in the field.
Hope this answers your questions, but if you have more I'll try to answer them if I can.
Jeff

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

hygiene903

Jeff,

I saw that your 285 sales book makes mention of P. A. Geier Co., which was no longer the official name of the company after initially changing its name in 1949 to "Royal Vacuum Cleaner Co." (the name "Royal Appliance Mfg. Co." dates to 1953, after a re-organization under a group of employees under Stan Erbor who had been vexed by the Schotts' decision to dissolve the company).

~Ben

 

[hygiene903]

Sales Manual

Dave, the sales manual didn't really mention other brands, but in training we were taught that if the potential customer brought up other brands, we were to emphasize features that were exclusive to Electro-Hygiene or better. These included lighter weight, greater maneuverability, toss out bags (remember the Kirby had a shake-out bag & Sani-Emtor at the time), sturdier hose, wands, & attachments, and of course, the exclusive deodorizing/sanitizing chamber. Health and sanitation were a big part of the presentation, with frequent reminders that Electro-Hygiene kills the germs in the air as you clean. We would show how the hose was almost indestructible by walking on it, tying it in knots, and bending it, and also point out the sturdiness of the tubular steel wands.
Ben, I think the reason Electro-Hygiene still had P.A. Geier on their literature (and the data plates as well) was that they wanted to somewhat distance themselves from Royal. Otherwise potential customers might think "I can go to the Royal dealer and get the same vacuum for $XX.XX cheaper," but that Royal wouldn't have the crystal chamber or the Electro-Hygiene Warranty (with rebuild insurance, just like Kirby), which were both exclusive Electro-Hygiene features.
Jeff

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

hygiene903

Jeff,

It was not until after Royal had moved its operations to Highland Heights circa 1969 that the nameplates on the Electro-Hygiene products made any mention of Royal on them.

~Ben

 

[luxlife]

What a great collectors piece!

 

[lesinutah]

Jeff

You are correct. Thanks for answering all the questions.
I did indeed deal with Henry company. There my favorite seller. I asked for what vacuums they had in stock. They have everything.
I'm glad I didn't bid you up and try to win this.
That would be really cool to sale vacuums when you did. You would be good because your an honest fair guy. The salesman who put on a show and aren't sincere I don't care for. People who truly care, believe in are how you get them to refer to there friends.
I got my 2028 used brush roll for $5. I got new fan for $20. My wife got it for $8.
I don't plan on keeping just nice to find people with royal parts.
Les