John H. Patterson and the Sales Strategy of the National Cash Register Company, 1884 to 1922

This article assesses John H. Patterson's influence on the development of sales management and modern understandings of salesmanship. From 1884, when Patterson started the National Cash Register Company, to his death in 1922, the firm dominated its industry. At the heart of the company's success was its sales force. Patterson created an intricate system of management to monitor and train company salesmen. He gave them scripts to memorize and assigned them territory to cover. He held conventions and thematic sales contests, and pressured salesmen to rid their regions of competition. Patterson sought to create a method of sales management that encompassed all aspects of selling, from the calculation of quotas and commission rates to the motivation of discouraged salesmen. While much attention has been paid to efforts to improve the efficiency of production processes, especially those advocated by Frederick W. Taylor, Pattersons work at N.C.R. reveals a contemporary effort to reform methods of distribution.