Has sales evolved over time?
E. L. Ingram, salesman for Raleigh Goods, Chatham, Virginia, 1918. Ingram traveled by wagon and mule to sell goods across Pittsylvania County.

How long do you make your customers wait?
Passengers in the waiting room at the Greyhound bus terminal at five a.m., Chicago, Illinois., 1943. Esther Bubley, photographer. Library of Congress.

Migrant father and daughter near Harlingen, Texas, 1939. Russell Lee, photographer. Library of Congress.

Sometimes you can't find exactly what you want at the store; you need something that fits perfectly!
Arthur Lederer is shown modeling an ambassador's uniform for a gala made by Lederer at his tailoring business in Vienna in the 1930s. The Australian National Maritime Museum.

Are you organizationally challenged? Get a friend in your office to give you a hand!
Postal clerks sorting the mail, 1890. National Postal Museum.

Be prepared ahead of time so you don't lose your cool with your clients.
Two characters in an angry mood, photographed by Roger Smith during a scene in "Black Marketing," a motion picture produced by the U.S. Office of War Information (OWI), 1943. Library of Congress.

Your manager will know what your strengths are.
Otto Flint with his manager, c.1912. Library of Congress.

Your client is the expert on his or her business, so be all ears!
Poultry Club boys listen to the expert, 1920. State Library and Archives of Florida.

Use your media sales CRM to give your memory a boost when you write emails to your clients.
Gas sentry from the Scottish Highlands reading a letter from home on the British Western Front during the First World War. National Library of Scotland.

A sharp knife cuts best, so don't lose your edge.
Nui Dat, South Vietnam, November 1970. Corporal Arthur Wallis, 21, of Preston, Victoria, Australia, sharpening a knife in preparation for carving the three prime hams he has prepared for Christmas. William James Cunneen, photographer. Collection of Australian War Memorial.