Running head: JOHN H.

PATTERSON: THE FATHER OF DIRECT SALES

John H. Patterson: Father of Direct Sales

Arturo Fuentes Alfaro
Rowan-Cabarrus Community College

Running head: JOHN H. PATTERSON: THE FATHER OF DIRECT SALES

John H. Patterson: The Father of Direct Sales

John H. Patterson was the face that gave life to what we know as direct sales in our modern times. Currently only one percent of the world is made up of direct sellers as of June 2013.
This is about 91.5 million people worldwide with the same vision that John H. Patterson had in
1884. This mans innovative techniques helped shape a new industry that today flourishes and
keeps growing and this all started in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio. Patterson started his road to
fortune when he decided he would reinvent a cash register company. On his journey he became a
pioneer to changing work conditions to improve productivity in workers and he also saved a
town from drowning. He also reshaped the way salespeople were trained to go out in the world
and conquer and close any sale they proposed themselves to. Patterson to this day is known as a
hero to many even with all the controversial ways he reshaped the world of direct sales back in
the days.
Patterson was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1844 and at a young age he was always involved
in entrepreneurial activities. As a young man he attended Dartmouth College and Miami University and later began his own coal retailing establishment after graduating college in his
hometown. He later left that business and started a new business venture with his brother, Frank,
in coal and ore mining. They established a mining supply store together. Their inventory sold
very well but for some odd reason they just were not seeing the profits. Patterson set out to find
the root of the problem and he discovered there was employee theft and he came across the invention of the cash register. Not many people were big fans of this new invention but Patterson
decided to buy two and he liked it so much that he ended up buying the whole entire company
(John H.Patterson 2007). Many people saw this move as crazy because it was a huge risk to
buy a company that most people did not even have the remote interest. The cash register was

Running head: JOHN H. PATTERSON: THE FATHER OF DIRECT SALES

much unknown to many businesses and the people who knew about them were very displeased
with the bad construction and mechanical problems with them (John H. Patterson 2007). Patterson did not care what people said because his mission was to reinvent the whole business and
regain trust in costumers pertaining to the innovative cash register.
According to Hawes (1985), once Patterson bought NCR Corporation for $6,500 he set
out to build big production numbers to have inventory ready for the day cash register sales
boomed. Sadly, not many people in his production line had the same vision as him and they were
working inefficiently and this caused huge problems. The poor motivation and bad work conditions caused a production of more than 50,000 faulty cash registers. Patterson sat down and analyzed and planned out a solution to motivate and treat workers better. He built a coffee house behind the manufacturing facility and the refreshments were a great idea. Workers felt like their
boss actually was starting to care about them and not just the work they produce to the company,
Worker morale rose and efficiency in production got better also. Sometimes Patterson also failed
in his leadership styles as once occurred when his workers said they were exhausted from constantly working. He agreed with them and shut down the factory and went traveling around the
world and a short time later his workers were begging for him to return and give those jobs
again. Patterson returned and began aggressive forms of eliminating competitors and this attracted the U.S. government which was not good. Many executives of the NCR Corporation including Patterson, were sentenced to a years worth of jail time and fines on antitrust charges.
Pattersons reputation was tinted until 1913 when a disastrous flood hit Dayton that submerged the city in 17 feet of water. Patterson was the savior who organized rescue plans and
helped assemble rescue boats. One rescue boats was constructed every seven minutes in Pattersons lumberyard located in the manufacturing plant. Everyone was so grateful after this event

Running head: JOHN H. PATTERSON: THE FATHER OF DIRECT SALES

that he was nicknamed the Savior of Dayton. After this he set out to regain his company and
train an aggressive sales force.
Patterson realized that many salespeople were not closing deals because they were not
being trained rigorously enough. He set out to create a sales training program which is an idea
almost every company uses nowadays. He also saw a great opportunity to exchange ideas by creating an annual sales convention where recognitions would be given out to top salespeople.
Many of these ideas are used and implemented by the most successful direct sales companies to
motivate their sales force.
In conclusion, many people may not know the power of direct sales and it all started with
a dream that Patterson never gave up on. Patterson took an unsuccessful company and turned it
around with hard work and also learned that workers must be treated with respect. A worker that
feels respected will work efficiently and effectively. Also Patterson is the founder of sales trying
programs and sales conventions that millions of people attend every year. John H. Patterson
clearly fathered modern sales techniques and reshaped the world into seeing that direct sales are
a growing trend that will keep gaining respect in the business world.

References

Running head: JOHN H. PATTERSON: THE FATHER OF DIRECT SALES

Hawes, J. M., & Simpson, E. K. (1985). Leaders in Selling and Sales Management: John H. Patterson. Journal Of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 5(2), 59.
John H. Patterson. (2007). Bloomsbury Business Library - Business Thinkers & Management
Giants, 34.
"Selling Power Blog." 'Selling Power Blog' N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Oct. 2014. Retrieved from
http://blog.sellingpower.com/gg/2010/07/john-henry-patterson-the-father-ofprofessional-selling-part-i.html
"The 1 Percent Difference: Direct Sellers Continue to Make Positive Global Impact Direct
Selling News." The 1 Percent Difference: Direct Sellers Continue to Make Positive
Global Impact Direct Selling News. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2014. Retrieved
from

http://directsellingnews.com/index.php/view/the_1_percent_difference?
popup=yes#.VC7b40vdslI