He was promptly fired from his first three jobs. Which were trolley car conductor, gardener and horse groom. Quite a variety there, eh? Days before his 20th birthday, his brother snagged him a job as a salesman for the Somerville Brush and Mop Company. He got a case of samples and went door-to-door, selling brushes in an uppity-yuppity section of Roxbury, Massachusetts. And this job fit him like a glove. I washed babies with a back brush, swept stairs, cleaned radiators and milk bottles, dusted floors—anything that would prove the worth of what I had to sell.
But Alfred went even further than just being nice and helpful. You know what he did? He paid attention. Did You Know? The first brush patent was issued in , marking the start of mass produced brushes. And barely any changes had been made to brush designs for nearly a century!
But Alfred Fuller would change that. They were as awkward and difficult to manage as a newly-minted teenager. But you get the picture. He had a whole bucket load of ideas for well-made brushes.
He wanted his customers to buy things that actually made cleaning easy. And he took these ideas to his employers. One fine day, Fuller visited Hartford, Connecticut. Guess what he found there? Stately old Victorian homes with intricate panelling, moldings and stair banisters and ornate iron grillwork - that all needed lots and lots of dusting. Did you know?
Solid American, through and through - just like Fuller Brush products. But now, it was time to expand. Alfred moved to a larger shop, bought machinery, and made his first hire. See also About Us page and Team Training page. Besides being the most prolific recruiting team of new distributors, we also helped those distributors advance to Director and higher positions, creating almost all of them, and in fact, ALL of them in the Company since Fuller Brush in Kansas even called my team, their internet team.
I was making a full-time income by , and grew to a very comfortable full-time income During that period, the backorders started mushrooming. Fuller actually told my team members that I was training, to slow down and save some products for other distributors and that we were taking up too much time placing orders, so many large salespeople got disgusted and left.
Products also started being discontinued. Continued on Page I found out it was in the paper by a bunch of phone calls asking for catalogs.
Click on both links for a photo and a readable version of the article. Even having the ear of the VP head of consumer sales at the Company since , and telling them what we in the field need to increase sales, they continued wanting to increase their bottom line by cutting expenses, instead of increasing the training and product education so that we could sell more.
Fuller Brush and Stanley Home Products filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and instituted cost-cutting measures. They completely merged their product lines, with some of the same equivalent products being dropped in favor of one brand or the other. It made business much simpler, and more economical for inventory control. We have new owners. A group of Great Bend Kansas area investors including the President of Fuller Brush, bought the factory, land and business.
The Distributor and product distribution program was separated as a separate company and bought by a capital investment company. The new owners also closed their outlet stores by year-end, that had competed with independent distributors since the s. It was a good thing for 3 years. In Summer Fuller Brush, after having the previous backorder problems resolved, began the expansion of a new division of Fuller Brush - Fuller Home Products - that included hardgoods to complement our traditional product lines, like the Spin Mop, kitchen utensils like cookware and ceramic knives, and much more.
And unlike some similar products in the past that had somebody else's brand name, they have the Fuller logo on not only the packaging, but on most of the products itself. These products are imports, but it is not like Fuller would be able to manufacture these products themselves.
J anuary Fuller Brush completely replaces their website system, giving its distributors a self-replicating website system for their new distributors, with customer and distributor shopping carts, recruiting application, back office stats, and much more. It sounded like a good idea to us at first.
The websites were not functional in Jan and the old websites were dismantled before making sure they worked. Orders were going straight to the Company instead of being credited to us. They also changed many distributor ID s so that their website links did not work. The back office did not provide the needed information to properly monitor group progress, and whether people were meeting their qualifications as Director and their group volumes.
My newsletter ended in because this new accounting system did not provide the info to determine the new Managers, sales leaders, etc for my Recognition pages. They close down their distributor system as of September 30, taking away the life work and income of all the distributors who recruited and trained their sales force. They "allow" everyone to continue selling directly under them, at a lower compensation and continue their search for imports to replace American-made quality that Fuller Brush is known for.
Here are some cool facts you may or may not know about Fuller Brush:. During World War 2, Fuller Brush cut back on making household brushes to make brushes to clean guns for the military. Representatives could still earn commissions when customers ordered through a catalog provided to them from the salesperson. When manufacturing was in Connecticut, they also made industrial brushes for printing plants. Two movies were inspired by Fuller Brush.
And, these are some people who you may be familiar with who have sold Fuller Brushes:. Famous evangelist Billy Graham sold Fuller Brushes when he was a young man.
The great writer Clifford Irving spent a short time as a Fuller Brush man. And maybe not nearly so famous, I did spend a short stint selling Fuller Brushes in Denver, Colorado in So there you have it… Did you learn much about Fuller Brush? These high quality brushes have been used by many people.
Do you have any Fuller products in your home? We are open to all comments and questions, so feel free to post them below. If you have ever sold Fuller Brushes or use them, we would love to hear from you. Thank you. We are providing this review for your education only. If you would be interested in becoming an independent Fuller Brush representative, or would like to purchase some of their high-quality products, I suggest you visit the Fuller Brush website.
What a neat start-up story. I have been using Fuller brushes for years because of the great quality, but I usually buy mine off the internet these days. I never thought about the back-story. Alfred C. The eleventh of twelve children, Fuller took pride in the resilient and self-sufficient spirit he developed growing up on a Nova Scotian farm, and valued such qualities throughout his life over formal education.
Long after his success, he promoted himself as an average man among average men. In , at age eighteen, Alfred Fuller left his family home in Nova Scotia, and followed siblings who settled in the United States. After a series of odd jobs, Fuller considered trying his hand at selling brushes he was inspired by a brother, Dwight, who made and sold brushes before his death by tuberculosis in Alfred discovered a knack for trade; unlike many other direct salesmen at the time, his sales technique emphasized product demonstrations.
Eventually, Fuller decided to make his own brushes. He set up a workbench in his sister's basement in January The rapid success of the company, improved Alfred C. Fuller's romantic prospects. With the enthusiastic support of his sister, Annie, Alfred initiated a courtship with a Nova Scotian woman who had formerly caught his eye, Evelyn Ellis. They were married on April 10, However, the marriage was strained, and they divorced in In , Alfred Fuller remarried. They remained together for the rest of his life.
Fuller and his first wife Evelyn had two sons. Alfred Howard was born in and Avard in Both would later rise to prominence within the Fuller Brush Company, serving as its second and third presidents. From an early age, Howard challenged his father regarding the direction of the company. With his bold and aggressive personality, Howard was able to institute changes to the company that resulted in higher profits, such as distributing catalogs before the salesman's visit, shortening product demonstrations, prioritizing many small sales over few large sales, and developing other techniques that emphasized speed and efficiency.
However, his temperament also contributed to Howard and his wife Dora's untimely deaths. Howard, always interested in thrilling, high-risk pursuits such as driving sports cars, piloting airplanes, and racing speedboats and sailboats was cruising through Nevada at miles per hour for a business trip, uncharacteristically accompanied by his wife, when his Mercedes-Benz SL blew a tire. Both Fullers died in the accident. Following the tragic accident, Avard assumed leadership of the Fuller Brush Company.
Avard's more conservative nature ushered in an era of leadership where his father, Alfred C. Fuller, rose in honor and influence with the company. However, Avard relied on traditional sales strategies such as promoting a culture around the Fuller Brush Man, rather than take a more active strategy toward integrating female distributors which placed the Fuller Brush Company at a disadvantage with competitors such as Avon Cosmetics.
Avard served as President of the Fuller Brush Company until Although Alfred C. Fuller never reclaimed presidency of the Fuller Brush Company, he remained chairman emeritus for the duration of his life. A treasured company figurehead, celebrations were held in his honor long after his retirement. In , a testimonial dinner was held where a portrait of Fuller was unveiled in honor of the year anniversary of the Fuller Brush Company. In , Alfred C. Fuller was further honored, when his birthplace was dedicated as a historic landmark.
Fuller was known as "Dad" Fuller to the thousands of Fuller Brush Men and Fullerettes who represented the company door-to-door throughout the country, and made frequent appearances in in-house publications and external publicity.
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