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Henney salesmen and distributors from all parts of the United States and Canada spent January 5th and 6th at the
Henney factory, learning about new 1940 Henney-Packard features and policies--celebrating their sales record of
more than 1200 cars sold during 1939.
Both Henney and Packard officials explained policies that will previal for the coming year and described numerous
exclusive features and advantages of Henney-Packard funeral cars, ambulances and service cars.
During a trip through the Henney factory, the salesmen saw new machinery and factory arrangements and improved
production methods that will enable Henney to deliver more value for your money that ever before.
Mr. Henney described several of the new developments and refinements that are being incorporated in Henney-Packard
cars. He called attention to the thousands of dollars Henney spends each year for engineering new developments,
testing out and perfecting ideas for improvements, and keeping Henney’s numerous patented features up to date.
The widened range of adaptability of the Singing Chapel unit, sold exclusively in Henney-Packard funeral cars,
was demonstrated and explained.
Attention was called to the fact that this unit enables the funeral director to sell his services to all those
who attend the services in the cemetery--where ordinarily he is unable to do so.
The reliability and flexibility of the mechanical air conditioning unit that is installed in Henney-Packard ambulances
was convincingly demonstrated by a skeleton display.
A miniature sample of the Henney all steel body shell (such as shown on the funeral director’s desk, pictured at
the right) attracted considerable attention. Note to Kim Torp: This is a reference to the strange photo on the
bottom of page 31. When you arrange this text, please replace my note to you here with a note referring the viewer
to the location of this picture.
Before the evening session, on January 5th, a banquet of giant lobsters, provided by “Ginger” Moiselle of the New
England territory, was topped off by one of California’s famous vintages, furnished by “Bill” Heise from the Pacific
coast. During the meeting, the salesmen and distributors presented Mr. Henney with a handsome, diamond studded
watch to show their appreciation of his efforts on their behalf. Earlier the factory organization had presented
Mr. Henney with a portrait of his mother. Just before the close of the meeting Mr. Henney presented C. F. Loflin
with a fine watch in recognition of his outstanding sales record.
An outstanding feature of the convention was a playlet staged by professional actors and actresses. This playlet
featured a typical funeral director’s experiences with different types of salesmen while endeavoring to purchase
a funeral car suited to his business needs. By splitting the stage with a partition, the actors were able to dramatize
the action and conversation that took place, both in the funeral director’s office and in his reception room.
This playlet enabled the Henney sales department not only to point out annoying and time-wasting practices sometimes
indulged in by inefficient salesmen, but portrayed the kind of a sales presentation that provides the funeral director
with the information he needs to purchase a funeral car intelligently.
Before returning to their territories the salesmen were furnished with complete kits of illustrations and descriptions
of each model in the Henney-Packard line of funeral cars, ambulances and service cars.
Some of the old timer salesmen were heard to remark that this was the most informative and beneficial of all the
Henney sales conventions they ever had attended.
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