AT'GUST 15, 1915 



663 



cli.int finds out that your goods are packed 

 tlmt way, you are never goitig to be bother- 

 ed by having him iro through the case to see 

 just what your grade of honey is. 



The foregoing are ethics that I always 

 observed in the days when I soUl honey. It 

 may he possible that conditions have chang- 

 ed since then in regard to No. 2, and it 

 might not alwaj's be advisable to follow it. 



Simply observing business ethics, how- 

 ever, will not of itself sell honey to a mer- 

 chant who is doubtful as to whether honey 

 is a product that he can sell, or to one who 

 is prejudiced against handling honey; but 

 such ethics will assist in retaining custom- 

 ers after you have once secured them. As 

 we all know, there are all kinds of people 

 who are storekeepers, the same as in other 

 kinds of business, and the same line of talk 

 or procedure that will sell honey to one 

 grocer Avill not work with all. The follow- 

 ing, however, are a few stock suggestions: 



With the merchant who says that he has 

 10 call foi' honey, and does not think that he 

 can sell it, quite often it is advisable not 

 to waste words with him trying to get him 

 to part with some good cash; but make the 

 j>roposition that you desire to leave with 

 iiim one or two twenty-foui'-section pack- 

 ing-cases, with the understanding that he is 

 to set it on the counter in plain view of his 

 customers ; that you will return in about 

 thirty dajs; and if in that time he is of the 

 same opinion you will take what is left on 

 his hands, and allow him the regular profits 

 on that which he sold. 



There is always the merchant who will 

 tell you that honey is sticky stuff to handle, 

 and that he does not want it in his store for 

 that reason. To them explain that your 

 Iioney is placed in non-drip eases, and that 

 the case can be placed anywhere with no 

 danger of leaking. It is also well to point 

 out to all storekeepers to whom you sell 

 honey that there is a top and bottom to 

 sections, and that a section should always be 

 placed with the top side up. 



There is a great deal written these days 

 about the '' psychology of salesmansliip," 

 whatever that may mean. T knew notliing 

 of psychology in the days when I sold hon- 

 ey, which was from the time I was some 

 twelve or fourteen years old until I was 

 eighteen years of age; but T did find that, 

 to sell honey, one must have confidence in 

 himself. Be ready to talk bees at all times 

 to any storekeeper, his clerks, customers, or 

 any other pereon willing to listen. Always 

 let it be known that you thoroughly under- 

 stand bees and the production of honey, the 

 natural history of the bee, and the histoi-y 

 of honey production. A man, to sell any 

 article successfully, has to understand thor- 

 oughly the particular article he is selling; 

 and there is so reason why the average bee- 

 keeper who has enough nerve and stamina 

 to produce honey should not, with a little 

 practice and experience, develop into a bet- 

 tel honey- salesman than the average profes- 

 sional salesman who knows nothing of the 

 practical side of bees and honey. 



SELLING HONEY FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE 



BY WALTER S. POUDER 



I am now in position where I have noth- 

 ing to sell, and I feel that I can talk to my 

 beekeeping friends without any suggestion 

 of free advertising. Much is being said 

 about overproduction in some localities, 

 while a shortage exists in other places, and 

 that this situation should be equalized and 

 prices ad\anced. I believe the situation can 

 ho solved; but up to this date it does not 

 seem to be a practical problem for organi- 

 zations. 



A man who has traveled extensively in 

 Indiana as a bee inspector submits the fol- 

 lowing figures. He estimates that our 92 

 counties contain about 2000* colonies each, 

 which would mean 184,000 colonies in the 



* Striking an average is difl'.cult, but from anothpr 

 source we have fibres that seem to make the aver- 

 age for the state a little less than 1000 colonies per 

 county. — Ed. J 



state, and tliat on an average season each 

 colony would jtroduce 30 pounds of surplus 

 noney. These figures may be a little inac- 

 curate either way, and yet one can perceive 

 that an immense amount of honey is pro- 

 duced in this state. The point that I now 

 wish to bring out is that Indiana does not 

 produce enough honey for state consump- 

 tion, and I do wish 1 could tell how many 

 carloads of honey are shipped to tliis state 

 from the North and West e\evy year, all of 

 which finds a ready sale. T know that some 

 of our neighboring states are in the same 

 line with Indiana. 



Ifoney is one of our greatest luxuries, 

 and as a health food not one word has ever 

 been said against it. Yet thousands of 

 families do not provide it on their table as 

 often as once a year. Beekeepers have 

 traveled a rugged road, especially before 



