January, 1917 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



17 



ness card is a tiny bottle of extracted honey 

 fastened at the middle of it. This tiny 

 bottle is only a little more than an inch in 

 leng-th, and fastened to tlie card by a small 

 tin band, the ends of which band are made 

 to pierce the card until it binds the bottle 

 fast, and then the ends of this tin band are 

 turned and flattened against the back of 

 the card, thus securely holding the bottle. 

 At the top of the card is printed " Choice 

 Honey, Comb or Extracted." At one side 

 of the bottle is printed " We solicit auto 

 trade." At the other side of the bottle is 

 printed Watch for Sign, and Sound Spar- 

 ton. At the foot of the card I have my 

 name and location j^rinted. The presenta- 

 tion of this card always excites an ex- 

 pression of pleasure and surprise. I think 

 it is a very effective business-getter. 



WHAT CLASS OF CUSTOMERS. 



"If you ask me what class of people 

 constitute the largest part of my honey 

 customers, I hardly know how to answer. 

 Very little of our honey trade is local. 

 The very large majority of all our customers 

 come to our door by auto, and a majority of 

 the machines that stop there are Fords. 

 This would indicate that a majority of our 

 customers, then, are not of the wealthiest 

 class. I should say that this majority is 

 made up of the well-to-do middle class of 

 people, such as ordinarily can afford to 

 own and run a Ford auto. However, I 

 know that some of our customers are of 

 the wealthy class, and they arrive at our 

 place in high-priced autos. 



" Most of our customers are residents of 

 Cleveland. Even within the period of two 

 months that we have had our roadside 

 honey-si gia displayed, we have learned that 

 many of our first-time customers return to 

 us for second and third orders 'of honey, 

 I recall one man who has come from Cleve- 

 land several times for the sole purpose of 

 IDurchasing honey at our place, and has 

 purchased in all more than 150 pounds. 

 He buys in quantities of ten-pound pails. 

 I have found that several of our customers 

 purchase for neighbors and friends whom 

 they have told of their own buying of 

 honey at our place. I recall now one 

 lineman for the Ohio Telephone Company 

 whose work brings him to the line passing 

 my home, who has bought as much as $10.00 

 worth of honey at one time, most of it 

 for his fellow workmen employed at the 

 telephone company's headquarters. As in- 

 dicating how readily honey may be sold to 

 those who have an opportunity of buying 

 it, I recall that a number of the motormen 

 and conductors on the electric railway which 

 passes my home have become steady buy- 



ers of my honey. In fact, my observation 

 is that iDCople of all classes like honey, and 

 are ready and glad to buy it if it is brought 

 to their attention and made convenient for 

 them to purchase. My reason for saying 

 tliis is, as before intimated, that my custom- 

 ers come from all classes of people, 



THE BEST SALES DAY 



" On what days do I sell the most honey? 

 Well, I sell the most honey on the days 

 that the largest number of automobiles pass 

 my home. I should say that Sunday, as 

 a rule, is the day when we have the most 

 calls. Any holiday, because of the large 

 number of automobiles out in the country 

 on holidays, are excellent honey-sales days. 

 Saturdays are also good sales days. Any 

 day when there are a lot of autos on the 

 road is a good day to sell honey at my 

 place. 



WHO WAITS ON TRADE. 



" Who waits on the trade, do you ask ? 

 Either myself or my wife; and if neither 

 one of us is at home, why, of course trade 

 is not waited on. But one or the other 

 of us is almost always at home; and as we 

 both know the prices and about what our 

 customers will ask and what they want, 

 one can wait on the trade as well as the 

 other. It is not hard to make a sale — just 

 know the different prices of the various 

 packages, and be able to answer the curious 

 questions of your possible customers, and 

 you will be able to sell all right." 



CHIEF FACTORS IN SUCCESS. 



When Mr. Pritehard was asked to sum 

 up the most important factors in roadside 

 honey-selling, in the order of their impor- 

 tance, he said something like this: "Have 

 your plainly printed honey-sale sign direct- 

 ly by the roadside, and don't forget the 

 'Sound Sparton' part of this sign ; have 

 your apiary in plain sight of the road, and 

 have it in the neatest and most attractive 

 possible condition; know how to answer 

 the curious questions of your customers con- 

 cerning bees and honey — it makes them 

 your friend and leads them to have con- 

 fidence in you and to come again. Don't 

 forget the front-porch display and an 

 attractive business card. Make your honey- 

 packages of glass rather than tin, because 

 your customers will want to see the honey 

 rather than to take your word for it. When 

 a Sparton is sounded, respond promptly." 



SELLING ON A SIDE ROAD. 



On this same improved main thorofare 

 leading south from Cleveland on which 

 Mr. Pritehard lives, but at a point two miles 

 south of Medina, another " Honey for Sale" 

 sign was displayed, being put up about 



