Ski Ti:MHKR. 1921 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



559 



ing to give us. The talk must be varied ae- 

 eordingly. If the eustonici' is sure he wants 

 one thing, do not press another hard; but 

 mention it, tell him you think he would very 

 possibly like it even better than this he is 

 getting, and tell him that if he likes this, 

 as we know he will^ to try a little of tlio 

 other the next time he comes back. Try to 

 drive home the idea, not making your at- 

 tempt too apparent, that he is coming back 

 again. If we are salesmen when we meet 

 our customers at the door, we can sell sev- 

 eral times what an order-taker would sell. 

 Customers appreciate service. If we meet 

 them promptly, are courteous, have the 

 change ready promptly, and give them honey 

 done up attractively, they will leave in a 

 more pleased and friendly frame of mind; 

 they will leave expecting to enjoy the honey, 

 expecting to come back again, as they prob- 

 ably will, especially if the quality of the 

 honey equals the quality of the service. 



Containers and Prices. 



It is possible to purchase jars of all sizes, 

 and tinted as well as clear glass jars. It 

 hardly pays to have very small jars; the 

 pint is small enough usually. Now and then 

 a customer wants the "smallest you have," 

 and if the pint is the smallest, we sell more 

 than we would if the six-ounce jar were the 

 smallest. Clear glass jars show up light- 

 colored honey best. Slightly green jars 

 may be used advantageously for honey that 

 is very yellow, since the green glass makes 

 yellow honey appear white. 



Honey will bring as high a price if it is 

 sold at your home as it will if sold any- 

 where else. Those who are able to afford a 

 machine are willing to pay a reasonable 

 price for what they buy. They expect to 

 pay a good price for good articles, and too 

 often they do not believe the article to be 

 good unless it costs quite a good deal. If 

 your customer pays a good price for his 

 honey and expects the honey to be very 

 good, he is a]it to enjoy it mucli more than 



if it cost him but little, and he is more apt 

 to come back for more. I sell more comb 

 honey for 50 cents than I do at any other 

 price, and my prices vary from as low as 30 

 cents up to 50, depending on the grade. It 

 is not at all necessary to undersell the gro- 

 cer. It will not help our sales, but it will 

 liuit his, and it will not help to increase the 

 respect in which honey should be held. 



Old customers appreciate it if we recog- 

 nize them W'hen they come back, instead of 

 acting as tho wa^ had not seen them before, 

 and telling them the same things over again 

 that we told them the first time they came. 

 When they come back again and again, we 

 liave an opportunity to tell them something 

 about the bees and the honey, thus increas- 

 ing their interest in honey, which they will 

 naturally communicate to others. 



One big temptation of roadside selling is 

 the temptation to sell on Sunday. Possibly 

 more cars pass our doors on Sunday than all 

 the rest of the week put together, and those 

 who pass on Sunday are more in a mood to 

 buy than they are any other day. By ac- 

 tual count, 400 cars an hour pass my door 

 Sunday afternoons. Despite this, I do not 

 believe it pays to sell honey on Sunday. 



Eoadside selling has advantages over 

 other methods, in that it brings our custom- 

 ers to us, saving time and strength; in that 

 it develops the much talked of "home mar- 

 ket"; in that it means a steady income, in- 

 stead of our getting our money all in a 

 lump. Eoadside selling, further, is a big 

 advertising work. Our signs remind passing 

 motorists of honey day after day, bringing 

 many to buy honey who would not other- 

 wise ever have thought of it. Eoadside sell- 

 ing will, however, not sell your honey with- 

 out effort on your part. Like all other 

 methods it requires headwork and salesman- 

 ship, as well as a product worth selling. 

 With these, properly used, roadside selling 

 will be a big help in the disposing of our 

 crops of honey. 



Brooklyn Station, Cleveland, O. 



DEVELOPING LOCAL MARKETS 



Educing Cost of ^Marketing. 

 Increasing Sales Thru Local Deal- 

 Value of Local Advertising. 



ers. 



IF pro d ucers 

 general 1 y 

 would endeav- 

 or to sell locally 

 as much honey 

 as possible, it 

 would, no doubt, 

 largely increase 

 consumption and 

 relieve the con- 

 gested condition of the market. Shipping 

 to wholesale markets results in lowering the 

 market price. There are some who argue 

 that those who are qualified and equipped 

 for production should specialize in that line, 

 and that distribution should be entirely in 

 the liaiKis of others wlio \>v naturt' nv otlier- 



By E. S. Mill 



wise are (juali- 

 fied as salesmen. 

 T li e o r e tically 

 tills is the more 

 efficient mode of 

 handling the 

 business, but in 

 practice there 

 are some condi- 

 tions which pre- 

 vent the successful working out of such a 

 system. 

 ' Great Waste in Distribution of Honey. 



In the first place, there are many of our 

 towns and smaller cities which are not ade- 

 (piately sui)}ilied with honey thruout the 

 \L'iir. The same is true in many parts of 



