Page 46 - One Thousand Ways to Make $1000

two orders waiting for him. The fireman bought, so did one of the trainmen.
Later he got orders from thirty-three men working in the railroad yards, all
traceable to the first order. Meanwhile, he called upon a local foundry and
machine company, and got an order there from the foreman. When this man
received his shoes, he phoned Hawkins.

“I’ve never had a better fitting pair of shoes,” the foreman declared, and
Hawkins was told to call back later. He received orders for sixteen pairs of
shoes on this one call. Hawkins makes an average commission of one dollar
and twenty-five cents on a pair of shoes, which he collects in advance. The
shoes retail at less than three dollars. The commission is deducted from this
price and the balance is collected on delivery by the mail-carriers. Hawkins
carries no stock of shoes, but sells from a sample. A special order blank
measure supplied by the company assures accuracy in getting the proper size.

“It doesn’t take long to learn the knack of fitting, and when you get the knack
and sell a man a pair of shoes that fit him, he will gladly recommend you.
Most of my sales come that way. From my first fifteen sales, I have obtained
ninety-seven orders. It took about two weeks for my first order to be
delivered. After that first two weeks, it was plain sailing. It was almost four
weeks before I got a real break in repeat business, and up to that time I only
sold twenty-nine pairs of shoes. Then, orders piled up fast.”

Hawkins declares it is possible to get orders from women and men on a
straight canvass every day. He, however, specializes on selling men’s shoes,
and calls only on men who are working in factories, shops and offices. While
he makes few calls—about fifteen a day—he does a large volume of
business.

James Horner Became a “PremiumSpecialist”

I

T IS human nature for the average person to want something for nothing
James C. Horner knew that and decided he could make a thousand dollars
easier selling premiums to merchants than he could by doing anything else.