At the bottom of the fourth page appeared, "Yours for hardware service, Dawson Black," reproduced in my own handwriting.
"Get the idea?" said Fellows. "If you're a grocer, you could write, 'Yours for grocery service, John Brown,' or if a retail merchant wanted to specialize on one particular thing he could say, 'Yours for carpet cleaning service,' or anything he liked."
The whole thing was so worded as to fit in with any kind of goods one might be selling.
Fellows said he would look after the printing of the circulars and supply them to me at a very low price, four dollars a thousand; and he said he wouldn't charge me anything at all for working up the idea, because he was going to try to sell some of the folders to other stores in other towns. I didn't mind what he did with it, for it let me out very cheaply. He said he would let me have some in a week, so I ordered two thousand to begin with. I was going to put one in each package, and mail one to every one of our charge customers, besides sending them to a select list of "prospects."
CHAPTER XXXV
A NEW THOUGHT ON RETAIL SELLING
As soon as I had time, I went to Boston and saw Alex Cantling, as Barlow had suggested, to find out how much money it would take to start an automobile accessory department.
Alex Cantling was a big-boned, clean-shaven, healthy-looking man. He was what I would call a brass-tack man. When I told him my business, he pushed his papers aside and gave me his undivided attention. Then after a little while he did some figuring on a piece of paper.
"Well," said he, "I should say you would want to spend at least five hundred dollars for such a department."
He promised to work out and send to me a list of the different items which I ought to stock, and he also gave me the name of one or two good people to buy my supplies from.