The Harvester World: Volume 1, number 3, December 1909

              The Harvester World
13
Tlh® lHaiir'^esteir W®rM
A magazine publislied by the International Har¬ vester Company of America.
Issued monthly under the supervision of the Advertising Department. Sent free to all employes who will send their names and addresses to the Advertising Department.
Items of interest, photographs, suggestions and write-ups are solicited from all employes in any branch of the service.
Send all communications to M. R. D. Owings, Editor.
THE HARVESTER WORLD
Harvester Building, Chicago.
Vol. 1
CHICAGO, DECEMBER, 1909
No. 3
Edlnftornal
In order that the general interest which has centered around the one hundredth anni¬ versary of the birth of Cyrus H. McCormick may not go unrecorded in The Harvester World, we have reproduced in this issue a few clippings from various newspapers and periodicals. These excerpts re-echo in a small way the appreciative observances which have marked this centennial year. A brief summary of the different interests of Mr. McCormick are given in the initial ar¬ ticle by Nolan R. Best, editor of The Interior. The biography of Cyrus H. McCormick, by Herbert N. Casson, which Mr. Best men¬ tions, is a strongly written book, fiiU of data for any one interested in the develop¬ ment and growth of agriculture.
Whenever a man from the advertising department is fortunate enough at a state fair, or a dealers' convention, to be in a group of reminiscent general agents and blockmen, he hears enough good adver¬ tising data, good selling arguments, and good tales of the road to make this magazine the liveliest kind of a publication; yet, when he suggests that a few of these strong facts be put on paper, these erstwhile thrill¬ ing talkers assume an air of retiring modesty which would make a lily look bold. Once in a while someone will brave the pen, and it is invariably good material. We are after the stories of the men whose success make good stories to tell. Do not hide your own particular light under a bushel basket.
A competitor said to us the other day : " We don't fear your prices, because we know you are reasonable ; we don't fear your machines, because we make good machines ourselves;   we   don't   fear   your  methods.
because we have always found you honor¬ able ; but we do fear your selling organi¬ zation— it is Ihe most wonderful distribut¬ ing force ever developed."
Tliere has been considerable discussion among the general agents concerning the publication of the honor roll as we have been running it. Some think it the best thing in tlie magazine, while others say it is not exactly fair. It may be true that the larger agencies have some advantage over the small¬ er ones, and that the newer countries have a greater demand for a number of our prod¬ ucts than the long settled localities, but, cuttingout the spirit of rivalry, isn't it worth while publishing it just for the news value to the other agencies as to where the sale of certain machines is booming ?
Three Things To Know
The other day a man from the advertising department went to a dealers' convention with one of the men who directs the sales of this company over a wide territory. If there was any question before this trip why this man was pirt in that responsible po¬ sition, there is none now.
On the train were met manufacturers and competing sales managers. This Inter¬ national man talked familiarly with these competitors about their output, their sell¬ ing plans and their policies. He named man after man of their selling force. They were surprised at his knowledge.
He knew his competitors.
At the general agency, the moment he arrived he was surrounded by blockmen, canvassers, office boys and stenographers, all eager to greet him, like the home-com¬ ing of an insurgent senator. Years of square dealing, words of encouragement and oft- given help over difficult places, made this welcome for him.
He knew his men.
At the convention and in the hotel lobbies he ran into the local dealers. He recognized them to a man, called them by their first names, discussed their prospects, smoothed over their troubles, and had little heart- to-heart talks with them which bound them to the company forever.
He knew his trade.
Knowing these three things gave him his position. They are the corner stones upon which every salesman must build to make a success,