The Harvester World: Volume 3, number 4, April 1912

              16

The Harvester World

A magazine published by the International Harvester Company of America.
Issued monthly under the supervision of the Advertising Depart¬ ment. 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.
Douglas Malcolm, Editor
THE HARVESTER WORLD Harvester Building
Chicago
Vol. 3
CHICAGO, APRIL, 1912
No. 4
The May number is to be a stock, warehouse, and repair number. And for June, blockmen, salesmen, and canvassers. Send in material for the first by April IS, and for the second by May 15.
AN ASSISTANT IN OUR MIDST
On another page of the magazine is an article by F. W. Heiskell. In this article Mr. Heiskell presents a very sane and business-like estimate of the practical side of our advertising work. He brings to the depart¬ ment at Chicago the point of view of the strictly field man. He began his first experience in the harvesting machine business by entering the McCormick force as repair man in 1894 under James B. Heywood, who was general agent at that time at Indianapolis, Indiana. Eleven years after he was transferred to Ft. Wayne, and promoted to be assistant to J. W. Wisehart. Some months after this he was sent to Akron, Ohio, to open up a transfer agency in the buildings now occuijied by the Akron Works. At the close of 1906 he opened up a similar transfer agency at East St. Louis. In the fall of 1907 he returned to liis old stamping ground at Indianapolis, and from that time until October, 1911, he was assistant general agent under J. A. Everson. He was then appointed assistant advertising manager at the Chicago office. Mr. Heiskell is well known to the organization. He has a broad view of the entire agricultural field, is an experienced salesman, and knows how to write what is in his mind. Those who have come intimately under his influence recognize the frank and open straightforwardness of the "Lootenant."
THE SCHOOL BOY PROSPECT
We often hear the time-worn report that "the prospect was nothing more than a school boy." It is no doubt true that many inquiries do come from that source. They naturally will continue to come inasmuch as we are doing considerable work along educational lines among the schools, but remember these school boys and girls have considerable influence on the home life, and they grow up to be farmers and famers' wives.
A case came up not long ago where a young man was attending one of the Agricultural Colleges. His father was not a farmer, but the boy, through his studies, be¬ came interested in agriculture. The boy saw our machines at the college. He wrote for catalogues. Whether his name was sent to the canvasser or not, we do not know; nor whether, if it had been, thecanvasser would have reported on it as being "a school boy in¬ quiry;" but what we  do know is, his inquiry  led to
the sale of several thousand dollars' worth of machines, including a traction engine, thresher, gang plow, automobile, and a number of wagons, harrows, etc.
Now had this inquiry been analyzed at the time it was first received it would have shown that the party making the inquiry was a school boy, that his father was not a farmer and did not own any farm land. It would not have shown that the father was expecting to buy a large farm and place his boy in charge. It just goes to show that we never know just why people are interested; we should assume that if they are it is not for idle amusement, and some attention should be given to them.
'     . SELLING COSTS
The cost of selling is one of the hardest things for any business organization to determine. Most firms know exactly where they stand when you ask them for manufacturing costs, but they are apt to approximate when you approach the cost of distribution. With smaller merchants, who do not manufacture anything, the cost of actual selling, apart from overhead charges and  their fixed expenses, is equally indefinitely known.
That selling an article does cost and cost a lot, every¬ body knows. The margin between the producer's cost and the cost to the consumer is the particular phase of the high cost of living, which at the present time is receiving the most attention.
There are three accepted ways of distribution: First, by salesmen alone; second, by advertising alone; third, by salesmen and-advertising working together. Imple¬ ment dealers resort to the first and third; still with them it is left to conjecture whether it is cheaper to spend liberally for salesmen and less for advertising, or to spend little for salesmen and liberally for advertising.
A fair number of our own selling organization are undecided, even in their own minds, whether or not "advertising is a jiroducing end of the business." Anyone in close touch with advertising after a time becomes convinced that extensive advertising as an auxiliary to the work of the salesmen lessens the total cost of selling.
J. R. Vaughn, of the Iowa Implement Association, presented a tabulation of implement dealers' expenses at the last convention of the association, in which was shown the actual statements of nine Iowa dealers in regard to their actual sales, and the "cost of doing business." Of these nine firms the two whose cost of operation was the highest spent the least for advertis¬ ing. One of these firms used only $66 for advertising, and $1,000 for salaries, with the result of only about $14,000 total business. The second spent only $76.50 for advertising, $1,500 for salaries, and did a business of only $30,500. Contrasted with these firms, a third one spent $260 for advertising, $2,400 for salaries, and did a business of over $57,000, and the fourth with the com¬ paratively small salary outlay of only $2,700, appropri¬ ated $1,(XX) for advertising, and made a sales showing of 190,000.
These figures are not altogether conclusive, but they show that increased advertising produces a tremendous increased business, and that an equal proportion between salary cost and advertising cost brings a bigger business than a less equitable one. This would be an interesting point for our IHC dealers to figure out and determine for themselves. We shall be pleased to pub¬ lish opinions on this subject if they are forwarded to The Harvester World.