12. Name and the most im portant thing to be kept in mind in selecting a name for the house organ is to choose one which suggests not the "ginger" idea so much as information and co operation.
Altho much depends upon the nature of the par ticular business, the size of the publication, the num ber within the organization and the intimacy and good fellowship existing among them, in general the house organ will contain the standings in any sales contest that may be under way, contributions from the men in the field, personal notices concerning the members of the sales organization, important announcements regarding advertising, house policies, new contests, quota prizes, conventions and the like, articles on sell ing and on sales methods, and articles which are purely inspirational in nature.
The house organ may be used as a vehicle for a for mal study course in salesmanship.
A series of articles following the concern's product right thru from the raw material to the finished article and designed to give the members of the selling or ganization a minute and detailed knowledge of their goods, especially with a view to their using it in the selling talk, should be given a place. The proceed ings of the annual sales convention or speeches made to the training classes may be run serially. The co operative idea can be fostered by encouraging the heads of other departments to contribute articles that will help the salesmen and that will secure cooperation from them. It is usually well to bind the house and field organizations together by devoting a page or two to inside organization matters, both of a business and a social nature.
Care should be taken that the contents of the house organ be not confined too strictly to- business. No tices of the little joys and sorrows that enter into the home lives of the different members of the organiza tion should be given place, so that their comrades may rejoice with them in their happiness, or feel with them in their sorrows. A little good-natured chaffing on their foibles, breezy little stories of humorous situa tions in which they have played a part and references to such matters as a fishing trip, the purchase of an automobile or a new house, will help the salesmen to feel that they know one another well, will give them something to talk about when they meet at conven tion and do much to create and maintain the "large happy family" spirit. Within this scope, however,
everything included should be relevant. The house organ built up too liberally from other publications with the aid of the shears and the paste pot, does little to weld the organization. Material of this sort should be used sparingly and only when it is especially appropriate. Furthermore, anything pessimistic in nature or carrying negative suggestions of any sort has no place in the house organ.
While the star producers of the organization should be given due recognition in the house organ, and while playing them up in the right way will inspire the other men, care should be taken not to over-feature them, nor to feature them to the exclusion of the rank and file. Every member of the sales organization should have a place in the house organ in one way or another with equal frequency. It is more important to make the mediocre producer feel that he is an integral part of the organization and so encourage him to live up to the responsibilities which this entails, than it is to give prominence to the star.
Neither is the house organ the place for preaching from the company officials, nor for "talking down" of any sort from any source. The house organ should carry an all-on-one-plane spirit, and all writing should be red-blooded, man-to-man style. The faults of the sales organization, which it may be desired to correct, should seldom, if ever, be attacked directly. The pertinent story, preferably humorous or semi-humor ous, is the better way.
13. House organ illustrations.—While illustrations run up the cost of the house organ slightly, they add greatly to its interest. The sales manager will want to get out one or more special issues during the year —the convention number, for example, to be dis tributed at the home office when the men come in for convention—and these should be profusely illustrated. Sometimes they will carry half tones of each of the officials and department heads of the inside organiza tion and of each member of the selling force, accom panied by a short biography or "grind" similar to those found in college annuals.