11. Advertising department.—The department most closely associated with the sales department is the advertising department. In some cases the adver tising manager is subordinate to the sales manager, and the advertising is handled in the sales department. On the other hand, in rare instances, the sales man ager receives his orders from the advertising manager.
The most common form of organization, however, is that in which the sales and advertising are handled by two separate departments which are directed by heads of equal rank. It is in the latter case, particularly, that cooperation and harmony are necessary.
Advertising and salesmanship not only are the chief factors in distribution but they are, as departments, intimately related. Advertising is generally used to pave the way for the salesman, to facilitate his efforts and to supplement his work. Therefore, the adver tising plan should not be allowed to run counter to the selling plan. It goes without saying that cooperation cannot be one-sided. The advertising manager will often have a good idea of conditions in the field and not infrequently can make suggestions in regard to bettering them. The sales department should extend to" the advertising department the same cooperation which it expects from the advertising department. 'rhe advertising plans, once launched, should have the ardent and sincere support of the selling organization, both in the office and in the field. The two depart ments, in other words, should strive for team work that shall be to the best interest of the house.
12. Production department.—There are few times during the year when the orders produced by the sales department and the goods produced by the manu facturing department are exactly equal. Sometimes the sales department allows the product to pile up during slack seasons, and this causes the production men to become impatient when the sales department demands increased output in rush times. The sales manaaer should endeavor to eliminate this attitude. All matters affecting output should be considered from the standpoint of selling,. as well as from that of production, and the sales manager should see that the production men acquire the selling point of view.
Standardization is one of the best means of reduc ing production costs. Carried too far, however, it is
likely to reduce sales also. The sales manager should curb any tendency toward over-standardization. He should know enough about production, however, to realize the benefits of standardization and to be willing to work in harmony with the production manager to keep down the costs.
It is not an uncommon tendency for a concern that has built up its reputation and sales by putting out a superior product, gradually to reduce the quality of the goods. The sales manager realizes, probably bet ter than anyone else, that if the house is to continue to secure an increasing volume of business, it must hold up the quality of its goods, and he realizes that any other tendency should be combated.
It may seem a far cry from the volume of sales to the labor policy of the firm. The sales manager, how ever, will realize that the labor policy has much to do with the quality of the goods produced. If the policy of the house toward its employes is a liberal one, they will show a spirit of personal interest, care and loyalty, and a desire to turn out the best product possible. But a house with a dissatisfied or frequently changing organization will find it difficult to keep up the qual ity of its product.
13. Credit department.—While a settled policy in regard to payments and methods of handling cred its and collections is desirable, it is also true that if there is too rigid an enforcement of credit rules, the sales department will be seriously handicapped, and a great deal of its work will be nullified. It is very often the best kind of business to build up custom by extending a line of credit to a man of small capital but large ability. It is frequently expedient to help out a slow-paying but apparently reliable customer with more goods. It is sometimes important from the sales manager's point of view that collection methods be relaxed in order that customers may not be lost in the process of getting in the money. The final de cision of these matters must be left to the credit man, but the latter should bear in mind the fact that his policy will have much to do with both the present and the future volume of sales. His department can ren der valuable aid in the increasing of this volume.