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THE: MUSIC TRADE
along those lines. The Review was the only paper which gave the
slightest attention to this industry, which has since grown to a very
important one, and this institution is known to exercise a powerful
force in talking machine circles all over the world.
W
E have frequently stated that piano men who added talking
machines to their lines should not do it in an indifferent
manner. They should use the same care and system, the same
thought and application which has made their other departments
a success. When this is done there is no question of the paying
qualities of the talking machine department, but it will not pay when
treated in an indifferent manner, any more than piano players, if the
dealer has only one or two in stock, and those usually out of order.
In order to succeed in any line nowadays, the work must be handled
from the broad standpoint of interesting the public. A man may
have a thousand talking machines stored away in his store, and the
trade will pass him by. He has got to get them out, exhibit them,
put them in an attractive position, and have the department super-
vised by a man who understands the talking machine and knows its
possibilities and powers as an educator and entertainer, and as a
factor in our modern life. Then the talking machine department
will pay—as pay it should.
S
OME of the young men in this trade seem fond of stating that
the opportunities arc not as good for piano salesmen as for-
merly. Such a statement shows an incorrect view of the entire
piano field. There are splendid opportunities in this industry for
the right kind of men, but they must be producers, not merely
loiterers and salary drawers—but men who have originality and
some snap and ginger. They can win better salaries in this trade
than in many of the professional walks of life, and the question often
arising with the young man starting in life, "What shall I do for a
livelihood?" can be answered bv saying, "Sell pianos if you have
got the real metal in you."
There are doctors, lawyers, editors, ministers and statesmen,
but in all of these walks of life there are a great many applicants
for each position. In many cases the favored one, or the one that
has the pull, as it is commonly termed, is the one that gets the open-
ing. Then where is the chance for the young man of to-day?
There are producers in plenty, in fact we are a nation of producers,
but the producer alone cannot create a demand for his goods, and
so he looks to the salesman ; and were it not for him we would mid
a stagnation in all business.
Now, here is a chance for the young men. If they can make
successful salesmen, employment at a good figure is always open
to them. The business of salesmanship possesses one great advan-
tage over all others; one docs not have to wait in an office or store
for people to come to you for advice or to purchase your goods, but
you go right out and hunt your client or customer. This business
makes a man a clear thinker and a good talker, and no man can be
successful in the piano business unless he talks well. No man can
talk well unless he thinks well.
r
I A HE salesman must know how to handle men and mold them to
X
his opinions, have confidence in himself, never feel embar-
rassed. In order to do all this he must know the article or articles
that he is selling and be sure that his proposition is just as it is
represented. One can sell pianos better the more intimate the
knowledge of them. A man must believe himself in order to im-
press others; he cannot impart successfully what he has not learned
or does not believe. He must be a man of many resources, quick
to put them into execution; he must be sensitive to impressions, of
quick perception to grasp the favorable moment, and decision to
close the bargain on the spot, and not afraid of anything when he
knows he is right. He must be ready at all times with an argument,
ready to make the best use of an opening; ready to discuss almost
any question; he must be always ready to take in and assimilate all
that comes to him in his broad and varied experience.
T
RADE in the countries lying south of us is being rapidly de-
veloped, and there are good opportunities for business
throughout all Latin-America. Some of the West Indian islands
afford possibilities which should not be overlooked by business men.
There are not, however, large opportunities for trade in musical
instruments in either Cuba or Porto Rico, but they are helping out
REVIEIW
tremendously trade in a general way. Porto Rico has made mar-
velous strides since she came under our flag.
In 1896 the imports into the United States from Porto Rico
amounted to $2,145,758; exports from the United States amounted
to $1,688,337, while in the first ten months of 1906 the Porto Rican
products to the United States amounted to $19,320,137, and we sent
merchandise there amounting to $16,509,946—so that the total for
1906 must have exceeded $40,000,000 by considerable. This is a
market right at our doors. Not only has the trade from Porto Rico
to the United States increased enormously, but the general trade
of the island shows a large increase during the period in question.
This remarkable growth in the general commerce of Porto Rico is
the result of the growth of production of staple articles used in
commerce and the consequent growth in the consuming power of
the people.
VERY large proportion of the trade of Porto Rico is with the
United States; in fact, it may be said of the total merchan-
dise leaving the island 87 per cent, goes to the United States, and
of the total merchandise entering the island 86J/2 per cent, is from
the United States; these figures being based upon the records of
and ten months ending with October, 1906, the latest available fig-
ures of the Bureau of Statistics of the Department of Commerce
and Labor.
The principal articles forming this large and rapidly growing
trade with Porto Rico are sugar, tobacco, coffee and fruit, and the
articles sent to Porto Rico include cotton manufactures and manu-
factures of iron, steel and wood, boots and shoes, clothing, etc.
N*)w while on the surface it might seem as if there would be an
immediate market in that country for a fair number of pianos and
organs, yet the facts are directly opposite. While the population
of the island amounts to practically a million and there are some
cities of from 40,000 to 60,000, yet the percentage of the popula-
tion who are able to purchase such costly articles as pianos and
organs is very small.
A
APiOR in Porto Rico is receiving greater remuneration than
ever before, which, of course, increases the purchasing
power of the people, and this together with the natural added wealth
that is coming from development, constantly improves the market.
But at the present time the people there are more interested in talk-
ing machines and smaller musical instruments than in pianos. It
should be remembered that the Porto Rican does not spend much
time indoors; therefore, the articles which can be used on the
veranda appeal to him more strongly. More Americans are going
there each year, and their influence is being perceptibly felt all
along the line. The climate is most charming, much like our June
throughout the entire year, and is not enervating like that of the
southern portion of the United States.
L
H E piano advertisement that bores the reader at sight lacks
the first element of success. What it should possess is the
interest which finds its outlet in the request for further information.
There are a lot of stupid, meaningless advertisements which have
been sent us lately. It seems to us that men should figure that a
"funny" advertisement is not appropriate in the piano line. It is
not the business for "sloppy" work! Piano advertisements should
not be run on the line of quack medicine and liver pills. Some
advertisers seem to feel that the more words they can get into the
space they purchase, the more they are getting for their money, and
by following this plan they often defeat the best objects of adver-
tising, and their announcements lose an attractiveness which every
advertisement should have.
T
HEN the two trade conventions meet next June in Chicago
there will be "something doing." No doubt of that! Chi-
cago never does a thing in a half-hearted way. An entertainment
committee has been appointed to prepare a programme that will be
a hummer, and there is no doubt that the visiting members of the
trade will enjoy every minute of their tarry in the great Western
metropolis. It is probable that the future meetings of the associa-
tion will be confined to the great cities where splendid hotel facilities
can always be secured. Presideiic Blackmore's timely letter, which
appears elsewhere, should, stimulate increased, interest in the
yention,
t
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