Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1911 Vol. 53 N. 19

Page 4 Text:

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
EDWARD LYMAN BILL - Editor and Proprietor
J. B. SPILLANE, Managing Editor
Executive and Rcportorial Staff :
GLAD. HENDERSON,
A. J. NICKLIN,
AUGUST J. TIMPE,
W. H. DYKES,
L. E. BOWERS.
B. BRITTAIN WILSON,
W M . B. WHITE,
CHICAGO OFFICE:
E. P. VAN HARLINGEN, 37 South Wabash Ave.
Telephone, Central 414.
Telephone, Main 6950.
Room 806.
PHILADELPHIA:
MINNEAPOLIS a n d ST. PAUL:
ST. LOUIS:
BOSTON OFFICE:
JOHN H. WILSON, 324 Washington St.
R. W. KAUFFMAN.
ADOLF EDSTEN.
SAN FRANCISCO:
CLYDE JENNINGS.
S. H. GRAY, 88 First Street.
CINCINNATI,©.: JACOB W. WALTERS.
BALTIMORE, H D . : A. ROBERT FRENCH.
LONDON, ENGLAND: 1 Gresham Buildings, Basinghall St., E. C.
W. LIONEL STURDY, Manager.
Published Every Saturday at 1 Madison Avenue, New York
Entered at the New York Post Office as Second Class Matter.
SUBSCRIPTION, (including postage), United States and Mexico, $2.00 per year; Can-
ada, $3.50; all other countries, $4.00.
ADVERTISEMENTS, $2.50 per inch, single column^ per insertion.
On quarterly or
yearly contracts a special discount is allowed. Advertising Pages, $75.00.
REMITTANCES,
in other than currency forms, should be made payable to Edward
Lyman Bill.
Music Section
An important feature of this publication is a complete sec-
tion devoted to the interests of music publishers and dealers.
21 Till
Departments conducted by an expert wherein all ques-
allU
tions of a technical nature relating to the tuning, reg-
IW>nartmPntc
ulating and repairing of pianos and player-pianos are
U e p d l IllieilllS. d e a i t with, will be found in another section of this
paper. We also publish a number of reliable technical works, information concerning
which will be cheerfully given upon request.
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
Grand Prix
Paris Exposition, 1900
Silver Medal. . .Charleston Exposjtion, 1902
Diploma. ...Pan-American Exposition, 1901
Gold Medal
St. Louis Exposition, 1904
Gold Medal
Lewis-Clark Exposition, 1905
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONES NUMBERS 4677 and 4678 GRAMERCY
Connecting all Departments.
Cable address: "Elbill, New York."
NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 1 1 , 1911
EDITORIAL
I
MPROVING conditions continue to be reported from all sections
of the country as far as sales of pianos and musical merchan-
dise generally are concerned. This is due to the efforts of dealers
in going after trade vigorously and capturing it, and a more opti-
mistic feeling regarding business prospects broadly considered.
This, combined with the fact that dealers are carrying low stocks, is
hiving its influence in keeping the factories supplied with orders.
It is evident that the situation is bettering. The persistent
pessimism in financial circles is due to the belief that the'business
reaction is still in progress. This state of mind prevails among
those who have not taken the trouble to inform themselves as to the
actual conditions prevailing outside of the blue atmosphere of the
New York Stock Exchange. Thompson, Towle & Co., of this city,
recently sent out a number of letters to various sections of the
country asking for information as to the state of the trade. Here
is'a partial result of their canvass:
• President Wood, of the American Woolen Co., reports the best
business for a long time, with 75 per cent, of the company's ma-
chinery in operation.
One of the largest wholesale shoe houses, with salesmen cover-
ing the country, reports steadily improving business, with Septem-
ber the best month of the year and October promising to exceed
September.
A head salesman for one of the largest dry goods houses re-
ports September and October business the largest he ever had.
Fall River and New Bedford report great improvement in busi-
ness—possibly helped by low priced cotton.
Business men report that stocks of goods the country wide are
so small that actual necessities to meet the demands of 100,000,000
people are responsible for the good fall business.
REVIEW
O recent court decision of which we have knowledge shows
the keen insight into trade conditions which is evidenced in
the decision of Judge Hollister in issuing a temporary injunction
forbidding the Knabe Bros. Co. from using the name "Knabe Bros."
upon the fallboard of their pianos. That this decision, while in-
cluding only a temporary injunction, will have a far-reaching effect
upon the use of family names in this industry, is conceded by many.
The court holds that the name "Knabe" was sold to The American
Piano Co.—hence cannot be used by the defendants upon the fall-
board of the instruments used by them.
In his decision, which was printed last month in The Review,
Judge Hollister says: "It is probably safe to say to the vast ma-
jority of people of sufficient intelligence and information to know
about such matters at all, the place of manufacture of the 'Knabe'
piano is not known. Indeed, it is more than probable that most per-
sons who had heard of the 'Knabe' piano had no knowledge that it
was and is manufactured at Baltimore. It may be said with reason-
able certainty, that to the vast majority of the people the name
'Knabe' on the fallboard of a piano would convey the meaning that
it was the 'Knabe' piano, as that name is understood, and to which
a valuable good-will is attached, irrespective of the place of manu-
facture or the use of the words 'Bros.' or 'Sons Company,' or 'Wm.
Knabe & Co./ in connection therewith/'
Then Judge Hollister goes on to say that there might be much
confusion growing out of the use of the name without any purpose
of misappropriating the name of anyone and that that confusion
might work an injury.
The closer one peruses the exact wording of the document
issued by Judge Hollister the stronger the real purpose of the
court is brought out, and that is to protect the public against any
possible'confusion from the use of the Knabe name on pianos. In
other words, there should not be a condition created by the use of
the name "Knabe" which would have a tendency to confuse the pur-
chasing public.
The decision of the Cincinnati judge, which was printed in The
Review of October 21, is clear and lucid and shows a consideration
of the internal affairs of a trade which is rare. It is true, too, that
all courts are considering more and more family names as trade-
marks representing great value.
The Knabe piano, which has been before the public since 1837,
represents the investment of great sums of money in advertising
and exploitation. The public has come to view the piano as the
"Knabe" piano, and when the business of Wm. Knabe & Co. was
absorbed by the American Piano Co. all the name value which had
taken decades to build up, as well as all of the factory assets, passed
into the keeping of the American piano Co.
We do not see how the "Knabe'' name, as applied to pianos,
could be considered the personal property of any of the members of
the Knabe family, for the name, as a commercial property, had been
passed on to another corporation, and if this thing were to obtain
in a large degree we should have a fine condition prevailing, and in
the music trade we could have disgruntled stockholders bearing the
same patronymic as a founder of a great company starting off-
shoots here and there as conipeting forces. In a little while trade
conditions would become vastly demoralized and values would go
tumbling.
Protection for trade names is something in which every busi-
ness man is vitally interested, and the Cincinnati decision, which
was a distinct victory for The American Piano Co., has been ap-
proved by leading members of the music trade who have expressed
themselves as feeling a sense of security in name protection which
did not exist before.
N
M
ORE musical instruments will be sold annually, for the de-
mand for pianos will be ever increasing, but they will be
sold under different conditions, and unless emphasis be placed upon
the musical end of the business—unless a musical atmosphere be
cultivated and upheld—then the sheet anchor of safety will have
been lost.
The cheap pianos will have become blended with the commer-
cial, and the higher grades will, through the force of detracting
power, come down to a lower level, until the whole thing culmi-
nates in an interminable tangle—the cheap with the good and the
high with the low, and no definite plans or policies anywhere so
far as the retail trade is concerned.
The name of a good piano should always be considered a valu-
able asset for the dealer, and it is, if properly handled 1

Page 5 Text:

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
Is Piano Selling Easy?
it is 'Easy" for the People Who Never Succeed, but the Need of Intelligent Effort is Always
Apparent in Presenting Sales Arguments—Some of the Necessary Requirements of Up-to-
Date Salesmen—Salesmanship is a Profession and Men Must Acquaint Themselves With It
in Order to Achieve Even a Modicum of Success—A Good Piano Salesman Must Believe in
His Pianos—Where Tact Not Talk Counts—The Necessity of Inspiring Confidence in the
Minds of Customers—A Material Difference in the Kind of Salesmanship—Men Who Are
Selling Pianos Should Keep Posted as to Changes in the Business the Qualities of Different
Instruments and Have All the Details of the Trade at Their Finger Tips—There Should Be
an Accurate Knowledge of the Possibilities of Instruments Upon Which Much Time and
Money Has Been Expended—This Includes the Construction as Well as the Selling Ends.
I
N the golden lexicon of piano selling there is no such word as
easy. Frequently the statement is made that selling pianos is
not an easy task.
Quite right—if it were easy what would be the need of intelli-
gent effort.
Why not have a few specially prepared talking machine records
tell the whole story! Arrange a record to tell the qualities of a par-
ticular piano, the price and all that! This could be placed on by a
$5 a week boy and thus the trick would be done.
No, it is not so easy; but it is not more difficult than other lines
wherein intelligent perseverance is a necessity.
The necessary requirements of the up-to-date piano salesman
are largely identical with those of people in the various learned pro-
fessions.
A successful piano salesman receives a good salary and by rea-
son of his services he is entitled to that, for he must have not only
an individual knowledge of the piano, but he must possess as well a
goodly amount of both tact and persistence.
He must be a good talker, but he must not talk too much.
He must have a fair understanding of human nature—select his
arguments and drive them home as a carpenter drives his nails.
He must at the same time be both honest and shrewd.
A good piano salesman believes implicitly in his piano.
There is where the value of instruments of grade comes in.
A man must know the particular qualities of the various instru-
ments which he offers.
It is not necessary that a salesman should condemn other makes
of instruments than those which he sells, and if he has to resort to
abuse of other pianos he is not a good salesman.
He should try some other vocation!
The piano business is not difficult, but it is precisely what the
men make it who are engaged in selling pianos.
If it is not conducted along correct lines then it reflects the
exact principles of the men who have moulded it.
But piano selling is not easy because there is a considerable
amount of money involved in each sale and the point is to impress
upon a prospective customer the excellence of special instruments
upon which a salesman focalizes his energy.
A great many assert that salesmanship means plenty of talk.
That is not so !
We have witnessed some of the best piano salesmen in this
country selling instruments with but very little talk.
They do not embarrass their house by making all sorts of
promises and in the end almost an entire annihilation of profit; but
they possess ingenuity and originality and measure well their par-
ticular customer.
They adapt themselves to the particular needs of a customer
and are able to inspire confidence by telling a customer some plain,
intelligent facts concerning particular instruments.
Of course, there is a very material difference in the kind of
salesmanship.
The salesmen in the large cities know but very little about the
disadvantage a salesman has to overcome in selling pianos in the
country, for hunting up customers and selling them in their homes
is admittedly far more difficult than selling to a customer who comes
into the store with the obvious intent of buying.
One thing salesmen do not follow up as closely as they
should, and that is keeping thoroughly posted as to makes of pianos,
business changes, etc.
When they are able to have the details of the entire trade at
their finger tips they immediately impress customers with their great
knowledge.
We do not mean by that going into the most minute details of
the kinds of material used in the makeup of particular instruments,
for, after all, such vague sayings are meaningless to the average
customer, but an intelligent knowledge of the technical situation is
very helpful to the piano salesman. The functional power of the
action, the sounding board, the plate, in fact, all of the fundamentals
should be clearly explained, for there are too many who rely upon
an all around "jolly" to do the selling.
Now, after much time, skill and expense have been lavished
upon a really fine instrument does it not seem reasonable that a man
who is selling it should have somewhat of an intimate knowledge
concerning the particular creation which he desires to sell?
A buyer must be impressed with the facts in a forceful manner,
and that can only be done when the salesman is thoroughly posted.
It is also desirable that a salesman be able to explain the con-
struction of instruments when required, but as a rule this is con-
fusing to the lay mind because piano purchasers are not familiar
with the technical and mechanical features and soon they become
weary and restless under too tedious a recital.
A keen, psychological study of the character of each prospec-
tive customer is, of course, of great importance.
It will enable the salesman to discover his varying moods, as no
two are on the same plane of intelligence or endowed with the same
musical taste or general intelligence. Coupled with this essential is
the one requirement of unrelenting aggressiveness, sometimes wisely
held in abeyance, but always exerted with diplomacy suited to each
individual case.
No, piano selling is not easy, for it is a profession that requires
the constant exercising of varied talents.
The men who say that it is easy are the ones who only view it
in a most superficial manner.
Piano selling is an art, and the higher the art is maintained the
higher the business!
A steady avoidance of any allusion to competitors will find favor
with the majority of buyers, for the moment a salesman begins to
drag into his argument the name of a competing piano and at various
times in his talk puncture it with abuse he at once creates an interest
in the mind of the customer to investigate that particular instrument.
In the end the salesman who uses abuse loses ground with his
prospective customer.
It is far better to hold a certain amount of enthusiasm in the
products offered than to weaken the argument by abusing a com-
peting instrument.
Enthusiasm is infectious and impresses the customer with the
earnestness and sincerity of the salesman.
The question of being posted again comes up strongly when a
used piano is brought into the s^ale, for there are some pianos that
have long passed the voting age which must be considered as fac*
tors jn thp piano sale.
OH page 7.)

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