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THE
MU JIC TIRADE
VOL. LXIV. No. 3
Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman Bill, Inc., at 373 4th Ave., New York, Jan. 20, 1917
Single Copies 10 Cents
$2.00 Per Year
The Influence of the Piano Traveler
NE of the most important factors in the merchandising of pianos to-day is the wholesale piano sales-
man. No matter how efficient the factory organization may be, no matter how excellent is the pro-
duct put out by the factory, no matter how effectively that product may be advertised, a line of pianos
cannot be marketed successfully unless the salesmen who represent the line are as efficient, and as
up-to-date in their methods, as is the manufacturing staff.
The importance of the wholesale piano traveler lies in the fact that he forms the connecting link between
the manufacturer and the retailer. Quite often, especially in communities remote from piano manufacturing
centers, the factory salesman, or representative, or ambassador—call him what you will—is the only individual
connected with the entire manufacturing organization who is known to the retailer.
The retailer, therefore, most logically thinks in terms of the traveler. In other words, when the retailer
thinks of the Black & White line of pianos which he handles, he does not always think of Mr. Black, the president
of the concern, nor of Mr. White, the efficient and capable manufacturing genius who is responsible for the many
excellent qualities of the piano, nor does he think of the advertising manager, nor even of the hustling sales
manager who bombards him with letters and circulars and various forms of publicity from time to time, but
he thinks rather of Smith, the factory salesman who drops in to see him every three or four months.
If Smith is a real salesman in the true sense of the word he will naturally have established more or less
friendly relations with the dealer; and the dealer, when thinking about the line which he features, will immediately
visualize Smith and his hearty smile. If, on the other hand, Smith is merely an order taker, or a grouch, or is
lacking in personality and in ability, the dealer will still visualize Smith, but with the unspoken thought that
while the Black & White pianos are mighty fine, the man who sells them is by no means as good in his particular
sphere as the pianos are in theirs.
The personal equation in business is a most potent force, and its value can hardly be overestimated. This has
been proven times without number by thousands of men in widely separated lines who have built up enormous
merchandising organizations simply by projecting their personality into their business transactions.
In a majority of cases, the piano traveler is the man whose personality will be most strongly associated in
the dealer's mind with the line of pianos handled by that dealer.
There is a deep, psychological difference between the piano dealer who, selling a certain line of pianos,
merely feels that he is selling the product of a piano manufacturing organization which is represented in his
mind only by the trade-mark or firm name of that organization, and by the occasional invoices and letters which
he receives from its headquarters, and the piano dealer handling a line represented by a live wholesale traveler,
who feels that because that traveling salesman is capable and efficient, the manufacturing organization repre-
sented by the salesman must also be equally capable and efficient; all of which leads the dealer to a confidence
in the particular line which he is handling that he otherwise would not and could not have.
The importance of co-operation in every sphere of business endeavor is of such manifest value that it is
unnecessary to elaborate upon it. The piano traveler is important, therefore^ because he is the force upon which
the manufacturer must depend to produce a spirit of co-operation among the dealers, a co-operation without
which a real lasting success cannot be obtained.
While the wholesale piano salesman does endeavor, through the force of his personality, to make friends of
those dealers whom he sells, friends not only for himself, but for his line and his factory as well, still his duties
do not begin and end merely with a bright smile, a hearty hand-shake, a pat on the back and a funny story. The
genial piano traveler will always be welcomed because of his geniality, yet he should also be valued, and his visits
should be looked forward to by the retailer not only because of his pleasing personality, but also because of the
valuable sales-producing ideas which he should be able to impart to the dealer.
(Continued on page 5)