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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
FEBRUARY 9, 1918
11
SATISFACTORY CONDITIONS PREVAILING IN KANSAS CITY
Money Is Plentiful, No Labor Shortage Is Apparent, and General Conditions Are Excellent—C. V.
Bissell Talks on Salesmanship—T. E. Johnston Optimistic—Careful Advertising
KANSAS CITY, MO., February 5.—It is a little
difficult to write about conditions in this city
and territory without seeming to be exaggerat-
ing or at least assuming them to be above the
rest of the country. The records of Liberty
Bond sales, Red Cross subscriptions, to say
nothing of many other enterprises, are sufficient
to indicate that Kansas City people are toler-
ably well supplied with money and that they
are giving it to proper causes. It would natu-
rally be expected that this agricultural district
and especially this city as the central market
place for it and for live stock would not be seri-
ously affected by the war conditions as are other
districts, especially those where manufacturing
is the chief enterprise. For one thing, Kansas
City has not be seriously affected by any
shortage of labor.
C. V. Bissell, manager of the Starr Piano Co.,
in a conversation recently, talking to a man
who was inquiring as to one of the essential
things in making a sale, suggested this as a good
starting point: That the salesman should re-
member that the prospect is not likely to con-
sent to spend his money unless he is in an
optimistic frame of mind. Therefore, when the
salesman approaches the prospect, the salesman
cannot afford to allow any pessimism to get into
the conversation. For instance, if the salesman
asks the prospect how his business is or how
things generally are, or how his family is, the
prospect, nine times out of ten, will commence
to think of some of the adverse conditions that
he faces. The next step in the process of the
prospect's mental workings is a partly formed
conclusion that he should not buy a piano right
now. The salesman can better afford to wait
until after he has made the sale before going
into the personal affairs of the prospect. There
are plenty of nice things that can be said about
the world or about the salesman himself, per-
haps, to take the place of the inquiries that the
salesman might want to ask as to how pros-
perous the prospect is.
T. E. Johnston, general manager of the
Smith, Barnes & Strohber Co., here, probably
keeps in as close touch with local conditions as
anybody and seems to have a well-developed
faculty for sensing developments. After the
last month of so extremely unsettled conditions
Mr. Johnson is now waiting practically on tip-
toes for the change, when the people, having
recovered from the depression of the numerous
adverse conditions of January, will be ready to
buy pianos. He has his plans laid, and the
salesmen coached for the job, the advertising
outlined—all on the basis of his estimate of the
state of mind that the people will be in. "I be-
lieve in taking advantage of all conditions and
of the state of mind of the public," Mr. Johnston
said. "But of course that can't be done unless
the planning is done in advance."
Kansas City piano and musical merchandise
THE LEADING LINE
WEAVER PIANOS
Grands, Uprights
and Players
YORK PIANOS
Uprights and Players
LIVINGSTON PIANOS
Uprights and Player-Pianos
If your competitor does not already have this
line, go after it at once.
Weaver Piano Co., Inc.
FACTORY
YORK, PA.
Established 1870
dealers are finding that the conditions require
much more careful thought on their advertising
than ever before. It is often simple enough to
advertise a bargain in pianos and it is almost
comparatively simple to make any other single
appeal, but when a large part of the possible
prospects are short of money and when no
other sort of appeal has previously been made
by the establishment, or in cases where an en-
tirely different sort of advertising has been done,
it is a little hard to break away. It can be pre-
dicted, however, with confidence, that musical
advertising will show some vast improvement
during the coming year. And it may also be
safely predicted that the results in actual sales
will be commensurate with the additional cost
put upon the advertising campaign.
GOOD PIANO TRADE IN BALTIMORE
Shortage of Instruments the Only Handicap
to Excellent Business—Stieff Stores Busy—
Knabe Warerooms Holding Special Sale
BALTIMORE, MD., February 5.—Piano and player
business is assuming a very substantial and sat-
isfactory form about the city and the trade is
generally optimistic over conditions. Shortage
of goods appears to be the biggest handicap.
Firms are demanding better first payments and
larger monthly payments and letting the so-
called small payment people go. The risks being
taken to-day are better than they formerly were
and dealers are not so willing to rush out in-
struments. Few sales and better profits with
less risks are apparently the method in vogue
here now. The snowstorm added to the other
inconveniences during the past week and snow
is still making it hard to do business. With the
last snowstorm more than a week past, the
city has not been able to clear altogether the
downtown and shopping centers, although work-
ing night and day.
S. P. Walker, for Charles M. Stieff, Inc., re-
ports business pretty fair under the conditions
and fortunately none of the sixteen branch stores
of the firms has had to lose sales, despite the
fact that the warehouse and showrooms are filled
with goods ready for shipment. Mr. Walker
expects to see this condition clear up during
the coming week and believes that with the
snow out of the way it will be possible to ship
instruments. All of the reports had an encour-
aging tone in them.
Knabe Warerooms, Inc., is conducting its
annual February sale. The firm was forced to
close two nights last week because of the Fuel
Administrator's order. Business has been satis-
factory with the firm.
W. J. Loomis, in charge of the piano and
player department of Cohen & Hughes, says that
under the conditions business is very satisfac-
tory. January was satisfactory and this month
has opened up very well. While the volume has
not been as large the trading has been better in
that more cash has been received from the
purchasers and that they are now out working
to get the better class of people to buy instru-
ments instead of just selling to anyone that
comes along because they happen to desire an
instrument and want to pay for it in their own
way. The firm ran a very artistic ad featuring
the Mehlin line of instruments and the Angelus
player.
William Dentinger is in charge of the Mary-
land Piano Co., Inc., and reports business satis-
factory. This firm ran an attractive ad featur-
ing the Hudson player.
The Mann Piano Co. are featuring a used
piano sale, which is said to be showing very
satisfactory results.
Stuart H. Perry, of A. B. Chase Co., was among
the visitors to Baltimore during the week. I.
Son Cohen, of Cohen & Hughes, spent part of
the past week in New York and Camden, N. J.
AT
THE
APEX
of
PLATE
QUALITY
The Matawan plate
occupies this high po-
sition through the uni-
versal favor it has
merited
throughout
the trade—through
its strength and dur-
ability, through the
high quality vanadium
pig iron used and
through our personal
supervision of manu-
facture.
It is almost unnecessary to
state that after gaining this
point it will be maintained at
all costs. Matawan plate users
may be assured that however
scarce labor or raw materials
may be, the quality that the
name Matawan stands for will
be lived up to.
Matawan Steel &
Iron Works
President
Matawan
New Jersey