Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1918 Vol. 67 N. 19

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
NOVEMBER 9,
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
1918
of difficulty, considering- the numerous books and technical cata-
logs which are available to everyone.
A second point is that the kind of player-piano which is to
sell well in the country must, of necessity, be highly durable
and capable of standing hard knocks. It will get them without
doubt, and an instrument which develops weakness under use
is sure to be a trouble maker from the start. It is one thing- to
be able to telephone for a tuner and get him the same day; and
( Salesmanship )
11
quite another thing to have to wait a month. Players that will
not fall down under ordinary circumstances are essential to suc-
cessful country selling.
The player-piano is a fine institution; so is the farmer. The
one has the money and wants the music; the other costs some
of the money and gives all the music. The two should be brought
together, and it is up to the player salesman to bring them
together.
Prospects Who Should Not Be Allowed to Purchase
Changed Conditions in the Musical Instrument Industry Make It Necessary for the
Piano Salesman to Learn When to Turn Down a Prospect Who Otherwise Would Buy
IANO selling has undergone marked changes within the last
P
twelve or fifteen months. Prior to that time the selling of a
piano or player-piano was regarded as being more or less diffi-
cult. The piano salesman was continually striving to dig up a
new prospect, and, having unearthed one, he started forthwith to
bombard said prospect with circulars, telephone calls and in-
terviews, and other forms of selling propaganda. The salesman
was often classed in the same category as the book agent, and
was sometimes made to feel that the "Welcome" on the door mat
was not meant for him.
This situation has changed. From all parts of the country
dealers are unanimous in reporting that the demand for pianos
and players is far greater than the supply. Prospects, instead
of being tracked to their lair, voluntarily walk into the piano
stores and demand immediate deliveries of the instruments which
they select.
This condition, therefore, has relieved the salesman of a
great deal of the tedious and unpleasant, if it may be called such,
detail connected with the selling of musical instruments. It is
not difficult to sell pianos nowadays. Prospects are abundant,
prospects with fat pocketbooks and an inclination to buy. The
real difficulty, or rather the one big point to which the salesman
should pay careful attention, is to know when not to sell. The
prevalent shortage of pianos and players has rendered it little
short of suicidal for the salesman to allow an instrument to go
out of the store except upon his own terms, which, of course, must
be satisfactory to him. The old days of $1.00 down and $1.00 a
week are gone, we hope, forever. Large payments and two-year
contracts are becoming accepted as standard in the piano industry
in this country. Prospects who cannot meet these terms should
not be allowed to sign a contract. If they are sold an instrument
on long terms it simply means that the salesman has taken a
valuable instrument and put it out at a figure which is certainly
not as great or as profit-producing as might be, and which in
turn deliberately lessens the liquid assets of the store.
Many salesmen at the present time are looking over their
sales record for the past year, and are finding that sales which
they were rather jubilant over making then are now proving
themselves to be a cause for regret, for if an instrument which
was sold last year was in the store now the salesman could make
much more profit for his house, and incidentally consummate a
much better sale, by reason of the higher prices which are the
vogue at present.
Therefore, the piano salesman who is really on the job will
size up his prospect carefully before attempting to get the sig-
nature on the contract. Good prospects are sufficiently plentiful
to enable the salesman practically to choose his customers. The
salesman who does not exercise care in selecting his customers,
and who does not make a hard and fast rule of selling only to
those who can and will live up to a short term contract, is not
only an inferior type of salesman, but is really doing himself and
his employer an injustice.
The Value of Enthusiasm in Selling Player-Pianos
There is a certain salesman in one of the biggest New York
HERE is no one single factor of greater value in closing
retail piano stores whose greatest asset is enthusiasm. He is,
T
player sales than enthusiasm, assuming, of course, that the
first of all, a thorough piano man, having served his apprentice-
salesman knows the fine points of his player, for his enthusiasm
should be largely based upon the superiority of the instrument he
is selling.
Likewise he will certainly know the good points of his com-
petitors' players, and be able to prove how his player is the best,
in spite of the competing players' good points, not by knocking,
but by demonstration, by showing an intimate knowledge of
every important player made, and by showing conclusively how
his player excels.
You can't get very enthusiastic over your own player or
anything else if you put in your time knocking the other fellow's
goods. It keeps you pretty busy to do that, and all the time you
are doing it you are keeping your customer's mind on your com-
petitors' goods and your own player in the background. Forget
the other players. Forget everything but your own player. Act
just as you would if your player were the only one in existence.
Turn on the enthusiasm. Surely any player is wonderful. Con-
sider what a musical marvel it really is. Look back a few years,
when there was no such thing as a player, when everyone played
by hand—if they played at all.
This very thought alone, if dwelt upon, will arouse enthusi-
asm in the prospect. The salesman should be chockful of it,
bubbling over with the player idea. Picture the home pleasures
made possible by it—enjoyment that only the player can bring.
That will arouse the customer's enthusiasm—and remember this,
he will associate all these advantages with your player.
77/ie pertfcnou)/i
murtca/name
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PIANOS
ship at the bench and having studied piano selling in some of
the biggest stores in the world. Many piano men would be
content with this thorough knowledge of the piano business in
all its details, for surely it would seem that a salesman thus
equipped could sell pianos and players, if anyone could.
But this master salesman does not rely on his intimate
knowledge of piano construction and piano values to put sales
across. His "one best bet" is his enthusiasm. He fairly sweeps
his customers off their feet by the very force of his enthusiastic
belief in the quality of the goods he is selling—he convinces
everyone of his sincerity.
Sincerity, after all, is the real basis of enthusiasm, and
the very fact that you are enthusiastic impresses the buyer with
your sincerity, for no one can be honestly enthusiastic over any-
thing unless he is sincere.
Any player salesman who really has his heart in his work
can acquire enthusiasm, not by chair warming in a piano ware-
room, but by studying the player game. And it is such an inter-
esting study that it should prove a pleasure to every player sales-
man. If the player does not interest you that much, you should
get out of the game.
There are so many angles to the player proposition that a
thorough knowledge of them is bound to arouse your enthusiasm,
and the more you study the player and its possibilities the better
you will like it.
ORGANS
E5TEY PIANO COMPANY NEW YORK CITY
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12
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
LOS ANGELES DEALERS ANTICIPATING GOOD BUSINESS
Month of October Made Below-Normal Showing, Due to Influenza Epidemic and Other Disturb-
ing Conditions—Working for Music Industries Preservation Fund—Records for Soldiers
which, because of the company's being more
prominently identified with the furniture busi-
ness, went to the credit of another committee.
The same is also true in respect to the music
departments of several department stores.
Banned Entertainments and Music
With the theatres closed and other forms of
public entertainment temporarily banned, on ac-
count of Spanish influenza, several of the music
houses have adopted for their advertising a sort
of
"entertain-yourself-with-music-in-your-own-
home" slogan. The Starr Piano Co., for illus-
tration, is running a phonograph ad headed with
an evening-at-home "cut," with the quoted
words underneath: "Closed Theatres Don't
Bother Us; Our Starr Phonograph Makes
Home Better Than a Show." The Fitzgerald
Music Co. features another illustration. With
a three-column space the company heads a re-
cent advertisement of the Knabe Ampico and
the Edison phonograph prominently thus:
"Make Your Home Cheerful With Music These
Long, Lonely Evenings." Other firms have
been utilizing similar appropriate catch lines.
As a result of the lack of public entertainment
it is said that the demand for talking machine
records has been exceptionally big.
Remittance Made to National Music Fund
The local committee appointed to raise sub-
scriptions to the Music Industries Preservation
Fund forwarded its first remittance this week
to State Captain Frank Anrys, of San Fran-
cisco, and announces that an additional amount
will be ready for sending soon. The Los An-
geles dealers have been meeting the proposition
both liberally and cheerfully. A specific state-
ment of subscriptions and subscribers will be
issued a little later. The local committee, or
lieutenants under Captain Anrys, is composed
Bond Committee of Music Trade Makes Report of E. P. Tucker, of the Wiley B. Allen Co.; Ed-
Liberty Loan Bonds of the fourth issue to the ward A. Geissler, of the Geo. J. Birkel Co., and
amount of $80,100 were subscribed for among George Marygold, of the Southern California
the music houses of this city. This is the sum Music Co.
as reported by the Music Trade Bond Commit-
Platt Music Co. Advertises Eilers Stock
tee, which was composed of E. A. Geissler, of
The Platt Music Co. is advertising a sale of
the Geo. J. Birkel Co.; E. P. Tucker, of the "Bankrupt Stock of Pianos From the Eilers
Wiley B. Allen Co.; J. F. Salyer, of the Bartlett Music Co." Mr. Platt says he purchased what
Music Co., and George Marygold, of the South- he believes to be "the very cream of the stock"
ern California Music Co. The report, however, offered at the bankruptcy auction of Eilers goods
does not include the subscriptions of the music in San Francisco recently. The sale was an-
department of Barker Bros., amounting to $2,800, nounced through an advertisement five columns
Los ANGELES, CAL., November 2.—The month
of October as a whole yielded to the music deal-
ers of this city a much-below-normal crop, par-
ticularly in respect to piano business. Several
of the houses experienced occasional days of
exceptional piano and player activity, but these
spurt days were much too few to produce any-
thing like a good average. Talking machines
also made a rather poor showing, although the
demand has shown quite a little improvement
in the last few days. Phonograph records, on
the other hand, have been selling remarkably
well, and collections of all kinds have been par-
ticularly satisfactory.
The Spanish influenza
still maintains its grip on the city, with the re-
sult that schools, theatres, churches and other
public meeting places continue closed. The epi-
demic, however, is gradually subsiding, and it is
expected that another week will find these places
again open. It is to the "flu" that the business
stagnation is attributed, and hence it is believed
that, providing its subsidence continues, Novem-
ber may be counted on for some very good
music business. In fact, it seems that, the peo-
ple probably being less easily frightened, an
improvement is already materializing. The
Liberty Bond drive also no doubt helped to
make business quiet, although its effect in this
direction is believed to have been much less pro-
nounced than in any of the previous drives.
Los Angeles, incidentally, exceeded her quota of
bond subscriptions by something like $8,000,000,
despite the fact that on the last day of the drive
it seemed the city might even fall a little below
the amount allotted. It was, in fact, during
the last few hours that delayed committee re-
ports and additional subscriptions of substan-
tial sizes put the city "over the top" in such fine
shape.
NOVEMBER 9, 1918
wide, published in last Wednesday's Herald.
The ad, even aside from the size of space de-
voted to it, is attention-compelling and rather
sensational.
Glockner Co. Is Closing Out Pianos
The Wm. L. Glockner Music Co. is closing
out its stock of pianos and players, and when
the remaining small number of these instru-
ments is disposed of no new ones will be pur-
chased until after the war at least. The com-
pany henceforth will devote its sole attention
to the Wurlitzer line of automatics and to the
Edison agency.
Frank R. Hart Quite Low With Pneumonia
Frank R. Hart, cousin of President F. J. Hart,
and general sales manager of the Southern Cali-
fornia Music Co., is quite sick with Spanish in-
fluenza, which has reached the pneumonia stage.
He has been confined to his home for more than
two weeks, and his condition is quite serious,
although he is expected to recover.
Tremaine Advertisement Used in Los Angeles
The leading music houses of this city have
united in defraying the cost of the publication
locally of the series of wartime music ads pre-
pared by C. M. Tremaine, of the National Bu-
reau for the Advancement of Music, and the
second ad of the series has already appeared.
Publication is being made in the Morning Times
and the Evening Express, and has been so sched-
uled that one of the "broadsides" will appear
every few days until the Christmas holidays.
There are thirteen ads in the series, each as run
locally occupying nearly a full page, and the
thirteen totaling about 1,500 inches. The cost
of running the series in the two newspapers here
is approximately $2,000. The copy is being
used without the names of the dealers who
finance its publication.
Idle Music Record Drive Proves Success
The drive for phonograph records, talking ma-
chines and small musical instruments, under the
direction of the National Phonograph Record
Recruiting Corps of New York City, has been
iti progress here this week, and has proved quite
successful. It is stated that several thousand
idle records have been received as gifts for use
by our soldier boys, and that a number of pho-
nographs and small instruments have also been
donated. The most of the dealers, besides as-
sisting in receiving the gifts, have donated a
machine, and the other small dealers have con-
tributed records. Included in the local cam-
paign committee are the following: E. A.
Geissler and T. H. Beck, of the Geo. J. Birkel
Co.; E. P. Tucker and H. Jackson, of the Wiley
B. Allen Co.; W. H. Richardson, of the South-
ern California Music Co.; J. W. Boothe, of the
music department of Barker Bros., and I. H.
Andrews, of the Andrews Talking Machine Co.
TO INCREASE EXPRESS RATES
New Rates Will Represent an Average Raise of
10 Per Cent.—Short Hauls Affected Most
Do You Really Know
The Ludwig Grand ?
If you have not investigated the Ludwig you are overlooking the best
grand proposition in"] America. It will compare favorably in tone,
appearance and construction with any grand of its size, and many larger
-—and the price is very moderate. Size, 5 feet 3 inches in mahogany.
One of Our Biggest Dealers Recently Said: "You people don't
know what a good proposition you have in The Ludwig Grand"
LUDWIG & CO.
136th St. and Willow Ave.
NEW YORK
WASHINGTON, D. C, November 4.—New express
rates involving average increases of about 10
per cent., applied mainly on short hauls, will be
established soon by the American Railway Ex-
press Co., with the approval of Director Gen-
eral McAdoo, to raise $24,000,000 more reve-
nue, half of which will go to the express com-
pany to meet contemplated wage advances and
the other half to the railroads for transporting
express matter.
The express company will now proceed to
raise charges, but these rates will be subject to
review by the Interstate Commerce Commission
on complaint of shippers.
The new rates would be a maximum of 17
cents per hundred pounds higher on first-class
shipments and 12 cents on second class in so-
called first zones, or short hauls, generally less
than 100 miles. For longer hauls first and sec-
ond class rates would be advanced 12 and 8
cents a hundred pounds respectively, as maxima.
In addition, 10 cents per hundred pounds, re-
gardless of distance, would be added to com-
modity rates.

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