Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
48
APRIL 15,
1922
When Knowledge Means Sales—Tis Folly to Be Ignorant
By ROBERT
N. STANNARD
I
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A man entered a store which dealt in talking
machines and records and asked if there were
any records by Chaliapin.
"Sharlpin?" asked the salesgirl. "You don't
mean Charley Chaplin, do you?"
"No," answered the prospect, "I mean Chalia-
pin, the Russian basso."
"Never heard of him," answered the girl in
tones that indicated that therefore Chaliapin
didn't exist for her.
"No?" answered the man, no longer a pros-
pect. "He's been in the newspapers very much
of late."
Then he turned and went out. Thereby the
saleslady lost not only a sale, but probably lost a
customer.
For several days before this incident happened
the Russian had been "turning 'em away" at the
Metropolitan Opera House, yet this girl had no
notion who he was. Could you blame the pro-
spective customer if he reached the conclusion
that such a saleslady would be equally helpless
in aiding him in a selection of anything other
than the latest jazz hits?
Buyers of classical and operatic records like
to talk over their purchases with the salesman
or saleslady. A talking knowledge of the events
of the day in music goes a long way toward
establishing pleasant relations that lead to regu-
lar sales.
Somewhere that man found a salesman who
could tell him whether there were any Chaliapin
records and who could talk intelligently of
current events on the concert and operatic stage.
What if the store had no Chaliapin records?
The customer knew that here was a store that
would be likely to have them as soon as they
were out. He would also know that here was
a salesman who could probably help him if he
were to whistle some operatic air the name of
which had escaped him. There is no question
as to which store he would go for future pur-
chases.
The other day a woman went into a well-known
music store in Brooklyn and asked for "The
Funeral March of a Marionette." Over the face
of the saleslady came a blank expression. She
had never heard of such a thing. The customer
turned and went out, disgusted, before the sales-
lady had time to ask anyone who knew.
These are bona fide incidents seen and over-
heard by the writer. No doubt they have been
repeated, with variations, hundreds of times.
A small local store may profit by the moral
of these tales. A big one can, of course, but
the small store may be able to take away busi-
ness from the larger ones through employing
someone who knows.
Spare minutes can be employed profitably in
the reading of various catalogs, especially the
little resumes of operas and nutshell histories of
performers. Above all, a daily reading of cur-
rent musical events in the newspapers would
keep the ambitious salesman or saleswoman up-
to-date on talking points.
Where knowledge means a boost in sales and
commissions, for the love of money, why remain
ignorant?
AN EFFECTIVE_WINDOW DISPLAY
NEW VICTROUBOOK OF OPERA
Goebel Bros. Make Striking Tie-up of Brunswick
Record of "Ty-Tee" and "Stealing" With Sheet
Music and Music Rolls of Those Numbers
Sixth Edition Represents Entirely New Work
and Is Most Complete of Its Kind
In arranging a window display featuring the
Brunswick record 2180 of "Ty-Tee" and "Steal-
ing," Goebel Bros., 127 Main street, Hackensack,
N. J., made a most effective tie-up of the record,
The Victor Talking Machine Co. has just an-
nounced the sixth edition of "The Victrola Book
of the Opera." The new edition does not repre-
sent a revision of the earlier editions, but is a
book that has been completely rewritten and is
one of the most complete works of its kind. The
new book contains stories of more than 100
operas, with summaries of their history, musical
quotations, critical and explanatory material.
Correct pronunciations are given to the names
of operas and operatic characters and all the
stories are told in clear, concise English. A new
and attractive cover design of gold, embossed
on a red background, has been provided for the
new edition.
io double
VourIncome
and the proposition could be proved
sound from every angle, you wouldn't
hesitate, would you? Of course not,
but do you realize that a talking machine
department can be made to provide
sufficient revenue to take care of the
overhead on your entire establishment ?
Thousands of other retail music mer'
chants have proved the above made
statement true and thousands of retail
music merchants have looked to The
Talking Machine World for guidance
in the matter of selecting the make of
talking machines they would handle, the
way they would map out their talking
machine department, etc.
GRIFFIN SCORING SUCCESS
Well-known Okeh Artist Receives Ovation
on Tour—Sings His Recorded Numbers
Goebel Bros.' Attractive Window
the sheet music and the music rolls of those par-
ticular selections, resulting in many sales.
The window display, which is reproduced here-
with, affords a most interesting example of an
effort to get the maximum sales on featured num-
bers, for it was so arranged that a direct appeal
was made not alone to the record buyer but to
the buyer of sheet music and player rolls. Otto
Goebel was the man responsible for the display.
ANTAGONIZING CUSTOMERS RUINOUS
One of the impossibilities of selling is to an-
tagonize and influence at the same time. Antag-
onizing a customer or a prospect means not only
the loss of one sale but also of future patronage.
A few of the things that antagonize and which
the salesman should steer clear of are lack of
knowledge of the product, inattention to the cus-
tomer, servility and slovenliness. A few of the
qualities which help to close sales are the reverse
of those that antagonize.
Gerald Griffin, popular Irish tenor and Okeh
record artist, is enjoying a successful tour in
the East, during the course of which he has
appeared in New York City, Trenton, Phila-
delphia,
Baltimore,
Providence,
Holyoke,
Rochester and Pittsburgh.
Packed houses have been the rule everywhere
he has played. On almost every occasion audi-
ences have requested him to sing some of his
popular Okeh numbers. His own composition,
"It's Only a Step From Killarney to Heaven,"
is one number which he is always asked to
render and which invariably receives many
encores.
The General Phonograph Corp., manufactur-
er of Okeh records, reports a steadily increasing
demand for Gerald Griffin records. Where he
has appeared this demand has been particu-
larly keen, and it is interesting to note that
dealers find that those who previously have
bought Gerald Griffin records are very eager
to secure his latest releases.
A new Griffin number, "Ireland Is Ireland to
Me," is in the new Okeh catalog, and heavy
orders are being received for this number.
The Talking Machine World is the
oldest and largest trade journal in the
world devoted exclusively to the talking
machine industry.
Some book, eh? Yes, and some encyclo-
pedia of the kind of information that
will positively double your income.
Don't miss your chance.
coupon now.
Send in the
TALKING MACHINE WORLD,
373 Fourth Ave., New York City.
Please enter my subscription for one year. I want to
learn how to double my income via a talking machine
department. Bill me $2 at your convenience to cover cost
of same.
Name
Firm
Street
City and StaU
.,,.,,.,,,