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JULY 22, 1922
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
B. P. SIBLEY COAST MANAGER FOR KOHLER INDUSTRIES
Appointed Pacific Coast Representative to Succeed the Late Walter S. Gannon and Will Assume
Duties About August 1—Has Had Wide Experience in Music Industry
John H. Parnham, chairman of the board of
governors of the Kohler Industries, New York,
announced this week the appointment of Bee-
man P. Sibley as Pacific Coast manager of that
organization, succeeding the late Walter S.
Gannon.
In the selection of Mr. Sibley for this impor-
tant position the Kohler Industries have chosen
following our policy of advancing men of our
own organization into important executive posi-
tions that become vacant, and we have done so
with the confidence established by the excellent
results he has attained for us in his recent exec-
utive capacity. Mr. Sibley has devoted his entire
businses life to the piano industry. His knowl-
edge is not alone confined to salesmanship, which
has been his major duty in the past two years,
but also extends well into the manufacturing end
of the industry. In his various positions with the
Kohler Industries he has gained a splendid in-
sight into every piano-making operation.
"He understands the problem of the retail
merchant and is looked upon in the territories he
has covered not merely as a piano salesman, but
a man whose judgment of business conditions
generally is of a considerable value.
"In sending Mr. Sibley to the Coast we feel
sure that we will be well represented and at the
same time that our distributors located in that
territory will have the association of a man who
knows their problems and knows how to take
care of their requirements."
CHASE«HACKLEY_BRANCH MOVES
Grand Rapids Headquarters Now Located in
Larger and More Commodious Surroundings
GRAND
RAPIDS,
MICH.,
July
17.—The
Chase-
Hackley Piano Co. branch store in this city re-
cently moved from the Gilbert Arcade to more
spacious quarters in the Ashton Building. A
special significance is attached to this change of
location because the Chase-Hackley salesrooms
in Grand Rapids have only been established three
months and have, during that short time,' estab-
lished an enviable reputation as a musical head-
quarters.
The new and artistically decorated salesrooms
in the Ashton Building afford adequate floor space
to display the entire Chase-Hackley line, con-
Beeman P. Sibley
a man of rare ability and one who is admirably sisting of Chase Bros., Hackley and Carlisle in-
well equipped by training and experience to as- struments. In addition to this comprehensive
exhibit they also are equipped with two richly
sume the important duties of this connection.
furnished
demonstration booths for players and
Mr. Sibley is a graduate of Amherst, year of
1912, and came to the Autopiano Co. immediate- an extensive music roll department.
There is every reason to believe that this popu-
ly after his graduation. He held various posi-
tions with that company until 1915, when he was lar Chase-Hackley branch will, like the line of
sent to the Chicago sales office of the Kohler instruments it represents, find its way into the
Industries. In this connection he traveled over esteem and good will of an ever-increasing num-
a great portion of the Middle West territory with ber of music lovers in.this territory.
marked success. In 1916 he returned to the home
office of the Autopiano Co. to assume an execu-
BEMIDJIMUSICCa ENTERS FIELD
tive position, which he held until his election in
1920 to the vice-presidency of that company.
BEMIDJI, MINN., July 17.—The Bemidji Music
Mr. Sibley, in his ten years' connection with Co., a modern music store, was opened at 116
the Kohler Industries, has built up a vast ac- Third street, here, recently by F. S. Ebert, for-
quaintance in the piano industry, and is favor- merly connected with the Thief River Falls
Music Co., of Thief River Falls, Minn. The store
ably known to dealers the country over.
handles such well-known makes of instruments as
Commenting on his appointment he stated:
"I look forward with great interest and pleas- Bush & Lane pianos and the Gulbransen player-
ure to my new connection. The Pacific Coast piano. Musical instruments of all kinds, as
has always, in my estimation, offered great possi- well as a complete stock of Victor talking ma-
bilities in the piano industry. Through my rather chines and records, are also handled.
intimate connection with the late Walter Gannon,
my predecessor, I have learned that the Pacific
Coast territory is covered by a splendid group of
COLUMBUS, O., July 17.—The Expression Piano-
progressive dealers, many of whom are stanch
supporters of the Kohler Industries product. I Player Co., of this city, will be housed in a mod-
know that I am entering the Pacific Coast ter- ern two-story factory on West Broad street as
ritory with a decided advantage in following soon as the proposed structure is completed, ac-
Walter Gannon and the splendid connection he cording to Charles E. Bard, head of the com-
has built for our industries in that territory."
pany. Following this move production will be
Regarding the appointment John H. Parnham greatly increased.
stated to a representative of The Review:
"The selection of a successor to the late Mr.
Gannon has had the serious consideration of the
Ernest Urchs, of the concert and artists' de-
board of governors. One of the main objects of
my recent trip to the Coast was to personally partment of Steinway & Sons, is planning to take
survey that territory so that a suitable man a business trip in the near future which will take
might be selected to represent us with our dis- him across the continent. Benjamin H. Balen-
siefer, also connected with this department, will
tributors in the far West.-
"In choosing Mr. Sibley for this post we are leave about the first of August on a Western trip.
EXPRESSION CO.JTO^ BUILD FACTORY
ERNEST URCHS PLANS LONG TRIP
USE SAND SOAP
= # IT3C0U8SDEEP • -
1—'Prepared for Leadership
BY MARSHALL BREEDEN
LOSANCELES
See that man with the protruding chin
and aggressive shoulders. He's a hard nut
to crack. Look at that lady with the sweet
face and pleasant manner. She is an easy
customer to handle. The piano salesman on
the retail floor frequently has to make an
instantaneous choice between two differ-
ent types of customers. Most of us, with-
out a scruple, will approach the lady first.
Why?
Because instinct tells us that the lady
(who is used here simply to represent a
type) will be the most pleasant customer
of the two. She will be amenable to sug-
gestion, easy to interest and, therefore, the
sale will be made easier. Easy come, easy
go. It's more convenient to adopt that
method, but, somehow, it seems to lack the
punch when brought straight to a show-
down.
Attack in Full Formation
There are, however, some of us piano
salesmen who attack the hard nuts first,
but this class is very rare. It is so much
easier to approach the hard jobs last as,
for instance, the man in the above proposi-
tion. The salesman who makes his choice
and approaches the man first is the better
salesman and better man as well. He has
learned to fight first, if necessary, and
take the easy ones afterward. And surely
he will be much better prepared to take
the easy ones after having had his teeth
sharpened on the hard ones.
Many retail piano salesmen are prone
to seek the primrose path of least resist-
ance and, like the same path in the allegory,
it ends abruptly in a bunch of brambles. If
a man on a retail piano floor hopes some
day to get some..here in his profession he
will profit most and develop quicker if he
strives to encounter the hard-to-sell cus-
tomers. Let a man demonstrate that he
can handle the tough ones and the boss
will some day find better work for him
to do.
You've Got to Fight
Jack Dempsey is some pumpkins because
he can fight. Fred Fulton, who is unques-
tionably a much better boxer and perhaps
equally as strong, is a dumb-bell because he
can't fight. The reason is that Fred, per-
haps without knowing it, has always sought
the easy ones, whereas Jack hopped the
hard ones and asked no odds of any of
them.
Selling pianos is much the same. The
right sort of a sales demonstration is a
fight, and a hard one, and the man who
hops to it with a vim is the man who will
conquer. There are a lot of trite things in
this series, but if you stop to analyze it,
trite things and sayings are what go to
make up this jolly old world. So do not
think that these preachments are the result
of inexperience, for, believe me, young fel-
low, I know—I know.
[The foregoing article is the first of a new series
by Marshall Breeden, the well-known piano man
and writer, whose former series in The Review
recently, "Us Piano Men," proved so popular with
the trade. All the articles in the series have to
do with selling and are particularly pertinent at
this time. They will be worth following closely.—
EDITOR.]