Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
MAY
12, 1923
THE
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW
Fitting the Salesmen to Their Jobs
Walter S. Jenkins, of Chicago, Finds Resourcefulness the Dominant Quality in the Make-up of the Successful
Retail Piano Salesman—The Types Which Make Good Outside Men and Good Floor Men A
Formula That Has Been Successful in Selecting Men Who Eventually Make Good
I have been asked to state, according to my
own experience, what type of man, untrained in
salesmanship, can be molded into the best
piano salesman.
It would seem that every type of humanity
was placed on this earth for a special purpose,
and that each has certain inherent qualities
which the others lack. Rut let us, however,
leave the human family for a moment to get an
example to prove the point.
Suppose we were asked, what type of horse is
swiftest. We would naturally think of that
branch of the equestrian family that nature built
for speed—a race horse. Certainly we could not
conceive of a dray horse coming down the home
stretch leaving the field. But if we attempt to
state which kind of race horse is fastest we will
likely lose quite a little money before we learn,
as the old darky said, "we can make money on a
race but not on the races," meaning it is a
gamble to try to pick in advance the survival of
the fittest.
Made for Selling Purposes
There seems to be just as clearly defined a
specie of humanity made for selling purposes as
there is a type of horse created for speed; but it
does not always follow that every man is a suc-
cessful salesman that belongs to the salesman's
class. A man may be classified properly but
also outclassed by his contemporaries, for there
appears to be just as much difference in com-
mercial results between the natural born sales-
man, but lacking in some essential, as between
thoroughbred horses that arc short some qual-
ity. The winners are always in the minority,
but they come from the class that produces win-
ners nevertheless, and we want to study the sa-
lient features which separate the selling class of
humanity from the others that were created for
other purposes.
Now that we may get a mental picture of a
successful salesman as sketched from psycho-
logical research and practical results, let us
analyze the two following types:
This is the Shakespearean type.
The kind that makes a good floor
salesman, but who is not so suc-
cessful elsewhere. He is a quick
thinker, logical, artistic, frail in
body, docs not like hardships, and
might be called lazy when physi-
cal effort is required; therefore,
is not suited to outside hustling.
Heie we have the athletic type. This type is
capable of success both in and out of the sales-
room. Its characteristics are doing, compel-
ling, initiating, pioneering, would
rather rough it than to visit pic-
ture galleries, etc. (Professor
Myron A. Lee, of the Cornell
University, has written several
interesting articles on character
analysis.)
Since, for this article, there is
but space enough for a mere sketch of the skele-
ton of the law of character analysis, the differ-
ence between the requirements of the city and
country salesman will not be touched upon.
We simply assume the candidate before us is
one of the above types and rates well in health,
appearance, personality and mental ability.
Resourcefulness the Basis
From my own experience I have found many
failures among men that pass all of the tests
up to this point, simply because they lack
resourcefulness. A salesman may read all the
books on salesmanship and study psychological
principles, points of contact, motives that make
men buy, persistence, tact, views of the mer-
chants, etc., but if he lacks resourcefulness he
will become nothing more than a plain "parrot."
A man apparently lacking all of the qualifi-
cations of the salesman except one often makes
a sale, and that is a sale—is it not? 1'roving
that his resourcefulness overshadowed to a
great degree all his shortcomings. There arc,
on the other hand, a great many old-time piano
salesmen whose heads are full of piano knowl-
edge, yet they are failures, simply because they
cannot solve unexpected problems.
Resourcefulness makes a dreary, rainy day into
a forerunner of a million-dollar crop and of the
revival of business. It puts smiles on the store-
keeper's face, even if the storm keeps away his
customers, and it discovers the secret entrance
to business when all the regular doors are closed
and locked.
It is comparatively easy to find a resourceful
man if one takes the trouble of asking the appli-
cant to obtain certain information which may
not be easily secured, or by inquiring for a solu-
tion of a certain selling problem. A little effort
in this direction will often show you at once
whether the applicant is a "leaner" or a "lifter.' :
A Real Example
When 1'. T. Barnum brought Jennie Lind to
this country he sold her to New York so en-
thusiastically that thirty thousand persons went
down to the dock to meet the boat. People
crowded on the roofs in the neighborhood,
crowds followed her to the hotel, torchlight
parades took place at midnight, while twenty
thousand people watched and cheered. The
tickets for the first concert were sold at auc-
tion, and Tenin, the hatter, a man not musically
inclined, paid $225 for a ticket.
No great musical artist had ever visited Amer-
ica before and high-class music was under-
stood but by only a few, and yet Jennie Lind's
ninety-three concerts under Barnum's manage-
ment yielded $712,161.34 in a period of nine
months. Mr. Barnum knew nothing of high-
class-music, had never seen Jennie Lind be-
fore she appeared in this country ready to sing
at the first concert—in other words, he did not
know his goods, but he was resourcefulness per-
sonified and all obstacles were forced to melt
away.
My little formula, therefore, for selecting
salesmen from raw materials is as follows:
First—Decide if the candidate is for inside or
outside.
Second—Select the type best suited for the
work—"mental."
Third—From the applicants choose the most
lcsourccful.
Of all the words in salesmanship there are
none bigger than "resourcefulness."
LAVOICE IN NEW WAREROOMS
PLATTSBURC, N. Y., May 8.—New quarters nn
Margaret street have been occupied by Frank
H. LaVoice, who formerly was propiietor of a
music store on Clinton street. The three-story
building has been purchased outright and is one
of the choice business sites in the city. A new
front on the Margaret street side will be con-
structed and hardwood floors will be installed.
The LaVoice Music Store will continue to
handle the complete Victor line of instruments
and records and also the Ampico.
HAHNE INCREASES SALES FORCE
Hahnc & Co., Newark, have added the follow-
ing to their outside force in the piano depart-
ment: C. Rhea, P. Ilaria and Mrs. Jensen. H.
Kranich, son of Helmuth Kranich, of the Kranich
& Bach firm, is now a store salesman in the
piano department of Hahne & Co.
According to reports the volume of sales has
been very good.
NEW STORE IN MARTIN, TENN.
MARTIN, TKNN., May 9.—A new music store in
the Al. C. Gardner Building on East Side will be
opened here shortly. W. T. Fowler and G. R.
Fuqna are proprietors of this store and will
handle pianos, talking machines, records and
vliect music.
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