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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
RMFW
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Vol. LXXVI
NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 10, 1923,
No. 6
I TEACHING SALESMANSHIP TO THE SALESMEN |
T
HE'members of the music industry came to a realization some
time ago that, though many salesmen may be born, it is possible
to teach piano salesmanship successfully to those who have not the
gift by instinct. The result has been the development of a series of
sales conferences held by the leading concerns in both the manu-
facturing and retail divisions of the trade and, among other things,
the school of piano salesmanship held in New York last Fall.
There are, of course, those old-timers in the business who will
scoff at the idea of teaching piano salesmanship just as are taught
the three R's in school. But practical experience in many lines of
trade, and particularly in the talking machine division of our in-
dustry, has proven that through proper instruction an ambitious
salesman can gain at a minimum of cost, time and effort a volume
of information which would ordinarily represent the result of sev-
eral years of actual selling experience with all the expensive mis-
takes that method entails.
A number of retail concerns in the trade have earnestly taken
up the problem of instructing their salesmen in the proper method
of handling the products they represent. Among these concerns is
Sherman, Clay & Co., San Francisco, which conducts weekly classes
for the benefit of ambitious salesmen who seek to profit by a knowl-
edge of the trade and trade methods possessed by the older members
of the staff. It would seem well for other houses to look into this
question with a view of making their own sales organizations more
efficient.
The art of selling musical instruments properly must be learned
by every new salesman either through experience or through advice
and information offered by those versed in the right methods. The
former system takes much time and is very liable to result in many
lost sales before the salesman is in a position to meet all the prob-
lems that come before him in his work. If he is made acquainted
with the handling of those problems before he meets them, both the
salesmen and the house he represents are sure to profit.
One of the most important features of the Sherman, Clay & Co.
course is the instruction given in the construction and operation of
the line of reproducing pianos handled by that house. The lectures,
by experts, are calculated to give the salesman a quick working
knowledge of the various types of instruments, and thus enable him
FEBRUARY 10,
1923
to talk with authority and confidence. More than one reproducing
piano sale has been lost to a competitor because the salesman did not
have proper knowledge of the instrument he was offering or of how
it compared with the product of another manufacturer.
COMMITTEE ORGANIZATION
IN THE
CHAMBER
T
HE reports presented to the directors of the Music Industries
Chamber of Commerce at their meeting in Chicago last week
serve to give to the representatives of the various associations
affiliated with that organization some general idea of the manner in
which the committee plan of operation is being worked out in con-
nection with Chamber activities.
In an interview in this publication some weeks ago, Richard W.
Lawrence, president of the Chamber, outlined his policy of having
committees made up of trade members of recognized ability map
out and oversee the various details connected with the operation of
the Chamber bureaus and movements, with a view to leaving the
paid staff of the Chamber free to carry on its work without in-
terference.
Whatever the value of the various Chamber activities, and sev-
eral of them are of unquestionable importance, the fact remains that
the personnel of the committees appointed by Mr. Lawrence is of
the highest type. Those who perhaps doubt in some measure the
value of the Chamber to the individual merchant and manufacturer
may regain confidence in that organization from the fact that execu-
tives of some of the largest houses in the industry are finding the
time and the inclination to give the benefit of their knowledge to the
work of the committees.
The development of the committee plan of operation has taken
much time and thought and there has not really been time to give
the new plan a really convincing test. However, the program as
outlined before the directors provides for work that should interest
and benefit practically all the factors in the industry, and the reports
on what has been done along the suggested lines when presented at
the annual convention in June will prove interesting. The question
is not how many different things the Chamber can do for the trade,
but rather how many practical things can be done well. The June
convention will tell the story.
WHAT THE MILEAGE BOOK VICTORY MEANS
T
HE victory of the traveling salesmen's organization in having
the Interstate Commerce Commission order the railroads to issue
mileage books at a discount of 20 per cent from regular tariffs
means the saving of millions of dollars annually to the business in-
terests of the country, for the expense of the travelers is naturally
charged against the cost of the goods manufactured and sold.
When it is realized that the use of the new books will save
something over $7 in railroad fare on the thousand-mile trip be-
tween New York and Chicago, and that the average traveler covers
something better than 20,000 miles each year, the gross saving
amounts to a most substantial sum. It will mean, too, that, with
travel costing less, the salesman can afford to cover a wider terri-
tory for the same amount of money and thus increase the distribu-
tion of the products he represents. This in turn means decreased
manufacturing costs and greatly stimulated business.
The National Piano Travelers' Association is to be congratu-
lated upon the part it has taken in the fight for mileage books both
as a distinct organization and as a member of the National Council
of Travelers' Associations.
WHERE SECRECY DEFEATED ITS OWN PURPOSE
it does not pay to hide one's light under a bushel was
T HAT
recently shown in a musical survey of an Indiana town,
which those employed were instructed not to give the name
of their employers. A local dealer states that, as a result, the
canvassers, forced to give some name, gave those of dealers
indiscriminately, thus bringing business probably to the com-
petitors of the house which paid their salaries. Secrecy is a
very good thing at times, but at other times it can be carried
too far, and this happens to be one of them. It is usually
better to operate in open daylight, for surely there is nothing"
unethical in conducting a musical survey—on the contrary it
is something' which all those who sell musical merchandise
should be encouraged to do in order that they may know
their territory.