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MAY
10, 1924
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
How Kieselhorst Canvasses St. Louis
Well-known Music Merchant Has Twenty-four Field Canvassers Divided Into Eight Teams and Making an
Average of Between 600 and 800 Calls Daily Covering the Entire City—Plans to Call on Every House
in a Center of More Than 750,000 Population—Results Already Showing
ANY ways have been tried and found
wanting in making piano sales at retail,
but there is one way that has never
failed to bring results to those who have used
it in the proper fashion. That is the good and
old method of house-to-house canvassing, the
way of the lowly door-bell ringer. To-day
there arc many piano dealers who seem to have
dropped this method, partially or entirely, either
because they feel that it has served its purpose
or because they have come to the conclusion
that the retail piano trade has passed beyond
this stage. In both conclusions they are en-
tirely wrong, for canvassing still remains the
most direct and profitable way of making sales,
and the piano merchant, no matter how high-
class the line may be which is handled, still
needs and probably will always need the work
of the canvassing salesman.
Canvassing Generally Growing
As a matter of fact, taking all lines of retail
merchandising as a whole, there is more direct
house-to-house selling than has ever been the
case. Merchandise which, in the past, has never
been sold by the direct salesman is to-day sold
largely by this means, and the firms that do it
continue year after year to follow this selling
plan, which argues well for its profit. Why the
amount of canvassing done in the retail piano
trade should show a noticeable decrease of late
years has never been quite explained, except
that since the war sales without this method
have been fairly good and the dealer has gotten
out of the habit.
During the recent trip of the Field Editor of
The Review through the Southern States he
discovered a remarkable connection between
those dealers who were satisfied with the busi-
ness they were doing and those who maintained
crews of canvassers in the field. Satisfactory
business and canvassers seemed to go hand in
hand so far as his experience went, and this is a
condition which can be matched in every other
section of the country. There are still many
piano merchants who steadily use canvassers
and few of them, if any, have to complain of
the results obtained from the expenditures which
such work represents.
The Kieselhorst Plan
Here is a concrete example of a canvassing
campaign which bids fair to be one of the most
successful ever carried out by a retail piano
house and which is surely one of the most
elaborate that has ever been undertaken. Walk
into the office of E. T. Hammon, general sales
manager of the Kieselhorst Piano Co., of St.
Louis, and the first thing that strikes the eye,
directly back of the swivel chair in which Mr.
Hammon sits, is a large scale map of the entire
city of St. Louis and adjoining suburbs. The
map is covered by a great many red-headed pins,
the number of which grows constantly with each
day. Every pin represents a city block in which
every house has been covered by one of the
Kieselhorst canvassing crews, a drive which is
to be kept up until the entire city has been
thoroughly covered.
The campaign began approximately two weeks
ago with a field force of twenty-four men, which
is divided into crews of three, consisting each of
two canvassers under the direction of a captain.
Two city blocks are taken at a time by each of
these crews, each canvasser following a route
shaped like a figure eight, and every house in
each block is visited, it being the most system-
atic and thorough canvass that has ever been
made in St. Louis by a musical instrument
house. At each house the occupants are ques-
M
tioned as to whether or not they own a piano,
player-piano, talking machine or radio set and,
if any of these are not owned, the canvassing
salesman immediately proceeds to sound out the
family as to its desires in the matter. Where
those questioned show signs of being good pros-
pects an immediate endeavor is made to get
them to come to the warerooms. If the can-
vasser is unable to do this, the captain of the
crew is called upon for aid, and if he, in turn,
is unable to bring in the prospect, a salesman
from the regular selling force is immediately
put upon the trail. Thus three men handle any
family that shows any sign of being a prospect
at all. If all of these fail the reasons are noted,
and the prospect listed for future handling ac-
cording to the information secured. Besides aid-
ing the canvassers on prospects, the captain fol-
lows after them, filling in the cards for houses
where no one was at home when the canvassing
salesman called.
This has been disproved time and again, for
canvassing campaigns have been successful in
sections of New York City, where 90 per cent
of the people in the district covered live in
apartments of the better type and where con-
sequently the canvassers found difficulty in pass-
ing the elevator or hall boys. The large city,
of course, presents more difficult problems in
working out canvassing plans than does the
smaller community, but a little ingenuity on the
part of the canvassers and a little thought on the
part of the manager who plans the campaign will
enable these to be surmounted.
Three Comedy Numbers
Featured by Vocalstyle Go.
Special Circular Sent Out to Dealers Exploiting
Three of the Latest of Vocalstyle Co.'s Re-
leases
600 Calls a Day
CINCINNATI, O., May 3.—The Vocals'tyle Music
The twenty-four men in the field crews are
averaging approximately s 600 calls each day. At Co. has just sent out to the dealers throughout
times as many as 1,000 have been reported, but the country a card calling their attention to
when this took place Manager Hammon imme- three humorous numbers that have just been
diately issued instructions to the captains to see released. These are "Does the Spearmint Lose
that this high number was cut down, as he does Its Flavor" (On the Bedpost Over Night),
not believe that, with the number of men he "Since Ma Is Playing Mah Jong" and "Horsey,
has in the field this number can be made in a Keep Your Tail Up." The card has the follow-
day and adequate attention given to each of ing to say about these numbers: "We can't
them. According to his figures a maximum of solve the stupendous problems in these three
800 is the most which can be expected. It is comedy songs. But, say, if you want smiles,
thought that the campaign will go on for six they're there a-plenty. They start in mildly and
months or until every house in the city has been work up to hilarious guffaws as you sing and
visited and all of the information which can be dance to their snappy rhythm. You can choose
'Spearmint' or enjoy pa's problems 'Since Ma Is
obtained is adequately indexed.
Thus far, according to the Kieselhorst Piano Playing Mah Jong.' We have no tails on our
Co., the drive has been creating an unexpectedly flivvers, but you'll remember the old days with
large number of prospects, some of which can the old reliable 'dobbin' as you hear Reuben
be closed immediately and some which will be sing 'Horsey, Keep Your Tail Up.' Smile and
closed during the Fall months. Of course, forget your troubles."
A healthy piece of advice is also included on
there will be no lack of selling effort to close
them before that time. What is especially val- the card. Here it is: "Opportunity surrounds
uable about the entire campaign is the act that us all the time. It is created by work and not
the selling force is sure to have a large number by luck. It won't wait for us—we shouldn't
of good prospects to keep it busy during the wait for it. We should go after it. There are
Summer months, a time when usually there little opportunities that in the aggregate mean
is a falling off in effort.
a lot if we just don't let them slip by. There
Most of this work will be done while E. A. are big opportunities that we can't afford to
Kieselhorst is abroad, for the head of this con- lose. We have to be alert. Do you grasp every
cern sails for Europe on May 17 and will be opportunity for increased business?"
gone several months. In spite of the present
lull in business Manager Hammon is confident
that when Mr. Kieselhorst returns the latter
will have the surprise of his young life, for bank
The Kohler Industries baseball team, which
figures in the local district show that savings created such a sensation in piano circles last
bank deposits are greater than ever before in its year, has announced plans for opening its sea-
history. Mr. Hammon believes that to do busi- son Saturday afternoon, May 10, when it meets
ness to-day is only a matter of finding the people the Weser Bros, factory team on a local park
who have the deposits, and by the system he is diamond. The contest will probably be held
using he doesn't see how he can miss them.
on either the Crotona Park field, in the Bronx,
or on the one in Van Cortland Park. Arrange-
750,000 People
St. Louis is a city of slightly over 750,000 ments for a full season of Saturday games with
people, which unquestionably makes this can- piano concerns have been started by E. Neff,
vassing campaign of the Kieselhorst Piano Co. in the offices of the Autopiano Co., 627-45 West
the largest which has ever been undertaken by Fiftieth street, and he has expressed the desire
an individual piano merchant in the trade. that all those interested in securing games get
When it is completed the company will have a in touch with him at this address.
much greater knowledge of the territory from
which it draws its sales than is the case with
the usual dealer and will be able to plan its
selling campaigns accordingly.
CHKYKNNK, WYO., May 3.—A central location,
It has often been said that canvassing is a at 1617 Carey avenue, has recently been selected
correct sales policy in a town or small city, but by the Knight-Campbell Music Co., here, which
that it does not pay in the larger city because has an attractive new store. The decorations
of the inability of the canvassers to reach a large are in ivory and attractive paintings of dramatic,
proportion of the people they are calling on. and music artists adorn the walls.
Kohler Industries Team
Opens Branch in Cheyenne