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THIS MAN FOUND
Piano Celling
a Real Career
By FREDERICK B. DIEHL
HEART-TO-HEART dis-
cussion on the all-impor-
tant subject of expert
piano salesmanship is what this
article offers to the reader. Here-
in a high-class and eminently suc-
cessful piano salesman tells why
he thinks his chosen occupation
is an outstanding one from every
possible angle and why he has
made a first-class job of his daily
task of selling high-grade pianos
to a Metropolitan clientele. There
is much inspiration to be derived
from this message by every piano
dealer and salesman throughout
the trade.—Editor's Note.
A
SYMPOSIUM containing the individual
reactions of piano salesmen to their
jobs, with each man telling frankly
what he thinks about piano selling as
a life career, would unquestionably constitute
one of the most interesting and instructive
documents ever made available to employers.
Its value would consist chiefly in enabling the
merchant to select new men and replace others
with greater foresight, but it would also serve
to answer certain questions in his own mind.
Can the retail piano field be held out to col-
lege men, for instance, as a suitable life work
for them? Can a man make a success of piano
selling unless his heart and soul are wrapped
up in it? Are the rewards in piano selling great
enough and are the circumstances surround-
ing the average sale on a sufficiently high plane
to give the work the semblance of a profes-
sion? These are surely some of the questions
that both salesmen and merchants must ask
themselves at one time or another in determin-
ing their aims for the future.
Without proposing to consider these topics
individually at this time, it must be observed
that neither employes nor employers would
agree in all of their answers to them. The
field is so varied and individuals so different
that it is almost impossible to generalize on
such questions. Firstly, college men do enter
the piano business; some of them fare better
than they would in entering other fields; some
do not. The efforts of certain employers to
"tone up" their stores by employing only col-
lege men of smart appearance is neither com-
mendable nor uncommendable by itself. The
important thing is—can they sell?
It is often said that real salesmen can sell
anything. This view then disposes of question
No. 2, since enthusiasm for a job comes after
the man proves to himself that he can do the
work well. The "born" salesman, whether he
has a college degree or has shifted for him
self since grammar school days, finds the piano
business no different than selling any other
merchandise for the home. Nearly everyone
numbers among .his acquaintanceship "star"
salesmen in other lines—advertising, automo-
biles, life insurance, etc.—who could achieve
equal distinction and derive similar earnings
in the piano business.
Coming then to the third question of con-
sidering piano selling in the light of a pro-
fession, it is gratifying to realize that there
are many men in the field to-day who not only
"could" but do consider their work of a pro-
fessional character. Their mental poise in the
actual putting over of a deal is just as lofty as
that of a lawyer or physician. Their hours for
work and time for leisure are just as convenient
A
Philip R. Besserman
and far more regular than those who practice
law or medicine. Their annual earnings, if
they apply themselves as do attorneys and
doctors, easily reach five figures, which is a
good average for any professional man.
A splendid example of this sort, who has
devoted about twenty years to the retail piano
field both in the West and the East, is Philip
R. Besserman, of the retail staff of Hardman,
Peck & Co., New York. Mr. Besserman is
firmly convinced that he conducts his business
life in exactly the same manner that he would
had he entered the practice of medicine or law.
In learning the business as a canvasser for
several years, he naturally passed through a
stage similar to the interneship or clerkship of
the other professions, but in recent years he
has built up a following that works almost
automatically for him.
11
THE 13 COMMANDMENTS
OF
PIANO SALESMANSHIP
1. Knowledge of the merchandise you
are selling.
2. Study the needs of your customers.
3. Enthusiasm—it's contagious—the cus-
tomer catches it.
4. Sincerity—everybody admires it.
5. Truthfulness—it's just as easy to sell
with truth and more pleasant.
6. Pride in the firm and the goods you
are selling.
7. Don't "knock" your competitors—
talk your own goods.
8. Talk slowly, deliberately, clearly—
let each point sink in.
9. Perseverance—easy sales don't count.
10. Dress quietly and business-tike.
11. Save money; it gives you an air of
independence.
12. Remember the salesman is the go-
between 'twixt the firm and the cus-
tomer—both parties should receive a
square deal.
13. Work—all the above points are
worthless without work. For a full
measure of success work evenings.
His hobby is traveling, and since becoming
connected with the piano business he has made
two lengthy trips to Europe, five visits to the
West Indies, and in addition has traveled ex-
tensively each year throughout the South and
West of our own country. Working on com-
mission only, his time is more largely his own
than that of the average salesman. He has
his own private office in the Fifth avenue ware-
rooms of the company and is responsible to no
one but himself. His appointments are sys-
tematized in a manner that would strike envy
in the office of even a public accountant and
his occasional night work is modified by being
conducted within the hospitality of a prospect's
home.
No article about Mr. Besserman's relation to
the piano business would be complete without
some reference to his early struggles. Leaving
school in his thirteenth year he worked at vari-
ous odd jobs in New York City, his home, until
he was seventeen, when the urge to travel,
which has affected his whole life, overcame him.
He worked his way West, riding plenty of the
distance on box-cars, and one morning found
himself in Portland, Ore., with but sixteen
cents in his pocket.
Deciding immediately on a plan of action,
he bought his breakfast of rolls and coffee
with the fifteen cents and with the other cent
purchased a post-card to inform his mother
that he was safe and sound. Then he started
to look for work, and the first sign he saw
was that of a job washing dishes. He took it
and with meals thrown in managed to save a
few dollars during a month. His next move
was that of floor boy in a department store,
a step or two higher as social planes go, and
(Continued on page 21)