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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, JANUARY, Id hi
14
Selling
Sleep Plan
has many factors applicable
for creating interest in piano
"The Lewis & Conger Sleep Shop, New York,
has, because of the slings of good fate, achieved
a mythical reputation which astounds me when
I consider it," said Norman Diner, manager,
recently. Therefore my best nugget of sell-
ing wisdom is this: Stand in the lime-
light of that lavish benefactor — increasing
publicity. Nevertheless, I shall try to analyze
our technique of selling sleep in the hope that
it may throw a glimmer of light on the selling
of other abstracts, such as music and pianos."
Not Rules of the Book
Our technique is not based on the rules of
the book.
Our oniy consistency is that
always try to be ourselves—and try not to
step out of character. We despise the common
sales fundamental that the average consumer
has a mentality of a 12-year-old. We do not
stop to talk down to him. Instead, we place
the consumer on a pedestal and seek to lav-
ishly flatter his culture, his intellect, and his
imagination. Of course in a subtle fashion.
Technique oi Seduction
Now I think it is a pity that effective sell-
ing has become what I advisedly call the tech-
nique of seduction. This may sound like a
horrid word, but it is important always to
appreciate the realities of any problem. I
think that it is damnable that people have
to be coaxed into buying by wiles, by cajolery,
by flattery, crude or subtle. Why can't things
be sold for their honest, intrinsic merit? A
suit of clothes is sold because it is going to
deceive girls into thinking that the spindly
wearer is broad-shouldered and barrel-chested.
A sun lamp is sold because people will think
that a flabby-muscled desk worker has an ath-
letic, outdoor tan. A mattress is sold because
its novel satin covering will identify the pur-
chaser as a smart style leader. A piano ia
sold because the owner hopes to camouflage
his son's inferiority complex. A corset is sold
—I'm sorry, I'll say no more. Why should I
disillusion anyone here? . . . Now all these
buying motivations may be praiseworthy in
themselves, but let us candidly admit that the
skillful salesman stirs up these motivations
for the purpose of making a sale. He is ably
practicing a form of seduction. (My refer-
ence to seduction in selling does not apply to
the salesman alone. I am using the term
in the large sense. I refer to the selling
carried on by the store, by its advertising,
by its display, by its publicity. Things are
artfully sold not for their intrinsic value, but
for what they will do for that quivering, in-
adequate ego.
the piano industry would see to it that active
particijmtion in music was generally fostered
and practised and that all children would be
skillfully taught to love playing the piano. . . .
And, also, in such world people would become
as devoted to their sleep as they are to food
delicacies.
Asume Prospects are Cultured
Well, then, you may be asking how does
the Lewis & Conger Sleep Shop practice its
technique of seduction, of subtle flattery? We
simply assume that our typical customer is an
individual of culture and imagination and
L'OIIOW this through in every one of the multi-
relationships which go on. Not only in our
advertising, but emphatically so in our dis-
play, selling, our direct mail activities, our
correspondence and telephone conversation.
The personnel of the Sleep Shop are highly
literate and they are not fearful of express-
ing themselves in literate terms. Visitors,
pi-ospects, and customers who come to the
Sleep Shop are made to feel that they have
a cultural importance. This of course helps
notably to establish a rapport and so our story
carries with it much conviction.
In all our relations with people, whether
by personal contact, written word, display or
even telephone, we try to present our story
in a way that will flatter the imagination of
the listener or observer. Let me illustrate,
first, by presenting our approach to sleep it-
self. Sleep has always been regarded as a
dull, necessary chore, lacking in any social
prestige. We have tried to invest sleep with
dignity, with pleasure and with culture, as it
should be. The Sleep Shop has consistently
glamorized sleep not as a chore but as a mag-
nificent escape from harsh reality, an art to
be indulged in with edification. This attitude
is reiterated over and over again in the lay-
out of the Sleep Shop, in the sleep back-
grounds of the Sleep Shop, in our advertising
copy, in our window display, and last but not
least, in our publicity. We have graciously
challenged our patrons and visitors to recog-
nize that there is an art in sleeping efficiently
and pleasantly. They have reacted to this
challenge as a form of pleasing, seductive flat-
tery.
Operating Technique Illustrated
I would like to present a few illustrations
of our operating technique. Here is our cata-
logue—but no one would think of calling it a
catalogue. We call it our Sleep Textbook. It
is entitled, "How To Sleep "Successfully In 18
Easy Lessons", and is invested with wit,
Can things be sold on a straightforward
whimsy and intriguing helpful information.
utility basis? The answer is YES, but . . .
It is complete, offering answers to over 600
yes to the limited few consumers who possess
sleep problems. Let me read a few chapter
orderly minds and personalities, and whose
headings to give you the general idea.
actions are governed by cold logic, free from
whims and prejudices. How many such peo-
—Why Do So Many Intelligent People Sleep
ple—consider this a moment—do you know,
So Poorly?
or have you met? Most of us are swayed by
—Does Your Bed Fit Your Idiocycracies?
our harrying emotions. Or. to put it more
•—How To Outwit Noise.
pointedly. How many pianos, in the homes,
—How to Read In Bed Beatifically.
are used consistently? How many only on
—To Sleep Virtuosos.
rare occasions? Of course in a rational world
Complete information on every phase of sleep
is authoritatively discussed but is yet larded
with whimsy and wit to make it highly pala-
table.
Another illustration is our technique of dis-
play. The usual rule is to avoid too much
copy in the backgrounds. We have disre-
garded this rule and instead have set up a
complete exposition on sleep to the extent of
50 posters, each one 15 x 20 inches, covering
all our wall space. They are palatably de-
signed in the form of blackboards, and they
follow a logical course, starting with the first
poster, which reads "How To Sleep Success-
fully". When the visitor has completed ex-
amination of these posters, he can very well
consider himself a sleep expert and entitle him
to a sleep diploma! Our window displays also
violate the rule of the book, which is again
to limit the amount of copy. Instead we did
not hesitate to practically cram our windows
with informative signs, each consisting of
about 25 words, which describe each of 'SO
sleep aids that we feature. We have found
that people will read lots of copy providing
the presentation is dramatic enough.
Another illustration. A bed, as you know,
sounds pretty deadly and dull. Actually the
bed has a very fascinating connotation, as
most of us know, either from first-hand or
second-hand
experience.
For
example,
there is the Sleep Shop solution to the ancient
problem of double beds. You know the fa-
miliar complaint of sleeping mates who un-
wittingly roll together and thus disturb each
other. One of our bright patrons stated the
case quite cogently when she said, "My hus-
band and I like to sleep in close proximity,
but of course not willy-nilly." So we de-
veloped a double bed that would actually as-
sure an undisturbed place for each mate, with-
out the involuntary rolling together. We called
it the Modern Bundling Bed—and assumed
that our cultured patrons would understand
its significance immediately.
Jack Spratt Bed Innovation
Again we developed a bed that would rec-
oncile the incompatibility of husband and wife
in one bed. I mean of course only incompati-
bility in individual weight—the substantial
husband and the frail wife. We called this
Jack Spratt Bed and assumed that our pa-
trons' cultural lore would prove adequate to
appreciate its significance. There are many
other similar examples: "The Princess and
Pea Mattress", "A Pillow for Sybarites",
"Sheets for Sleep Virtuosos", "The Ambivalent
Bed"—well, this one calls for a little explana-
tion. Ambivalence is the name of a personality
trait. It refers to the quality, inherent in
most of us, of being able to love and to heat
the same object. You all know that popular
song 1 , "Sometimes I Love You, Sometimes I
Hate You." That explains ambivalence per-
fectly. Our ambivalent bed is so designed that
it can be made up as one huge double bed,
or as two individual beds—all depending, of
course, on the ambivalence of the mates. . . .
Another example is our recognition of the
problem of marital harmony in the bedroom.
There is bound to be incompatability in the
sleep needs of any couple and mutual consid-
eration is very essential to sound sleep. So
we dramatized the problem in the following
cultured manner. Our presentation was en-
titled "Romeo, Where Art Thou?" Then we
hastened to explain that if Romeo husbands
are loath to retire to the bedroom maybe the
sleep equipment is faulty or ineffectual. Then
followed a list of Romeo's possible tribula-
tions, as for example—"Perhaps Romeo is sen-
sitive about his respiratory effusions," which
translated, means snoring. "So, Juliet, get him
this stop-snor device!"
Another illustration was our cultured con-
troversy on the subject of "To Sleep Raw or
Not To Sleep Raw". Naturally we took the
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