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The Jtusic j/taJe
Established 1879
VOL. 108-No. 3
THE
PIONEER
MARCH, 1949
2,828th Issue
REVIEW
PUBLICATION
OF
THE
MUSIC
INDUSTRY
Outside Selling Techniques
That Help Increase Business
by RAY S. ERLANDSON
Vice president, San Antonio Music Co., San Antonio, Texas and Vice
President—National Association of Music Merchants
am glad to announce officially that
all shortages are now over—but
one. We have come to the last
shortage, namely, that of good sales-
men. To my way of thinking, this is
perhaps the greatest shortage of all
and one which will take a long time
to overcome. I do not feel as down-
hearted about it as the sales manager
in the City of Manhattan who is re-
puted to be the only manager of sales
in the United States who did not get
out a special bulletin in November
pointing out to his men how a fellow
named Harry Truman got out and
made sales by making calls. The reason
this particular sales manager did not
get out such a bulletin was because
he was handling sales for a polling
company.
I
Lesson in Election
A goodly number of sales managers
took advantage of the election to point
out that the man from Missouri also
proved that the quality of the product
is not necessarily the determining fac-
tor in making sales. Harry Truman is
probably the patron saint of the sales
managers of America.
In considering the question of "Out-
side Selling Techniques," I wish to
treat the matter briefly under the fol-
lowing headings:
(A) Employment and com-
pensation.
(B) Training and supervi-
sion.
(C) Equipment for selling.
(D) Activities in the field.
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW. MARCH. 1949
RAY
S.
ERLANDSON
Traits of Salesmen
Sometime ago, The Chicago Sales
Executive Club got out a rating of
what they considered the most impor-
tnat traits for salesmen. I like the
qualities they emphasized and the order
in which the sales executives rated the
importance of these several qualities
and traits. They were as follows:
"(1) Dependability.
(2) Integrity.
(3) Knowledge of the pro-
duct.
(4) Self-management.
(5) Work organization.
(6) Sincerity.
(7) Initiative.
(8) Industriousness.
(9) Acceptance of Responsi-
bility.
(10) Knowledge of buying
motives.
These several traits are, I am sure,
sufficiently self-explanatory so that it
will not be necessary to dwell upon
them. Suffice to say, that leaders in the
field of marketing are swinging away
from the theory of the necessity of
using tests in selecting salesmen and
in its place, according to Dr. Maynard,
Professor of Marketing at Ohio Uni-
versity, are now suggesting Job Des-
cription's which forces attention to
what duties are to be performed and
what capacities and techniques are
necessary to properly perform them.
If an adequate description of the out-
side salesman's job is made in writing
and the prospect for the job has the
opportunity of studying that program
of responsibilities and opportunities,
followed up by a discussion with the
sales executive, adequate information
can be determined as to whether the
prospective salesman can meet the
qualifications or not. I have been per-
sonally surprised many times in find-
ing successful salesmen among those
whom I least expected to succeed, and
being keenly disappointed by those
for which I had high hopes. If a man
knows what is expected of him and
is willing to tackle the job and if he
possesses these ten qualities, of which
T have spoken, I feel there is a reason-
ably expectation of success.
Compensation for Salesmen
The compensation of the outside
salesman, in my opinion, should be
very definitely divided into two seg-
ments. If he is an inexperienced man,