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Enjoy Yourse If, If s Later Than YouThink
Prompted Besserman's Sabbatical Year
T
HIS is the story of a man who
made a successful career of selling
pianos for forty years, and then
decided "It is later than you think," sold
his business and, with his wife who was
his partner also, started on a Sabbatical
year on May 15th. When last heard of
they were in Mexico, having before
reaching that point visited the Shenan-
doah Valley, Smoky Mountains, Ashe-
ville, N. C, several points in Florida
both on the west and east coast, the
Bahama Islands, Guatemala and San
Salvador.
Philip R. Besserman, who up to May
15th was the sole owner and head of the
Besserman Piano Co. in New York City,
started selling pianos back in 1910 when
Hy Eilers was active in Portland, Ore.
At that time young Besserman was sent
out to sell pianos to the farmers and
ranchers in Oregon and Washington. He
did his traveling on horseback and in a
"rig," as this was the only means of
transportation at that time in the back
country districts that had to be can-
vassed.
In 1913 he came to New York for a
visit and Hardman, Peck & Co. engaged
him as an outside salesman. Here he was
highly successful, and in 1931 with his
wife he founded the Besserman Piano
Co., which was located on East 33rd St.,
New York, and later moved to East 34th
St., which he built into a very profitable
and sizable business. Regarding this
business, he used to state—"Our aim
was to be well-liked by our customers as
well as our competitors, and the store
was known as a friendly place where a
customer or a competitor could come in
for a chat and a cup of coffee. To us the
store was a second home."
It was about a year before he sold his
business that Mr. Besserman was taken
ill and had to spend several days in bed.
In bed, where he had time to think, he
read an article in "Readers Digest" en-
titled—"Enjoy Yourself, It's Later Than
You Think." Right then and there, Mr.
Besserman announced to his good wife
that he had decided to enjoy himself be-
fore it was too late, and that they would
sell the business, take a Sabbatical year
and travel. Therefore, he sold his busi-
ness to Manual R. Gonzales and on May
15th he and Mrs. Besserman took off.
From Mexico they are now traveling
through the United States to explore the
southwest and Pacific Coast, and are
then going to (ly to Hawaii, the Philip-
pines, Japan and through the Suez Canal
to Egypt, Israel and Europe.
I'HIUP R. BESSERMAN
"Our first trip," he said, "will take
three and one-half months, our second
trip—who knows and who cares."
In conducting his business, Mr. Bes-
THE 13 COMMANDMENTS
OF
PIANO SALESMANSHIP
1. Knowledge of the merchandise
you are selling.
2. Study the needs of your custom-
ers.
3. Enthusiasm—-it's contagious—the
customer 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, dearly
—let each point sink in.
9. Perseverance — easy sales don't
count.
10. Dress quietly and business-like.
11 . Save money; it gives you an air
of independence.
12. Remember the salesman is the go-
between 'twixt the firm and the
customer—both parties should re-
ceive a square deal.
13. Work—all the above points are
worthless without work. For a
full measure of success work eve-
nings.
serman always followed what he claimed
was the 13 Commandments of Piano
Salesmanship. These were published in
the March 9th, 1929 issue of the RE-
VIEW and are being reproduced here-
with.
One reason for the 13 Commandments
is simply that the number "13" has al-
ways been a lucky number for Mr.
Besserman. He started work when 13
years of age, secured his position with
Hardman, Peck & Co. on the 13th day of
the month, practically all his house num-
bers at various addresses have been
divisible by 13, and he was married on
August 13th. Therefore, thinking so
much of 13, he has gotten together the
13 Hints for Successful Piano Selling,
any part of which will put a younger
man on the right track, he states.
Traveling is nothing new to Mr. Bes-
serman. In fact, it has been his hobby.
He has made several lengthy trips to
Europe, five visits to the West Indies,
and in addition has traveled extensively
each year throughout the south arid the
west for many years. In fact, it was at
the age of 17 that the urge to travel
which affected his whole life. He worked
his way west, riding plenty of distance
on box cars, and one morning found
himself in Portland, Ore., and with 16
cents in his pocket. With this he bought
breakfast of rolls and coffee and a post-
card which he sent to his mother to in-
form her that he was safe and sound. He
then started to look for work and the
first sign he saw was a job washing
dishes. He took it, and with meals
thrown in, managed to save a few dollars
during the month. His next move was
that of floor boy in a department store,
a step or two higher as social planes go,
and he moved to a small hotel instead
of the Y.M.C.A. where he originally
stayed. One of his roommates during his
stay at the hotel happened to be E.
Phillips Oppenhcim, then a struggling
young writer who became a famous
novelist. Mr. Besserman laughingly re-
calls that his real motive for entering the
piano business was based on the fact
that the best-dressed man in his hotel
was a piano man. Feeling that there
must be plenty of money to be made
in this field, he applied for a job as a
canvasser with Hy Eilers, at that time
conducting one of the largest music
stores in Portland.
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW. AUGUST, 1950