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The Work of the AMC
Right here I want to digress for a
minute or so to talk about the fine
and profitable work that The Ameri-
can Music Conference is doing. This
to my own personal knowledge is
something that dealers have been talk-
ing about for years. Some thing to
create new sales and interest in music,
for the benefit of the entire trade. It
is a wonderful work they are doing,
in promoting music study in schools,
working with present and future mu-
sic teachers, creating good will amongst
them, creating new piano players by
the hundreds, yet I am informed that
all too many dealers, instead of get-
ting behind this movement heart and
soul are taking the attitude "LET
G E O R G E DO IT." It is like
Mark Twain spoke about the weather,
"EVERY ONE TALKS ABOUT IT,
BUT NOBODY SEEMS TO DO ANY-
THING ABOUT IT."
This to my mind is a mistake of
very serious proportions. If we stop
to consider for a minute it is at once
apparent that we can only sell as
many pianos as there are people to
play them and our future business de-
pends entirely on this creation of new
piano players. Please study at once
carefully the program they are pro-
moting and it well behooves every
piano merchant and every salesman to
get behind this movement and give his
full support and not wait for the other
fellow to do it.
An Illustration
A few years ago, a customer was
looking in the window of Chickering
Hall on 57th Street in New York City.
In the window was an expensive art
model Chickering Ampice grand sell-
ing at $4,950. A salesman just enter-
ing the hall stepped out and said
to the looker, "I can't blame you for
admiring that magnificent piano."
Well in a little over an hour he rang
the cash register for $4,950. A hun-
dred other salesmen never stopped to
consider this field and would have
walked right by, this one saw business
"IN HIS OWN BACK YARD."
Some years ago, the manager of the
Packard Motor Car Co. in St. Louis,
was driving to work. A very long
freight train had blocked the road at
a crossing. Sensing that a long wait
was ahead of him, the sales manager
got out of his own car and walked
along the long line of stalled cars.
He stopped at each of them with a
cheerie "GOOD MORNING" and said
as he presented his card. "We haven't
to do it. These things will work I
much time to talk now, but when you
are thinking of a new car, you will £ know because 1 have worked them and
they pay big dividends. I personally
be pleased to see how much we can
know of one business that for some
do for you." That same manager told
twenty five years never ran a single
me two years later that he had ap-
advertisement, but their salesmen
proached that morning some twenty
worked on music teachers all the time
cars and that he had counted up some
and they did over a million dollars
twenty deals that directly and indirect-
of business a year, not that I rec-
ly had resulted which at Packard prices
ommend this to the exclusion of all
was around $100,000 worth of busi-
other activities.
ness. Not so bad for a few minutes
work and "BUSINESS RIGHT IN
Value of Contact and Follow-Up
HIS OWN BACK YARD."
If you as a piano salesman will reli-
How One Sale Brought Service
giously each and every day along with
A few years ago I had as a cus-
your other work, contact five old cus-
tomer the Treasurer of one of the
tomers, and five music teachers and do
biggest concerns in America. He was
it without fail day after day, I will
a very hard man to sell because his
promise you results over a period of
wife wanted another make of piano
time. Don't start unless you make up
than we handled. I spent some four
your mind to follow through on it and
or five hours with him and not only
then do it. Don't be like the country
sold him but made him a very en-
fellow who did not know whether or
thusiastic owner. When he gave me a
not he could play the fiddle because he
check for the piano he said, "Well
had never tried, get out your old fiddle
that's paid for in full." I said, "Mr.
and try and maybe you will find that
Buyer, I am sorry but the piano is
you can play the darned thing, try it
not paid for in full and will not be
and maybe you will find that you can
until you sell two more of them to
make music "IN YOUR OWN BACK
your friends and associates." He smiled
YARD." If you don't you are losing a
and said, "Well we shall see what we
lot of business.
can do." Believe it or not, I counted
up $52,000 worth of business that
came from one customer. He brought
in the sales manager, their chief engi-
neer, some of their department heads
and all I had to do was to write up
the sales. Again here was "BUSINESS
IN MY OWN BACK YARD." All this
business I got without any competi-
Brodwin Hall of the Browdin Piano
tion but I doubt if I would have ever
Co., 246 West 23rd St., New York was
had it unless I had asked his help.
the scene of a recital by Valerie Lam-
more, soprano, on the evening of Sun-
Consult Interior Decorators
day, December 14th. Miss Lammore
appeared in three groups of French,
Interior decorators are a soure of
German, Hebrew and English songs,
new business, real estate men can and
accompanied by Mana-Zucca, the com-
will give you the low down on new
poser, at the piano.
families moving into your town. Other
salesmen such as vacuum cleaner, sew-
Miss Lammore, who possesses a lyric
ing machine men can tell you of new
soprano voice, was enthusiastically re-
families who should have a new piano.
ceived by a capacity audience, among
whom were such prominent persons as
While, I was never a "Shrinking
Mines. Ann Roselle, Fritzi Scheff,
Violet," I never the less always hesi-
Normas Jerris, Paula Lechner, Margaret
tated to ask my personal friends for
Anglin, Jane Peterson, and also Bernarr
business as I felt that it was imposing
Macfadden. Gerald Mass and many
on friendship. I did however make it
others.
a never failing rule to let each and
every one I met know that I was in
Another artist on the program was
the piano business and one year, I
Barbara Berkman, pianist, who gave a
was amazed to find out that this habit
splendid rendition of the Mana-Zucca
had brought to me both directly and
Sonata.
indirectly some $75,000 in piano sales.
The introductions were made by
The hard part of this whole thing
Harry Brodwin, President of the Brod-
is, that if you talk to any dealer or
win Piano Co., who spoke of his friend-
salesman, they will agree with what
ship for Mana-Zucca and his admiration
I have said, but you can't get them
of her talent.
Harry Brodwin Presides At
Song Recital In Brodwin Hall
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, JANUARY, 1953