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is ivorking salesmen, and I emphasize
the working adjective for salesmen.
My generation is spoiled since we
have been in business only during
the lush selling years after World
War II when goods have been too
scarce to meet the pent-up public
demand for all products. This de-
mand for merchandise has made or-
der takers not salesmen out of many
of us in my generation and even
older more experienced salesmen
have lapsed into bad habits.
A prominent sales executive re-
cently said that he thought salesmen
today are sissies who at the very first
sign of "no" by the customer, even
if the customer is just mentioning
some slight objection, salesmen today
are incluined to fold up their wares
and steal silently away.
1. This is evidenced in our industry
by those who feel that at the first
sign of customer resistance, either
real or imagined, they must cut the
price. This practice leads them to
the common complaint by piano
dealers and other dealers too that
they don't make enough dollars on
their piano sales.
2. Of course another reason for cut-
ting prices is the old bromide we
hear from piano customers quote "I
can buy it for less from one of your
competitors".
Some Customer Habits
We all know some customers tend
to play one dealer against another in
order to get the lowest possible price.
Many times the customer in follow-
ing this course of action stretches
the truth somewhat by telling one
dealer that a competitor has offered
them a new piano for less than the
dealer actually has and that a com-
petitor has offered them a greater
allowance on a trade-in etc.
When a salesman confronts such
a customer, instead of showing the
prospect why the price he asks is
fair, by pointing out the benefits and
features of his product, oftentimes
he will either try and meet the sup-
posed lower price of the competitor
or else will take an alternative by
knocking his competitor's piano.
Price Cutting Wrecks Confidence
Actually once we cut a price our
customers lose most of the confi-
dence we have built up in them as
they think what if they had paid the
first asking price and they also won-
der what is the bottom price.
Since the American public will
take the side of the underdog, it does
no good to knock our competitor's
product either, since our competitor,
not being present to defend his prod-
uct, assumes the role ofthe under-
dog in the eyes of the customer.
Know Your Product
With these things in mind I think
we will also agree that the best
course of action to take with our
customers is always to know enough
about the piano we are selling to
prove to the customer that the price
we ask is fair. Since we have such
a limited time to talk about our prod-
uct face to face with any one cus-
tomer I think we all will agree also
that it is best not to waste that time
trying to knock our competitors'
product, as the limited time neces-
sitates our talking continually about
each of our own products.
Therefore, probably the most posi-
tive factor in piano selling in 1951
or for any other year will be work-
ing salesmen who, instead of waiting
in the store for customers to come
in the store for customers to come in,
which will be a longer wait between
customers this year probably than in
1953, will get out and call on more
prospects and continually sell their
product to these prospects every min-
ute of the sales time available with
each prospect.
Profitable Sales Practices
Getting even more specific in our in-
dustry I would like to just mention
two of what I think are the finest sales
practices in the piano field.
1. The rental purchase plan seems to
me to fill a big spot in piano sell-
ing because with it we answer
probably the biggest objection
many prospects have to buying a
piano. How many times have all of
us heard the following customer
quotation or reasonable facsimile
thereof: "We don't want to pay for
a new piano until we are sure little
Johnny will play it". By use of
the rental purchase plan we can
answer this objection by saying
to the customer that they do not
have to buy the piano right away
but instead can take it out on our
rental purchase plan and can sat-
isfy themselves that their child
will take to the piano before they
purchase it.
The rental purchase plan is actu-
ally better I think than to put a
piano' in a home for a tryout with-
out the customer paying anything
for I lie* use of it. If a person has
.some money invested in the piano,
in the form of rent and drayage,
it is only natural that they would
think longer about giving up the
piano than if they had no money
at all to lose by returning the pi-
ano to the dealer.
I would like to throw a bouquet
Hill Card's way for the fine piano
rental survey the NAMM spon-
sored which most of us are prob-
ably familiar with. Undoubtedly
the biggest conclusion we can draw
from the survey is the widespread
use of the rental purchase plan
and belief in it by piano dealers
all over the country.
Store-Studio Operation
2. The second sales practice which
1 think is one of the best in our
industry is the store-studio opera-
tion or at least a teacher arrange-
ment by which a dealer can offer
his prospective piano customers
lessons in conjunction with a pi-
ano purchase.
The American public has for
years been working on the adage
that whatever is most convenient
is the best. The store-studio oper-
ation fits right in with this feeling
on the part of the public by not
only selling our customers a piano
but making it possible for the
child to take lessons from, one of
the teachers in the store set-up.
Some parents put off their pi-
ano purchase until they know of
a teacher who will give their child
piano lessons. Since pianos after
all are a deferable purchase, al-
though we in the industry don't
like to think of them as such,
parents do not go out of their
way to find a piano teacher. There-
fore, if a dealer can advertise
lessons with each piano purchase,
and thereby offer a complete pack-
age deal, he can many times sell
pianos to people who would or-
dinarily either put off their piano
purchase for a matter of months
or possibly even forever.
The store - studio arrangement
works hand in glove with the
rental purchase plan. After a pros-
pective rental customer purchases
a piano from a dealer, he can
weekly follow the progress of the
child when he is taking lessons in
the dealers' store. Also, usually
the parents bring the child to the
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, APRIL, 1954