Classic Mode

Presto

Issue: 1923 1928

PRESTO
PROFITS IN SALE OF
AUTOMATIC PIANOS
Extent and Possibilities of a Comparatively
New Field Now Realized by the
Keenest Men in America's Music
Trade.
The automatic or coin-operated branch of the
music business is one that is receiving more atten-
tion since the dealers in music goods have become
better acquainted with its possibilities for -business
and profits. The automatic piano business is now
one of the lively features in many of the foremost
stores in the country and the interest of dealers gen-
erally was shown by the great numbers who visited
the automatic piano and orchestrion exhibits at the
recent trade conventions in Chicago.
To many who visited the exhibits the musical
qualities of the automatic instruments were in the na-
ture of a surprise. And when they were made ac-
quainted with the sales possibilities their surprise
turned to amazement. They were made to realize
that the automatic piano and orchestrion Held was
a comparatively new one and like most new fields
potent with great possibi ities for good profits. Many
new accounts were opened by the exhibiting com-
panies and the automatic piano business got a new
impetus.
Requires Special Methods.
The live dealer is an intel igent m e and in the
automatic instrument he sees something that must be
presented in a different manner than the regular
piano or the playerpiano. It is not an instrument for
the home, although it has the ability to make public
places homelike. The automatic instrument is a
money-maker for the man who manufactures it, for
the man who sells it and for the man who buys it or
rents it for a public p'ace.
While the musical features of the instruments are
matters of pride to the manufacturers it is the profit-
making features that are stressed by the dealers who
handle them. But it follows that the more pleasing
and artistic the music of the automatic piano is made
the more it possesses the powers to extract the coins
from the patrons of the cafes and other places in
which they are placed. It is up to the manufacturer
to impart the highest possible musical qualities to his
automatic piano product; the rest is easy for the
dealer. He needs no powers of verbal eloquence to
show the cafe owner, the show owner or the ice
cream parlor owner what to do to make his place a
more desirable one to visit. Few men in the busi-
ness named, are dull to the possibilities of better
profits by way of the automatic piano coin slot.
Different Appeals.
The automatic pianos are not bought for the aes-
thetic delights that may be in them. They are
bought as an investment by men ever keen to see
more profits in the business.
They are exploited systematically by many dealers
aware of the methods required for their exploitation.
The perfection of the automatic instruments are
pointed out not as an appeal to artistic instincts but
as plain facts that suggest profits in the coin slots.
An Extensive Field.
The extent of the automatic piano field is one of
the most alluring features of it. Everything that in-
volves the entertainment of the public suggests a
customer for an automatic instrument of some kind.
And the alert dealer can easily point out substantial
reasons why the instruments belong in such place.
The dealer's job in presenting the automatic differs
from his job in presenting the piano or playerpiano.
In talking piano or playerpiano he shows the ability
of the instrument to make family life more pleasant.
The prime reason in the appeal for the automatic in 1
strument is its ability to improve a man's business,
attract the crowds and make them jollier. The auto-
matic piano is a business investment and its claims
must be urged on this point. The fundamental prin-
ciples of automatic piano selling are easily under-
stood.
New Ways Seen.
Because the methods of selling are different and
the observances in the service not quite like those of
the piano business is no reason why the dealer should
be deterred from entering that field of the music
business. The automatic phase of the music trade
easily fits into the business of the piano dealer. It
does not mean revolution in the store to undertake
the profitable task of persuading the owners of pub-
lic places that better profits are possible with the
aid of the automatic piano or the orchestrion.
One thing that makes the sale of automatic pianos
easier than the sale of the regular piano is plain.
Selling the piano is an art; selling the automatic
piano is a passive observance. Skilled demonstra-
tion is not necessary; the automatic piano demon-
strates itself. All the dealer or salesman requires is
a familiarity with the musical qualities of the auto-
matic instruments he undertakes to represent, a study
of the models and their suitability to the different
classes of business and the ability to state his argu-
ment clearly. No eloquent persuasion is required in
the automatic piano business.
The automatic piano business is a big one today
because it is a profitable one and a dignified one.
Every town has its proportion of prospective buyers
of automatic instruments. The successful dealer is
usually the man of vision. A new day in the world
provided the music dealer keen to the main chance
with opportunities. He has made drier times more
musical ones by providing the means to popular
music to the patron of the soft drink parlor.
SALE CELEBRATES TWELFTH
ANNIVERSARY IN WORCESTER
July 7, 1923
PRIZE CUP IN CLASS A
FORMALLY PRESENTED
Highest Award in Piano Advertising Contest
for 1923 Trophy of Cable Piano
Co., Chicago.
The prize cup for the first award in Class A of-
fered by the Music Industries Chamber of Commerce
and awarded to The Cable Piano Co., Chicago, at the
recent convention at the Drake Hotel, was formally
presented by C. E. Byrne, chairman of the judging
committee, to E. L. Hadley, advertising manager of
The Cable Co., this week. Competing in this con-
test was the best retail advertising of practically
every well-known music house in the country. In
Tv.elf'h Year in Business Finds Pearson Piano Co.
Widely Known in Massachusetts.
In 1911 the'Pearson Piano Co. was established in
Worcester, Mass., by Alfred J. Pearson, now presi-
dent of the company, and this week Mr. Pearson can
review thq achievements since that time. He is wit-
ne£s ; n2 a highly successful special sale held in cele-
bration of the twelfth anniversary of the formation of
the company. The opportunities of the sale have
been widely advertised in the newspapers of Worces-
ter and adjoining towns and every day since the
opening of the sale three weeks ago has been a busy
one for the salesmen.
The Pearson Piano Co. is well and favorably
known to the public over a very large territory, but
the great strength of the company's name is in the
personality of the president himself. He is something
more than a name to the piano prospects and the
customers of the firm. Mr. Pearson comes into per-
sonal contact with all customers entering the store
and of course he is an accomplished salesman.
The Pearson Piano Co. handles a fine line of pianos
and playerpianos. It includes the instruments of the
United Piano Corporation, comprising the A. B.
Chase, Lindeman & Sons and Emerson pianos and
the Celco reproducing medium; Weaver, M. Schulz,
York, Livingston and other instruments.
OMO* K,7 £ u
BY
MUSIC INDUST>
HAMBE-ROF^OM" <<
f-r>ft MEMBER
NATIONAL AS?OCU T i0#
Oi-
KURTZMANN PIANOS FOR
COLLEGE IN TENNESSEE
Martin College, of Pulaski, Selects the Buffalo In-
struments for Its Music Department.
Martin College, at Pu'aski, Tenn., one of the well-
known educational institutions of the South, has just
placed an order for an entire equipment of Kurtz-
niann pianos through Elliott-Rittenberry Piano Co.,
at Nashville, Tenn.
Dr. Morgan, the president of the Martin College,
met Geo. E. Mansfield, director of the College and
Conservatory Department of C. Kurtzmann Co.'s
business, at Nashville, and not only closed a deal for
an entire new equipment of Kurtzmanns for the col-
lege, but selected a beautiful Kurtzmann piano for
his own home.
Elliott-Rittenberry Piano Co. is meeting with won-
derful success in placing the old reliable Kurtzmann
instrument in colleges, having placed them in several
educational institutions in the state recently, among
which is Fisk University at Nashville.
NEW NAMES FOR OLD
STORES IN MUSIC TRADE
And Change in Every Instance Means Greater Activ-
ity in Pursuit of Business.
The name of Carroll's Music Shop, Appleton, Wis.,
has been changed to Wm. H. Nolan of Appleton.
The new owner, William H. Nolan, has procured a
long term lease on the building in which the business
is located. He is a spirited advertiser and his per-
sistent activity results in a constant increase in the
business of the store.
The Pendleton Music House, Pendleton, Ore., re-
cently succeeded the Warren Music House and the
change was accompanied by the adoption of a new
policy for the old business. The store will be re-
modeled to suit the requirements of the business ex-
pansion planned and space in a store adjoining will
be leased. An extension of the line of music goods
has also been announced.
The Miller Piano Co., Coatesville, Pa., has moved
to new quarters on the opposite side of Main street,
where more space than in the old location has been
acquired.
CUP FOR W1NNEH OF CLASS A.
awarding the prizes the judges considered every ele-
ment of good advertising—Sales Appeal, Prestige
Value, Attractiveness, Truthfulness and Individuality.
This week, as stimulation to the Cable dealers, The
Cable Company mailed a copy of a recent notable
page ad to its representatives. It is an effort to per-
suade dealers to pay more attention to their adver-
tising during the summer months. The company
says:
"Most piano dealers note a falling off of business
during the summer months. This decline, they as-
sume, is caused by the fact that people do not buy
pianos in the summertime.
Accordingly, dealers
give in to this belief, retard their own selling efforts,
cut down advertising, and, consequently, suffer de-
creased business. Our experience has taught us that
it is possible for any dealer to maintain a normal
volum eof sales during the summer period. By keep-
ing constantly active, he can overcome his usual sum-
mer decline and enjoy normal volume. People do
bu ypianos in the summertime—but not from dealers
who are inert in the summer months. Give more
thought to your advertising—in your promotional
effort—and make your summer months selling
months!"
STEINWAY IN CUBA.
Cen. de Effecto Musicales Girault, Havana, Cuba,
is the representative of the Steinway piano in the
island and for many years has been active in placing
the fine American piano in the best homes there.
The Coffin Music Shop was opened in Warsaw,
Ind., last week.
Enhanced content © 2008-2009 and presented by MBSI - The Musical Box Society International (www.mbsi.org) and the International Arcade Museum (www.arcade-museum.com).
All Rights Reserved. Digitized from the archives of the MBSI with support from NAMM - The International Music Products Association (www.namm.org).
Additional enhancement, optimization, and distribution by the International Arcade Museum. An extensive collection of Presto can be found online at http://www.arcade-museum.com/library/
PRESTO
July 7, 1923
CHRISTMAN
Grand
MEETING PROBLEM OF
THREATENED PRICE RAISE
Whether to Anticipate the Increase, or to
Wait and Meet the Conditions, Is the
Question.
It is Distinctly an Art Product and
Has no Superior among REPRO-
DUCING PIANOS.
Piano men who have been crying for still lower
prices may find food for thought in the following
which appeared in last Sunday's New York Times.
While no direct reference is made to pianos it has
been customary to look for increase in process of
pianos when other things are similarly affected. In
any event, pianos are now as low as they can be ex-
pected to go in a long time, and some of them have
passed down in price below anything in all the earlier
records of the industry.
While many are convinced that nothing can pre-
vent a rise in prices, there are those who insist that
this proceeding will have to be done with much dis-
crimination when it comes to the ultimate consumer,
lest he balk and refuse to play the game. There will
be some testing out to see how far sellers can go,
and this applies all along the line, beginning with the
raw materials which enter into manufactures.
And the question presents itself which of two plans
is the better policy. One of these is to start out with
the highest price the seller hopes to get, and, if re-
sponses are not ample, to come down from the
perch. The other is to have a moderate opening
price and subsequently advance it if the circum-
stances warrant.
Of the two, the last mentioned has more to com-
mend it. In the first instance, a drop in price is apt
to be followed by demoralization, the buyer feeling
never sure when the bottom will be touched and,
therefore, making him more than ever determined to
hold back his purchases to the last moment. On the
other hand, should initial advances be moderate, so as
to afford some chance that they may be absorbed in
a measure between producer and consumer, there
will be less reluctance to venture, and a trade may be
encouraged to grow to such an extent as to make
possible a gradual, if not too large, price advance.
It does not pay to try and drive the consumer.
Coaxing is, by far, the better and more effective plan
and, unless all signs fail, this is what will be at-
tempted.
CHRISTMAN
RIVALRY AMONG SALESMEN
MAKES SUCCESSFUL SALE
Studio Grand
Branch Store Force of United Music Co. Wins Hon-
ors in Connecticut House.
when embodied with
Responds Completely to the
MOST CRITICAL
A very interesting rivalry in selling was created
by the United Music Co., New London, Conn., dur-
ing the disposal recently of the stock of pianos and
playerpianos purchased from D. S. Marsh & Co. The
stock was an extensive one and provided opportuni-
ties for the sales staff in the main store and all the
branches of the United Music Co.
To the Willimantic store went the honors for
doing the most business, and William A. Roy and
George F. Noel were the successful sa 1 es closers who
secured the most business and brought the Willim-
antic store to the head of the honors list.
A special prize offered by Samuel Feldman, the
manager, to the salesman getting the largest net
amount of sales carrying the largest percentage of
cash and the shortest term contracts was won by
Mr. Roy. The creation of friendly rivalry among
the salesmen is a rule of the company always effec-
tive for the desired results.
A WONDERFUL SMALL GRAND
only five feet long which embodies all
the advantages of the larger grands
and possessing a tone volume and
range of expression surprisingly broad.
Musicians quickly recognize the
characteristic tone qualities of the
CHRISTMAN GRAND
SEEING IS BELIEVING
et
The First Touch Tells"
Reg. U S. Pat
Off.
Christ man Piano Co.
597 East 137th St.
New York
HENRY JOHNSON AIMS TO
BE SECOND HENRY FORD
Policy of Specializing in One Style Piano Being
Pushed by Vigorous Campaign.
The aim of making the new style Henry G. John-
son piano "the Ford of the piano industry," is being
pushed vigorously by the Henry G. Johnson Piano
Mfg. Co., of Bellevue, Iowa. Ever since the Johnson
organization determined, some months back, to con-
centrate its efforts on the one style small piano and
player piano, the campaign to put this "one style"
without.
This week, a circular letter is being sent out by
Dan Pagenta, vice-president of the firm, from the
Chicago office at 307 Great Northern Bldg. The
letter follows:
Specialization.—The secret of building a beautiful
playerpiano at a moderate price.
The Henry G. Johnson playerpiano is a playerpiano
that no one organization working alone has ever
matched in quality, tone or performance at so low a
price.
It remained for the Henry G. Johnson organization
to make a playerpiano that affords a definite assur-
ance of known dependability—a player of exception-
ally fine quality at an exceptional low price. It is a
remarkable achievement in specialized methods of
manufacture; a triumph of modern co-operative pro-
duction.
Specialization is your best assurance of fine work-
manship and consistent year-in and year-out depend-
ability. It is a dealer's best guarantee against the
high cost of up-keep expense.
Dealers say when they sell a Henry G. Johnson
playerpiano it stays sold; Have you seen the new
style C Playerpiano?
HOW MUCH OF AN ASSET
IS ITEM OF GOOD=WILL?
Hallet & Davis House Organ Points to Fine Illus-
tration of How-to-do-it.
Stories have been told of salesmen who crossed
the street when they saw someone to whom they
had sold a piano. But, according to the "Hallet &
Davis Salesman," L. E. Cox, manager of Martin
Tiros. Piano Company, Springfield, Mo., thinks a
customer should be the best advertisement a house
can have.
Martin Bros, have a high-class man who does
nothing else but follow up a sale after it is made.
He goes to the home after the instrument is deliv-
ered and gives all the information he can regarding
the instrument. He shows how to best operate the
p'ayer (most people forget what has been shown
them in the warerooms), and if it is a piano gives a
short talk on its care. He also sees if the terms are
fully understood. His big point is to get prospects,
but incidentally he saves many a sale and helps
collections.
The best-known department store in the country
built up their business on the basis that the customer
was always right; that is, no effort was left unbent
to saisfy he customer, and we feel that Mr. Cox is
working along lines which build a great business.
SCHILLER GRAND WINNING
FINE CLASS OF TRADE
New Plans Meet with Marked Success and Addition
to Factory Is Considered.
The Schiller piano is making rapid strides in for-
eign fields. Following the shipment to Australia, the
industry at Oregon, 111., received a large order for
Manila, including uprights, players and grands. This
foreign business has come to the Schiller Piano Co.
without solicitation. Agents of large foreign buyers
have visited the factory to inspect the Schiller prod-
uct and have sent enhusiasic reports to their houses.
The Schiller Super-Grand wih the Bauer patented
construction attracted very general attention, as was
to have been expected. It is said at the Schiller of-
fices that the Super-Grand is already sold ahead to
September 15th, and the manufacturers are planning
on building an addition to the present plant in order
to give increased capacity to the grands. The, 1923
program of the Schi.ler company has won the ap-
proval of large and representative houses throughout
the United States who are enthusiastically featuring
the line.
The Schiller name has never been besmirched by
the so-called "tricks of the trade," and, aside from the
name value, the special features embodied in the new
line have brought it into recognition with some of the
best houses in the trade. The patented construction
of the grand makes it a distinctive piano with the
qualiy of tone that is winning its way in musical
circles.
• The Schiller Piano Co. has experienced no summer
dullness and the factory is very busy and Secretary-
Treasurer E. B. Jones said to a Presto representative
that he is looking for an unprecedented trade this
fall.
A LITTLE MORE POWER.
A good rule for piano salesmen to remember
when prone to lose patience with customers is that
politeness has won more victories than logic ever
has. The trade school that could succeed in teach-
ing politeness to its pupils would act as a stimulator
to thousands that are now woefully short of that
necessary trait of character. Politeness is an evi-
dence of suppressed power. It's a pity to say of
the man who failed in part as a salesman that he
seemed to be one of those men that—to employ an
apparent bluff—with a little more power would have
been much more powerful. That little more power
would have been found in civility—the kind that
closes sales..
A JAZZ SUBSTITUTE.
The old mouth organ is coming back. It is con-
sidered quite an innovation for the private apartment
party. And some of the parties carry their own or-
ganist to cafes. When the jazz band dies down, the
organist regales with his tunes.
Enhanced content © 2008-2009 and presented by MBSI - The Musical Box Society International (www.mbsi.org) and the International Arcade Museum (www.arcade-museum.com).
All Rights Reserved. Digitized from the archives of the MBSI with support from NAMM - The International Music Products Association (www.namm.org).
Additional enhancement, optimization, and distribution by the International Arcade Museum. An extensive collection of Presto can be found online at http://www.arcade-museum.com/library/

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