PRESTO
the piano, but must also show why the piano is good,
better or best. It is a fact that all pianos look alike
to the average customer who is a unit of the well-
known public.
Mr. and Mrs. Average Customer go into the piano
store to buy an upright because that is the model
they've seen most frequently in the houses of their
Thus Vital Importance of an Efficient Force of neighbors and friends. An automaton salesman leads
the pair where they can observe the front elevation
Salesmen Is Obvious Thing Ambitious
of what he calls a "good" piano. It looks like a
Dealer Observes When Start-
piano all right and it might be a good one at that.
But the customers don't know. All pianos look alike
ing Business.
to them; same finish, seemingly same height and
length and depth; keyboards like all others, glistening
with ivory or what looks like it. "This is our style
H20," wearily announces the automaton. "The price
is four-fifty."
Effort Is Easy and Results Effective to Man Who
She Wants to Know.
Knows the Merits of the Instrument
Mrs. Average Customer is a veteran frequenter of
He Sells.
the dry goods, stores and it is against her principles
to buy the first thing shown. She has an interested
The main purpose of the man who opens a music eye on a piano to the left.
"That is our Style 7-11 and a better piano than
store is to sell the goods. He is directly interested
in the store, its capacity, location and appearance be- this one," says the salesman, noting the direction of
cause all these things are important considerations the lady's glance. "The price is seven-seventy-five."
"What's the difference between them?" asks the
upon which depend the success and future growth of
the business. He is directly interested in advertis- provoking woman.
"Why, this is a better piano," he testily informs
ing because publicity is a means to the end—sales.
her, as he claws a handful of chords from the seven-
He is interested in the fitness of the sales force, for
on its ability the important incidents of selling seventy-five.
"What's the matter with this?" asks the persistent
depends.
Mrs. A. C, waving her parasol towards the four-
Ability in a piano salesman, for instance, is the
power to cause an effect in the prospective custom- fifty.
"Oh, nothing; but this is a better piano."
er's mind. And the extent of his ability is in the
"Why is it a better piano?"
degree of ease with which he changes the guarded
' Well, for one thing it costs more."
and argumentative attitude of mind in the customer
for the acquisitive one.
Incites Inquiry.
The Vital Question.
Of course this situation may seem somewhat ex-
"What are my salesmen doing to educate those aggerated, but it is up to the piano dealer, jealous of
who visit the store or those they come in contact his sales service, to find out how far from the truth
with on the outside, to see the value of my pianos, it is, when he examines the state of efficiency of his
playerpianos and reproducing pianos?" It is a ques- own force. Real salesmanship is the ability to sell
tion which any dealer may put to himself with profit without humbuggery. The power of the salesman's
in the answer. If he is satisfied that the salesmen logic persuades and enables him to frame his argu-
are masters of their jobs the thought is assuring and ments into simple statements. Piano salesmanship
pleasant. If, on the other hand, the question arouses is the ability to reason well and demonstrate well.
doubt as to the ability of the salesmen or recalls When the salesman declares a piano is good, better
events that make it plain that those most important or best he has only used an introductory statement
functionaries or some of them are lacking in the to his sales talk. He must then justify his use of
sa!es power, then also the result may lead to a de- the terms by logical argument and demonstration.
That is the only way to get the attention of the
sirable pleasant assurance.
customer which will deepen to interest as the demon-
The Why of It.
stration proceeds. Interest is followed by desire and
The bald statement that a piano is good, better or
finally desire finds a satisfaction in buying.
best does not carry conviction to the mind of the
Two Kinds.
customer. The salesman must not stop at showing
There are piano customers to whom all pianos are
not alike and to whom piano names mean something;
guarantees of excellence in construction and tone
quality. This kind is familiar with the names in the
piano industry which stand for the best. Salesmen
may have their difficulties in getting this kind to
buy, but the occasions are not ones for harangues of
the educational kind.
Graceful lines, rugged construc-
It is Mr. and Mrs. Average Buyer, buying the
piano of any kind, who require the logic and elo-
tion, moderately priced. It's the
quence of the salesman to show them that all pianos
very best commercial piano from
are not alike, even though they have a certain
similarity of appearance. It is the task of the sales-
every standpoint.
man to point out the distinctive features of a piano
which give it a strong individuality. They may be
features of great artistic value not found in other
pianos. It is possible to explain the acoustic prin-
ciples applying to a piano without befogging Mr. and
Mrs. Average Customer with technicalities and it is
not difficult to explain why the tone of one piano is
full and resonant and that of another flat and un-
satisfactory.
Master of His Job.
The piano salesman who knows the merits and ad-
mirable quality of the pianos he sells has no difficul-
ties in answering the hows and whys of the custom-
ers. He is surer of himself in talking to customers
if he is observant of the results of the skill and
patient attention to details in the making of the
pianos. The effective points of his arguments are in
Style 32—4 ft. 4 in.
the details of construction in the pianos, the action,
sounding board, the patented devices, all of which
conduce to the excellence of the tone. The salesman
who . properly understands the construction and
meritorious qualities of the pianos he sells is never
flustered by the "why-is-it" of Mrs. Average
Customer.
PURPOSE OF DEALER
IS SELLING PIANOS
MAKING SALES TALK
The Best Yet
WESER
Pianos and Players
Sell Readily—Stay Sold
Gend to-day for catalogue, prices and
details of our liberal financing plan
Weser Bros., Inc.
520 to 528 W. 43rd St., New York
INTEREST IN STRAUBE CONTEST.
George A. Heath, Swanton, O., is stimulating in-
terest in a prize contest by every available publicity
means. Mr. Heath is representative in that city for
the Straube Piano Co., Hammond, Ind., which is
offering a player piano as a prize to the person who
suggests the best name for a new model Straube
player, just now being put on the market. One of
these instruments is on display at the local music
store, and regular contest blanks are furnished to
those who wish to submit a name.
September 13, 1924.
STANWOOD MILLER SEES
TRADE IMPROVEMENT
Reports Business Much Better in New Eng-
land After Visit to Headquarters of
Continental Piano Co.
Stanwood Miller, vice-president of the Continental
Piano Co., 395 Boylston street, Boston, Mass., re-
cently returned to his Chicago office at the Smith,
Barnes & Strohber Co., 1872 Clybourn avenue, a
division of the Boston company.
Mr. Miller, when seen in Chicago this week, was
in a cheerful mood and spoke optimistically of fu-
ture conditions of the piano trade in which he noted
considerable improvement since he left Chicago over
a month ago, for the company's headquarters at
Boston.
Mr. Miller reports that the trend of the piano
trade in the New England states is on the upward
grade, but has not yet hit its normal stride. The re-
tail business in and around Boston is fairly good, but
the increase in the volume of business is not com-
parable to that in the wholesale establishments. The
retailers of the Boston sector have no reason to
worry, however, as indications strongly point to a
fine trade in the early fall months.
"The branch stores of the Continental Piano Com-
pany, located in Kansas City, Mo., Milwaukee, Wis.,
St. Louis, Mo., and Detroit, Mich., have all reported
an excellent pick-up in the piano trade, the Detroit
store being particularly active, a condition which re-
sulted from the fine showing of the automobile in-
dustry in that city," said Mr. Miller this week.
"The most notable increase in the piano trade,
however, is in the Southwest, where fine crop condi-
tions have helped the trade materially and dealers
have an incentive to push sales with the prosperous
farmers."
Mr. Miller, while in the East, did not overlook the
enjoyment of the great out-of-doors. With his family
he took leave of Boston to spend two weeks in the
woods of Maine, where a complete rest was had and
all the sports of that great recreational center were
enjoyed. Mr. Miller announces that he will be at
the Chicago office-throughout the fall and winter,
except for a few 7 short trips, one being to Pittsburgh,
Pa., early in October.
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™* SHardman
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The 3hfardman £ine
is a complete line
It comprises a range of artisti-
cally worthy instruments to
please practically every purse:
The Hardman, official piano of
the Metropolitan Opera House;
the Harrington and the Hensel
Pianos in which is found that in-
builtdurabilitythatcharacterizes
all Hardman-made instruments;
the wonderful Hardman Repro-
ducing Piano; the Hardman
Autotone (the perfect player-
piano); and the popular Playo-
tone.
^jiardmanfpeck &Co.
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