Music Trade Review

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THE
MUSIC TRADE! REVIEW
R. LEIMERT is a capable and efficient piano man and he says
that the successful piano salesman should be a man of pro-
nounced mental force. That the salesman who presents his canvass
precisely as memorized, and. uses no originality to assist his argu-
ment is merely a talking machine. A good appearance, a clear eye
and a forceful, yet respectful, presentation, are necessary to the suc-
cessful completion of a deal.
A young man who feels the necessity of working, and is am-
bitious to succeed, should be chosen in preference to one who,
through force of circumstances has no need to work, or one who has
not the ambition to excel. Training men who are too independent,
or who lack ambition, is a poor investment for any firm, since much
better results are obtained from the opposite types at no greater cost.
Manager Leimert's views are those of a practical, clear-visioned
piano man who knows the problems that confront salesmen.
M
T
HERE are those who believe that there will be some lively ad-
vertising battles between some of the leading music trade
houses.
One thing is certain, there is a kind of spiciness in the advertis-
ing matter which has been put forth in this city which causes it to
be read and commented upon, and presumably the interest will not
languish in this kind of work when the new year opens.
A
LREADY some of the enterprising manufacturers are sending
out calendars for the new year. It is a question nowadays
whether the vast sums which are sunk in the production of calendars
bring about as good returns, as if the same amount of money were
invested in other channels.
There are so many beautiful calendars which reach business
houses that it is impossible to find room for all of them on the walls,
and usually a selection is made from the entire number which rele-
gates all but one or two to oblivion. And so the manufacturer who
has issued a beautiful lithograph work which costs him with postage
a considerable sum, has received no advertising benefit at all in
accord with the money which he has expended.
Of course calendars will be issued as long as trade exists, and
there will be many concerns who will always consider that advertis-
ing a profitable kind, but is it not getting to be a trifle overdone,
and would not some form of novelty advertising be more effective
and be somewhat of a permanent reminder of the wares exhibited ?
Certainly if an expensively gotten up calendar finds its way into the
wastepaper basket, it is simply throwing away money to continue
the plan of exploiting products of any kind through the calendar
medium.
In our opinion there are other ways in which money could be
expended which would bring about better returns. Modesty alone
prevents us from naming The Review at this juncture. There are
specialty companies who produce most charming" souvenirs which
are kept by the recipients for a long time, thus forming a permanent
advertising value.
T would seem that the catalogue houses whom it is stated have
been arguing to secure the passage of the parcels post bill are
disappointed in the position taken by the postmaster general, who
states that he believes it unwise at the present time to establish a
domestic parcel post, but he earnestly recommends that the third and
fourth class mail-matter be merged at the rate of one per cent, per two
ounces, fn this way all merchandise parcels not exceeding four
pounds in weight will be carried at one-half the rate now charged,
and afford a great opportunity of distributing light packages to a
multitude of places not reached by the express companies.
The musical merchandise people are naturally interested in
matters of this kind, because anything which tends to bring about
cheapening in the cost of distribution assists business.
I
H
AS one advertiser the right to quote the name of an opponent
in his advertisement, and has he a right to caricature any
member of a competing firm and to expect that a publisher will be a
party to the promotion of such prejudicial literature?
We have held the view that an editor and publisher should con-
trol the advertising columns of his paper to the extent of not per-
mitting the advertising department to be used in any other than in
a legitimate business way.
A short time ago special advertising was placed with us which
we deemed unfair and prejudicial to the interests of one of our
clients, and we rejected the business on the ground that it was a
fixed principle of this paper never to permit one advertiser to tra-
duce another. To this policy we have adhered undeviatingly for
years, and while we may have lost business patronage through the
exercising of this censorship, yet we have built the standing and
reputation of The Review so that to-day men rely more than ever
upon its advertising columns as truthfully representing the condi-
tions of the business world. And they know, too, that the news
columns of the paper are used only for legitimate trade information.
WELL-KNOWN manufacturer recently expressed his views
A
upon the subject of advertising, some of which are well
worthy of reproduction. He said, "There is no doubt about the
worth of the right kind of advertising, for any concern in business
to-day, but the question is what is the right kind, and what money
shall we spend?
"I am convinced that it pays any concern who can afford to do
business to advertise that business as liberally as their means will
permit. I believe that a small manufacturing house may materially
increase its business by placing fair contracts with representative
trade journals, and I believe that a large concern should always
emphasize its position. We followed that plan years ago, when our
concern was much smaller than to-day, and we have demonstritecl
the value of good trade paper advertising. We have secured results
and I believe that the younger concerns starting to-day will find
that it will pay them to advertise as liberally as their condition will
allow."
X these days of keen competition, every little counts in winning
trade, and there is a great advantage to be scored by piano mer-
chants who insist upon immediate attention being given to every-
one who enters their warerooms. The wise man thoroughly tests
every link in his business chain at frequent intervals to insure that
all are strong, and his salesmen must be courteous to everyone who
enters, and their integrity must be above suspicion. If salesmen
acquire the habit of attempting to misrepresent competitors' wares,
they are apt to go from bad' to worse and success is not won in
these days of telegraph, telephone and rapid transit system by abuse
of competitors, and then there is no such thing as luck recognized
in business affairs to-day. The lucky man is usually the attentive
one, the man who thoroughly appreciates what hard work is, and
is not afraid of it. The winner wins out by hard work, seldom by
dumb luck, and yet there are some who go on in such a haphazard
way that it would seem as if they were particular proteges of a
special providence. But no man can do a successful business by
guess. He may go on for a time, but he must go down in the end,
if there is such a thing as competition in his locality, and our own
observation teaches us that there are mighty few piano men in this
country to-day who hold the local field exclusively.
I
I
T was stated in the local papers this week that a piano firm had
leased property opposite the Waldorf-Astoria, where an eleven-
story building would immediately be erected, and considerable spec-
ulation was rife in trade circles as to just who the piano men were.
The appearance of several prominent Western piano men in town
caused many comments as to probable moves. One thing is certain
the trade trend is steadily up-town in all lines. The Aeolian Com-
pany officers saw this when they secured their present site and
erected the magnificent twelve-story structure which is entirely
devoted to the exhibition and sale of musical instruments. With
Tiffany's magnificent new building in that locality and other palatial
"stores going up, it will be the future retail business district of New
York.
^
OME of the piano manufacturing establishments have trans-
acted a surprising business for the year now rapidly closing.
It has taken good hustle and close attention to business to produce
results, but it cannot be denied that the men who have fully
grasped the requirements of this age are doing the business. Some
of them have made advances which are quite remarkable, and if in
their dreams of business conquest years ago they had permitted
their imagination to take flight it would not have allowed them to
soar to such heights as they have actually reached to-day. They
did not actually know that it was in them, and they never would
have known had it not been for other business pacemakers. It is a
queer old world, and it needs a hot fire to develop some men, and
other men immediately throw up their hands when they face it. Rut
carelessness, indifference, and simply being a good fellow will not
succeed to-day; it requires something more. And, by the way, what
is the matter with the one-price system ? It is all right, surely.
S