Music Trade Review

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THE: MUSIC TRADE:
continue to supply the demand, because there are large numbers of
pianos to be created to fill this particular call for specials, therefore
there is an attractiveness for both manufacturer and merchant in
the arrangement. But the manufacturer who caters to this traffic
is building no future for himself; he is creating no trademark
value, and no standing for his product. And the dealer in turn is
destroying his own reputation in his locality when he exploits goods
at a fictitious valuation and impresses upon his customers that they
are purchasing the best in pianodom. Whether it comes this year,
or next, or the year after, there surely must be a turn about, a halting,
commanded in this traffic.
I
N our opinion the key to the whole situation lies in the hands
of the manufacturers; they can use it when they desire. They
can, by fixing the maximum price at which their instruments shall
be offered at retail, regulate by one stroke the entire special question.
They can place their instruments in their own class, and thus estab-
lish a proper grade for pianos. Suppose the prices upon every re-
putable instrument in this country were fixed by the manufacturers
would not that at once relegate the special brand to its own sphere?
And surely no one is better qualified to place a correct valuation
upon a product than the men who create it. They certainly would
grade it fairly and accurately, and that would at once establish a
clear mark of demarcation between the various grades of in-
struments.
If it is well to advertise instruments of "the highest grade,"
and their value actually warrants it, what harm is there in fixing a
high grade price upon them, and if a manufacturer advertises "the
best popular priced piano," why should he hesitate to say just what
that popular price is? And so on down the line. Manufacturers
in other lines of trade do not hesitate to place their retail prices upon
their respective creations. The principle has worked out success-
fully in other lines, and thus far we have heard no good reasons
advanced why it should not apply with equal fitness to this industry.
CINCINNATI reader of The Review writes: "I have been
interested in your remarks on piano salesmen, and I believe
that such expressions are helpful to the craft. I hope you will con-
tinue with your good work."
We have no intention of slowing up, and anything which we
can do to encourage or stimulate the salesmen is indeed a pleasure,
for salesmanship should be recognized as an art; an art, too, in which
no one can win proficiency without giving the subject thought and
study, and it seems surprising that men do not give a closer analyti-
cal studv to salesmanship as a profession.
To illustrate: A doctor will spend years in preparatory work
before he begins active practice, and he then does not expect to
bring all of his varied experience and learning to bear on an in-
dividual patient every time he calls, but he has a tremendous fund
of information in reserve, which can be at once drawn upon when
the occasion demands.
A
I
T is the same with the lawyer. He does not anticipate that
every chapter of knowledge gained in his preparatory work
will be required in every case that he defends in court, but he has
learned something, and the mere fact that he has a fund of knowl-
edge to draw upon gives him confidence, and if we take the average
salesman in the high industries we find that their salaries rank as
high as professional men, much higher than college professors and
more than the average doctor or lawyer, therefore why should they
not have had a certain preparatory work? Why should the be-
ginner say that he is a salesman because he has worked in a ware-
room a week and really believes that he is master of the art ?
O be a good salesman, a man must be a good student of human
nature, and he must never cease in search for more knowl-
edge which has direct bearing upon his own trade. There are cer-
eain requisites necessary and imperative. Among these, considera-
tion, discernment, judgment, decision, persistence and most im-
portant of all, confidence in yourself, and the article you are selling.
No piano salesman can make a distinguished success unless he
first has confidence in his own ability and confidence in the instru-
ment which he offers for sale. He should treat his pianos from an
intelligent, practical standpoint. He should cultivate enthusiasm
in their merits, and not talk them in a dull, listless, unemotional way,
for if a piano salesman has not a belief in the honesty of his calling,
in the value of the instruments which he offers, in the correctness
T
REVIE:W
of their pricings, he cannot impress a customer with the values
which he presents.
N
OW, there is not a piano salesman living who cannot advance
his own position if he will give the subject of salesmanship
the same study that men engaged in professional life give their pro-
fession. If a lawyer has a particular case he thinks it over, studies
it in detail, maps out his line of argument and its considerations,
and why should not a piano salesman adopt the same plan? Dis-
cernment, too, how and when to talk or stop talking, or in other
words to know just when enough has been said, and as to
whether or not the customer's interest is growing. Judgment is
required as to when is the proper time to press the matter, or
whether the best policy would be to take it easy with the particular
customer you are working upon, and as to the proper time to tell
a story, if you will, or otherwise rest the customer and incidentally
yourself. But never lose sight of the main object at stake—the sale.
B
E careful, too, that the attention of the customer is not diverted
by other people coming in. That is one of the advantages
of individual showrooms. They give the salesman an opportunity
to hold the attention of the customers in a manner which renders
them less liable to outside interruptions.
There are many things to be considered. Salesmanship should
be classed as a profession, and every piano salesman should culti-
vate a more intimate knowledge of his own business environment.
The better he knows pianos from the practical standpoint, the
more intelligent he can present his arguments to the customers.
We know of an instance recently where a lady asked a piano
salesman how many white keys a piano had. He couldn't answer.
She asked him how many black keys, he still hesitated. She said:
"I do not believe you know as much about your pianos as I do,"
and the sale was not made. If a man has only the most superficial
knowledge of the business how can he impress others?
T
HE people of the Northwest have taken a patriotic pride in
the Lewis and Clark Exposition. It is the greatest undertak-
ing ever credited to the far West, and the people who have the Expo-
sition in charge propose that it shall be a record breaker in every
way. They commenced on time with everything more nearly
completed than any previous Exposition. They, too, started in
out of debt, and there will be no deficit when the Lewis and Clark
Exposition passes into history.
The attendance daily is steadily growing, and large excursions
from the East are planned for August and September. The sump-
tuous booth of The Review which occupies a commanding position
in the Liberal Arts Building is the rendezvous of the trade and
musical people visiting the Fair. The souvenirs which we are dis-
tributing at that point are conceded to be not only interesting, but
the most valuable ever given away by any concern at an Exposition.
S
OME newspapers have much to say about the governmental
deficit for the fiscal year just closed. This shortage actual
and prospective is not due to lessened revenue, but to increased
expenditure. If we wish to go the pace, we must pay the price, and
it certainly takes more money to run this country than ever before.
Our rural postal delivery has swallowed up millions in expenses,
and as a matter of fact when the people have had the best of service
they never wish to go back to the old system. If we are going to
create a big navy, and most of us seem to be in favor of that, and
construct the Panama Canal, we have got to foot the bills. That's
all. That which contributes to the efficiency of our Government
and to the ease and comfort of our people at home we should not
hesitate to expend, but we are not in sympathy with the cry which
comes from some quarters that our ambassadors and ministers
abroad should receive higher salaries and should be provided with
official dwellings in some of the principal cities. There are always
plenty of rich men who can represent the United States abroad
with dignity and credit, even if it does make a goodly strain upon
their private fortunes. But in our home affairs, if we are running
behind in our Government expenses our people would gladly favor
stamps on legal documents and checks, rather than to turn the
wheels of progress backwards to the unsatisfactory conditions of
years ago.
This country will never go back. We demand the best service
in everything—it isn't a question of dollars, it is a matter of con-
venience—and we will have it, no matter what the cost.