Music Trade Review

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THE
MUSIC TRADE
you approach it. The mistake which some salesmen make is, that
they will not judge between the right path and the wrong, but trust
to luck, and, as luck is a fickle goddess, very often they choose the
wrong avenue. In the course of a sale, a salesman can see the
proper method to pursue, but, thinking to make a short cut to quick
sales, he strays from the path, cuts the corners, and disaster over-
takes him before long.
The conscientious, honest, painstaking salesman, however, sees
REVIEW
before him only the well beaten path which he knows he must travel
and he sticks to that until he attains his goal. False promises, mis-
leading statements, and exaggerations will go for a little while, and
a fluent talker may bluff his way through for a time, but it is only
a question of time when these inflated, or artificial elements, lose
their force, and he is at the end of his resources', while the con-
sistent, painstaking, honest salesman continues to reap the harvest
of his wise endeavors.
The Value of Retail Organization.
T
HIS is the age when quick action counts, whether it be in the
domain of piano retailing or wholesaling. The old-fashioned
system of "haggling" is not as popular as it used to be, and when
would-be purchasers are impressed with a product, or by a house,
they buy without question—and immediately. An illustration of han-
dling a piano inquiry at long distance with a sale in view is related
by James W. Egbert in the recent issue of Printers' Ink. He says:
"A man in Indianapolis wrote to a New York piano house on
Tuesday in answer to a magazine ad. which offered a booklet.
Thursday morning he was' somewhat astonished to have the book-
let delivered at his office by a salesman for the local dealer who
carried that make of piano. The salesman sat down and went
through the book with him, calling attention to various points of
advantage, and the mail reply received from New York on Friday
morning helped clinch a sale already certain. The prospect had
mailed an inquiry to a Chicago house in the same mail with the one
to New York. The reply came along Friday afternoon—too late.
"Something besides mere promptness was responsible for the
sale which was made in that instance. As soon as the inquiry
w ; as received by the New York house, the Indianapolis man was
looked up in Dun or Bradstreet, and if not rated there, the local
mercantile directory of Indianapolis was consulted. When it
reached the advertising manager's desk all available information
about the inquirer was written on it, and the advertising manager
easily decided that it was worth a night-letter to the local dealer.
The latter received the "tip" on Friday morning, and jumped his
best outside man right over to the prospect's office.
"The inquiry to the Chicago house, on the other hand, followed
a regular cut and dried system which treated all alike. Chicago
is much nearer Indianapolis than New York, but the girl running
the system was slow or tired, and the New York mail reply got
there first, to say nothing about the telegram. Moreover, since the
sale was made, the Chicago house has spent more money on follow-
up than the New York house spent on its night-letter.
"The New York piano house simply made use of every auxiliary
which was within reach; the telegraph, the reference books, and
the outside organization of the local dealer. Of course, it is not
possible for all manufacturers to make use of these particular
auxiliaries, but in many lines of business sales are made by influ-
ences which can be harnessed to serve a particular end if it is prop-
erly gone about.
"A great many piano dealers hire forces of canvassers, periodi-
cally, who go about looking for prospects. They do not try to sell
a piano, and are not allowed to spend time trying. They simply go
from house to house, reporting whether the family has a piano, and
whether the person talked to seemed satisfied with it. Two or three
or more outside salesmen follow up the prospects located by the
canvassers, and do the active work of selling. The salesmen are
permanently employed; the canvassers are hired whenever new
prospects are needed.
"The New York piano house mentioned above knew that the
Indianapolis dealer had such an organization, and made use of it.
Indeed, the house in question tries to promote such organizations
among its dealers, and handles direct inquiries wherever possible
by the method described. The dealer's outside force is a valuable
auxiliary, not only promoting sales for the dealer on his whole line,
but enabling him to perform effective team work with manufactur-
ers when occasion arises."
This illustrates the value of organization without which it is
impossible to achieve any great results in business. It matters' little
how small the business, the object ever should be to give immediate
consideration to inquiries regarding sales. And that means not
merely a letter, but to put the entire machinery of the establishment
at work to the end that the sale is consummated.
System, that much abused word, is absolutely essential to-day
if a concern expects to keep in line with the rapid march of the
business army. No man in a growing business can keep a proper
rein upon his affairs, correspondence, contracts, consignments,
orders and accounts unless the business is systematized so that there
may be no delay when action is needed.
Misleading and Untrue Advertising.
I
N the San Francisco Post of November 13 there appeared an
advertisement of the Heine Piano Co. In this advertisement
was the following: "Caution to buyers: Once old, reliable makes
such as Knabe, Chickering and Weber, are not made by any Knabe,
Chickering or Weber, but the names have been bought up, and out
of these names corporations are making money on the strength of
their old reputation.
"Remember that these cannot be had as made by the original
makers. It is the manufacturer of a piano that builds up the repu-
tation—not the man who stencils one and purchases the name."
Such advertising constitutes not only a serious reflection upon
the honesty of an important part of the piano industry, but it is
glaringly malicious and misleading.
The advertiser cautions the piano-buying public against the
purchase of pianos bearing old and time-honored names, the infer-
ence being that the present owners are doing business simply on
the reputation of the past. It is difficult to understand the moral
obtuseness 1 of an advertiser who wilfully distorts facts.
Everyone of the pianos named by Heine is made in the original
factory under the supervision of men who have worked for genera-
tions under the same roof, building Knabe, Chickering and Weber
pianos, and the men controlling the corporations are building pianos
to-day better than ever before in the history of the houses.
Ask any competent critic to compare the products of these
factories of 1912 with any previous year and see whether the in-
struments have deteriorated or not.
As a matter of fact it would be business suicide for any one of
these corporations to build cheap pianos and attempt to sell them
on name strength.
Such a move would only last a little while before all of the name
value would count for naught.
It would be poor business policy and the men in control of
the destinies of these organizations are too far sighted and progres-
sive to consider for one moment any such a plan. On the con-
trary, their explicit orders have been given to make betterments
wherever possible no matter what the cost.
It would interest men of the Heine stamp perhaps to know
that many thousands of dollars are spent annually purely in experi-
mental work to create advanced tonal effects in all of the pianos
made in these several factories.
But what can be said of the men who wilfully distort facts?
It would seem to be a question of law—not of argument.