Music Trade Review
Issue: 1916 Vol. 63 N. 12 - Page 11
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
SALESMANSHIP
Vol. III. No. 3
A Complete Section Devoted to Piano Salesmanship Published Each Month
New York, Sept. 16, 1916
Hints for Piano Salesmen Who Write Sales Letters
Brevity, Simplicity, Clarity of Style, and Naturalness and Correctness of Expression Are
Some of the Fundamentals Upon WhichiSuccessful, Sale-Producing Letters Must Be Based
N looking through any magazine devoted to the science of
I startled
business, as one may be permitted to call it, one is sure to be
at seeing the enormous amount of advertising space
bought and filled by persons who have infallible systems for
infallibly teaching the mystery of correct sales-letter writing.
One gets the impression that business men cannot know how to
write letters; and that there is something tremendously recon-
dite in the art of sending forth salesmanship by mail. Truly,
the terrific facts—or near-facts—set forth by the advertisers men-
tioned, and the air of quite awful superiority that all the expert
letter-writers or letter-composing-experts (or whatever they call
themselves)—assume in their advertising, leads an innocent by-
stander, such as the writer, to feel altogether excessively humble.
Can it be, he thinks, that to only a few has the secret of writing
sales-letters that bring sales, been set forth?
To be candid about it, however, this innocent bystander de-
clines to believe anything of the sort. He cannot get over a
feeling, not unconnected, to be sure, with the fact of some con-
siderable personal experience in these matters, that the art of
writing a successful letter or letters for the purpose of producing
sales, is in the end, quite easy; provided one will take the trouble
to learn a few simple rules and keep a few simple ideas in mind.
Indeed, not only is the writer of this article bold enough to
declare against the mystery theory, but he even proposes to lay
impious hands on the veil and tear it down, exposing the secrets
within.
The writing of a letter is the act of expressing oneself in
permanent form. Whether one knows it or not, the facts about
oneself are inevitably revealed in each and every letter one
writes. Not all one's character, perhaps, will be shown in a
single letter at any time; but in a selection of letters, the writer's
character is certain to be revealed plainly to all who have the
gift of vision. It is a good thing that not all men have this gift!
Which is fact number one.
A"letter is looked at before it is read; often it is condemned
on its looks, irrespective of its contents. A letter that LOOKS
long is usually half useless, because it is usually read only with
half the necessary attention. To begin with, then, a letter should
be short. It should fit well within the page and contain no
more than four paragraphs. That is fact number two.
Paragraphs, however, may be too long. One long para-
graph helps to produce the mental impression of a lot of work
to be done in reading the letter. Again, then, one must say
that the paragraphs must be short; and on the whole that two
or three short paragraphs are much better than one long one.
Again, letter-writing, as we said, is the expression of one-
self. Now when one writes a letter to a prospect, one begins
by casting away deliberately all the ordinary advantages of per-
sonal contact, of atmosphere, of surroundings. One's proposal
(not "proposition" if you please) is to be heard in the coldest
manner. One must be prepared to put it on its merits. There-
fore :
Avoid, as the devil avoids holy water, any attempt to write
in anybody else's style. For one thing it can't be done and for
another thing it would be no good if it were done. You cannot
think the other man's thoughts. His style is the clothing of his
thought. Let each man wear his own clothes.
Write simply and plainly what you have to say, as you
would say it to the man if he were in your office; leaving out,
however, the chatty, the conversational, and above all, the
"breezy." Don't, in heaven's name, be "breezy." You will only
succeed, nine times in ten, in being extremely offensive. Be
yourself.
Grammar was made for man, not man for grammar. Still,
grammar was made for man and man gets along poorly without
it. A letter that teems with grammatical errors, that splits in-
finitives galore, that copies the slang of the streets, that runs
three sentences into one, or makes two sentences by splitting
one in the middle where a comma alone should be; is not and
cannot be a successful sales-letter. Why? Simply because a
well written piece of English, clean, simple and accurate, carries
conviction of itself. Study grammar; and to be yourself: that
is a good rule for each of us.
Whatever you have to propose, avoid the use of the com-
mon slang or jargon of the office. Forget that wretched word
"proposition." It was never meant to be the equivalent of offer
or proposal. It means something to be proved. A proposition
is a theorem or problem offered to another for proof. When,
therefore, you make a "proposition" to a man, you are really
asking him to prove something. You are making a proposal or
an offer. Remember that.
Avoid the eternal "yours of the first received and would say."
Avoid the use of those idiotic words "pep," "ginger," and that
hideous phrase "clean-cut." Avoid them as you would the plague,
for they are the counterfeit currency of every cheap swindle in
the land. Study grammar; and to be yourself.
Say precisely what you have to offer and say it so that the
reader of your letter cannot challenge your statements anywhere.
Make no doubtful or controversial statements. In short, avoid
setting up a mental state in your reader which will in itself
work against your own ends. State what you have to state
simply, plainly and conservatively. Avoid making challenges.
They sound well to you; but how about your reader? Why drag
in side-issues to disturb his thought?
Confine yourself to a single proposal in each letter. Avoid
the mistake of giving the reader alternatives between which to
choose, for when you do this you bring him into a state of doubt
and indecision that very often develops into complete distaste.
Make your arguments constructive, not the reverse. Sing
your own praises and ignore the competitor. Avoid comparison;
for comparison is controversial and sales letters have nothing to
do with controversy.
In each and every situation you may have to face, remember
that, although you write the letter, another man reads it and
acts on the reading. Try always to put yourself in that other
on page 12)
SALESMANSHIP
Vol. III. No. 3
A Complete Section Devoted to Piano Salesmanship Published Each Month
New York, Sept. 16, 1916
Hints for Piano Salesmen Who Write Sales Letters
Brevity, Simplicity, Clarity of Style, and Naturalness and Correctness of Expression Are
Some of the Fundamentals Upon WhichiSuccessful, Sale-Producing Letters Must Be Based
N looking through any magazine devoted to the science of
I startled
business, as one may be permitted to call it, one is sure to be
at seeing the enormous amount of advertising space
bought and filled by persons who have infallible systems for
infallibly teaching the mystery of correct sales-letter writing.
One gets the impression that business men cannot know how to
write letters; and that there is something tremendously recon-
dite in the art of sending forth salesmanship by mail. Truly,
the terrific facts—or near-facts—set forth by the advertisers men-
tioned, and the air of quite awful superiority that all the expert
letter-writers or letter-composing-experts (or whatever they call
themselves)—assume in their advertising, leads an innocent by-
stander, such as the writer, to feel altogether excessively humble.
Can it be, he thinks, that to only a few has the secret of writing
sales-letters that bring sales, been set forth?
To be candid about it, however, this innocent bystander de-
clines to believe anything of the sort. He cannot get over a
feeling, not unconnected, to be sure, with the fact of some con-
siderable personal experience in these matters, that the art of
writing a successful letter or letters for the purpose of producing
sales, is in the end, quite easy; provided one will take the trouble
to learn a few simple rules and keep a few simple ideas in mind.
Indeed, not only is the writer of this article bold enough to
declare against the mystery theory, but he even proposes to lay
impious hands on the veil and tear it down, exposing the secrets
within.
The writing of a letter is the act of expressing oneself in
permanent form. Whether one knows it or not, the facts about
oneself are inevitably revealed in each and every letter one
writes. Not all one's character, perhaps, will be shown in a
single letter at any time; but in a selection of letters, the writer's
character is certain to be revealed plainly to all who have the
gift of vision. It is a good thing that not all men have this gift!
Which is fact number one.
A"letter is looked at before it is read; often it is condemned
on its looks, irrespective of its contents. A letter that LOOKS
long is usually half useless, because it is usually read only with
half the necessary attention. To begin with, then, a letter should
be short. It should fit well within the page and contain no
more than four paragraphs. That is fact number two.
Paragraphs, however, may be too long. One long para-
graph helps to produce the mental impression of a lot of work
to be done in reading the letter. Again, then, one must say
that the paragraphs must be short; and on the whole that two
or three short paragraphs are much better than one long one.
Again, letter-writing, as we said, is the expression of one-
self. Now when one writes a letter to a prospect, one begins
by casting away deliberately all the ordinary advantages of per-
sonal contact, of atmosphere, of surroundings. One's proposal
(not "proposition" if you please) is to be heard in the coldest
manner. One must be prepared to put it on its merits. There-
fore :
Avoid, as the devil avoids holy water, any attempt to write
in anybody else's style. For one thing it can't be done and for
another thing it would be no good if it were done. You cannot
think the other man's thoughts. His style is the clothing of his
thought. Let each man wear his own clothes.
Write simply and plainly what you have to say, as you
would say it to the man if he were in your office; leaving out,
however, the chatty, the conversational, and above all, the
"breezy." Don't, in heaven's name, be "breezy." You will only
succeed, nine times in ten, in being extremely offensive. Be
yourself.
Grammar was made for man, not man for grammar. Still,
grammar was made for man and man gets along poorly without
it. A letter that teems with grammatical errors, that splits in-
finitives galore, that copies the slang of the streets, that runs
three sentences into one, or makes two sentences by splitting
one in the middle where a comma alone should be; is not and
cannot be a successful sales-letter. Why? Simply because a
well written piece of English, clean, simple and accurate, carries
conviction of itself. Study grammar; and to be yourself: that
is a good rule for each of us.
Whatever you have to propose, avoid the use of the com-
mon slang or jargon of the office. Forget that wretched word
"proposition." It was never meant to be the equivalent of offer
or proposal. It means something to be proved. A proposition
is a theorem or problem offered to another for proof. When,
therefore, you make a "proposition" to a man, you are really
asking him to prove something. You are making a proposal or
an offer. Remember that.
Avoid the eternal "yours of the first received and would say."
Avoid the use of those idiotic words "pep," "ginger," and that
hideous phrase "clean-cut." Avoid them as you would the plague,
for they are the counterfeit currency of every cheap swindle in
the land. Study grammar; and to be yourself.
Say precisely what you have to offer and say it so that the
reader of your letter cannot challenge your statements anywhere.
Make no doubtful or controversial statements. In short, avoid
setting up a mental state in your reader which will in itself
work against your own ends. State what you have to state
simply, plainly and conservatively. Avoid making challenges.
They sound well to you; but how about your reader? Why drag
in side-issues to disturb his thought?
Confine yourself to a single proposal in each letter. Avoid
the mistake of giving the reader alternatives between which to
choose, for when you do this you bring him into a state of doubt
and indecision that very often develops into complete distaste.
Make your arguments constructive, not the reverse. Sing
your own praises and ignore the competitor. Avoid comparison;
for comparison is controversial and sales letters have nothing to
do with controversy.
In each and every situation you may have to face, remember
that, although you write the letter, another man reads it and
acts on the reading. Try always to put yourself in that other
on page 12)
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