Music Trade Review
Issue: 1917 Vol. 64 N. 15 - Page 12
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
( Salesmanship )
12
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
Adaptability a Most Valuable Asset in Piano Selling
Each Prospect Must Be Handled Differently, and the Piano Salesman Should Always
Adapt His Selling Methods to Suit the Individual Characteristics of His Customer
HILE the selling of pianos is by no means to be classed as
W
the easiest occupation in the world, still the piano sales-
man has certain advantages which are not enjoyed by salesmen
in other lines. Book salesmen, life insurance salesmen, real
estate salesmen, and others of like ilk work almost entirely among
negative prospects—that is, their prospective customers usually
have little or no original interest in the particular proposition
which the salesman is presenting, and the salesman is forced
to create a desire on the part of the prospect before he can really
begin his selling campaign.
The piano salesman is not handicapped in this fashion in a
majority of cases, for the average man who enters a piano store
and asks to be shown the line of instruments carried there
already has the desire for a piano, and the salesman's work con-
sists in changing that general desire for some piano to a spe-
cific desire for one piano.
The problem, therefore, that confronts the piano salesman
is to get his prospect to know the facts about the line he is
handling, and to feel favorably towards that line. It is very
elemental, yet nevertheless absolutely true, that every selling
appeal, be it for pianos or prunes, must be based on one or on
a combination of the five human senses: viz., seeing, hearing,
feeling, smelling and tasting. This is the basic fact upon which
all psychology in salesmanship is founded.
The piano salesman must make his appeal through three
of the five senses—those of sight, hearing and touch. He,
therefore, must make his first attempt to instil a favorable im-
pression in the mind of the prospect by appealing to the eye,
showing the piano and pointing out its visible points of excel-
lence. He next must make an appeal by letting the prospect
hear the piano, and finally, by seating the prospect at the piano,
he makes his last appeal through the sense of touch. Every
good piano salesman follows this principle of using the cus-
tomer's senses as avenues through which to make his selling ap-
peal.
The foregoing statements may appear to be so rudimentary
that they are hardly worthy of the space given to their delinea-
tion, yet the piano salesman must understand them thoroughly,
and realize their full value, before he can properly understand
the second great principle in psychological selling, which is
that the rate at which nerve currents enter the brain and form
impressions is not the same in all people, nor is it the same for
each person at different times. The piano salesman must realize
that if he presents ideas about his goods faster than his pros-
pect can take care of them, he will not be understood and will
lose the prospect's interest. Again, the salesman must not present
ideas too slowly, or the prospect's mind will run away from the
subject of pianos and grow interested in something else.
When the nerve currents enter the brain from the eye, the
ear or the fingers, they travel with a considerable rate of speed,
although this speed varies greatly among individuals. When
the current comes to its appropriate place in the brain, it strikes
a blow in its particular brain cell. These blows, or impressions,
can be made deeper in either of two ways—by putting more
force in the nerve current that causes the blow, or by repetition
or concentrating the mind with all its power on the one incoming
idea. One other thing is necessary, and that is plenty of path-
ways or connections to the mark or indentation in the brain that
represents the idea to be recalled.
Every idea that enters a prospect's mind is accompanied
by some feeling, either good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant,
satisfactory or unsatisfactory. The mind never accepts an idea
in a neutral way. Every impression that the prospect receives
concerning the salesman, his goods, his store and its equipment,
either helps or hinders in making sales because of this fact.
Every idea that enters the prospect's mind not only leaves
an impression of some kind, but the nature of this impression
will invariably be indicated in some manner, not only by the
prospect's speech, but also by such things as a brightening or
clouding of the eyes, smiles, frowns, actions of the body, move-
ments of the hands and of the face and head. The piano sales-
man who thoroughly understands this fact will find his work
greatly facilitated, for he will watch his prospect closely to
ascertain whether his selling talk is based on the right premises
IT TAKES A CLEVER PIANO SALESMAN TO THINK OF A SELLING ARGUMENT LIKE THIS
WELL HELLO J O N E S — I PHONED YOU
TN BECAUSE t HAVE A REO HOT
?R0rO&ITIQN TO OFFER
MT
RUN HOUR,
WE'LL STEP DOWN INTO THE
BASEMENT WHERE T HAVE
JUST
HAP THE &H\V>ER
SAY, I&'NT SHE A %VK\lV(
ANt> A MlGYWt CLEAN
ALL
TH«r CA%E , T H E FLATE",
TWFACT, E V E R * *»ART OF
W a r WORD tU
SELECTION
MAT
yVeLl OFCOUHSE IT DOEVHT —
^
TO -
O'LV.
FEEL
JflW KNOW A l l MUSIC IS
HESTS1N1T
( Salesmanship )
12
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
Adaptability a Most Valuable Asset in Piano Selling
Each Prospect Must Be Handled Differently, and the Piano Salesman Should Always
Adapt His Selling Methods to Suit the Individual Characteristics of His Customer
HILE the selling of pianos is by no means to be classed as
W
the easiest occupation in the world, still the piano sales-
man has certain advantages which are not enjoyed by salesmen
in other lines. Book salesmen, life insurance salesmen, real
estate salesmen, and others of like ilk work almost entirely among
negative prospects—that is, their prospective customers usually
have little or no original interest in the particular proposition
which the salesman is presenting, and the salesman is forced
to create a desire on the part of the prospect before he can really
begin his selling campaign.
The piano salesman is not handicapped in this fashion in a
majority of cases, for the average man who enters a piano store
and asks to be shown the line of instruments carried there
already has the desire for a piano, and the salesman's work con-
sists in changing that general desire for some piano to a spe-
cific desire for one piano.
The problem, therefore, that confronts the piano salesman
is to get his prospect to know the facts about the line he is
handling, and to feel favorably towards that line. It is very
elemental, yet nevertheless absolutely true, that every selling
appeal, be it for pianos or prunes, must be based on one or on
a combination of the five human senses: viz., seeing, hearing,
feeling, smelling and tasting. This is the basic fact upon which
all psychology in salesmanship is founded.
The piano salesman must make his appeal through three
of the five senses—those of sight, hearing and touch. He,
therefore, must make his first attempt to instil a favorable im-
pression in the mind of the prospect by appealing to the eye,
showing the piano and pointing out its visible points of excel-
lence. He next must make an appeal by letting the prospect
hear the piano, and finally, by seating the prospect at the piano,
he makes his last appeal through the sense of touch. Every
good piano salesman follows this principle of using the cus-
tomer's senses as avenues through which to make his selling ap-
peal.
The foregoing statements may appear to be so rudimentary
that they are hardly worthy of the space given to their delinea-
tion, yet the piano salesman must understand them thoroughly,
and realize their full value, before he can properly understand
the second great principle in psychological selling, which is
that the rate at which nerve currents enter the brain and form
impressions is not the same in all people, nor is it the same for
each person at different times. The piano salesman must realize
that if he presents ideas about his goods faster than his pros-
pect can take care of them, he will not be understood and will
lose the prospect's interest. Again, the salesman must not present
ideas too slowly, or the prospect's mind will run away from the
subject of pianos and grow interested in something else.
When the nerve currents enter the brain from the eye, the
ear or the fingers, they travel with a considerable rate of speed,
although this speed varies greatly among individuals. When
the current comes to its appropriate place in the brain, it strikes
a blow in its particular brain cell. These blows, or impressions,
can be made deeper in either of two ways—by putting more
force in the nerve current that causes the blow, or by repetition
or concentrating the mind with all its power on the one incoming
idea. One other thing is necessary, and that is plenty of path-
ways or connections to the mark or indentation in the brain that
represents the idea to be recalled.
Every idea that enters a prospect's mind is accompanied
by some feeling, either good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant,
satisfactory or unsatisfactory. The mind never accepts an idea
in a neutral way. Every impression that the prospect receives
concerning the salesman, his goods, his store and its equipment,
either helps or hinders in making sales because of this fact.
Every idea that enters the prospect's mind not only leaves
an impression of some kind, but the nature of this impression
will invariably be indicated in some manner, not only by the
prospect's speech, but also by such things as a brightening or
clouding of the eyes, smiles, frowns, actions of the body, move-
ments of the hands and of the face and head. The piano sales-
man who thoroughly understands this fact will find his work
greatly facilitated, for he will watch his prospect closely to
ascertain whether his selling talk is based on the right premises
IT TAKES A CLEVER PIANO SALESMAN TO THINK OF A SELLING ARGUMENT LIKE THIS
WELL HELLO J O N E S — I PHONED YOU
TN BECAUSE t HAVE A REO HOT
?R0rO&ITIQN TO OFFER
MT
RUN HOUR,
WE'LL STEP DOWN INTO THE
BASEMENT WHERE T HAVE
JUST
HAP THE &H\V>ER
SAY, I&'NT SHE A %VK\lV(
ANt> A MlGYWt CLEAN
ALL
TH«r CA%E , T H E FLATE",
TWFACT, E V E R * *»ART OF
W a r WORD tU
SELECTION
MAT
yVeLl OFCOUHSE IT DOEVHT —
^
TO -
O'LV.
FEEL
JflW KNOW A l l MUSIC IS
HESTS1N1T
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