Music Trade Review

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THE
REVIEW
flUSIC TIRADE
VOL. LXXV. No. 13
Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman BUI, Inc., at 373 4th Ave., New York.
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Sept. 23, 1922
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Good Results from Piano Salesmanship School
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H E first Piano Salesmanship School ever held in the United States is now a thing of the past and,
taking everything into consideration, it has been a distinct success, not perhaps from the standpoint
of attendance, or the volume of trade interest aroused, but from the fact that it has accomplished
what was expected of it by giving to a number of actual and prospective piano salesmen a new
insight into piano building and selling methods that will unquestionably aid them materially in their work and
prove of value to the retail division of the industry as a whole.
As is the case with all new movements, there were many doubting Thomases who had to be convinced
of the value of the course, and who even in the face of facts and arguments were inclined to sit on the side
lines and wait for a chance to utter a trite "I told you so" when the idea did not work out as expected.
Fortunately, on the other hand, there were enough men in the local trade—and big men—who had confidence
enough in the soundness of the idea to give it their support and carry it through to a successful conclusion.
One manager, who was called upon to release some of his younger salesmen for a few days in order
that they might attend the sessions, declared that it was impossible for the salesman or prospective salesman
to expect to substitute a score of lectures for a lifetime of experience, and maintained that the only way to
learn to sell pianos was to have the rough edges knocked off in actual contact with prospects. As a matter
of fact, various lectures given at the school were based upon the actual experience of the lecturers. They
did not offer theories, but confined themselves to proven facts, and even salesmen who had spent years in the
field were there to admit that they had learned many things calculated to aid them in various situations.
There is no manager or sales manager who can instruct the salesman how he must handle each
individual case with which he comes in contact. If that were possible, intelligence would not be a requisite
to salesmanship, but what the manager can do, and what the school through the co-operation of a number of
managers has done, is to point out to embryo salesmen, not only the ways and means for securing prospects,
getting audiences, arousing interest and finally closing sales, but also the pitfalls that are open for the sales-
man who is not on his guard every moment and is without a fairly sound fundamental knowledge, not only
of the instruments he sells, but of competing instruments as well.
It is to be hoped that the pioneer school in New York will prove a model for other schools, not only
in this city, but in other trade centers of the country. It has been shown that real information can be
imparted to the salesman through such a school, and it is much better from a sales standpoint for the novice
to gain as wide a knowledge beforehand as to what to do and what not to do than to turn him loose on
valuable prospects while still more or less ignorant, and be permitted to spoil sales completely, or to open
the way for competitors.
To C. T. Purely, president of the New York Piano Merchants' Association, and to the members of
the School Committee, George A. Scofield, chairman, Milton Weil and John J. Glvnn, is due full credit for
their earnest efforts in putting over the school successfully. It is indeed regrettable that more members of
the trade were not sufficiently interested to give the school the benefit of their advice and co-operation.
Schools for salesmen are not by any means new. They have been carried on in other industries success-
fully for a number of years and piano men have to go no further than the talking machine trade to find
out how valuable such instruction proves in developing more capable sales people and consequently more
and better business.
Perhaps, if a similar idea in the piano trade became general and ambitious new entrants into the field
of piano selling were given the benefit of practical instruction before being turned loose with a prospect list,
the cry regarding the scarcity of trained piano salesmen would not be heard quite so often.