Music Trade Review
Issue: 1924 Vol. 79 N. 18 - Page 3
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
VOL.
REVIEW
LXXIX. No. 18 Published Every SaUrday. Edward Lyman Bill, Inc., 383 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. Nov. 1, 1924
Single Copies 10 Cents
$2.00 Per Year
:IIIKIIIKIIIKIIIKIIIK™
Business Is What the Dealer Makes It
UKIUMIIIXIIiaaiiaOIXIIIXIIIXI^
T
HERE is going to be a good volume of holiday business in the music trade, and although in certain
localities, and for that matter in certain stores, the totals may not measure up to those of last year,
there is every indication that certain dealers are going to come close to hanging up new records for
the simple reason that they have refused to accept conditions as they find them and have seen fit to
launch sales campaigns on a more energetic basis than ever before.
An unsettled employment situation in certain districts may have a certain bearing on retail sales of all
kinds there, but it is a rare thing to find any section of the country where the buying public consists of only
one particular class which at the moment is unemployed or getting back into the factories. It has been proved
that the man who wants to go after business in so-called affected areas is able to find enough of it to make the
effort worth while.
We have heard for a couple of months past the usual cry of Presidential year as a reason by certain
members of the trade for an apparent lull in business. That cry, however, is an excuse rather than a reason.
Opinions vary materially regarding the status of the various candidates and the platforms of the parties they
represent, but the past performance chart shows that the business of the country has lived through all the
Presidential years that have preceded this one, and there have been some very hectic campaigns.
Considering basic conditions, the country is in a healthy condition. Although certain business men are
of the opinion that the public is not in a buying mood, they seem to forget that the business of the retailer is
not alone to cater to the individual who is half sold on his proposition and who comes in to buy, but it is also
to arouse the buying interest through his own efforts. Sometimes this is harder than at other times and per-
haps this Fall greater effort is required to gain satisfactory results. But they can be gained.
Roughly speaking, the retail piano trade can be divided into two classes—those dealers who have had
confidence in their business and ability to sell and who have placed advance orders with the manufacturers
accordingly, and those who have joined the over-conservative party and have hesitated to order any instruments
except sufficient to take care of immediate needs.
The retailer with confidence in his business realizes thoroughly that confidence alone is not going to
keep his stock moving, but that it must be backed up by intensive selling effort, probably greater effort than
has been put forth for some seasons past. His selling must be on a systematic, intelligent basis and calculated
to place pianos in the homes of those who, left to themselves, might be inclined to put their surplus money into
something else.
Each year the problem of the dealer in pianos, and for that matter the dealer in many other lines,
becomes more complicated for the reason that there is a steady increase in the number of articles offered to the
public. The music man is not competing alone with his fellow dealers, but is forced to create sales in com-
petition with every other merchant in his section who is selling anything except food and clothing.
No better example of this is to be found than in the experience of canvassers in any of the larger com-
munities. The piano man there will find that, in approaching the housewife, he is sandwiched in between the
vacuum cleaner salesman, the furniture salesman, the brush salesman, and a host of others, who bring their
campaigns right into the home. The same thing applies to the competition in the stores.
With the music advancement work developed so successfully throughout the country and constantly on
the increase, the piano merchant has a decided advantage over competitors whose products do not have such a
general appeal, but he can only fully enjoy that advantage if he realizes that he has to sell and sell hard.
Business for the remainder of the year is going to be iust what the individual dealer makes it. Tf he
overlooks general conditions and devotes himself to hard selling he is likely to build up a satisfactory total.
If he sits tight and waits for the situation to change before putting forth effort he is going to be disappointed.
THE
VOL.
REVIEW
LXXIX. No. 18 Published Every SaUrday. Edward Lyman Bill, Inc., 383 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. Nov. 1, 1924
Single Copies 10 Cents
$2.00 Per Year
:IIIKIIIKIIIKIIIKIIIK™
Business Is What the Dealer Makes It
UKIUMIIIXIIiaaiiaOIXIIIXIIIXI^
T
HERE is going to be a good volume of holiday business in the music trade, and although in certain
localities, and for that matter in certain stores, the totals may not measure up to those of last year,
there is every indication that certain dealers are going to come close to hanging up new records for
the simple reason that they have refused to accept conditions as they find them and have seen fit to
launch sales campaigns on a more energetic basis than ever before.
An unsettled employment situation in certain districts may have a certain bearing on retail sales of all
kinds there, but it is a rare thing to find any section of the country where the buying public consists of only
one particular class which at the moment is unemployed or getting back into the factories. It has been proved
that the man who wants to go after business in so-called affected areas is able to find enough of it to make the
effort worth while.
We have heard for a couple of months past the usual cry of Presidential year as a reason by certain
members of the trade for an apparent lull in business. That cry, however, is an excuse rather than a reason.
Opinions vary materially regarding the status of the various candidates and the platforms of the parties they
represent, but the past performance chart shows that the business of the country has lived through all the
Presidential years that have preceded this one, and there have been some very hectic campaigns.
Considering basic conditions, the country is in a healthy condition. Although certain business men are
of the opinion that the public is not in a buying mood, they seem to forget that the business of the retailer is
not alone to cater to the individual who is half sold on his proposition and who comes in to buy, but it is also
to arouse the buying interest through his own efforts. Sometimes this is harder than at other times and per-
haps this Fall greater effort is required to gain satisfactory results. But they can be gained.
Roughly speaking, the retail piano trade can be divided into two classes—those dealers who have had
confidence in their business and ability to sell and who have placed advance orders with the manufacturers
accordingly, and those who have joined the over-conservative party and have hesitated to order any instruments
except sufficient to take care of immediate needs.
The retailer with confidence in his business realizes thoroughly that confidence alone is not going to
keep his stock moving, but that it must be backed up by intensive selling effort, probably greater effort than
has been put forth for some seasons past. His selling must be on a systematic, intelligent basis and calculated
to place pianos in the homes of those who, left to themselves, might be inclined to put their surplus money into
something else.
Each year the problem of the dealer in pianos, and for that matter the dealer in many other lines,
becomes more complicated for the reason that there is a steady increase in the number of articles offered to the
public. The music man is not competing alone with his fellow dealers, but is forced to create sales in com-
petition with every other merchant in his section who is selling anything except food and clothing.
No better example of this is to be found than in the experience of canvassers in any of the larger com-
munities. The piano man there will find that, in approaching the housewife, he is sandwiched in between the
vacuum cleaner salesman, the furniture salesman, the brush salesman, and a host of others, who bring their
campaigns right into the home. The same thing applies to the competition in the stores.
With the music advancement work developed so successfully throughout the country and constantly on
the increase, the piano merchant has a decided advantage over competitors whose products do not have such a
general appeal, but he can only fully enjoy that advantage if he realizes that he has to sell and sell hard.
Business for the remainder of the year is going to be iust what the individual dealer makes it. Tf he
overlooks general conditions and devotes himself to hard selling he is likely to build up a satisfactory total.
If he sits tight and waits for the situation to change before putting forth effort he is going to be disappointed.
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