Music Trade Review
Issue: 1925 Vol. 81 N. 10 - Page 3
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
REVIEW
THE
VOL. LXXXI. No. 10
Published Every Saturday. Edward Lyman Bill, Inc., 383 Madiscn Ave., New York, N. Y. Sept. 5,1925
8ln
«j!. O o°Per
Ye£ eni *
Salesmen May Be Born, but Training
Makes Them Increase Sales
Skeptics of the Value of Training the Retail Piano Salesmen Routed by the Results Achieved Through
the Ampico Retail Sales Course Recently Completed by the American Piano Co. Among
the Retail Salesmen of Its Representatives Throughout the Entire Country
AN a piano salesman be trained or can
he have his salesmanship improved
through the medium of a well-prepared
course in proper selling? This has been a moot
qut stion in the trade for some time, for the rea-
son that certain manufacturers have in the past
employed sales experts from outside to insti-
tute such training courses, but with indifferent
success. Dealers have occasionally tried out
general courses in sales instruction with dis-
appointing results, and there has persisted the
type of salesman who felt that experience was
the only teacher.
It remained for the American Piano Co. to
I. ove that a properly prepared course in piano
st ling, including sales manuals and examina-
tion papers, coupled with conferences in the
store and with the proper incentive behind it,
would be productive of worth-while results. As
a matter of fact, the success of the course in
Ampico salesmanship conducted within the past
year by the American Piano Co. proved a lit-
tle short of startling even to those who had
the greatest faith in the venture. The story of
the course and its results is well worth the tell-
ing, although the details of the plan were set
forth at the outset in the columns of The Re-
view.
Not the Ordinary Course
In the beginning let it be said that the Am-
pico course was not of the ordinary type adver
tised in the magazines under the big caption:
" r r o m $1800 Mail Clerk to $10,000 Executive
Through Three Months' Study of Business Man-
agement." It was not of the general "pep" va-
riety designed to appeal to the struggling clerk
in another line and have him study a business
of which he knew nothing and for which he
was not fitted either in training or experience.
It was, first of all, a specially planned course
for men already engaged in the line of work
of which it treated.
When the Ampico course was first decided
upon, arrangements were made with a tried and
capable organization to make the necessary
surveys, gather material in co-operation with
American Piano Co. officials and put that ma-
terial in proper form for use. The first thing
done was to make a careful and personal sur-
vey of piano selling methods throughout the
country, particularly as they apply to reproduc-
ing pianos, through the medium of a trained
corps of shoppers, who visited piano warerooms
C
in the guise of prospective purchasers, listened
to the salesmen's talks carefully, asked leading
questions to determine the salesmen's knowledge
of the subject, and then immediately after-
r
HE tradition that the successful sales-
man must be born with some inherent
quality which is the basis of the work he
does has been effectually refuted by the
American Piano Co., which recently com-
pleted a course of retail sales training
among the men who sell the Ampico to its
ultimate buyers. The results of this course
have been many and immediate and more
than justified the careful preparation and
investigation upon which it was built. It
represents perhaps the first definite step
that has ever been undertaken along these
lines in the
trade.—EDITOR.
wards made a complete typewritten report of
the transaction as near verbatim as possible.
Checking the Material
These various reports from the shoppers were
carefully checked up, and the strong, as well as
the weak, points of the sales talks carefully
noted. Trained men visited various salesmen
with outstanding reputations for ability and
carefully observed their methods of approach-
ing, selling and finally closing the prospect,
making careful note of the arguments advanced
by the prospect and the manner in which they
were met, all of which was again carefully tab-
ulated. Then questionnaires were sent out to
all Ampico dealers, asking for details as to the
problems which they regarded as the outstand-
ing ones and for which solutions were desired,
as well as other suggestions relative to the
prospective course.
The officials and department heads of the
American Piano Co. were called into conference
on numerous occasions so that the information
in the technical, sales, recording and advertising
divisions, etc., might be gathered for the benefit
of the salesmen, it being regarded as most es-
sential that they be first provided with all the
facts possible regarding the product they were
expected to sell.
All the information gained was carefully sifted
and embodied in a series of six text books
known as units. The first was captioned: "Su-
premacy of Ampico Re-enactment," and out-
lined the history and development of players
and reproducing pianos, particularly of the
Ampico, gave a brief historical sketch of the
pianos in which the Ampico is installed, to-
gether with a number of applicable sales argu-
ments, how Ampico recordings are made, the
details of the control devices, etc. The second
unit was captioned: "Supremacy of Ampico
Music," and dwelt particularly upon the
character of musical knowledge needed in
selling the Ampico, how such knowledge in-
creases sales, details regarding the great Am-
pico artists and the value of their names in sell-
ing, and a general summary of the character
of the Ampico library, its scope and character.
Unit No. 3 was captioned "Demonstrating
Ampico Supremacy," and outlined the various
plans and arguments that had proven success-
ful in putting this thought across. Unit 4, cap-
tioned "Helping the Prospect to Buy," dwelt
on the four buying motives, enjoyment, educa-
tion, entertainment and esteem, and outlined
the proper methods for interesting those with
a limited musical knowledge as well as trained
musicians and how to close the sales.
Unit 5 was captioned "When the Prospect
Hesitates," and was devoted chiefly to answer-
ing intelligently and effectively the various stock
arguments regarding competitive instruments,
prices, etc., met with in the usual course of
selling. Unit 6, the last, was captioned "Wid-
ening the Circle of Ampico Owners," and told
how to analyze the local market and secure
prospects directly as well as through the co-
operation of owners. This volume treated of
proper display in advertising, direct mail so-
licitation, etc., and contained a general review
of the principles of Ampico salesmanship.
Sent Out Monthly
The various units in the course were sent to
the enrolled salesmen at intervals of about a
month. A week or two after the new unit had
been delivered the dealers brought their sales-
men together for group conferences to discuss
the various matters of selling treated in the
units, and then the salesmen were required to
fill in and mail back to headquarters examina-
tion papers covering the individual volumes.
(Continued on page 4)
REVIEW
THE
VOL. LXXXI. No. 10
Published Every Saturday. Edward Lyman Bill, Inc., 383 Madiscn Ave., New York, N. Y. Sept. 5,1925
8ln
«j!. O o°Per
Ye£ eni *
Salesmen May Be Born, but Training
Makes Them Increase Sales
Skeptics of the Value of Training the Retail Piano Salesmen Routed by the Results Achieved Through
the Ampico Retail Sales Course Recently Completed by the American Piano Co. Among
the Retail Salesmen of Its Representatives Throughout the Entire Country
AN a piano salesman be trained or can
he have his salesmanship improved
through the medium of a well-prepared
course in proper selling? This has been a moot
qut stion in the trade for some time, for the rea-
son that certain manufacturers have in the past
employed sales experts from outside to insti-
tute such training courses, but with indifferent
success. Dealers have occasionally tried out
general courses in sales instruction with dis-
appointing results, and there has persisted the
type of salesman who felt that experience was
the only teacher.
It remained for the American Piano Co. to
I. ove that a properly prepared course in piano
st ling, including sales manuals and examina-
tion papers, coupled with conferences in the
store and with the proper incentive behind it,
would be productive of worth-while results. As
a matter of fact, the success of the course in
Ampico salesmanship conducted within the past
year by the American Piano Co. proved a lit-
tle short of startling even to those who had
the greatest faith in the venture. The story of
the course and its results is well worth the tell-
ing, although the details of the plan were set
forth at the outset in the columns of The Re-
view.
Not the Ordinary Course
In the beginning let it be said that the Am-
pico course was not of the ordinary type adver
tised in the magazines under the big caption:
" r r o m $1800 Mail Clerk to $10,000 Executive
Through Three Months' Study of Business Man-
agement." It was not of the general "pep" va-
riety designed to appeal to the struggling clerk
in another line and have him study a business
of which he knew nothing and for which he
was not fitted either in training or experience.
It was, first of all, a specially planned course
for men already engaged in the line of work
of which it treated.
When the Ampico course was first decided
upon, arrangements were made with a tried and
capable organization to make the necessary
surveys, gather material in co-operation with
American Piano Co. officials and put that ma-
terial in proper form for use. The first thing
done was to make a careful and personal sur-
vey of piano selling methods throughout the
country, particularly as they apply to reproduc-
ing pianos, through the medium of a trained
corps of shoppers, who visited piano warerooms
C
in the guise of prospective purchasers, listened
to the salesmen's talks carefully, asked leading
questions to determine the salesmen's knowledge
of the subject, and then immediately after-
r
HE tradition that the successful sales-
man must be born with some inherent
quality which is the basis of the work he
does has been effectually refuted by the
American Piano Co., which recently com-
pleted a course of retail sales training
among the men who sell the Ampico to its
ultimate buyers. The results of this course
have been many and immediate and more
than justified the careful preparation and
investigation upon which it was built. It
represents perhaps the first definite step
that has ever been undertaken along these
lines in the
trade.—EDITOR.
wards made a complete typewritten report of
the transaction as near verbatim as possible.
Checking the Material
These various reports from the shoppers were
carefully checked up, and the strong, as well as
the weak, points of the sales talks carefully
noted. Trained men visited various salesmen
with outstanding reputations for ability and
carefully observed their methods of approach-
ing, selling and finally closing the prospect,
making careful note of the arguments advanced
by the prospect and the manner in which they
were met, all of which was again carefully tab-
ulated. Then questionnaires were sent out to
all Ampico dealers, asking for details as to the
problems which they regarded as the outstand-
ing ones and for which solutions were desired,
as well as other suggestions relative to the
prospective course.
The officials and department heads of the
American Piano Co. were called into conference
on numerous occasions so that the information
in the technical, sales, recording and advertising
divisions, etc., might be gathered for the benefit
of the salesmen, it being regarded as most es-
sential that they be first provided with all the
facts possible regarding the product they were
expected to sell.
All the information gained was carefully sifted
and embodied in a series of six text books
known as units. The first was captioned: "Su-
premacy of Ampico Re-enactment," and out-
lined the history and development of players
and reproducing pianos, particularly of the
Ampico, gave a brief historical sketch of the
pianos in which the Ampico is installed, to-
gether with a number of applicable sales argu-
ments, how Ampico recordings are made, the
details of the control devices, etc. The second
unit was captioned: "Supremacy of Ampico
Music," and dwelt particularly upon the
character of musical knowledge needed in
selling the Ampico, how such knowledge in-
creases sales, details regarding the great Am-
pico artists and the value of their names in sell-
ing, and a general summary of the character
of the Ampico library, its scope and character.
Unit No. 3 was captioned "Demonstrating
Ampico Supremacy," and outlined the various
plans and arguments that had proven success-
ful in putting this thought across. Unit 4, cap-
tioned "Helping the Prospect to Buy," dwelt
on the four buying motives, enjoyment, educa-
tion, entertainment and esteem, and outlined
the proper methods for interesting those with
a limited musical knowledge as well as trained
musicians and how to close the sales.
Unit 5 was captioned "When the Prospect
Hesitates," and was devoted chiefly to answer-
ing intelligently and effectively the various stock
arguments regarding competitive instruments,
prices, etc., met with in the usual course of
selling. Unit 6, the last, was captioned "Wid-
ening the Circle of Ampico Owners," and told
how to analyze the local market and secure
prospects directly as well as through the co-
operation of owners. This volume treated of
proper display in advertising, direct mail so-
licitation, etc., and contained a general review
of the principles of Ampico salesmanship.
Sent Out Monthly
The various units in the course were sent to
the enrolled salesmen at intervals of about a
month. A week or two after the new unit had
been delivered the dealers brought their sales-
men together for group conferences to discuss
the various matters of selling treated in the
units, and then the salesmen were required to
fill in and mail back to headquarters examina-
tion papers covering the individual volumes.
(Continued on page 4)
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).