Music Trade Review
Issue: 1927 Vol. 84 N. 15-SECTION-2 - Page 3
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
Published by The Music Trade Review, 383 Madison Avenue. New York
Why Many Musical Merchandise Sales
Fail to Create Musicians
Harry L. Hunt, of Oliver Ditson Co,, New York, Henry Gerson, of Carl Fischer, Inc., New
York, and C. L. Buttelman, All Unite in Declaring That Failure to Follow Up Sales by
the Dealer Is Responsible for a Condition That Reacts Injuriously on the Trade
RE you creating players when you sell
musical instruments? Are the people
who buy your musical merchandise be-
coming permanent musicians?
These are questions every music merchant
should ask himself and his employes.
To make a sale is one thing. To make sales
so that they build foundations for other sales
and future business is another thing. And a
much more important thing in the final analysis.
Exactly how much harm is ultimately done
the music business by those persons who at
one time or another buy musical instruments
and never learn to play them is impossible
to determine. But it is a self-evident fact that
harm is done.
This, of course, is something that can never
be entirely prevented. There are countless
persons who never will become musicians and
many of them will be sold instruments. But
there are thousands of others who buy musical
instruments who have possibilities of becoming
good musicians who do not realize to any
degree their ambitions.
Shortsightedness on the part of the dealer
is responsible to a large degree for the fact
that a great many of these musician customers
never develop. An instrument is sold and no
further thought is ever given to the purchaser.
There is no effort made to guide the instru-
ment buyer in his early instruction and practice.
As a result he will as likely as not become
easily discouraged and abandon the instrument.
On the other hand, suppose the young man
were given a slight amount of encouragement
by the dealer, the proper teacher found for
him and a few words of advice given, possibly
an occasional telephone call to find out what
progress he is making.
It will make all the difference in the world
with the player, provided, of course, he is not
one of those rare individuals temperamentally
unsuited to music and musical training.
Harry L. Hunt, one of the wisest music mer-
chants in the business, after many years'
experience at Ditson's, in New York, lias de-
veloped some interesting ideas on the subject.
A
According to Mr. Hunt, one of the important
reasons for the number of unused instruments
lying around is overselling on the part of the
dealer. People have been easily led into buying
instruments by the following "get-rich-quick"
methods:
"Easy to Learn," k 'Be Popular," "Dollar
OHNNY JONES hears I'uul Whiteman play
and he also hears how much money Paul
J Whiteman
makes for what looks like easy work.
Johnny decides to be a musician and goes to
So-and-So's Music Store. Sure. It's easy. Ye_s,
free lessons. Oh, yes, only a dollar down. No
trouble to leurn the saxophone.
Johnny's all pepped up. But pretty soon he
finds it's not so easy. The "free" lessons don't
seem to be so cheap after all, for he^s not learning
anything. He eventually decides he's not cut out
to be a musician. That store was all wet telling
him all those things.
Does he visit So-and-so's every little while for
new instruments, accessories, music, etc.? Does
he tell all his friends that So-and-so's is a great
store and that they ought to take up music, it's
easy?
Yes, he does!
Down," "Easy Money," "A Fat Job," "Earn
While You Learn," "Pay as You Play," etc., etc.
Mr. Hunt believes the dealer is spending
most of his efforts selling these catch phrases
rather than music. He does not disparage
these catchy sales slogans as an aid to selling
instruments, provided they are backed up with
some other selling talk that is really good
lor the purchaser.
The novice in musical instruments should
not be led to expect too much. Some salesmen
lead him to look for miracles. Teach the cus-
tomers that playing musical instruments is not
easy, but rather that it is possible by a fair
amount of diligent work.
Mr. Hunt long ago abandoned the idea of
free lessons with instrument sales. He says
that it is much better, both' for the customer
as well as the store, to recommend some good
teachers to the new players. The teachers then
co-operate enthusiastically. The tremendous
success of the Ditson establishment is the best
answer to whether or not Mr. Hunt is right.
Henry Gerson, of the musical merchandise
department of Carl Fischer, Inc., with big stores
in New York, Boston and Chicago, coincides
with Mr. Hunt's views.
"It is lasting customers that build the busi-
ness of any concern," declares Mr. Gerson.
"What a music house needs most is musicians.
We do our utmost to create them by rendering
a full measure of co-operation to the customer
that does not stop with his purchase of an
instrument but goes on afterwards. Our sales-
men keep in touch with customers, see to it
that they are making the proper progress.
"We work with the teachers and not against
them. Music is a difficult art to learn, no
matter what the 'Easy-to-play' school may say,
and we know that the best investment a young
player can make is a few lessons with a teacher
who knows his job. And this co-operation with
the teachers is not only better for the player,
but it gains us the good will of the teacher."
Our friend and popular contributor, Cliff
Buttelman, strikes this same vein in most of
his articles and his thoughts are echoed by
the progressive dealers who make a real study
of proper merchandising methods. Buttelman
maintains that the relations of teachers and
dealers are an important issue and can be made
to yield best results by working along proper
lines.
So don't promise too much, cither in tin-
amount of musical knowledge the customer
will be able to assimilate or in the rapidity
with which he will master the instrument.
Actions, you know, speak much louder than
mere words. Instead of promising much, at-
tempt to achieve a little by showing the
customer the way to get the results.
It will all come back to you because after
all your real business lies in repeat business
from the musicians that you or some other
dealer creates. As Mr. Gerson says, what a
music dealer needs most is a musician.
Published by The Music Trade Review, 383 Madison Avenue. New York
Why Many Musical Merchandise Sales
Fail to Create Musicians
Harry L. Hunt, of Oliver Ditson Co,, New York, Henry Gerson, of Carl Fischer, Inc., New
York, and C. L. Buttelman, All Unite in Declaring That Failure to Follow Up Sales by
the Dealer Is Responsible for a Condition That Reacts Injuriously on the Trade
RE you creating players when you sell
musical instruments? Are the people
who buy your musical merchandise be-
coming permanent musicians?
These are questions every music merchant
should ask himself and his employes.
To make a sale is one thing. To make sales
so that they build foundations for other sales
and future business is another thing. And a
much more important thing in the final analysis.
Exactly how much harm is ultimately done
the music business by those persons who at
one time or another buy musical instruments
and never learn to play them is impossible
to determine. But it is a self-evident fact that
harm is done.
This, of course, is something that can never
be entirely prevented. There are countless
persons who never will become musicians and
many of them will be sold instruments. But
there are thousands of others who buy musical
instruments who have possibilities of becoming
good musicians who do not realize to any
degree their ambitions.
Shortsightedness on the part of the dealer
is responsible to a large degree for the fact
that a great many of these musician customers
never develop. An instrument is sold and no
further thought is ever given to the purchaser.
There is no effort made to guide the instru-
ment buyer in his early instruction and practice.
As a result he will as likely as not become
easily discouraged and abandon the instrument.
On the other hand, suppose the young man
were given a slight amount of encouragement
by the dealer, the proper teacher found for
him and a few words of advice given, possibly
an occasional telephone call to find out what
progress he is making.
It will make all the difference in the world
with the player, provided, of course, he is not
one of those rare individuals temperamentally
unsuited to music and musical training.
Harry L. Hunt, one of the wisest music mer-
chants in the business, after many years'
experience at Ditson's, in New York, lias de-
veloped some interesting ideas on the subject.
A
According to Mr. Hunt, one of the important
reasons for the number of unused instruments
lying around is overselling on the part of the
dealer. People have been easily led into buying
instruments by the following "get-rich-quick"
methods:
"Easy to Learn," k 'Be Popular," "Dollar
OHNNY JONES hears I'uul Whiteman play
and he also hears how much money Paul
J Whiteman
makes for what looks like easy work.
Johnny decides to be a musician and goes to
So-and-So's Music Store. Sure. It's easy. Ye_s,
free lessons. Oh, yes, only a dollar down. No
trouble to leurn the saxophone.
Johnny's all pepped up. But pretty soon he
finds it's not so easy. The "free" lessons don't
seem to be so cheap after all, for he^s not learning
anything. He eventually decides he's not cut out
to be a musician. That store was all wet telling
him all those things.
Does he visit So-and-so's every little while for
new instruments, accessories, music, etc.? Does
he tell all his friends that So-and-so's is a great
store and that they ought to take up music, it's
easy?
Yes, he does!
Down," "Easy Money," "A Fat Job," "Earn
While You Learn," "Pay as You Play," etc., etc.
Mr. Hunt believes the dealer is spending
most of his efforts selling these catch phrases
rather than music. He does not disparage
these catchy sales slogans as an aid to selling
instruments, provided they are backed up with
some other selling talk that is really good
lor the purchaser.
The novice in musical instruments should
not be led to expect too much. Some salesmen
lead him to look for miracles. Teach the cus-
tomers that playing musical instruments is not
easy, but rather that it is possible by a fair
amount of diligent work.
Mr. Hunt long ago abandoned the idea of
free lessons with instrument sales. He says
that it is much better, both' for the customer
as well as the store, to recommend some good
teachers to the new players. The teachers then
co-operate enthusiastically. The tremendous
success of the Ditson establishment is the best
answer to whether or not Mr. Hunt is right.
Henry Gerson, of the musical merchandise
department of Carl Fischer, Inc., with big stores
in New York, Boston and Chicago, coincides
with Mr. Hunt's views.
"It is lasting customers that build the busi-
ness of any concern," declares Mr. Gerson.
"What a music house needs most is musicians.
We do our utmost to create them by rendering
a full measure of co-operation to the customer
that does not stop with his purchase of an
instrument but goes on afterwards. Our sales-
men keep in touch with customers, see to it
that they are making the proper progress.
"We work with the teachers and not against
them. Music is a difficult art to learn, no
matter what the 'Easy-to-play' school may say,
and we know that the best investment a young
player can make is a few lessons with a teacher
who knows his job. And this co-operation with
the teachers is not only better for the player,
but it gains us the good will of the teacher."
Our friend and popular contributor, Cliff
Buttelman, strikes this same vein in most of
his articles and his thoughts are echoed by
the progressive dealers who make a real study
of proper merchandising methods. Buttelman
maintains that the relations of teachers and
dealers are an important issue and can be made
to yield best results by working along proper
lines.
So don't promise too much, cither in tin-
amount of musical knowledge the customer
will be able to assimilate or in the rapidity
with which he will master the instrument.
Actions, you know, speak much louder than
mere words. Instead of promising much, at-
tempt to achieve a little by showing the
customer the way to get the results.
It will all come back to you because after
all your real business lies in repeat business
from the musicians that you or some other
dealer creates. As Mr. Gerson says, what a
music dealer needs most is a musician.
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