Music Trade Review
Issue: 1930 Vol. 89 N. 5 - Page 5
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
man
tatlOS and
As told to Robert K. Dor an by
CHARLES F. HOFFMAN
Head of Hoffman Piano Co., Buffalo, N. Y.
Charles I 1 ". Hoffman
P
IANOS arc not being sold in the quan-
tities possible because of the lack of
aggressive salesmen. Piano salesmen
in the. main aren't what 'they used to
be'! No so long ago a piano salesman was a
real salesman. He got to his prospect, he stuck
to this prospect and sold him in the end. The
selling might have taken months, nevertheless
the piano was sold.
"Since the inception of radio, the crop of pi-
ano men hasn't been so good. Many of the piano
'highlights' forsook their tried and true field
for the glitter and glamor of the new baby, the
radio. Many others went from pianos into their
own businesses, musical—where radio predom-
inates or otherwise. This has left those retail-
ing pianos with skeleton forces of real he-piano
sellers."
Charles F. Hoffman, head of the Hoffman
Piano Co., Buffalo, N. Y., is talking. Mr. Hoff-
man has been in the piano selling business for
over twenty-five years. For the past three
years his store has been located at Main and
Edward streets, a busy corner on the edge •{
the downtown Buffalo retail shopping area.
During this time Mr. Hoffman has sold close
to $75,000 worth of pianos yearly. He has sold
almost an equal amount of radios. The Hoff-
man store has two sections. Connected by an
archway in the rear, both stores, radio and
piano, are distinct and separate. They are
separated by a sound-proof partition that in-
sures normal quietness in each department.
Each store has its separate street entrance and
window display.
Despite the large radio business done by
Hoffman's, Mr. Hoffman is known, first and
last, as a piano man. He says so himself. His
hobby is piano selling. He likes to sell good
pianos. Perhaps this is one reason why he is
continuing to be successful in merchandising a
"line'" that many have forsaken in the past few
years—a "line" that doesn't seem to have much
of a "future" according to their way of thinking.
"And this type of merchant,"' continues Mr.
Hoffman, "won't take the pains to acquire and
train men to sell pianos. He just sits back and
ii
waits for business. He does a little newspaper
advertising, dolls his windows up regularly, and
hopes for the best. This man is losing busi-
ness. He is the one who is complaining that
'no pianos are being bought.'
"I feel that piano dealers are making the
great mistake of depending too much on printed
salesmanship. Advertising is mighty fine if it
is well written, well placed and well timed. But
together with window displays it shouldn't be
the beginning and the end. We feel that it is
only the beginning—that it takes real, per-
sonal selling to complete the bill.
"Piano selling is much like selling life insur-
ance. One selling pianos must go out, dig up
his prospects and stick by them until they are
"/ feel that piano deal-
ers are making
the
great mistake of de-
pending too much on
printed salesmanship
. . . . that together with
window
displays, it
should be the begin-
ning and not the end. I
feel that it is only the
'beginning,' — that it
takes real,
personal
selling to complete the
bill."
sold. This is the way we operate here in Buf-
falo. We have two regular year-in and year-
nut piano salesmen. These men work on a
salary and commission basis. One salesman
takes care of the surrounding 'country' districts,
while the other is solely a city man. In the
bad months, the country salesman helps in the
city. Then I do considerable piano selling my-
self. I like to sell pianos. Every sale means
a good turn done. Every piano bought means
complete satisfaction to the customer.
"The city salesman does no house-to-house
canvassing. It isn't profitable for us to do that
in Buffalo. He'd have to make too many calls
to find a prospect. As it is, he works From
leads that our advertising and store contacts
have produced; from those he gets from cus-
5
tomers, and from other private sources. When
we make a sale we inquire if the customer
knows anyone who might want a piano some
day. This inquiry results in not a few good
prospect names.
"Another reason why we do no canvassing
is this: Here in Buffalo one of the most fertile
piano fields are the districts which contain the
rich and well-to-do. It would not be the thing
to do to make cold canvasses in these terri-
tories. More harm would come of such tactics
than good. Rather when we make a sale we
inquire of the customer's friends and thus get
quite a number of names and can make direct
calls.
"We don't plan to sell a party on the first
call, or on the second, or even on the third.
Our system of piano selling is one that 'takes
time' to build up a reserve of good will before
conr.ng to the actual point of 'buying.' (Our
first call at the home is to get acquainted with
the party and let them know something about
the Hoffman institution. If the children in the
home are small we tell the prospect how nice
it would be to have a piano and have it all 'paid
up' by the time the children are old enough to
take lessons. On our second trip to the pros-
pect we mention the various makes of pianos
we have and discuss their merits. And on sub-
sequent calls we continue to sell ourselves and
our piano merchandise. As a rule, after one or
two calls, we know the prospect and her
finances and her tastes well enough to select the
piano we feel she should have. Then we sell
this one make to the exclusion of all others."
Mr. Hoffman explained about his country
salesman. The latter puts a piano on a truck
and literally goes to his prospects' homes,
truck, piano and all.
"From early spring to late fall we canvass
the small towns nearby and adjoining country-
side," says Mr. Hoffman. "We sell a good
number of new pianos, and dispose of our trade-
ins, including the players. It is nearly impos-
sible to sell a player in the city. But country
folk still buy them. And they buy new and
used uprights as well. Our country selling is
indispensable in our scheme of piano retailing.
We feel that the rural precincts are a ready
outlet for our trade-in merchandise besides be-
ing a good field for new upright sales.
"We find the grand piano the big seller. We
find that we are making fewer sales than in the
years past, but these fewer sales make for great-
er money volume. People are buying better
pianos. Those who buy want pianos and will
(Please turn to page 14)
man
tatlOS and
As told to Robert K. Dor an by
CHARLES F. HOFFMAN
Head of Hoffman Piano Co., Buffalo, N. Y.
Charles I 1 ". Hoffman
P
IANOS arc not being sold in the quan-
tities possible because of the lack of
aggressive salesmen. Piano salesmen
in the. main aren't what 'they used to
be'! No so long ago a piano salesman was a
real salesman. He got to his prospect, he stuck
to this prospect and sold him in the end. The
selling might have taken months, nevertheless
the piano was sold.
"Since the inception of radio, the crop of pi-
ano men hasn't been so good. Many of the piano
'highlights' forsook their tried and true field
for the glitter and glamor of the new baby, the
radio. Many others went from pianos into their
own businesses, musical—where radio predom-
inates or otherwise. This has left those retail-
ing pianos with skeleton forces of real he-piano
sellers."
Charles F. Hoffman, head of the Hoffman
Piano Co., Buffalo, N. Y., is talking. Mr. Hoff-
man has been in the piano selling business for
over twenty-five years. For the past three
years his store has been located at Main and
Edward streets, a busy corner on the edge •{
the downtown Buffalo retail shopping area.
During this time Mr. Hoffman has sold close
to $75,000 worth of pianos yearly. He has sold
almost an equal amount of radios. The Hoff-
man store has two sections. Connected by an
archway in the rear, both stores, radio and
piano, are distinct and separate. They are
separated by a sound-proof partition that in-
sures normal quietness in each department.
Each store has its separate street entrance and
window display.
Despite the large radio business done by
Hoffman's, Mr. Hoffman is known, first and
last, as a piano man. He says so himself. His
hobby is piano selling. He likes to sell good
pianos. Perhaps this is one reason why he is
continuing to be successful in merchandising a
"line'" that many have forsaken in the past few
years—a "line" that doesn't seem to have much
of a "future" according to their way of thinking.
"And this type of merchant,"' continues Mr.
Hoffman, "won't take the pains to acquire and
train men to sell pianos. He just sits back and
ii
waits for business. He does a little newspaper
advertising, dolls his windows up regularly, and
hopes for the best. This man is losing busi-
ness. He is the one who is complaining that
'no pianos are being bought.'
"I feel that piano dealers are making the
great mistake of depending too much on printed
salesmanship. Advertising is mighty fine if it
is well written, well placed and well timed. But
together with window displays it shouldn't be
the beginning and the end. We feel that it is
only the beginning—that it takes real, per-
sonal selling to complete the bill.
"Piano selling is much like selling life insur-
ance. One selling pianos must go out, dig up
his prospects and stick by them until they are
"/ feel that piano deal-
ers are making
the
great mistake of de-
pending too much on
printed salesmanship
. . . . that together with
window
displays, it
should be the begin-
ning and not the end. I
feel that it is only the
'beginning,' — that it
takes real,
personal
selling to complete the
bill."
sold. This is the way we operate here in Buf-
falo. We have two regular year-in and year-
nut piano salesmen. These men work on a
salary and commission basis. One salesman
takes care of the surrounding 'country' districts,
while the other is solely a city man. In the
bad months, the country salesman helps in the
city. Then I do considerable piano selling my-
self. I like to sell pianos. Every sale means
a good turn done. Every piano bought means
complete satisfaction to the customer.
"The city salesman does no house-to-house
canvassing. It isn't profitable for us to do that
in Buffalo. He'd have to make too many calls
to find a prospect. As it is, he works From
leads that our advertising and store contacts
have produced; from those he gets from cus-
5
tomers, and from other private sources. When
we make a sale we inquire if the customer
knows anyone who might want a piano some
day. This inquiry results in not a few good
prospect names.
"Another reason why we do no canvassing
is this: Here in Buffalo one of the most fertile
piano fields are the districts which contain the
rich and well-to-do. It would not be the thing
to do to make cold canvasses in these terri-
tories. More harm would come of such tactics
than good. Rather when we make a sale we
inquire of the customer's friends and thus get
quite a number of names and can make direct
calls.
"We don't plan to sell a party on the first
call, or on the second, or even on the third.
Our system of piano selling is one that 'takes
time' to build up a reserve of good will before
conr.ng to the actual point of 'buying.' (Our
first call at the home is to get acquainted with
the party and let them know something about
the Hoffman institution. If the children in the
home are small we tell the prospect how nice
it would be to have a piano and have it all 'paid
up' by the time the children are old enough to
take lessons. On our second trip to the pros-
pect we mention the various makes of pianos
we have and discuss their merits. And on sub-
sequent calls we continue to sell ourselves and
our piano merchandise. As a rule, after one or
two calls, we know the prospect and her
finances and her tastes well enough to select the
piano we feel she should have. Then we sell
this one make to the exclusion of all others."
Mr. Hoffman explained about his country
salesman. The latter puts a piano on a truck
and literally goes to his prospects' homes,
truck, piano and all.
"From early spring to late fall we canvass
the small towns nearby and adjoining country-
side," says Mr. Hoffman. "We sell a good
number of new pianos, and dispose of our trade-
ins, including the players. It is nearly impos-
sible to sell a player in the city. But country
folk still buy them. And they buy new and
used uprights as well. Our country selling is
indispensable in our scheme of piano retailing.
We feel that the rural precincts are a ready
outlet for our trade-in merchandise besides be-
ing a good field for new upright sales.
"We find the grand piano the big seller. We
find that we are making fewer sales than in the
years past, but these fewer sales make for great-
er money volume. People are buying better
pianos. Those who buy want pianos and will
(Please turn to page 14)
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