Presto
Issue: 1923 1928 - Page 5
PRESTO
July 7, 1923
CHRISTMAN
Grand
MEETING PROBLEM OF
THREATENED PRICE RAISE
Whether to Anticipate the Increase, or to
Wait and Meet the Conditions, Is the
Question.
It is Distinctly an Art Product and
Has no Superior among REPRO-
DUCING PIANOS.
Piano men who have been crying for still lower
prices may find food for thought in the following
which appeared in last Sunday's New York Times.
While no direct reference is made to pianos it has
been customary to look for increase in process of
pianos when other things are similarly affected. In
any event, pianos are now as low as they can be ex-
pected to go in a long time, and some of them have
passed down in price below anything in all the earlier
records of the industry.
While many are convinced that nothing can pre-
vent a rise in prices, there are those who insist that
this proceeding will have to be done with much dis-
crimination when it comes to the ultimate consumer,
lest he balk and refuse to play the game. There will
be some testing out to see how far sellers can go,
and this applies all along the line, beginning with the
raw materials which enter into manufactures.
And the question presents itself which of two plans
is the better policy. One of these is to start out with
the highest price the seller hopes to get, and, if re-
sponses are not ample, to come down from the
perch. The other is to have a moderate opening
price and subsequently advance it if the circum-
stances warrant.
Of the two, the last mentioned has more to com-
mend it. In the first instance, a drop in price is apt
to be followed by demoralization, the buyer feeling
never sure when the bottom will be touched and,
therefore, making him more than ever determined to
hold back his purchases to the last moment. On the
other hand, should initial advances be moderate, so as
to afford some chance that they may be absorbed in
a measure between producer and consumer, there
will be less reluctance to venture, and a trade may be
encouraged to grow to such an extent as to make
possible a gradual, if not too large, price advance.
It does not pay to try and drive the consumer.
Coaxing is, by far, the better and more effective plan
and, unless all signs fail, this is what will be at-
tempted.
CHRISTMAN
RIVALRY AMONG SALESMEN
MAKES SUCCESSFUL SALE
Studio Grand
Branch Store Force of United Music Co. Wins Hon-
ors in Connecticut House.
when embodied with
Responds Completely to the
MOST CRITICAL
A very interesting rivalry in selling was created
by the United Music Co., New London, Conn., dur-
ing the disposal recently of the stock of pianos and
playerpianos purchased from D. S. Marsh & Co. The
stock was an extensive one and provided opportuni-
ties for the sales staff in the main store and all the
branches of the United Music Co.
To the Willimantic store went the honors for
doing the most business, and William A. Roy and
George F. Noel were the successful sa 1 es closers who
secured the most business and brought the Willim-
antic store to the head of the honors list.
A special prize offered by Samuel Feldman, the
manager, to the salesman getting the largest net
amount of sales carrying the largest percentage of
cash and the shortest term contracts was won by
Mr. Roy. The creation of friendly rivalry among
the salesmen is a rule of the company always effec-
tive for the desired results.
A WONDERFUL SMALL GRAND
only five feet long which embodies all
the advantages of the larger grands
and possessing a tone volume and
range of expression surprisingly broad.
Musicians quickly recognize the
characteristic tone qualities of the
CHRISTMAN GRAND
SEEING IS BELIEVING
et
The First Touch Tells"
Reg. U S. Pat
Off.
Christ man Piano Co.
597 East 137th St.
New York
HENRY JOHNSON AIMS TO
BE SECOND HENRY FORD
Policy of Specializing in One Style Piano Being
Pushed by Vigorous Campaign.
The aim of making the new style Henry G. John-
son piano "the Ford of the piano industry," is being
pushed vigorously by the Henry G. Johnson Piano
Mfg. Co., of Bellevue, Iowa. Ever since the Johnson
organization determined, some months back, to con-
centrate its efforts on the one style small piano and
player piano, the campaign to put this "one style"
without.
This week, a circular letter is being sent out by
Dan Pagenta, vice-president of the firm, from the
Chicago office at 307 Great Northern Bldg. The
letter follows:
Specialization.—The secret of building a beautiful
playerpiano at a moderate price.
The Henry G. Johnson playerpiano is a playerpiano
that no one organization working alone has ever
matched in quality, tone or performance at so low a
price.
It remained for the Henry G. Johnson organization
to make a playerpiano that affords a definite assur-
ance of known dependability—a player of exception-
ally fine quality at an exceptional low price. It is a
remarkable achievement in specialized methods of
manufacture; a triumph of modern co-operative pro-
duction.
Specialization is your best assurance of fine work-
manship and consistent year-in and year-out depend-
ability. It is a dealer's best guarantee against the
high cost of up-keep expense.
Dealers say when they sell a Henry G. Johnson
playerpiano it stays sold; Have you seen the new
style C Playerpiano?
HOW MUCH OF AN ASSET
IS ITEM OF GOOD=WILL?
Hallet & Davis House Organ Points to Fine Illus-
tration of How-to-do-it.
Stories have been told of salesmen who crossed
the street when they saw someone to whom they
had sold a piano. But, according to the "Hallet &
Davis Salesman," L. E. Cox, manager of Martin
Tiros. Piano Company, Springfield, Mo., thinks a
customer should be the best advertisement a house
can have.
Martin Bros, have a high-class man who does
nothing else but follow up a sale after it is made.
He goes to the home after the instrument is deliv-
ered and gives all the information he can regarding
the instrument. He shows how to best operate the
p'ayer (most people forget what has been shown
them in the warerooms), and if it is a piano gives a
short talk on its care. He also sees if the terms are
fully understood. His big point is to get prospects,
but incidentally he saves many a sale and helps
collections.
The best-known department store in the country
built up their business on the basis that the customer
was always right; that is, no effort was left unbent
to saisfy he customer, and we feel that Mr. Cox is
working along lines which build a great business.
SCHILLER GRAND WINNING
FINE CLASS OF TRADE
New Plans Meet with Marked Success and Addition
to Factory Is Considered.
The Schiller piano is making rapid strides in for-
eign fields. Following the shipment to Australia, the
industry at Oregon, 111., received a large order for
Manila, including uprights, players and grands. This
foreign business has come to the Schiller Piano Co.
without solicitation. Agents of large foreign buyers
have visited the factory to inspect the Schiller prod-
uct and have sent enhusiasic reports to their houses.
The Schiller Super-Grand wih the Bauer patented
construction attracted very general attention, as was
to have been expected. It is said at the Schiller of-
fices that the Super-Grand is already sold ahead to
September 15th, and the manufacturers are planning
on building an addition to the present plant in order
to give increased capacity to the grands. The, 1923
program of the Schi.ler company has won the ap-
proval of large and representative houses throughout
the United States who are enthusiastically featuring
the line.
The Schiller name has never been besmirched by
the so-called "tricks of the trade," and, aside from the
name value, the special features embodied in the new
line have brought it into recognition with some of the
best houses in the trade. The patented construction
of the grand makes it a distinctive piano with the
qualiy of tone that is winning its way in musical
circles.
• The Schiller Piano Co. has experienced no summer
dullness and the factory is very busy and Secretary-
Treasurer E. B. Jones said to a Presto representative
that he is looking for an unprecedented trade this
fall.
A LITTLE MORE POWER.
A good rule for piano salesmen to remember
when prone to lose patience with customers is that
politeness has won more victories than logic ever
has. The trade school that could succeed in teach-
ing politeness to its pupils would act as a stimulator
to thousands that are now woefully short of that
necessary trait of character. Politeness is an evi-
dence of suppressed power. It's a pity to say of
the man who failed in part as a salesman that he
seemed to be one of those men that—to employ an
apparent bluff—with a little more power would have
been much more powerful. That little more power
would have been found in civility—the kind that
closes sales..
A JAZZ SUBSTITUTE.
The old mouth organ is coming back. It is con-
sidered quite an innovation for the private apartment
party. And some of the parties carry their own or-
ganist to cafes. When the jazz band dies down, the
organist regales with his tunes.
Enhanced content © 2008-2009 and presented by MBSI - The Musical Box Society International (www.mbsi.org) and the International Arcade Museum (www.arcade-museum.com).
All Rights Reserved. Digitized from the archives of the MBSI with support from NAMM - The International Music Products Association (www.namm.org).
Additional enhancement, optimization, and distribution by the International Arcade Museum. An extensive collection of Presto can be found online at http://www.arcade-museum.com/library/
July 7, 1923
CHRISTMAN
Grand
MEETING PROBLEM OF
THREATENED PRICE RAISE
Whether to Anticipate the Increase, or to
Wait and Meet the Conditions, Is the
Question.
It is Distinctly an Art Product and
Has no Superior among REPRO-
DUCING PIANOS.
Piano men who have been crying for still lower
prices may find food for thought in the following
which appeared in last Sunday's New York Times.
While no direct reference is made to pianos it has
been customary to look for increase in process of
pianos when other things are similarly affected. In
any event, pianos are now as low as they can be ex-
pected to go in a long time, and some of them have
passed down in price below anything in all the earlier
records of the industry.
While many are convinced that nothing can pre-
vent a rise in prices, there are those who insist that
this proceeding will have to be done with much dis-
crimination when it comes to the ultimate consumer,
lest he balk and refuse to play the game. There will
be some testing out to see how far sellers can go,
and this applies all along the line, beginning with the
raw materials which enter into manufactures.
And the question presents itself which of two plans
is the better policy. One of these is to start out with
the highest price the seller hopes to get, and, if re-
sponses are not ample, to come down from the
perch. The other is to have a moderate opening
price and subsequently advance it if the circum-
stances warrant.
Of the two, the last mentioned has more to com-
mend it. In the first instance, a drop in price is apt
to be followed by demoralization, the buyer feeling
never sure when the bottom will be touched and,
therefore, making him more than ever determined to
hold back his purchases to the last moment. On the
other hand, should initial advances be moderate, so as
to afford some chance that they may be absorbed in
a measure between producer and consumer, there
will be less reluctance to venture, and a trade may be
encouraged to grow to such an extent as to make
possible a gradual, if not too large, price advance.
It does not pay to try and drive the consumer.
Coaxing is, by far, the better and more effective plan
and, unless all signs fail, this is what will be at-
tempted.
CHRISTMAN
RIVALRY AMONG SALESMEN
MAKES SUCCESSFUL SALE
Studio Grand
Branch Store Force of United Music Co. Wins Hon-
ors in Connecticut House.
when embodied with
Responds Completely to the
MOST CRITICAL
A very interesting rivalry in selling was created
by the United Music Co., New London, Conn., dur-
ing the disposal recently of the stock of pianos and
playerpianos purchased from D. S. Marsh & Co. The
stock was an extensive one and provided opportuni-
ties for the sales staff in the main store and all the
branches of the United Music Co.
To the Willimantic store went the honors for
doing the most business, and William A. Roy and
George F. Noel were the successful sa 1 es closers who
secured the most business and brought the Willim-
antic store to the head of the honors list.
A special prize offered by Samuel Feldman, the
manager, to the salesman getting the largest net
amount of sales carrying the largest percentage of
cash and the shortest term contracts was won by
Mr. Roy. The creation of friendly rivalry among
the salesmen is a rule of the company always effec-
tive for the desired results.
A WONDERFUL SMALL GRAND
only five feet long which embodies all
the advantages of the larger grands
and possessing a tone volume and
range of expression surprisingly broad.
Musicians quickly recognize the
characteristic tone qualities of the
CHRISTMAN GRAND
SEEING IS BELIEVING
et
The First Touch Tells"
Reg. U S. Pat
Off.
Christ man Piano Co.
597 East 137th St.
New York
HENRY JOHNSON AIMS TO
BE SECOND HENRY FORD
Policy of Specializing in One Style Piano Being
Pushed by Vigorous Campaign.
The aim of making the new style Henry G. John-
son piano "the Ford of the piano industry," is being
pushed vigorously by the Henry G. Johnson Piano
Mfg. Co., of Bellevue, Iowa. Ever since the Johnson
organization determined, some months back, to con-
centrate its efforts on the one style small piano and
player piano, the campaign to put this "one style"
without.
This week, a circular letter is being sent out by
Dan Pagenta, vice-president of the firm, from the
Chicago office at 307 Great Northern Bldg. The
letter follows:
Specialization.—The secret of building a beautiful
playerpiano at a moderate price.
The Henry G. Johnson playerpiano is a playerpiano
that no one organization working alone has ever
matched in quality, tone or performance at so low a
price.
It remained for the Henry G. Johnson organization
to make a playerpiano that affords a definite assur-
ance of known dependability—a player of exception-
ally fine quality at an exceptional low price. It is a
remarkable achievement in specialized methods of
manufacture; a triumph of modern co-operative pro-
duction.
Specialization is your best assurance of fine work-
manship and consistent year-in and year-out depend-
ability. It is a dealer's best guarantee against the
high cost of up-keep expense.
Dealers say when they sell a Henry G. Johnson
playerpiano it stays sold; Have you seen the new
style C Playerpiano?
HOW MUCH OF AN ASSET
IS ITEM OF GOOD=WILL?
Hallet & Davis House Organ Points to Fine Illus-
tration of How-to-do-it.
Stories have been told of salesmen who crossed
the street when they saw someone to whom they
had sold a piano. But, according to the "Hallet &
Davis Salesman," L. E. Cox, manager of Martin
Tiros. Piano Company, Springfield, Mo., thinks a
customer should be the best advertisement a house
can have.
Martin Bros, have a high-class man who does
nothing else but follow up a sale after it is made.
He goes to the home after the instrument is deliv-
ered and gives all the information he can regarding
the instrument. He shows how to best operate the
p'ayer (most people forget what has been shown
them in the warerooms), and if it is a piano gives a
short talk on its care. He also sees if the terms are
fully understood. His big point is to get prospects,
but incidentally he saves many a sale and helps
collections.
The best-known department store in the country
built up their business on the basis that the customer
was always right; that is, no effort was left unbent
to saisfy he customer, and we feel that Mr. Cox is
working along lines which build a great business.
SCHILLER GRAND WINNING
FINE CLASS OF TRADE
New Plans Meet with Marked Success and Addition
to Factory Is Considered.
The Schiller piano is making rapid strides in for-
eign fields. Following the shipment to Australia, the
industry at Oregon, 111., received a large order for
Manila, including uprights, players and grands. This
foreign business has come to the Schiller Piano Co.
without solicitation. Agents of large foreign buyers
have visited the factory to inspect the Schiller prod-
uct and have sent enhusiasic reports to their houses.
The Schiller Super-Grand wih the Bauer patented
construction attracted very general attention, as was
to have been expected. It is said at the Schiller of-
fices that the Super-Grand is already sold ahead to
September 15th, and the manufacturers are planning
on building an addition to the present plant in order
to give increased capacity to the grands. The, 1923
program of the Schi.ler company has won the ap-
proval of large and representative houses throughout
the United States who are enthusiastically featuring
the line.
The Schiller name has never been besmirched by
the so-called "tricks of the trade," and, aside from the
name value, the special features embodied in the new
line have brought it into recognition with some of the
best houses in the trade. The patented construction
of the grand makes it a distinctive piano with the
qualiy of tone that is winning its way in musical
circles.
• The Schiller Piano Co. has experienced no summer
dullness and the factory is very busy and Secretary-
Treasurer E. B. Jones said to a Presto representative
that he is looking for an unprecedented trade this
fall.
A LITTLE MORE POWER.
A good rule for piano salesmen to remember
when prone to lose patience with customers is that
politeness has won more victories than logic ever
has. The trade school that could succeed in teach-
ing politeness to its pupils would act as a stimulator
to thousands that are now woefully short of that
necessary trait of character. Politeness is an evi-
dence of suppressed power. It's a pity to say of
the man who failed in part as a salesman that he
seemed to be one of those men that—to employ an
apparent bluff—with a little more power would have
been much more powerful. That little more power
would have been found in civility—the kind that
closes sales..
A JAZZ SUBSTITUTE.
The old mouth organ is coming back. It is con-
sidered quite an innovation for the private apartment
party. And some of the parties carry their own or-
ganist to cafes. When the jazz band dies down, the
organist regales with his tunes.
Enhanced content © 2008-2009 and presented by MBSI - The Musical Box Society International (www.mbsi.org) and the International Arcade Museum (www.arcade-museum.com).
All Rights Reserved. Digitized from the archives of the MBSI with support from NAMM - The International Music Products Association (www.namm.org).
Additional enhancement, optimization, and distribution by the International Arcade Museum. An extensive collection of Presto can be found online at http://www.arcade-museum.com/library/
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).