The Edison phonograph monthly (Jan-Dec 1912)

^Ae EDISON PHONOGRAPH MONTHLY CONTENTS FOR APRIL 1912 PAGE Adam 2 Special Notice 2 Ten Greatest Men Alive 3 May Window Display 5 The Phonograph as an Actor 6 A Clincher 6 No Jobbers' Profits 6 Electros for New Machines 7 The Plan Maker 7 Window Displays Sales Producers 8 Suspended List, March 20, 1912 8 The Phonogram 9 Opera Model Delayed 9 PAGE April Record Return Guide 9 Rapke Labels and Trays 9 Hustling Some 10 Lighting Stores 10 Edison Record Talent 11 A Visit to a Dealer's Store 12 Keeping Customers 12 The Other 13,000..." 13 Electro for Amberol No. 1023 14 Advance List of June Records 15 List and Dealers' Net Prices on Cygnet Horn Crane Parts 19 Current Printed Matter 19 Adam On the border of California lies Lake Tahoe, the Gem of the Sierras. The modest Californian will not say so in actual words, but if he fails to leave you with the firm conviction that the shores of that lake were the scenes of Adam's original investigation into the advertised merits of the apple, you may rest assured that it was only because he was too busy talking about the 1915 Exposition. But why did Adam eat that apple? Surely not because he was hungry, for there was no Poultry Trust in those blissful days. Some people claim that it was because Adam was from Missouri— absolutely impossible since the only State at that time in existence was the "state that made the fig-leaf famous." But if Adam could not claim the same good old state as the famous Missouri Mule, he had a great deal in common with the proverbial inquisitive natures of its inhabitants. The salesman, however, has long since learned that this state of mind is by no means peculiar to the people of any one locality, but is the universal attitude of the buyer — be it of needles, pins or coal mines. The rosiest of pen pictures and word paintings seldom effect a transfer of coin from the pocket of the prospect to the wallet of the word artist. In the case of the Phonograph this is particularly true because of the price involved and because it is still considered by many to be a luxury. In his efforts to present the Phonograph in the light of a necessity instead of a luxury, the Dealer handicaps himself at the start if he cannot show the prospect how much he really needs the Phonograph. It is for that reason that we are continually urging upon Dealers the ad visability of the concert plan. Many Dealers, however, do not feel that they have sufficient floor space in their stores to permit of a regular concert. But that does not in the least prohibit them from having in their windows a standing invitation to all passers-by to step in and hear the Phonograph. To revert to Adam, we humbly apologize for seeming to draw odious comparisons between salesmen and the serpent, but, if we study the very successful methods employed by the serpent, we will see that he originated the idea of the Window Display and the Demonstration. In introducing the apple to the prospect, he did not merely write form letters and talk selling points, but he had the apple right in plain sight (window display) and offered one to the prospects that they might sample its delicious flavor (demonstration). To the deadly certainty of these methods we have been taught to ascribe all the suffering and anguish here below. Be that as it may, our point is that those methods worked in Paradise and that human nature has changed so little since that time that the same methods apply to-day. And since this is true, the wise Dealer, remembering the important part which Eve played in this famous transaction, will not confine his attentions solely to the prospective Adam. Special Notice Because of the timeliness of their issue, Amberol Records Nos. 1023, 1027, 1030 and Standard Record No. 10559 listed in this issue, can be put on sale as soon as received. They are treated in a special pamphlet. See page 7 concerning the Plan Maker's Plans. Are you on his list?