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SELLING By HOWARD W. DICKINSON Merchandising Consultant IHY LEAVE all the wonderful power of show- manship in radio to the Graham MacNamees, the program people in the broadcasting |companies, and the advertising agencies? The business of radio, the art of radio, both lare full of opportunities for showmanship. In broadcasting there is a perpetual fight between pure show- manship and advertising. So broadcasting is somewhat of a compromise, as of course it must be. We can't keep on giving a show without gate receipts. There is no fence about radio, tickets cannot be collected and it has to be endowed by advertising, sometimes well disguised, sometimes poorly dis- guised. Opportunities for Showmanship There is enormous opportunity for good showmanship in the sale of receiving sets, and in most cases it is entirely lacking. You want a radio set. You go to a radio shop. Sets are on display. Their workings will be explained. They will be demon- strated, rather poorly in most cases. You, the customer, may be interested in only three questions, "Will it hook on to an electric light plug? How much does it cost? How will it match your furniture?" You get answers to those three questions. You buy and there you are. That has been a demand sale. If there are enough of them the dealer does well. If he does well another dealer settles down in the next block. If both do well, a couple more come in. Good Old Demand begins to be over-worked. A demand volume good enough for two is spread too thin over four or six. War begins, shading of prices perhaps, over-allowance on used sets, expensive service free. Each one of the four, five, or six dealers thinks that if the rest of them would only drop dead or go broke he might have a chance. There is only so much demand in a community Designed and photographed by Larry June, cutouts by Walter Sliner anyway. He thinks mildly of making more demand. If he is a general handler of electrical appliances, he may find it more interesting to push vacuum cleaners or washing machines or go after wiring contracts and just take radio work and radio sales as they drop in. So, while his radio business ought to be growing fast, he is permitting it to fade. Analyzing this situation, we find that our good dealer friend is an electrical merchant instead of a radio showman. Analyze retail opportunity in radio and you will find that it comes particularly to the man who makes a good radio show- man of himself. The Free-Show Idea Now as to showmanship and its value: most everybody likes a show, particularly a free show. Announce a league ball game free for one day and thousands of people will spend five or ten dollars apiece to get there. If doors open at 9 A. M. DEMONSTRATE THE FREE SHOW 22 NOVEMBER 1929