The talking machine world (Jan-Dec 1910)

46 THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD. FROM OUR CHICAGO HEADQUARTERS ROOM 806, NO. 156 WABASH AVENUE, E. P. VAN HARLINGEN, MANAGER. Jobbers Report Business as Good Considering the Season — Sending Machines to Summer Homes — Suggestions for Dealers Furnished by Experts — The Talker as an Educational Force — Clever Window Advertising — Grafonola Accompanies Hardware Men on Tour — -A Hint Anent Salesmanship — Those Who Attended the Convention — New Columbia Operatic Records Delight Company's Patro.ns — Expansion with Lyon & Healy — Interesting Personalities — Aeolian Co. Activities — Auxetophone Aids at Lecture — Increasing Demand for Fibre Needles — Summary of News. (Special to The Talking Machine World.) Chicago, 111., July 9, 1910. Business with the local jobbers made a very fair showing during June, although the advent of settled hot weather the latter' part of the month naturally caused something of a falling off as compared with the first half. The month, however, made a good increase as compared with the corresponding month of last year; indeed, there has not been a month this year which has not shown a substantial gain as compared with 1909. We are now in what is always the dullest month of the year, and trade is quiet, although by no means stagnant. The large retail concerns are doing some aggressive advertising, Lyon & Healy using larger space in the dailies for their talking machine department than ever before. The enterprising dealers never let up in their efforts for trade, and consequently maintain a fairly steady run of business at a ti.ine when, if business were not forced, it would be practically dead. An encouraging feature, however, is that this year all the large stores and departments report that they have had more customers send their machines into the store to be packed for shipment to summer cottages than ever before, and that the number of machines and records sold to the vacationers is increasing from year to year. This, perhaps, gives a hint to dealers in towns in the vicinity of summer resorts. It is possible, no doubt, to work up quite a business among the cottagers who have not provided themselves with machines before leaving home. A canvass of these resorts, especially at the week end, when the man of the family is most likely to be "in camp," might prove very resultful. Anyway, it's worth the effort, if any of the trade contiguous to the resorts have not already tried it out. In the Chicago letter this week will be found quite a few suggestions furnished as a result of the experience or observation of the members of the trade, and which, perhaps, can be utilized by some of the World readers in stimulating trade during the dull season of planning the fall campaign. "Talking Machines in Schools." "There are many indications that the talking machine is rapidly entering the larger field of usefulness for which it was predestined from the first," remarked Roy J. Keith, sales manager of the Talking Machine Co. "Its value as a positive educational force, as well as an entertainer, has long been recognized in a general way. Quite a few musical conservatories have used the Victor in conjunction with Red Seal records as an aid in teaching interpretation, and parents have been surprised at the influence exerted in the home in the cultivation of the musical taste of the children. Now, however, it looks as though the talking machine would soon be exercising its full mission as an educator, and if the dealers of the country will take the hint furnished by the developments of the past few months in Milwaukee, it will not be long before you find a talking machine a regular part of the equipment of the average public school. "The advertising and commercial value of such a departure is obvious, and the dealer who is instrumental in securing the installation of a Vic tor in each of the schools in his town and vicinity will naturally be the one to reap the greatest benefit." Reverting to the case in point, L. C. Parker, manager of the talking machine department of Gimbel Bros., Milwaukee, has placed Victors in no less than fifteen of the public schools of that city. The plan followed by him in making it possible for the individual schools to pay for the machines is worthy of mention. In the majority of instances the machines were quickly paid for by the pupils themselves through the medium of the principal. Concerts were given which were attended by the parents of the pupils and other residents of the vicinity. An admission of 10 cents was charged, and each pupil was given five tickets, and was permitted to keep one for his own use in return for selling the others. In many instances the outfits have been paid for by the proceeds of a couple of concerts. Mrs. Clark, the supervisor of the music of the Milwaukee schools, has entered, enthusiastically into the idea. She perceives the value of the use of the Victor in the schools, not only in developing the taste for good music, but in illustrating the enunciation, tone production and interpretative methods of the best singers. She is spending a good deal of her time this vacation in preparing simply worded stories of the operas and talks on the composers and the meaning of their works for the benefit of the teachers in conducting recitals for the pupils. Mr. Parker has received letters from the principals of the schools, in which they state their experience with the Victor, and all speak in the most glowing terms of the benefits derived. Stated times are set aside for the use of the Victor, and the children are permitted to sing with the solos and instrumental records with which they have become familiar. Individual pupils are sometimes given a place on the concert -programs, and repeat the songs they have learned from the machine. The facility with which they imitate the phrasing and expression of the maker of the record is remarkable. It is found possible to make use of the Victor in the school in ways which were not dreamed of at first. One principal, for instance, added zest and interest to the work of the English literature class who were studying Burns by having some of the records of the songs of the Scotch poet played. The same man found the Get man class reading something about Wagner, but inquiry revealed the fact that very few knew anything about the music of the master. The Victor was immediately brought, into requisition. As a result of the Milwaukee innovation, the schools in Janesville and Racine have taken the matter up, with gratifying results, and Wiscon sin promises to be leader in the movement. Some Very Clever Window Advertising. SOPRANOS, ALTOS, TENORS, BARITONES. COME IN AND MAKE A PHONOGRAPH RECORD OF YOUR VOICE. A GREAT THING FOR VOCAL STUDENTS. HEAR YOURSELF SING AND CORRECT YOUR FAULTS. RECORDS MADE COMPLETE WITH PIANO ACCOMPANIMENTS, 40 CENTS EACH. COME IN AND INVESTIGATE. A neat window card bearing the above legend, in one of the windows of the Rudolph Wurlitzer Co., together with circular letters and some small advertisements in the dailies, is having the effect of drawing quite a few singers, both professional and amateur, into the store. It has proven quite a hit, and has already influenced the sale of a few machines. "It's good advertising, if the immediate results in the way of sales are not great," said L. Kean Cameron, in charge of the retail talking machine department. "Incidentally, it's a whole lot of fun, gets people into the store who would not come otherwise, and gets just the class of people we most want to reach interested in the talking machine proposition." Mr. Cameron has fitted up one of the record rooms as a recording laboratory, with a piano and Edison machines. The other day a teacher brought in no less than ten pupils in a body, all of whom heard their own voices as others heard them, and carried away the result. Local singers of note, like Albert Boroff, E. C. Towne, Wm. Beard and Henry Vogel, who was here last season with the "Melting Pot," but formerly a grand opera singer, also took advantage of the scheme. Grafonola on a Trip. A special train, carrying 300 people, delegates to the National Retail Hardware Association's convention at Denver, and their families, left last night over the Chicago & Northwestern. On the way they have been entertained with a Columbia Graphophone De Luxe, which will occupy a place in the lobby at the hotel which constitutes the headquarters of the association during the convention. It's a good little stunt put over by A. H. Herriman, in charge of the retail department at the Columbia Chicago branch, and no doubt will yield results both from a retail and wholesale viewpoint. Word About Salesmanship. "Knowledge of goods, real interest in your work, and a decent personal appearance taken for granted, successful salesmanship in this line narrows down largely to carefully, but unobtrusively, watching and 'playing up' to your customer," remarked one of the most successful retail talking machine salesmen in the country. "A good many men whom I have known seem to -think that the main thing is to talk. They shoot all their ammunition off in a bunch, but keep on talking. I've frequently seen a man talk a customer up to the point of buying, and then unknowingly talk him off again. The point is to lead your customer gently on to making his preferences and even his objections known. It's a hard thing to define. No two people are exactly alike. Sometimes you can ask directly about how much money a customer wants to spend. Others you would deeply offend. Some people care only for the popular thing, but don't care to declare themselves. By a little feeling around you can tell. In handling a machine customer it often depends as much on whether you demonstrate with records that the customer is impressed with, as the merits of the machine itself. Watch your customer, and the minute you catch the most fleeting expression of disapproval shut the record off. The average person will betray themselves more by their facial expression than by their Avoids. It takes experience and perhaps not a little of the intuitive faculty to read it aright, but the man who lacks the ability misses one of the prime requisites of salesmanship, to my notion. Of course, it's just a phase of character reading, something that can be cultivated to a greater degree than is generally supposed, if one makes up his mind so to do." The Conventioners. The Westerners showed up at Atlantic City in pretty good force, from all reports, but they didn't go in a crowd. Up to the first of last week L. C. Wiswell, who was engineering the plan, had advices that Burton J. Pierce, manager of the talking machine department of the J. W. Jenkins Sons Co., Kansas City; Floyd C. Ramsdell, of the Sioux Falls Talking Machine Exchange; H. H. Blish, of Harger & Blish, Des Moines and Dubuque; A. A. Trostler, manager of the talking machine department of the J. F. Schmelzer Arms Co., Kansas City, and Lawrence Lucker, of the Minnesota Phonograph Co., would all be on hand Saturday to leave on the Pennsylvania 5.35 p. m. train. Then Wiswell himself was compelled to leave Tuesday to attend to some matters at the Victor factory before the convention. Trostler blew through on Wednesday;