The talking machine world (Jan-June 1928)

38 The Talking Machine World, New York, April, 1928 Satisfy Customers and They Will Be Your Best Source of Prospects 9* Oscar Hanson, Exclusive Kolster Dealer, Discusses Methods Which Have Proved Most Successful in Increasing His Volume of Radio Set Sales Use your record of sales made a year or more ago as a list of prospects for to-day. That is the suggestion of Oscar Hanson, proprietor of the Hanson Electric Co., 1915 West Oscar Hanson Superior street, Duluth, Minn. He is winding up his first complete year of specializing on Kolster Radio, and he has sold approximately 200 sets so far. In addition, he has a prosperous electrical supply trade, and he does a large contracting business that amounts to more than $100,000 a year. All this is done in an attractive basement shop with the aid of Mrs. Hanson in the salesroom, two service men and a service car. So his business methods must be sound. "I keep a detailed record of sales," said Mr. Hanson. "The file of about a year or two baek, I find, is always an excellent hunting ground for prospects. The amount of time between the first sale and the possibility of a second, of course, depends largely upon the number of changes that have taken place in the design of receivers. The recent advent of the AC tubes has made prospects of all purchasers on record beyond a year back. My file is being combed regularly for the names of those who have sets not using the latest improvements, and we go after these prospects aggressively. "Take care to satisfy all of your customers completely, and they will be your best source of prospects. An important step in doing that, and one which lessens your service calls, is to test each set thoroughly in your shop before you send it out for a demonstration or a delivery. I set them up with the tubes to be used when the set is installed in the home, and tune in both local and distant stations. It's a precaution that pays well." Prospects are often obtained through service men, he went on. A certain amount of service is required by all sets, no matter what kind or where they come from, though it may only be a call for new tubes or batteries. He makes it a point to have his service men go out of their way to service any set. In addition to selling accessories that way he gets leads which often result in sales. The rest at least become friendly prospects and they will want a new set some day. Another important rule he follows and recommends is "Always have a good stock of merchandise on hand." That means dollars and cents to any dealer. Mr. Hanson was persuaded to try the Kolster line as an experiment on January 1, 1927. Between that day and May 1, four months of post-holiday selling, he sold fifty-eight sets. That convinced him. He decided to get an early start for the new season, plan his campaign and carry it out along definite lines all through the year. So on the first day of August he made arrangements to enlarge the personnel of his service ■ ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■EBHRVF"' department and sales force, made up his advertising budget and detailed plans on how to use it, arranged to get his window displays in and made tentative plans for some public demonstrations early in the Fall as publicity stunts to attract attention to his shop. When Mr. Hanson employs men for service or sales work, he finds the kind of man he wants first, and then talks salary afterward. He says it does not pay to find a man to fit a salary. A successful shop must have the best service and salesmen obtainable. They may cost more, but they make more for the shop than is required to make up the difference in salary. A radio shop quickly gets a reputation either for pleasing its customers or for being unsatisfactory, through the good work of service men who understand their jobs and salesmen who are courteous, obliging and convincing, or through the half-hearted work of these employes. The difference in reputations means increasing success and profits or meager existence, finally leading to failure. At least two service men are employed all of the time in repairing sets of all makes. They also demonstrate sets outside of the shop and "close sales. They are the type of service men who can handle any delicate emergencies that WE WANT ORDERS From the Man Who Demands the Highest Quality in PLYWOOD SHIPPING CASES. 10,000 ACRES OF THE FINEST TIMBER NEW MACHINERY EQUIPMENT THROUGHOUT 18 YEARS OF SUCCESSFUL MANUFACTURING EXPERIENCE With such resources we are meeting this demand. There Is No Increase in Cost Birch and Maple Plywood, Spruce Cleats Northern Plywood, Maine Statler Building Boston, Mass, Unusually Attractive Kolster Window may arise in the course of a demonstration or sales talk. Most of the sales, however, are closed right in the store either by Mr. or Mrs. Hanson. A service car is used for delivering sets and taking care of service calls. It has more than paid for itself, according to Mr. Hanson. Early this season, when many dealers became excited about the coming AC sets and refused to stock up on DC sets, awaiting the time when their manufacturers could come out with electric sets, Mr. Hanson calmly continued to sell battery sets, which he had on hand and which his distributors had, and he did a surprising amount of business, while his competitors were lying down on the job. When electric sets did come out his stock was clean of battery sets, and he went right on with his busy salesmen selling the new AC receivers, while other shops had to find their sales stride again. The store is in a basement with one large window facing the main business street of the west end of town. Mr. Hanson takes full advantage of that window. Moving objects in a window always attract attention, and they have been used quite often. Mystery is another big attraction. A black cloth draped over a Kolster Power Cone on the sidewalk, and operated by a set in the store, has always been a drawing card for passers-by. During such extra radio features as championship fights and important football games the speaker on the sidewalk has packed the street for a half-block in each direction. Newspaper advertising is used consistently, the total amount being a fixed percentage of his annual sales. He has had a contract with the largest paper in the city and kept up a series of Kolster advertisements. Steady pounding with "ads" is what counts, rather than now and then. The percentage of returns is larger.