First Canadian Edison Dealer's Convention, September 5-6, 1916
From Canadian Music Trades Journal
A
pleasurable
occasion
and
a
profitable
one,
was
the
"First
Canadian
Edison
Dealers’
Convention,"
held
at
Toronto
on
Tuesday and Wednesday,
Sept.
5 and
6,
during the
second
week
of the
Canadian National Exhibition.
The
convention
was
originated
and
arranged
by
the
R.S.
Williams
&
Sons
Co.,
Ltd.,
whose big building
at
145
Yonge Street
was convention
headquarters
and
whose
guests the
Edison dealers were.
The visitors
gathered
in the
R.S.
Williams
recital.
hall
on
Tuesday
at
12:45
as
per
schedule
and were extended
a hearty
welcome
by Mr.
H.G. Stanton,
vice-president
and general manager of the
company.
Mr. Stanton then spoke as follows:
"The
Edison
phonograph
has
developed
so
many
new
features
as
compared
with
former
lines
that
there
is
much
to
learn,
and
in
learning
it
we
all
want
to
cooperate with the
Edison
Co.
- so
as to learn the
same things in the
same
way,
and
consequently
enable
us to Pull
Together.
If this is
done,
with the
tremendous
field
we
have
to
work
in,
the
splendid
selling policy of the Edison Co.,
and the
wonderful
product
we
are
marketing,
we
are
bound
to
have
only
happy
results.
I
urge,
therefore,
genuine
cooperation
on
the
part
of all,
and
hope
our
Convention will help to that end."
Should Edison Dealers Advertise
and
How?
Mr.
Geo.
C. Silzer, of Harger
&
Blish,
Des Moines,
Iowa was invited
to
address
the
delegates
on
the
above
subject.
He
very
clearly
convinced
his
audience
that
"advertising
is
not
any
magical,
mystical
science
at all
- "It's
only
just
the
plain,
hum-drum,
every
day
job
of
doing
things,
doing
them
consistently,
persistently,
never quitting,
once
a
course
of action is laid
out,"
said he.
"The first essential to
advertising
is
something
to
advertise
and
the
better
the
product
the
more justifiable
the
advertising
effort
and
campaign.”
Being
"agreed that the Edison has
all
the
superior
qualifications"
the next all
important question is
"How to advertise?"
"The
instrument
itself,"
he
considered
"the
most
important
advertisement for Edison dealers,"
and
in the
words of Mr. Edison he
counselled the dealers to "let the
people
hear
and
decide."
His
advice
was
"to
demonstrate,
in
season
and out
of
season,
to use
every
legitimate pretext
for
the
instrument
having its
opportunity
to
be
heard,
in
your
store,
in
churches,
lodges,
at
all
social
functions,
above all in the home.
"Do the thing.
Keep on doing
it.
Never
stop
doing it.
Let
others
come to
believe that
your
bulldog tenacity will never let go
of
that
determination
to
do,
do,
do!"
Ways of Increasing Business
Mr.
Wm. Phillips,
music dealer
of
London,
was on the programme for
a talk on this subject.
"The first
and
most
important
requisite
in
stimulating
sales is to
have
the
necessary
stock
and
variety
of
models.
Next it is necessary to
have
a suitable place for display
and
a
capable
selling
staff,
(although
the
latter,
we
all
realize, is difficult to get just
now because of the enlistments for
the army.)"
Mr.
Phillips
emphasized
the
importance
of
training
the
salesmen.
In his
own store
they
meet
once
a
month
in the
evening
for practical instruction and to be.
drilled in the firm's methods.
Advertising was the next point
touched
upon
by the speaker,
who
stated
that
his
firm
used
two
newspapers
daily.
Next
to
newspaper advertising the speaker's
experience
was
that
good
circularizing
paid
well.
"We
prepare
a list of persons
whom
we
have
learned to
be in the
market
for
a
phonograph
and
circularize
them every two weeks.
We send out
invitations to
a
selected list to
come
and visit
us.
We
classify
these, that is, at one time we will
confine the invitations to doctors,
at
another
to
lawyers,
again
to
builders, etc.
When these
people
come in they meet acquaintances and
they feel
more at home."
In
conclusion,
he
emphasized
the importance of getting good payments.
His
own
house
advertised
and featured high priced models.
Record Approval
Problems
and Their Solution
"The
greatest
evil
in
this
business
is the
approval
plan
of
records,"
was
the
conviction
of
Mr. J.D.
Ford,
manager of the R.S.
Williams
&
Sons
Co.
phonograph
department.
"You
must positively
have
a regulation by which to
work
your approval
system.
Don't allow
your clerks or yourself to say to a
customer
'You can take some records
for
a
few
days,
return
them
when
you feel like it.’
Never give
a
customer
the
idea
that
you
are
going
to
give
him
that
service.
Acquaint
him of the fact,
as
we do
in our retail
department,
that
we
have an approval system,
and if his
credit is
good,
allow
him to take
some
records
on
approval
for
48
hours.
We have to know and have
a
pretty
good
reason
to take those
records back after the 48 hours are
up.
And another thing - there are
only
two rules
-
one is that the
records be returned within
48 hours
and
another
is
that
the
records
must not all
be brought back.
We
stipulate
that
the customer
must
keep not less than one-third of the
records
taken
on approval.
With
these
two
stipulations
you
can
always
be
positive
that
your
approval system and your stock will
always be right.
"Another
solution
of
the
approval evil is to have a salesman
call at the customer's house with
a
bundle
of
new records.
Have
him
play
them over and sell the records
right
in the
home.
We are doing
this in Toronto.
Voice of the Violin
Mr.
F.A.
Boddington
explained
the purpose
and value of the
film
named
"Voice
of the Violin".
The
correct
way
to
use
this
was
demonstrated in
a local theatre
on
the
second
day of the
convention.
The
film is an advertising
feature
in
which
the
name
Edison
is
strongly
featured.
The
phonograph
being
placed
and
played
in
the
theatre
introduces
the
instrument
to a number of people
who
may never
have
heard it
before.
"You
all
know
the
value
of recitals,"
said
Mr.
Boddington.
Work of Edison Demonstrators
Mr. John Shearman explained the
field
of
the
demonstrating
department.
He said,
"Our
method
is to conduct recitals in churches,
schools,
clubs,
fraternal
organizations and public gatherings
of all
kinds.
We
must tell
the
person with
whom we are making the
arrangements that there is
nothing
commercial
attached
to
the
proposition - that we are not going
to
talk
prices
or
try
to
sell
instruments.
You
will
readily
understand
the
reason
for
this
especially
in
connection
with
churches and commercial clubs.
If
we
were to create the
impression
that
we
were
going
to
use their
club
or
church
for
advertising
purposes
there
would
not
be
a
chance
in
the
world
to
hold
a
recital there.
When the time for
the recital arrives we must live up
to our agreement so
we do not talk
prices
or
mention
the
names
of
dealers
during the
course
of
the
recital.
We do,
however,
get in a
selling
talk
that
can
in
no
way
offend anyone present.
"From time to time during the
demonstration
the
superiority
of
the
New Edison is
brought
out
by
the
remarks
of
the
demonstrator,
and
when
the
recital
is
over
everyone in the audience
knows that
the New Edison is the instrument he
should
buy.
At the close
of the
recital
an invitation
is
extended
to
any
who desire to
come up
and
examine the instrument and ask any
question
they
wish.
Usually
a
number
of
people
will
respond.
Then
when these
have
come
up the
demonstrator
tries
to
obtain
the
names
and addresses
of those
who
are
interested
in
purchasing
a
phonograph.
Those
names are turned
over to the dealer and it is up to
him
to
keep
after
the
prospect
until he has closed the sale.
"Now those
who have heard the
recital
are
bound
to tell
others
about
the
wonderful
re-creations
they
have
heard,
so that
by the
time
the
demonstrating
work
has
finished
in
your
town,
there
are
very few people
who have not either
heard the instrument or
been told
about it by those
who did hear it.
Thus
a
most
favourable
impression
has been created.
It is up to you
to
take
advantage
of this.
You
must let people
know that you sell
the
New
Edison
and thus
do
your
part
in
the
work
that
we
have
started.
"Now
regarding
the
prospects
that are turned
over to
you.
Do
you call
on them?
Do
you
keep in
touch with them up until
a sale has
been
closed?
I
am
inclined
to
think that
some of the dealers
do
not.
Their interest in the matter
seems to
end with the work of the
demonstrators
in their town.
This
should
not be.
I
can assure
you
that if
such is the case
you
are
missing
a
great
opportunity
for
business
and
our
work
has
been
practically wasted.
"There is
a
most sure
way to
keep interest going and that is to
conduct recitals
both
public
and
private
whenever
the
opportunity
offers.
Do
not
wait
for
the
opportunity to present itself,
but
go after it.
Dig up chances
for
demonstrations.
It will
pay
you.
You
may think that you haven't the
time
to
devote
to
that
sort
of
work,
but let
me tell you that it
will
be worth your
while
to
find
the
time.
There
is
no
greater
method of
producing
sales than to
let
people
hear
the
New
Edison.
Hearing is believing."
Vote of Thanks
After
an
afternoon
of
open
discussion
of such topics
as
were
of
general
interest,
a
unanimous
vote
of
thanks
was
tendered
the
management of the
R.S.
Williams
&
Sons
Co.
for
the
opportunity
offered
the
dealers
of
meeting
together,
exchanging
experiences,
listening to the valuable papers,
etc.
Mr.
Leonard of the Edison Co.
addressed the gathering briefly and
told
the
dealers
that
the
latch
string at the factory at Orange is
always out for them.
The Banquet
At
the
conclusion
of
the
business
of
the
convention
the
delegates,
with
their
ladies,
reassembled in the banquet hall of
the
Ontario
Club
where they
were
tendered a complimentary dinner by
the R.S.
Williams
& Sons Co.,
Ltd.
Between
the
courses
of
a
select
menu the banqueters joined in the
choruses
as per the
song sheet at
each plate.
Mr.
Duncan
Cowan,
a
well
known local vocalist led off
the
singing
and
afterwards
contributed
to
the
musical
programme.
Other artists were Miss
Elizabeth
Spencer,
Miss
Irene
Symons and Mr.
LeRoy Kenny.
There
were
no speeches
and at
8:15 sharp the meeting broke up to
again re-assemble in the Foresters’
Hall,
where
the
Tone-Test
Recital
was given.
The Tone Test
While
the
dealers
had
all
heard
and
read
of the
tone-tests
but
few
of
them
had
ever
been
present
at
one
and
the
majority
were hitherto probably
more or less
indifferent
to
the
demonstration
value of such a test.
Miss
Elizabeth
Spencer,
an
Edison
vocalist
and
Mr.
Walsh,
violinist,
also
from
the
Edison
laboratories,
contributed
an
enjoyable
recital.
Miss
Spencer
sang in unison
with her
own voice
as recorded and at intervals ceased
to
sing.
At
one
stage
in
the
programme the hall was darkened and
when
the
lights
were
suddenly
flashed
on only the
phonograph
was
on
the platform
where
the artist
had literally been singing
a duet
with herself.
The
programme
was
well
selected,
the hall
was filled
and
both
from
an
entertainment
standpoint
and
a
commercial
standpoint the evening was voted
a
great success.
Voice of the Violin
On the
morning
of the
second
day
"His
Majesty's
Theatre",
two
doors
from
the
Williams'
building
was
open house
to the
delegates,
who were entertained to the regular
programme
of
moving
pictures,
including the film already referred
to,
the
"Voice
of
the
Violin".
This is a pictorial presentation of
a
human interest
drama
which
ends
by
the
family
concerned
being
happily united
through the
medium
of
the
hero's
violin
playing
as
reproduced
on
the
Edison
Diamond
Disc.
The
Edison
factories
are
shown as well as the great inventor
himself
as he
emerges
from one of
the
buildings
and
walks
briskly
down the street.
At
one-thirty
the
delegates
were
again
the
guests
of
the
Williams'
management.
They
were
tendered
a complimentary
lunch at
the
Royal
Cafe
after
which
they
were
entertained
to
a drive about
the city in
automobiles.
A pause
was made en route to photograph the
party
on the steps of the
Ontario
Legislative
Buildings.
After
further
viewing
the
beauties
of
Toronto's residential section,
High
Park
and the
Lake
Shore
road
the
entire
party
was
driven
to
the
Exhibition grounds where a call was
made
at
the
Edison
tent.
This
ended
the
First
"Canadian
Edison
Dealers' Convention".
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