Brand dealers . . . mild rant.

[BluMunk]

Around town here there are really three places to buy electronic keyboards. There's the local music shop, that keeps primarily Roland and Korg products (with other brands on occasion), the relatively new to town Daddy's Junky Music (who carries a hodge-podge of stuff, usually Roland/Korg/Yamaha), and a guy who is an exclusive Yamaha dealer.

 

Now, the purpose of this thread is not to insult him. I do business with him occasionally (just convinced my boss to get a CP-300 for a high school theater program I work with), and he's a decent enough fellow.

 

That said, his customer service has all the sincerity and objectivity of a politician in election season. I have not once left his shop feeling like I got a musician's objective opinion from him. Everything he says is designed to get you to leave his shop with a Yamaha product.

 

Which I guess is his job. However, instead of just showing me the cool/useful features of any given product, he has to describe everything as "the best out there period," or some such thing like that. For example, the action on the CP300/33 is not just "a great piano action," but, "the best and most advanced piano action you can find anywhere on a portable keyboard." Puh-lease. I'm a professional, I know what's available out there and I've done my research, so don't try to give me some line about how I don't need to look at anything else other than what you've got in stock.

 

He does a lot of business with schools, and does a great job setting them up with keyboard labs and things like that. But, I think he's really used to giving the salesman pitch to music teachers who just want someone to tell them what they want and to wow them with flash and a smile. If a school around here wants new keyboards, they generally go right to him (which is fine, he sells good products and isn't shifty or anything) because he's the keyboard guy.

 

I'm not sure what my point is; I guess it's that I don't like being pandered to by salesmen. And I don't like the feeling that other people might walk away with a product that serves their needs less than another product/brand might just because he's got a vested interest in the brand.

 

I love, though, that he's at least reasonably knowledgeable about the product, and is there all the time. The local 'everything' music store here is great, but the guy who's the keyboard guy isn't always in, and he tends to not have more than a passing familiarity with the keyboards they've got.

[David Loving]

 

Actually, he's right about Yamaha's cp33 and cp300.

 

[Blue JC]

There's a big difference between selling to institutions and educators and selling to professional, performing musicians. Those used to be considered two different jobs in the music store with no cross-over.

 

I really miss the performance keyboard guy at my (now extinct) local music store. He was the guy who: knew every feature of every board, analyzed what kind of gear you needed to cover a gig and even arranged for a loaner while your gear was in the repair shop.

 

In return, he would get every bit of my business and constant referrals from me to potential customers.

 

I thought it was a pretty good system but, apparently, it wasn't profitable enough to survive in this "bottom-line-is-everything" culture.

[timwat]

In a past life I was a successful tech business development guy - which basically means the sales cycles were long and the deal sizes were large. And in a life previous to that I managed 25 or so loan officers. So I've worked with guys who espouse every sales method under the sun, many with a clever acronym titles.

 

There are guys who do the Glengarry Glen Ross "ABC" - "Always Be Closing". There are the Neil Rackham "SPIN" selling guys (Situation-Problem-Implication-Need). There are the "Question-Based Selling" guys. Somewhere along they way they were taught (or came to believe) that success meant adopting a method. At the higher levels of biz dev, it seems the 'method' guys all fall by the wayside.

 

But selling musical instruments isn't biz dev - at the retail store level, it's pretty close to consumer electronics. And if 'salesmanship' means adopting a method, in today's economy (especially for a non-staple like musical instruments), who can blame them?

 

Experienced professionals don't like being sold. They want to make a purchase decision. But a lot of consumers aren't experienced professionals.

 

It would appear that lots of schools respond to this guy's sales approach, and as long as he's not being dishonest, misleading, or stealing people's money, it's hard to begrudge a guy from making a living.

 

His approach isn't for you (and, from what you've described, wouldn't be for me either), but I hope he's keeping up with his mortgage payments and storefront lease. Or then you'd be down to two places to buy KBs.

[BluMunk]

Yeah, I don't really blame him. And he is most definitely keeping up with whatever mortgage he's got; he's been very successful in this one-horse town for as long as I can remember. He's the sole Yamaha dealer around here not just for keys, but for everything (band instruments, guitars, drums, etc etc etc).

 

And, his work with the schools is great. Really, most school systems are looking for something that just works, and he's got a good relationship with them all, and delivers exactly what they want.

 

I just wish that I could go in and talk with him about something and not feel like I was just being read the product brochure that I've already read online. I always feel uncomfortable there because I know if I ask a question about anything there's going to be a spiel.

 

And I really hate to hear him talk up product features that he knows as well as I do the customer is not going to end up using.

[BluesKeys]

I hear you blu, but on the other side of the equation, he is selling a good product and staying in business. We just had ANOTHER local music store (owned by a guitar player friend of mine) shut down last week. That makes 4 that I know of in the area over the last 4-5 years. He just couldn't pay a staff and compete with GC and Internet sales.

[MikeT156]

Most small local/regional music stores can only handle one or two product lines. Some of the large internet stores have a lot more resources and a bigger customer base to draw from. At least he chose Yamaha, it could be a lot worse.

 

One of the things that annoyes me about my "local" (45 miles away) dealer is that he isn't up to speed on how to handle some things that internet stores do routinely. Like SHIPPING me the product I need so I don't have to drive 45 miles each way to pick gear up. Gas is too expensive to expect everyone to just drive in, especially when they already know what they want and are trying to save some money they don't need to spend. I've bought things from Sweetwater because by the time I figured in the price of gas, the price turned out to be a little less by buying from a reputable Internet store like SW and not have to take the time and money to drive somewhere to get the same product.

 

In the other areas of their business, they are great. It might be a pain to take something to the post office (cables) or pack something up and ship it UPS, but that's not my problem.

 

As far as your guy's sales pitch, it would annoy the hell out of me too. Take it with a grain of salt.

 

Mike T.

[B3bluesman59]

One of the things that annoyes me about my "local" (45 miles away) dealer is that he isn't up to speed on how to handle some things that internet stores do routinely. Like SHIPPING me the product

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This dealer is missing a lot of sales simply by not having some sort of local/regional area shipping plan. And you can't miss too many sales in todays internet based economy and survive as a local merchant. Have you tried talking to the owner and pointing out to him what is happening? If you are buying from Sweetwater because it is easier and cheaper than driving the 45 miles to his store then you can bet other buyers are doing the same thing.

[SpaceNorman]

I just wish that I could go in and talk with him about something and not feel like I was just being read the product brochure that I've already read online. I always feel uncomfortable there because I know if I ask a question about anything there's going to be a spiel.

 

Why can't you simply tell him you're NOT looking to get sold? As a customer I do that all the time. If you look a sales guy in the eye and tell him that you'd prefer NOT to pestered by salespitches - the wise ones will give you wide berth and stay quietly within eyeshot/earshot ready to answer whatever questions you have.

 

When I deal with salesguy who's pushing a little too hard - a simple "Slow down there big guy - your sales schpeil is making you foam a little. I won't be buying anything if I have to deal with a constant sales pitch" will usually settle the guy down. If they're slow learners - a simple about face towards the door solves the problem.

 

Typically by the time I walk through a music store door - I've already done my research - and am there to lay hands on my prospective purchase. I'm there to test drive and make a decision. It's not uncommon for me to walk in carrying segments of the owners manual that I downloaded. I always introduce myself to the sales guy - by name. If it's an instrument I'm looking at - I have no qualms telling the sales guy that I'm interested in test driving "_____" device - and would like a pair of working headphones and to be left alone for awhile. I let him know that if he wants to do something while I'm putzing with the device - he can check on availability, and best pricing. To the degree possible I try to set the terms on which I'll deal with sales people.

 

I've learned that if I'm blunt but cordial about it - I usually get handled pretty much the way I want to be.