Yamaha Corporation of America (YCA) recently hosted a Piano Pros Home Office event as part of the company’s ongoing commitment to support its dealers.
Meeting rooms at YCA headquarters in Buena Park were packed during intensive three-day sessions, attended by some of the best Yamaha dealers from all over the country.
Instructors covered the company’s piano philosophy, history of craft and innovation, best practices in sales techniques, hands-on product training and customer feedback, according to Gary Klugman, director, Keyboard department, Yamaha. In addition, dealers got an opportunity to experience Yamaha culture extensively and up close in the heart of the company itself, with a direct line of communication to key staff.
Klugman rated the summer’s training event resoundingly successful. “I was impressed to see the training sessions bring our staff and dealers closer together. It was an excellent opportunity to get the people in charge of customer promotions, product launches and branding here at YCA in better alignment with the dealers who interact with our customers every day.”
“I found the training sessions incredibly valuable. They provided for me a comprehensive roadmap and demonstrated how to meet the needs of various music makers in our community,” said Kyle Merritt, chief operating officer at Solich Piano. “I look forward to implementing many great concepts we learned, including a greater emphasis on in-store events and cultivating partnerships with new artists.”
Among many Yamaha products in the spotlight were the Clavinova CVP-800 Series of premium digital pianos and the new digital MLC-200 Music Lab system with Dante.
“The product demonstrations were a great way to showcase the new instruments and will equip the dealers with the right expertise in how to market them to the customer,” said Jim Fishback, president and CEO of Fresno Piano Gallery. “It’s amazing how one manufacturer can build instruments with such a broad array of sounds nuanced to suit any musician. I was especially impressed with how the precise acoustics of the company’s demo room accentuated the strong points of each, from the Clavinova CVP to the CFX concert grand.”
