In today’s fast-paced information age, printed music is still a vital part of the music industry and offers various career opportunities for savvy musicians. In this interview, David Jahnke, Vice President of National Sales for Hal Leonard Corporation—one of the world’s premier print music publishers—shares his experiences getting into the music industry, as well as what skills and attributes he seeks out in new hires at Hal Leonard.

He started out wanting to play the trumpet but ended up with a pair of drumsticks in his hands and the ambition and drive to play his way through high school and college where he prepared himself for success in life and in the music industry. As some of the other interviews have suggested, skills and training are key building blocks to having a successful career in the music industry, but the so-called soft skills, such as attitude, conversational ability, and willingness to go the extra mile for a customer are equally important according to this interviewee.

What drew you to a life in music?

I would say that my Mom and Dad were the biggest influencing factors in getting me into music. My dad played saxophone in high school, but by the time I was born, he was no longer a practicing musician. Both my parents sang (and still sing) in the church choir. I remember going on family vacations and having sing-alongs in the car instead of listening to the radio. My first memory of singing a solo was at a Christmas Eve service when I was 5. My musical endeavors took a turn in third grade when I started guitar lessons. When fifth grade rolled around I wanted to play trumpet. Unfortunately, by the time they called my name for the audition, they already had twenty trumpet players. The instructor said she needed drummers so I took the rhythm test. I passed and I’ve never looked back.

Can you recall your first paying gig?

My first paying gig was when I was in eighth grade. There was a group of high school freshman that had a band and for some reason their drummer couldn’t make a gig. They heard about this kid who was a year younger and asked me if I wanted to sub. They were playing at the Knights of Columbus Hall for a private party, so I went in with one or two rehearsals and we played. They liked it so much that they kicked out their regular drummer, and we ended up playing together throughout high school. They became my best friends, and we had a blast together.

How much did you guys make for the gig?

I think I came home with around $20. They paid the whole band about $100.

In addition to your parents, were there other early mentors who influenced you?

One man in particular, Dennis Glocke, my seventh-grade band instructor. I remember him because he had the ability to connect to kids of that age—very demanding but patient and inspirational. What I remember most is that he made playing in the band fun. My next major influence was my high school band director, A.J. Hoefer, who was extremely demanding—in fact, downright intimidating! I kept practicing and made it into the Wind Ensemble, which was the top band, which you had to audition for. I then progressed up to section leader in eleventh grade. As the section leader, he demanded that you show up to rehearsals 10 to 15 minutes early every day to set up and tune all the percussion instruments. I had to strobe tune the tympani three times a week to make sure they were in tune with themselves. He was very strict, but…

He was treating you guys like professionals.

Exactly, and that started me down a different path. I learned that music can be fun—but it can also be made into a career, if you push yourself. So I started taking more private lessons, and I had many teachers who helped guide me. But these two helped to get me focused and in the right frame of mind for a career in music. In retrospect, they taught me that anything worthwhile takes practice and discipline. Talent will only get you so far.

What kinds of training or skills have been helpful to you as your career has developed?

College was a big factor in getting me to where I am today. I believe college teaches one main skill: Time Management. I didn’t know it at the time but college forces you to prioritize between the stuff that needs to get done and the stuff you want to do, like socializing. I only wish someone would have communicated this to me during my freshman year! I feel I did okay, but no one really teaches time management, and that is vital to any career.As I was about to graduate with a degree in Music Merchandising and Audio Engineering, I visited my academic advisor. He said; “Yep, you have enough credits to graduate. Congratulations. I’ve got absolutely nothing for you job-wise. Good luck with your music degree.” So I started looking around on my own. I still needed to do an “internship,” so I looked at three options. At that point, there was Universal Recording Studios in Chicago. I had an option to work there as an unpaid gofer, from midnight through 8 a.m. I looked at moving to Grand Rapids, MI to work in the Yamaha warehouse. My job would have been putting heads on tympanis as they were coming in from overseas. The last option was based on a really good relationship I had with a local music store in Appleton: Tony’s Drum Shop. Tony Wagner, the owner, knew me pretty well because I bought a lot of gear from him. He was a sole proprietor, with two locations: Appleton and Green Bay. He knew I was going through the music-merchandising program, so I showed up on the day of graduation and said, “Tony, I need a job.” He said “Perfect timing. My manager is moving to Minneapolis in a week, and I’m going on a USO tour to Germany. I need someone to take over store management. So what do you think?” As it turned out, that retail music store experience was the best thing I could have done. I cannot stress how important it is for music business students—regardless of where they want to go or what they want to do or what organization they want to get a job in—a retail experience is the best thing they could ever do. If you are in college and looking for a part-time job, go work in a music store. It’s so vital. It’s the only way you can really understand what’s going on in the industry. Communication is the key to success in any organization. I know there are musicians out there who don’t want to go into sales as a career, and that’s fine. There are many opportunities within the music industry, but the only way to get a job is to sell yourself. Competition in the job market is fierce, and if you can’t communicate and sell your abilities, you’ll be passed over regardless of your talent.

Can you take us from starting at the drum shop, up through today, at Hal Leonard? There were some stops along the way, I’m guessing.

Working at Tony’s was a great experience. I was also playing in three different bands and teaching private lessons. I had the ideal life of a bachelor and then that one fateful day happened: I got married. My wife was in her last year of college and money was really tight. I started thinking that there has to be something more I could do. I loved the drum shop, but because it was a smaller location my only career path there would have been to buy it. If I knew then what I know now, I may have taken that chance but at the time, I didn’t think I had the skill-set to take on a business of my own. So I started looking at different career paths. I applied at pretty much every drum company I dealt with. Companies like Purecussion, Tama, Zildjian, Yamaha….I started researching the “who’s who of the music industry” and came across Hal Leonard, a company I knew about because we stocked their books. I didn’t know who to contact there, so I ended up sending my application and letter of introduction to a man by the name of Keith Mardak. I had no idea who Keith was at the time—ignorance is bliss. [Author’s Note: Keith Mardak was Hal Leonard’s Chairman, CEO and President. He still holds the position of Chairman and CEO.] Two weeks after I sent my résumés, I started an active phone campaign. That is the one thing that college grads just don’t seem to do today. I called everybody that I sent a résumé to, just to see if they received it. I think Hal Leonard was third on my list of people to call, so I called and asked for Keith. His assistant answered and said Keith was busy. I left a message and to my surprise, ten minutes later Keith called me back. He said, “David, I heard you called.” I said, “Hi, Mr. Mardak, my name is David Jahnke and I work at Tony’s Drum Shop. I sent a résumé and I just wanted to make sure you received it.” He replied with “Oh yeah, I remember it. Tell you what, I’m going to have our National Sales Manager, Larry Morton, give you a phone call.” Twenty minutes later, Larry called me! I was blown away. Sure enough, two days later I was down in Milwaukee for my first interview. That was the day I cut my hair and bought my first suit. I didn’t know if Hal Leonard was a suit and tie company, but I was going to show up in a suit and tie anyway.

You decided to err on the side of caution.

Right. It’s always better to be overdressed than underdressed. As it ended up, Hal Leonard was a suit and tie company. I had my interview with Larry, and to this day he says—and I find it true—you know within the first few minutes of the interview whether or not someone is a candidate for your organization. I passed the interview and started one week later. Even with my college degree and three years of music retail management under my belt, I started out at the lowest position on the Hal Leonard sales team: Telesales. An entry-level position handling incoming sales calls. Now, if you would have talked to me when I was working at Tony’s and said, “Hey David, I’m looking at my crystal ball and I see you working for a print music publisher, spending 90% of your day talking on the phone,” I would have answered, “No way! Give me drums or give me death!” Well, I found that I actually like talking on the phone and helping people solve their problems. I also came to realize that Hal Leonard was an exceptionally well-run organization. From the people I worked with to the products they offered, it was beyond expectation. I subscribed to their way of thinking and within three months, moved from Telesales to District Sales Manager responsible for a territory. Hal Leonard helped me to realize that I had a passion for helping customers and that I had a natural ability of turning negative situations into positive. For me, I just had fun getting to know people from all over North America. That’s what Larry saw within those first three months that I had worked here. I had fun and made it a point to have fun doing whatever I was doing. I’ll tell you, it was a blast having my own territory. I love connecting with dealers at that level. You get to see what’s working for them and give them ideas on ways that they can improve. While Hal Leonard is a good-sized, successful corporation, we are still very much a people-oriented, friendly, person-to-person music business.

The music products business is very much one-on-one, there’s no question about it.

That is what makes the music industry so much fun. We are all frustrated musicians happy to have day jobs! From District Sales Manager, I stepped up to Senior District Sales Manager. In the mid ’90s, Hal Leonard launched a new joint venture company called Hal Leonard Europe. Larry needed someone to be the liaison with our international counterparts, so I volunteered. In ’98, I was promoted to National Sales Manager and instead of having my own territory, I now helped other District Sales Managers with their responsibilities. A year later, I was promoted to Vice President, National Sales, which is my current position. I oversee North America sales, our call center, and our distribution partners. I’ve been with Hal Leonard for fifteen years, and my job changes every day. It’s exciting, fast-paced, fun, and I love it! But my favorite part is still visiting dealers—in fact, this week I was out in New Jersey, going out on the road with one of our reps visiting stores. Last week, I was out in North Carolina doing more of the same.

So, now you’re the mentor, passing on ideas, techniques, and strategies for success.

Our reps are all very knowledgeable, but yes, we share what we can about what works in retailing. Print music is the unwanted stepchild of the music industry because most stores, unless they’re hugely dedicated to print, are really into the combo gear. They understand the importance of print but they don’t like to deal with products that have an average retail price of $14.95. It’s just not as exciting to sell something that’s $14.95 as compared to selling a piece of gear at $300-$800. What they’re finding with print and accessories however, is that the margins, just like a grocery store, are best on the staples. At the local grocer, a customer puts his purchase on the counter, but they don’t ask, “Hey, can I buy this loaf of bread you’ve marked at $2.49 for $1?” Think about it. That is what happens with combo gear. Everything is price negotiable. With print, if the product is listed at $14.95, the customer will gladly give you $14.95.

So that’s a new tactic a retailer can look at and think, “Although it’s going to take me a little longer to sell $1000 worth of print than a guitar and amp, that $1000 in print is going to have a better margin on it, one I don’t have to haggle over or match an Internet price point.

Right, and for some of the stores that do commission-based sales, the sales reps are starting to realize that as well. In commission-based retail sales, the employee gets paid based on profit margins. A sales person can improve their weekly commissions by selling 5, 6, 7 books a day, whereas they may only sell a $300 guitar once a week. The “step-child” mentality is starting to turn around. Print is all about profit per square inch and GMROI (Gross Margin Return on Investment). Really, if I had paid more attention in my accounting class in college and learned about GMROI, I would have probably purchased Tony’s Drum Shop. Most storeowners are musicians that simply need a good accounting lesson.

Could you describe your day-to-day work?

My job changes every day. As a VP, I have a business plan that I need to execute but as a manager, I have 38 people who come first. One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received was from Keith when I accepted the National Sales Manager role. He told me: “If you let the administrative side of your job take priority over the people you manage, you will fail.” I repeat this phrase daily, and it helps me to keep things in perspective. People are our greatest asset. We have great people, and my biggest responsibility is to help them grow. It’s not easy, but it’s very rewarding. The last part of my job is to handle difficult situations or customers. Every company will stumble from time to time, but I love being able to solve problems and flip situations around to everyone’s benefit.

Let’s talk about an entry-level position at Hal Leonard. First of all, how many employees are at Hal Leonard?

We have about 350 employees. The majority, about 230 people, are in our Winona (MN) facility. Winona houses our printing, distribution, accounts payable, and warehouse operations. The rest are here in Milwaukee where we have the pre-press, business affairs, sales, and marketing operations. By pre-press, I mean editorial, transcribing, engraving, and graphic design. There are many entry-level positions in both facilities. In Milwaukee, the largest division is the sales team, so we have the greatest need for entry-level people. Our sales lines are open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m., as well as Saturdays and Sundays 9 to 5. Telesales/Customer Service is a perfect entry-level position.To work in editorial, you need to have (musical) chops. You need to have the ability to put on headphones, listen to a song, and edit what the transcribers give you to make sure it’s accurate. Our editors need to have a higher level of musical ability than our sales team. Each area—business affairs department, sales, graphic design—requires specialized skills. But in sales, I can generally bring in people who are looking for a career in the music industry and set them on a career path.

As far as hiring telesales staff, what do you look for?

You’ve heard the phrase that there are three things that will sell your house: location, location, location. There are three things that will sell me on a potential telesales candidate: attitude, attitude, attitude. During the first interview, I’ll look at the candidate’s body language, how they greet me when I go down to meet them and the elevator conversation. My office is on the second floor, so we take the elevator and I purposely stop talking as the elevator door closes. My goal is to see how long the candidate will let the silence go on. If they let it go on the whole elevator ride, I know this person is not good for sales. I’m looking to see if they can draw a conversation out of me. If they can do that, I know I have somebody who can have a career in sales.

So does Hal Leonard offer internships?

At this point, we don’t, but it’s something we are investigating. I have a lot of friends that teach music business and music merchandising classes. I’ve told them to let us know when they have a prospective student that is interested in what we do. I’ll usually do an informal phone interview to find out if they might fit. If they have the right skills and attitude, I’ll set up a regular interview, which can lead to full-time employment.

Down the line, five to ten years, where do you see career opportunities?

There are great career opportunities in music, in publishing, and in sales. There will always be a need for people who are energetic and can be the voice and the face of Hal Leonard. Print music may change and the delivery of music will change. But [PQ: having the need for people who can communicate will never change. As long as there are products to sell, we’ll need outgoing people to spread the word.]

Any Yoda-like final thoughts for the readers?

If you think you have the ability, then you need to go out and let other people know that you are something special. You cannot let a résumé speak for you. Find out who the decision-maker is in the business and call them, even if it’s just for an informational interview. If someone is looking for a career in sales, that’s huge. Doing this will pretty much guarantee you an interview at most music companies. If you can turn the informational interview into a conversation where the decision-maker is talking more about themselves than the job, you’ve hit a home run.

This interview is an excerpt from “How To Get a Job in the Music Industry,” by Keith Hatschek, published by Berklee Press.