Find and train employees who can actually sell.

Running an independent music store means juggling a million things — inventory, events, lessons, and more.

But none of it matters if your staff can’t make customers feel confident, welcomed, and excited to buy. Too often, music knowledge doesn’t translate into sales skills, and that can cost you customers and revenue.

That’s why we created this guide to help you build the right team — employees who don’t just know their gear but know how to sell it with heart.

Get your guide to music store staffing

What you'll learn from the music store staffing guide:

Skill gap

Why technical skills alone aren’t enough and what really drives sales in a music store.

Hiring tips

How to hire people with the right attitude and customer-first mindset.

Interview tools

Simple interview questions and role-playing exercises that reveal who can sell.

Sales training

Training tips that turn passionate musicians into confident, natural sellers.

Incentives

Ways to build incentives that reward impact.

Culture building

How to create a store culture that supports sales and keeps employees motivated.

I highly recommend Music Shop 360.

"It really has been a game changer for our store. I don't like to waste time — consolidating everything into one place is what I love about Music Shop 360."

Mark Dickey

Lee's Music

Music Shop 360 is a must have for any music store owner.

"Our business started on Music Shop 360 and has continued to use it since. From the POS system to the website and reverb, it's all intuitive to use and seamlessly communicates with each other."

Ceth Barnett

Barnett Music Exchange

The hardware and software were very easy to set up.

"One of my favorite features is, when we have a new product, the ability to just pull it up out of Music Shop 360's catalog and add it to my online store right away."

Chris Burke

Burke's Music

Music Shop 360 has been a boom for our growth and a valuable asset for our company.

"The thing I like most about Music Shop 360 is on a weekly basis, you're seeing all of these new improvements [and] things that are making your job easier."

Jeremy Chapman

The Acoustic Shoppe

Music Shop 360 has helped us improve our business through time management.

"Because it streamlined our rental payments and has made everything else a little easier to deal with, we can focus on working with customers and not worrying about our POS system."

Kevin Damm

Damm's Music Center

Music Shop 360 completely changed our business.

"Before Music Shop 360, we had no online presence. Now 95% of our business for rentals are done online, and we have a fully-functional and professional website."

Will Roffers

Northland Music Center

Music Shop 360 has helped me create that relationship between us and our customers.

"The integration between Reverb and our online store has been critical in helping with inventory management."

Dan Confait

DC Guitar Studio

The thing I like most about Music Shop 360 are the reports.

"I can pretty much find out anything I want to find out and figure out how to get there almost instantly."

Sam Tritico

Island Music