Resources

Working with Inspiration
April 2008
Selling inspires. It inspires sales people who revel in the "close" and take satisfaction in fulfilling the needs of their customer. It inspires the customer who has a desire for something to seek it, engage in the cat-and-mouse affair leading up to the purchase, and finally to commit. It's a glorious result for both parties. Imagine if you could take your very best personal purchase experiences and apply them to your business when you sell a home system.
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The Art of the Close
January 2008
You probably know the preferred closing technique of everyone on your sales team. Some are emotional closers, some are conditional closers, while others are assumptive closers. And of course, if the sales person is really good and depending on the situation, they are all of these and more. Most likely, due to the often prolonged nature of closing a sale in our industry, many techniques will be implemented during the course of the conversations leading up to the closing moment.
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Thinking Things Through
November 2007
Just where did the phrase "off the top of my head" come from? Essentially it refers to "quick and approximate answers." It comes from instinct, not strategic thinking. I'm all for gut responses at certain times but it's pretty clear to me that a good combo of "off the top" and thoughtful decisions are at the heart of sustainable businesses.
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When Name Calling Matters
September 2007
A couple of years ago, a business professional speaking at the annual CEDIA Management Conference began her presentation by running through the complete list of "names you call yourselves" to describe what CI businesses do: custom installers, home theater designers, audio-video contractors, home technology consultant, etc. The audience laughed. It was a great icebreaker, but at its core that list underscores a challenge to electronic systems contractors (ESCs) today. If you can't explain to someone what you do in a phrase or couple of sentences, then how do you think it sounds when you try to explain the details?
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Pattern Masters
July 2007
Perserverance, networking, and turning up referrals are a big part of your sales success but you should think about your past sales and what you did to get them. Patterns are probably repeated in how you made many of your sales, and if you can recognize those patterns, you can ensure sales success in the future because you now know how to win.
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With Your Staff, Sharing is Caring
May 2007
Your business can prosper if you have a good handle on where you want to go with it. Sales people will do especially well because they are, by nature, confident types. When they believe in something, they are all over it. So encourage your sales team to sell what your company does, not the products you install.
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Persist Without Exception
March 2007
Let's say that you have come off a tough period of time in your business. Sales have declined, you lost a good employee, your rent has gone up, and a new competitor is affecting your business. You don't like this. You are used to success. Well, becoming better sure sounds good now, doesn't it?
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No Crutches In Sales
January 2007
It is time for each of us to stop citing uncontrollable conditions as reasons for our sales challenges. No more excuses. It's time to get off your crutch. Whether you are selling for an integrator, retailer, distributor, manufacturer, or for multiple products as a representative, every one of you must stop and realize what you are saying when you make an excuse for why your sales are as they are.
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Selling the Upscale Experience
November 2006
The business of selling beautiful home theaters sets itself apart from the business of selling conventional products and services. Products, features, and price dominate the sale in the conventional world. Experience is the differentiator for the home theater seller. Experience designing and selling home entertainment systems is essential. Providing a great experience for the customer is nothing less than unacceptable.
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Custom Comfort
September 2006
Selling takes confidence, knowledge, and listening. And it takes putting your customers at ease by showing them that you are completely interested in addressing their needs and concerns. Of course, you want to be sure you are using reliable products that provide a good customer experience and are profitable for you, but first you must get your customer into a good place about the time you will spend together and the money that they will pay you.
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Serving the Client
August 2006
The call for education and skill-based knowledge is a never-ending theme in our industry. It’s a common thread that helps our businesses grow and maintain profitability. That’s why in today’s cutthroat marketplace, the formalized education path offered through the Custom Electronic De-sign and Installation Association (CEDIA) helps prepare electronic systems contractors for the opportunities and adversities that wait for them.
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Summer Plans
July 2006
Well folks, it is July and summer-time everywhere. While I have been having fun, I have also been thinking about the sales that resi-dential electronics system contrac-tors make. “Always be selling,” assomeone once told me. Think about your business. There are new customers and re-ferrals coming in all the time, but what about when business slows down, or better yet, you decide you want to grow your business?
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Mixing Sales and Design
May 2006
Think about a very common public space, or “third place” as it has been coined: Starbucks versus Dunkin’ Donuts. Both essentially are in the same business—selling coffee and complimentary sundries. One is decidedly a place designed to encourage lingering; couches, adeptly programmed music, and wireless Internet makes the Seattle guys’ place somewhere you want to hangout.
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Selling the Great Outdoors
March 2006
Now, it's surely sloppy, wet, and cold in most of our hometowns, but that means it is time to think of selling spring and summer entertainment fun to get folks out of their winter funk. Think about the clients you are going to call on this week to close some sales. Are you leading with what they want or something that they would like but just didn't think of? Are you being creative with outdoor fun?
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Business Plan Fitness
January 2006
It is January, winter everywhere north of the Galapagos, and a new year. You can tell by the bevy of fitness advertising and New Year's promotions for natural reduction and toning. What about that business of yours? What's your plan for toning it up? Have you got one?
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How to Sell Attachments
November 2005
It’s been a good day at your business. Your team is busy, some of the techs are back from the day’s job site, and the sales team is bantering about the need for a cool new product that does something better and faster. Then, a prospective client calls in and asks for one of your salespeople. They recognize the name as a long-standing prospect, one that everyone expects will roll into a big system when and if “someone” could just close them. So, “someone” hushes the ribbing and takes the call...
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Learning to Build Sales
September 2005
What are you doing to build sales? Surely you know that as business owner, manager, sales person, sales manager, designer or all of the above, you have to be working on developing new sales for the future. Referrals are great but they only come if you have been...
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Working Relationships
July 2005
Quick! When's the last time you called a client whose job you completed a year or two ago or longer? Was it because they called you? Not good enough. What we're talking here boys and girls calling a "job done" client to see how they are. I'm talking about calling to see what's new with your client's life and...
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Show, Do, Teach
May 2005
Did you ever stop and think about yourself and the characteristics that shape you and how they affect your business? Most people don't do this. They're too busy working in their business dealing with stack-up or trying to get through that next big proposal that will solve...
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Selling with a Showroom
March 2005
What does your business look like and how do you demonstrate your products? It's important to step back from time to time and take a look at your showroom...
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Cultivating a Selling Style
January 2005
Have you ever thought about your selling style and where it comes from? You know, the people, their effort, their drive, their motivation and your investment? It is probably the single-most important ingredient to your company's success...
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More Margin for Flat Panels
October 2003
There's no doubt that sales of flat-panel televisions are growing at a radical rate. This is great news for our industry and is a happy thing for your clients. They want flat panels. Some of their friends have them...
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