8 Tips for Selling High-End Theater Seating

The industry has certainly voyaged a long way from two-channel stereo, vinyl records, tube amplifiers and 12-inch two-way speakers. It isn't just the electronics industry anymore.

Installation professionals, integrators and retailers have had to sharpen their skill sets to offer everything from lighting control, security, whole-home systems and, yes, even furniture.

When we read luxury lifestyle magazines about the range of theater rooms, it's clear that the core attraction (beyond the winky-blinky marquees, faux ticket booths, velvet ropes and motorized curtains) are those rows of stunning recliners.

Indeed, entertainment furniture is a multi-billion dollar industry. Most custom theater dealers, however, allow the "designer" to pocket his customer's furniture budget -- or worse, he has the client run to the local furniture store.

Here are eight tips to better sell high-end theater seating.

Understand Furniture Quality

The furniture industry seems to intimidate many installers.

We all understand the quality and value differences between high-, mid- and low-performance electronics, flat-panel displays, speakers and screens.

Why do we press pause on our brains when the white shoes, white belt sales-guy from outside our industry comes a-calling?

How will your customers (the ones that just dropped $250,000 on the project) feel when they find themselves sitting on collapsed cushions or having the frame poking them in the back?

There are precious few manufacturers that have invested in our industry and work hard to manufacture seating that is on the same level as what installers present as top-notch and high performance.

Know them; know their products.

Educate Yourself

You and your staff must be trained in every aspect of seating and design.

You should not let your people approach any of your clients until you know they have all the knowledge that your vendors can afford you.

Just as you attend manufacturer and CEDIA training events for integration, so too must you learn as much as you can about seating.

You must partner with a seating manufacturer who will join you this venture.

You need a manufacturer that not only understands seating, but also understands the custom install business.

Pick Vendors Willing to Assist You

Choose vendors that become part of your team.

What if you have a problem designing seating that will work with your designer/client's room?

What if the viewing angle, the materials or the platform elevation come into question? Will the furniture company assist you (or even understand you)?

Look for a seating vendor that will work with you, with your client and also with your designer. Find a vendor that will offer design layouts.

More importantly, find a vendor that will deliver right to your client's house.

Budget for Quality

How does an installer determine the cost or recommended budget when it comes to furniture?

Remember: Your clients are going to sit in these seats with their family and closest friends for many, many hours.

The chair is the one element they will, literally, be contacting throughout the life of the home theater. That's pretty important.