06.26.2008 — Crestron. Marantz. NuVo. These words are taboo, not be uttered by AE Systems personnel during sales presentations.

It's not that Randy Vaughan, president of the Portsmouth, Va.-based integrator, has anything against these manufacturers. In fact, he sells their products.

It's just that his 38-plus years of integration experience have shown him that most clients don't care about the products; they care about the experience.

That's why, when the longtime commercial installer decided to add residential a few years ago, he went all the way. He built a residence.

In conjunction with an architect, the company spent three months designing and 10 months building its Showcase Home. It's a 2,800-square foot faux house on the second floor of the company's warehouse, complete with a living room, dining room, kitchen, home office, home theater and ample front yard.

The by-appointment-only show house is fully integrated with audio, video, lighting, security, control, telephone, intercom and data systems.

Adding residential to the mix cost the company about $1 million, according to Vaughan, factoring in the construction of the show house and the hiring of new personnel. The end result is that sales associates get to show instead of tell.

"We've always been about not turning into the propeller heads that we are -- talking about the experience the customer is going to get instead of the products," Vaughan explains.

This is not a new concept to Vaughan. He's been practicing his "show, not tell" approach for a long time -- since back when disco was cool.

Lifestyle Fever

During the disco rage of the 1970s, Ambassador Enterprises Inc. (parent company of AE Systems) hit it big, supplying sound and lighting to high-profile clubs all over the United States, Japan, Belgium, Bermuda, Hong Kong and more.

It did it, Vaughan says, not by telling club owners what it would provide, but by showing them. It also didn't talk about brands.

"We don't mention the products; we show what they do," Vaughan says. "And we sign contracts on a regular basis for over $1 million that don't have any parts or pieces listed."

How do you show a disco experience? "You build one on a tradeshow floor," Vaughan says. "And we did that on several occasions."

It's not easy to build a simulated disco for placement on a tradeshow floor, but Vaughan maintains that it's worth the effort. "It's like this house," he says, referring to the residential Showcase Home.

It seems to have worked so far. Vaughan says AE Systems saw a 300 percent increase in business last year and it expects a 50 percent increase this year.

He credits the surge (which has taken place during a period when many integrators are merely treading water) in large part to the show house.

The custom installation industry, in general, "needs to do a better job of showing people what the experience is, Vaughan says.

He doesn't suggest that all integrators need to build such an elaborate show house, just that they need an appropriate place to do demonstrations. In AE Systems' case, that place is particularly impressive, according to marketing director Jennifer Garcell.

"Every room has a 'wow'," she says.

The experience begins at the top of the stairs as prospective clients make their way across AE Systems' open office space, Garcell explains. Beyond the drafting tables, conference room and desks, there are double-doors.

The doors have to open in order to see into the surreal outdoor environment that is the Showcase Home's front yard.

Those who have visited the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino are familiar with its artificial outdoor environment. Gamblers who jerk their heads back in frustration after losing a hand might see blue sky and fluffy clouds on the ceiling and forget that they're inside.