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How Integrators Plan to Make Money in 2011
During a series of two-minute speed-meeting rounds, I asked dealers what they plan to do differently this year compared to last.
Here’s what they had to say.
More Music
David Wasserman has spent the past couple of years building a large selection of digital-analog conversion (DAC) products, and spaces to demonstrate them at Stereo Exchange in New York
Regardless of what they’re shopping for, most visitors get asked this question: Do you have an iPod?
Now Stereo Exchange is taking digital audio to new levels, planning events customer events with live music and plenty of demos. Coming up: an in-store part sponsored by Peachtree Audio (among others) that is expected to draw about 75 people.
Audio also is a big focus this year for HiFi House in Broomall, Pa. Principal Paul Sandquist says the store is “really promoting high-quality audio” in 2011 and honing the “art of the demo.”
He explains, “If a customer really wants high-end audio, they know to come to us.”
To that end, HiFi House is shoring up its audio offering with “draw brands.”
HiFi’s sister company Elite Home Technologies does a fine job selling and installing integrated whole-house systems, Sandquist says, but a great audio system can be a simpler sell and an easier install.
Simple Home Control
Wright’s Sound Gallery in Shreveport, La., makes sure “everybody is presented with a control system – everybody that walks in the door, it doesn’t matter what they’re looking for,” says VP John Bartle.
He explains that customers are willing to pay more money for a system if it’s easy to operate. This year, Wright's is making sure that every customer gets an easy-to-use controller for their TV or music system or other home technology.
Automation is also a focus for CSA Audio Design, Montclair, NJ. Owner Ralph Fonte never realized how profitable a control system could be until the company took on Savant, a new HTSA vendor.
“All my guys can service it,” he says. “There is no need to bring in a specialist.”
Service Revenues
This year, as in years past, integrators are chasing elusive service revenues.
“We’re concentrating on selling added value services,” says Franklin Karp, COO of New York’s Audio Video Systems.
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3 Comments (displayed in order by date/time)
Finally something from JJ to agree with 100% - CRM software, or better yet “XRM” is the key to:
1. Marketing and lead management
2. Affiliate relationships
3. Catalog, pricing and campaign management
4. Neighborhood Canvassing and Demographic Mapping
5. Service Catalog
6. Service dispatch
7. Internet lead and incident capture
8. Self-Serve customer support and Customer portal (Membership, concierge, private networking, training, change management, etc..)
9. Pipeline management
10. Opportunity management
11. Partner relationships
12. Customer Satisfaction and Service quality management
And the list goes on and on. It’s a perfect solution to lower EBITA and thus finally achieve the promise of PROFITIABLE services. BTW, NetSuite is not a good investment re a “CRM Solution”. The cloud version of MSFT CRM for a Microsoft certified Gold Partner (like “asktheadvisor.com”) is FREE for 100 users. Yeah most people, including the vendor I just mentioned probably did not know that and they probably paid too much for both their CRM “solution” and consulting fees when they could have gotten it for FREE (Product and some services). But then again, what do I know, I am not in the industry, though I am sure some Legacy AV/Automation centric sociopath (DB’s as you CePro people like to say) will probably have a much better idea about CRM them me, or at least they will just spew as their “value added” insults or trash talk on this site (Please CePRo – get professional, use the facebook API, or open ID to authenticate the identities of the people that post on this “professional” site)
So trash talking aside. Here is how you do it folks:
A. Become a Microsoft Partner
B. Use you “internal use” license rights to get up to 100 CRM online user licenses for free (That’s not servers, not software install just turn it on
C. Call me and I will help for free, that is if your product catalog and services catalog includes Microsoft, Google or Android solutions. If you are a Creston or “other” dealer, don’t bother asking for advice. I will not help
D. Free help means – Creation of Marketing solution, lead management, sales process, catalog load, pipeline reporting and incident management.
E. Free help means creating the dashboard, pivots, reports and Geo-Mapping links to Bing maps for you immediate GEO
F. Free means creating a marketing list derived from local social networking data
G. Free means creating an internet based Lead and Incident capture portal page
H. Free means loading the product catalog and creating a services catalog
I. Free means creating a dispatch process and Calendar for managing service calls, notifications, etc…
J. Free means creating the quote, order and invoice process
K. Free means creating a KB (Knowledge Base) of relevant YouTube based OCM and training content (OCM – that mean “Organization Change Management” – and the that comment is meant for the licked monkey boy… you know who you are)
L. Free means anything else I can do to make this partner bury a legacy AV/Automation partner (yes this is very personal)
M. This “Free” help is available to anyone in South Florida or Chicago that is selling home IT and Home Automation services and compete directly with one of “those” legacy AV/Automation companies
Actually re the last post, I would like to increase the scope to mean “selling Home and COMMERCIAL IT and Automation services….” Do not want to limit the options…
Quote “Selling the service, however, is a different matter and AVS has not yet closed a job. Karp assures us, though, that 2011 will be the year that AVS “makes it an integral part of sales.”
AVS is definitely on the right track here. We currently have a remote management and support structure in place that serves over 15 states. As of last year it became a prerequisite of all new clients to sign a service contract. Even if the service terms were time and materials it helped solidify the agreement and led to upgrading of the agreement later. Utilizing an active ticketing system, issue logging and tracking, internal knowledge base, and an unheard of response time has made this an easy sell.
I wish more integration firms were taking the steps AVS is talking about! Not only can it boost new sales and keep existing clients coming back, it can also make those consumers that like to spend there time at the Big Box stores reconsider Custom Designed Integration.