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How to Be a Technology Solutions Provider
The industry needs to start thinking more about how technology blends with lifestyle.
Now more than ever, the sales philosophy we adopt to sell "home systems" is critical.
The number of opportunities we have in front of a homebuyer has decreased, and homeowners still want the perfect home.
That means we need to maximize the effectiveness of the meetings we do have.
Ask yourself the following questions about how home technology upgrades are presented to homebuyers:
The CE pros' job is to figure out what's important and show clients how that specific offering will fit their needs. The key to selling home systems is to appeal to the homebuyer's lifestyle through a lifestyle-sales approach.
Think of your job as being similar to that of a doctor. A good doctor would never enter the examination room and, before asking about the patient's problems, launch into a sales pitch about the drugs he offers. Instead, he listens to the patient, learns about him, prescribes a custom solution and explains the benefits of it.
To most homebuyers, technology is scary and confusing. They look to CE pros to explain the benefits and make recommendations.
Whether they realize it or not, they come to you with a problem. Maybe their problem is that during dinner parties they're listening to music out of their TV in the living room (solution: multi-room audio). It's your job as the expert to identify these problems and recommend the best solutions.
We know there are lots of reasons why a homebuyer should invest in home systems upgrades before the drywall goes up, but does the homebuyer understand or believe those reasons?
Why should they purchase a camera system to keep an eye on their baby when they can go out and purchase a cheap one-way audio-only baby monitor? We know why and we have to articulate that value to the customer.
So, are you ready to throw out that laundry list of products and start selling solutions? Now is the time to start analyzing your approach to selling upgrades and make the change to a lifestyle-sales approach. Enjoy the boost in your profits!
The number of opportunities we have in front of a homebuyer has decreased, and homeowners still want the perfect home.
That means we need to maximize the effectiveness of the meetings we do have.
Ask yourself the following questions about how home technology upgrades are presented to homebuyers:
- Do they appeal to the homebuyer's lifestyle needs, or are they presented as a shopping list of parts and pieces?
- Are solutions custom-packaged together, or are you reciting a standard sales pitch?
The CE pros' job is to figure out what's important and show clients how that specific offering will fit their needs. The key to selling home systems is to appeal to the homebuyer's lifestyle through a lifestyle-sales approach.
Be the Expert
Think of your job as being similar to that of a doctor. A good doctor would never enter the examination room and, before asking about the patient's problems, launch into a sales pitch about the drugs he offers. Instead, he listens to the patient, learns about him, prescribes a custom solution and explains the benefits of it.
To most homebuyers, technology is scary and confusing. They look to CE pros to explain the benefits and make recommendations.
Whether they realize it or not, they come to you with a problem. Maybe their problem is that during dinner parties they're listening to music out of their TV in the living room (solution: multi-room audio). It's your job as the expert to identify these problems and recommend the best solutions.
Establish value
We know there are lots of reasons why a homebuyer should invest in home systems upgrades before the drywall goes up, but does the homebuyer understand or believe those reasons?
Why should they purchase a camera system to keep an eye on their baby when they can go out and purchase a cheap one-way audio-only baby monitor? We know why and we have to articulate that value to the customer.
So, are you ready to throw out that laundry list of products and start selling solutions? Now is the time to start analyzing your approach to selling upgrades and make the change to a lifestyle-sales approach. Enjoy the boost in your profits!
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2 Comments
The company i have worked for has been providing solutions vs shopping lists for years. We sell media rooms not Kuro’s & Denon. We sell Theaters not Stewart & Sim2.
Customers want to be able to control their lights reliably.. they dont care whos logo is on the box. Determining what products make it into our clients homes is our job.
Line items that say “Home Theater” cant be price shopped online.
Page 1 of 1 comment pages
The emphasis on sales is critical, although the leap to a direct effect on profit is a big leap. I’m not sure the method for selling necessarily correlates to profit. All the steps we take in business, ultimately is motivated by a desire to increase profit, but to say that a switch to a different selling style will increase profit…
Still a good idea not to simply offer a shopping cart of parts but to sell services. That did come through as the main point. And point taken. Now for those increased profits! That’s an entirely different article. I’ll wait for the next add-on piece Mr. Baker.