CE Pro Community

Xantech

2008-08-08T12:08:42-05:00

Would anybody recommend products made by Xantech. More specifically, their whole house audio products? Just curious.

What is the single best piece of marketing you’ve done for your business?

2008-08-08T18:44:48-05:00

I think the title says it all, but as a manufacturer we always feel we know the best ways to help our dealers sell. Of course that’s not realistic even if only because there are so many different businesses in so many different areas making it impossible to create the marketing ‘silver bullet’.

Having said that, I’m personally interested to know what works for you. It could be running some sort of ad or maybe having an event. It could be as simple as doing a great job and asking customers to refer freiends to you.

One caveat is that VUDU may well steal the good ideas and put our resources into helping dealers do more of whatever it is.

Trunk Slammer?

2008-07-25T21:06:00-05:00

Every industry has it’s high end and low end. Both in terms of customers and merchants. It happens that in our industry, the low end merchant has the distinct title, “Trunk Slammer.”

Don’t you think that some customers would be paired up nicely with this level of installer? How do you qualify your customers to make sure they are a match for your target market? I believe there is a great market for trunk slammers. There are more people out there who would love to pay $150 to mount a TV than are willing to pay $1,000 to have it done right.

Is it the products you specify that weed out unwanted customers?

Do you request a scope of work along with an actual budget to identify if it’s a fit? How detailed is your proposal?

In our business, we try to identify the scope of work and have a set of drawings if it is a project under construction. This helps us to identify early in the process if we are anywhere near having a project that we can do and make money doing it.

And although our bread and butter comes from the big projects, we still do service calls for existing customers and business partners to foster and strengthen our existing relationships.

Glad to be sharing in this exciting industry with you,
Morgan

Whole House Audio and Home Automation Leads

2008-07-31T20:05:48-05:00

Can anybody recommend a good source to use for bidding on whole house audio and home automation projects? I am a new installer and am interested in growing my business. Any help would be appreciated. Additionally, I am also looking for reference material that will help me market my services appropriately. Any help with that would also be appreciated.

Thanks in advance to all. I really appreciate this site. It has helped me tremendously.

Labor rates vs geography.

2008-07-27T14:11:38-05:00

I was wondering what you charge for labor where your located. I’ve seen $50.00 for a company doing a good job and $125.00 for a company doing a poor job. Both in scottsdale less that 2 miles from each other and 20 miles from me. Thats a huge difference. Thinking I might raise my rates as I seem to be more toward the lower rate. It’s kind of hard to figure out. Thats why I’m asking.

Thanks
J

Is a Down Market Really That Bad?

2008-05-16T15:17:07-05:00

There’s been a lot of debate about this whole recession and I’m wondering how bad it really is for business owners.

Now, I know businesses are out to make money (duh), but businesses should also be efficient, from top to bottom. And we all know that isn’t always the case when times are good and you’re rolling in money.

A recession gives business owners a chance to re-evaluate and improve those business models. It’s an opportunity to really figure out what worked and didn’t work during the last busy period, making void ineffective processes.

A recession forces business owners to put themselves out there more, market their product better and build relationships with new clients.

And when the economy does get up and running again, businesses should be well-equipped to flourish and, once again, roll in the dough.

Am I wrong?

Do margins matter any more?

2008-04-08T16:24:24-05:00

I don’t necessarily have the answer to this, but it seems nearly inevitable that, in the near future (if not already), your business is going to have to stop relying on product margins to survive.

Considering most margins are made on accessories, you can’t make money on big-ticket items. Most savvy consumers are anti-expensive cabling and are looking to the Internet anyway to comparison shop.

Obviously, exclusive dealer lines help, but can you survive on them?

The biggest moneymaker you have is your service and your company’s brand. That’s what differentiates you from the competition, and they can’t match your price on that.

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Top-Down vs. Good, Better, Best

2008-03-27T14:37:54-05:00

We just ran this story the other day about top-down selling, where you pitch your “best” product before your “better” product before your “best.” Top Down Selling Pushes Your Best Brands.

I thought there were some good comments about it—have you ever tried this approach?

Finding People… Where to look.

2008-06-03T12:44:31-05:00

Does anyone know of any good AV recruiting agencies?

Selling Green

2008-05-07T11:30:39-05:00

I’ve always wondered if “selling green” actually works.

When you pitch the energy savings of a lighting or home automation system, does that resonate at all with customers? Or do they really only care about what it can do?