• CEPro_logo_blue-new
  • TOPICS
      • News
        • People & Places
        • Product Briefs
      • Projects
      • Events
      • Control
        • Central Vac
        • Energy/Power
        • HVAC/IAQ
        • Interfaces/Devices
        • Lighting
        • Motorized Shades
        • Whole House Systems
      • Audio/Video
        • Audio/Video
        • AV Accessories
        • AV Racks
        • Cabling
        • Displays
        • Furniture
        • Headphones
        • Home Theater
        • Media
        • Mounts/Lifts
        • Multiroom AV
        • Projectors/Screens
        • Speakers/Subwoofers
        • Wireless AV
      • Security
        • Access Control
        • Alarms/Sensors
        • Services/Platforms
        • Surveillance/Cameras
      • Business Support
        • Associations/Buying Groups
        • Cell Phone Boosters
        • Distributors/Reps
        • Operations
        • Recurring Revenue
        • Research
        • Sales/Marketing
        • Software Services
        • Tools/Testers
      • Networking
        • Cellular
        • Devices/Equipment
        • Wireless
        • Wired/Installation
      • Markets
        • Builders
        • Commercial
        • Design
        • Europe
        • Outdoors
        • Resimercial
        • Wellness
      • CE Pro Hub Pages
        • Bose
        • Savant
        • Inside Sound United
  • PRODUCTS
  • RESOURCES
    • Reports/Downloads
    • Buyer’s Guide
    • Webcasts
    • Podcasts
    • Integrator Jobs
    • Digital Edition
    • CE Pro-iQ
  • SUBSCRIBE
    • CEDIA SHOW UPDATES
    • CEPRO PRINT EDITION
    • CEPRO DIGITAL EDITION
    • CEPRO NEWSLETTERS
  • DISCOVER
    • CEDIA Expo
      • September 29 – October 1
        Dallas, TX
      • VISIT SITE
    • KBIS
      • February 8 – 10
        Orlando, FL
      • VISIT SITE
    • Total Tech Summit
      • October 26 – 28
        Orlando, FL
      • VISIT SITE
    • Commercial Integrator
      • VISIT SITE
    • Security Sales
      • VISIT SITE
    • Tech Decisions
      • VISIT SITE
    • Campus Safety
      • VISIT SITE
    • Design Well
      • VISIT SITE
    • KBB Online
      • VISIT SITE
    • AV-iQ
      • VISIT SITE
    • CE Pro-iQ
      • VISIT SITE
  • Search
  • TOPICS
    • News
      • People & Places
      • Product Briefs
    • Projects
    • Events
    • Control
      • Central Vac
      • Energy/Power
      • HVAC/IAQ
      • Interfaces/Devices
      • Lighting
      • Motorized Shades
      • Whole House Systems
    • Audio/Video
      • Audio/Video
      • AV Accessories
      • AV Racks
      • Cabling
      • Displays
      • Furniture
      • Headphones
      • Home Theater
      • Media
      • Mounts/Lifts
      • Multiroom AV
      • Projectors/Screens
      • Speakers/Subwoofers
      • Wireless AV
    • Security
      • Access Control
      • Alarms/Sensors
      • Services/Platforms
      • Surveillance/Cameras
    • Business Support
      • Associations/Buying Groups
      • Cell Phone Boosters
      • Distributors/Reps
      • Operations
      • Recurring Revenue
      • Research
      • Sales/Marketing
      • Software Services
      • Tools/Testers
    • Networking
      • Cellular
      • Devices/Equipment
      • Wireless
      • Wired/Installation
    • Markets
      • Builders
      • Commercial
      • Design
      • Europe
      • Outdoors
      • Resimercial
      • Wellness
    • CE Pro Hub Pages
      • Savant
      • Bose
      • Inside Sound United
  • PRODUCTS
  • RESOURCES
    • Reports/Downloads
    • Buyer’s Guide
    • Webcasts
    • Podcasts
    • Integrator Jobs
    • Digital Edition
    • CE Pro-IQ
  • SUBSCRIBE
    • CEPRO PRINT EDITION
    • CEPRO DIGITAL EDITION
    • CEPRO NEWSLETTERS
    • CEDIA SHOW UPDATES
  • DISCOVER
    • Cedia Expo
      VISIT SITE
    • Commercial Integrator
      VISIT SITE
    • Security Sales
      VISIT SITE
    • Tech Decisions
      VISIT SITE
    • Campus Safety
      VISIT SITE
    • Design Well
      VISIT SITE
    • Total Tech Summit
      VISIT SITE
    • KBB Online
      VISIT SITE
    • AV-iQ
    • CE Pro-iQ
M
POPULAR SEARCHES
News
Projects
Control
Audio Video
Security
Business Support
Markets
SUBSCRIBE CEDIA EXPO
Audio/Video | Distributors/Reps | Multiroom AV | News | Outdoors | Speakers/Subwoofers | Wireless AV
May 1, 2017

Sonos Drops Reps, Promises ‘Tangible Enhancements’ to Dealer Programs

Sonos is eliminating independent reps for the CEDIA channel, but will offer new benefits like free shipping to dealer-direct customers.
Julie Jacobson  
Sonos is eliminating independent reps for the CEDIA channel, but will offer new benefits like free shipping to dealer-direct customers.
Article:
Audio/Video | Distributors/Reps | Multiroom AV | News | Outdoors | Speakers/Subwoofers | Wireless AV
May 1, 2017

Sonos Drops Reps, Promises ‘Tangible Enhancements’ to Dealer Programs

Sonos is about to improve its existing “dealer program” with free shipping on large orders, special demo packages and “additional benefits that will reward you to grow with us,” according to a statement to specialty A/V dealers.

For years, integrators have had a love-hate relationship with the wireless-audio giant. Clients love the product, it doesn’t break, and even if CEDIA (custom installation) dealers can’t make great margins on the Sonos product itself, they can at least do well on attachments like loudspeakers. 

On the other hand, margins are weak by industry standards, consumers can buy Sonos products virtually anywhere, there’s no differentiating products for specialty dealers, and Sonos pushes consumers to cut-rate providers like Enjoy.com. Furthermore, once clients register their products, Sonos solicits them directly, with no remuneration for the original dealer.

And then there’s integration. Sonos did not support home automation integration for almost all of its existence, which ultimately proved the right strategy to preserve the stellar user experience and dominate the mass market.

But when Sonos did go to integrate, it broke the current unsanctioned integrations and created a “nightmare” for installers and their clients.

The fiasco may have been more a case of bad communication with dealers than poor strategy, but bad communication is a problem that Sonos’s existing dealer program did not address.


NEXT: Sonos Doesn’t Hate Custom Channel; They Just Don’t Communicate Well


The company expects that to change with a new structure that takes effect June 1.

At that time, Sonos will say goodbye to independent reps and transition to a “100% direct service model” with a new “dedicated Custom Integrator channel management team.”

Details of the program are still vague, but the company does promise free shipping on orders greater than $3,000 and “a formal Demo Program, to make it easier to put Sonos in front of your clients.”

Beyond that, according to the dealer memo: “From the Dealer Program enhancements mentioned above, to a new field team structure, to a dedicated Custom Integrator channel management team, to better communication, we want you to succeed and we’re going to do everything we can to help with that.”

The letter to dealers is reproduced below.

Sonos Change to Service Model

Dear Sonos Dealer

In 2012, we introduced our first Regional Sales Specialist (RSS) to the channel.  That was our first, dedicated Sonos employee for the Custom Integrator channel.  Since then, we’ve grown that to a team strategically positioned across the US, with more on the way.  With this team, we’ve been able to create and maintain more direct relationships with you and we’re now ready to pivot to a 100% direct service model.

As part of the continued evolution of our service model and Dealer Program, we have made the decision to bring all of our dealer relationships in-house, and have notified all of our Manufacturer Representative Firms across the US that effective June 1st, 2017, we will have moved to a direct service model.

First and foremost, we want to take a moment to publicly thank each and every one of our Manufacturer Representative Firms for their help in building Sonos in the vital and growing business that it is today. They allowed us to quickly grow our footprint in the US Custom Integrator channel and may have even been responsible for signing you up as a Sonos dealer.  While no less disappointing to those impacted, we have tried to be as transparent as possible about our long-term vision to go direct, and are confident that making this tough decision now puts us in a better position to deliver great experiences for the channel and your customers for moving forward.  We will forever be grateful to the individuals whose support and partnership over the years have helped get us to where we are today.

In addition to moving to this 100% direct service model, we’re excited to roll out some tangible enhancements to our Dealer Program that you will soon receive as a Sonos direct dealer. Effective June 1st, 2017, we will launch a Free Freight Program for all orders over $3,000.  Additionally, we will also be launching a formal Demo Program, to make it easier to put Sonos in front of your clients.  The details of both of those programs will be shared later this month.  We’re also working on additional benefits that will reward you to grow with us.   

We hope it’s clear that we do absolutely value this channel and we are continuing to invest to help you grow your business.  From the Dealer Program enhancements mentioned above, to a new field team structure, to a dedicated Custom Integrator channel management team, to better communication, we want you to succeed and we’re going to do everything we can to help with that.

Please reach out to your Sonos Account Manager (formerly known as Regional Sales Specialist) with any questions.

Sincerely,

Joern Taubert, US Country Lead

Zack Kramer, US Marketing Lead

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Julie Jacobson
Follow
Julie Jacobson:
Julie Jacobson is founding editor of CE Pro, the leading media brand for the home-technology channel. She has covered the smart-home industry since 1994, long before there was much of an Internet, let alone an Internet of things. Currently she studies, speaks, writes and rabble-rouses in the areas of home automation, security, networked A/V, wellness-related technology, biophilic design, and the business of home technology. Julie majored in Economics at the University of Michigan, spent a year abroad at Cambridge University, and earned an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a recipient of the annual CTA TechHome Leadership Award, and a CEDIA Fellows honoree. A washed-up Ultimate Frisbee player, Julie currently resides in San Antonio, Texas and sometimes St. Paul, Minn. Follow on Twitter: @juliejacobson
View Julie Jacobson's complete profile

ARTICLE TOPICS

Audio/Video • Distributors/Reps • Multiroom AV • News • Outdoors • Speakers/Subwoofers • Wireless AV

ARTICLE TAGS

Sonos • Wireless Audio

SHARE

Share On Facebook
Share On Twitter
Share On Linkedin
Share On Whatsapp
Share Via Email
Copy URL
← Previous Article Next Article →
Article Business SupportControlDistributors/RepsNewsSecurityServices/PlatformsWhole-House Systems

Price Hikes Help Resideo, ADI Earn Record Revenues

'Inflationary pricing environment' helps Resideo product group boast 28% revenue increase while ADI has 5% gain for second quarter.
Article Central VacNewsWellness

Amazon Acquires iRobot Roomba for $1.7B in Cash

Amazon adds iRobot's Roomba vacuum cleaner to its growing portfolio of smart home solutions including Ring, Fire TV and Echo smart speakers.
Article Business SupportControlDistributors/RepsNewsSecurityServices/PlatformsWhole-House Systems

Price Hikes Help Resideo, ADI Earn Record Revenues

'Inflationary pricing environment' helps Resideo product group boast 28% revenue increase while ADI has 5% gain for second quarter.
Article Amplifiers/ReceiversAudio/VideoAV AccessoriesAV RacksControlDesignFurnitureHome TheaterInterfaces/DevicesLightingMarketsMediaMotorized ShadesMultiroom AVNetworkingNewsProjectors/ScreensSpeakers/Subwoofers

SDI’s Audiophile-Centric Approach Reflects an Evolving Market 

SDI is helping Boston-area homeowners meet their home technology objectives without cluttering their homes with unsightly electronics.

SHOW NEWSLETTER

Sign Up

CE Pro

Subscribe Sign Up

Content Types

News
Products
Projects
Companies
Downloads
Webcasts
Podcasts
Events

Specials

IntegratorJobs
CEDIA EXPO
CE Pro 100
CE Pro Summit
Awards Programs

Company Info

About
Contact Us
Customer Service
Media Solutions & Advertising

Subscribe

Magazine
Newsletters
Digital Edition

Connect

Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
YouTube
RSS Feed

Categories

AUDIO/VIDEO
AV Accessories
AV Racks
Amplifiers/Receivers
Cabling
Displays
Furniture
Mounts/Lifts
Multiroom AV
Projector Screens
Speakers/Subwoofers
Wireless AV
CONTROL
Central Vac
Energy/Power
Interfaces/Devices
HVAC/IAQ
Lighting
Motorized Shades
Whole-House Systems
NETWORKING
Cellular
Devices/Equipment
Wireless
Wiring/Installation
SECURITY
Access Control
Alarms/Sensors
Services/Platforms
Surveillance Cameras
BUSINESS SUPPORT
Associations/Buying Groups
Distributors/Reps
Operations
Recurring Revenue
Research
Sales/Marketing
Software/Services
Tools/Testers
MARKETS
Builders
Commercial
Design
Europe
Outdoors
Wellness
FOLLOW US ON
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow

© 2021 Emerald X, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

  • ABOUT
  • CAREERS
  • TERMS OF USE
  • PRIVACY POLICY