Any tips, suggestions or ideas etc..

Set aside a headphone listening area! Headphones are hot now!

Are you a quasi retail / custom shop?

Showcase the control systems you plan on selling. This will demonstrate to the customer the type of work you can do and separate you from the hang and bangers.

Many customers have never seen a control system that will turn on all components, adjust inputs and turn down the lights with the push of one button. It makes a control system much easier to sell once the customer sees it in action.

Congrats.

Popcorn machine. They will probably stay a while so you can demo stuff. I don't have a showroom, nor a popcorn machine ... purely speculation.

Put a No Soliciting sign on the door. you've marked yourself to every deadbeat, conman, scam artist, and girl scout as a healthy pigeon.

I wish you the best. A showroom can either be boom or bust, and they are not cheap as you know.

The last one I was associated with had a high-end theater & medium end one...
Multiple in ceiling in wall speakers with switching.

A nice conference room (stick a Kureg coffee make in there)...

A funtional contol system with an ipad.

Examples of what the various devices look like for Alarm, lighting etc.

Best of Luck!

Make sure you have a "canned" pitch including a "life-style" video showing the WIFE how Your services WILL MAKE THEIR LIFE BETTER!!!
Most, if not all Manufacturers have a "professionally produced video" that is free, many don't even ask. (Hit up the Marketing dept for any and all "freebies")

That way, even the "weakest" employee can give a decent pitch that WORKS!!!

Also make sure you document ALL YOUR past jobs and make sure they are cool for References should that come up.

DOn't do what a former employee here did. He started his own little business, and posted up dozens of installs on his facebook page he did when he was here!
None of the installs were from his new company!!!


Little sh*t!

Mmmmm. If you have sales guys that are that weak, that they cannot connect with the customer --- get rid of them, or keep them out in the field.

Each customer that comes in the door will have different wants and needs, concerns and should be met with someone who can read their general vibes and needs and think on their feet. Good salespeople (experienced) are pretty good at this.

Most CI customers can see through canned sales pitches.

A video showing the wife how your services will make their lives better???? I don't think so. Just put together wife friendly demos (carefully selected music tracks and movie clips---nothing too violent or nerdy)... Again some scripted video (which if done professionally) will be expensive and still come off as kind of hokey (jmo)...

Tell us again how many companies you've been through. We've lost count.

It's the way he sees it from his view.

For the wives, you demo a control system that is one button simple. and have it fire up a chick flick, or LMN.

Have the wife fire up a multi-room audio system, and have it fire up some easy listening, or audio from something from LMN.

She has an Ipod, or Iphone with tumes, have her plug into the system and play her music.


Most wives cannot turn "the damn thing" on, and they would like to not appear "stupid", so helping her understand how easy it is to operate, and how it'll be no problem for her to operate, will help sales.



Happy wife, happy husband.

In the wives defense, I've seen often the husband buy the system but be too busy to get a lesson in how to use everything. The wife however will learn to use the system, and turn it on and off for her hubby. The other thing I've found, the wives live music more than TV. Figure out how to get the system to a one button press for music for the wife and you've sold a system.

I'll say this, you do your way and we will do ours.
If you seem to think in this market, you won't have "weak" salespeople that are great installers- you are insane.....
Our "canned" pitch works because it is able to be DUPLICATED.

You still must live in the "old retail" hayday....those days ARE gone.

Evolve or Perish...I think I can sense what side you are on.

As great as it is to be able to say "Yes, I can" to answer every question, it's not possible to be all things to all people. I don't know how anyone could be on top of every aspect of our technology unless they started learning computers at a very young age.

I think the first thing would be to do a skills assessment, then determine the time frame to get the place up and running.

Make sure to get people to want to go back and NEVER let someone come in without being greeted in the first 30 seconds. I went to Beast Buy and wandered for 15 minutes before leaving without anyone acknowledging me in any way.

Don't let that happen.