Volume 14, Issue 8 — April 27, 2017
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Industry News Cables, Furniture, Mounts, Racks, Screens and Accessories TVs Control & Signal Processing
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Three Things You Need To Do To Grow Your Sales
By Lee Distad rAVe Columnist
Making generalities are useful when establishing guidelines.
In general, if you work with enough business owners and managers, and review the performance of their teams, you’ll see commonalities and trends. And, speaking generally, comparable businesses in the same channel have more in common than they are different.
One of the most common of those commonalities is that their sales teams aren’t always firing on all cylinders. I often see when reviewing the performance of a sales team that they’re falling short in any of three areas, and often in some combination of all three. Believe it or not, none of those areas is closing the sale, which is less important than the other three: prospecting, qualifying and follow-up.
In order to fit salespeople into convenient little boxes, manager often define them as hunters or farmers. Hunters are the salespeople who excel at for going out, cold calling and getting new business. Farmers are salespeople who do better managing existing client relationships. Typically, salespeople tend to be more of a hunter or more of a farmer, at least in terms of where their comfort zone lies.
As anyone can tell you, just waiting for the business comes to you has limited potential. Sooner or later you have to go out and find new business. That means prospecting.
I could go on all day about how to effectively prospect, and probably will in another column but it boils down to doing the following: Your salespeople making a list of who they’re going to approach — builders, designers, architects, retail stores, whoever. Prospecting also includes tapping existing clients for referrals.
Making a list is only the beginning; now salespeople need to work that list from top to bottom. That means making every effort to meet the decision makers at those target clients and get the ball rolling with them.
The idea of properly qualifying prospective clients is often misunderstood. That means getting to know them, what they do, how they do it and as much as you can about their needs. That means not just learning what they think they need, but also uncovering hidden needs, those hot buttons that will lead to them buying something.
Last, but absolutely the most important of the three is the need to follow up with prospective clients.
No one — I don’t care who you are — closes every prospect on the first meeting. That’s why salespeople need to be proactive, and not only collect contact information from their prospects, but USE IT to follow up.
I’d like to draw your attention to this infographic:
Forty eight percent of sales people never follow up with a prospect. Not even once.
Let that sink in for a minute.
If your sales team actually reaches out a second time that puts them ahead of half of their competitors.
Not that that’s good enough (it isn’t), but if you encourage them to diligently follow up, and follow up again and again, guess what? They’ll make more sales! Leave a Comment
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Why Certifications Matter
By Lee Distad rAVe Columnist
Professional AV companies have a selection of certifications they can qualify for, from industry trade associations like InfoComm and CEDIA, to product category-specific certifications from major vendors like Crestron or AMX or the Imaging Sciences Foundation and so on.
How important is it for you and your people to be certified? Granted, many municipalities require contractors to carry some kind of certification in order to qualify for licensing, but what other benefits do AV companies and their employees stand to gain? Does being certified really matter?
Certifications matter for four primary reasons. First, in the AV channel it’s not only possible but entirely common for non-licensed, non-certified people to solicit business from clients.
Most prospective clients don’t know what to look for in AV contracting, that’s why they’re talking to you in the first place. Completing projects is a lot harder than selling them in the first place.
If a salesman sells services to a client that the company has no hope of delivering, that has potential for damage, both to the customer, and the reputation of the entire channel.
I recall a conversation I had with a client shortly after I learned that I had passed my exam for the CEDIA Certified Professional Designer designation, and I told him that.
“So what does that mean?”, he asked (he was an engineer, by the way).
“It means,” I snarked, “that you can trust me with a quarter of a million dollars’ worth of equipment and I probably won’t burn your house down with it.”
On that note, marketing your company’s status as certified professionals can be a huge competitive advantage. My aforementioned client notwithstanding consumers can care about what certifications you carry; certainly some will have been burned by non-certified contractors. More than one industry veteran has asserted to me over the years that it’s a major differentiator that many companies overlook in their selling and marketing.
It’s also been suggested to me time and again by industry veterans that when your people are trained and certified your clients are likely to be more satisfied and give you more testimonials. If you’re doing a better job, and clients are better satisfied then that’s going to lead to better referrals and repeat business and recommendations. That’s what service is all about, satisfying clients and meeting their needs.
Lastly, certifications and continuing education are crucial to professional development. Above and beyond, they’ll help you become better at what you do. The continuing education requirements for maintaining certifications teach professionals new things and keep their skills and knowledge fresh and current.
They may well also improve your company’s abilities. For example, consider service calls. You may have thought that your techs have always done a good job, but focusing their continued training on working as service techs will most likely teach you and them how to be more efficient. Those benefits include completing work more efficiently, saving money, and creating one more differentiator to promote your business.
Furthermore, for employees, certification provides a career path. As they maintain their certification they keep current with technology. It advances their level of knowledge and it builds and maintains their professionalism.
While I’ve known AV pros who have viewed certifications as both a burden and an expense, it’s a more practical mindset to view them as an investment, and capitalize on the benefits they offer to maximize your company’s return on that investment. Leave a Comment
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Have You Joined the AV Industry Professionals (AVIP) LinkedIn Group?The industry’s only dedicated-AV LinkedIn Group needs you to join. It’s called the AV Industry Professionals and it’s free (to AV professionals and users) AND it’s ALL ABOUT AV services.
And, the best part about it is that it’s a moderated discussion/posting group (that also includes a JOBS listing service) — that means it’s not filled with ads and that they posts are organically from AV’ers. People asking for advice on products, details on new technologies and anything AV, digital signage or AV/IT related. No ads!
So, head over to the group and join today! Leave a Comment
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D-Tools System Integrator 2017 Now Available D-Tools announced today the availability of its newest version of System Integrator (SI) software platform, SI 2017.
Building on the architecture of the System Integrator platform, including a robust Cloud infrastructure, this major new release adds significant new capabilities and performance enhancements, in addition to system design and productivity improvements, that enable commercial and residential AV integrators to maximize the efficiency of their business processes.
SI 2017 can now report information across multiple projects, providing executives with a powerful BI engine that delivers visual reports and dashboard views of key performance indicators. In addition to pre-configured BI reports, SI 2017 makes it easy to create custom visual reports to understand important elements of an integrator’s business. The D-Tools Business Intelligence engine enables deep analysis of business activities and trends such as profit analysis, product usage, vendor engagement, personnel performance, and even sales pipeline, activity and results.
SI 2017’s pre-configured dashboard views can be filtered by date range and viewed as a graph (bar, line, pie) or table. Pre-defined dashboards include reports such as sales by salesperson, sales pipeline by project stage, top products sold and profit margin by system type, product category, project size and more.
Additionally, the new Dashboard Wizard allows users to create, edit, and clone dashboards to streamline the time required to create additional views. SI 2017 enables two types of dashboards: Summary (for grouped and summarized data) and Tabular (simple data table). The power and flexibility of the new BI engine are ideal for viewing the data needed to run the business in an informed and efficient manner.
Coming in May 2017, the new Customer Portal, built on the D-Tools Cloud infrastructure, enables users to publish proposals, change orders, drawings and other client-facing documents to the web for improved client engagement. Clients will be able to login to a secure web portal to review documentation, make comments and accept or reject the documents presented.
You can sign up for a 30-day trial here. Leave a Comment
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Research Points to Growth in Smart Home Device Adoption, AwarenessConsumers see more clearly how home smart devices can directly benefit their lives, and are planning to purchase more smart home devices in the future. Those are the key insights from a consumer survey commissioned by PlumChoice, Inc., a provider of technical services for IoT and cloud brands and the Z-Wave Alliance, an open consortium of leading global companies deploying Z-Wave. This second annual consumer benchmark survey, titled, “2016: Year of the Smart Device,” also highlights the need for companies to provide consumers a user experience that allows their smart home devices to fit easily into their lives.
The report claims to help device makers and their partners understand current connected and smart home device ownership, interest in future purchases and perceived smart home device benefits. In addition, it outlines the services that brands can tie to these products to drive more revenue and consumer loyalty.
Other key findings from PlumChoice and the Z-Wave Alliance’s report, “2016: Year of the Smart Device” include:
- 52 percent of all respondents plan to buy a smart device in the next two years
- Of those who own smart devices, 84 percent said they may make another smart purchase in the next two years
- The majority of consumers report owning a total of four to six smart home devices and 61 percent have interconnected some of those devices. Interoperability becomes a key factor as consumers add more connected devices
- Smart appliances (smart refrigerator, washer/dryer, etc.) and smart smoke detectors are among the smart home products with the highest year-over-year growth, with 267 percent and 250 percent respectively
- All types of services and support expected from brands increased since 2015, with installation support listed as a top need (68 percent)
The survey also examined consumer behavior – including purchase drivers and rate of adoption — of homeowners compared to renters, along with comparisons between age, gender and current device owners.
“The smart home industry is thriving, and many companies are recognizing that their success is dependent on a seamless consumer user experience,” said Noelani McGadden, vice president of IoT at PlumChoice. “Last year was a pivotal year for the smart home industry, with the number of people who own a smart device increasing by a staggering 259 percent. As smart home device adoption continues to grow, brands must cater to consumers who are expecting support services as part of their purchase, and at the very least provide installation support.”
“It’s clear from our data that not only has the smart home arrived, but the benefits of adding connectivity to the things in our home are finally being realized,” said Mitchell Klein, executive director of the Z-Wave Alliance. “It’s exciting to finally see consumers understanding the value of connecting multiple devices together and to see categories like smart security, thermostats and safety grow year over year.”
The full report is here. Leave a Comment
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CEDIA Announces Dave Evans Co-Founder and CTO of Stringify will Deliver CEDIA 2017 Opening Keynote Dave Evans, co-founder and CTO of Stringify and former chief futurist at Cisco (where he coined the term “The Internet of Everything”) will deliver the CEDIA 2017 Opening Keynote.
Evans’ keynote “The Internet of Intelligent Things (IoIT)” will hone in on the next phase of IoT, which will be about adding intelligence to connected things and how these advances will open up vast new opportunities for technology integrators.
He said, “Raw connectivity will be antiquated, all things will be connected to rich sources of intelligence and to one another, creating a powerful global intelligence. IoIT will redefine not only the home, but the way we address some of mankind’s most pressing issues.”
Dave Evans is an expert on emerging technologies and holds numerous patents in the fields of connected cars, networking technologies, virtual people, mobile phone technology, Internet of Things (IoT), and much more. His views have been shared and featured on BBC, Financial Times, Forbes, Fortune, CNN, NPR, Discovery Channel, The History Channel, MSNBC and The New York Times.
The CEDIA 2017 Opening Keynote will take place at the San Diego Convention Center on Wed., Sept. 6, 2017 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Registration for CEDIA 2017 opens on May 31. CEDIA 2017 will be hosted at the San Diego Convention Center Sept. 5-9 with the tradeshow floor open Sept. 7-9.
CEDIA is here and the show is here.Leave a Comment
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Control4 Unveils PowerPak Line of Power Control Devices for the Connected Home Control4 today announced the new Pakedge PowerPak family of power control devices. Enabling Control4 and Pakedge dealers to remotely remediate problems and avoid costly onsite service visits, PowerPak PDUs provide centralized power control and management with surge protection for all equipment in a connected home. BakPak-enabled, dealers can monitor and manage PowerPak PDUs for their entire customer base in a single interface.
New features of the PowerPak line include thresholds for current and voltage draw, and self-healing (that’s their term) for non-responsive devices. The Pakedge PowerPak PDUs have built-in UL1449 surge protection to safeguard connected equipment against power spikes. The new PDUs also leverage SafeStart boot sequencing to power on devices such as modems, routers, and switches in the appropriate order – ensuring proper reset and optimal functionality. The PowerPak family of power control devices consists of 9 outlets for the US and North America, and 8 with IEC plugs for international markets.
Power monitoring and control is the first-line of defense in bringing a system or device back online. Devices powered with a PowerPak PDU can be managed in a group or individually with port-level control and monitoring. Using BakPak, technicians can now define voltage and current thresholds for connected devices, receiving alerts if a device exceeds these thresholds and may be experiencing issues.
PowerPak outlets are individually controllable through telnet or web browser, and can also be pre-programmed. An all-new Control4 driver enables automated and programmed outlet control within a Control4 project, allowing dealers to add intelligent power control to any device not connected to the network. Locally, PowerPak PDUs self-heal devices that have become non-responsive to network pings by cycling power to a troubled device.
Available and shipping today, the new PowerPak 9 and PowerPak 8i list for $600 US. More information is here. Leave a Comment
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Juice Goose Debuts SL-350 UPSThe Juice Goose SL-350 UPS uses lithium battery technology in a light weight, thin profile. That makes this UPS well suited for installation in small spaces previously impractical for ordinary UPS designs (think behind a monitor in digital signage apps). In addition to battery power support, the SL-350 provides 312 Joules of protection from AC power surges and spikes.
This UPS has a power rating of 200 watts (350 VA). With that size load and the UPS batteries fully charged, the unit will provide continuous electric power for approximately six minutes in the event of a blackout. Longer battery run times are possible with smaller loads.
The SL-350 uses a detachable power cord. A three foot cord with a right angle plug is provided with the unit. Should a different length or style of cord be needed for a particular installation or application one can be purchased at-large and installed into this UPS. That cord should have a NEMA 5-15P plug as well as a female IEC style connector to attach to the UPS.
Status of the $350 SL-350 UPS can be monitored using the provided software loaded on a PC or laptop connected to the UPS via a USB cable.
All the specs are here. Leave a Comment
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Screen Innovations Launches Zero-G’s New Cord ColorsIn 2016, Screen Innovations (SI) introduced Zero-G, a projection screen that looks like it’s levitating in midair. SI is now offering the cables that hold the screen in three new color variations: Sky Blue, Forest Green and Warm Gray (beige) in addition to White, Gray and Black cables already available. This gives the integrator the capability to more closely match the existing color in the environment behind the screen — whether it’s a wall, window or art-deco piece.
The screen has been popular in both home and commercial application — and even digital signage. It does look like it’s not attached to anything but this also gives the homeowner or business the ability to make them either stand out or blend int o more environments. Zero-G cord colors are available now at no additional charge and you can see them here. Leave a Comment
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Old VIZIO Is Back With New VIZIO SmartCast P-Series (With Apps)VIZIO realized that it made a HUGE, gigantic mistake by removing apps from its TVs after being purchased by LeEco last year. So, the company did the right thing by adding them back into its new VIZIO SmartCast P-Series Ultra HD HDR XLED Pro Display collection. Powered by a full-array local dimming LED-based backlight system and XHDR Pro with Dolby Vision with HDR10 content support, the 2017 P-Series is all about Apps and 4K.
Calling built-in apps SmartCast TV, it will enable users to browse content and a curated list of apps directly on the screen with the included remote (no separate LeEco or VIZIO box required). And, of course, there’s a SmartCast Mobile app available for download for iOS and Android that allows you to control the TV and apps.
The all-new VIZIO SmartCast P-Series Ultra HD HDR XLED Pro Display lineup starts at $1,299.99 for the 55″ class size and is available now at VIZIO.com — in other words, they’re still selling direct and NOT through integrators. But, if you want to see them, go here. Leave a Comment
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WyreStorm Launches H2L Series 4K HDR Matrix Switcher LineWyreStorm just announced the H2L Series — Class B HDBaseT additions to its matrix switcher line, available in 6×6 and 8×8 models. The H2L Series matrix switchers can switch both 2K and 4K UHD video sources (30Hz 4:2:0), including HDR, HDCP.2.2 and multi-channel audio up to DTS:X and Dolby Atmos. And the HDBaseT outputs can be sent up to 35 meter/115 feet for 4K and 70 meter/230 feet for 1080p.
The H2L combines HDR at 10-bit color and PoH to remotely power receivers to eliminate the need for local power supplies at display locations and has WyreStorm’s QuickSync instant switching which they claims includes uncompressed single frame end-to-end latency, as well as WyreStorm’s new SmartEDID technology. In terms of control, bidirectional IR pass-through, RS232 and an embedded Web UI enables setup, configuration and matrix switching with an on-line interface.
Here are all the specs. Leave a Comment
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For all you REGULAR readers of rAVe HomeAV Edition out there, hopefully you enjoyed another opinion-packed issue!
For those of you NEW to rAVe, you just read how we are — we are 100% opinionated. We not only report the news and new product stories of the high-end HomeAV industry, but we stuff the articles full of our opinions. That may include (but is not limited to) whether or not the product is even worth looking at, challenging the manufacturers on their specifications, calling a marketing-spec bluff and suggesting ways integrators market their products better. But, one thing is for sure, we are NOT a trade publication that gets paid for running editorial or product stories. Traditional trade publications get paid to run product stories — that’s why you see what you see in most of the pubs out there. We are different: we run what we want to run and NO ONE is going to pay us to write anything good (or bad).
Don’t like us, then go away — unsubscribe! Just use the link below.
To send me feedback, don’t reply to this newsletter – instead, write directly to me at gary@ravepubs.com or for editorial ideas: Editor-in-Chief Sara Abrons at sara@ravepubs.com
A little about me: I graduated from Journalism School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (where I am adjunct faculty). I’ve been in the AV-industry since 1987 where I started with Extron and eventually moved to AMX. So, I guess I am an industry veteran (although I don’t think I am that old). I have been an opinionated columnist for a number of industry publications and in the late 1990s I started the widely read KNews eNewsletter (the first in the AV market) and also created the model for and was co-founder of AV Avenue – which is now known as InfoComm IQ. rAVe Publications has been around since 2003, when we launched our original newsletter, rAVe ProAV Edition.
rAVe HomeAV Edition, co-published with CEDIA, launched in February, 2004.
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Copyright 2017 – rAVe [Publications] – All rights reserved. For reprint policies, contact rAVe [Publications], 210 Old Barn Ln. – Chapel Hill, NC 27517 – 919/969-7501. Email: sara@ravepubs.com
rAVe HomeAV Edition contains the opinions of the author only and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of other persons or companies or its sponsors. |
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