As luxuries become commodities, the trend continues wherein AV Pros place their focus on selling services and expertise, rather than just hanging their hats on the brands and technologies they work with. That’s no accident. Ten to twelve years ago, flat panel televisions were remarkable and expensive, and only high end dealers sold them, and […]

This installment of Employees Behaving Badly is a little different, in that this time the Career Limiting Decision isn’t one of mine! Here’s the thing about working on commission: You’re on commission! While being on straight salary means that you get paid the same no matter what, on commission you’ve actually got to, you know, […]

Notwithstanding the fact that the title of this column betrays the fact that I’ve watched too many episodes of Special Agent Oso with my children, my point is that the things business owners need to do are ultimately quite simple. Best practices are called “best practices” for a reason: They’re things that you do because […]

It’s neither new, nor surprising that the face of AV retail has changed dramatically and continues to do so. However, what is surprising is the directions in which those changes can take us. The other weekend I was supporting one of my retailers at their annual sales event, representing a couple of my brands. While […]

In the world of retail, the furniture business and the electronics business have been interwoven for a long time. While furniture stores often sell electronics these days and electronics stores sell furniture, the fact is that the latter seldom get as big a piece of the furniture pie as they ought to. There are two […]

Spring is in the air, and that means two thing: first, home and consumer shows popping up at convention centers and exhibition halls in cities large and small. Second, it means marketing people from the shows reaching out to you, the business owner and trying to sell you on buying a booth at their show. […]

If there’s any bellwether that can be used to ascertain whether a product category has reached the big time, it’s the number of groups who are trying to get a piece of the pie. Automated window coverings have been a growth category for AV pros for years now. In addition to growing demand from clients […]

There are some categories in AV that become ubiquitous and define the entire channel. DVD and flat panel displays come to mind as easy examples. Then there are products that transform the landscape almost as soon as they arrive, creating an entire new device ecosystem and clobbering its predecessors. The best example of that would […]

By Lee Distad Thanks to the proliferation of jargon and the growth of business-self-help books as a category, expressions like ‘best practices’ get thrown around a lot. Alas, like most jargon, people say things like that and while being well meaning, fail to really apply those expressions to what they do every day. What is a […]

By Lee Distad You may think that the AV industry is standardized, but it’s really not. Even though HDMI and Ethernet are the norm now, between the major hardware players and the growing number of smaller solution providers there is a remarkable amount of minor variation in the way that different manufacturers achieve AV distribution and […]

The fact is that the AV pro and the electrician have more in common than they have differences. Not only that, but both roles on the jobsite are intertwined. The AV pro needs the electrician to meet the AV system’s needs in terms of supplying necessary locations and load capacity for the outlets that the […]

When you hear people refer to “professionalism” they generally mean doing great work, as well as presenting yourself to others in the best possible way. Beyond just the measure of their skills and abilities, the appearance of your installers and technicians is one of the details that either cements your company’s reputation for excellence, or […]

by Lee Distad Depending on who you ask, business in the residential AV channel are up and down. Believe it or not, some AV install dealers say business is good. Yet at the same time, even in my own city, more AV install dealers have closed their doors in the past five years than in […]

By Lee Distad It’s almost mid-December already and the holiday selling season is well underway. By now I’m sure that veteran AV pros all have their stockings hung by the chimney, with care. And, if you’re anything like me, counting your blessings that you’re not in retail. Seasoned retailers are well aware that the holiday season […]

By Lee Distad For years now it’s been the trend for AV specialty retailers to move into custom installation. While in some ways it’s a natural fit, in others there’s a bit of a learning curve. Few AV retail guys have a background in design, installation, project management, or any other industrial skill sets. As a […]

By Lee Distad Whether you consider it to be a generational thing or not, how people consume media has changed. Not just in terms of mobile media, which I spend most of my time dealing with these days, but at home too. In the past, a media room or cinema room had one purpose: watching movies. […]

By Lee Distad I’m going to stray away from the usual editorial topic of AV business management and installation best practices and discuss a volatile topic in the wireless channel: the iPhone 5’s new connector cable, dubbed Lightning. Since the Sept. 12th announcement of the iPhone 5, the amount of typeface dedicated to Apple’s decision to […]

By Lee Distad If you’ve spent any time at all as an AV pro, then you’ve seen the inside of a classroom a few times, for seminars, certifications and ongoing product training. If you’re a veteran AV pro, then you’ve spent a lot of time in a classroom. Regardless of whether you’re a veteran or […]

By Lee Distad As an AV Pro, there’s an expectation that your company will present the most cutting edge solutions. And that’s true to some extent, and dealers are always on the lookout for what’s new and exciting. But being “new and cool” in and of itself isn’t a good enough reason to add a product; […]

By Lee Distad In case you hadn’t noticed, the CE industry is square in the middle of a major shift in how entertainment media is distributed to consumers, as well as how it is stored and played back. The key question, which has yet to be truly answered is: Who are going to be the key […]

When clients first decide that they first want a media room, their main focus is inevitably on how big their screen and sound system can be. If they’ve really thought things through, they’ll have factored theater seating into their dream space. The one thing that won’t occur to them is that having you engineer adequate […]

If there’s one characteristic that’s defined my career in consumer electronics, even as the decades have passed, and I’ve worked in different channels, it’s been this: problem solving. I’m obsessed with it. Every problem has a solution, even if you don’t yet know what it is, and it’s been my life’s goal to find them. […]

Following the wiring phase, the next and arguably the most important step in any installation is testing and validating the lines and connections. Because of that, reliable testers are a critical tool. While a lot of testing can be accomplished with an off the shelf multi-meter from the hardware store, including checking voltage, and testing […]

It’s an interesting fact that cellular signal boosters are the highest-volume, highest-margin electronics category that virtually no one outside of the mobile channel knows exists. Before I continue, let me just make this disclosure: I work for Hitfar Concepts Ltd, a Canadian distributor of Wilson Electronics, a major manufacturer of cell signal boosters. I’ll skirt […]

That’s an excellent question. Who among you is still wiring your networks with Cat5e? While I would like to think that amongst savvy rAVe readers the answer would be “nobody,” the fact that I still see Cat5e stocked at supply companies and offered in stock lists for online distributors tells me that, statistically speaking, the […]

Lines, lines, everywhere a line Marking up the diagrams, taking my time Do this, don’t do that Gotta run these lines Full disclosure: I was never a full time installer; I was a sales designer. At best, when deadlines were tight and it was all hands on deck to get a phase done, I strapped […]

For the clients of HomeAV systems dealers, a huge factor in the kind of satisfaction that leads to repeat and referral business is post-install service. The happiest clients know that their calls will still be returned after the dealer has cashed the Upon Completion check. And veteran dealers know that taking care of their clients […]

While it might be a poor turn of phrase to express it that way, repeat and referral business is so critical to the success of boutique high end AV dealers and integration dealers that it’s almost easy to take it for granted. Except that taking that business for granted is the last thing you would […]

The right tools and the skills to use them are at the heart of AV and control installation. Professional installers take their tools seriously, and those of the male persuasion are often inclined to add to their tool kits at every opportunity. One of my former co-workers was so fond of his tool collection (he […]

What really differentiates the specialty AV retailer from big box stores is the way that they create a complete experience. Central to that is attachment selling, not just as something sales clerks have been badgered to do, but an integral part of the entire sales experience. It’s not enough to just sell products. You need […]

It’s said that the first casualty of every battle is the plan, and that’s just as true of business as it is of warfare. The reality is that no matter how meticulous and organized you are things don’t always go smoothly, and that can impact your clients. Naturally the best way to deal with client […]

I like cold calling. People think I’m weird for that, but there you go. Personally I enjoy researching prospects and meeting them for the first time. I recognize that not everyone feels the same way, and that’s fine, but aspiring salespeople also need to realize that you don’t always have the luxury of staying inside […]