CE Pro Community

New to sales side seeking best practices

2012-05-16T10:44:43-06:00

Good Morning CE Pro community. My name is Al and I have just joined a Home Integrator in sales. My background is as an independent Dish Network sales and installation tech (2000-2006 ) with a fair background (in the 90’s) of high end Home Theater installs as a “do-boy.” I have ZERO network in Atlanta so the question I have is this: What is the most fruitful path to follow for referrals for a total Newbie green pea? Our company is established but has been getting its’ bids from word of mouth and the owners’ lengthy social connections, but now it’s time to reach out to the public, which is where I come in. Any and all ideas are appreciated and many are already here in the forums and are IMMENSELY helpful. I am starting my own sales channel in an existing enterprise and ownership is very flexible and open minded to new methods. What is the lowest hanging fruit for someone as fresh as myself, just to get started? Thanks, Al

Philips/Magnovox Settles Class Action Over Malfunctioning TV’s for $4 Million 5/15/2012

2012-05-16T06:06:05-06:00

Anyone interested in reviewing/reading the full article should go to http://www.njlj.com (New Jersey Law Journal).

Is Denver a Good Choice for CEDIA?

2009-12-02T08:15:12-06:00

We’ll put it nicely, but people were not happy with Atlanta as the location for CEDIA Expo 2009. CEDIA Expo is in Atlanta for 2010 and then moves back to Indianapolis for 2011-2012 and Denver for 2013-14. Are Indy/Denver still good locations? What do you guys think?

Report: Apple to Acquire German HDTV Maker Loewe

2012-05-14T08:30:13-06:00

According to AppleInsider, Apple is negotiating to acquire Loewe AG, a manufacturer and distributor of televisions, audio components and integrated entertainment systems. The report says a final decision is expected to come at the end of this week. The deal is reportedly worth $112 million.

Bloomberg reports Loewe’s at the moment has no indication or information that Apple wants to participate in Loewe.

Apple, of course, has long been rumored to be working on its own HDTV set.

Service Maintenance Contract

2012-03-27T09:26:10-06:00

I have an opportunity to provide a service maintenance contract for a commercial project I have just completed. This is admittedly a new animal to me and I wondered if anybody has a boiler plate design and or knows any of the equations which are calculated to come up with an accurate estimate for such a contract based on warranty, uptime desired, etc. Project replacement cost is approx 160K (without labor or programming).

I have Googled and even looked within CEPro pages and haven’t found anything. Seems to be a “bestkeptsecret”.

I would appreciate any insight into this.

Thanks!

Best Buy Widens Probe of ex-CEO Brian Dunn

2012-05-10T06:56:45-06:00

Best Buy is expanding its investigation of alleged misbehavior by former CEO Brian Dunn who resigned in April after the big-box retailer announced a $1.7 billion quarterly loss. The investigation is trying to determine if top executives within Best Buy “improperly withheld information from the board of directors,” reports the Minnesota Star Tribune.

From the report:

Brian Dunn abruptly resigned as chief executive last month after the company informed him that it was investigating allegations that he used company resources to carry out an improper relationship with a female employee.

The company’s investigators already have spoken to the 29-year-old woman, and she has retained a lawyer, according to a source close to the company.

“If leadership was found to suppress legitimate grounds for an investigation, then that would warrant discipline,” said Jacob Frenkel, who leads the white-collar crime practice at Shulman Rogers, a law firm in Maryland.

Best Buy’s investigative team—led by former U.S. Attorney Tom Strickland and William McLucas, a former director of enforcement for the Securities and Exchange Commission—also are looking into whether Dunn used company-leased aircraft in connection with the alleged improper relationship, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

Best Buy leased airplanes and chartered aircraft services from Minneapolis-based Best Jets International over the past five years for $3.56 million, according to SEC documents. Best Jets is owned by Richard Schulze, Best Buy’s chairman and founder.

What is the 1 Element That Takes a Home Theater to the Next Level?

2012-04-02T08:53:13-06:00

Here is a great question Control4 recently posted on its Facebook wall: What is the one Element that takes a home theater to the next level?

Some of the responses so far: lighting, audio, sound isolation, a mini bar.

We thought it’d be fun to ask you guys the same questions. Let us know what you think!

Marketing / Promotional Images & Photos

2012-04-20T16:28:21-06:00

Hi,

I’m working on new promotional materials and updating the website. Can anyone recommend a good source for high resolution photos and images that I could use for marketing purposes?

Thanks.

Joshuaad

Do You Charge for Post-Installation Services?

2012-04-20T08:10:19-06:00

Most integrators (69 percent) said “yes” in a CE Pro survey a few years ago, but some say they don’t charge for post-installation service at all.

Why? Because they deem service to be a “marketing expense.” The thinking is that they will not receive any referrals from those customers if the charged for service.

Are those guys correct not to charge for service?

Do You Support the Internet Sales Tax?

2012-04-04T09:32:24-06:00

The “Marketplace Fairness Act” was introduced in Congress in November 2011 to create a uniform national standard for collecting Internet sales tax. Several big Internet e-tailers, namely eBay, are fighting it. So it’s not a question of “if” there will be a national Internet sales tax, but “when.”

http://www.cepro.com/article/internet_sales_tax_why_youll_benefit/