In 1884 in a small town in Hassroun, Lebanon an eleven-year-old boy, Thannous Michael Saadi made the brave and pivotal life decision to leave his beloved country with his uncle to work in a soap factory in Egypt. Having lost his mother at the tender age of nine, he had been living with his father.…
Many years ago, when I had my Integration Company, I was working on a very nice remodel project. The homeowner was a big Italian guy with a very “strong personality”, but a great guy! The central component in the AV System was a 55” Fujitsu Display for the Family Room, with a retail price of…
I would like to …… but I’m too busy is something that I have thought or said countless times over the years. I would like to take this course, update my website, learn more about social media, get this certification, etc… but I get too consumed with the daily workload. Additionally, I am typically traveling…
I have been in the consumer electronics industry and involved with residential technologies for more than 30 years, with several decades invested as an integrator meeting with hundreds of end users. Despite this, sometimes I struggle with some new devices and technologies that I am unfamiliar with or rarely use: apps or unique settings on…
Last year I was on a business trip overseas, visiting prospective new customers, with a local Sales Rep who distributed several of my product lines. During our conversations, a company came up which might be a good candidate for some of our joint product lines. The sales rep said it will be difficult to get…
Pete Baker, President of The BIG Corp, is a sales and marketing professional with over 30 years of global experience making large strides in the CE industry. Pete began his career as a licensed low voltage technician and contractor before becoming the founder and CEO of Custom Home Integration, a leading installation firm that he…
Je suis intégrateur dans l’âme, je le fais depuis plus de 20 ans. En conséquence, j’aime rencontrer des intégrateurs du monde entier et leur parler de leur succès et de leurs défis. À cet égard, j’ai aussi beaucoup de chance de faire des présentations partout dans le monde et j’ai le grand honneur de rencontrer…
As an avid runner, I love the story of the first sub 4-minute mile. For over a thousand years countless people tried to run a sub 4-minute mile. It was commonly believed to not only be dangerous, but impossible. However, on May 6th, 1954, a 25-year-old medical student in the UK, Roger Banister, ran a…
In sales and business planning Price is one of the single biggest elements in your sales process, economic engine and health of your business. How do you determine the pricing for your products and services? Obviously, some manufacturers help in this process by establishing MAP, UMAP or MSRP pricing guidelines for you. However, you still…
During a recent business trip to Russia I was told a fascinating story about the construction of a famous building. As the local legend goes, Joseph Stalin commissioned an architect and builder but before construction could be completed, Stalin had to sign off on the architectural plans. To provide him with a choice for the…