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…
Ich bin Integrator durch und durch, denn damit habe ich über 20 Jahre meines Lebens mein Brot verdient. Deswegen treffe ich mich auch so gerne mit Integratoren auf der ganzen Welt und unterhalte mich mit ihnen über ihre Erfolge und Herausforderungen. Ich bin diesbezüglich in der glücklichen Lage, weltweit Vorträge zu halten und habe so…
Récemment, j’ai écouté un podcast fascinant du cofondateur et PDG d’Airbnb, Brian Cheskey qui expliquait comment ils avaient modélisé l’expérience clients et amélioré de façon spectaculaire les services qu’ils offraient. Je vous explique… l a commencé par des visites chez ses clients pourleur demander face à face ce qu’ils appréciaient et ce qu’ils n’aimaient pas…
I recently listened to a fascinating podcast interview with the co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, Brian Cheskey. During the interview, Brian described how his company has in recent times reviewed its customer experience and, as a result, made a dramatic improvement to the services it offered. First, he said, he spent hours travelling to his…