By Stuart Tickle, Managing Director at AWE Europe
Upskilling your team can put your business at the centre stage when it comes to growth and profitability. Here, Stuart Tickle, Managing Director at AWE, shines the spotlight on where to focus your efforts now to reap long-term rewards.
Let’s face it, times are tough right now and the bad news keeps coming. COVID is almost forgotten but interest rates still bite, fuel prices are lower but still too high, and there is war in Europe and the Middle East. The knock-on result is that high-street sales and disposable income are all down.
We could follow Morrissey’s advice and stop watching the news, but that still won’t pay the bills. We need to be pro-active. There’s no sense in waiting in the wings for the next customer to walk in, because even when they do, the chances are they will be price-led.
So, how can we sell more stuff to more people? Perhaps, the answer is not as dramatic as you think. By reviewing the expertise that is already in your business and where additional training is required, you could unlock more profitability in what you already do. Upskilling your existing talent is often the key to offering more products and services, generating additional revenue streams, or increasing the average sales value – and, of course, it helps to retain the most valuable asset to your business – your team.
For electrical retailers, installation of AV and smart home products is an ideal place to develop your service level. High quality installation is a revenue stream in itself, not an overhead and customer cost to try and justify whilst selling a box. By upskilling in this area, you open the doors to greater revenue and a wealth of additional services. But where to start? Two key areas that we are seeing in this sector are: Media Rooms and Home Automation.
Media Rooms
Everyone who enjoys watching movies, box sets, or sport can benefit from a decent performing audio-visual system. And let’s not overlook gaming, another a huge opportunity for providing additional products and services.
While most people don’t have the luxury of a dedicated home cinema room, almost everyone has a main TV area that could be upgraded to a multi-functional space. Known as Media Rooms, and totally dependent upon personal preference and budget for their scope, these spaces can be a visual statement of intent, or completely hidden.
Media Rooms are a great example of how you can take what you already do and sell but do it better. It’s easy to upscale here too – with opportunities to introduce AV control, lighting control, projection and window treatments, for example.
When looking to upskill, CEDIA offers a superb range of training courses but a visit to the AWE Show Apartment in Epsom is a good place to start. Here you can experience and compare anything from a soundbar, to a basic surround system, up to dedicated home cinema. It’s also a chance to compare the differences between multiple TV technologies and projection – even more important now that some super-sized TVs are relatively inexpensive.
Home Automation
No longer the preserve of luxury residences, connected homes have become much more mainstream. In fact, DIY control solutions have become so accessible and cheap, that you’d be hard pushed to visit a home without a voice-controlled consumer device in it these days. While we can’t ignore the DIY market for its contribution to demand, the constant updates to functionality and additions for use-cases is, ironically, what makes them more faddish to use, rather than being convenience-led.
This opens a professional service opportunity to a broader audience, already familiar with the promised convenience of control but frustrated with its limitations. It’s much easier to sell in the benefits of professionally integrated and intuitively controlled automation with the advantages that this type of solution offers in terms of entertainment, comfort, security and energy savings.
So, step out of the wings and explore the opportunity! Scope out which services could support your existing offering and would be of interest to your customers. A whole home solution can be expensive and complex, but the building blocks are more accessible and more straightforward than you may think.
Entry level solutions – starting at £500 to £1000 for a dedicated control solution – are affordable, simple to install, and easy to use, offering an easy sell-in and a wider scope of happy customers to endorse your business. URC is just one example of a brand that offers this entry point.
You can experience how these solutions can elevate a space and experience – such as a media room – at the AWE Show Apartment. Get in touch to arrange a visit and find out more.
And of course, once you are up and running you might want to consider your own demonstration facilities. What better way to showcase what you offer and the skills of your team…on a stage of your very own!
