Getting to know your client is essential to running a successful business but not as easy as it sounds. It takes determination and hard work.

As we travel the world we hear the same sentiment from most of our partners: “I could do more business and sell more stuff if I only had more installers. I can only do so many jobs each year – how do I increase my business?”

This is not always easy, but an achievable way is to sell products that are more expensive. If you sell 400 pairs of speakers a year at $600 and you switch that to a $700 per pair product, you would increase your sales by $40,000.

It really takes no more effort or time in the sales process to suggest the next model up, or for that matter start a model or two higher than you might normally be comfortable with.

Do you think your customers would be happy with better-performing speakers? The answer is yes. The real industry secret I’m going to tell you is that your clients don’t buy products and brands so much as they buy you and the knowledge you offer.

This is a way of life that you have chosen to pursue. Do not take this lightly. Think of the time and effort required to learn the skills and disciplines to make even fundamental systems work properly.

Do you think an architect or any of the construction trades spent more time learning and developing their skills than you, the ‘architectural media artisan’? Not likely.

Think of all the information you need to keep up with. If you are a pro and meet all the local and regional codes and certifications then you have invested as much time and money in developing yourself and your company. Why on earth would you not place a similar value on yourself? I do.

We hear countless stories of our leaving money on the table. Have you seen jobs in which clients spent hundreds of thousands on specialty carpet from India, exclusive furniture or designer pool, but $20,000 or less on the multi-room audio system?

This is our fault. We need to present ourselves with a professional attitude and authority. The second understanding is to diversify your assortment to only a few products that you are fully trained on – and that sound great. How many jobs use the same speaker in the walk-in closet or bathroom as the vaulted-ceiling main living area?

We get lazy in specifying and tend to use the medium grade throughout. You make more profit selling a lower-quality speaker in the bathroom and the best quality in the home theatre. And this poses the question: why wouldn’t you suggest better speakers in the bathroom?

I like to sit in a bath and listen to music, so better speakers make sense. Did you ask whether the bathtub is your customer’s oasis from the daily grind? Look at who is buying this installation and ask yourself: do these people deserve to have an oasis in the bathroom?

Yes, of course they do. Remind them that the tub is not just for washing. We create the opportunity for wonderfully happy environments. Think seriously about this.

Ask how often they go to movies, concerts or plays. Where do they sit? Discuss music with them.

It is important to get to know your customers before you quote on a system. What type of watch do they wear? What car do they drive? What clothes do they wear? People love to talk about themselves. Ask them what they like to do in their spare time.

OK, now let’s get down to business. Speakers are the most profitable product in the installation. Have your sales staff heard the difference in sound quality?

We, as manufacturers, know the power of belief in product. So we offer dealer staff the opportunity, with qualifications attached, to purchase products for themselves at a reduced price to get it in their own homes.

When you own something and get a feel for its potential and performance, you can sell it with the sincere enthusiasm that you are doing the right thing for your clients.

Typically it is hard for us sales people to sell something we have not ‘bought into’. Do we offer ‘good, better, best’ packages?

Do our customers know there is a better-sounding speaker available? Do your sales staff recognise and sell the difference? Most people will want to know they have received the best they can get. Show them the very best, and the price, and work down from there.

A customer will not be pleased when a buddy says his own speakers are much better – especially if the customer didn’t know that better units were available.

If music is important to our customers, do we offer the option of a listening room? Do customers have CDs or DVDs they particularly like? Make sure they know what those discs will sound like on their system.

This is tricky, because you don’t want to demo every product, this costs way too much in inventory and staging in beautiful and expensive real estate.

I suggest a ‘good, better best’ approach in your showroom. Keep it simple and clean.

Understand that people want music everywhere – just ask. Often we forget about the outside of the house. Is the entrance-way important to them? Would they like soft music playing in the front garden to great guests?

How about rock speakers around the sunken hot tub for low background music? How about a rock sub out by the pool to go along with the outdoor movie screen you have suggested?

Make sure you carry lots of examples of the fabulous systems you have installed for clients in the past.

We want you to get better each day and become seasoned and skilled sales warriors. The best sales people in the world sell luxury goods.

Find the right clients, sell the system, do a final walk-through giving them popcorn, candy and a few Blu-ray DVDs. Ask for referrals and make sure you call past clients every six months to make sure their system is working well.

Good luck. Go make a difference in our industry and the profit will follow.