Dealerscope

Shop Talk: Milton Pedraza, CEO of The Luxury Institute
September 03, 2008
“You can’t stereotype older, wealthy people anymore. They are highly connected 24/7. They are researching and purchasing online. Luxury dealers need to realize that. They need to have online videos and be covered in the blogs. The wealthy...

Shop Talk: Michael Decker, Vice President of Marketing Electronics, Nationwide
August 27, 2008
“I’m expecting a great holiday season. A year ago, a 32-inch was $799, now it’s $599, Blu-ray is a hot item, and I think there is some pent-up demand.”

-Michael Decker, Vice President of Marketing Electronics,...

Shop Talk: Ed Kelly, President of Nationwide Marketing Group
August 20, 2008
“The quality and quantity of new products coming out in the last half of this year is more than I’ve ever seen in my life. New technology, new styles, new colors, it’s just exciting. If we had the same old product and prices to offer,...

Shop Talk: Liz Cutting, Senior Imaging Analyst, NPD Group
August 13, 2008
“The average spend of the D-SLR buyer right now is over $400 in addition to whatever came with the camera, and all within six months of purchase. Even in this economy, people are investing in quality of life items. They may be slowing down buying...

Shop Talk: Musafa Gueye
August 06, 2008
“I sell cases for phones and iPod accessories. People walk by, they see something they are missing, and they buy from me. Sometimes it’s the same people over and over because every day I mix it up and put out new items.”

-Musafa...

Shop Talk: Cindy Anderson, Director of Marketing, Belkin
July 30, 2008
“We’re seeing a huge rise in accessories for laptop use around the home. In fact, we found that over 50 percent of people who buy a laptop never take it out of the house.”

-Cindy Anderson, Director of Marketing, Belkin

Shop Talk: Steve Heiner, Senior Technical Manager, Nikon Inc.
July 23, 2008
“It’s amazing how photography touches everything we do right now. Everyone has mobile electronic products that rely heavily on images. How many gazillions of photos are on Facebook? And Flickr?... Photography has become totally and completely...

Shop Talk: Dave Barrickman, VP of Sales, Bob & Ron’s World Wide Stereo (Ardmore, Pa.)
July 16, 2008
“We lead with our labor. We tell customers, ‘Our guys show up with a vacuum cleaner, a drop cloth and booties.’ That’s what gets [a female customer’s] attention. She becomes a partner when she hears that.”

-...

Shop Talk: Chris Westfall, National Director of Residential Sales for AMX
June 25, 2008
“The people who buy AMX systems can afford $4 a gallon for gas, but they still don’t want to be wasteful. They are concerned about the environment, especially their personal environment, so approach it on a personal scale instead of a macro...

Shop Talk: Ken Vanemon, Marketing Rep for Crestron
June 18, 2008
“Here’s what to say to customers: ‘I can make your home more efficient.’ Progressive dealers and installers are speaking this language, and they’re the ones customers are migrating toward.”

-Ken Vanemon, Marketing...