Any other HT equipment salespeople in here? (1 Viewer)

[Dave Reichert]

I sell electronics at Sears, and while I love selling this stuff, I'm kind of sick of doing it at Sears. We have crappy displays, no installation, and we carry very litle decent home audio equipment. Our line of TV's is pretty good though, except no XBR Sony's. Does anybody have any recommendations of a place to work where it's pretty easy to pull in $35k+ a year in the Denver area? Our stores include Soundtrack (Ultimate), ListenUp, The Big Picture, Circuit City, and a bunch of smaller shops. Thanks.

 

[Alf S]

Dave,

Several years ago when Ultimate opened here in town (Tulsa) a friend of mine and I who are really into HT were itching to get out of our then present job. We decided to interview with Ultimate and in the end were offered sales positions but got cold feet at the last minute because their benefits and 401K really sucked when compared to the job we were thinking of leaving.

Overall though it seems like a decent enough company when compared to CC or BB etc. The interviewer said the average A/V salesman could pull in around $35,000 to $40,000 a year if they really applied themselves. I guess some of the salesmen are doing good because everytime I drive by their "Employee of the month" parking spot, there's either a BMW or similar car parked in it, and the same salesmen who were there 4+ years ago are still there selling.

Just thoughtt I'd toss in my 2 cents. Sure would beat Sears any day of the week I bet!

Alfer

 

[Dave Reichert]

I know of a couple people working for Soundtrack in the Denver area that are pulling close to six figures, fun stuff!

Does anybody know of any stores that don't pay their salespeople by commission? I'm really looking for a more consistent paycheck too.

 

[Chuck C]

oo, I was just looking at the brands Ultimate El. carries...that's what we need here in the midwest! I also checked out their annual report, and it looks like a high profit, expanding company that I wouldn't hesitate to invest in.

Do they carry full lines (like stocking the panny rp91, not just the lower models)?

 

[Ashley Seymour]

My business slows down after Thanksgiving till the first of the year, so this fall I applied to Sears to work part time. Never heard back.

Dave, would you be able to sell other services to your customers and not get in trouble with Sears? I see a lot of TV's in homes, and rarely do I see one that is calibrated correctly. You must have a large customer base, and if you could learn to do even rudimentary calibrations, then I would think there is a good side business.

I had my annual insurance check up last week and my agent mentioned that he has a Mits 55". I asked him if he had it calibrated. Unknowing smile. I asked if he ever heard of red push. Blank stare. This guy could afford $400 for a professional calibration, but he doesn't care enough about the picture quality. But he is a salesman, and a good sales pitch might work on him, or even a more modest calibration for $100-200.

Another Superbowl party is coming up at a friend's who has an older poorly calibrated Sylvania RPTV. I wonder if there is a diplomatic way to volunteer to go over a few days early with my Video Essentials.

There are dozens of bars (sports bars with multiple TV's)and restaurants in town here that have poorly calibrated TV's and bad feeds. Maybe they would be willing to enter into a contract with someone from Sears who works with TV's for a living.

Let us know if any of these ideas are an option.

 

[Philip_G]

interesting idea, I wonder if anyone's thought of selling service contracts on TV's before, like a yearly calibrate and dust off the lenses and mirror for a couple hundred bucks. You could even go in with a repair station and cover some repairs outlined in the contract.
ugh reminds me my convergence is WHACK, need to get on that tonight

 

[Dave Reichert]

I've actually somewhat considered doing something like you mentioned in the past. Sears really doesn't approve of me going to customer's homes. I could honestly make a killing if they would let me though. They are so many people who are completely clueless when it comes to this kind of stuff and a bunch of little old ladies who's bones would shatter if they picked up a 13" TV.

I had considered starting up a little business where I would basically install simple home theater systems and deliver some of the products.

The problem arises though when I attempt to create a customer base, Sears really wouldn't want me using their customers info, and I'd have to get licensed and insured and all that stuff to cover my ass.

And Philip, some stores actually sell a service contract that includes those features. A Sears Maintenence Agreement includes an annual Preventive Maintenence Check where our service tech's go through and clean off the lens and mirror and adjust convergence and some similar items.

 

[Brian Harnish]

Does anyone know what Ken Cranes' commission pay is like? I was considering getting a job there in sales and was wondering if anyone else here has worked for them.

 

[Eric Kahn]

HH Gregg sells an extended warrantie with Big screen TV's that includes cleaning and adjustment once ayear for 5 years

I will bet that the salesman is still pissed at me for sending the mitsubishi HDTV back after one day

is calibration playing with the tint, color level and that kind of stuff, or is it more complicated

I always have to adjust color level, it is always to high on the default setting, I hate red bloom