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Post by vcautokid on Apr 12, 2015 8:19:35 GMT -5
I think it is true about reputation, and that is something that starts somewhere. Mac had to start just like anyone else. I think they have done well, current financial situation notwithstanding, and their solvency. I sold them for years. I think as time goes on, companies like Emotiva will garner that Reputation as, yeah great stuff, you should get because it does right by you.
Many classics in the making now. The RPA, XPA, XSP and XMC are just a few I can think really are Hallmarks of the Emotiva brand. Great companies have products that just make folks happy with because they deliver the performance, and value, and quality.
Emotiva owns the market on everything you get, compared to many fine makes, and models around. I have sold many audio products, and models in my 35 plus years of selling audio, and I'll tell you, my life changed when a customer brought in an RSP-1 preamplifier, and told me to listen to it. Yeah, the Macintosh stack was right next door to it, and I connected this to my Krell stack, and was amazed how the RSP did. Who is Emotiva I asked, I want to learn more. The rest is fine audio history. I have been engaged, and a patron of Emotiva ever since.
I think IMHO, Emotiva Audio will be the future classic of generations to come.
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Post by AudioHTIT on Apr 12, 2015 11:15:57 GMT -5
I would buy Mcintosh. However, even with my deep discounts, Mcintosh is still in a high price category. For instance I can get a MC301 for around $3,000. For a 300 watt monoblock, I could have 2 XPR1 and that's on a discount. I am not sure what I will do. I am an Emotiva fan boy through and through. But I believe for my current job (which I hope to keep for quite some time) I would be best off owning products I sell in store. It would make it quite a bit easier to sell BW diamond series and Mcintosh if you have it in your home. However, Rotels offering may make a bit more sense. I appreciate all the insight on Mcintosh as a whole, and my findings lately make me appreciate Emotiva even more. We are lucky to have a company around like Emotiva. I do wonder if I will ever have access to sell Emotiva in store. I know we can sell the SVS SB2000 through my store, we just don't have it on display. We need to remember pop is asking for advice on how to sell McIntosh, not whether we think it or Emotiva is good; or which we like better or would buy. Also, there's no Emotiva in his store, so normally he's either trying to grease the skids for someone who came in to buy Mac product, or convince someone who saw the gear in the store that it would be a better choice than the Marantz, Rotel, or whatever they might be considering. I think the car analogies are good as at some point the vehicle gets you where you want to go safely and reliably; but at another point the comfort, appointments, handling, and some intangible makes your drive more enjoyable. Some people enjoy cars and driving enough to pay for more than is required just to get where you're going. People make fun of the Apple Edition watch, but it seems to be selling well and Rolex and the like have done well with much more expensive watches for quite some time. There are some who would be happy to buy an Emotiva amp in a plain black chassis if they could pay less, others would even build a kit to save a few more bucks. But many appreciate the finish, construction and esthetics of the brushed, anodized, silk screened faceplate (and of course the blue lights!) Some might consider that similar differences are evident between an Emotiva (or Rotel) amp and a McIntosh; and further that the difference would make them more satisfied with their purchase. You can feel differently or even make fun, but it doesn't make them wrong and they're not wasting their money. Regardless of who owns them now, McIntosh is an American audio institution, it's respected, well built, serviced and supported, it looks great and it sounds very good. One or more of these things will appeal to your customer. You chose to sell the audio gear that your store carries, learn what makes it better (or just as good) than the completion and listen to your customer, he'll tell you what he wants to buy.
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Post by lamcuser on Apr 12, 2015 11:43:43 GMT -5
McIntosh is very different from Emotiva and in general appeals to a different customer. I've found that McIntosh offers a balanced sound that really brings out the best in speakers in terms of full range sound with clarity and definition from high to low, with a wide soundstage. Their quality is about the best there is, and their classic look is timeless. They also provide very easy to use controls, especially tone controls or an equalizer with a very low noise floor. Their protection circuitry is among the best.
Emotiva aims at the entry level customer who wants to move beyond the basic all-in-the box gear or budget AVR equipment and get into mid-fi audio at a reasonable cost. They also cater to the more experienced users who want to get good performance with separates for a reasonable dollar spent.
While Emotiva offers a very good performance to dollar spent ratio, McIntosh takes you to another level.
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Post by vcautokid on Apr 12, 2015 18:08:11 GMT -5
Selling Mac is about connecting the unique features that relate to the customer purchasing or investing in it. Things like power guard, and more are unique to the brand. What is that feature, and why is it a relevant benefit to the customer is how you sell Mac beyond reputation etc.
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Post by Gary Cook on Apr 12, 2015 19:41:03 GMT -5
Pop it's simply "selling 101", do your research into the brand itself then the individual products within that brand, the long term history of both the company and products is important. I'd also suggest some research on resale values, retained value is often relevant.
Firstly I'd start the customer off by asking what he knows about McIntosh. Then either add to what he knows and/or reemphasise it. Positive reinforcement, taking what they know (believe to be true) and then escalating it to a positive buying decision.
Next I'd simply do the same technically with whatever piece of hardware they are looking at buying. Ask what they know about the features of the item, what it's history is and its current stature amongst its piers. Rattle of the specs if they seem important to the customer. What he knows and therefore almost always believes to be true is then taken to a comfortable buying conclusion.
I have a personal hate, that's salesmen telling me the price first up, especially when I haven't asked. Next is salesman who knows less about the company and its products than I do.
The bottom line, do your home work on the brand and its products.
Cheers Gary
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Post by wizardofoz on Apr 12, 2015 22:57:25 GMT -5
I'm surprised mc don't have a sales prep kit for new sales guys to follow
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Post by pop on Apr 13, 2015 8:42:59 GMT -5
Thanks everyone. I have been in sales for the better part of a decade, and quite successful with it. I am a value salesman, that's what I sell on. Also, I like to be informed about people's real time use with products I sell. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who owns Mcintosh or has any real experience with the product. So I am glad I asked here. As you all know when someone is selling something to you you want to see the value. Not everyone is concerned with technical aspects of a product. They simply want to know how they are going to benefit and why it makes their life better. As far as owning the product.... Why not? Whoever says owning a product you sell doesn't help you sell it is missing a ton of sales. That's not saying you have to buy the most expensive option, but you should own something you are selling. I have trained salesman for a few years. Every single one of them absolutely flourished after they owned and personally fell in love with the product. Once again, thanks! I look forward to getting my 802d and piecing together some amazing equipment.
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Post by garbulky on Apr 13, 2015 15:25:16 GMT -5
Ya could just tell em you own it And then buy Emotiva's XPR-1's, a schiit ygdrassil and an XSP-1 with the same money
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Post by pop on Apr 13, 2015 15:53:37 GMT -5
Ya could just tell em you own it And then buy Emotiva's XPR-1's, a schiit ygdrassil and an XSP-1 with the same money Hehehehe. I'm going to pick up the 802d pretty quickly and then slowly piece together preamp/amp. Occasionally the vendors release universities for us to participate in which adds extra % off of product. Bowers and Wilkins has one coming out soon. They represent Rotel, so I may get extra discount on that as well.
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Post by gzubeck on May 9, 2015 3:25:55 GMT -5
lets say they are in the same enclosure and cost the same price. What would set Mcintosh apart from Emotiva? Recently I have started selling audio/video and I am having two very hard hurdles. First one is the ungodly expensive cables. This I understand though and accept it for what it is. I need to set my mind at ease. I am jaw dropped by Mcintosh prices when I know the performance from Emotiva (I know, old news, but let's discuss) I recommend Rotel, as the price is live able, but their is a shortage of high power amplifiers in their lineup. So what is it? Is it the internals in Mcintosh? Design? Like I stated, same enclosure, same price. What's the main differences? can you explain how you understand the ungodly expensive cables.. this is the most marked up item on the planet ... cheers You can't. Unless your a nut and want pure silver cables. Well made pure copper cables with a reasonable length are more than adequate. What their trying to sell you is magic that somehow your poorly recorded music will somehow get better with fancy cables. Beyond a certain price point your getting ripped off.
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