Thank you all for your feedback and discussion.
I personally feel most of the dealers operate their business on a shoe string and they are often located out of their residence. Because of limited resources, I feel manufactures need to consign 3 or 4 speakers so customers can listen to different price points. I think customers might surprise the manufacture by deciding to spend more money after they hear the more expensive speakers. Once people hear something better than the price range and budget they have targeted, they realize they will not be satisfied with the less expensive speakers long term.
I think manufactures are making a huge mistake by not consigning inventory because they will limit themselves to selling just their low end lines. They could perhaps consign them for 3 to 6 months and then charge the dealer if they are unable to sell them. However, if they can't sell them in 30 to 60 days, they might as well close shop because they are going to starve to death. This is where salesmanship comes into play. They just need to learn how to ask for the order and turn their inventory. Anybody can sit down with a customer to show and tell, but this is not going to generate income and keep the doors open. If they need to provide a discount, they could increase the size of the order by adding an amplifier or something else to build gross profit dollars on the sale.
Dealers also need to market themselves. Just waiting for the phone to ring will put anyone out of business. This is why the Hi-Fi market is stagnant. Dealers need to educate the public to teach them about what they are missing out in terms of home entertainment. I would partner with a new home builder and perhaps install a two channel system in one or two of their model homes, with music playing in the background. I also have noticed home builders need to layout their floor plans to
acomodate a 2 channel system.
a 2 channel system. They need to provide space for a component cabinet as well as where you locate the speakers to create a good sound stage. This will help home buyers imagine entertaining their friends with a great sound system being played in the background. This in turn might motivate their friends to want to buy a 2 channel system for their home. People do want to keep up with the Jones's these days in order to show off their success. What is the cost of a $10,000 to $20,000 2 channel system when comparing it to the price of a $500,000 new home. It's like being penny wise and pound foolish.
