When integrators look into selling outdoor A/V equipment, one of the biggest hurdles they have to overcome is how to properly demo the products to clients. Sure, they could bring the client into a demo room and play the speakers, but it never packs the same amount of punch as a proper demo in their own backyard.
Thankfully, Coastal Source and Jarmac Group have helped to solve this problem using one of the A/V industry’s oldest and most reliable tools: the van. What better way to sell an outdoor product than to roll up to a customer’s home, set up some high-performance speakers in their yard, and prove to them how life-enhancing outdoor audio can be?
Peter Dyroff, principal of Jarmac Group, says the company partnered up with Coastal Source after seeing the success of their small fleet of vans the company uses to travel around the country providing demos and dealer training.
“We [started] working with the local dealers to bring the van down to their facility for a variety of reasons: For training their salespeople, for show and tell, but also….dealer events,” says Dyroff.
Backyard Demos Lead to Sales Success
As far as demos go, once Jarmac arrives at a customer’s home, the setup process is surprisingly simple, since all of the speakers are prewired and ready to go.
“We take twenty to thirty minutes when we get to the job site [to set up the demo]. We have Sonos Connects for every zone, [so] we can not only play music but we can turn off each speaker individually,” comments Dyroff.
The van, which costs about $90,000 all-in, is equipped with a combination of different Coastal Source amplifiers and speakers, allowing Jarmac to showcase a full line of systems to customers.
In total, the van is capable of demonstrating eight different speaker combinations, which allows integrators the ability to create a bespoke demo for their surroundings.
Dyroff says the average demo takes anywhere from about 45 minutes to a few hours to complete since many clients end up having fun, and that aspect of the demo leads to better sales.
“In general, when we go out to a customer’s home…we are easily above 75%, maybe 80% or 90% as far as a close-ratio for getting them to buy the product.”
Once the demo is complete, Dyroff says it is clear to the customer that Coastal Source is the best solution.
