In the past few months since the COVID vaccine rollout, life as we knew it has gradually returned to some sense of normalcy. Thankfully, the Live Sound business has started to recover, and music venues are once again welcoming patrons. Our musical instrument and pro audio rep firm Reflex Marketing was quite fortunate that fretted instruments, microphones, and home recording had … [Read more...]
The Evolution of a Musical Instrument and Pro Audio Rep Firm
As we approach the mid-year mark, quarterly results and company progress are naturally on my mind. I am writing this post on Father’s Day, a quiet Sunday morning that like most inevitably starts with a hot cup of coffee and some time poring over sales forecasts and goals for the coming months. For a moment, my mind drifted back to this time in 2018, as my conversation with … [Read more...]
Improving Productivity Through Efficient Information Flow
With supply chain issues consuming much conversation of late, along with it comes a flurry of questions from consumers to dealers, dealers to sales reps, sales reps to manufacturers, and so on. In normal times having an efficient system in place to answer these inquiries is important, as the alternative squanders resources that could be better spent elsewhere, such as sales and … [Read more...]
Creating Consumer Awareness as a Musical Instrument Supplier
“Build a Better Mousetrap” has been a staple idea among manufacturers, implying that quality alone will have customers banging on your door. And while cream eventually rises to the top, it is a misguided economic principal to think this alone will create a successful business. Over the years, I have worked with companies that concentrate almost solely on product development, … [Read more...]
Circle Gets the Square in Musical Instrument and Pro Audio Sales
Over the years, I have observed that sales occur in cycles, as do many things in our world. While I am not going full-out Lion King on you, there is some semblance of beauty in the “Circle of Sales”. To be most effective, a captive salesperson or rep firm must be planning for success with their vendor management team. You may call this method “Concentric Planning”, which starts … [Read more...]
A NAMM Show Like no Other…
The annual pilgrimage to Anaheim fell prey to COVID this year. For us on the east coast, the promise of balmy weather, a respite from winter and a generally invigorating event is just not in the cards. Instead, the industry is engaging in a variety of ways to communicate the important January messages concerning new products, programs, distribution changes and more. What’s … [Read more...]
Extracting Order from Chaos in Today’s World
I will be the first to admit it, my home office is in shambles, and requires a thorough cleaning. I cannot seem to keep up with the day-to-day activities that consume my time, and clearly have not given this task the attention it deserves. Dwelling on the topic, I have come to realize that the condition of my music studio and workspace is a metaphor for how the rest of my … [Read more...]
Consultative Selling in the Musical Instrument business
Many pundits have thrown around the phrase “value added selling” without specifying what that really means in terms of definitive actions. It has been my contention for many years that if a sales representative is not providing something more than a price list and dealer credit application, they will at some point be unceremoniously cut out of the picture. If you take an even … [Read more...]
Making a sound investment during turbulent times…
Uncertainty drives markets crazy, along with their participants. When there is little sense of continuity in any area of business, personal, political, or professional life, the temptation is there to hold off on investing in a new venture. For some, the idea of plunging head-first into uncharted territory when the world is in turmoil may sound counterintuitive at the very … [Read more...]
Utilizing Data, Observation, and Experience in Decision Making
Many years ago, as a young district sales manager, I attended a sales meeting at the national headquarters of the company I worked for at the time. One of the executives held up a new guitar multi-effects pedal, and proclaimed “gentlemen, I just ordered thousands of these, and you’re going to sell them at $199.” A collective groan was heard from the assembled team, as the … [Read more...]