Advertorial High tech TV warranties


With a new wave of TV technologies hitting the mass market and bringing increased unit value, now is the time to leverage your warranty sales says Domestic & General National Account Director, Jeff Griffiths


T he TV industry has suffered like-for-like


annual price erosion pretty much since John Logi Baird demonstrated televised moving images back in 1926. Every year the same specification television costs less. On the plus side, this unusual market dynamic, exclusive to consumer electrical goods, is the mother of invention. The industry strives to bring new and better technologies to market every year, keeping relative price points up. With HD well established in TV


products and broadcast strategies, 3D set for mass market explosion, sexy new slimline technologies like LED and OLED wowing consumers and interactive TV about to break onto the scene, the average value of high spec TVs could actually be on the up! Higher value products using new technologies are in a prime position for an added value warranty sale, but how do you sell warranties against expensive goods in a tough economic environment?


Confidence


Many sales people tell me and my training team that they struggle with warranty sales this is often because they are not confident in broaching the subject and because of this lack of confidence leave it until the final stage of the sale at the till and address the subject with a closed question. Simply asking “would you like an extended warranty?” Without giving the customer any reason to buy this is unlikely to drive conversions and the reactionary ‘no’ answer has perpetuated the myth that customers generally don’t want warranties. Introducing the concept of warranties and service plans early in the sale is a strong and positive move. Few customers are comfortable making snap decisions where spending money is concerned, so


giving them enough time to think about the benefits should be second nature to sales staff. Given the past reputation of warranty sales many sales staff may feel uncomfortable mentioning this too early but it can be done as part of the customer service experience Independent retailers do so well and form part of the information gathering stage of the sales process. The sales person should be asking questions that involve what features the customer is looking for, what make/model the new purchase is replacing and why are they buying a new model?


Answers to the latter may lead naturally into a warranty introduction, particularly if their previous product has broken down, was damaged by accident or even if it lasted the right side of 10 years. Each answer creates the opportunity to ask: “Before we go any further, was the product protected by one of our new for old for life plans? My reason for asking is that many of our customers have these plans and it could save you the up-front cost of buying a replacement product.” Having subconsciously given a reason for the customer to consider buying a warranty the sales person can move on with the main sale, leaving the customer time to contemplate having to spend their own money on the replacement. As the sale and demonstration


progresses other aspects of warranty can be expanded upon, i.e. how the New for Old for Life benefit even protects the product against damage caused by accidents. D&G replaces thousands of damaged flat screen TVs every year – many of these because of accidents such as flying Wii remotes for example. On responding to customers questions on warranty cover it is vital to assure them


21 The Independent Electrical Retailer August 2010


of your confidence in the service of your warranty provider. For example D&G has UK-based contact centres, fast call out and has won many awards for customer service throughout its 60-years in the electrical warranty business. To broach the subject of cost, try quoting the warranty price in bite size chunks to make them more easily digestible, such as offering a 3-year plan on a 10-month interest free Direct Debit scheme. With this preparation done, when you


reach the till the customer will give the concept more consideration. Don’t spoil it by asking a closed question to which there is an easy ‘no’ answer. Try something like: “Your high-tech new TV comes with a 1 year basic manufacturers guarantee, what length of protection would you prefer?” On expensive, cutting edge TVs the chances are they will respond “a lot longer than 1 year” and the warranty is as good as sold.


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