February 2022 ertonline.co.uk


Q&A


Q: Supply and installation of white goods is now a large part of your business. How have you managed to build this up? Paul Mead: Years ago we outsourced our appliance installations but then we brought this in-house and it works so much better. Steven [the installer] will do a complimentary survey at the customer’s house to ensure they are looking for the right size and style of appliances. This immediately puts the customer at ease because they are in their own home. The conversation therefore is much more relaxed and quite often he will manage to upsell to a more expensive product. Steven has developed his own customer base in


the area and people know they’re getting the very best from him. And of course the built-in sector is growing massively so sales are going through the roof!


And CCTV was born out of one of my


Q: What about the brown goods side? PM: We are very lucky that brown goods have always been a constant element of the business and we offer the same service for this too. However, the dynamic has changed because we are now able charge real installation fees because they are not outsourced. All this started from an ERT Turning Point Live


event with Tim Moss from Moss of Bath a few years ago; he was my inspiration and I remember hearing his story and thinking ‘I want a bit of that action’! So we got stuck in and instantly I got excited about all the possibilities there were with home cinemas, Wi-Fi hubs, CCTV and even just a simple TV on the wall. I look after this side of the business and as I


am a bit of a DIY man and I enjoy taking on this kind of project. Offering home cinemas was an extension of what I call a ‘bang and hang’… which is just a TV on the wall! But a cinema is the next level with all the accompanying equipment and speakers.


frustrations going to new-build houses and fitting TVs while someone else would turn up to install cameras outside and run cables – just like we’re doing. So this, again, made me think and I started researching the market with suppliers such as Midwich and Alltrade. On subsequent surveys I questioned the


customer about CCTV and it often turned out they were considering installing cameras front and back. This is now often a substantial upsell an generates significant additional income. Eventually, when I get my act together, I am


also thinking about security monitoring as there is serious money to be made in that. In some cases the system manufacturer runs its own monitoring service and so they will be aware of a fault before the customer even knows about it. But if we got into that game we are more local to our customers and could fix any issues ourselves and offer a maintenance contract opening up yearly subscription options. It’s definitely something to think about.


And last Summer we completed a massive


project at one of our local schools supplying and fitting 36 75- and 86-inch smart educational touch screens plus imaging cameras, wiring looms, data cabinets, whiteboards and PA speakers. The project went extremely well and it was fantastic that the school used a local retailer. This was our biggest ever single deal and it all came from a much smaller initial sale a few years previously.


Q: Installation is an important part of your business, and you’re clearly very passionate about it? PM: Absolutely! If the business is out there and you are prepared to go and get it, eventually it will pay dividends. There are multiple upsell opportunities and new avenues these days for independent retailers; if you have the enthusiasm and if you’re prepared to learn, you can often stumble onto a very lucrative opportunity. I love reading ERT to see what others are doing


and I take inspiration from this to try new things. For example, indies should seriously consider the


>> 37


Some recent home cinema installations by Mr Mead and his team.


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