Best Buy is running a trial to increase use of dedicated salesmen in car audio departments, according to many industry members.
The chain has long flirted with assigning dedicated salespeople to its car audio departments but the vast majority of Best Buy stores share salesmen between departments or have their installers double as salesmen.
Late last year, however, Best Buy ran a successful trial in adding 12 volt salespeople to some locations that proved a boost to its bottom line. So it is now expanding the program, said industry members.
Between 4 and a dozen additional stores will get dedicated salesmen in the coming months.
Best Buy did not respond to several CEoutlook inquiries.
The trial in the fall reportedly found a successful formula in the number of hours and times of day that car audio salesmen are beneficial.
In general, Best Buy stopped employing dedicated salesmen in many departments more than a decade ago.
I truly believe Best Buy is way to late and to far behind in the industry to turn around. There 12volt displays are getting very small. Most new cars you cannot replace the radio and that is what Best Buy has relied on for years. Doing integration in new vehicles is way more complicated then it use to be. I truly do not see Best Buy getting the equipment and installers needed in the new era of this industry. I was with Best Buy as a installer for 15 years.
No Company should pull an installer from under a dash to help a retail customer.
This is how big mistakes are made wiring stuff into cars. It’s not like you can bookmark an install of a remote start/alarm and come back and make it work correctly without adding an additional 15 to 20 min’s on the total install time. For a Job I can knock out in 45 Min’s 20 min’s added wrecks the schedule for the day do this 50 times a day you’ve got a real problem.
I hated being asked to go Look at a guys car to see what would fit, this is stuff a salesman should know, not the history of Sony Who gives a rat’s ass.
Also Stores with dedicated salesman do more in sales, the sales person isn’t rushed to make a sale because he’s got to finish a install before 6:30 so he can go home.
What ever moron at best buy changed this years ago should be fired. Siting behind a desk trying to save money without thinking a problem out or looking at all aspects.
Commissioned sales people make more sales, business do and make more money. Never put a price on an item, you can’t build value into 19.95, also never try and sell the cheapest item on the display first. Use that to keep a customer from walking out the store.
If a customer walks into the store, Make sure they buy something before they walk out.
If a customer says they are window shopping or just looking, Offer to show them something COOL, knock there socks off, if they object to attempt to sell something Tell them you care less, your just bored, but hey this is cool. Look at this….
Products sell themselves, you just have to show it.
The best salesman don’t sell you anything, They show you stuff you fall in love with. Then the salesman works out a price you can afford. As you going from the top model down explaining what options are given up at each price point.
Eh Best buy never had real good sales man at the stores I visited, seriously turn the volume up all the way into distortion isn’t going to get me to come over and look at something, it just show’s me your a retard and you need to have your hearing checked.
As a former Best Buy installer, this a great news. IT SUCKED being pulled away from an install, literally, every 20 minutes to answer the most basic questions for a customer.