Lutron Homeworks Business Question

[jzadroga]

This question is really just for the members that are certified Homeworks Dealers/Installers.

I am currently a certified Homeworks dealer. But due to not meeting the minimum volume to maintain a dealership I may be losing the ability to purchase Homeworks directly from Lutron. I'm curious if there are others like me that this may happen to or already has happened to? Have you come up with any solutions to continue selling Homeworks? I had the thought of trying to pool orders together to meet the minimums Lutron wants. I know if you meet higher volumes you can get as much as 50% or more off list price. Right now I only get between 28% - 30% off list from my supplier. If enough of us pooled together we could probably deal directly with Lutron.

If this question is not appropriate for this forum then I apologize and request that members PM me if they would like to discuss this further.

 

[e57]

While I have not personally felt the thumb - the pressure to maintain a sales aspect on it. (In the feild) I have had two former employers who have. I personally think it is a really crappy 'pay to play' deal - on jobs where it is specified - you can't get in to bid, or get the job if your price is over the guy who does get the bigger discount.*

Whats worse is that the people getting the big discounts, are designers who specify it in the first place - then get anyone to cable it, terminate then they program.... This then limits contractors in the area who provide it - and locks the customer to the designer for changes that they sub out to whoever to actually do the dirty work.

On top of I am pretty sure that those Designers are also getting a kick-back to specify it in the first place....

While I can not say there is an alternitive - due to the fact that most of the automation companies following the same or even more 'exclusive' models with nearly identical products - i.e. Crestron.

If in the same situation - I would be looking into selling more, by limiting what you actually install - if that makes any sense whatsoever! By becoming what is known as "Parts and Smarts". (Not much different that what the Designers out there are doing.... Look locally for *other GOOD EC's, GC's and Arch's to deal with to get a foot in the door for the sales of the 'parts' - then guide the EC's who get the job (and you let them...) with the 'smarts'. But you need to keep it 'win-win' all around - and keep it on the lo-fi with PA.... *This way other EC's get in to bid projects they would otherwise be excluded from - selling the regular stuff we all love wire and stuff to put wire into - and devices they could normally not get their hands on... You get sales, consulting and programming on Homeworks as a secondary EC...

JMSO

 

[jzadroga]

Very good advice. I have tried to impliment it with other electrical contractors in my area with no success. For my area a real problem is that the home here is that the electrician is picked often after the AV guy. Or The AV guy convinces them they should be the one to supply the lughting control because they have to intergrate it. I am also in a resort area and the clients often go with the AV company and architects that have done work for them in the past.

Also I may not be the salesman that I need to be to meet the volume requirments of Lutron. I figured that if there others in my situation that maybe we could team up to gain greater purchasing power. If we could approach Lutron with orders that could equal Diamond level volume, I think we could negotiate better terms.

 

[e57]

For my area a real problem is that the home here is that the electrician is picked often after the AV guy. Or The AV guy convinces them they should be the one to supply the lughting control because they have to intergrate it. I am also in a resort area and the clients often go with the AV company and architects that have done work for them in the past.

Yep there's the problem - they get in there first - find the reason for that...

 

[mdshunk]

Open an online web store under a different name, just have a teeny markup, and see what that does for your sales volume. There's a few EC's that do that for a variety of things.

Keeps your discount for when it counts, and the tiny margin on the online sales at least covers the administration of those sales.

I bought a CD at an online store the other day, and to my surprise, it came from Bill Addiss.