Am I nuts?

[smwilliamson]

Just bought a 52i to have in the showroom so people can make an informed choice between m55 and the 52i...hardcore baby...how many shops buy a stove from the competition? I don't care... That's how much I love this industry

I'm not going to get to play with it otherwise, full report coming soon! Delivery this weekend!

 

[jtakeman]

That might improve the sales? Or back fire on ya. Can you get Hormone's at a decent enough price where you can peddle them too?

 

[smwilliamson]

Little break, not much after you get and deliver it, but I get the install and venting

 

[smwilliamson]

Whatever gets them in the door right?

 

[jtakeman]

IMHO ya gotta make a profit that will pay the bills. And don't forget all that new overhead you just put on yourself. If your barely scratching you'll be eating pork an beans!

Good luck with that!

 

[smwilliamson]

Pork and beans is awesome! Not to worry there's enough pie for everyone.

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

Yes.....but it may work. I would see it as a sign if honesty and probably want to do business with you. I would just shy away from bashing the Harman. Just point out the areas where the Enviro is better

Ps...any warranty on that Harman should create some interesting conversation when the dealer shows up lpl

 

[smwilliamson]

I don't bash, I empower the user to come to their own best choice. Buddy owns a Harman dealer so technically they come through him as far as warranty is concerned.

 

[jtakeman]

I would just shy away from bashing the Harman......

I have a feeling he'd bash the Enviro!

I don't bash, I empower the user to come to their own best choice. Buddy owns a Harman dealer so technically they come through him as far as warranty is concerned.

Technically to be honest you "do" need to point out the negatives on both, No? Or do you play fair an stress each units positives?

I still haven't got a good look at the 52i, Is this the one with the new controller?

 

[BrotherBart]

Tell'em if they have any questions about it to call Harman.

 

[imacman]

......Can you get Hormone's at a decent enough price where you can peddle them too?

Huh? Maybe ask the wife....

 

[DexterDay]

Pics.... (By next week of course)!!

Or it never happened

Congrats Scott. Your living a dream.

 

[TheMightyMoe]

What are the negatives of a Harman? =0

 

[Lousyweather]

I don't bash, I empower the user to come to their own best choice. Buddy owns a Harman dealer so technically they come through him as far as warranty is concerned.

agreed- it NEVER pays to bash the competition, or their products. There is a place in the market for anything, and if there isn't, they don't prosper. I see many a stove here I wouldn't want to own, and for various reasons, but other folks here love them....to each his own. You can espouse the virtues of the units you sell, inform the customer, but when the rubber hits the road, its the customer who makes the choice.

Scott- did you get the enameled 51i? I think that would give any Enviro product a run for its money!

Good Luck!

 

[Lousyweather]

What are the negatives of a Harman? =0

price, maybe....doesn't matter what you sell something, to someone its always gonna be too much money......but hey, if the worst thing you can think of is price, then I've already won the quality battle.....you get what you pay for. But I am biased, of course.....

 

[smwilliamson]

I have a feeling he'd bash the Enviro!



Technically to be honest you "do" need to point out the negatives on both, No? Or do you play fair an stress each units positives?

I still haven't got a good look at the 52i, Is this the one with the new controller?

old controller

 

[jtakeman]

What are the negatives of a Harman? =0

Every stove has negatives or cons. Harmans are noisy. Quirky control that will shutdown or you'd better have a book to keep ya busy while ya wait(was told to empty the hopper and wait for the blinky!). Air wash is sub par. Pricey buggers too!

 

[Don2222]

Every stove has negatives or cons. Harmans are noisy. Quirky control that will shutdown or you'd better have a book to keep ya busy while ya wait(was told to empty the hopper and wait for the blinky!). Air wash is sub par. Pricey buggers too!

I have not heard of the quirky controller that will shutdown. I had a manual light P61-2 that would not shut down when you turned it to off. The way to shut it down was to just let it run out of pellets. LOL The simple fix was to just throw in an ignition upgrade kit for $600. LOL

I hope they are not too noisy, I will be running 2 this year! They Harman P-Series have a nice Dayton convection blower and a very well balanced High Quality Gleason-Avery combustion blower and do not seem any more noisy than other stoves. What kind of blowers in the M55?

 

[STOVEGUY11]

What happens when the Harman blows the doors off the Enviro?

 

[webbie]

The only competitive model we ever put in our showroom was, as I remember, a Taiwan-made Consolidated Dutchwest.

That was a bad enough stoves - yet being sold to beat the band by direct marketing (sight unseen), that there was a value in having people be able to see how ugly it was.

 

[Ken Blazek]

That is one way to sell your product. As a retailer I cannot say I agree with the approach, but to each their own.

 

[Lousyweather]

What happens when the Harman blows the doors off the Enviro?

what the heck....why not put the ole 52i Majolica unit in Scott's showroom?

 

[Lousyweather]

That is one way to sell your product. As a retailer I cannot say I agree with the approach, but to each their own.

well, it is a valid way to sell a product, and for the right customer it might work......theoretically. The thing is, time is the one commodity you cant get more of, for any price. Rather than espouse the virtues of Harman AND the Enviro, then show the differences, wouldn't it just be easier to espouse the virtues of the Enviro on its own merits? Speaking from a bit of stove sales experience, I frankly don't have the time to educate the customer on a stove I don't even sell......I would rather point out the strengths, and sometimes weaknesses, of the units I do sell.

The Toyota dealer displaying a Subaru as a sales tool is pretty rare, and I don't know of too many businesses who do more marketing analyses than auto makers do, but I certainly don't profess to being a marketing genius either....Although I am sure there is a reason they DONT do it........I dunno, it strikes me as an obtuse idea, but, hey, hope it works for Scott!

 

[smwilliamson]

Here's my thinking. You cannot own people. They have free will. One thing I impart on my employees..don't put our company in the position where we cannot defend ourselves. For example, if you don't clean the back of the stove with the same vigor as the front...what happens when the customer pulls the insert out mid season and sees our sloppy work? They may not be upset but if they are and start trash talking to their neighbor...well you get the idea. That is a lazy example and dang it if anyone working for me leaves as much as a dust bunny...I want to know! But it goes for hygiene, attitude, workitude...smileatude

By bringing in the 52i I give the consumer the option to see them side by side. They may like the Harman more, that's good cause I want them to be happy and empowered, not sold. But by having it there I create an opportunity for myself to control the situation. I will make a small commission off it, I'll get the venting and install and I will get a service customer for life. If they go down the street to whatshisface, I get nothing and there is a chance they may have a less than stellar experience.

 

[Ken Blazek]

I prefer to know about my competitors, then highlight features where I know/feel the products I sell are better.

As far as not showing your competitors in your show room, I would say why give free advertising to them? The closest I have come to this is displaying a customers rusted out box store grill next to our 304 stainless models. I remove all branding from the grill and let it stand there, rusted out and looking ugly.