Smart Home Surgery

Join us on the Smart Home Surgery podcast as we delve into the world of smart home technology. We bring you interviews with industry leaders, peers and influencers to give you a behind-the-scenes look at the people and businesses shaping this exciting field. Expect honest and open discussions on hot topics and the latest trends, without any bias towards specific brands or industry groups. Tune in for a fresh perspective on the smart home industry

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Smart Home Surgery

Home Technology Compromise

May 19, 2023 • Benjamin Davies • Season 2 • Episode 3

Should engineering standards matter to integrators?

Either we’re retailers who sell a range of products, or we’re home technology professionals who sell standards. This episode is about how engineering standards can boost your sales, help you make educated compromises, and manage client expectations.

We’ll debate whether engineering standards should matter to integrators.

“If you go to an architect, they don't sell bricks. If you go to a surgeon, you are asking for expertise. If you go to a lawyer, you're not gonna tell them how to write the contracts. We need to start building our brands based on our professionalism and credibility rather than the products we sell. And a massive part of that is accepting that technology and buildings is an engineering exercise.”

What we discussed

(00:00) Bringing engineering back

(00:42) Home Cinema deserves a specialist

(04:17) No such thing as a home technology specialist

(06:31) The RIGHT way to compromise when building a room

(16:15) Do clients care about standards?

(22:56) Do engineering standards actually matter?

(30:25) Targets vs. integrity

(34:07) No competent designers?

(36:57) Are we retailers or professionals?

(45:28) Designing product-neutral practices/standards

4 reasons why you need to use engineering standards:

Never ask the customer what they want or how much they want to pay for it. This way, you’re giving away your decision-making power. You’re the one that knows the standards, and the options. Get in the driver’s seat.
“If we don't talk about standards, ensuring consistency of experience and standards and how those standards relate to experience with our customers, I have no idea how we can have intelligent conversations with clients about compromise.”
When you have standards to reference, you can have more sophisticated sales conversations with your clients. You can show them rooms built to different standards, and replicate the exact experience that they said they want.
Delivering value in a predictable way = engineering

Links

Connect with Peter Aylett: LinkedIn

Connect with Ben Goff: LinkedIn

Inspire Audio Visual: Website

Contact the Smart Home Surgery

Send us a DM on Instagram @smarthomees
Email us at media@smarthomee.co.uk

Thanks for listening & see you on the next episode