College Salesmanship: Heresys

[HDBRbuilder]

I know, I know....What the hell does a college course in salesmanship have to do with this forum? Well...here goes:

Back when I worked at Klipsch, I decided that unless I intended to work for regular wages slappin together loudspeakers the rest of my life, I had better start getting my act together and work towards my college degree...especially since I had the G.I. Bill to help me out! I started taking night courses at Texarkana Community College and East Texas State University in Texarkana. Sometimes there weren't enough courses offered toward the degree I was seeking to keep me in enough credit hours to continue drawing half-time student pay from the G.I. Bill, so I filled in those vacant hours with electives to have enough hours to continue drawing my G.I. Bill monies. Generally, I used electives in some area that interested me or in some subject which I felt would give me some formal instruction in an area that may be beneficial to me later in life. College Salesmanship was one of these courses I took.

The course wasn't particularly difficult, but over half the grade requirement centered around a sales presentation that each student had to make towards the end of the course. It had been reiterated continuously throughout the course that it was much easier to sell a product which the salesman believed in and was particularly familiar with, so I decided to base my presentation on Klipsch speakers. My only problem was in how I would go about it!

A few weeks before the presentation was due, I had borrowed a pair of LB-76 speakers from the plant to take to a swimming hole on the Little Missouri River just outside of Blevins, AR. We had planned a little bar-b-que and swimming party on the gravel bar there. Of course, there was no power supply to set up fancy equipment, so speaker wire was run from the speakers to the unhooked wires from my pick-up truck's door speakers. Then the LB-76 speaker wires were alligator-clipped to the wires from the truck cassette deck at that point.

The cassette deck was just a plain in-dash model...nothing fancy...putting out maybe 10 watts maximum, but that was more than enough for those LB-76's to rock all afternoon at pretty high decibel levels!! Then my sales presentation idea came to me!!

Never being one to procrastinate until the very last minute (LOL!), I got home from work the evening before my presentation was due, and removed the battery from my motorcycle, and put it on the battery charger in order to bring it up to full charge. Then I went inside the house and sat down and started writing out my presentation index cards. When that task was finished, I typed-out my presentation. After that task was finished, I ate supper and then boxed up my Heresys. Right before going to bed, I pulled out an old car cassette deck that was gathering dust in a closet, and cleaned it up some...then temporarily hooked it to the bike battery, ran a head cleaner tape through it, and ensured it worked and played properly. I slept soundly knowing I just had to pack all this into the truck after work the following afternoon and head for Texarkana to give my presentation.

The next day after work, I got home, loaded the truck, and then showered the sawdust off, jumped into my "college clothes", and headed to Texarkana for class. There were to be three 45-minute presentations that night. Mine was scheduled last. Not a good thing!! Normally after two boring presentations, the last person had a "snowball's chance in hell" of keeping the instructor and fellow classmates from snoring throughout the presentation, since everyone in the class, including the instructor, had already put in a long day and was pretty tired by 9 PM!

Well, my turn came, and I took about 10 minutes to set-up for the presentation while the rest of the class ran for coffee. I had one Heresy set-up at each end of the long tables on either side of the podium. Speaker wires ran to the cassette deck, and the cassette deck was wired to the motorcycle battery for power. I had chalk in hand, my index cards and a cassette ready to pop into the deck at the right moment. The cassette was already preset at a music selection that would show off the horn-loaded aspect of the Heresys.

First, I went through an explanation of accuracy of sound reproduction and how the horns have a greater ability to reproduce the sound waves without distortion and clipping of them. I stressed that it doesn't matter how good the rest of the equipment in a stereo system is, if the speakers don't reproduce the sound accurately!!...speakers being the heart of any system!!

Then I covered efficiency of loudspeakers, stressing how efficient speakers require many fewer watts going into them than many speakers that must have many more watts to power them to accurate sound reproduction.

I also stressed that when one goes to buy a complete separate-component stereo system, if the speakers are efficient and therefore require less power from an amp, then one does not need a high-powered amp, but can settle for a lower-powered one...which means generally saving alot more money on the amp...money that can therefore be applied toward a more expensive and efficient set of speakers. At that time, pretty much any high quality amp over 30 watts was costing about 2-10 dollars a watt more in its list price...which can add up to quite a savings if one only needed 30 watts for their speakers!! I drew the "efficiency analogy" of how bragging about how much more power one's speakers need to have going to them is akin to bragging that one's car gets 2 MPG on the highway!..and how ridiculous that concept is!!

Then, I covered the Klipsch line of speakers, and their prices. I noted that the ones they were looking at were the bottom-of-the-line Heresys. I also noted that even though Heresys were going for about 600-700 bucks a pair, if the money saved from buying a 30 watt amp over a 200 watt amp were applied to the cost of the speakers, then the higher cost of Heresys (in relation to other popular speakers of the time) were more than covered by that savings, alone.

Then I said: "Now is the important part, decide for yourself whether the extra cost is worth it!" I popped in the cassette, and it started playing through the Heresys. As it played, I ever so slowly turned the volume down to less than whisper level. Then I said "OK, here is where accuracy and efficiency come into play...notice how the bass, the cymbals, the guitar, and the singer are still well-balanced on what you hear? Now, pay attention to those sounds as I slowly turn the volume up! Note that the balance of these sounds to each other in volume stays the same, as the overall volume increases...that's accuracy and efficiency you are hearing!! Remember that this little car cassette player only has an output of ten watts!!...But these speakers don't even need that much power!!"

Needless, to say, everybody was paying attention! As I brought up the volume to the beginning level, I asked for questions. And I got alot of em!! One of the questions was, of course, "Just how loud can those speakers play with just that much power going into them?" I looked at the instructor, he gave the nod, since we were the only class in session in that building at that late hour...and I cranked them up!!

I heard alot of "WOW"s when that happened, then I turned the volume back down. I asked if there were any further questions, answered them, then ended my presentation. After class ended, I heard alot of my classmates talking about the Heresys to each other on their way out of the building. I hauled my stuff back out to the truck and went home.

The next class session was a few days later, and I was kinda anxious to know whether my presentation had gotten a good grade. There were still presentations to be made that night and on a few following nights, so the grades for those presentations made so far were not posted yet. I caught the instructor after class and asked if my presentation would be getting a decent grade.

He said,"I can't actually tell you what grade your presentation got until everybody else's presentations are done with. That wouldn't be fair to them. But I CAN tell you THIS: In seven years of listening to sales presentations made by students in this course, some of them boring, some of them not...I have never been compelled to buy a product or service based on one of the presentations, until I went out and bought a pair of walnut Heresys yesterday afternoon. Does that 'KINDA' answer your question?"

I found out a week or so later I had made an "A" on the presentation...but I "KINDA" already knew it!

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If you want to send a private message, or have already done so, be aware I have not as yet been able to retrieve them. Send e-maill instead, please...just note Klipsch forum in the heading so it doesn't get deleted.

This message has been edited by HDBRbuilder on 05-21-2002 at 02:02 AM

[maxg]

Great story - but did he buy a car battery and a cassette deck as well??

Just kidding. Glad to hear you got an "a" grade.

Good choice of speakers too...

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My System: http://aca.gr/pop_maxg.htm

[lynnm]

LOL

You were a brave student Grasshopper!

I have done a certain amount of instructing over the years and have learned that there is nothing quite as treacherous as a live demo ;~)> - no matter how much checking and rechecking one does.

I'm glad your demo went well and that you got the A grade that you deserved.

[Mike Lindsey]

Great story!!

Mike

[j-malotky]

Another Great Story HDBR

I did some sales while in college. Paid a lot better than McDonalds.

Doing some time as a salesman has given me great skills for my technical career.

What I have found is we are all salesmen in whatever career we are in. When we talk to our foreman, director, VP or whatever boss we report to explaining why something should be changed. Basically we are selling management on why they should spend money or commit resources.

If you apply salesman techniques to overcome objections, you become much more effective and look much more positive.

Thought I would add my 2 cents for our younger members on this BBS to help them in there futures.

JM

[bigdnfay]

HDBR,

Great story. Would have liked to have seen it as well. I used to be a salesman at my local Klipsch dealer. Can't tell you how many cerwin-vega lovers I converted to klipsch. they virtually sell themselves. Keep the great stories comin'.

Bigdnfay

[ShapeShifter]

I started at TCC in 75 and graduated from ETSU in 79, all the while working full time at RRAD. Took a Management Position in Michigan and transfered in 1980.

Ahhh, The Road of Life has been Great! Plan to retire w/in 5-6 yrs and move back South or Southwest.

Wes

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KLIPSCH IS MUSICf>

My Systems f>s>c>

This message has been edited by ShapeShifter on 05-22-2002 at 07:17 AM

[Diggs]

That was a cool story.

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My hodge-podge of equipment

Denon AVR-2800

KG-4 mains (too bad the rest of my speakers aren't this good)

Polk C-175 center (it's ok)

Infinity RS-10 Surrounds (suck)

Audiosource SW-15 subwoofer (excellent sub for it's price)

Pioneer DV333 DVD

Sony 5 disc CD player

All in a 12x12 apartment bedroom.

"What?! I can't hear you!"