To All My Retail Sales People!

[bmr76]

Guys this thread is to get some good "selling tips" on how to conteract the cheepo hd duds to all the retail sales associates and managers that read these boards . I work retail and I personally would like to hear some ideas of what we can say professionally and courteously to counteract these cheap garbage dud players. I always push blu ray and always plant the seed, but with these cheap players people will now have objections. What would you say about the difference in price etc. I want to be ready this holiday, I think this will be where retail has to hold the fort, blu ray will be fine, but if we have our ducks in a row, these low priced duds wont even be a factor. Love to hears some tactics, thanks

[thrlride]

Originally Posted by bmr76

Guys this thread is to get some good "selling tips" on how to conteract the cheepo hd duds to all the retail sales associates and managers that read these boards . I work retail and I personally would like to hear some ideas of what we can say professionally and courteously to counteract these cheap garbage dud players. I always push blu ray and always plant the seed, but with these cheap players people will now have objections. What would you say about the difference in price etc. I want to be ready this holiday, I think this will be where retail has to hold the fort, blu ray will be fine, but if we have our ducks in a row, these low priced duds wont even be a factor. Love to hears some tactics, thanks

Tell them that toshiba is crap and hd-dud is junk and will be obsolete very soon.

[SamInNorthCakalakey]

it's an obsolete player. That's why it's sssooooo cheap right now. Trying to get rid of stock.

[U_MAD?]

I usually tell them that Blu Ray will win hands down. Then we have our BPD-3's running on the the 120hz tv's(XBR4-71) and the customer is generally awed. These little BF and "Fire $ales" you see are nothing more then clearing stock and starting intrest in shopping for good 4QT numbers. We sold 1 A-2 in the last 4 months compared to over 100 PS3's and BR players.

[Kristin Simard]

Studio support for Blu.
International acceptance of Blu.
More titles.

The technical stuff why Blu is better.

In other words, tell the truth. That's all.

"I know this is a cheaper product, but if you want my honest opinion,I wouldn't buy it...."

HD DVD is having a desperation sale. It's their last bastion.

[zipbags]

They won't play any Disney HD movies.

[Vonscoot]

Originally Posted by Kristin Simard

Studio support for Blu.
International acceptance of Blu.
More titles.

The technical stuff why Blu is better.

In other words, tell the truth. That's all.

"I know this is a cheaper product, but if you want my honest opinion,I wouldn't buy it...."

HD DVD is having a desperation sale. It's their last bastion.

Originally Posted by zipbags

They won't play any Disney HD movies.

Both of these are probably the best way to sell it. Works for me almost every time.

[tron3]

Originally Posted by zipbags

They won't play any Disney HD movies.

Took the words out of my mouth. Never bad mouth the competition. People have this subconscious understanding of going with the company who is bad mouthed the most by the competition. If your sales technique is to speak badly of them, it says little about you, and how well you think of your own products.

I worked retail for a short time, and the thing is to overcome objections. If they want Disney, and who doesn't, that is the biggest selling point right there.

More importantly, many people don't understand this terminology nor do they really want to. Some people really want to be told which is better, and may not care why. Don't over sell either. When they say yes, close the sale.

I'm pretty good at expressing myself. So here is how I would explain how much better bd is. First, be sure to introduce yourself and get their first name. Use it when appropriate, but don't over use it. Try to get them in front of a good playing BD demo. Just tell the truth, you never know who is playing dumb with you. They do that to see how much you know and if they want to do business with you.

Well "customer name", you watch DVD, right?
Yes.
Ok, allow me to put in scale for you. These players have a megabit rate which is play back quality. DVD averages 5Mb. HD DVD maxes out at 30mb, and blu-ray maxes out at 54mb. It is a difference you can see and hear.

This gives you better picture and audio quality because blu-ray disc has at least 1/3 more space. They have the most studio support, so you get more of the movies you want. Sooner or later, all the studios will be blu-ray. Just a matter of time.

I met a guy at Circuit City and he asked me the difference. While I didn't use the sales pitch above, I think what got him is when I said, "I don't even work here. I'm some guy you met at the blu-ray section. I have this player (S300). I have nothing to gain from telling you this. Then I showed him the 5 free movies - hooked.

My "scale technique" worked pretty well for me. It helps people understand. The old snake oil way of saying "trust me" isn't enough for the wary consumer. Give them a reason to trust you.

When I worked at Radio Shack I sold more Uniden 5.8Ghz phones than anyone else, though they were about $169 and people came in looking for something about $20. How? I told them I own the phone, and I do. People are more comfortable in buying what other people already have enmass.

My utter honestly sometimes bit me in the backside, but this was a great closer. "Hold on to the receipt. You have 30 days to return it if you don't like it." If that doesn't give an air of confidence that I trust the product, what does?

[Rathael]

I always give them 3 Reasons.


1. Spider man 3
2. Pirates of the Carribean 3
3. Live Free or Die Hard.

[Bluray4Me]

Coming from someone who owns both a PS3 and the 360 HD-DVD add-on and someone who works at Best Buy part time selling to consumers, I tell people this......The difference between Blu-ray and HD-DVD is minimal. It all depends on how well the movie studios go back and remaster movies for HD considering film is higher resolution than any HD movie. I also tell them that being that Blu-ray discs hold more data they can put uncompressed PCM audio soundtracks on them which, from what I've heard with my own ears, is better than anything I've heard on HD-DVD. Then I tell them about HighDefDigest.com and to read reviews of movies for each format before buying them because some movie studios don't take the time to remaster movies to HD as well as they could.

[BluOgre]

Originally Posted by bmr76

Guys this thread is to get some good "selling tips" on how to conteract the cheepo hd duds to all the retail sales associates and managers that read these boards . I work retail and I personally would like to hear some ideas of what we can say professionally and courteously to counteract these cheap garbage dud players. I always push blu ray and always plant the seed, but with these cheap players people will now have objections. What would you say about the difference in price etc. I want to be ready this holiday, I think this will be where retail has to hold the fort, blu ray will be fine, but if we have our ducks in a row, these low priced duds wont even be a factor. Love to hears some tactics, thanks

the only thing you need to tell them is this.....you won't be able to see Spiderman 3, Rataouille, Die Hard 4, Pirates 3, Superbad, Simpsons, Rush Hour 3 on HD. They can buy the cheap hardware but then you'll miss out on the best titles this 4th qtr.

[kaliraver]

I go back to work tomorrow after a hiatus and will be telling nothing but the truth at BBY. I won't desperage HD-DVD but will tell them the facts of why Blu-Ray is the future proof format.

[Bluray4Me]

Originally Posted by BluOgre

Rush Hour 3 on HD.

Rush Hour 3 is coming to HD-DVD in early 2008. If we're going to promote Blu-ray, let's be accurate.

[Branden]

the truth is the best hd-dvd fighting tactic.
- the cheap hd-dvd players are only 720p "poor-man's high def" whereas all BD players are 1080p "full high def".
- even though hd-dvd players are cheap, hd-dvd movies tend to be more expensive; offsetting the price advantage of the player.
- hd-dvd is a "surviving" format here and essentially dead in the rest of the world.
- point out only 1.5 manufacturers make hd-dvd players (i'm counting venturer as half since you won't find it anywhere respectable) while BD has a variety of players to choose from.
- point out larger selection of movies available on BD and if they have kids be sure to point out disney/pixar is BD only. tell customers to browse the hd-dvd and BD selections and compare how many titles that interest them are available on each, then tell them BD has significantly more/better upcoming releases.
- point out that several stores (ie. blockbuster) have gone BD exclusive.
- cheaper hd-dvd players likely won't work with potentially upcoming triple layer discs.
- point out technical superiority of BD, even if they don't understand technical jargon just say BD is simply capable of better quality audio/video. show customers how common PCM audio is on each.
- osama bin ladin has an hd-dvd player. he watched 3 movies on it but now uses it as a doorstop. (ok, i made that one up. i think)
- you get what you pay for.
- make sure your store has a proper BD display (1080p, 50'+ screen, HDMI cables, 5.1) and make sure there's always a reference quality BD showing. most uninformed people will associate grain with poor-quality initially so stay away from those.
- as tron3 said, don't trash-talk hd-dvd. objectively compare hd-dvd and BD, but don't use words like sucks/ass/stupid/crap/garbage/lame/paperweight or dwell on the short-comings of hd-dvd, that will only make you look biased and untrustworthy.

[Kristin Simard]

Study this page at amazon (which appears to be HD DVD biased) and be sure to point out the features of Blu that are left out of this comparison.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.htm...blurayforum-20

[thrlride]

And don't sell them a stupid extended warranty or overpriced HDMI cables.

[Irishwiseguy2006]

I have been in sales for over 15 years of my life and 1 thing says it all....
The quickest way to hit home with anyone is through their kids! BOTTOM LINE! If they cant play Disney that should kill any thoughts of buying an HD-DVD player.

[olarmy96]

Well, one response from the other side might be that you could just buy regular Disney DVD. I'd say that to counter this point of view that you ask parents to consider if they will be watching the movie with the kids or as a family.

If I have to watch the movie, I want the best quality, even if the children don't care.

Originally Posted by Irishwiseguy2006

I have been in sales for over 15 years of my life and 1 thing says it all....
The quickest way to hit home with anyone is through their kids! BOTTOM LINE! If they cant play Disney that should kill any thoughts of buying an HD-DVD player.

[Matt X]

Originally Posted by bmr76

Guys this thread is to get some good "selling tips" on how to conteract the cheepo hd duds to all the retail sales associates and managers that read these boards . I work retail and I personally would like to hear some ideas of what we can say professionally and courteously to counteract these cheap garbage dud players. I always push blu ray and always plant the seed, but with these cheap players people will now have objections. What would you say about the difference in price etc. I want to be ready this holiday, I think this will be where retail has to hold the fort, blu ray will be fine, but if we have our ducks in a row, these low priced duds wont even be a factor. Love to hears some tactics, thanks

--- I would first ask customers why they are considering buying BR - make sure it sounds non-judgemental (not like "why are you buying THAT?!?") - make them talk about what they know about the product, or who they've talked to already (lotsa times they were told something basic by a friend like, "go buy BR, it's awesome!" w/out really discussing it) - if a client understands why the product is right/good for them, they'll be more comfortable/gung ho about buying it. If they bring up HDDVD, ask them why they considered that format too - make the customer really frame their thoughts and consider all angles (lotsa times they'll just focus on one thing, like "that's cheaper"). Try to steer the conversation through open-ended questions that make the customer really TALK about their motivations for buying (better than Yes/no type questions). and if the client has an objection to buying BR, don't take an opposing position to them - agree w/ specific objections ("that's true, the BR player *is* more expensive - I wouldn't pay that kind of $$ unless I knew I was getting a better value than the cheaper format") - lotsa times customers object to stuff because of a misunderstanding or incomplete picture. Take your time and make THEM do most of the talking.