It’s a common problem when running an AV installation business – you spend thousands of dollars having your designer or engineer work on a solution for a customer, only to have that customer say yes, no, or ask for other bids. That feeling in your chest? The crushing weight of disappointment? Yeah, we get it.
That’s why Legrand | AV started the Solutions Engineering Team in 2020. This top-notch team of AV wizards was formed with a passion for helping customers through the more technical challenges of system design. They don’t blink twice at the idea of researching new solutions for hours to resolve a challenge. The Solutions Engineering Team’s first mission, though, is to help dealers through the design process. This can be beneficial in several ways.
- It’s a service provided at no extra expense to our dealers.
- It helps dealers who are new, or experts in one particular field of AV, overcome gaps of knowledge.
- It helps larger dealers avoid conflicts of interest when bidding for certain state, local and public institutions that don’t allow a design and bid from the same vendor.
“There’s a level of expertise that we bring to the table for Legrand products that you don’t have if you don’t work here,” said Brian Retzlaff, Solutions Engineer.
Another service provided through the Solutions Engineering Team is a product swap. Customers provide a list of products for an installation and the team sees if there are any Legrand brand solutions that would work better.
“They want to put our product in when they can because they know and trust our brand,” Retzlaff said. “They know they won’t have issues. Legrand | AV brands are among the most highly respected brands in the industry.”
You might be wondering why we do this. Good question! In addition to making it easy to work with us on projects that require more support, we get insight into trends or needs that Legrand may not currently be meeting to help create custom solutions or long-term product direction. In other words, it helps us provide you with better products and services, now and in the future.
During the last year, the team has also been able to help dealers provide whole room solutions for customers dealing with the AV needs of a pandemic. You may have seen some of their work on the diagrams page. While these diagrams aren’t a “one size fits all” answer, they provide the foundation for specific types of applications like a mid-sized conference room, a school auditorium, a large house of worship and more.
Livestreaming with IMAG solution
“We want these diagrams to create a conversation. If the diagram is missing a component a customer needs for their project, we want to discuss those requirements further,” Retzlaff said. “When we create the final drawing, it will have all the information they need.”
Some large manufacturers have similar design assistance teams, but they are often focused on big ticket items like video switchers and control. With the breadth of brands and solutions through Legrand | AV, most of which are designed to support big ticket items, Retzlaff says they have much more flexibility to work with third party products because they aren’t competing with those manufacturers.
Interested in learning how OnSite Media can help you with your technology rollouts and national/global expansion plans? Contact us today at 435-214-0801, ext. 1 or via email at sales@onsitemedia.com.