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  #21  
Old 08-03-2017, 11:16 PM
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akfaulkner akfaulkner is offline
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I hate going into magnolia. The sales people are sketch and don't really know the industry. I remember asking about headphones when I was at bb with my wife.

I asked if they carried focal or audeze headphones and the sales person didn't know the brands at all... personally given the popularity I was shocked.
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  #22  
Old 08-04-2017, 12:00 AM
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Originally Posted by akfaulkner View Post
I hate going into magnolia. The sales people are sketch and don't really know the industry...
Careful, Magnolia is a productive hunting ground for independents seeking sales guys. Magnolia spends a great deal of money training guys (whether we see it or not) and if a guy has passion, he's perfect for the next step.

Think of Magnolia as AA ball and Independents as the Show. Same players, same passion for the game, but add in some advanced coaching and some insightful teaching of the game and voila!

We don't have enough great people in this industry. If Magnolia wants to give them their first opportunity, excellent. And if you find a good one at a Mag store and you want to refer him to your favorite dealer, even better.
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  #23  
Old 08-04-2017, 01:00 AM
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Careful, Magnolia is a productive hunting ground for independents seeking sales guys. Magnolia spends a great deal of money training guys (whether we see it or not) and if a guy has passion, he's perfect for the next step.

Think of Magnolia as AA ball and Independents as the Show. Same players, same passion for the game, but add in some advanced coaching and some insightful teaching of the game and voila!

We don't have enough great people in this industry. If Magnolia wants to give them their first opportunity, excellent. And if you find a good one at a Mag store and you want to refer him to your favorite dealer, even better.
That's fair. I don't mean any disrespect to upcoming folks but just stating my observation as a consumer.

I used to work at circuit city in college and most of us computer and audio sales folks were engineering majors and we knew our stuff. Even then, they did train us extensively well....but honestly most of the training was specific to what they sold, how to sell, and not the industry. I suspect it's the same at Best buy but I could be wrong
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  #24  
Old 08-04-2017, 01:06 AM
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..but honestly most of the training was specific to what they sold, how to sell, and not the industry. I suspect it's the same at Best buy but I could be wrong
It may well be that now, but it certainly didn't used to be.
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  #25  
Old 08-04-2017, 01:11 AM
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[QUOTE=dolsey01;859574]Magnolia can't find good staff because you can't make a decent living selling audio equipment on a Best Buy salary...QUOTE]

Magnolia sales reps are 100% commission.
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  #26  
Old 08-04-2017, 01:13 AM
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It may well be that now, but it certainly didn't used to be.
Are magnolia folks on commission? I remember when I worked at circuit city, that was a big difference bc Best buy employees where hourly with no commission vs commission at circuit city.

That definitely incentiviced us to give a good experience and get the customers to come back. Many of our customers were frustrated Best buy previous customers.

Of course circuit city went under so what do I know
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  #27  
Old 08-04-2017, 01:29 AM
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[QUOTE=Mahalo;859723]
Quote:
Originally Posted by dolsey01 View Post
Magnolia can't find good staff because you can't make a decent living selling audio equipment on a Best Buy salary...QUOTE]

Magnolia sales reps are 100% commission.
If that's true, it is new. One of their problems was that early on, Magnolia made people salaried. It limited the earnings no matter how good the salespeople were. That's a major part of the reason the good ones were easy pickings for independents looking for new hires.
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  #28  
Old 08-04-2017, 10:25 AM
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I have to say that the salesman I spent a few hours with at magnolia the other day was in his 20's and it was obvious he was lacking the experience of someone who has been involved with the hobby (or the sales end of it) for decades like most of us on this forum but... he was very enthusiastic and eager to learn and it showed. We listened to some of the gear on the floor and he kept asking me to share my thoughts on the setup and gear. I also shared my memories what the hobby was like in the 80's and 90's way before his time. and we discussed where things are headed. It was an enjoyable couple of hours but I did feel old after I left for the first time in my life.

The problem is that at a store like Magnolia vs a 2 channel boutique store, he does not come across customers like most of us on this forum very often and that does not help him advance in his knowledge and experience. Feedback from and the relationships one builds with customers at a dedicated high end audio store is invaluable, especially for someone who truly appreciates the hobby.
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  #29  
Old 08-04-2017, 01:33 PM
malba2366 malba2366 is offline
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I think Magnolia has a place in helping hifi companies get products out to more customers. If you look at where Magnolia design centers are you can see that the stores are all in areas with higher income. They do a good job of selling gear to higher income customers who are looking for new "toys". Also they buy inventory upfront rather than ordering after a customer makes a purchase which is beneficial for the manufacturers. While their salespeople may not be the most knowledgeable, from my experience they are always polite and do not look down upon customers based on budget or if they are ready to buy now. There are plenty of hifi shops out there that are somewhere intimidating to average customers because the staff is very arrogant.
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  #30  
Old 08-04-2017, 01:39 PM
malba2366 malba2366 is offline
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I think Magnolia has a place in helping hifi companies get products out to more customers. If you look at where Magnolia design centers are you can see that the stores are all in areas with higher income. They do a good job of selling gear to higher income customers who are looking for new "toys". Also they buy inventory upfront rather than ordering after a customer makes a purchase which is beneficial for the manufacturers. While their salespeople may not be the most knowledgeable, from my experience they are always polite and do not look down upon customers based on budget or if they are ready to buy now. There are plenty of hifi shops out there that are somewhere intimidating to average customers because the staff is very arrogant.
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