Un-equality: An “Alien” Agent

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Doug Alexander, a 50ish kind of guy, is partners with his son-in-law Terry Dobbs. They own a very successful enterprise called Area 41; a Kennesaw, Ga., home and car entertainment company. They specialize in home theater, home convenience/security systems—and car audio—the category that started the whole thing.

Long before Doug met Terry, he spent five years in the Army, went to college and became a software engineer. However, in addition to Doug’s regular job, he always had his own thing going on the side.

Along with his regular job, he dabbled in creating software for an automated tanning bed, automated fluid dispensers for Coca-Cola and was in the water ski business. All of his creations were viable, just not profitable. So, he kept at his job, always looking for opportunities.

Birth in the Back Seat
Now Terry Dobbs, Doug’s partner, was all but born in an automobile. His father and brother were both auto mechanics. Cars were just something he grew up with. I have met many young men like Terry who had 40-weight running through their veins. And like many, he decided it was the romance of the automobile, not the engine, that turned him on.

Terry began his own detailing business at 16 years old and started selling cars at nineteen. Ain’t life grand? Terry was 19 and making a boatload of bread selling cars. So what does a boy do with all this money? Buy car stereos, equipment, and lots of it.

It wasn’t long before Terry was working as a manager in an audio shop. He was perfect for the job: smart and passionate. The fact he had a “sleeve” tattooed on both arms didn’t hurt. It made him more real and many of the customers loved it.

Joining of Another Kind
Terry, like most of us, fell in love and got married: to Doug’s daughter. Well Doug, not one to miss an opportunity, saw how many $3,000 systems were going out the door at the store Terry worked at. When Terry decided he had the confidence to start his own store, he approached Doug and they became partners.

With Doug’s background in software engineering, he saw opportunities others did not; prospects such as being able to write custom programs for home convenience and security systems. He designed a “James Bond” security system for his own store as well as designing home theater protocols.

However, the two of them being smart fellows, and neither owning their own store before, they sought help. They brought on a business consultant who could help to assure their success. They both knew the cost of hiring a consultant was not an issue. The issue was the return on their investment (ROI).

Fork in the Road
Now this is where my article sounds self serving. That’s because I’m a consultant. But if you need to be educated there are two ways to go about it.

You can, A: Go to M.I.T (mistakes I’ve tried) for 20 years. Or you can take the B route: Get twenty years of experience all at one time from someone else. It’s a good education, one with meaningful and valid information, but it’s going to cost you; not a fortune, but not a hundred bucks either. However, like anything else in the world, the issue is whether you use what you’ve learned. Believe it or not, staying away from a seminar when you know you’re not going to do anything the presenter tells you, is a smart move. Why waste your time?

However, for those of us who have the desire to move forward with life’s rewards, we see the value.

The Reality of Business
Area 41 competes in very clever ways. Area 41 is named after their street (41st) and the famous area 51 in Roswell, N.M. Its logo, in and out of the store, is a big space alien. And it’s easy to find the store. It’s just down the street from the fifty-foot chicken. That’s right: Thirty years ago Kentucky Fried Chicken was nice enough to put up a landmark for Area 41’s future store.

Terry tells me competition is not a threat to them. They do what they do and they do it differently. The staff is required to greet and say goodbye to everyone, regardless of who they are (including the letter carrier). They have coordinated stories to tell their customers. That way, no matter who they speak with, the prospect always gets the same answer.

They love the competition’s ‘free install’ policy. They explain to the customer they will have to pay for the adapters and harnesses and the install charge that goes along with them. When you add it all up, they are, in most cases, cheaper or the same price.

They do very little sound competition anymore. It’s been replaced by sound quality and video. Why? Because their head banger customers got married and now have kids! They have homes and they have different priorities when buying electronics in 2007.

They also realize that there is little difference between retail and show business. They understand you can buy a box anywhere. You have heard me say it before:
“All things being equal, I’ll buy from the cheapest place.”

Proactive Takes the Cake
So what are they doing to be unequal? Well, they just invested in a new store that looks and smells like I could spend money there. They also bought a famous manufacturer’s custom built BMW used as a CES display. The car gives them more than credibility: the customers are in awe. Many come just to the car. By the way, the car is on the showroom floor and it works. I mean it works right now. So does the other one. Yes they have more than one. It’s a red/orange technical monster thing. And it works too. That’s why the only advertising they do is: none at all. It’s all word of mouth.

There are so many mobile electronics dealers doing really well in this economy. It’s just a matter of working your business. I meet too many dealers whose entire business plan is a little more than making sure the store is open during daylight hours. And in many cases the hours are

I love it when I meet proactive businessmen in our industry. These guys have worked hard and never lost sight of the fact: it’s never crowded along the extra mile.

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