Focus on the House of Worship Market.

Expect the HoW market to gain steam.

Integrators Find Salvation in HoW Market

By Tom LeBlanc. From Commercial Integrator – March 2011

Commercial Integrator’s survey of those working in the HOW market shows that 62 percent of respondents are expecting the HOW market to gain steam in 2011. Meanwhile, 2010 was no slouch, with about 95 percent claiming they did at least two church installations during the year and a subset of 11 percent saying they installed systems in more than 10 HOWs. READ THE ARTICLE.

These aren’t chintzy projects either; 16 percent of surveyed CIs say the average job is more than $250,000; only 11 percent say the average job is under $5,000; and the rest say that HOW project price tags generally fall somewhere between $5,000 and $250,000. READ THE ARTICLE.

5 Tips to Succeed in HOW

1. “Use Facebook,” advises Willard. “Get pastors as friends, attend church, be active and get involved in district events to build Facebook lists and contacts.”

2. “Winning the bid isn’t always the best thing,” says Mazur. “Take an overall look at what the client wants and what they can afford.”

3. It’s all about building relationships with prospective HOW clients, says Griffin. “Most churches don’t have tech staffs savvy enough to know the minutiae of [technology]. Focus on your credibility and reliability.” He adds that word of mouth hasn’t worked well for him. “[Congregants of] churches, ironically, don’t talk much to each other or cooperate.”

4. Build trust, says Whitworth. “Churches choose people that they trust more often than not. It’s not always about the money.”

5. Talk money, says Ken Smith of Morning Star Media. “We can save a church a great deal of money if they don’t bid out projects, but rather, manage them. We help a church establish a budget and then help them select the right tools.”

5 Reasons to Update a Church’s Sound System

By Gary Zandstra. From Commercial Integrator – December 15, 2010

If you are working with a client who is thinking about upgrading the audio system in his church, here are the questions to ask:

1. Has the church programming changed (added a keyboard, drums, bass, etc.)?

2. Has the church added additional seating - rows of seats in the front or back?

3. Is the church experiencing intermittent problems or shall we say, surprise noises?

4. Has the expectation of the congregation changed?

5. What are the expectations of people who visit the church?

How to Sell to Clergy

By Brian Blackmore. From Commercial Integrator – November 1, 2011

The church market is not homogeneous. While the technical demands are often similar from church to church, the decision-making structure, the autonomy (or not) of certain roles, the level of client technical knowledge, the time-frames, and the budgets can span the gamut.

Pastors won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. READ THE ARTICLE.