The Advantage of Uniview’s Protected Sales Channel for Security Dealers
At Nelly’s Security, we partner with dealers like you to help you grow and sustain a successful security business. That’s why we are proud to carry Uniview products as one of our main video surveillance lines. Much like Nelly’s is more than just a distributor, Uniview is more than just a CCTV manufacturer. They have a variety of features in place that are designed to support the dealers, resellers, and integrators that choose to sell their products. One of the biggest features of Uniview is their protected sales channel.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, a protected sales channel is a sales policy that helps dealers get more business by protecting them from low pricing. Uniview does not allow any pricing to be publicly displayed below the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP), which prevents price shopping.
In this blog post, we will delve into the details of Uniview’s protected sales channel and how it can benefit you and your security business. By understanding the benefits and how to comply with the policy, you can feel confident in selling, installing, and using Uniview’s top-of-the-line security technologies.
What is a Protected Sales Channel?
To help us understand this concept, we’re going to be using the cliched metaphor of an iceberg. Now, imagine a Uniview iceberg floating in the ocean. The tip of the iceberg, the part that is visible above the water, represents the prices that can be publicly displayed on the web. This is the price that customers see when they shop for products or services.
At sea level, you’ll find the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP). The MSRP is the price that the manufacturer recommends that dealers sell the product for. It is the starting point for pricing negotiations between dealers and customers, and it’s the lowest price any customer will be able to see when shopping for products online.
But there’s more to the iceberg than just the tip. Most of the iceberg is beneath the surface, hidden from view. In the same way, most security dealers out there are going to be quoting Uniview products at prices lower than the MSRP. But all of this happens beneath the surface, hidden from the public eye. This is the idea behind a protected sales channel.
A protected sales channel is a sales policy that prevents Uniview products from being sold online at crazy low prices. Uniview requires all of their products to be sold publicly at or above the MSRP. This is why when you visit our online store and shop for Uniview products, you’ll see pretty high prices across the board for our Uniview products. This is because Uniview’s MSRP is usually priced way too high in order to give dealers more flexibility when it comes to pricing their own products and services.
But something else you’ll see on our Uniview product listings is a button that says “Log in for better pricing.” By logging into your customer account, you’ll be able to bypass the publicly viewable price and dip your head under the surface of the ocean, so to speak. If you’re a dealer, you’re going to see that Uniview price drop dramatically. That’s because the price we offer our dealers is low enough that you’re able to comfortably price your products for healthy margins while still remaining beneath the MSRP level.
Does Uniview Enforce Their Protected Sales Channel?
At this point you might be wondering if Uniview’s protected sales channel is just a sales gimmick to get dealers to sell their products or if it’s actually an enforced policy. Well, we can tell you with confidence that Uniview does indeed enforce this policy on a regular basis. They are constantly monitoring their products online, and if they appear anywhere for a lower price than the MSRP, they act fast to correct it. This tells you two things.
- Uniview’s protected sales channel is an up-to-date actively-enforced policy that’s here to benefit your business
- It’s important to comply with this policy to remain an active dealer of Uniview products and to maintain the integrity of the whole program.
How Does a Protected Sales Channel Benefit Security Dealers?
Uniview’s protected sales channel often goes misunderstood by our customers. We get lots of complaints about the pricing structure and login policy on our website. But the thing is, the only reason this protected sales channel exists is to help you. Here are four ways that Uniview’s protected sales channel benefits your security business.
Reduced Price Shopping
A protected sales channel helps dealers avoid the problem of price shopping, where customers compare prices from different retailers or use price comparison websites to find the lowest price. This can be frustrating for dealers, who may feel pressure to lower their prices in order to compete. A protected sales channel eliminates this problem by keeping publicly displayed prices at or above the MSRP. Since you’ll be buying your Uniview products from Nelly’s with dealer pricing, you’ll have plenty of room to resell your products while staying underneath the MSRP line. So once you quote your products and services to customers, they won’t be able to go to Alibaba or Amazon to find the same products at a lower price.
Higher Profit Margins
By ensuring that pricing negotiations start at the MSRP, a protected sales channel can help dealers maintain higher profit margins. Since you don’t have to worry about your customers always jumping ship for lower prices, you can comfortably price your products and services in a way that brings you higher profit margins.
This is especially important in a competitive market where low prices can be tempting for customers. Trust us, you don’t want to get in a price war with your competitors, because you will lose every time. Even if you win the price war, you’ll lose the profits.
By selling Uniview, you’ll be able to stay out of these price wars altogether and give yourself the profit margins that you deserve.
Increased Customer Loyalty
When dealers offer high-quality products at fair prices, they can build customer loyalty and encourage repeat business. A protected sales channel helps dealers maintain fair pricing, which can lead to increased customer loyalty and satisfaction. So when your customer wants to expand their surveillance system later down the road, they’ll remember the fair and honest interactions they had with you. They’ll remember the low pricing they got from you compared to other models online. And they’ll keep coming back.
Improved Brand Reputation
By maintaining the integrity of the manufacturer’s brand and ensuring that products are sold at a fair price, a protected sales channel can help improve the reputation of both Uniview as the manufacturer and you as the dealer. As long as everyone plays their part, this policy can lead to increased trust and credibility throughout the industry. It’s really a win-win for everybody involved.
How to Comply With Uniview’s Protected Sales Channel
For the most part, there are two groups of security dealers that work with us: resellers and integrators. This section is mostly going to apply to the resellers. But if you’re an integrator who publicly posts your prices online, this is going to apply to you, too.
If you are a security dealer who sells Uniview products publicly in any capactiy, whether you put the products online or in your sales catalog, it’s important to understand how to comply with the protected sales channel policy in order to take full advantage of its benefits. Here are some tips on how to comply.
Maintain the MSRP
The most important aspect of complying with a protected sales channel is to maintain the manufacturer’s suggested retail price as the starting point for pricing negotiations. This means that you cannot publicly display prices below the MSRP on your website or any other online platform. This doesn’t mean the final sale price has to be the MSRP, but it does have to be the starting point.
You could follow our model and require customers to log into an account in order to see final prices, or you could require customers to call you to place an order directly. In any case, it’s important to keep any price offering that dips below the MSRP between you and your customers.
To find the MSRP, you can contact our sales team to request a spreadsheet of pricing details, or you can view the product listing on our website. The MSRP is the only price you’ll see if you’re logged out, or it’s the marked out price that you see if you’re logged in.
Communicate the Policy to Your Customers
Make sure that your customers are aware of the protected sales channel policy and how it affects pricing. Explain that the MSRP is the starting point for negotiations and that any discounts or special pricing must be arranged directly with you, rather than being publicly displayed online. By understanding the policy for themselves, your customers are going to be more likely to engage in price negotiations with you directly rather than experiencing sticker shock and bouncing.
By following these tips, you can ensure that you are complying with Uniview’s protected sales channel policy and taking full advantage of its benefits. Remember, the protected sales channel is designed to help you grow your business and maintain higher profit margins, so it’s important to make sure that you are following the policy correctly. If you have any questions about how to comply with this policy, feel free to reach out to us any time.
Growing Your Security Business with Nelly’s and Uniview
The protected sales channel from Uniview is here to help you grow your business. It’s one of the many reasons why Uniview is the go-to brand for many security professionals, and why Uniview’s popularity in the past couple of years has skyrocketed.
Remember that at Nelly’s Security, we’re here to help you have the confidence to grow your business beyond your wildest dreams through our products, resources, and community. If there’s anything we can do to help you grow, please let us know.
If you’re not a Nelly’s dealer yet, then what are you waiting for? It’s easy and free to get started, and there are a ton of benefits. Click here to learn more about how you can become a Nelly’s dealer today.
