Do your homebuyers have iPods? Do they download music? Do they download videos? Do they want a big-screen TV someday? While all the attention gets paid to plasma TVs these days in terms of technology, it's really the infrastructure that's important.

These are examples of some key sales questions that builders and their integrators need to be asking homebuyers as they plan the low-voltage infrastructure needs of a new home. If the answers to any of those questions today is "no," the chances are pretty high that the answers will be "yes," in very short order. Even for builders playing in the low-end starter homes, the amount of technology placed inside a new home may soon be dictated by the local phone company or cable company. Why?

It's easy for builders to look at today's array of tech-related options and features for their home-building projects and feel overwhelmed and confused. The 64-megabyte question is how to incorporate modern technology features and systems in a way that lets the builder control the cost and the installation process while delivering systems that are easy to use and don't create call-back nightmares.

That question is even more important as builders are dangled attractive offers from telecom and cable companies to run fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) infrastructures beneath the pavement of their new-home developments. Of course, those telecom companies, like Verizon and SBC, are looking to wrap up long-term relationships with your homebuyers for phone, high-speed Internet and expanded television services like video-on-demand (VoD). The FTTH takes care of getting the service to the outside of the house, but what then? Builders can do everything correct in terms of providing their buyers with the best FTTH system available outside the house, and then totally fail if they do not follow through inside the house. An inadequate structure inside the walls of the house can prove to be a chokepoint for data. If the system does not have proper capacity, homeowners will be unable to download music, movies, send large email and more. Options for inside the home include:

• Running separate structured wire (a combination of Category 5 (Cat 5) -- or more-expensive Category 6 (Cat 6) -- Ethernet cable and RG-6 coax)
• Running a coax-only system
• Offering a system based on the existing high-voltage power lines inside the walls, commonly referred to as a powerline carrier (PLC) solution
• Relying on wireless transmission, usually based on a system called Wi-fi.

In many circles, builders and their residential systems integrators have deemed structured wiring the right tool to overcome that chokepoint. This is not only for its download speed capabilities, but its ability to provide a broader potential upsell for the builder with multiroom audio components, home networks, home theaters, lighting control and more.

But how do you really upsell from a structured wiring installation? Often, builders rely on their custom integrator to handle it. But what if your own sales staff is shouldered with the responsibility of selling the system? TecHome Builder took a look inside a recent retrofit structured wiring installation to garner insights from the homeowner, integrator and manufacturer on the hot-button selling points for an initial system, upselling to accommodate audio, video and networking, and offering consumer guidance on their choices.

Homeowners' profile: The owners are transplants from New England, now working from their two-story, 3,200-square-foot California beach house.

Determining Customer Needs: Using probing questions, Irvine, Calif.-based integrator JWE pinpointed the customers' technology desires, which in turn helped its system designers and installers create the home's infrastructure connectivity.

"It's easy to lose sight of asking the right questions," says Tim Wilcox, vice president of JWE. "We can easily gloss over key questions that when asked smartly, do a better job of educating the customer and guiding the sale. Otherwise, the customer makes a less-educated decision, or just says, 'No.'"

Already knowing that the homeowners work from home, key lifestyle questions JWE asked included:

• Do you own an iPod?
• Do the members of your family have different music tastes?
• Would you and members of your family like to simultaneously listen to different music in different rooms of the house?
• Will you have more than one desktop or laptop computer in the home?
• Will you want shared access to a printer?
• Do you and your family ever simultaneously access the Internet?
• Do the members of your family have different tastes in television or movies?
• Do you and your family ever try to simultaneously watch different movies or TV shows?
• Do you download music from the Internet?
• Do you download videos from the Internet?
• Is it important to have the flexibility to move throughout the home with your laptop, untethered by a cable?
• Do you want a security system?
• Do you want a video security system that will bring up images from a front-door camera to different televisions in the home?
• Do you need multiple phone lines?
• Do you need digital voicemail?
• Do you want to automatically mute the music and television when the phone rings?
• Do you want to visually display the Caller ID on your television?

According to Wilcox, there are multiple reasons to explore infrastructure-wiring needs with homeowners. "Tangible advantages of structured wiring in our clients' minds include distribution of broadband Internet service, flexibility to choose or change between satellite or cable service, the ability to incorporate wired/wireless hybrid networks, and the fact that structured wiring creates a platform that allows for the gradual adoption of various technologies as the client becomes ready."

Based upon the responses to its questions, JWE determined the homeowners' goals to be:
Audio Entertainment -- Seamless entertainment in multiple zones at the push of a button, with local access to audio sources.
Video Entertainment -- Satellite TV distributed to various rooms.
Security -- Audio/video communication with visitors at the front door.
Home Network -- Wired and wireless data connectivity.
Telecommunications -- Connectivity of their phone system to video displays, built-in speakers and home network.

With the information-collection process complete, it was determined that the best system for the customer was structured wiring (bundled RG-6 and Cat 5) that allows a variety of connectivity upgrades in multiple areas of the home.

Setting an Installation Plan

In most cases, the builder and integrator will encounter homeowners who don't really know what they want. Thus, the burden is on the builder's and integrator's tech sales team to determine what sort of infrastructure is necessary to accommodate the homeowners' desires. The infrastructure plan for this job is:

Structured Wiring Panel -- The enclosure should be placed in a location that provides easy access for servicing or changes without compromising interior space or privacy. JWE suggests locating the panel in the 20-foot-by-20-foot home office above the garage for easy access yet on an interior wall to minimize wiring difficulty. The wiring will be run in star topology with each drop home run to the enclosure.

According to Richard Frank, vice president of LeisureTech Electronics, creators of the A-BUS Cat 5 wiring platform, says builders should be selling structured wiring as just another utility with their homebuyers. "Just as plumbing isn't added after a house is built, the same is true for structured wiring."

Darrel Hauk, CEO and president of Costa Mesa, Calif.-based Channel Vision, a structured wiring manufacturer, echoes those sentiments. "Structured wiring is the basis for technology [information] distributed in the home and it's being installed in more than 50 percent of the homes built in the U.S. Any home being built today without this is sub-standard and doesn't carry the same home values. Installing structured wiring after the fact is considered to cost four to six times the cost of the pre-construction installation."

Meanwhile, another plausible sales tip for infrastructure wiring is its vital nature for distributing video content throughout a new home. According to Hauk, "Video content comes in many different forms as satellite and cable TV compete for our business. Wiring now with 1GHz cable is inexpensive and leaves options for the future. Wiring for satellite, antenna, cable TV and satellite radio allows the flexibility to never be locked into just one service offering. The broadband frequency in cable will transfer technology now and for our entire lifespan."

Wiring -- Obviously, retrofits are more difficult than new construction. The plan is to use the full attic access to its best advantage to minimize disruption and cost. Outside trim should be used to hide wires. The plan is to use an on-wall channel from manufacturer Wiremold in office and garage to route wires more easily.

Multiroom Audio -- The integrators will use a new home entertainment system with a Harman Kardon receiver in the master bedroom as the source component for distributing audio throughout the home. JWE resolves to use A-BUS technology for sending the multiroom audio system signals to multiple zones, including:

Zone 1 Master bedroom/master bath/deck with local input of TV and an iPod
Zone 2 Exercise Room with local input of TV and iPod.
Zone 3 Spare bedroom with local input of TV and other
Zone 4 Upstairs bath
Zone 5 Office with local input of TV and an iPod
Zone 6 Garage with local input of TV and other
Zone 7 Front garden

Security -- There will be connectivity to a video camera at the front door with two-way audio.

Telephone -- Owner has three lines coming in to the home -- home, business and fax. Drops are required in primary rooms.

Data -- Wired connection is required in the upstairs rooms. A single wireless node was installed upstairs in the attic, requiring that a Cat 5 connection be run to that location.

Installation of structured wiring in new homes is far easier than in existing homes. In retrofits, you never quite know what challenges you're going to find when you run your wires. In this case, technicians visited every room and the attic, with locations determined for cable runs, keypad locations and iPod docking stations. And then reality hit ... some runs were harder than others, speaker locations changed a bit as did some A-BUS control modules.

"When starting a retrofit project, effective preplanning is critical," says Wilcox. "Develop a contingency plan in the event you encounter barriers to executing the desired plan. If you are ever talking to a new-home buyer be sure to educate them on the drastically different cost associated with performing an installation now vs. later."

When selling the infrastructure, builders should not always be the minimum requirement. Just because the homeowner does not download videos from the Internet today, does not mean he won't be doing it in the near future. To that end, the experienced crew from JWE gave strong advice to the homeowners to run extra wires for future considerations. For example, extra Cat 5s were run from the media niche in the master bedroom to the panel to allow for easy insertion of an A-BUS multi-source audio hub in the near future. Extra Cat 5s and coax were also run to the garage area to provide easy access to phone, data and audio for the owner's future renovation of the garage.

In the end, the California beach house project required 250 feet of coax for video, 400 feet of Cat 5 to power modules, 250 feet of Cat 5 for remote sources, 465 feet of 16-gauge speaker wire, 180 feet of Ethernet cable for data, and 100 feet of Ethernet cable for wireless Internet node. THB

Basic Structured Wiring Sales Tips

Tim Wilcox, vice president of Irvine, Calif.-based integrator JWE, says, "When selling to families, focus on lifestyle advantages. Discuss the advantages of simultaneous users sharing high-speed Internet. If children are of school age, suggest that a networked home may increase the educational advantages available to their children when compared to homes without structured wiring.

"When selling to anyone, suggest the practical reality that their home will be more competitively positioned should they ever sell it. Since the average homebuyer stays in their homes less than five years and technology continues to move forward, homes that are prepared to intelligently distribute voice/video/data are certain to be more desirable."

Richard Frank, vice president of LeisureTech Electronics, creators of the A-BUS Cat 5 wiring platform, says builders should be using the analogy of structured wiring as just another utility with their homebuyers. "Just as plumbing isn't added after a house is built, the same is true for structured wiring. Put in the wiring structure you need now."

Darrel Hauk, CEO and president of Costa Mesa, Calif.-based Channel Vision, a structured wiring manufacturer, says, "Structured wiring is the basis for technology [information] distributed in the home and it's being installed in more than 50 percent of the homes built in the U.S. Any home being built today without this is sub-standard and doesn't carry the same home values. Installing structured wiring after the fact is considered to cost four to six times the cost of the pre-construction installation."

Data Sales

"Today's family is a connected family. Be sure to plan for data connectivity and access anywhere in the home you want to connect, or print, or download or access your music," advises Frank.

"Data communication goes beyond just computer sharing," says Hauk. "Placing Cat 5 in all of the major locations of the house allows new technology to be installed by using your patch panel in the structured wiring enclosure and expand the future demands of the house. Our kitchens are already ordering food when we are running low...thanks to modern intelligence. Teleconferencing, voice recognition, a truly connected world of computer networks will be a part of every major home and appliance soon, shouldn't you build it in now and truly be ready for the future?"

Audio Sales

Key questions builders should ask homeowners include:

• Which rooms do you want to be able to enjoy music? (Sells multiroom)
• Will more than one person at a time want their particular music? (Sells multi-source capability)
• Is there an iPod or MP3 player in the family? (Sells the benefit of Local Input Modules (LIMs))
• Do you like to watch TV in bed? (Sells the advantage of LIMs for TV)

"It's important to ask the right questions because most times the consumer doesn't know enough to ask them. You have to intelligently lead them through the process," says Hauk.

Wilcox advises, "People want multiroom audio because they can! Music distribution can brighten every day and add magic to any evening spent entertaining. Some people are passionate about their music, while others may just be seeking a pleasant background distraction.

"Make sure to take the time to educate your prospect on what multiroom audio really is. It's not an intuitive category, and many people who may love it likely have never had it and possibly never seen it before. Find out if your prospect listens to digital music via an MP3 player or portable satellite radio and share the concept of connecting these sources to a home system. When providing a demonstration, focus on the simplicity of individual room control for the user."

Security Sales

Key questions builders should ask homeowners include:

• Would you like to be able to see who is at the door? (Sells basic security)
• Are you home alone frequently? (Emphasizes need for security)
• Would you like to be able to know your home is securely locked? (Illustrates how security provides peace of mind)

"Integrating security in the home not only protects your assets while you're away but keeps you safe while at home," says Hauk. "With today's features in the alarm and surveillance you never even have to open the door to a stranger. With an alarm system, if anyone should get in, wouldn't you want a one-touch button to alert the police? Or how about the convenience of doing the yard work and being able to answer the door from your wireless phone, and then press a code to unlock the door so they can come in."

Telecommunications

Key questions builders should ask homeowners include:

• How many rooms need a phone connection?
• Do you want to be able to answer your front door via your phone?

"Placing a telephone connection in every room allows you to communicate room-to-room on your phones. Do you have children? When they become teenagers they dominate the phone -- trust me -- I know! Cat 5 for your phone in all of the rooms gives you the ability to change phone lines for individual rooms," says Hauk.