Latest headlines: Kayye’s Krystal Ball is officially out, Mark Coxon on the ins and outs of selling technology, plus news from Kramer & more
January 28, 2021 | Volume: 15 | Issue: 2
Sometimes, you just want to hear someone’s opinion on a matter. (Sorry, Dr. Fauci, we love science and all its political correctness; but it’s true.) We’re humans and we connect with others by feeding off their knowledge and insights and energy — especially when times are tough. In “When Do I Think Live Events Will Return?” Gary Kayye gives us just what we want on the matter — a perspective. What’s his prediction for when (if?) live events will return? Read the story to find out.
Oh, yeah, speaking of predictions. They’re definitely a thing this week, and they continue with Kayye’s Krystal Ball 2021. Did you catch Gary’s exclusive with Almo Pro A/V where he delivered it live? If not — or even if so — you can catch up here. A particular bit I love from the article is the “Here’s what will happen with the __________ market:” section. We hear his predictions on verticals from higher ed and houses of worship to hospitality and healthcare. And importantly for you, live events!
If you’re looking to get ahead of the curve yourself, gathering key thought leadership and data to develop some predictions of your own, we have a suggestion: sign up for LAVNCH WEEK 3.0, which will take place Feb. 9-11. It’s going to be great. I’m not much of a gambler, but that’s one prediction I would definitely put my money on.
If you’re a regular reader of my content, you already know this, but for those who don’t, my Kayye’s Krystal Ball piece is an annual article where I not only tell you what I think is going to happen in the AV, UCC and Digital Signage markets for the upcoming year, but I also look back and review the previous year’s predictions — sort of a scorecard of accuracy, if you will. 2020 sucked and surprised us all, so it was more than humbling to start this article by reviewing what I predicted for 2020.
As technology salespeople, it is very tempting to have early conversations around technology itself. I’ve attended job walks or integrator interviews where the representative of a technology company quickly turns a discussion about a room into questions about how many inputs and outputs the company needs on their switcher or what brand of control system they like best.
Decimated by COVID-19, most that are still standing have turned to virtual events. But, in those cases, you are trading dollars for dimes. Live events will not make any sort of significant recovery in 2021, I am sad to say. I miss them as much as anyone. However, until we have the great majority of the population vaccinated — likely by August 2021 — we will see a shuttering of most live events.