Volume 19, Issue 15 — April 21, 2021

rAVe ProAV Edition — Volume 19, Issue 15

April 21, 2021 | Volume: 19 | Issue: 15

Did any of you #AVtweeps catch rAVe [TV] today? If so, you may have an idea of what I’m going to discuss in this newsletter intro. (rAVe [TV] is a little TV show that Gary and I started where we talk about anything and everything. We love chatting about the latest AV trends, but we also love chatting about … whatever we want. Check out all our episodes here.)

First thing I want to bring up: Gary wrote a blog this week detailing the global chip shortage. Why do we care about this? Because while it is seemingly affecting other markets first, it will hit us if it hasn’t already. Gary gives tips on how to prep for this in AV. Check it out.

Scott Tiner writes this week about the challenges of selling services. We talk about selling services a lot in our industry. What does that mean, though? How can we be better at doing it? Tiner cites a Harvard Business Review article to help us frame our thinking about how to go about selling services the right way.

Finally, our pal Brian Rhatigan over at Almo Pro A/V wrote a blog about the idea of a flexible hybrid working environment. Honestly, there are so many adjectives I’ve seen used to describe the work environment we’re catapulting into, but he makes great points about the type of hardware we should be investing in. (Hint: It should be easy to take back and forth from the office to home.)

Catch some product releases/updates this week from the likes of Atomos, Luxul, Nureva and more. Also, congrats to HD Distributing for hiring Mark Coxon as its Western regional sales director. We’re a big fan of Mark Coxon over here (you’ve definitely read some of his blogs — you can read all of them here), and we can’t wait to see what he does in his new role!

— Steph Beckett

COLUMNS

+ How the Chip Shortage Could Decimate the AV, UCC and Digital Signage Markets and How You Can Avoid Its Effects [Gary Kayye]

Do not underestimate what I am about to tell you. In case you haven’t been reading the tech sections of the newspapers lately, there’s a global semiconductor shortage (branded as the “chip shortage of 2021”) and, although it hasn’t affected our market yet, it will, starting in late July.

+ The Challenges of Selling Services [Scott Tiner]

I always anxiously await the arrival of my copy of the Harvard Business Review. While I realize that may sound a bit nerdy, I think it is an amazing resource for anyone who thinks about leadership, management and business operations. In the March/April edition, there is a story called “How to Shift from Selling Products to Selling Services.” It is a great piece that can easily apply to the AV industry.

+ A Flexible Approach to a Hybrid Working Environment [Brian Rhatigan]

Whether you have recently attended Almo’s E4v learning experience or have been keeping up on industry topic discussions — undoubtedly conversations about what the return to the physical office will look like have been in the forefront. If you are like me, you probably feel there are more questions than answers at this point and will be paying close attention to this fluid situation.