I spend some time on Twitter, and yesterday I noticed a lot of online chatter happening around a panel rAVe put together for LAVNCH WEEK 2.0. Kudos to the staff at rAVe for curating the speakers, because to my knowledge, the people on the panel and the groups they represent had never been assembled together […]
This week’s selling AV topic came from Chris Neto on Twitter who asked “How do you host a dynamic sales presentation online?” Tune in to hear 3 quick and easy ways to make sure you engage your audience in a way that makes sure the most relevant content is what they remember. Podcast: Play in […]
Last week was InfoComm week, one of the most anticipated events each year for the ProAV market. After purchasing floor space, building exhibits, flying in staff, and entertaining customers, many companies spend 6 or even 7 figures showcasing their products and services at InfoComm. Based on the enormous outlay, these companies naturally look to maximize […]
2020 is the year of remote everything. It has been a work from home, webinar heavy, travel light year for the whole country and, of course, for us in the AV industry as well. As such, our biggest events of the year have all been canceled or shifted into the ether. Many have been clamoring […]
This Selling AV question came from Brad Orme at Cinemassive: “How do you set yourself apart from the competition during the sales process?” Absorb these 4 tips in 5 minutes to learn how. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Android | RSS
This Selling AV topic came from Patty Wanzer through Twitter. “How do you determine the client’s budget?” I invited Jarrod Hillman of Hillman AV to help me tag team this in a special Selling AV. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Android | RSS
In 1966, architect Cedric Price famously said, “Technology is the answer, but what was the question?” Could we be living in a time where this statement was ever more true than today? Take a stroll through LinkedIn and you will see a plethora of technology posts, all proclaiming that the solution to your problems is […]
If you’re reading anything online about business right now, it is likely pontificating about what businesses will look like when the world goes back to work. It’s all about the new normal, the post-COVID-19 workplace shuffle and the pandemic pivot — all of which sound like they could be performed on “Dancing with the Stars,” […]
Join me and my guest Paul Chavez from Arup Consulting at Phantom Carriage Brewery in Gardena, CA We talk about sours, about Arup, and all things AV. Pull up a chair, grab a beer, and hang out with us!
This Selling AV question came from Lance Feldenkress on Twitter, “How do you best qualify an opportunity?” I initially look for these three things. Tune in to find out what they are. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Android | RSS
On this episode, I talk to Meg Sciarini Smith about experiential design, defining outcomes, and directing a successful place based experience.
My oldest daughter is extremely smart. She is artistic, creative and is an amazing writer. She does very well in school; however, her one challenge has always been math. She usually starts slow and then builds steam toward the end of the year. As parents, we always reinforce that the thing that matters most is […]
I did something today that I have never done before. I Googled the words Alexa and Crestron together. This may not seem like a big deal, but for me it was. In commercial systems, unlike their residential counterparts, there has not been a huge push towards voice control yet. The office is not an intimate […]
So, unless you’ve been under a rock, you’ve seen hundreds of posts about remote work, video conferencing and collaboration in the last few days. The craziness of today’s events has forced companies to adopt video conferencing and remote collaboration solutions on a scale that we haven’t seen. Some think that this bodes well for the […]
If you’re like me, you’ve seen a slew of articles about “opportunities” for the AV industry during the current pandemic. Most of these are marketing pieces, meant to promote a manufacturer’s products or to promote services by addressing the fear, uncertainty and doubt that is part of the current Zeitgeist. Work form home solutions and […]
In this time of increased demand for remote work solutions, we need to make sure we’re adding value and easing fears, as opposed to opportunistically capitalizing on them. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Android | RSS
I remember reading a book back in the late ’90s called “Why Big Fierce Animals Are Rare” by Paul Colvinaux. It was one of the first ecology books I read, and although the science was still evolving itself, there are a couple points in the book that have stuck with me over time and that […]
Sometimes you read an article that makes you say “I need to interview that person!” Well this was that article and David Dewane was that person. Tune in to hear some amazing thoughts and ideas on people, space, and today’s modern workplace. Cedric Price’s Fun Palace concept is here as well- http://www.interactivearchitecture.org/fun-palace-cedric-price.html
Are you a brand trying to reap the benefits of Social Media without actually putting in the work to be social? Find out why that’s a bad strategy on this Selling AV. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Android | RSS
There’s a tendency to over-complicate the simple and over-simplify the complicated. How fancy should you be with your designs? Find out here. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Android | RSS
A couple months ago, I saw a post from Liberty AV on social media. It showed a picture of a device that seemed to wirelessly share a laptop to a larger display. There are a lot of devices that allow someone to share their screen wirelessly to a display — Barco ClickShare, Crestron Air Media, […]
Collaboration had to be one of the most-used buzzwords of the last half decade. It’s been used to describe everything from wireless screen sharing to interactive flat panels to teleconferencing to cloud-based file sharing apps. Marketers LOVE to slap “collaboration” on their boxes and press releases. I even heard a story about a sales rep slapping […]
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom. It’s not just a catchy Mazda slogan, but it’s also the tale of the last few projects I’ve worked on. In a world where we hear many that like to complain software and hardware companies are talking to customers directly and that the scourge of “good enough” is ruining our businesses, I […]
I hope everyone is having a great holiday season! It’s the day after Christmas, which means for many of us, yesterday was the culmination of a long build-up of anticipation. Planning family gatherings, curating the holiday meal menus, baking cookies, making fudge and braving the web and the local retailers to find that perfect gift […]
After writing a couple blogs in 2017 about the equally loved and hated potential of “as a Service” (aaS) models to take off in AV, I took a break for a while and watched as the industry discussed the idea. If you missed my original posts on this, you can catch up here: AV as […]
This week I’m in flooding social media with a rant in a common way everyone starts their presentations. Click play to hear why you should never start a meeting with your “About Us” slide. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Android | RSS
Earlier this month I had the amazing opportunity to be the master of ceremonies at AVIXA’s AV Executive Conference (AVEC). I’m still not sure why they entrusted a room full of leaders and executives to me, but I’m so happy they did because I had an amazing experience. Why was it amazing? Well, for one, […]
Earlier this month at Microsoft Ignite, Microsoft announced that soon Microsoft Teams, the company’s web based video meeting and productivity applications, would be natively compatible with Zoom and later WebEx. If you missed this part of the story, rAVe founder Gary Kayye wrote about it here and it’s been a very popular article, especially in […]
Big meetings can be nerve-wracking, and it’s tempting to plan your responses down to the letter. This week I talk about the difference between being prepared and being scripted. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Android | RSS
Sometimes we need to leave tech speak behind and adopt analogies that everyone can understand. Today I offer a fun way to talk about audio. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Android | RSS
I often have people ask me how they maintain profitability in a world where technology is becoming more and more commoditized and where the average selling price (ASP) of technology in each room seems to be decreasing year after year. I am sympathetic to these concerns for sure, as it is never a good thing […]
Seeing that this episode is 101, I thought I’d go back to basics. Responsiveness is the stone in your sling that will help defeat Goliath. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Android | RSS
