Digital signage has gone from simple 2×2 video walls to monstrous installations in any shape you can imagine, but the unlimited possibilities can make for frustrating installs. On an April 6 LAVNCH & LEARN, Megan A. Dutta will be joined by Mark Coxon and Ryan Reviello to discuss the best practices for handling unique digital signage installations. “I’m excited […]
We live in a world of endless online meetings. Want to make yours stand out? Add a hands-on component. Now, how do you do that? Listen to this Selling AV episode to find out. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS
If you’re an AV Professional, should you know the math behind your system designs? Does the math really matter? Find out on this episode of #SellingAV! Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS
As salespeople, we are always eager to tell the story of how we help customers. It’s not a bad story to tell, but perhaps it’s better to start with learning a little about the person on the other side. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS
It’s tempting to use slides as a crutch and read them like a script to the audience (or even have them read along). However, this is a bad idea for several reasons. Get my two tips on better presentations in this episode. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS
As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S., I sat down to reflect on what I’m thankful for this year. And, as always, it’s #AVTweeps. It made my heart so incredibly happy to see so many of my AV friends at InfoComm this year in Orlando. Throughout the pandemic, we’ve been using technology to […]
This time, I have a conversation with Farisa Ahmed and Barry Grossman — plus, I’m joined by a guest co-host, Mark Coxon, to discuss workforce development in Episode 7 of Alexis AV Talk. While attending a monthly industry meeting, Barry made himself available as a resource for anyone interested in learning more about the audiovisual industry. Farisa introduced herself and […]
Lately, there’s a lot of focus on the sales technique of “challenging” customers and their business decisions. I’m all for challenging assumptions, but the way you do it makes all the difference. So tune in to hear my thoughts on what to say … and what not to. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: […]
It’s good to have an idea of your goal for a meeting, but — of course — you don’t want your meeting to be overly scripted. Learn how to keep EQ in the equation for achieving your desired outcome. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS
We spend way too much time upfront combating the consumerization of AV. This week I address how to capitalize on momentum of consumer tech experiences to lead into your professional AV sale. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS
OK, so I’m clearly on a storytelling kick. Tim Duncan asked about storytelling on Twitter, so I thought I’d share an effective and interactive story I’ve found myself telling more than once. Enjoy! Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS
If you’ve been telling people about your product or service and find that they’re just not responding, perhaps you need to tell better stories. In this Selling AV, I talk about how to do just that. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS
Mark sits down to talk with Carlos Carrasquillo about his journey into design and architecture, how space can inspire behavior and how we use it to build community.
If you’re in sales, you’ve heard plenty of advice on how to close, get the sale, get the PO, win. Today, I ask you to consider switching your perspective to adding value instead. Listen to find out how changing your thinking can change your outcome. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS
When going in for a big presentation, salespeople often spend quite some time creating what they believe is the perfect deck of slides to best promote their company and its products and services. However, overdependence on the “sales presentation” may just be blocking your chances of success. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS
HD Distributing just hired Mark Coxon as its new Western regional sales director. Coxon will manage the HD sales efforts in the Western region, with an emphasis on the direct-view LED market. Coxon will be responsible for driving revenue and increasing awareness across all of HD Distributing’s LED-focused solution set. He will also oversee rollouts […]
I sit and talk to Jay Myers about his book “Rounding Third and Heading Home: The Emotional Journey of Selling My Business and the Lessons I Learned Along the Way.” Jay shares lessons he learned over the 22 years he spent building his AV business, eventually resulting in a sale to the world’s largest integrator. […]
What does a plastic shovel have to do with selling technology? Great Question! Tune in to find out! Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS
Within the amazing evolution of AV this past year, we’ve seen new solutions along the lines of UCC, digital signage, dvLED, projection, voice/gesture control and so much more. What will be the keys to 2021 success? Preparation, connection and agility, Rich Ventura of Sony said as he joined the LAVNCH WEEK 3.0 welcome segment to […]
As I hope you’ve now heard, LAVNCH WEEK 3.0 — three full days of exceptional AV, UCC and Digital Signage-focused education slash content slash thought leadership offering AVIXA CTS RUs — is happening next week. Taking place Feb. 9-11, LAVNCH WEEK 3.0 (what we sometimes like to shorten to LW3 when character counts are tight) […]
The look, feel, and workflow a space needs to provide are not always easily found on the floor plan. This week, I answer a question from Graham Kirkpatrick on how to better align our systems with furniture, fixtures, and equipment to create efficient and cohesive designs. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS
I think I can confidently say that we’re tired of hearing about “Unprecedented Times” and “The New Normal.” The truth is that things are always in flux, and there are always businesses that are making money hand over fist while others are struggling to get by. Sure, a global pandemic and economic meltdown has caused […]
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 […]
In the greater context of AV systems and design, Mark Coxon asked in his Tech Talk presentation for LAVNCH WEEK today, “Why do we bother with all this stuff?” There’s no ONE answer to using audio and video to tell a good story. So how do we do it? Turns out a lot of the […]
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 […]
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
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
