Commercial Integrator March 2021 - 34

BUSINESS Improvement
10 STEPS
AV INTEGRATORS
CAN TAKE TO
IMPROVE THEIR
BUSINESSES
IN 2021
Business consultant Tom Stimson highlights
10 ways AV integrators and live events pros
can transform their companies.
By D. Craig MacCormack
THE BEGINNING OF A NEW YEAR is the perfect time for business leaders to
reevaluate what they can do better in the next 12 months and how they can
become more successful - and presumably more profitable.
AV and live events business consultant Tom Stimson outlined a few ideas for
integrators to embrace in the new year in his recent webinar, " Ten Must-Dos to
Prep for 2021. "
Stimson sees a " vaccine rollout perfect storm " brewing, including a monetary
injection in the U.S., possible travel rebound in the summer, a re-globalization
of the U.S. with a new presidential administration and possible business events
expansion in the third quarter of the year.
Business leaders must ignore the " left-behind mentality " and understand
opportunities ahead for them, counteract the magnetism of the past and keep
the innovation going.
" You've made a choice, " said Stimson in the webinar. " Now what's the next
step for you to take? If you didn't get on board with whatever that new thing is,
there's always money to be made back there. "
Two-thirds of every industry are middle and late adopters to technology, said
Stimson.
" Innovators aren't driven by demand, " he said. " The innovators in our industry
were playing with live events tools long before there was a pandemic. The
visionaries were the ones who moved into that space at the beginning of the
pandemic and tried to figure it out.
" Early adopters anticipate demand based on a signal. They're making a bet
the signals they are seeing are going to take them in a direction where 'this'
matters. Pragmatists tend to align with demand, while conservatives follow
demand. Skeptics will wait until all their other choices are gone.
" Understanding where you fit in will help you make needed decisions, " he
said. " When does your decision to wait hurt your chances for future success? "
Stimson wondered which companies you would bet on to emerge stronger
post-pandemic and what are the qualities that will help them get stronger? He
has a few ideas that he thinks have universal application:
34
Commercial Integrator MARCH 2021
COMMUNICATION
" Remind everyone you're still here, where your business
is focused and what you're planning for right now, "
said Stimson. That means employers, partners and
strategic partners, current clients and past customers.
RESTORE WAGES
" Pay more to a few instead of less to many, " said Stimson.
" This is your last chance to reconsider your talent
and leadership mix. "
PROACTIVE SIMPLIFICATION
" Don't make your processes so convoluted
that you need more people to do it, " said
Stimson.
PROPOSAL TEMPLATES
Divide your work by lines of business, project
type, then buyer type and reuse successful language
in future proposals.
TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION
" Put an emphasis on customer-side virtual event
training, graphic design, animation, editing, proposal
writing, marketing, sales, etc., " said Stimson. " This will
help you be better with your customers. "
DEEPEN YOUR BENCH
Create redundancy in your resource team and use cost
benefit analysis when it comes to hiring full-time vs.
freelance workers
SEGMENT SERVICES FROM TRANSACTIONS
" Think of your business as microcosms of the supply
chain, " said Stimson. " Use different processes and sales
interfaces and decentralize account management as
you localize transactions to help your best customers
navigate for you. "
REFRAME SERVICE PROFIT MARGINS
" Anything less than 50 percent
gross profit is amateur hour, "
said Stimson. " If you can't
charge more, deliver less. Eliminate
the concept of discounts in service offerings. "
STANDARDIZED DELIVERABLES
" Custom is the enemy of outsourcing, " said Stimson.
" Deliver distinction. Don't customize what you sell. "
DEMOS/CAPABILITIES PITCHES
Develop them for early (best practices), middle (general
capabilities) and late-stage (recommendation) buyers.
" Someone who's ready to buy from you doesn't need
the same demo as someone who doesn't know what
questions to ask " said Stimson.
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Commercial Integrator March 2021

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