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 his 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.
State of the AV Industry 2021: The Year Integrators are Needed More Than Ever
“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:
Communication – to employers, partners and strategic partners; current clients, past customers
“Remind everyone you’re still here, where your business is focused and what you’re planning for right now,” said Stimson.
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.
