Whether you like it or not, if you work in AV today, the reality is you’re in IT. I know a lot of people cringed at the very thought of becoming everything they’ve worked so hard to avoid, but try to set up an AV system for one of your clients today without using any IT tools to do it. [related]
I know all too well that there’s a certain level of…let’s call it “resistance” whenever the idea of AV as a Service comes up these days, not only because it means so many different things to so many people but also in part because it’s a reminder that AV wouldn’t really exist today without IT.
If you’re in Forth Worth, Texas, this week for the 2019 Total Tech Summit, you’re hearing all about selling AV in an IT environment. If you don’t walk away from that session with more of a focus on networked AV and selling AVaaS, you must be a little too lost in the smell of barbecue.
Why AVaaS is Important
You know it better than I do as someone whose job it is to run a business and to increase the profits for that business: leading with talk about the products you want to install for your customers is likely to get you a polite decline to do the work. Clients today want to know how you can solve their problems.
They don’t care about SKUs and part numbers and they’re less likely to be dazzled by complexity than they are to be thankful for simplicity. They also like the idea of paying for the solution you’re providing them as part of a monthly service plan that includes regular check-ins by you and easy upgrades.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, all of those things have been embedded in the IT world for a while now and AV is continuing to reluctantly come around to that way of thinking. Don’t be the last one left in the old world. I know it’s hard to admit, but AV wouldn’t exist these days without IT.
The sooner you realize it, the better off you’ll be and the more quickly you’ll be able to reap the rewards.
If you don’t have an AVaaS strategy, ask someone who does to teach you about theirs before it’s too late. The good news is more companies than ever are making the transition. Then again, that’s also bad news for you if you’re not one of them yet.
