We’ve written countless articles about it. There are conference sessions focused on it. In fact, there’s even an entire two-day conference—NSCA’s Pivot to Profit—dedicated to it.
Yet, there remains a lot of resistance to and confusion about how and why AV integrators should follow the lead of their IT brethren and make the transition from a focus on hyping products and hang-and-bang projects to creating solutions and building long-term relationships.
The only way—or, at the very least, the BEST way—of making that move is going from the tried-and-true, long-successful project-based philosophy to one centered on managed services. Not only does it help you make a deeper and wider connection with your clients, it can make you more money too.
So, what’s your objection again?
Yes, we’ve heard from those who’ve made the transition to a managed services model that it’s not easy and that it takes a while, but we also learned at the Total Tech Summit that if you signed one client to a $1,000 managed services contract every month, you’d have an extra $78,000 by the end of the year.
For those who need help with the math, here’s the proof:
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12=78.
Maybe you’re hesitating on making the move to a service-based model because your sales team only knows how to sell products and close big deals focused on one-off projects.
If that’s the case, you need to find a different sales team, one that understands how to sell service and why they should do it.
If you’re worried about upsetting or losing customers when you make the move from a project-based model to one centered on services, think about how many subscriptions you pay for in your everyday life. You pay one for your phone, you probably pay one for your TV service and maybe for music too.
Heck, you even pay one for your security system and you might even pay for someone to bring you food, whether it’s from a grocery store or a company that brings all the ingredients you need to make a healthy, delicious meal.
Subscriptions and service models have become a way of life for us these days and it’s something IT companies have been doing for years, because they figured out it’s a more efficient and profitable way for them to do business.
Subscriptions and service models have become a way of life for us these days and it’s something IT companies have been doing for years, because they figured out it’s a more efficient and profitable way for them to do business.
Why is it taking AV integrators so long to realize the same thing?
Our 2019 Integrator of the Year, Solutionz, offers a couple of unique services that have helped the company grow from one that started in a Pepperdine University dorm room in 2001 to a $150 million business with their sights set on becoming the largest integrator in the pro AV space.
Solutionz has a grant writing team that helps customers navigate the complicate world of federal grants to help customers in education, health care, government and more find grants that might otherwise never get secured and to build systems they couldn’t otherwise afford.
They also have a program that ensures everything in a room they install, not just the products with “brains,” but also the furniture and other aspects that aren’t traditionally covered by integrators. It’s a hybrid managed services-AV as a Service model that’s been a differentiator for them, they say.
If you’re not ready to jump all the way into the managed services pool, try one piece of it in 2020. It can be remote monitoring, it can be on-site staffing, it can be digital signage content creation or myriad other options.
Read Next: Common Objections to Managed Services Contract and How To Respond to Them
We think you’ll be happy with the results and surprised how receptive your customers are.
