December '07 Results
It wasn't that many years ago that we did business using the Yellow Pages and fax machines as primary business tools. My first email system only worked inside the office and being able to send faxes from the computer was absolutely the biggest timesaver ever. Now email consumes an inordinate amount of time when compared how much it saved when first introduced. The December 07 Trends Survey asked about how you are dealing with the unproductive aspects of this mission-critical office tool - email.

Half the respondents work at firms with over forty employees and half of all firms have either a dedicated IT person or a corporate IT department. Two-thirds either agree or strongly agree that Spam has become a major distraction. Spam filtering tools have become commonplace with rules based programs and blacklists receiving the most votes as either effective or very effective methods.

The final question was about digital security and the changes implemented at your firms over the past couple of years. In general the responses suggest that IT security has become a major focus. A few answers sound like things may have gone a little too far. Download the results and decide for yourself.

January Survey Preview
This month's survey explores suppliers, sub-rentals, and wholesalers in particular. Share your views and learn what everyone else is thinking. Take the January survey at this link.

Hi Tom,
We've been discussing the cable article and beefing up our inventory to cover the cross rentals. My question is what you would suggest in the "package"? We've kicked around several suggestions but I don't really think any of them is going to save us the time I would like in preparation.

Glad to hear that the cable article provoked some discussion. There is no short answer to your question, but I suggest that you start with whatever your operations staff considers a typical order. I would look through the past several months orders and pick a group that are basically the same. For instance a one screen breakout with podium mic, two wireless, and two client computers.  Could you agree on a stock package of ac cables, power strips, VGA-VGA, BNC, XLR, RGBHV, gaff tape, etc...? For small packages like this , figure out what you know you'll need and add 25% (which may be only one cable, but you want to have some contingency).

Depending on what your business mix is like, you may not need blended packages with multiple cable types. In my background at a large stager, we had small, medium, and large of everything. A small AC kit would handle a small meeting or two breakouts. It also contained power strips and gaff tape with its selection of AC cables. A small mic cable kit would support a 16 ch mixer or a couple of breakouts. It was not unusual to send two mediums of a particualr kit
if we were out of larges or supplement a large with a small or medium.

Cable kits are important, but you want to create accessory kits as well. You might call it a work box, show kit, or crash kit - but in every sense it is all the little adpaters and specialty cables that you MIGHT need. These need to be defined and QC'd just like everything else. Once you start neglecting your show kits the process of searching for little items starts all over again. Remember, the time to re-stock kits is in between - in between show pulls, in between busy days, in between now and when you go home. And the key to making this all work is investing in enough cable and accessories that you always have stock to keep the kits in service.

Have a question? Email it to me.

 

What Clients Love

Harry Beckwith has written several great books including another I recommend called Selling the Invisible. This month I want to profile What Clients Love because it is so accessible. Anyone can pick this up, open to any page, and find something that will make them think. It contains hundreds of short chapters ranging from twenty-word snippets of wisdom to simple essays on everyday business challenges. I often use it to research an idea or just to get inspired. To sum up, Beckwith is a marketing genious and if you want to punch up your sales and marketing efforts this is a great place to start.