Vantage LED: information

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Wednesday, December 18, 2013

A year (plus) of Digital Signage information!

-Deacon Wardlow

It's that time of year again. The days, weeks, and months have FLOWN by and we're all in the countdown scramble to finish, close, and clean things up before the year's end. We hope the blog articles have been informative and helpful for you all and we're thankful for your readership, feedback, support, and encouragement. This makes article #151 (not bad, 151 articles written since this blog was started in April 2012).

We hope you all have safe and wonderful (very likely hard-earned) time away from work coming up over the holidays. We'll be picking up the articles again from January 8th. So much has been written and said over the last year and a half, it's worth a breakdown. If you find yourself with a moment (or a client in need of some answers), check out the information below (broken up, as best I could, into categories for easier information sourcing). Click on any title to go to the article. You can also search (in the search bar above) by a specific topic, author, or subject you're looking for. If you're a Vantage LED partner (or want to be one) definitely go to our site www.vantageled.com and checkout Vantage University. We've got some great courses (videos, presentations, resources, and tools) coming out in the year ahead and plenty in there for immediate use.

Happy Holidays (whatever you're celebrating) and have a safe and happy new year. See you in 2014!

-The "geek speak specialists" at Vantage LED blogspot.

Digital Signage Sign Tech & Spec:

Digital Signage Content:

Digital Signage Sales 101:

Why LED Signage?:

Costs for Digital Signage:

How much can an LED Sign Cost?
Short term gain, long term costs (cost of a "cheap" LED Sign)
"Value Line" vs. Single Level of quality (i.e. why there aren't iPhone or Droid "lite" versions)
Is an LED Sign (or any Digital Signage) an investment or a purchase?
Selling the value of a Digital Signage Solution (LED Sign, LCD, or other)

Digital Signage 'How To':

Digital Signage 'Need To Know':

Please comment here or send questions or requests for information to deacon@vantageled.com. Vantage LED has white paper resources and more educational material on the website (http://www.vantageled.com), please check it out when you have a moment. Note all posts/thoughts/writings are strictly the viewpoint of me and me alone and do not reflect nor speak for Vantage LED’s beliefs, attitudes, thoughts, etc. unless specifically noted.attitudes, thoughts, etc. unless specifically noted.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Digital Signage Sales 101: Build bridges, don't burn them.

-Deacon Wardlow

Some of the best opportunities of arisen from a simple, "No." Adversity is an opportunity to learn, grow, and improve. When a client isn't interested in your solution, that's an opportunity to find out why and see if there's a way to make your solution more interesting or appealing. Sometimes the solution just isn't required and you move on to other opportunities but perhaps by moving on too quickly, you just missed a big one.

I enjoy building bridges (metaphorically and literally). This probably started somewhere when I was in the Boy Scouts where I helped construct trail markers, steps on inclines and bridges over streams (better for the hikers and easier on the nature they're there to see). I quickly realized building bridges in life helped others cross the gap we all sometimes have around us. There are times when "burning that bridge" feels great, but you're left with no connection to the past and sometimes that connection can be a huge benefit to your future.

I once had a three hour conversation with a potential client. We talked about technology, discussed the sign industry and advances in design and form. The potential client asked me about software and developments and we discussed the pros and cons of different approaches and different manufacturers. At the end of the conversation, he thanked me for my time and said he had nothing for me but would keep in touch. At the end of a 3 hour conversation when the client said he had nothing for me, I thanked him for his time and followed up with him periodically with updates and additional information (even when I figured chances were good there wouldn’t be any sales opportunities with him).

That particular potential client hasn't bought a single thing since we spoke, but he has directed several new clients my way and is one of my greatest backers as far as referrals and "cheerleading" goes. I've had several people say to me Mr. Soandso just couldn't emphasize enough how important it was for them to call me as I would likely have the solution they were looking for. Building that bridge drove a lot of traffic my way which wouldn't have otherwise come around.

The bridge building takes place closer to home as well. I've seen people in jobs they dislike. For one reason or another the culture doesn't agree with them, the pay isn't high enough, they feel unsupported or it's just not a great fit. I saw two individuals leave a company one month apart from each other. The first to leave stormed into the office of his manager and dropped his computer, equipment and office items (thrown in a box) on the manager's desk saying, "This is my last day; you've got my home address and can send my paycheck there. I'm done." He stormed out (no explanation, no exit interview, no further exchange). The manager mailed the check and that was that. The second person to leave sat down with the manager and they had a long discussion as to what was working and what wasn't. At the end of the talk, they realized the fit wasn't working and he needed to go elsewhere.

The second employee to leave touched-base with the manager from time-to-time, the first was never heard from again. A few months after both had left, the manager received a few phone calls from companies checking on the ex-employees' work records. While he had little more to say on the first employee other than employment dates, the second employee received a commendation from him, a full background on his work (effort was great, just the culture fit wasn't there) and a solid referral.

How we leave a situation and how we follow-up makes a difference between building bridges and burning them. We can never be sure where and from whom an opportunity will arise. It's best to treat each situation with the most dignity, respect and hard effort as it makes a huge difference in not only how others perceive you but in how you ultimately see yourself. The next time temptation arises to burn a bridge, take a moment and realize there's a reason for a bridge's existence. Once a bridge is burnt, it's very difficult to cross the gap.

-DH

*I invite you to comment here and/or email me directly with requests at deacon@vantageled.com. Vantage LED has white paper resources and more educational material on the website (http://www.vantageled.com), please check it out when you have a moment. Note all posts/thoughts/writings are strictly the viewpoint of me and me alone and do not reflect nor speak for Vantage LED’s beliefs, attitudes, thoughts, etc. unless specifically noted.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Digital Signage "Need To Know": Educate yourself and your clients, before the competition does it for you!

-Deacon Wardlow

One of the great things about childhood, nobody expects a child to know things. We accept a child is generally ignorant of the world and things which are contained within it. A child can walk around blissfully unaware of anything and everything and people (generally) take extra efforts to help children learn and overcome their ignorance of things. It’s harder being an adult. At some point, between childhood and adulthood, ignorance isn’t acceptable anymore and it’s quite embarrassing to be caught off-guard. Why? What happened along the way?

Richard Feynman (a great philosopher, physicist and human being) was entranced by the unknown. He saw it as a personal challenge to explore and discover things. Feynman was amongst the mental giants of our history and he openly admitted to ignorance and the joy discovery can bring. The difference between childhood and adulthood is choice and knowledge. People are often afraid to admit ignorance because they don’t want to appear “lesser” in other’s eyes. Unfortunately this means we sometimes won’t admit to ourselves when we need to knuckle-down and bear into a new subject to overcome a lack of knowledge and familiarity. As a child, we didn't have as great a fear of failure. 'Can't' wasn't part of the child's vocabulary until someone taught it to them. We have to step up and reclaim the fearlessness and rid ourselves of the worries associated with learning something new (and potentially difficult to take in).

When you take that step towards overcoming any fears about taking on a new subject, you’ll see loads of new opportunities. Digital Signage (DS) is a rapidly growing segment in the sign industry as well as advertising and general mass communication systems. The problem with DS is there’s both an astounding lack of simple, concise explanations to learn more about systems and an increasingly insane amount of advertorials masked as educational information which do nothing to educate and everything to muddy the waters further.

There’s hope. You’re taking the first few steps by reading the blog and searching for information. There are a growing number of resources out there available for you to take advantage of. Check out the past blogs (I’ve posted a quick summary blog for easy reference here). The ISA has great resources on EMCs and a DS overview. The USSC (United States Sign Council) has several publications available to learn more. There are several free resources and people willing to help out; write myself and/or the other bloggers (Scott/Mike) if there’s a topic you’d like to see covered (we appreciate feedback and are always open to topic suggestions). Especially take time to join sites like LinkedIn or The Sign Syndicate (a great group of sign pros who are quick to share their experiences) and other professional networking groups online or in your municipality. There are loads of professional groups and individuals happy to give a little of their time to help you along.

By reading this blog and others, exploring and finding trusted educators willing to share you’re taking a step out of the darkness and into the light. Clients will come to you as the expert and expect you to drive out the ignorance and educate them on the best solution and fit for their needs. A little time invested now in this education will pay off immensely when you’re able to easily explain concepts and systems to the client while the competition struggles to get beyond the basics. Knowledge is power, make sure you're fully charged!

*I invite you to comment here and/or email me directly with requests at deacon@vantageled.com. Vantage LED has white paper resources and more educational material on the website (http://www.vantageled.com), please check it out when you have a moment. Note all posts/thoughts/writings are strictly the viewpoint of me and me alone and do not reflect nor speak for Vantage LED’s beliefs, attitudes, thoughts, etc. unless specifically stated.