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Want more $ from the AV clients
your company already has?

I've worked so many jobs where the client arrives on the jobsite with expectations that aren't met with the AV gear that has been delivered & setup.

Asking the right questions in the beginning means more $ for you, and happier clients that are more likely to return again & again (aka more $). Even if a sales rep at a hotel is the client's only point of contact, then it's even more important that they ask questions like these. They're compensation will rise too, and that's likely their only motivation.

Would you like a fastfold screen with fancy drapes of an ordinary tripod screen?

A fastfold is more $ for you and the facility if you are in-house, and most times the client doesn't know the difference. How about starting off with the fast fold, and then throttling back to a tripod if and only if the client balks at the quote.

Would you like to play music while your guests are arriving/during cocktails or dinner?

Rent them a computer audio interface/di at a minimum if they're using their own ipod, or rent them an ipod full of non-threatening jazz, or classic rock, or whatever. They'll appreciate that you care about their event enough to ask. You might even get to subcontract a DJ or band if the mood hits them.

What do you want on the LCD projector during guest arrival/cocktails/dinner?

People may think about their ppt presentation (hopefully!), but rarely any other times. How about projecting their company logo up there at other times? You could rent them a switcher and a laptop for just the logo, that way you wouldn't have to edit their ppt presentation & you could accomodate another speaker with their own laptop if that happens last minute.

What do you want to show on the LCD projector between ppt presentations?

Showing off the windows desktop between ppt presentations is amateur-hour. Rent them a switcher that can switch to black, or switch to another laptop running ppt blanked ("B" key).

Do you have a presenter that likes to walk around?

Then you can rent them a lav wireless mic instead of a podium mic. They'll be happier because their presenter is happier, and you make $ out of thin air.

Would they like someone on-site to help them with their presentations or in case there are technical problems? More $ on AV labor that wasn't there before. I'm nothing more than a walking insurance policy sometimes, and that's just fine.

Any of your presenters bringing a mac?

You may not be able to make anything renting them a mac vga dongle, but you'll certainly be a hero in their eyes. The percentage of presenters that forget/deny the existence of this critical part is staggering.

By asking about their needs you are also showing clients how much you care about them. Powerful stuff in an environment as competitive as AV has become.