Matt Dodd has an extended background in training and has served on the board of Cedia and as Director of Education.
He was Co-founder of smart home and residential integration company thinkingbrinks and is currently Managing Director of Clavia – a coaching and training development company that creates e-learning videos and explainer animations for the AV industry.
Highlights From This Episode
- There is a big difference between presenting and training.
- Training should be planned in a similar way to an AV system.
- Ongoing testing and evaluation is the only way to be sure a training has reached it’s objective.
- A one hour training seminar at a trade show is difficult to evaluate and execute on. That may be why the value of online training is growing.
Mentioned In This Episode
Clavia, Cedia, Dave Schoenbeck, Paul Harris, Avixa, SDVoE, Justin Kennington, TPLink, Nest
Transcript...
this is software defined survival where we explore how software defined systems are changing the business of E. V. I. T. today where do you find survival she’s will be during the matrix which %HESITATION and then you know what IT switch next to it in the same right why would you do she just wants to sell more products status their objectives get these people some this is my what product you pick up the Senate works the same exactly the same I urge people to try first of all before we do the research for you think about what the outcome of the training looks them business how you Chiles are you waiting the success of that learning people telling the thing we need to soon as great but it was really something last sparkle happy she thing to do during itself we do cool stuff and AV but sometimes it’s hard to explain it’s hard to explain our products it can be hard to explain how our systems work in a world where patience and attention are so limited it’s an even greater challenge so when I first saw the explainer in E. learning videos at Cleve your group dot com I was really impressed by the high quality and professional productions narrated by people who are obviously passionate about AV explainer videos are kind of a unique tool where education and training bumper right up against marketing and branding the benefits for product manufacturers are obvious and even integrators and technology owners can use explainer videos to train and users how to operate a system the managing director of clay via Matt Dodd shared with me a great idea of a betting these types of videos right in the touch panel now I’ve seen this done with web apps before and I think it’s a great way to get users up to speed on how to operate a system in a quick and fun way go to cleave your group dot com and check out some of the sample videos and then start thinking about how video can help get your message across welcome my name is Patrick Murray and today’s guest has an extended backgrounds in training and has served on the board of sedia ends as their director of education he was co founder of a smart home and residential integration company called thinking bricks and is currently manager managing director of Claudia you’ll have to correct me if I pronounce that right levy is all good that there is a coaching and training development company that creates you learning videos and explainer animations for the TV industry please welcome mat dot net welcome thank you very much is there anything about that introduction that you’d like to correct or expand I know knows I guess I’m not or cancel million online profiles of today could be easily really embarrassing that’s it it’s getting pretty obvious that I just go to the guests linkedin profile and quick synopsis of it so tell us how did you get started in AV I I always like to ask this question because nobody really grows up saying I want to work in the AV industry hardly anybody really even knows what it is until you get into it so so what’s your story how did you wind up in a well back in two thousand four and to the point to two thousand fool when all was well years old keep them on the my I’m on the court jokes on with true launch industry M. large corporate only the largest hospitality company in the world actually I’m gonna be voted system a networking Batman from streaming charts from the user perspectives on end user what begin a computer with a C. R. T. monitor what possibly not even an Intel processor so it was so nobody Kay and then you have to turn away all of their accounting processes %HESITATION on the machine might muscle from team on which we we should trucks around the U. K. helping people training people now seems things or treatment system so I did not from from an early age might not only I left college and went straight into hotel management and then from there went into training Sir well my about point my interest in a V. walls primarily amateur novel so much on I do play the drums up being rolled in bonds for many years but I never really thought that I was going to the set getting to a V. at the time in two thousand four honors at the stage where I was at a crossroads and I didn’t have any children most twenty seven years old and I just didn’t feeding style carried on the way I was going I was going to just become a number not able to do that because of the age where I could do something about it so I did I left and I left moving to Aviano I looked around various different industries what I want to do what they don’t have to be on is a skill set which was training and I really like the idea of of the of the lifestyle business and you know the resident chalet V. world time is starting to look really interesting the more more products available to people but not off the shelf so there was an opportunity to buy some stuff put it all together macular retracted and send it to people in that big house is I’m not so we started a sense of thinking bricks with money and business partner when we started from a blank piece of paper he too was from the corporate world so you know we like to think that it probably know we set up a business plan together and we started from zero tried to learn how to integrate the trades and %HESITATION I’m lost began the journey fit for the business and I had a personal goal I suppose but then it was gone leave my head %HESITATION is big move jumping to a corporate shipping zero the boat I’m not yeah I had a personal goal I would just like to potentially sold the business so I didn’t really want the job because I had a job I wanted to challenge and not challenge was senior credit business get it running and not to sell it within ten years ten years flying in there last night we went and it was really good really good %HESITATION churning we build an awesome business and it you know we did exactly what other lost all businesses were doing and we sold really cool stuff to reach people in London but during that time that’s when golden CDS because that training Forman pool failure if you will eat it was wholly different to what I was used to in the corporate world where everything is done by a process if if you will about me not to denigrate in a CD or any of the trade association but you know when you working for huge huge organization like the is is lots of people so of course it’s and rather than just be the moaning elegance and %HESITATION order what went in the store real people involved on my arms to senior install you could do this and will get better and this is what I bring to the table skill set and you know they did it in price that you know they were they were they thankfully the name Bryce inside come all help is help us to make it better on a mass how I ended up on the on the bold and and subsequently from the board I was unable to and my account for school work believe the education or should look like my work to the guys in the west and to do that stepped out of the golden and stepped in as the consumer education director to help them to grow their education %HESITATION failure on that profile and that’s exactly what we did and and you know when I left stop role and it’s more like my colleagues I am it’s great to see that continue to grow and now in a senior education in the NBA is is a whole lot different than what was back in the day I’m not gave me gave me some real faults about what I want to do next two thousand fourteen I sold my shares in my integration business ten years four months off to starting it so I want any more personal goal which is good and that’s where he was born months where and that’s when I decided I wasn’t going back and doing any kind of integration work on teacher but I want to defend starts and really helping people outlet to to get it right first time because more more people coming into the industry and they were turning just to see here which is great returning to the education for more help to to to grow which is great them but then you know there’s certain bits of education of people needs directly relating to product CCD being a trade association couldn’t be seen to be aligning with those products are there was still plenty of opportunities as independent going to to help them training and present training two groups of people and then I’m about three years ago I decided to move clay buffoon only residential focused company into a commercial I need the company as well so we moved hello training cool square largely down to networking Cisco qualification networking so helps and was doing %HESITATION floor network training at the time yeah I thought there’s a big world out there with with commercial so played yet now look softer and primarily is commercial and most of my business now is this to the commercial channel about sent on still I’m still very much in building residential and %HESITATION and then up until recently don’t have sars still trotting around the country almost like a date when I was over going and teaching people in the classroom I have a fairly unique ship I’ve got my hand stylus of training which works on my website proves that people really enjoy it we turn the power points off we get the chance out we do so it’s a ballooning we have good phones one is learn but that’s people can’t get to a training room all the time leading for most people it’s expensive also also manufactures offering training for free so now some of what may be going on that’s teaching charging was becoming difficult that’s when I decided to to revisit my business plan and take a look at how I can use my training skills but direct one on one perspective on where we’re at now we went way back to school and had to be video it is none of my cases what’s the software giant some threw away in joints Mormon just actually decided that he would go we can we can take the successes in the training room when we can put them into really easy to stop pretty cool videos that people can watch whenever they want begin marketing site is massive we’ll look at you cheaper than a daily basis so if we do that a recent little little little told I’m for appetizing but it’s still under a tent across social media platform for sexually ten clicks on the website and we did thing but just using the video still one thousand eight hundred thirty seven clicks on which just goes to show how powerful video which is a marketing tool and that’s where I now we we are enjoying it wait wait wait very quickly became recognized as the go to choice for good quality good value for money educational video to help them do anything from understand the product to teach about the content like there was on mobile networking yes about Bucks the technician need two thousand to the current day excellent thank you very much for that overview and %HESITATION there’s a lot to unpack there I want to go over a few points first I can certainly sympathize with one of your last points trying to sell paid in a V. is certainly a challenge to %HESITATION integrators and end users that’s something I could certainly sympathize with %HESITATION but we’ll get back to that to all the training stuff and what you’re doing with clavier in a little while I want to circle back to the beginning %HESITATION you mentioned that you started out as a musician that comes up an awful lot on this podcast I’d say more than half of the guests have some kind of a musical inclination and that’s how they wound up in a V. so I think that’s really interesting I’m always looking for what people kind of have in common you mentioned before you started your residential company that there was that you took some time and looked around and thought about what you wanted to do was there anything obviously you had your experiences and your skill set but was there anything in particular about the residential AV market at that time that help to make that decision quite honestly I think Connie was really open to where I was going to go %HESITATION which industry I was going to go to my then business school to be a business partner he on the local experience if you will through research of of of the ATV market place and integration market place you know when I when I was a college I studied in business management sorry to me what was important was being able to an exercise stopped him not learning not qualification only when I go to college and I’m really into that it’s all about creating a business plan making these on work and and I wanted to make sure that I did it the right way from a business perspective needs to understand what it was like I’m not not just being a recipient of the pocket and was really lucky as a corporate guy want what’s hard but you know late twenties on being given a call an expense account and you know corporate governance wasn’t really my scene at the time so we were really looked tall term ready Molly coddled anything we have to focus on the fact that the share price was the be all and end of the business I want you to you know get in from the other end all to to reach look at the panels onto to get worried when %HESITATION what what would happen when when the business didn’t take any money in the on now I couldn’t pay myself as a whole different feeling that some people just keeps running they just they just do it from leaving school ninety nine take on a train and they just just get out there and do it in their eyes armory observance recording restrictions but that was just what they did nineteen more about how they were doing the right to business management and earn money and spent a lot of cases but the whole AV thing came to me from I was influenced on other people and when I looked into it in more detail actually so yeah last cool place to be and the fact that I’m a musician come from a family of musicians you know I I I was originally very quickly that you know to be a musician professionally coming have you know I was in my family it’s really tough no you yeah if you think it’s going to be in the next must you on whatever and back in the day that there wasn’t Newman and you know people have got talent comes on that they just didn’t happen so you know he he did a gig and I’ve done many gigs been getting so much Sir can no we went very good and we thought we were we were just a band like any other you never know when you get a lucky break that some guys in the crown and he likes what you doing while in office sorry sorry read and you cannot hanging out on the so the creativity I have as a musician does help with this industry watch honestly you don’t need it I don’t think it’s more of a bit of a stretch quite some see that a lot of those are you know music money is in there we we were in bands we saying we do star musical I think there’s a rule so it wasn’t to me to be in the industry because on a musician if anything what I’m doing now these formal relate it’s far better related to the facts %HESITATION emission is we have to create music videos we have to think about video is going to work amusing much more my crazy brain now than I was as an integrator and the production as well absolutely yeah I’m I’m I’m working my customers now they don’t know how it goes together they’re relying on manly thing to do to put it together them nobody yet that was very few of my customers are very very strict with exactly what we need to be doing on this site will mark we’re gonna leave it with you is yeah you know what it is we’re trying to say but we don’t really know and we want to say to the parent video sure it’s it’s certainly is an art and %HESITATION just editing video cutting things together it’s extremely time consuming and if you don’t have a vision and some experience with how to organize that kind of a task you can get in your over your head pretty quickly so yeah circling back again you are you for this business with the goal of selling it ten years later I really like that and you talk about having an interest in knowing where every nickel is right I had a business co shot on the podcast one Steve sure in back and he said that’s one of the most important things that a business owner should have is to know where the money is and where it’s coming from so that curiosity and and I’m going to correlate that with you being a musician it sounded like you didn’t really like the fact that you didn’t really know how to how to grow it how to make a predictable income from that kind of a a business model so I’m seeing a lot of things that go together here and I like to do that you set a goal from the beginning in ten years I’m gonna sell us and then you did it ten years and four months later congratulations that’s a kind of a big deal but in the meantime you you got into sedia which is probably the biggest trade association in the residential channel and you noticed a need for education and began to help them organize things what was some low hanging fruit at that time well he did the very fact that the we went early days of our integration company we went to the CD are to learn you know we went with an open book do you have the people do you know what what what’s the official line and as we all get together them and then you know learn from from of the people within it now have you done it will be a new chief chief usual stuff I’m just going back to point about business myself and my partner at the time oaks kind of took it for granted that everybody use the site rulebook answer setting up running a business really became quickly apparent that that wasn’t the case you know how it works sinister in every seventy war when I come to speak really the whole concept of I didn’t set the business up to some it is just a correction on I had a person will goal I would like to be in a position to sell out so I’m grateful for the part or a hand as he helps you know we we both shaped business I’m also grateful for that learning on hand for from the corporate world so none of that really got in the way of the job in hand which is to integrate people systems not to we didn’t even think about selling the business until towards the end when I I just felt to be ready to move on so you know I’m I’m great that’s it thank you very much few few crises and and yet that this there are there are certain rules but if you get to business you have to have an exit you know what is the end of this business trip look like and most people don’t have one of those you think if you’re in your forties now need living the life living it but you try much hands on you don’t really want to let anybody touch your baby you do it you do the best way then not quite the homes that are gonna happen for sure help keep going long so will she makes it but that’s a whole different conversation the fact that I will send out a tech company which we work outside of the ring of a day we write ups and you know we do well with it way of writing as a vertical business with doing some research on the vertical business when %HESITATION involved that customs we creating a product in in the business the business can then be sold it really is a different strategy creating a business that you intend to lean tend to sell certainly big chunks off rather than creating a lifestyle business which in which you wall the business I think within a V. seven dot bust different in the case of most business owners the navy and see how many of the small business arena they all the business when it’s time to finish you finish and you just hope that you go in US money on the way somewhere you’ve made enough money to live the rest you guys all I’m so yeah I mean at the scene just came about when we went to learn about the industry and you know what I really wasn’t very impressed jeep is clean it’s amazing that they’re really small clever people in the industry which is which is a good thing lambs must be surrounded by people who can challenge you and how you learn you learn a lot of things when the people but they just clearly just did not have any skew stocks most didn’t have any qualifications in Rhode Island nat told how to teach resent it night paying isn’t isn’t isn’t isn’t isn’t learning paying decent money to sit in the training room for a day to be just kind of show voted to all this is a system or some sorry this isn’t system what it is I’m sorry residential was an awful lot of nine is gonna be the biggest in store story to tell and you kind of have to pick through the middle of angle on the two walls questions then to find out how you did it and you shouldn’t have to do that muscle learning about Dylan thank you shouldn’t have to sit there dragging information out from somebody who’s willing to give it but they just don’t really know how to how to do that I’m not sure what was the low hanging fruit for me because that’s what I’m good at I’m gonna teaching people how to teach in present I’ve been doing it for a long time long time before and whatever is you’ll teaching there all this is so the rules that you use to impart knowledge to people in the room can you give us a few of those rules yes show so you know it delighted you’ve so I teach people who I am to present and I teach people to teach I’m not from a box crated and and and run I am trying to trying to run trying to sell the types of programs are being run over in the U. S. again I’ve had in a good success with it because it’s refreshing to think would never have done on a training before and you know primarily training you’ll start about you as the train is about them spent alone you know they’re there to learn something and you’ll that to explain what is is that going to look when you go to teach them and then you’re going to we find that learning she can you trying to seize the objectives that you set the big train of being mentioned do not question aren’t circling getting into doing nexus they have to do at the end of that training session mortgages use told them that they would be able to do at the end of the transaction and if you don’t have that structure right the objectives that have to be small going to nine holy detail when I need to now look at small text amount say those objectives off to be clear on small and then the whole learning piece in the middle and then at the end you know these guys have to do whatever it is you said they were going to do anything don’t give me your training failed you know it didn’t work and we might have had a really nice time a good timing liked you funny if they come do the thing that they turned up to learn how to do at the end of that session G. then get sessions failed and no one wants to hear the words fail but it’s true them presenting different presenting is all about you as a presenter on that’s making impression people like choose what it is I’m going to say among women as engaging as possible I’m not better teach somebody when I’m presenting a trade show on that to talk about some content took me sets a jet to this and you are going to bill to do these things session I’m going to sing there’s a clear distinction between presenting a training and that just wasn’t apparent that wasn’t that and rather than be I do want to appear supercilious in any way shape or form %HESITATION just wanted to offer my services and general good for them they acknowledged it and and that’s how I started working with the guys and see excellent I I’m really like that %HESITATION that you pointed out the difference between teaching and presenting it and I will certainly keep that in mind the next time I make a %HESITATION a make a submission for a call for presenters because yeah like you said what are the objectives and then doing some testing at the ends and as you were describing that I was thinking of a navy system right my first conversation with the new customer is what are your objectives with building this thing do you want to impress your clients do you wanna hold better meetings do you want to %HESITATION impress your neighbors ends so you need to define those clear objectives in the beginning of a navy system or a training module and then at the end testing can the person perform what they learned well does the system actually behave as expected what are the metrics did we actually meet those objectives so and that the bit beyond that cool send link star is a Chinese evaluation and not just not let him in these these trade associations and it still isn’t you know I don’t see huge evidence of it you know when somebody can do the thing that you said they were going to do at the end of the training stocks a ticking the box coming to be a week later can I do six weeks later coming six months later and corporately you know we have to go one step further than that we have to identify how about we do improve the bottom line of the about two columns or back to get the part of the business now how does making %HESITATION how does facilitating helping somebody to do something new help the business because if it doesn’t help the business them why they that she was gonna help them as individuals certain times trying which which aren’t fiscally driven and eager to make people feel happy what you got to give them the opportunity to feel comfortable and do not feel better themselves important when it comes to its of science training when it comes to I’m going to go and learn how to program a new system right okay some help the business understand what each how it’s going to benefit from you coming back and actually being able to do this new programs and you will see it is nothing happens with it for you know she she’s never evaluated I’m not person doesn’t actually gone by any of the kids for a few months or and how valuable was the training day you know it sure that dot the least mold but rather than banging the drum anymore which I get passionate about why do I love what I do most of the debate but rather than keep banging out drum realizing that actually this isn’t helping my business what we do now is we support people doing not through a different medium completely different nineteen you know we also question now video scripts what what does what does he look like what is the success of this video might not more in terms of the types of animation we’ve used or older characters we within it what what do you want to get out of it as a business and H. primarily the same message by many people to it’s our understanding of the things that we are trying to sell them we as an industry will go on a product because of the people buying the same product popularity contest and on all the different products and what might be best in the business there each sterile I could be I could get hate mail cemex but that’s still a big popularity contest going on our way and I think that he’s detrimental to a lot of business is a lot of businesses yeah absolutely Paul Harris of Aurora was on a podcast and and he said that a standard is nothing more than a a popularity contest so she is you mentioned a bunch of things that I’d like to unpack and then connects to us some changes that are happening in our industry so you you mentioned somebody learns something they go to a training they learn a particular technology or product how it works and then maybe they’ll actually use it or maybe they won’t and a year later they might still have that certification ends traditionally in a V. a lot I I’d I’d say more than half I don’t know but a lot of the training was provided by manufacturers you learned about their products and ancillary to that you learned about the fundamentals of that technology and they’re also associations like a vixen sedia that really give you the fundamentals now with AB industry moving more towards I. T. with more standards based technologies like STV O. E. coming into play and even things like open source software where there is no manufacturer who’s really interested in teaching you about it because it doesn’t help them sell products in that kind of a world’s with things going in that kind of direction how do you see training changing in a way that is a really good question I’m I’m suppose it’s something I think about regularly but don’t SO many thoughts in my head as you it as yours is yours getting to the question this is a massive she you mention this nearly as on looking to work for jet Justin Carrington’s present can I get on reading the well and he went on went banging on the door to say you need to let you need to bring me in I’m at this early stage don’t really really want to be the guy that helps you with the education part for me totally sold out you know did some sessions and we just get on really well scenes the bomb you made which I’m very grateful for any such arm that is a real mental for me the guys sorry clever really talented and now he’s also extremely passionate which is super super important when when you’re doing something like he’s doing which is actually taking the whole aspect of what we’ve done to use right tricks which I’m turning it on his head improving it beyond any reasonable doubt with this is the absolute white or you know just walks aren’t going into view and he is brilliant I love working with people I learned from every day so hopefully it’s just is here in the I will be asking for a pay rise just joking had he he’s a really cool guy and and yes dot dot the the whole I. P. peace we mentioned talked about it briefly before we start with internet but dole I. P. pieces is a is a real boon for my business because we all one of the few a business is an outlet to bring a lot to the table you know we can really help an industry with knowledge that they thank now house to house it’s cool knowledge you know if if anybody out there listening to this which there may well be the mental depending on the listing to this cantantes set this question which layer of the OSI does he live in and how does it relate to the Senate and a few con consular question why are you in the installing a P. products eat it does that does the debate and again I don’t mean to put people down with it ten years ago maybe you didn’t really need to have strong question lots of alternatives but now it’s all about and it’s been around for forty %HESITATION he’s the internet was around before the VCR right so we know developing a brand new product or brand new vehicles you like to to to to move pockets and dance around is there is already done which is using it properly no using iris only seven last stock using Ethernet to help to move packets of dates are we doing it really well two people that rather than go out there and install a ninety V. network if you will in a in the system and then an IP network next to it which is what you during the matrix which and then you know what IT switch next to it in the same right why would you do that why do you do that when we give a really compelling reasons to don’t do it for everything on the only pay network it simplifies the job it actually makes it better removing latency Starman wins as to why you would use or take and to me that’s the big she I’m I think training to all see question training is changing two fold first thing people have got less time to sit in the training room and I really appreciate I really admire manufacturers they have that guy that training guy in those twenty guys are getting better and better and better you have the added you do something enough times and you will Maastricht they are getting better but ultimately you know when I had mine two Croatian business not engineers and they will state government about some new some the most among French training and she just wants to sell more products spots they will check to get these people up to speed on what we do sell the thing and get them to buy and that works really well she is is oaks is some things in the back of it this in our street too cheap or Iran is a normal cold smoke we spoke about rage nineteen nineties now we’re talking about in the Senate pulled back and now we’re having to give them vanilla content is my what product you pick up these networks the same high in a package of dates remove across from almost another in exactly the same way whether the host mark me Sir manufactures having to step up to the plate a little bit and and and not she educate people on things like a pink and thanks becoming harder and harder for them to fill joining rooms because all around them installing the busy we it’s never been automatic thing to sell system if you’re a small to medium sized into correct with two three four goal is I’m blessed that must be really difficult you know when when the client same model of Nick hold %HESITATION greening I’m smart plugs not just pull the nest camera just popping sings Mike my sixteen year old was just put it all together in the same thing that’s got to be it’s going to be hard yeah right absolutely now we we know how we would sell that in all right I would be comfortable with the clients and nuts may not win them over with the product I was going to be selling them and why they would spend more money in use without me I think this is less than they’re able to do that but the so busy trying to get the business that they all we have a good time to consider trying training for the first the first aspect the face to face stuff unless you to spend the money and go to places like the CD shop showing home in a room not in the training room you’re in a presentation trying to join the some of the road in an hour cannot possibly sing you objectives that he sent the beasties beasts the study was going to make the beginning of the session possibly am seekers objections words to sixty people in an hour is impossible you couldn’t do it so it’s not you know going that’s the whole point of training each asked not a training room mustache buttons on seats people having to sell assesses to how much they knew how much they need to know who sold you can’t possibly evaluated either doesn’t get evaluated it’s it’s the it’s the trade show is this normal you got someone’s pick up some new bits but you have to go away work out what you’re going to do this new knowledge and most of the time I think a lot of people they don’t really know what to do with that new knowledge and they don’t use it very well so I think training is moving very much towards decent online stuff decent E. learning trying and watching a pub cost of a man’s speaking over forty five slide powerpoint charts often I was saying %HESITATION every five to six seconds isn’t learning you know rushes boring I feel really sorry for the people are asked to do that is to put it together and and do it so there is a huge shift in in the in the training dynamic industry and that’s why claims to mind as we want to be strong wanna be brought to the form of being able to allow people to take take the foam and always with anything from signum trying going to work quick six seven minutes with with valuation questions in this you can self assess you learning perfect time I get to work about you realize that the snow bank products thank you to everyone seems to be buying nine need each product beat is that will fit in the environment I’m going to install the number nine five six minutes almost a year all the way to you know online stuff couple minutes on training I need to understand how documents will host the next not come cheap myself with a mind that the account is no point me cheating to find the answer because many cheating myself I’m sorry I think this huge massive muscle triangle gets delivered and all she has a good shape new broom sweeps claim very nice so with that shift do you see a shift in the responsibility of who let let let’s put it quite frankly who actually pays for that training I think a little training at the moment isn’t painful and that’s that’s a shame you know give it and it’s great to the option looked online about networking with your distribution Sri for somebody to come teach about networking obvious which one against Jews on what right but at the same time when not individual comes back what’s the expectancy what what what do we expect them to be able to do over and above what they could do before what what they could do before they left that training and again the economy I’m not putting it down and you have anybody listening to this this pot constant thinking come on making a route to try and help I I know this I’m I’m with it you know and I’d I’d bet my career the the you know he is the right way forward but I think if we you know you you get a training room with people in in that room some guys is rarely picked up a computer they don’t really know why P. is and you get somebody else in the room who is CCNA grades on a network show and he’s bored right %HESITATION China house dangle to use skills that he didn’t get the drawings incredible not ring changed I’m not really all to really hard thing to do so the value trying coming harder for people to get to train cools things when they get training course training is going to be really really tip talk because he’s not they’ll go to another manufacturer is offering free training it might just be better training could be the difference between winning and losing a customer so yes east east just just ground man who delivering training %HESITATION or in charge of training people to accomplish in a different light Irish people who will go into training first of all before we do that whether it’s free all paid for think about what the outcome of the training looks like for them and their business and also this question you know don’t don’t worry about saying to the people who live off for the training this is what I want to achieve at the end of this training session is not going to be possible do you think that’s what I’m going to be able to do help me understand how you’re going to make that happen that make sense absolutely I I love the practicality of it and it just makes sense and it’s it’s good for everybody think about the physical aspect of it as well you know engineer every the state she is right engineer heads off to a train girls because they like their businesses decided they want to point you know X. Y. Z. secret answer triangles on the cost of getting in trouble maybe put up in a cheap hotel and then I’m being that she’s out of business so if you want to roughed up a mistake cost around about five or six hundred dollars for that business to pay for that going to go out there business is doing well forty forty four percent gross profit prop the internet business so how much of a so you know to generate enough profits not guns about keeping them and we talk all the time he’s done that this is a significant chunk of money specially from some two or three people with OCD show in San Diego how many people is that without any real idea as to what they want out of that show sure the wandering around the show mindlessly because that was going on that they think the summer C. sharp yeah am how many people she’s forty three what’s the benefit to my business only get one and when you start to speculate more not less when people say all not shot is no we don’t hear that sorry swim we we don’t hear that we just we just wanna go and enjoy ourselves show great do not think you through is as it is in a ten day or learn to think it through more ease you’re actually gonna benefit how you gonna benefit is an issue %HESITATION you your right to the name comments whoever is gonna be delivering much during the psychoses why one town of this help me understand how you can help me to change that and if not what will almost the questions and you never know you might just be the deciding factor as to whether or not you will go ahead and do it absolutely that that folds in really well into my last question which you probably Ansel already which is %HESITATION the people working in a V. engineers technicians a lot of us like to learn we really enjoy learning new technology and you know if we’re not the business owner that might not be the top of our priority but somebody’s got to send us to training somebody needs to pay for that so there’s also in this question of how do you convince your boss to send you training or to pay for an online training so if you have any ideas on that I think we were just saying falls right into it yeah I’m sorry to reply to record but I think you can if if any of my team in the past in innings person right things in there that it wasn’t just training it was anything that they wanted on once a new machine all this former sure yeah I want the owner portion on eleven on the joint Waco is but lost sucks sometimes one so you know I always used to say to if you bring that time your brew viable reason the this business will benefit as a result and get what you want let’s go for it perfect because it helps me out no end your review the end of the year I spent six hundred pounds takes and you know this thing took me through what you did as a result in this business the day before and that he might remain in I we we would go home Jolene’s and I’ve got a skunk at jungle island she dies down under the wings of the business it’s always just reading a tingling but when it comes to going awesome day learning stuff training calls can do we only doing it because the training providers told us we have to do it before we can buy any product again you get not but then how would they assessing learning Our Lady Alexander awaiting the success of not learning what are they doing these big companies so it looks awesome questions how you actually evaluating the success of that learning people telling me that if they really enjoy the day the food was great it was nice and warm by was very funny last one called happy she thing to do the training itself valuation comes down Soling down to the training provider on the people who is actually sent the jewel triangle so yeah I can try to be boring but I think my business respected nothing is nothing is off the table nothing at all I’m distance owners just need to really think about what the business successes of sending somebody to a training course I’m not should be shared with the training provided first place yeah lost a lot easier for the training provided as well because I can cite actually you know will treat you shouldn’t be at the strangles messages to do this next next post this training course then you get so much more and it makes perfect sense I really like the way all of this is coming back to business and and how it how it all ties into each other I think we could %HESITATION do a whole nother podcast just on the business aspect of of training and if anybody would like to get in touch with you how would they go about doing that yeah I’m so through the website is a good place you can get to see little about what we do we’re updating the videos the example videos pretty much every week I’m so you can see how we growing as a business and what we’re doing is different to the previous week the website economy directly mats and a double T. group dot coms Matix maybe group dot com love to hear from me you know what what we’re always get wet with every day is a school day I think so wells were learning center ways always learning and so excellent best of luck with clay via and thank you very much for being on the podcast thank you very much for anyone on your staff ever considered themselves just in eighty programmer join the club that’s how I used to feel I was just an amex programmer or just Crestron program or whatever language of your choice is whatever it may be is generally this feeling an AV that we’re not capable of using modern programming languages and it simply isn’t true sure there’s a learning curve but once you get through it all other languages become easier to learn and it just expands the amount of options you have when designing a system it’s not an either or decision you don’t say I won’t be using these manufacture tools anymore it’s just you have a broader palate to choose from ends here’s what market day founder of idea box had to say about his experience with the online courses at learn AV programming dot com you know Patrick it’s funny how the smallest things can sometimes be the star of really big ideas %HESITATION before I took the learn AV programming dot com courses I was in that Hey Terry I’m only a control system programmer kind of mindset ray %HESITATION when he came to new technologies or current technologies like Java script %HESITATION or things like that for some reason I thought that was different from what I’m doing and what taking your courses flipped for me was not so much what I learned technically taking the courses it was the mindset of %HESITATION wait a second I’m already doing ninety nine percent of what some of these most of modern programmers are dealing I just have to learn %HESITATION you know the other one percent and that’s really what I did so it’s really been kind of a big change after taking the course %HESITATION and I would really recommend this course to any integrator not only will obviously help their skill set but more importantly it might change their whole mindset %HESITATION which is more important and and and really show them new opportunities open the door so they kind of see problems through a different lens %HESITATION I gotta tell you one of the biggest changes for me was as soon as I caught myself HTML CSS Java script and solve the U. eyes that I can make with those technologies I just couldn’t sell a %HESITATION Crestron touch panel again mark is a great example of somebody who takes new information and really applies it I know that mark still sells a lot of Crestron equipment but for him for his company for his customers for his business he needed a better you why he needed another option for user interface and modern programming allowed him to do that so the question is how can you use modern programming to improve your business please go to learn AV programming dot com and wherever you see a sign up button go ahead and sign up and you’ll get some free information to get a feel of my learning style and what kind of information is available and of course it would be an honor to have you enroll in one of our courses and help you upgrade your skills and take this industry to the next level thanks for listening to software defined survival I hope you found it useful and maybe it inspires you to try out something new this week if you have any questions software defined survival dot com and click the appropriate but I’d love to answer your questions on the air and if you’d like to help spread the word please subscribe comment and share thanks