Maverick strikes Gold with CAVSP accreditation
AV distributor first trade-only distributor to receive the award
Audiovisual (AV) distributor Maverick has become the first trade-only distributor to secure a Gold accreditation in the independently run Certified Audio Visual Solutions Provider (CAVSP) training programme.
CAVSP consists of three levels: Basic, Silver and Gold. Seventy-five per cent of customer-facing employees must have been awarded a CAVSP qualification for a business to achieve the Gold standard.
Jon Sidwick, managing director of Maverick, said all of its existing employees had received a £500 bonus for obtaining a CAVSP qualification and that all future employees would be required to have the qualification.
“This proves we are as technically specialised as we say we are,” he claimed. “This will put further distance between us and the competition.”
CAVSP is administered by AV trade association InfoComm International and the International Communications Industries Foundation. Randal Lemke, executive director of InfoComm, said: “A CAVSP qualification gives AV companies a competitive advantage in the marketplace.”
Sidwick added that to achieve the qualification, Maverick’s employees had to undergo a series of lunchtime, evening and online training sessions.
Colin Messenger, senior business consultant at analyst Decision Tree Consulting, said: “These training schemes help VARs show that they are knowledgeable and take AV seriously.”
However, Messenger warned that the accreditation will not influence every sale.
“If a customer is buying only a single product, the accreditation might not make a difference,” he said.