Each week, I am highlighting on some of the incredible people who are in the Audio Video Industry. As this blog is mostly about AV insiders, today we are profiling Vibhav Singh .

Here is a brief intro about him.

Vibhav Singh has worked in the Audiovisual industry for over 10 years. He is currently regional manager – APAC for Enterprise at Music.

Please drop your questions in the comments below and I will make sure that he sees them.

1.Describe your journey in the AV industry? How did it start?

I had very humble Beginnings, As a young Engineering Graduate I started My career working in an International BPO servicing Customers of AT&T in US, However at an early stage I realized that this industry is not for me so I quit and looked for other opportunities. That is when I got an opportunity to work for an AV system integration company, I started off as a project engineer worked on Projects site for a long time that is where I learned all the hard skills of AV industry like Cabling, Soldering, Rack building etc, That eventually lead me to project management, so at a very early stage of my career I was managing very large projects and handled a team of Installers most important was my interaction with end users trying to elevate their experience and that became the back bone of my existence in AV industry, being directly involved in projects and with end users made me realize how important it is for us to deliver great value to our customers for the solutions they are investing in and how important it is for our solutions and technologies to work seamlessly during those important events be it a Board meeting, a seminar in Auditorium or any long distance Conferencing or a live rock and roll performance and etc. This made me get in to pre sales first and then in to Sales. Having a hands-on experience always helped me in convincing my customers to opt for better products and technologies. Through this period Audio became an important part of my journey as I was always fascinated with the variables associated with any audio system, this eventually lead in to a passion and hence It became my Forte as well. Since Then I have been fortunate to have worked with some of the leading Audio Manufacturers in our industry.

2.What do you think is the challenges that are facing a new person who wants to join the industry.

I think the biggest challenge for any new person is still the same which it was 10 years back and that is attaining the right knowledge and that too in an organized manner. When I started off there were almost negligible AV Courses barring a few from Infocomm and most of the learning I did was self-learning and from my seniors. I firmly believe that our industry is not recognized outside our world, I mean people straight out of college don’t have any clue about AV being an industry and if there could be any future in the same. Those who get in to our industry are generally by default and then they are left at the mercy of their employers to learn things. I wish we as an industry were a lot more organized so that we could attract talent fresh out of college. Things are getting better now with a lot of Manufacturers and Infocomm talking lot of initiatives to spread AV education but a lot still needs to be done specially at College and university level.
3.What are the positives of working in this industry

Well I think the perks are Great! Jokes aside, The Best part of being in our industry is the technology part. There are so many things to learn and experience every day. And the fact that we are using these technologies to enhance the experience of users which enables them to achieve so many things like securing more business, saving money on travelling when they use conferencing, experiencing breathtaking Music in live concerts, having a relaxed holiday listening to Music in a resort, when I see the results and outcomes of the Technologies we are selling and how they are enriching lives of millions is very satisfying as AV is all about experience and people experience when they see and hear. And I think that is very much life changing. These are the kind of things which gives immense pleasure to me, When your customers tell stories how our products helped save the day for them during an important meeting or how life changing experiencing it was for them when they heard Coldplay perform in a live concert on an amazing sound system, that is the kind pleasure you can’t get in any other industry. When you strive to enjoy these things in our industry you will automatically be successful and other perks will follow as no other industry can be more rewarding than ours. this is what I tell to all newcomers: strive hard to over satisfy your customers in whatever job you are doing be it sales, technical, logistics etc. And I think in a way this is quiet unique to our industry.

[RELATED] : If you have missed any of the previous interviews, please click here.

4.What in your opinion would you change in the industry? What are the negatives that are prevalent ?
Like I said earlier I would want more fresh people to join our industry straight out of college and every AV company should have a mechanism to train freshers like the way IT companies do. Since we don’t do this we don’t have surplus talent available at our disposal and that in a way hampers the overall growth of the industry. It is very difficult to find talent for specific roles and search for the right person many times goes on months and sometimes even years. Which is not common in other industries. And Managers should really focus on developing and guiding young talents. More we do this more the industry flourishes.

5.Describe your ideal client? What do you wish clients to know before hiring you.

I think a client who is looking for a solution to any of his AV problems is an ideal client for me. Because then I can help him solve his problem with the products and services I have. I love walking in to meetings where the client is looking for a solution to his problem because then I can instantly connect with them as I know I can help them. As AV guys we are also problem solvers. And That is exactly what I want my client to know before hiring me that I will give priority towards solving his problem and elevating his AV experience.

6. If you were going to start over, what would you do differently ?

I would probably give more emphasis on my health right from the word go, Getting in to healthy lifestyle habits at an early stage in your life really helps you professionally in a long way. As when you start working you only focus is on work and the health gets neglected and that affects your work down the line as well.
7.Describe a typical work day for you. What are your daily disciplines?

I manage APAC region so my day starts early as my customers in Asia start their work and India is almost 2 hours behind many countries in APAC.I start work at around 8:00 in the morning, starting with clearing my emails for first couple of hours. Then I I try to have skype calls with my customers in different countries that takes most part of my day, Post that I work on any pending internal projects and communications with internal teams and plan for next meetings and travels. Post 4PM when the other APAC countries are off, I dedicate time till 6:30PM to India customers. then I take off and head to the gym.
I also travel a lot so almost half of my month is spend travelling meeting customers across the region.

8. Describe the apps and gear that you use daily which makes you more productive?

I work from Home, so its imperative that I utilize my time in the best possible manner to be productive as there can be many distractions at home, for that over the years I have realized that one must really have an office section inside your house where one must feel everyday that they are walking in to an office. So I have made a Hitech Office which has all the tools and technologies which excel me to be ultra productive, and keeps me away from distractions. Here is a picture of my Office Desk which I really love and always look forward to coming here and work.
Other than this there is some gear which is with me always which help me to stay connected to my customers wherever I am like My Iphone, Ipad and my Macbook. And the apps I mostly use is Outlook, Skype, Calendar for meetings, Whatsapp and some really cool business intelligence tools provided by my organization.

9. How do you stay relevant in the industry.

I think there are many things one needs to do to stay relevant

1)Most important is being true to your Job which you are doing just give your best at everything you do with utmost integrity.
2)Learning should be a never ending process, I try to learn new stuff everyday be it about Technology or business.
3)And lastly but most importantly is always over service your customers as there could not be anything more rewarding than that.
For more information about Vibhav Singh , please find a few links.
LinkedIn
Company Website

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