My First Months in the AV Industry: Learning, Growing and Setting Goals
Since joining the AV industry as the Customer Relationship Manager for Control Concepts, I have felt welcomed and ready to learn from and contribute to what I see as a “sky is the limit” industry. I came to the world of AV from the fashion industry, a predominantly female industry, and, while the differences between the industries are like night and day, I love experiencing both ends of that spectrum.
In the office, my Control Concepts colleagues have been absolutely fantastic with welcoming me and getting me up to speed with the team and community. They are longtime industry leaders who are always ready to teach and advise. I am lucky to work with smart, capable people and I appreciate the veteran-status of many key team members for their expertise, their understanding and their patience to lead and guide me and others as we grow within AV. In my first few months at Control Concepts, I have spent a lot of time listening, absorbing and retaining information about technology, solutions and business practices for us and for the companies and partners we work with.
Little by little, I am learning the how and the wow of equipment, technology and systems. I am looking forward to a future that is as relevant and interesting as the industry is by striving to be a key component within the AV community in my own way.
Recently, I attended two industry events (Almo’s E4 AV Tour and Symco’s Showcase) where I learned beyond what was exhibited. I also got a stronger context of the industry through conversation about relationships and trends and by connecting the various points of view of technology managers, consultants, integrators and programmers. I especially valued during a piece of advice from an industry veteran that, simply put, the AV industry is filled with a bunch of “cool cats”.
Through these events and through training, I am building a bigger picture of understanding how the puzzle pieces fit together, like the typology I learned in my InfoComm training (all components are connected whether partners or competing to one central “solve problems and meeting needs” focus).
My goal is that the industry is able to value my position and my contributions through exceptional service and memorable experiences. I aim to serve as a warm, reliable point of contact for opening and closing the loop, while also facilitating an ongoing extraordinary relationship life cycle that goes beyond a given project or endeavor. I look forward to supporting the powerful, wow factor technology with a service experience of the same quality.
