The BIGGEST Business Development Challenges in the New Normal

Transcript

Sarah: Hi everyone, thanks for Zooming in with us today, you might remember Asher from one of our previous videos about integrating your marketing strategies, so, say hi, Asher.

Asher: Hi everyone.

Sarah: For those of you that didn’t watch that video, no worries, I’ll leave a link to that video in the comments down below. Asher’s our digital strategist, so what he does is bring new business in for our agency. But, let’s be real, Asher, I think the first half of this year was pretty challenging for many businesses, could you maybe share a bit about the biggest problems you encountered when trying to bring in new business?

Asher: The biggest problem, I guess one is uncertainty. My observation in the first half of this year when there were any uncertainties, so for example, when of course, COVID first kicked in, there was some uncertainty, so some clients withheld their buying decisions but once it stabilised, for example, at one point in time, Singapore was known around the world for managing COVID so well and then a lot of people pushed forward with their buying decisions but once I think the cases spiked, then the uncertainty that people had held back, but once there was certainty, I noticed that clients have pushed through so that’s one plus and then of course, working from home, I have young kids, having that screaming in the background initially was extremely stressful, but I think that once eventually they learnt not to disturb papa, because he has his earphones on, I think after all that initial learning and stressing, things got better, yeah.

Sarah: Understand, well, I guess, as a parent I think sometimes dealing with young children especially can be a little bit distracting, so we do have other parents in the agency whom I think I might have been experiencing similar problems but I think props to you for finding a solution and also managing your time effectively, I know it’s really not easy and I guess the business side of things, I think those are the ones that are totally understandable about being uncertain especially because this year, everything was so volatile and the general atmosphere was really so grim, so obviously we still need business to keep going, so how have you overcome those challenges?

Asher: I think fundamentally, at First Page Digital, sorry to use the word fundamental again, but the fundamentals are really strong, we have strong team, strong capability, and the expertise, the right systems and processes in place, my theory is that in adversity, the divide between the strong and not so strong becomes even more pronounced. I mean I do know some agencies are starting to go under unfortunately, but, yeah, I know once I point out these differences, clients have been very receptive and they trust us.

Sarah: Well, I guess you’re right about that, so I think it’s good to be resourceful, optimistic, and also to have your long-term goals in mind as well, which is what I think we have all been doing here at the agency, but as for managing your kids, could you maybe share a little bit more about that?

Asher: I don’t know, it was a learning, I guess, me and my wife also who has Zoom calls and in some locations in my house, the internet cannot support two Zoom calls so we might position ourselves strategically, sometimes I have to sit at my kid’s table which is just right beside the router, sometimes I have to send my kids to buy something just so that during an important call they’re not around, so I guess it’s all a learning, the kids have all learned how to respond to papa and mommy, yeah.

Sarah: Yeah, that’s great ’cause Wani and I actually did film a video about managing distractions because we are both pet owners and we do have very spoiled and attention-seeking pets, so it’s interesting to hear from a parent because I know that firstly, some of us at First Page are also parents so I understand that managing young children, pets or even elderly can be significantly disruptive to a certain extent, so it is quite interesting to see how different people can handle those challenges so, well, thanks for sharing that, Asher, ’cause I think it’s good to be resourceful, optimistic, and also, sometimes thinking out of the box does help as well, and I think as a business, we totally empathise with any business who has been having it rough or is still having it rough, but I think what’s important now is to keep your head up and try to find your way around these challenges. Or if you can use them as opportunities for growth that’s even better, and, we’re running out of time but do let us know in the comments about the types of business development challenges you might have faced, or what’s your home challenges because we love to get conversations going and yeah we love to help in any way we can. So, thanks for Zooming in with us and thanks Asher for sharing your experience with us, until next time, bye!

Asher: Bye-bye!