Patience, persistence and empathy are in my opinion the cardinal skills that any Business Developer should strive to build over time.
Today, we are pulling back the curtain to take you behind the scenes and provide some insight into what it is like to work at Fuzu.
In this interview, Alex shares his experience as a Business Development Associate at Fuzu. Get to know what he enjoys most about his job and what made him leave the Kenya Military Academy to build a career in sales.
Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself?
Great ! So,I Grew up in a typical post colonial Kenyan military family and I spent the greater part of my childhood beside my father since my mother was completing college in a different part of Kenya. By the time I was 9, I had developed a strong liking for my father's music taste and that was comprised of great artists like Mbilia bel ,the late Franco and the late Papa Wemba who were the face of East and Central African Music in the late 90’s.
Fast forward, I have developed a strong liking for public speaking which I believe is innate and woven to my overall makeup as a person. I also love reading and can have conversations for days about irrelevant topics that I still find interesting, haha.
People might not know that you had a short stint in the Military. How did you end up switching careers and what made you interested in BD?
That’s correct. I had a short stint in the military at Kenya Military Academy (KMA) and at that point in my life, that was a decision I made with relative ease given my background. While there, an unexpected twist of events unfolded. I came across a book by Claude Hopkins known as “My Life In Advertising” and reading it really fueled my desire to operate in the “free world”. Long story short, It didn't take long to make the transition and before I knew it, I was back to square one applying for my next job and here we are today.
I consider myself really fortunate to have experienced that other side of life which most people do not get to experience.
What do you like most about being part of Fuzu’s Business Development team?
First and foremost, I’m very proud to be part of the Fuzu family more so the BD team. What I like most about being part of the BD team is working with ambitious organizations to support them build A+ teams. I really don’t see a better way at the moment for any organization to grow and scale rapidly other than by building high performing teams.
In your opinion, what are the top 3 must have skills for a Business Developer?
Patience, persistence and empathy are in my opinion the cardinal skills that any Business Developer should strive to build over time.
Any other thoughts on where you think the future of the talent sourcing and management is going?
Interesting question! Well,we are in the computer age of evaluating talent and tech will continue to play a pivotal role in talent sourcing. Looking back, a lot has changed and we are past the days where job seekers used to print dozens of CVs then drop them in offices hoping to land an interview or two. With the arrival of platforms like Fuzu, one can now apply for a job just by the click of a button.
How did working from home affect your work as a Business Development professional?
With a lot of uncertainty after the 1st Covid-19 case was announced in Kenya, the first few days of working from home were not the most productive for professionals within Business Development. Most organizations resorted to “playing it safe” and not making any financial commitments even on services that were quite essential to their continued success.
On the flipside, professionals in the Business Development space had to rapidly adapt to the new normal. For example meetings had to be conducted virtually via Zoom and other online platforms.
In a nutshell, working from home came with it’s fair share of pros and cons but we remain hopeful for a post covid world as we approach 2021.
Any parting shots?
Just a strong message of encouragement to our 1M plus career builders to continue applying for opportunities daily on Fuzu.We are always here for them and we are fully committed to their success in the long term as well as in the short term!
Would you like to join our team? We’ve got lots of exciting job opportunities, check them out!
