Sales reps in Kazakhstan set up the target to test the ATRplus on the Leica Viva TS16 total station.
Leica Geosystems sales teams around the world received specialised training, known as WOW Training, to prepare for the release of the all-encompassing solution Leica Captivate.
An early Monday morning meeting at the Leica Geosystems office in Moscow starts off like any other typical meeting. Gentlemen in slacks and polo shirts embroidered with the red logo slowly make their way into the conference room. Gulping coffee and groggily passing morning pleasantries, swapping stories from weekend adventures, they file into the conference room and take a seat at the long table filling the room.
There’s been some talk around the office about a new product coming. Another “innovation” that has promised to “revolutionise” the entire industry. Hardcore sales guys with decades in the business, they’ve heard it all before. Another Death by PowerPoint to get through, another show-and-tell, and then off to the sales floors they go. Sure, they’ll be some fancy new widget or feature that can do just a little more than the last version, but will it really be all that different?
Prepared for yet another long day of lectures and presentations, they turn, almost in unison, to face the presenter with dull-expecting expressions.
Unleashing the Leica Captivate Experience
Richard Ostridge, a key member of the Leica Geosystems team responsible for field software, knew he had his work cut out for him. The Russia salesmen, notoriously known for their stoic demeanor, would not be impressed easily. Unlike Miranda Priestly, there is not even one known instance of a smile resulting from a sales training.
“I knew I had to ‘wow’ them from the start, and this training is aptly named as that’s exactly what it does,” said Ostridge.
Richard Ostridge (seated middle) wraps up the WOW Training with the Russian sales team.
Deviating from the norm, the WOW Training starts not with the typical new feature but the customer experience. Touting the fully-immersive experience the customer will have using the touch-technology software and self-learning instruments, this training gives interactive examples of how these hardened sales professionals can change their usual techniques to focus on the full enjoyment of the task. From indoor role playing to outdoor hands-on demonstrations, WOW Training is about enabling the customer to engage with Leica Captivate as an extension of themselves.
“Beginning with the focus on the customer experience is what has really grabbed the attention of not only the customers but also our sales folks from around the world,” said Ostridge. “We’ve never presented from this point of view before, and we’re seeing incredible results in our sales numbers and how our sales reps are approaching the entire sales process now.”
What’s so “wow” about WOW Training?Â
Ostridge has provided Leica Captivate WOW Training now to 150 sales professionals in more than 20 countries. From the feedback, this new approach to the sales process is certainly paying off.
Ostridge demonstrates the ATRplus capability on the Leica Nova TS60 total station to the Leica Geosystems sales team in Dubai.
Pavel Antonov, a Leica Geosystems representative in the Moscow office, participated in Ostridge’s training. Knowing the Russian market well, he understands the difficulty in breaking through to the customer’s curiosity while staying mindful of the need for efficiency.
“The dialogue in this training is the true difference. With the interaction we had with Richard, the teamwork, this training is what we needed to help us work best with our customers,” said Antonov. “Everyone in the training was smiling, and, for once, no one even nodded off.”
From sharing the enhanced ATRplus in the Leica Viva TS16 total station through outdoor target practice to performing 360 renderings of the conference room on the Leica CS35 field tablet, WOW Training is completely transforming how all of Leica Geosystems approaches the selling process and solving customer problems. With the goal to deliver total customer satisfaction in every facet of interaction, the Leica Captivate Experience and WOW Training is spearheading this renewed focus on experience and enjoyment.
Sales reps in Shanghai work with the touch-technology software Leica Captivate.
Leaving the office that evening after the full day of WOW Training, the Russian sales team no longer has the bored look of tedium. No, when these sales pros head out the door, they are excitedly motioning how the Leica Captivate software does full 360 turns and jabbing fingers into palms to emphasise the lock-on capability of the new total stations. This exercise, this WOW Training, breaks the record for smiles.