Building customer trust in heavy equipment service

𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐕𝐏 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫? 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 Here's what happened: The company was in the final stages of a major deal that could transform their quarter from good to great. Everything seemed lined up: The equipment fit, financials made sense, and delivery timelines worked. But the customer hesitated: "We're concerned about downtime and maintenance costs," That's when the Sales VP made a brilliant move. Instead of sending another brochure or discount, the Sales VP brought in their veteran service technician for the final meeting. This wasn’t just any technician. With grease-stained hands and 15 years of hands-on experience, he spoke candidly about: 👍 The common maintenance challenges they'd likely face 👍 The specific steps their dealership had in place to minimize downtime 👍 The exact response times they could expect when issues arose No jargon. No BS.  Just straight talk from someone who understood what keeps equipment managers up at night. The result? The customer signed the deal that same day. Their exact words:  "Your technician's presence was the deciding factor. It showed us you're invested in our long-term success, not just making a sale." That day, the technician was the MVP on the sales team. The takeaway is clear: Expert service technicians are powerful sales enablers. Their real-world knowledge and commitment to solving problems build trust no slick presentation can ever match. Involve your best service people in sales. It shows prospects you’ll be there when things go wrong. And in equipment sales, that’s worth more than any discount you could ever offer.

Why a #Customer-#Obsessed Mindset in #Maintenance Changes Everything for #Operations in Port industry? When I first embraced the idea of a customer obsession mindset in maintenance @APM Terminals it completely changed how I approached my role. It wasn’t just about fixing equipment anymore; it was about truly understanding what #operations needed to #succeed and delivering that #consistently. I started to see operations not as a department we supported, but as our most important customer. This shift in perspective was eye-opening. I realized that every decision we made in maintenance—whether scheduling repairs, planning preventive actions, or implementing new technologies—had to align with the goals of operations. What were their challenges? What were their deadlines? What could we do to make their day smoother? The answers to these questions became the foundation of our strategy. Once we aligned with their objectives, something remarkable happened. Operations began to trust us more. Communication improved, and we built a stronger relationship where feedback flowed both ways. They knew we weren’t just there to react to breakdowns; we were there to proactively ensure their success. That trust turned maintenance into an integral part of operational excellence, not just a behind-the-scenes function. We also leaned into innovation. Predictive technologies allowed us to anticipate issues before they caused downtime, while data-driven decisions helped us prioritize actions that truly mattered. This not only increased equipment reliability but also reduced unexpected failures. Operations noticed—and they appreciated the results. Over time, we saw the impact of treating operations as our customer. Unplanned downtime dropped, productivity soared, and costs became more predictable. But the real win was the partnership we created. Maintenance and operations started working as one team, united by a shared vision and common goals. If there’s one lesson I’ve learned, it’s this: when maintenance adopts a customer-centric approach, the entire organization benefits. Operations feel supported, trust grows, and results follow. It’s not just about keeping the machines running—it’s about driving success together.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝘃𝘆 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆'𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝟳𝟬% 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝟵𝟬% (𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄) Recently, I spoke to a client with a serious problem. Their parts department was struggling big time. Machines were sitting idle for weeks, customers were frustrated, and they were losing confidence by the day (dealer & customer). The root cause? Parts Fill Rates below 80%. (For non-machinery folks, that means +20% of the time, they didn't have the parts on the shelf. Long lead times meant machines down for too long.) But here's the tricky part (re: spare/wear parts): You can’t predict exactly when a part is going to fail (even with AI and Telematics), especially when you have diversity in machine population and geography. You also can't stock EVERYTHING for every model. (Unless you enjoy burning money, especially given today's cost of capital) I helped them solve this problem by hiring three key roles: First, a Demand Planner who could improve parts planning through improved modeling. Second, Inventory Analysts who kept the inventory accurate, and adjusted min/max/re-order points. Third, Parts Buyers to source and manage suppliers/vendors, and keep customers informed on the status of their parts orders. The results? Once properly staffed, Fill Rates went from 70% to ~90%, and improving consistently. Customers stopped hearing “we'll have to order that" Instead, our client was shipping parts so their dealers could get machines running with minimal delay Now their parts operations is identifying upselling opportunities to grow revenue and make it easier for their dealers to service their customers. This transformation happened because of the right talent, AND a leadership team willing to prioritize long-term improvements over short-term fixes. The moral of the story? You can spend millions on inventory. You can build the fanciest warehouses. You can implement the latest software. But at the end of the day... It's the people who turn problems into profits. (𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘫𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘰.) #Recruiting #ExecutiveSearch #HeavyEquipment #SpareParts #WearParts #ServiceParts #PartsDistribution #MachineUptime #CustomerSatisfaction #CustomerExperience #PartsPlanning #SupplyChainOptimization #PartsOptimization #InventoryOptimization