Dan Roberge:
Today, we've done something a little different. We had our implementation Team talk about what they think about you as customers and our product. Let's take a listen.
Michael: I was going to actually mention that the other day. I had a conversation with one of our clients, and they were just saying how the software has completely changed the way they do things daily. They were thanking us for all the hard work we put in because they were doing everything paper-based. We took it on and put everything in for them, like assets and all the rooms. The fact that they didn't have to do all of that themselves already saved them time, and then they have the system on top of it. I just wanted to mention that I was chatting with someone, and it was a really good conversation. It was nice. It was a good feeling.
Tracey: I like those conversations.
Susan: Yeah, they're the best.
Michael: Yeah.
Susan: I had somebody say to me, because they went from paper to technology, he said, "I knew I was busy, but I didn't know how busy I was until I saw it in numbers." Right? And that was like, "Okay, that computes."
Tracey: Yeah.
Michael: Even that, speaking of busy, the fact that we are implementing change as quickly as we are able to do so was another thing that was brought up. They were impressed with the quick turnaround from the date they said "yes, we want to start" to the date they had their first training. Honestly, so am I.
Tracey: That's hilarious. I was going to ask, why do you think we do things differently, Michael, compared to another company that makes this so smooth?
Michael: I think it's the fact that we have our processes in place, and we have so many different people. We have our silos, but we're not just in silos; we all work together. It would not happen if the lead specialist didn't get the discovery call done and then move it through their process, down to Courtney setting up all the accounts and making sure they're ready, and the trainers have what they need for their tasks. Then Tracey, you're managing all of us. That's what makes it smooth— just us working together as a team.
Tracey: The team. Yeah.
Courtney: Well, so much is automated too. When they have questions, and if they think, "Okay, it's going to be difficult to get somebody on the phone, and all I'm going to get is a bot," they'll just believe everything. The fact that you guys are so hands-on, you'll be on either a phone conversation or even hop on a quick call that has nothing to do with training. It's just even talking about what's next. They always have all of you as touchstones. And for as busy as you are, I truly have no idea how you're doing it all. I don't, and things are being done well. It's very impressive.
Tracey: Yeah.
Michael: Experts call me.
Tracey: That's why. Hello.
Dan Roberge: That's the biggest thing that makes it work the way it does: the fact that we all know each other's jobs.
Tracey: Yes. Okay.
Anne: Because we know all the different steps involved in the implementation, from the time they're sold to the time we've finished the training and get them going, everybody knows all the different positions. We can actually help the client, even though it's not us that might be doing the step. We can help the client because we know all the steps.
Susan: Yeah.
Michael: Well, that's good to mention too, just the growth within. When I started, I was a product specialist and then moved over to a trainer. Now I'm training the software, and lead specialists like you guys are starting to work towards the product specialist role. So you know the lead specialist role, and now you can move over and learn other things and continue.
Tracey: That's exactly what I said last week, right? It's so important the way you guys are doing your job. You're learning everything along the way, which just makes it so much better. The more you know, for everybody.
Cameron: Absolutely. I think it also gives us, as I mentioned, we're with the client from the start. If they need to call, we're there. If we're going to reach out, we're there. We're with them from start to finish, and all of us are. So, it's really more of a hand-holding situation, but a support system as well.
Susan: Yeah, exactly. I think that ties into where they do have, if they need something, they can go to you and you can say, "Well, I don't know right now, but I can talk to Susan or Michael or Tracey or somebody, and we'll get the answer that you need," or, "That will be discussed during the discovery call." So they'll cover all of that in the call. All of that pinpointed information they're going to need to move you forward. So all of that ties into everybody's being able to just be a little bit of a touch point, right? In some cases, not all the time, but most of the time.
Tracey: Yeah. I've got two people.
Michael: On the website.
Dan Roberge: I've got a lot of feedback from clients, from people I've trained. They said that we have one of the best support systems going. The reason they're pleased with our support, and they say it time and time again, is because they get a live person. If we don't know the answer, we seek to find it. We respond quickly. These are all things, and I've had a lot of feedback from many different clients that say we're one of the best at quick responses and helpfulness. We're always getting that compliment because we might not be able to fix it right away, but we at least...
Susan: Communicate.
Dan Roberge: Communicate with them.
Michael: That's the biggest thing.
Susan: 99% of the time, the conversation is via phone with the person relaying that information, right?
Tracey: Absolutely.
Michael: And you just said it: via phone. If it's going to be something that we can't accommodate, because sometimes you can't accommodate everything, it's not going to be an email just saying "no." It's a phone call. That's what we do. We call and we explain why we're saying "no" or why we're saying we can't do this now. Maybe it's for later. But yeah, it's that personal touch where it's not just coming through email saying, "Nope, we're not going to do this," or "can't."
Tracey: There could be a workaround. You know, are they doing it? No, the solution. That's right.
Courtney: Yeah, it's true, because you could ask them very specific questions, but they might send you an email, and you're going, "Okay, I can respond with a very detailed email, but something's going to get lost in translation. You might not always interpret what I'm saying." So you get on the phone and you ask the specific questions, "What kind of problem are you having?" and that sort of thing, and you'll go through it. I had that this weekend. My husband's got a website, and something happened with it, and I went, and it was a bot. I just got links like, "Did this help?" It was like reading stereo instructions. I don't know. I have no idea. I just kept typing "human," and nothing was coming up. It's so frustrating.
Susan: I just thought, "To hell with this." And I said, "This is your problem." Now you know how often, how many people would stay with us if we just said, "Oh, here's the link," you know? The wiki looks great if it's small things, and that's available to them. But so is a real live person anytime they want to get in touch with us.
Michael: Yeah, and actually, speaking of the wiki link, the fact that we have that as a resource for our clients, it's huge. I'll showcase that at the end of our first training so that they know it's there.
Tracey: And...
Michael: Yeah, right at the end. I say everything we talked about today, and I'll show them, "This is what we talked about. You can find it here." Down to videos on how to change your password, how to change a task type, it's all there.
Susan: So start there. And then I also remind them...
Michael: It's good. Yeah. Right. I finish there. My keyword is, "And when it comes to Maintenance Care, you're never left alone." That is what I like.
Tracey: And it's a nice place to be if you're never left.
Michael: What I mean by that is we offer support, and then I go into my spiel. But yeah, it's funny; we all do it. So it's funny you do it both ways.
Dan Roberge: I always tell them when I show them the wiki, "Everything you wanted to know about Maintenance Care but were afraid to ask."
Tracey: That's a good way to go.
Michael: Yeah, it's all in here.
Tracey: Yeah, yeah.
Susan: That's true. And I point to that too. I always do recaps. I always reinforce what we talked about today and then reinforce what we're going to be talking about for the next session. I set that homework. It's hard sometimes. But you know, it also depends. It's really helpful when you have an engaged audience. I think the transition is happening with our audience. The demographic is changing, where expectations are more commonplace for technology than they were five years ago. Things are transitioning. You have the younger generation coming into facilities management and facilities maintenance, perfectly comfortable with software. It's second nature. They tend to onboard more quickly and tend to be transitioned in a more timely fashion. But that also means we do accommodate people that are not comfortable with technology.
Tracey: I was going to say, I love how you guys all take something that can be complex and you make it so simple, right? People just think, "Oh," they see that moment, and that's pretty cool.
Susan: Some are complex. There's no getting around the way they're set up. But there are solutions to everything as far as workflow. It's just coming up with the solution. Sometimes it might take a few phone calls because you're trying to figure it out too, based on phone calls you've had with them. The end result is you have a very well-set-up, well-managed system.
Tracey: Yep, right, right. So it's nice.
Susan: Yeah.
Tracey: No, no. And what. Okay. How about I ask a question? What does everybody love about their job? Let's start with Michael.
Michael: Okay, start with me. I came from customer service, so the fact that I'm dealing with the public, dealing with customers, it's just in me. The fact that I get to have that one-on-one time, especially in training, it's a little different than the demos. In training, you're really spending time, you're really connecting with them, and that just makes me happy. I enjoy coming in here, getting to see the customers, getting to discuss their needs, and walking away knowing that we're providing something that makes their lives easier. That's what I would say.
Tracey: I agree 100%. Oh, I'm going to change over and take the quiet one up here in the corner, Mr. Alex. Tell us a little bit about what you love. You're good.
Alex: I love you guys so much. I love seeing a lead come in looking for maintenance software. I get to understand what they're looking for, get them on the demo, and then, a week later, get them on the training. Just going through that process, they came to the right place, and I know that and I see that. Then, having the team we have here to get them through that process and exactly what they're looking for is amazing.
Tracey: Oh, well said. Good job. Thank you. Okay, Cameron, how about you?
Cameron: Yeah, I'm going to kind of give a similar answer as Alex, but really, when we get a client that starts off as a lead, possibly, or somebody who's just in their looking stage, we often talk to them, and they're, you know, "I have no idea what to do. I'm going to rip my hair out here. I've got work orders flying all over this room." That's really being able to satisfy their needs and see what they're looking for and understand how can we set this up specific to them. Then we transfer into the implementation process. Often, we speak with the client again at that point, and they're much happier with getting this process started than they were when we first talked.
Tracey: So nice. Love it. Very good. It's such a good team. Hey, Courtney, how about you?
Courtney: Mine kind of piggybacks off of Michael, Susan, and you guys. You love when you've trained someone, they've learned a lot, and it's that kind of teacher moment you have. It's like, "Oh my gosh, look what I taught them." And everybody's doing everything well. I guess the last year or so, I've been training our new team members. For me, that's awesome. It's like a mom moment, like when there's that moment or you book your first demo, you make your first sale. Anything like that. I absolutely love that's been the most rewarding thing for me in the last year. I love it, and it just gives me time because before I wasn't really talking; I didn't have that much interaction with everyone. It was mostly Dino, but I love it; it gives me the opportunity to be able to talk with everybody that works here, which is really nice.
Tracey: Nice. That is so cool. It's very true that the training thing is very... Yeah. Okay, Susan, how about you?
Susan: I probably would piggyback off of Michael, but I'm an administrative person, so that's what my job has always been. I like processes. I can understand and sort of take a customer's request and make it happen. I like complicated setups. I wish I had more time for complicated setups because I really do like them. I like trying to find a solution to make everything work. I think I probably like how we see a lot of organic growth with customers that come and add additional licenses, but also customers that have left, gone on to other organizations, and you see them coming back too, right? I like how that happens. That's kind of neat because they'll send you an email saying they're with this organization now, and then it's like, you get that total change, and they've taken what they had, which means they liked it. Now they're taking it to where they are going. I like to see that too.
Tracey: Yeah. Very nice. Very nice. Okay, Anne, you can't say your favorite part is if you're retiring. I stole your thunder there.
Dan Roberge: Well, I can talk about my favorite parts that I've had in the time that I've been here. Training people, that's great. When you get referrals, clients tell their friends, and all of a sudden, somebody calls you out of the blue. You've never met them before. "So-and-so gave me your name, and I've had that a few times." They said they wanted the Maintenance Care as well. That makes you feel good. Now I do slightly different stuff because I do a lot of the technical work, and I love a challenge. So when I get something, I'll dig in until I can find the answer. That's just my nature. I like doing technical stuff, and I like trying to figure it out. Because I do different things every day, it keeps you engaged. You're not doing the same old thing all the time. There are always different hats you're wearing throughout the day, so it keeps you challenged, keeps you on your toes. I really enjoy a challenge. When I'm looking at a technical problem, I'm looking at it going, "Okay, how can I dissect this to figure it out?"
Susan: That's a really good point. And Michael knows, probably more than anybody, when I can't figure something out, I'll...
Tracey: I'll call you.
Susan: And say, "Okay, here's my issue. I'm at a roadblock. I can't figure it out." Just a short conversation, and I've already got a solution.
Michael: I did that with you on Friday. It wasn't as short a conversation as we possibly could have.
Tracey: We probably didn't come up with a solution, did we? Yes.
Susan: Yes, it took longer than we thought, but that's just it. It's like, you know that if you go to anybody, you're going to get help. You're going to be able to, hopefully, if you're struggling with trying to figure something out, sometimes it just takes another person's perspective to look at it. Now it's like, "Okay, alright. That changes the dynamic. That's good." I'm going to take that and go back and think about it. That's where our job is so interesting because we are constantly trying to adapt our system to our customers' needs. Every customer, and there are exceptions, is different. That's where that initial call, the discovery call, or even starting at the demo and making your way through the information that comes through, is so valuable because now I can go in with more information than when I started. As you go into training, it sorts out too, so you can always refer back to those conversations. That's important.
Tracey: You learn yourself from every training you do.
Michael: Oh, for sure.
Tracey: Especially when they're all so different. You're always like, "Okay, next time, I'm..."
Susan: Not cookie-cutter. They're...
Tracey: Absolutely not.
Susan: Supposed to be that way. It would...
Tracey: Be boring if it was.
Susan: You're always judging your audience and trying to get everybody engaged. There are exceptions, right? But asking the right questions, always asking for endpoints, remembering people's names is important, right?
Tracey: Write them down. Write them down. And, you know...
Michael: That's the first thing I...
Tracey: Do.
Susan: I do it.
Michael: Yeah.
Susan: When we talk about doing our prep for our calls, that's what we're doing. We're prepping to be professional during that training session or that discovery call. We're looking at notes, and when we go in, we don't go in not knowing anything. We're already ready to have the conversation. So then they also feel, and this is really important to remember, the customer also feels the value that you're putting on them when you are prepared for that conversation. It means that you listened to them when they were in the demo. When it transfers through to the setting up of the discovery call and the training, all of that information is important to refer back to. It's important. When they feel that you are listening and you're engaged as they're engaged, because they can tell if you're not engaged, just like you can tell they're not engaged. But your goal is to get them engaged. Most of the time that happens, and you guys do that so well because for the lead, and then they become a customer, they've been dealing with someone here for the better part of at least a month. So, for you guys, they've never met you, but you know who they are. You can read the notes, see, "Okay, I'm going to approach it this way because they might not be tech-savvy. This is their personality." You guys are always changing that too. It's the same as sales. You have to almost mimic or mirror what their personality is and change your approach. You guys do it, and it's like you've been involved right from the start, but you're someone new in front of them, and there's no hiccup or anything. Everything just keeps seamlessly going, and they can see the value in that. Nothing's worse than, "Oh, okay, this was just put in front of me. Who am I speaking with today?" One of those like, I'm sure you guys never do anything that way. You know who your audience is already. I'm always prepping. I always ask who's in the room with us because sometimes they're smart people.
Tracey: You never know.
Susan: And you never know.
Tracey: No, and we get to know the clients. It's not just, "Here you are. Okay, bye-bye." It's almost like they become an extended family because you're so entwined with what they're doing and how they're doing their jobs. You talk so much, right? It's just a really cool bond that ends up happening, I think.
Michael: Yeah, I enjoy that.
Tracey: Yes.
Susan: That translates to repeat business. It does. Other locations, they don't work there anymore, they go somewhere else. We've had those a bunch of times, and it's always, and nothing against the sales team or anything, they can only spend so much time with them. It's really the implementation team that spends the time. You guys have all been name-dropped when we get a lead: "You know, I worked with Susan, I worked with Michael," but "I'm not there anymore, but they don't have anything where I'm working now." They remember you from the training because of all that time and how hands-on you are. That just speaks to how well you guys work with them.
Tracey: Yes, it is well said.
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