The Road Warrior, Steve Lesnewich, Vice President of Member Services, and I were finalizing our 2019 strategic plan before the holiday break and reminiscing on all the trips we took, places we visited, and people we talked to. Most importantly: what we learned, and what could be of benefit to our members. With that in mind I thought back to my second to last trip of 2018 which was in November but actually started in October. Makes sense, right? It will, read on.
At AMT’s MTForecast on October 11 in St Louis, I gave a presentation on business opportunities available through AMT, which sparked many conversations with our members about utilizing these products and services. Several of the conversations focused on MTInsight and Exhibitor Passport. I was asked by Kevin Ahaus, President of Ahaus Tooling & Engineering, if I could come present to their sales team some of the features and benefits about these two products. My answer, of course we do that! Talk about a benefit to our members!
Member visits are valuable because they provide a personalized opportunity to learn more about how to get the most out of their membership, what AMT is doing behind the scenes for our industry, and, most importantly, to build relationships with the staff. This is a two-way street in that the member visits are just as much if not more rewarding to AMT. When we visit our members, we get to learn your story, see your technology and processes in action, tour your facility, meet your team, and take all that knowledge back to headquarters to better serve you. The more we know and learn about your company the more knowledgeable we can be with consult and customize offerings. For me personally, I need all the technological experience I can get.
I scheduled a half-day training session with Ahaus Tooling & Engineering during a scheduled sales meeting. I taught their regional sales managers how to use the IMTS Exhibitor Passport in each of their territories to drill down to targeted prospects so that they can create lists for sales calls and visits for their sales people. We looked at the other tools inside MTInsight that provide business opportunities and briefings relevant to their customer industries and how to search for customer contact information. Territory reviews and mapping, research services, and committee involvement were also covered in our session.
While I was in the Dayton, Ohio, area, I took advantage of the opportunity and called upon a few other members. I was able to squeeze in a quick tour and product discussion with another member before I left town. Even though I was only able to spend under two hours at this visit before I had to head to the airport, I was impressed by their team and how much they were able to teach me about their company and technology. When we toured the facility, everyone was more than eager to take a break, greet me, and then explain to me exactly what they were doing and their role in the company.
In 2019 we’ll be hitting the road more: more member visits, more member feedback, more member outreach.
Do you want AMT to come to you?
Do you have a specific topic you’d like to learn more about?
Do you need AMT to help you find a solution?
All you have to do is ask and we’ll be there. Take a look at our calendar to see where we’ll be in the next few months. I already have three visit trips booked for January and will be in the Houston area for Houstex in February. Reach out to me at kbrown@amtonline.org or 571-432-7282 or Steve Lesnewich at slesnewich@amtonline.org or 908-313-8266.
