In autumn 2023, Heatco Finland's sales managers Nestori Naukkarinen and Heikki Ylänne stopped to think about the company's situation. Heatco operates in the field of building technology, and the construction industry has been in a challenging market situation since 2022. Nestori and Heikki felt that they needed experienced and competent support for sales management sparring in a challenging market situation. "We went looking for a father figure of some kind, and luckily we found one," laughs Heikki.
After some research, More Than Training Company was selected as a partner. MTTC's team consisted of Janne Kolehmainen as a coach and Kalle Saleva as a customer and project manager. MTTC was chosen because the pieces fit together. "Janne has really good and comprehensive experience in sales management, and the offer was really good," describes Nestori, and Heikki continues: "We also wanted to try something new. There was something different and distinctive about MTTC's offer, and Kalle described your competitive advantage in a way that suited us."
Janne sparred with sales managers a total of six times starting in November 2023, and both Kalle and Janne coached a wider group at Heatco at the company's joint events. Key themes in the project were a sales and cooperative culture, understanding the meaning of work, and proactive sales work. "There wasn't one big goal set for the program, but each meeting and sparring session had its own goals," Nestori explains. Heikki thanks the fact that the program was relevant to everyday needs and changing situations: "It was good that the program could be modified as needed. The most important thing was to find solutions for how to survive a difficult time, and they were found."
According to Nestor and Heik, their own expectations for the cooperation were fully met. "My expectations were met really well," says Nestori. "Joint sparring moments were always awaited opportunities, and we got a lot of everyday tools for sale. Even more significant were the lessons that led to personal growth and kindness towards one's own work and the work of the team in a challenging market situation. In practice, the change in what is done can be seen, for example, in the fact that the focus is no longer on manipulating the market situation, but at the seller level, the focus is on one's own doing."
"I am very satisfied with what I got from the program. We went through really concrete things. In addition, at the beginning of the program, there was a lot of talk about team building, trust and the "we" culture. I have taken them to a practical level for the team", thanks Heikki as well.
The heatco people give special thanks to Janne, Kalle and MTTC for their customized approach, genuine caring and the effectiveness of the program. "This coaching was really personalized and personal. Janne pointed out examples of our own company's everyday life and work, and from that he noticed that we and our company were really at the center of every coaching session", describes Nestori. Heikki is also on the same lines: "The experience of coaching was always that I was listened to and that I was allowed to speak. You could be free in the situation, and at the same time we were challenged enough that the brain started to work."
In addition, Nestori would like to praise how flexible MTTC was in terms of implementation, training locations and service, when almost all meetings took place largely in the sales and production phase of face masks - and not nearly always in the PK region. "Nowadays, Teams and the culture of the capital region live so strongly that you clearly distinguished yourself here, when we met for example in Jyväskylä several times."
In everyday life, the coaching program has been seen, for example, in an increase in the positivity of sales, in new perspectives and courage for sales, and in the development of teamwork and meeting practices. Both Nestori and Heikki openly recommend working with MTTC: "These trainings have had a real impact, even on an individual level. We recommend MTTC 10/10, and especially for younger guys like us, this kind of senior coach has been a great support for the development of both our own and the company's work."
Nestori and Heikki are ready to talk about our cooperation with MTTC to those who are thinking about cooperation by phone.
Thank you Nestori, Heikki and the whole Heatco team!
