MaritimeMT

Salesforce has given us the agility to act as a startup – we can work faster and smarter at scale.”

- Hauke Eggert, MaritimeMT Chief Operating Officer
 

16+ employees
Salesforce customer since 2019

 
 

MaritimeMT masters safety at sea through more agile operations with Salesforce

MaritimeMT trains the people brave enough to spend their professional lives at sea. So they can be competent enough to get the job done while safeguarding their own lives and the lives of the crew they serve with.

Now, you’d be right to imagine a government organisation being responsible for this kind of training. But what’s really remarkable is just how much like a digital startup this institute operates.

Not only have they rethought the way they reach, serve and train their customers. They’ve done it with a pandemic looming over them. This is their story. 

Bringing tech and ops together

Hauke Eggert is MaritimeMT’s Chief Operating Officer. But like a lot of the newest generation of operations leaders, he doesn’t just know how his business’ processes work – he’s also deeply aware of what is and isn’t possible with technology.

This combination of competencies meant he could instantly see why it used to be so hard to get things done at MaritimeMT. “We had different people handling data in different ways across six or seven spreadsheets, so we couldn’t even merge the data. Everyone had their own way of working – there was no good process flow.”

It meant leads could fall through the cracks. With little customer tracking, follow-up calls potentially missed, interviews going unscheduled and promising applicants (and potential revenue) being missed.

MaritimeMT decided to implement Sales Cloud to build a sales process befitting their standard of training.

Showing sales there’s a better way

Sometimes, people would rather do something hard than try something new. Hauke knew he had to overcome a cultural obstacle for technology to make a difference. To overcome that obstacle, he needed a clear roadmap and answers to very specific questions about how things were going to work moving forward.

“A combination of Trailhead and Salesforce’s implementation partner, iTechArt, helped me learn what I needed to get staff engaged,” said Hauke. “Having someone to walk me through the steps meant we could tweak every process to fit what we needed.”

The key to initial adoption was to show people, one by one. “We had to make them realise there was a problem in the first place,” explained Hauke. “We’d contrast the manual processes with the ease of use in Salesforce."

Together, MaritimeMT and iTechArt restructured the company’s database and leads process. Now opportunities pass to whoever who can offer the most value, before progressing to the next stage.

MaritimeMT’s staff spend less time chasing and dropping leads and more time selling. Customers can expect an informed follow-up and better experience. “iTechArt has seen challenges like ours before. They helped us go further and integrate key software like DocuSign into our processes – now we get through contracts a lot faster.”

Even beyond new technology, it’s helped them streamline entire processes by making the right data available at the right moments. “We can input sales leads, incident report tickets, log IT hardware issues – there’s infinite things we can do now,” said Hauke. “Salesforce is the way forward – we use it to implement everything.”

Getting leads on track

Smoothing out processes has been key to Sales Cloud’s success. With a single view of the customer, MaritimeMT can push courses prospects are genuinely interested in, rather than spamming them. “Before, our biggest problem was dispersed data,” Hauke said. “With so many databases, it was impossible to get a coherent customer view.”

Now, everyone enters relevant data into Sales Cloud in one place. It’s allowed MaritimeMT to take control of its sales cycle. “We hold a basic safety training course that expires every 5 years. Now we can see who’s contacted us about it in the last 6 months. And we can call everyone who did the course 4 years ago. So we’re proactively bringing in new and recurring revenue.”

Sales Cloud’s tracking capabilities have also given sales reps new motivation. By tracking the student lifetime value, managers get an accurate picture of how much value each sales rep has added.

For staff in a commission-based role, it’s motivation to make the process as easy for themselves as it is for customers. It’s clearly working – Hauke estimates MaritimeMT will realise more revenue in the coming year than the last two years combined. 

Adapting to the industry mid-pandemic

MaritimeMT’s commitment to digital meant it was in a better position than most when COVID-19 struck in early 2020.

It still faced huge challenges – a course grounded in practicality and close-quarters teaching needed revamping for the new normal of remote working.

With its headquarters sitting empty, college acceptances on hold and training consultants grounded, MaritimeMT needed a new, digital-first approach, without compromising the integrity of its teaching.

“We’ve been like a startup for the first half of 2020 – we pivoted some of our courses online,” said Hauke. “With our Learning Management System already integrated into the cloud, we got it done in a couple of months.”

A particular course switched from 100% in-house training to 80% online & self study, with students only coming in for the essential practical training. The results have been transformative for MaritimeMT’s operations, both during the pandemic and after.

One way trainers have got round the lack of physical training is through VR. “We knew VR training in surgical practices created an 86% increase in speed and accuracy,” said Hauke.

With VR, MaritimeMT’s students can learn familiarisation, safety training, medical first aid, launching life rafts and even firefighting – all remotely. VR training can assist in further preparing seafarers for real life emergencies. A combination of this training is paramount to achieve a higher standard. It’s also paid dividends for the environment by reducing training pollutant consequences.

This comes as the industry has clamped down on the maritime industry’s role in pollution – “our graduates have to reflect the business they’re entering. As the industry changes, our training has to change with it. We have the agility to do that.”

And now MaritimeMT has the confidence to attack new industries. Hauke and his team of experts are designing and developing the Superyacht training courses from scratch up to industry standards.

And the company is expanding overseas – “If we have cadets in Asia, for example, they can do the bulk of their course at home, get their pass, come to Malta to finish their essential accreditation and soak up some sun, then go back qualified with a white flag ticket. And they get the best price and convenience.”

That MaritimeMT have done so much in so little time is a credit to their newfound operational agility. Putting the foundations in place for digital agility, smarter customer interactions and scalability has made seafaring a safer venture for people around the globe.

“This is why I joined – we’re forward thinking, client-centric and we take pride in our work. We’re pushing ourselves to provide the best service for every single person, so they can go out with the knowledge needed for a career at sea.”
 
 

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