Lieve Van Gijsel and Dries Speybrouck, co-Founders at Sensor IDS, are leaders in their field: using drones to carry out inspections and measurements in places that are difficult for humans to reach. At the Challenge Bootcamp, they discovered the language and methods to make full use of that expertise as entrepreneurs. “Before we could grow, we had to reflect on our company DNA.”
About Sensor IDS
Lieve: “Dries, myself and our third business partner share 10 years of experience in the drone industry, first in the port area under the Maes Group, and from 2021, when the group ceased drone operations during the pandemic, independently as Sensor IDS. Although we do have the required expertise and loyal customers, we also felt that we could achieve more if we professionalised our sales and entrepreneurial approach.”
Dries: “Once we sit down with a potential customer, we know we can win them over. But how do you go about finding those leads? We have a good accountant, but what do those financial statements actually mean? How do you make investment decisions? We were looking for insights into the bigger picture. Are we doing well? Where do we want to take this?”
Lieve: “The sessions on business models, USPs and our personal role in the business were real eye-openers. Besides giving you the theory, bootcamp challenges you to apply this knowledge to your own business. Who is our customer? How should we sell to them? What are our strengths and what kind of business are we? We were forced to reflect on our company’s DNA. Does it lie in our customer intimacy? Our product leadership? Prior to this, we had no answer to these questions. By deliberately taking a few days to reflect on this as a team, it became clear that our business positions itself as customer focused. This realisation gives us direction.”
Dries: “I am very pleased that we did the training programme together. It gave us the language we needed to talk about our business. We were given models to think in the abstract and take strategic decisions step by step. These models are something we still use.”
Lieve: “We have extended customer intimacy into our sales strategy and service. Through automation via LinkedIn, leads are now automatically generated within our target audience. If they accept our initial invitation, I then take over in a personal capacity. Cold sales do not suit us, but this does. When we deliver the report, we now also call the customer by default, asking if everything was received and understood correctly. What’s more, the offer includes a completion date right from the outset.”
Dries: “Since taking the training programme, we now make time to work on our business in addition to our operational duties. Before, if we had an hour spare, we were never quite sure what to do with it. Now, we have a clear to-do list. For instance, we are currently mapping out our business processes to help us better manage bottlenecks in the future.”
Dries: “It was an investment in ourselves as entrepreneurs, and the pay-off is huge. Now we can see the bigger picture. As a result, we feel more motivated and also have a bit more belief in ourselves. Similarly, we were recently able to say ‘no’ to a customer, referring them to a more suitable company. Before, we would have taken the assignment, especially during a quiet month. Now we know that nobody wins in that situation. As for our customers, they are satisfied with the honest feedback and may even come back to us with an assignment that suits us better. These are insights that would otherwise have taken us a good 10 years.”
Lieve: “Discussions with other participants, along with feedback from the experts, have encouraged us to continue, albeit with a slightly more considered approach. We now believe more than ever in the potential of our drones. The best affirmation came after my leave this summer. There were so many leads in my in-tray that I ended up spending an entire day replying to messages. We’ve got plenty of work for the time being, that much is certain.”