Aviation organization flies high as technical staff learn commercial skills : Authority gears up to compete across the globe

Purpose – Reveals that technical staff who used to be a breed apart from sales teams are finding that their roles have increasingly merged at a UK aviation organization as it competes with rivals. Explains that training is helping the technical staff to excel in their expanded role. Design/methodology/approach – Explains the reasons for the training, the form it takes and the results it is achieving. Findings – Details how the training company introduced its selling course to the aviation organization's sales-force. The course focuses on training staff to get to know exactly what is required to help a customer. This is achieved by asking structured questions, listening carefully and identifying and developing value through outcomes that solve the problem and ultimately help the customer's organization to realize its desired business outcomes. Practical implications – Demonstrates that, by recognizing the wealth of experience and knowledge they could offer, the aviation organization's personnel began to identify the value they could create for their customers. Originality/value – Gives the inside story of a training initiative that helped to transform the organizational culture at a formerly nationalized authority.