Episode #002 / Series: Our Customers' Voices – Nicolas & Quentin Moreau
The podcast is in French, but the transcription for the deaf and hard of hearing provided with the podcast is translated. This allows for reading the content in Dutch and English. Also note that with a Chrome browser extension: "Google Translate", this text can be read in all languages supported by the extension, making this podcast available in your native language.
Badges, Innovation & Prospecting: A Fresh Start for Corona Print
Leave a voice message for Nicolas, Quentin or Camille!
For over 40 years, Corona Print has been a recognised name in Belgium in the production of plastic cards. Specialising in PVC badges and encoding solutions, the company has kept pace with technological change while maintaining a high standard of craftsmanship.
Today, with Nicolas and Quentin Moreau stepping in, the new generation is bringing renewed momentum to this family-run business. Their aim: to launch a new phase of commercial development by partnering with specialised experts.
In this context, they’ve chosen to work with PHCom to support their B2B prospecting strategy.
A Clear Intention to Structure Prospecting
Recognising that technical expertise alone isn’t enough to grow a client portfolio, Nicolas and Quentin have decided to structure their commercial approach. Their vision is clear: to stay focused on their core business while outsourcing the prospecting phase to an experienced partner.
By turning to PHCom, they are looking for:
- A human-centred, high-quality approach to B2B telesales
- An ability to understand their niche market (badges, encoding, security)
- An agile partnership aligned with the values of a family business
A Collaboration That Begins… with Ambition
In their testimonial on the podcast *Les voix de nos clients*, the two brothers share their expectations, their outlook on sales, and what they hope to gain from their partnership with PHCom.
What comes through in this conversation is clarity, boldness, and a genuine desire to build. By choosing to seek support from the outset, they’re laying solid foundations for growth — in line with the evolving demands of B2B business today.
Listen to the Full Episode
In this episode, we discuss family business succession, technology, plastic cards, badges, recyclability… and the challenges of prospecting when you run a modern SME.
#B2BProspecting #Telesales #PVCBadges #PlasticCards #PHCom #CoronaPrint #B2BPodcast #LesVoixDeNosClients #Encoding #Security #CommercialDevelopment #FamilyBusiness #SalesSupport #OutsourcedProspecting
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:00:12] Hello and welcome to this new episode of the Performance and Harmony podcast produced by PHCom in the transforma studio in Brussels, with the technical assistance of The Podcast Factory Org. Nadia Ben Jelloun: [00:00:22] The Performance and Harmony podcast is intended for marketing and sales managers as well as company directors with commercial functions. Stéphane Depaepe: [00:00:30] Every month, we share good experiences in finding new customers for companies active in business to business. Nadia Ben Jelloun: [00:00:36] You can find each episode on the PHCom .be P.H.C.O.M website, and also on all good podcast platforms. Stéphane Depaepe: [00:00:45] You can support this podcast and promote its visibility by sharing it with as many people as possible via a like, a comment, a share. Nadia Ben Jelloun: [00:00:52] The answering machine is always active so that you can leave us a message, we will answer it with great pleasure. Stéphane Depaepe: [00:00:57] You can also make an appointment directly with Nadia or Stéphane by going to PHCom .be Nadia Ben Jelloun: [00:01:03] See you soon. Camille de Meeûs: [00:01:03] Hello Nicolas and Quentin, I am delighted to receive you today as part of our future collaboration with PHCom. How are you? Quentin Moreau: [00:01:10] Hello Camille, I'm very well. Camille de Meeûs: [00:01:11] Do you feel good here? Are you comfortable? Quentin Moreau: [00:01:14] Ah, it's great, nice place! Camille de Meeûs: [00:01:16] Is this an exercise you have already done? Talking like that, behind a microphone? Nicolas Moreau: [00:01:19] Sometimes, but not that often. Camille de Meeûs: [00:01:21] Ok, we'll do the exercise together today. So tell me, why are you here today, and above all, what is Corona Print? Quentin Moreau: [00:01:28] We are here to talk about us, it seems. Corona Print is a company that makes plastic cards, and prints printed plastic cards. We make the plastic card, we print it for the customer if necessary, but we also sell printers that allow the card to be printed so that the customer can do it themselves. Camille de Meeûs: [00:01:46] Tell me a little about the history of this company. Nicolas Moreau: [00:01:49] Corona Print started in 82. It was our dad who started it by printing with the techniques of the time, on paper first, and they quickly turned to plastic cards because the plastic card market was booming. And very quickly technologies were added to the printing, which now makes us more of a technology company rather than a simple printing company to put colors on the PVC. Camille de Meeûs: [00:02:14] You were talking to me about technology, what do you mean by that? Nicolas Moreau: [00:02:16] In addition to the printing that we see with the naked eye on the card, on the PVC, white at the start, comes the printing and inside the card, there is a chip. Different kinds of chips that can be encoded in different ways. And in there, our great specialty is this encoding for the highest security, the greatest flexibility, compatibility with all access and identification systems. Camille de Meeûs: [00:02:38] Currently, we are still in an era where, well, ecology is super important, whether it is us on a daily basis or companies, we must pay attention. Are your badges made of plastic? How do you make them? Quentin Moreau: [00:02:49] Traditionally, the PVC badge is made of PVC. So PVC has a bad reputation and rightly so, but PVC is recyclable. So we already invite our customers, who can, to collect the badges after use, bring them back to us and we offer the recycling service. Our PVC cards that we recycle become industrial pipes in specific areas, etc. But we ourselves offer our customers, even before the possible recycling of a used badge, but we offer our customers to make badges in recycled PVC. And then we also have alternative possibilities, we make wooden cards for events for example, cardboard cards, PET cards which is already a more environmentally friendly plastic. We have all sorts of alternatives that are nice to use. Camille de Meeûs: [00:03:32] But do you only make badges and are there only printers to print these badges or are there other things in the catalog that you sell or that you set up? Quentin Moreau: [00:03:40] We have a super corny slogan, which everyone has taken up since, no I think we took it up. It's "Much more than plastic card". The plastic card is the central product, we have plastic card printers which are really our second product, but then we obviously have a fairly coherent catalog that revolves around the plastic card. Obviously, we sell lanyards, neck straps that allow the badge to be worn, and card holders that extend the durability of the card. This is how, for example, a few public transport companies in Belgium order hundreds of thousands of card holders from us which allow them to protect the Mobib card. But we sell all sorts of accessories that go very well, the yoyo of the rollers, etc. Camille de Meeûs: [00:04:15] Where are you located? And how many employees do you have at Corona Print? How does it work internally, the internal organization? Quentin Moreau: [00:04:21] We are located in Forêt, not far from the Gare du Midi. We are a small team only, today we are only five, and internally it works like a family business so everyone works in synergy. There is the one who is more specialized in graphics, there is the one who is more specialized in technology precisely, for everything that is encoding, we have a customer manager, we have one who does more of the administrative work, but everyone lends a hand, we are almost all competent in the different fields. Camille de Meeûs: [00:04:46] Is your dad still with you? You say it's a family business, are there several of you from the family working in the company? Nicolas Moreau: [00:04:51] Officially, we took over the company in December. Camille de Meeûs: [00:04:54] Bravo! Congratulations! Nicolas Moreau: [00:04:56] That's it, and so it's Quentin and I who are the new bosses. And to the question of whether dad is still there, yes, in the sense that he still comes to the workplace very regularly to advise us. Camille de Meeûs: [00:05:08] To recap, what you do, your main scoop, is really access badges in companies, that's why we talk about technology with a chip in the badges. How is it going with the competition? What would you say to your biggest competitor? Quentin Moreau: [00:05:20] I'm not used to prospecting with my competitors, but we are very strong in the knowledge of the chip. We have been working on it, encoding it, securing it for years now. What do I want to say to my competitors? That I'm better than them! Camille de Meeûs: [00:05:35] Are there many competitors on the market? Quentin Moreau: [00:05:37] Belgium is a very small country, so we have a few competitors in Belgium but it is true that we are in a market where foreign competitors can possibly come and take a look. But we have a lot of partners after that. Camille de Meeûs: [00:05:48] What would you say to young people who, after their studies, are starting out? What advice would you give them if they were starting out in your sector of activity? Quentin Moreau: [00:05:54] Ah, I would say come to us because we are looking to hire. Camille de Meeûs: [00:05:57] You are currently recruiting! (Nicolas Moreau: Absolutely) But what type of profile are you recruiting for the moment? Quentin Moreau: [00:06:00] We need someone to do the productions, the small production that we have to do on a daily basis for our customers, whether it is printing, whether it is printing with encoding, whether it is personalization. Because often the badges come with the printing of a photo, a first and last name, so you have to be able to manipulate a database, but then it requires rigor. It still requires a bit of a technical side, because you have to know how to handle quite a few different tools, relatively modern machines, programs that evolve a lot. Between what I was doing ten years ago when I started working in the company and today it's impressive, the number of things, tools that have changed, you have to be able to evolve with all that. Camille de Meeûs: [00:06:36] Now, we are going to talk more about the customer, commercial aspect, how is it going? How do you find customers today? How do you prospect? Nicolas Moreau: [00:06:43] We have a large number of historical customers who, when we look at their first orders, often date from before 2000, others well before, but who may have changed their name in the meantime. So there is a good base of loyal customers, who have even had the opportunity to go and find other suppliers and who have returned appreciating our ability to adapt to new challenges in terms of security and technology. And in addition, we have customers who necessarily come by word of mouth. And now, very soon, we will broaden our customer horizons thanks to PHCom which will help us in this process... Camille de Meeûs: [00:07:18] Great! So, that allows me to jump right in. What do you actually expect from PHCom? So, the collaboration will start soon, what do you mainly expect from our profession and what we will bring you? Quentin Moreau: [00:07:28] The recruitment of new customers, we are too focused on our current customer base. It brings us quite a bit of work because each project is recurring but with new possibilities, so it's true that we have work, but we don't work at all with the customers who are with our competitors or the customers who don't necessarily imagine needing our products. We don't know these people, we are not yet used to contacting them, recruiting them, finding them. And that's what we expect from PHCom, it's from this collaboration to learn how to go and see these customers, learn how to find them. Camille de Meeûs: [00:07:58] On a commercial level, because you have been in business since '82, can you explain some successes or failures you have encountered in sales, in internal prospecting, are there things you could share with us? It's even interesting for the PHCom teams to know. Nicolas Moreau: [00:08:13] So far, we can generally only talk about successes, given that the projects that we saw as well-developed and very interesting, as a project, as soon as we took the time to get involved and prepare a good collaboration with the client, in almost 100% of cases, the project worked because we identified the client's need in advance. So as soon as there was a request, we responded with a coherent offer and project, and the project was always a success. Camille de Meeûs: [00:08:40] How does collaborating with PHCom meet a need? So yes, we understand that you want to meet new people, new customers, broaden your horizons, move a little outside the framework of the loyalty you have with customers for years. Is there anything else you expect? Quentin Moreau: [00:08:54] We have taken over the company and so we are, it seems, the best ambassadors, we will see on the ground, for our own products, but I expect PHCom to help us, to accompany us on the ground. Approaching a customer who is expecting us is easy. Approaching a customer who wasn't necessarily expecting us is very nice, it's a challenge, but if we are accompanied by professionals it will be fantastic. Camille de Meeûs: [00:09:16] What was the trigger for you to choose a collaborator, an external partner on a commercial level, how did it happen? How do you know PHCom in fact? Quentin Moreau: [00:09:23] In fact, PHCom called one day while recruiting new customers and I was there, I almost slammed the door but I thought it was nice, the guy was polite so I said to myself "I'm not going to slam the phone down, I'm going to answer politely". And at the end of the discussion that lasted an hour, he said to me "So you know how we do it with potential prospects? We are kind, we are efficient, we are pleasant". That was the beginning of a collaboration. Camille de Meeûs: [00:09:44] That's what I was going to say, so you really participated in the prospecting then! You thought Great, but now you know how we are going to be prospectors for you? Quentin Moreau: [00:09:51] It was crazy, it was very nice, it's based on experience. Camille de Meeûs: [00:09:53] Too cool. What will be the primary satisfaction of collaborating with PHCom? I presume that in addition you had an hour-long discussion with one of our prospectors. Quentin Moreau: [00:10:02] I can't wait to be in the field and make my first customer as a result of this collaboration, to see what it's like to show up at someone's place who isn't expecting me and finally convince them. I have a lot of expectations about that, but I imagine there will be a lot of pleasure in having made a first customer like that. Camille de Meeûs: [00:10:17] So it's a real challenge, is it something you already do? Are you also in "sales" in the company? Do you sometimes also pick up your phone to try to contact new people? How does it work then? Nicolas Moreau: [00:10:27] Having been in the company for almost 20 years now, I mainly meet clients for technical sales, so the client approach is something very classic for me. And the approach of pushing the limits beyond the apparent limits, finding a solution, even when there isn't one, is something that has fueled me for 20 years in the company. And so here, doing it at a commercial level is a new approach, but one that really fits into this spirit of renewal and discovery. Camille de Meeûs: [00:10:53] Your clientele, it's all types of companies in fact, mainly what are your clients, who are your clients? Quentin Moreau: [00:10:58] We work mainly with companies that themselves offer services to end customers. For example, access control companies, or we have companies that offer customer loyalty type services etc. So they come to us to get the loyalty cards, and they offer a complete package to a store, a chain of stores, etc. But there you go, access control companies are our daily customers for producing badges for end customers. Now, it happens that we also have the direct customer, for various reasons, sometimes because the end customer themselves manages their security but needs badges, they come to us! Then after that in the customers, we have the small club that wants 50 cards for its members, we have the large chain of stores, we can have a graphic designer, a designer because he wants badges for a specific project. We really have quite a few different profiles, but it's true that we have some loyal customers that we see almost every day, who themselves are generally resellers. Camille de Meeûs: [00:11:51] Thank you very much Nicolas and Quentin, we were delighted to receive you today and all the best for our collaboration and especially for you who just took over the company in December. I wish you the greatest possible success. Quentin Moreau: [00:12:01] Thank you Camille.Podcast breakdown:
Podcast transcription:
Our podcast, a series dedicated to the voices of our customers
The podcast is in French, but the transcription for the deaf and hard of hearing provided with the podcast is translated. This allows for reading the content in Dutch and English. Also note that with a Chrome browser extension: "Google Translate", this text can be read in all languages supported by the extension, making this podcast available in your native language.
Episode #001 / Series: The voices of our clients – Valérie Gérard
Call International: 20 years of human, bold and passionate collaboration with PHCom
Leave a voice message for Valérie or Camille!
In this episode, Camille De Meeûs interviews Valérie Gérard, director of Call International, for a deeply human and sincere conversation. For over 20 years, Call International and PHCom have been building a relationship based on listening, trust... and a lot of boldness.
They talk about telephone prospecting, client proximity, embodied values, and also a constantly evolving reality: B2B language training. Through anecdotes and memories, Valérie highlights the importance of relationships, human connection, and commercial agility.
#B2BProspecting #LanguageTraining #EthicalSales #CustomerRelationship #PHCom #CallInternational #B2BPodcast #VoicesOfOurClients
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:00:12] Hello and welcome to this new episode of the Performance and Harmony podcast produced by PHCom in the Transforma studio in Brussels, with technical support from The Podcast Factory Org. Nadia Ben Jelloun: [00:00:22] The Performance and Harmony podcast is intended for marketing and sales managers as well as company directors who take on commercial roles. Stéphane Depaepe: [00:00:30] Every month we share successful experiences in finding new clients for companies operating in the B2B space. Nadia Ben Jelloun: [00:00:36] You can find each episode on the PHCom.be website, and also on all major podcast platforms. Stéphane Depaepe: [00:00:45] You can support this podcast and boost its visibility by sharing it widely via a like, a comment, or a share. Nadia Ben Jelloun: [00:00:52] The voicemail is always active, so feel free to leave us a message—we'll be happy to reply. Stéphane Depaepe: [00:00:57] You can also schedule a meeting directly with Nadia or Stéphane by visiting PHCom.be Nadia Ben Jelloun: [00:01:03] See you soon. Camille de Meeûs: [00:01:03] Hello Valérie. Valérie Gérard: [00:01:04] Hello Camille. Camille de Meeûs: [00:01:05] How are you? Valérie Gérard: [00:01:06] I'm doing well. Camille de Meeûs: [00:01:06] So tell me, is this your first time recording a podcast in a studio? Valérie Gérard: [00:01:10] First time ever—I've never done this before, so it's all new to me. Camille de Meeûs: [00:01:13] Great! Today, we’re going to talk about Call International and PHCom. So, tell us a bit—what exactly does Call International do? Valérie Gérard: [00:01:22] Call International is a language and communication training centre that’s been around for over 35 years. We've grown quite a bit and now have three centres in Belgium—our original one in Waterloo, one in downtown Brussels on Avenue Louise, and another base in Liège at the Grand Poste. It's a lovely place where our trainers can work from, whether to provide on-site training in companies, host clients for one-on-one or small group sessions, or offer online courses—especially since that trend has really taken off post-COVID. Camille de Meeûs: [00:02:00] So it’s language training, right? (Valérie Gérard: Yes). Trainers go into companies to teach languages and help people learn new ones? Valérie Gérard: [00:02:06] Exactly. We mainly work in B2B—about 98% of our work is with companies. We help employees improve their language skills, whether in English, Dutch, or French—our three main offerings. But we also teach German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese on request. We do offer more exotic options, but they’re much less in demand. Camille de Meeûs: [00:02:35] What’s the story behind Call International? How long has it existed? How many of you are there across the three sites? And why the name? Valérie Gérard: [00:02:42] Call International—about the name, first of all, it has nothing to do with call centres, which didn’t exist back then. It originally meant "Center for Accelerated Language Learning". Why accelerated? Because our innovative method helps you learn better, faster, and more playfully. It’s super interactive and dynamic. The method is modelled on how children naturally acquire languages—first understanding and speaking, not reading and writing. We recreate that environment for adults. Adults are just big kids—they love having fun when they learn, and that’s more effective than grammar drills. We focus on spontaneity and speaking. Even with a very basic foundation, if people can play with the language and use it freely, they quickly start communicating. That’s what drives us. Camille de Meeûs: [00:03:49] It really makes you want to join when I hear you talk like that—I'm not great with languages, but the focus on spontaneity and fun sounds awesome. Your training must be so cool. (Valérie Gérard: Oh, it is!). Are they in modules? How does it work when you go into companies? Valérie Gérard: [00:04:02] We often work in modules tailored to the learners’ needs. What sets Call International apart is how we support learners. Everyone is unique—you said it yourself. We all learn differently. Some are experienced multilinguals; others have barely touched a second language. Before training begins, we identify what holds them back or accelerates them. Then we select the right training formula. The goal isn’t bilingualism—unless you’re a linguist like me. For employees, it’s about using a second language with confidence, removing communication barriers. That’s what we aim for—practical tools, at the right level, step by step. For example, when I started at Call International, I was teaching French as a foreign language to Americans, Japanese, etc. One of the first expressions we teach is “Je voudrais”—a polite request. Everyone uses it. But “Je voudrais” is grammatically complex—it’s the conditional, with a stem change. Explaining that to a Japanese learner is a nightmare. Camille de Meeûs: [00:05:59] Total nightmare Valérie Gérard: [00:05:59] Exactly—you lose them immediately. But if you play a game with real objects—things they’ve seen before—and get them to repeat “Je voudrais un pain, une pomme, un cahier, un rendez-vous”, they pick it up automatically. We don’t explain the grammar—they don’t care. What they need is to ask for what they want and be understood.Podcast timeline:
Podcast transcription:
Camille de Meeûs: [00:06:33] And above all, daring—because to dare is to move forward (Valérie Gérard: Exactly). You can really feel the passion, it's such a joy to have a guest like you for this podcast. A quick question: there are many training centres in Belgium (Valérie Gérard: Yes), so competition is quite high, right? How do you stand out?
Valérie Gérard: [00:06:50] That initial support, as I said, is really crucial. We're still working in a handcrafted way—we don’t rely on artificial intelligence to test people, we use human intelligence. Every person starting a training course at Call International gets an online meeting—because we can’t always be physically present in companies—with one of our so-called 'pedago-designers'. These people assess the level, needs, learning profile, and then make a tailored training recommendation. That’s something quite unique. What also sets us apart is our innovative learning methodology, which we teach all our trainers. Trainers are selected because they teach their native or near-native language, confirmed by native speaker trainers. They're trained by us in our learning methods. No one starts with a client without going through our hands to learn and apply our training techniques, including memory retention steps. Natural language learning starts orally—otherwise you pick up bad pronunciation habits—and then we build structure through writing. Finally, everything is re-automated through roleplays, games, and debates at higher levels. That’s the real distinction at Call International. And as I mentioned, we're a centre for both language and communication training. So for advanced learners, we also focus on communication techniques in another language. Take public speaking: it’s hard—I know, I’m doing a podcast now! But delivering a good presentation in a foreign language? That's twice the challenge. Our specialised communication trainers work on both fronts: the language—sentence structures, key expressions—and the delivery—hand gestures, tone of voice, impact, eye contact (Camille de Meeûs: The intention too) The intention, exactly—how do you get across a difficult message? How do you manage possible objections at the end of a presentation? These are all techniques we teach our learners too.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:09:25] When learning a language, some people just seem to pick it up faster. Take me: I’m not at all gifted for it. I’ve got friends who spend three weeks in Italy and suddenly speak it—not fluently, but they can hold everyday conversations. That’s the hard part for me!
Valérie Gérard: [00:09:43] You used the keyword: the ear. Language learning mainly happens through the ear and its ability to distinguish the sounds of the language you're learning. Here's a story I love because it helps demystify language learning struggles: a baby is born with what musicians call absolute pitch—the ear is open to all sounds from all languages. But depending on the language the child is raised in, the ear closes itself to sounds that aren’t meaningful. The narrower the sound range of the mother tongue, the harder it becomes in adolescence or adulthood to learn new languages, because the ear simply loses the sensitivity to pick up those unfamiliar sounds and transmit them properly to the brain. The brain then instructs the speech apparatus to reproduce the sound. Tiny muscles in our middle ear vibrate tiny bones, which send sound to the brain to be decoded. Our brain uses what it knows—native sounds—to reproduce foreign ones. That’s why we get the classic “very nice” French accent in English—apparently charming, but when you’re a CEO…
Camille de Meeûs: [00:11:08] Not really ideal.
Valérie Gérard: [00:11:09] Exactly—not always ideal. What also sets us apart at Call International is that we’re the only training provider in Belgium offering a solution to this. We have access to a one-of-a-kind self-learning platform that can retrain the middle ear’s small muscles, making them flexible again so they can vibrate much faster and pass on high-pitched sounds—like those in Dutch. It’s not about intelligence when a French speaker struggles to learn Dutch—it’s about the ear’s ability to hear and reproduce those high sounds correctly.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:11:58] Honestly, I’m fascinated by what you’re sharing. You can feel that Call International has strong values. Human connection clearly matters a lot to you—you're not all in on digitalisation, unlike what we hear in most companies today. What other values are important to you?
Valérie Gérard: [00:12:15] I would never dismiss digitalisation or AI—it’s a goldmine and helps us a lot. For example, if we’re told: “Here’s a target group in passenger transport, we need a custom training path,” we can prompt ChatGPT: “Help me design a strong course for people in this field, with 30 hours of training.” It gives great starting points. But still, a human trainer leads the sessions. There’s so much emotion in training—especially language learning. You first need to build trust. We’ve got small tools for that. Then a near-emotional bond often forms with the trainer—that’s a huge lever for motivation, learning, and memory. And I don’t think any AI agent will replace that anytime soon.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:13:18] The human factor remains essential—we mustn’t forget it. It needs repeating, restating, underlining.
Valérie Gérard: [00:13:23] And creativity too—how we approach topics. That’s something we really value in our trainers. Their approach matters enormously.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:13:33] Yes. And there's that empathic side (Valérie Gérard: Yes), listening, I mean, I presume that's all super important too. Valérie, let's talk now about the collaboration with PHCom. I believe we've been working together for about twenty years—tell us how it all began, and above all, why did Call International decide to call on PHCom back then?
Valérie Gérard: [00:13:49] Call International reached out to PHCom, I think it was the former director of Call International who met Stéphane at an event—you’d have to ask her the details, I can't remember them anymore—and she introduced him to us. And actually, Stéphane also had this very human, very nice approach to sales, so to speak, or at least to approaching new clients. And Call International simply wanted to develop its client portfolio, and it's true that having time to call people, open doors, arrange meetings, etc., wasn’t something we had back then, and it wasn’t exactly the most fun thing to do either. So personally, I came into this later on, because it was Patrick Wauquier, the founder of Call International, who took the initial meetings. Once a meeting is scheduled, you feel expected. It’s a bit of a different approach to dealing with a prospect when you're expected, rather than knocking on the door and having it closed right away. That's the spirit in which we turned to PHCom, and since the collaboration went really well, it continued. And it’s true that now, for the past few years, we’ve also had to do things a bit differently, approach people in a less direct way or via multiple channels at once, because that’s how life is now—social media, etc. We have to be able to use that.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:15:01] So, how does working with PHCom on a daily basis make Call International more productive?
Valérie Gérard: [00:15:07] Well precisely, there’s the whole phone call side, setting appointments, etc., which is a huge time saver for us. We're very busy on a daily basis; we’re a small team at Call International—seven or eight people on the admin side, not many more—so we’re all juggling multiple tasks. That’s something we can easily delegate. And the fact that we’ve been working with PHCom for so many years means they know us well, they know our clients and prospects well, they know what kind of actions work best, they understand Call’s values, they’ve taken them on board, they've really absorbed them. So when Sophie from PHCom calls on behalf of Call International, it’s just like someone from Call International calling—and that’s great, that kind of relationship is invaluable when it comes to working with PHCom.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:15:53] That’s great because you’re mentioning names from the team, etc. I know Sophie has been working on Call International for a long time. Do you perhaps have a little story or anecdote about your collaboration with PHCom?
Valérie Gérard: [00:16:05] A little story about working with PHCom? I don’t remember the exact names anymore, but I’ve definitely had several stories with different people at PHCom, including one person who handled making the calls, etc., and every year she would book a meeting with the same contact person at a company, pretty much at the same time each year, and she’d say, “Right, this year your coffee meeting with so-and-so at such-and-such company is set for this date.” And I’d go happily, I had a nice time with the person, but nothing ever came from those meetings. So each year I just went for coffee with that person for the fun of hearing her say she had loads of training projects that, in the end, never happened anyway. It’s kind of funny, really.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:16:47] It’s been 20 years—it might well go on for another 20, let’s hope!
Valérie Gérard: [00:16:51] I might not be around by then.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:16:52] What are your expectations at this point in the collaboration? Are there other things you'd maybe like to improve? How do you see the future?
Valérie Gérard: [00:16:59] What I really appreciate is the listening, and also the fact that we’re not stuck in rigid models. Up until March 2020, so five years ago now, Covid, I had meetings lined up by PHCom and was practically on the road all week, or at least three days a week, visiting clients and businesses. I loved that—I really did. I loved discovering what companies did, soaking up the vibe, the culture, seeing how we were received. Was it a rushed chat between meetings, or did they take time? That kind of thing... It allowed me to discover loads of places around Belgium, which was really great. Then March 2020: everything stopped.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:17:37] Everything came to a halt!
Valérie Gérard: [00:17:38] Everything stopped. No room for training in Belgium anymore, no room for language training—we were really sidelined for several months. And I’d always said I’d never do an online meeting, and now I almost never do face-to-face meetings anymore. I really miss it—I keep telling Sophie, “If you can get me an in-person meeting, please do—I’m dreaming of going back into companies, I miss it so much.”
Camille de Meeûs: [00:18:03] Yes, and that’s so much a part of Call International’s values (Valérie Gérard: Yes)—the human connection, that presence, that intention (Valérie Gérard: Exactly) to be with others. So I totally understand.
Valérie Gérard: [00:18:10] Online meetings are fine, they save time, but I feel they cut into the relationship a lot more—the kind of things that nourish the connection and make it possible to chat about “Oh, you came from far? Was there traffic? What’s the weather like today?” It has nothing to do with business, but it helps to build a rapport.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:18:28] It’s what we call an Icebreaker (Valérie Gérard: Exactly). And we use that all the time in prospecting—we take advantage of those moments to get to the heart of the matter. So yes, it’s important (Valérie Gérard: Yes) and it’s definitely getting lost with the digital shift (Valérie Gérard: Yes) and remote interactions.
Valérie Gérard: [00:18:40] If I had one wish, it would be to really go back to seeing people again, spending time with them, and getting an even deeper understanding of their needs.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:18:49] I was going to say—we’ll pass the message on to Sophie then.
Valérie Gérard: [00:18:52] Brilliant. I’ll tell her myself—I see her, because the great thing is that once a month she comes to spend a day at Call in Waterloo, which is great. So even though I’m not getting as many meetings in companies now, I do get to meet with her, so we try to find alternatives.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:19:07] But people’s mindsets have really changed since Covid, even evolved. It’s hard to go back (Valérie Gérard: Yes), isn’t it? People enjoy the comfort of working from home, not having to travel, so I think there’s a whole trend around that and companies need to adapt (Valérie Gérard: Yes). And I can clearly see that it’s a key factor for you.
Valérie Gérard: [00:19:23] Yes, and it varies regionally too—because, for instance, in Brussels, 70% of our classes are still online, but in our Liège centre it’s the opposite, we’re more at 30% online and the rest in person. So companies and mindsets are different. I think the social culture is different, and traffic issues contribute to that too—so we’re dealing with very different challenges and ecosystems.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:19:49] Finally, Valérie, could you give three words that describe your collaboration with PHCom?
Valérie Gérard: [00:19:55] I’d say partnership, because that’s hugely important—it’s really about understanding each other’s needs, expectations and challenges, and I think PHCom really delivers on that. Passion—the passion for what we do, both at PHCom and at Call International—I think that’s extremely important, and it’s one of Call’s core values as well. And I’d say a third value that’s very important to us, that we really care about at Call International, and which I also find at PHCom, is: boldness. The boldness not to close doors, not to get bogged down in well-trodden paths. If something doesn’t work, it’s okay—we’ll have tried. We’ll try something else. Always being willing to question ourselves, to reinvent the way we do things, the way we connect with people. And I think that’s probably what defines us best.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:20:44] Thank you so much Valérie for this interview—it was really great (Valérie Gérard: Thank you) talking with you, and all the best for what’s to come!
Valérie Gérard: [00:20:49] Thank you so much!
Carabistouilles
A wonderful evening spent as a team to round off the year
There's magic in the air !
thanks to all and happy holidays
