Maurizio Orsetti has had an exciting journey – and the future is looking bright. After 20 years’ experience in the motorcycle industry and five years as an area manager at MOTOREX, he knows the industry inside out. His talent for languages opened the door to an international export career in powersports. Orsetti quickly found his rhythm and discovered his vocation as an international area manager, a role that perfectly matches his skills and passion. Find out more about his inspiring career in our exclusive interview.
I came across MOTOREX purely by chance. I had been working in the motorcycle industry for around 20 years, mainly at Suzuki and as an importer at Peugeot. At that time, MOTOREX had already begun to establish its partnership with Suzuki and one of their representatives paid us a visit. He conducted training courses and presented some products. This was our first direct experience with MOTOREX. Our interactions were always very positive, but I never considered switching to MOTOREX.
When I left Suzuki, I worked as a manager in a garage in central Switzerland. The job was interesting and I enjoyed it very much. Unfortunately, we also had to work on Saturdays and the long commute left me little time to myself. And so I soon resigned from the job. I was looking around the job market shortly afterwards, when my girlfriend at the time pointed out a vacancy at MOTOREX. So I applied for the vacant sales position. I didn’t initially apply for the position of area manager. Because the role required a certification in sales management, which I didn’t have. The HR manager at the time called me and asked me if I’d be interested in the vacant area manager position considering my extensive experience in the two-wheeler industry. I was impressed by how much MOTOREX values experience and so I diverted my résumé to the other job. This is a real plus factor of MOTOREX, for which I am very grateful.
Five years ago I started working as an area manager for the Swiss market at MOTOREX. I worked in this position for almost one year exactly. If I’m honest, I would have liked to have stayed in the position a little longer and done more with the sales management team. But then a position came up in the powersports export sector. I speak Spanish, Italian and French. And, because this perfectly aligned with the requirements of the international sales manager, I was recommended for the position. It wasn’t a hard decision to accept the job. However, I had some reservations about having a German boss. I wonder if that would work? An Italian and a German? I admit I was a little worried, but in the end it worked out very well. Both positions are challenging, but the international market suits my character better. Because that way I can act out my passions. And be fully behind everything I do.
While looking after the international market, I noticed some similarities with the Swiss market. What struck me, however, were the extreme differences. The Swiss population acts differently from the rest of the world in many respects. We want to take inspiration from international powersports and adopt some of their ways of working. These differences are also noticeable in meetings: while the Swiss are focused on their market, we have a broader vantage point because the challenges beyond our borders are greater.
At first, I was responsible for Europe and South America, which was chaotic at first because there was next to no customer history. I had to build everything from scratch. Having completed many training courses, including some in Spanish, we have now reached a good level. Following restructuring, I am now responsible for Europe (Spain, Portugal, France, Holland and Belgium) as well as Africa. I rebuilt everything there too and now we are growing thanks to a good importer.
What’s important for me is that I can express myself in the local language. This creates trust and significantly improves communication with customers, especially since not all business partners speak English. It’s often the case that salespeople and mechanics don’t understand English, so it’s even more important to speak their language. Their views about us are crucial to our success and market share.
As a Spanish speaker, I also understand Portuguese quite well. I am grateful and proud that MOTOREX has given me this opportunity to live out my skills and passion. Now that I am responsible for other regions and would like to expand our position in these markets, I am set on improving my English.
I look after some countries, such as Italy and France, more intensively. My motto is to see every customer at least once a year. During COVID-19, online meetings helped, but human contact remains crucial in sales. Our product has a higher local value. This is how we differentiate ourselves from other partners and strengthen our brand identity. When I visit a country, I meet dealers, managers and mechanics to get a comprehensive picture. We find out how the market is being served and whether our importer is doing a good job. Often it seems as if everything is working well, but the truth can only be discovered through personal visits and conversations. This also allows us to identify suggestions for improvement and requirements that the importer does not notice.
I am working on a complex project with Fantic, a major motorcycle manufacturer. In order to remain competitive, we had to take over the entire customs clearance and delivery to Italy. Customs clearance in Italy is very complicated. Fortunately, everything worked out. And we were finally able to deliver the first 10,000 litres two weeks ago. That was truly a success.
Another successful project was the collaboration with the racing team Corratec. At that time we had a lot of sponsorships, but no race teams. So I was very excited. When we met with the Corratec team we discussed branding. We defined a few arrangements, but then realised that they wouldn’t work out practically. And then we came up with the idea of using something quite banal. Why not simply a water bottle? These stand out at races because riders use them and also give them away. So this is the best advertising for us. And that’s how the MOTOREX water bottle was created.
There are two things that I really like. One is the diversity of the individual countries that I look after. I also find it exciting to work with a wide variety of people. Every time I send an email or make a phone call, I have to think about who I’m communicating with. This is certainly the case in Switzerland, but it is of course much more extreme overseas because it varies from country to country. It is really exciting and enriching at the same time. What I also find very exciting is travelling to the individual countries. The fact that I am able to look after customers throughout the entire chain, right up to the product end user, is truly remarkable.
My free time and work constantly cross over. It goes without saying that I enjoy riding motorcycles and bikes and I also use our products. And so my work is constantly on my mind. At some point, you are trained in such a way that when you see an opportunity somewhere or start a conversation with someone, you bring up our products. This is the seller instinct. If you do it for a long time, it just happens automatically. You can see it as a curse or a blessing. But the people in our industry are passionate and it’s even more fun when you love it. Getting up every day and enjoying what you do is the most important thing. More about MOTOREX as an employer