Recently, I was riding a shotgun with a stranger in his SUV on the long but beautiful drive from Calgary, Alberta, to Fernie (British Columbia). After about an hour of our four-hour trip, we’d covered most of the weather and sports subjects. I decided to try and steer us towards more substantive topics.
My driver asked me, “What is your profession?”
“I am employed in the oil and natural gas industry in Alberta. He said that business is booming.
He explained that Canada pumps enormous amounts of gas and oil out of the earth for both its use and export. Canada is the third largest natural gas and oil producer in the World. The majority of the oil and gas comes from northern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the northwest territories near the Arctic Circle.
I asked, “Do you work on rigs?”
Paul laughed. “I work in telecommunications.” My company sells oil and gas companies satellite phones. It’s the only communication method the home office has with the remote exploration and drilling operations.
“My father and brother own the business and I do some marketing and selling for them.” “I did work on a rig as a roughneck for about 6 months.”
He was intrigued by his last comment. I didn’t think he looked like a roughneck. And eager to know more about this industry and its technology, I asked him to elaborate: Who are the major players? How deep are these wells? How long does it usually take to drill a well? What is the operation of the equipment? What are the risks? How is it to live in the middle of nowhere for several months?
Paul answered my questions with confidence and credibility. He’d clearly learned a lot from his experiences, and he had to learn a lot of them the hard way.
My main question was: “Whatever drove you to leave your marketing and sales position for six months in order to become a drilling technician?” You’d better explain to me how something like that will advance your career unless it’s just about the money.
He explained, “You must understand something very crucial about the oil and natural gas business.” It’s unbelievably intensely competitive. Many people are interested in making money. If you want to work with major companies, you have to prove that you are knowledgeable. “That’s it.
Why does a guy who sells phones and software for telecommunications in this industry need to work the rigs as a way of proving himself? “I don’t think that drilling expertise has any relation to hooking up telephone service for remote camps?”
Paul smiled. “When I started in this business, I quickly learned that the first thing you are asked by oil and gas professionals when you begin to interact with them is, ‘What kind of experience do you possess?’
It doesn’t really matter if you are pitching drill bits or inventory systems. Credibility is key. For them, this means that you must show first-hand knowledge of their World. It’s all about the relationships. It’s impossible to get far in the second without a solid foundation. That’s why I took the job at the rigs. “I’m blowing past my competitors these days because they haven’t gotten the memo yet.”
Paul continued to tell me that his small company is generating more business than its nearest, larger competitor. He also said that customer retention had improved in the past few years and that more and more customers were coming to him because they were unhappy with their rivals.
Paul’s story is not only interesting, but it also contains some powerful and simple marketing and sales lessons that can be applied to any business. Here are a few.
Market focus. There are many ruins of businesses that tried to expand beyond their core competencies. Paul’s company decided to focus its satellite phone business on the Western Canadian oil industry and target major providers with remote operations.
They were tempted to expand several years ago into a segment in the extreme sports market – wilderness snowmobilers, hikers, climbers, and sports fishermen – but instead chose to focus on a lucrative and growing market that they already knew. They have been able to achieve this success by maintaining a disciplined approach and acting intelligently and aggressively.
Knowing your customers. Paul has clearly learned from this experience. Great companies are distinguished by their ability to build deep and productive relationships with their customers on their terms rather than yours. Nobuyuki IIei, the legendary Sony president, would dress up as a salesperson for a whole week to sell consumer electronics at a department store in Europe or America. He wanted to know what people bought and why.
Jet Blue’s President, David Neeleman, does the same thing, serving as a flight attendant to listen to what his customers are saying.
Getting down at ground level with customers–listening, watching, testing ideas and assumptions–is fundamental to the success of any business and can hardly be overstated. John Sall, co-founder of SAS, the largest privately owned software company in the World, describes his company’s simple strategy: “Listen to your customers.” Listen to your staff. Listen to your employees.
Shared risk is a powerful way to gain a customer’s trust. When a vendor is willing to share some of their own risk in order to serve customers, it creates lasting bonds of loyalty.
Paul’s willingness to sacrifice his career for six months to live as a roughneck on a remote oilfield and learn the business of his customers from the ground up spoke volumes about his commitment to his clients. It may be more expensive to invest in your business in the short term, but it will pay off in the long run with repeat customers, loyal customers, and a distinct advantage over competitors.
In a time where so many businesses are struggling to survive, it is instructive to learn from those who are succeeding. Despite the dismal economic climate, unsettling world events, and fierce competition around the globe, companies like Paul’s manage to not only keep their business alive but grow it dramatically. How? How?