Seriously though…what is the secret to getting in the door?

At Leadstone Group we work with many service and supply companies and operators. Both parties, of course have their own specific needs and agendas relative to either performing their job or growing their business.

In the day to day business of oil and gas, getting in the door can be tricky.

There is an uneasy blend of what constitutes as acceptable methods of sales pursuit and the complete and utter abuse of company funds for entertainment relative to establishing a relationship with a buyer to land their business.

Depending on ‘who you are’ or ‘what you look like’ the typical scenario is:

It’s easy to get in the door but getting them to change from their current provider is the problem. Can you relate?

For the rest of us average Joe’s the hard part is just simply getting in the door to present the value proposition. If you don’t have star power how do you stand out?

When we talk to operations personnel about our vendor management tool called Oilfield HUB, we get a universal nod that the current state of understanding and communication between operators and vendors is lacking.

These guys have sales people banging on their door constantly. So it’s understandable that they are not able to accommodate everyone that tries to darken their door. In the words of one COO “If I answered every call or email how would I get any work done!!??” It gets to the point of call blindness. We also hear from our Ops contacts that they are either happy with the guys they are doing business with, or it takes too much effort to change the current provider.

On the other side, sales people are frustrated with the fact that they can’t get in the door because they don’t have an established relationship. How do you ever get to know them if they never answer the phone or respond to email or voicemail regardless of how well you expound the virtues of your product or service…don’t they know how good you are?

So, the games continue. What seems to be the tactic dujour is; let’s hire a really good looking young lady or an ex professional athlete to knock on doors, do pre-orchestrated ‘drive by’s’ at Starbucks or throw outrageous amounts of expense account dollars at prospects with the hope that we land a new contract.

Well, what is the verdict? Does it work? Is the business you happen to land sustainable or once your sales Rockstar moves on to the next greener pasture does the new business go back to the old vendor that they know? I have heard from engineers and ops managers that they have outright told sales reps that they will accept the proposed graft; ie fishing trip, exclusive party, box suite for the flames etc., with the complete understanding that they have absolutely no plans to use their services…ever!!!

Is there a better way? Yes! It’s called Oilfield HUB. Oilfield HUB gives companies the opportunity to level the playing field by getting your company on the preferred vendor list of operators by virtue of what you do and provide. Operations personnel do, in fact, want to know what is going on and what new technology is available but they want to do so on their time when they need it…not when you decide to call and disrupt their day.

Oilfield HUB is quickly becoming the go to site for oil and gas information.

In the words of one seasoned oil and gas executive, “I have never seen anything like what Oilfield HUB is doing, anywhere! You have a product that operators use on a daily basis to manage the life cycle of a well or project, a digital directory of service providers that is exclusive to oil and gas and all of that activity is fuelled by a marketing thrust involving a magazine, newsletter and events that unite buyers and sellers. This is impressive!”

So…What is the secret to getting in the door? Oilfield HUB!

For more information on how to get on more preferred vendor lists call me.

Dave O’Connor, Vice-President Sales, Leadstone Group Inc.