Selling oilfield services in 2017 is nothing like it was in 2007, and it's certainly nothing like it was in 1987. Unfortunately, amateurs across the industry still sell like we're in the Commodore 64 era. These amateurs stumble around aimlessly hoping the next big deal will save their jobs. I know, I used to be one of them. No one thing happened that made me suddenly become a professional seller. Sandler Sales Training helped (a lot). Linking up with the oil and gas sales expert himself, Mr. Mark LaCour, was another stepping stone. Content marketing certainly played a pivotal role as well. But, while I can't point to one event or tactic made it all click, a handful of things have made all the difference. Here are five of them. Selling Oilfield Services: Turning Pro #1 Stop Caring If you are in sales, your job is not to close every sale. Your job is to close every sale that makes sense. You have to go into every meeting prepared – even happy – to walk away ...

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If you work in the oilfield, you love you some oilfield. Naturally, every now and again you think, "I need me some oilfield music!" But when you Google any variation on "oilfield music" you come up with a handful of short articles filled with broken links and only a few songs. What gives?! We saw this gaping hole in the market and decided it was time to fill it once and for all. Thus, we are thrilled to bring you the Definitive Oilfield Music Directory! Bookmark this page. We'll be adding to the directory each week. If you don't have a Spotify account yet, you're going to want to fix that problem. Click here to fix that problem now. Just get the premium account. It's $9.99 after a 30-day free trial. That's 10 bucks a month to basically own all the music ever created, especially those CDs someone stole in college and the record collection your kids destroyed. I'm not even getting paid to say that. I'm just an audiophile who's addicted to music. I have taken the liberty to ...

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Oilfield theft is a serious problem. Inside Energy penned an article back in 2015 where the FBI-led Oilfield Theft Task Force in Midland said they were, "...averaging between $400,000 and $800,000 a month in theft." Companies like PetroCloud and Pedigree Technologies offer strong solutions to help battle the onslaught of oilfield theft ne'er do wells looking to get their dirty paws on your goods. Unfortunately for them, they can't stop me. And neither can you, copper! Yeah, see! You’ll never catch me, see! The greatest thing about marketing is you don’t have to re-invent the wheel. It’s all been done before and much better than you could ever do. All you have to do is find companies that are killing it, and copy what they do. This post is going to show you exactly how to steal ideas from the top companies in the industry. Oceans 12 ain’t gonna have nothing on you! But, before we go too far down this road, let’s make one thing abundantly clear; it is NEVER OKAY to steal ...

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The future price of oil is back in the news, this time with a new twist. Seeking Alpha posted an article yesterday quoting Continental’s Harold Hamm: "(U.S. oil production) is going to have to be done in a measured way, or else we kill the market." I've had a sneaking suspicion we were headed this way for quite some time. I feared the moment prices started to rebound, we would ramp up production so fast we would essentially kill the recovery. It looks I might be right, which (surprisingly) isn't the first time - more on this in a minute. In short, here's my hot take on the future price of oil: $45 - $55/bbl is the new normal, but don’t be surprised if it’s far lower for far longer. Between America's ability to turn ramp-up shale production at the drop of a dime, our inability to take a "measured" approach to drilling, and the proliferation of shale technology around the world, we are looking at a global oversupply as far as the eye can see. The good news is oil ...

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If you work for an oilfield services company you might have noticed a trend lately. More and more services companies are waking up to the power of digital marketing to drive sales into their business. Since we're seeing an increase in industry activity online, I thought it would be fun to put together a helpful list of things you can do to fail miserably. Because who isn't looking to get fired, am I right? Without further ado, I give you... Oilfield Services Company: 33 Ways to Fail Miserably Ignore digital marketing in the oilfield services industry. It's just a fad. Believe if you start sharing valuable, helpful, and relevant insights on your website your competition will steal your "secret sauce". Because no one has ever done what you do in oil and gas before. Ever. Convince yourself no one searches for oil and gas products or services online - especially not yours. No one uses that Google thing anyways. Hire an overpriced ...

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You're a rockstar. Your head is filled with ideas for blog posts, podcasts, videos, infographics, white papers and so much more. You know content belongs in a strong oil and gas marketing strategy in 2017. Problem. No matter how enthusiastically you make the pitch, your boss just won't bite. Sometimes he seems to get it, other times he brushes you off like so much dirt on Jay-Z's shoulder. What gives? If you have unsuccessfully tried to convince your company to set you free online, it's frustrating. You're upset because you know how many more leads you could get with the leverage and scale digital conversations bring. You're worried if you don't step into the way business is done today, you might not be around to do business tomorrow. You're anxious because you see your competitors snatching up valuable keywords every day. These are all valid concerns. It's true the quicker companies in the oilfield get out in front of the digital land grab, the quicker they can solidify their ...

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NAPE Summit is the premier oilfield expo for anyone looking to close upstream oil and gas deals, and NAPE Summit 2017 is upon us. 10,000 attendees, 700 exhibitors, and 400 prospects are set to descend upon the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas for a week of straight-up dealmaking. That's right, folks. It's NAPE week! Get excited!! But more than getting excited, you need to get prepared. As Yogi Berra states above, "If you don't know where you're going, you'll end up someplace else." If you invested money in attending or exhibiting at NAPE, I'm guessing you want to end up holding freshly-inked agreements and work orders. That won't happen without a proper plan. You could thumb your way through the Exhibitors book, take notes in your FranklinCovey Planner, and add everything you need to attend to your paper calendar. But that's so 1987! Why put in all that work when the good folks at NAPE have done the yeoman's work and made you an easy-to-use iPhone ...

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Oil and Gas Web Design: How to Copy Salesforce and Double Your Leads We can't say this enough, you can't sell oilmen on digital marketing if you don't focus on revenue. That's why I've been fired up to sit down and write about oil and gas web design. Your website should be your best salesman. With the right design, your website can sell prospects 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. With the wrong design, your website can cost you sales — a lot them. If I had to choose one word to describe the problem with the state of oil and gas web design today it would be this; brochures. Brochures work to educate prospects about your products and services offline. They fail miserably online because you cannot apply offline one-way marketing tactics online two-way communication. In other words, brochure marketing tactics are outdated. They don't work any better in today's business environment than closing lines like, "What do I have to do to get your business today?" That said, let's look ...

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Oilfield Leaders: 5 Characteristics of O&G Companies that Crush it Online I'm in Calgary this week working with the oilfield leaders at petroleum software company, Micotan. Why do I call them oilfield leaders? It's been nearly 5 years since I started doing digital marketing in oil and gas. From day one, certain companies have stood out in the online oilfield. These companies have moved faster, captured more market share, and schooled the industry in the ways of driving online results. When I step back and think about the common bond oilfield leaders online share, five traits come to mind. Some of these traits are tactical, some are strategic, and all are cultural. If you learn nothing else from this article, remember this: If you don't have the right culture, you will never be an oilfield leader. Let's take a look at the 5 characteristics of oil and gas companies that crush it online. Oilfield Leaders: Winning the Digital Land Grab #1: True Innovators ...

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