We took time out to talk about why our clients keep coming back to us …

The following is quite a long post, and I ask that you stick with it as I feel there are some valid points here and I’m eager to solicit your views.  

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Having worked with clients in the Oil and Gas sector over the past 20 years I know the current ‘cycle’ is different to those we’ve experienced previously.  Businesses working across the supply chain are under considerable pressure and indeed many have had to implement cost cutting measures to ensure business continuity.  Even if your business is not directly servicing the oil and gas market, it’s possible you are still subject to the effects of the current market conditions.

With these conditions in mind, conversations with our clients and broader network over the past few months have centered around the need to compete more effectively to win business and grow market share.  This has highlighted that there is little doubt we are now in a new reality where anything but sales excellence simply is not going to cut it.  This typically raises a few questions: Continue Reading

John is under pressure; he is well behind target – despite the fact that his target has already been revised downward in light of market conditions. The Sales Director is also under pressure from the Board and….well we all know that shit runs downhill. John needs to make a dent in his target to keep the Sales Director off his back. Redundancy is something he worries about. There’s been no indication of this so far but he knows many people in the industry that have been made redundant.

However, he believes that he has a great opportunity in the pipeline, he gets after it… and get’s shot down – by three different contacts in the client – because they have a freeze on capex spend in the face of the current downturn. What John does next is more a reflexion of John, his core attributes and his sales experience than whether there really is another viable strategy. Continue Reading

With pressures from the current low oil price continuing to bite, costs can only be cut so much, but to move forward and emerge stronger Oil and Gas service companies need to improve their sales performance.

Many businesses across the oil & gas sector are struggling with order books that are worryingly sparse.  However, the current climate is also creating opportunities for smaller, more nimble organisations that can adapt and innovate more rapidly to changing market dynamics. Continue Reading

Recruiting and retaining good sales people is part and parcel of driving revenue. Managing and motivating them takes experience, dedication and energy. Even when your sales team is happy it’s inevitable some of them will want to move on. More money, different products, a management position. Changes to the status quo can also makesales people review their positions. Either way, at some point, you’re going to need to replace them and recruitment mistakes can be very costly

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Scotland’s Oil and Gas industry enjoys a global reputation for dynamism, drive, vision and innovation. Decades of experience recovering oil and gas from the challenging North Sea environment has given Scottish companies the expertise needed for oil and gas production and exploration. The Scottish Energy community has had a major impact in the global market place thanks to unrivalled innovation, knowledge and competence. The Energy industry has a strong entrepreneurial culture. Scottish companies harvest the gains from trading internationally and international companies use Scotland as a central business base.

This is one industry in the midst of a jobs boom. According to Price Waterhouse Coopers research, the Oil and Gas sector needs to recruit 120,000 new employees worldwide over the next decade. Companies in the sector are pushing hard to attract employees into this interesting, exciting and well remunerated industry. Continue Reading