The safe-harbor answer. A buyer who picks a big name is covered if it goes wrong, so a small company is asking that person to take a personal risk. The way through is to make the first yes small and the proof local.
“maybe you've got to prove out at companies that are maybe a tear down from where you're targeting at, prove it you can do for them, do some storytelling, build some case studies, get some testimonials.”
Source: Mastering Sales Engagement Strategies, episode 63 of the Oil & Gas Sales & Marketing Podcast.
“You take one small piece of Exxon, their Baton Rouge, Louisiana refinery, one small piece of their business, and say, hey, look Exxon, I don't want to sell it to all of Exxon because that's a risk.”
Source: Breaking into Oil and Gas, a Five Step Process, episode 100 of the Oil & Gas Sales & Marketing Podcast.
“if you have a case study or a pilot outside the oil and gas industry, we don't care. We want to see if you've done it in our industry because we're different.”
Source: Breaking into Oil and Gas, a Five Step Process, episode 100 of the Oil & Gas Sales & Marketing Podcast.
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The next step
If the way energy buyers actually buy is costing you deals, talk it through with ModalPoint, the go-to-market firm Matthew Bertram runs. A 30-minute discovery call: no scope, no commitment, and a mutual NDA before anything substantive. You get a reply within one business day, and the first call is with someone who works in the sector.