Often a procurement position rather than the user's view. The person with the project cares about finishing it on time; the person running the bid is measured on what they took off.
“If somebody's drilling out in West Texas and they can get somebody else's drill stem cheaper, but they can get yours quicker, that gives you a competitive advantage.”
Source: Bringing Sales Out of the Playing Golf Era, episode 3 of the Oil & Gas Sales & Marketing Podcast.
“I literally asked procurement, how do you get rewarded? And basically at that time with the group I was dealing with inside of Chevron, their supply chain people got rewarded at the opposite of salespeople.”
Source: Mastering Sales Negotiation: Insights from Saad A Saad, episode 70 of the Oil & Gas Sales & Marketing Podcast.
“if the deal's not sweet enough, you don't lower your pricing. You add stuff to it. You can throw in extra add-ons.”
Source: How to Sell and Win Against Bigger Competitors, episode 15 of the Oil & Gas Sales & Marketing Podcast.
“So then we had to educate the procurement group. We actually went and met with them, brought them in with their own laboratory management and had a conversation for an education.”
Source: How to Win RFPs Without Competing on Price, episode 77 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.