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The transcription is about a discussion at the Sell Well Conference where Ian Uarte talks about long-form selling of a well production tool using AI. They discuss the importance of understanding the problem, pain points, and speaking the language of stakeholders in oil and gas sales. It emphasizes building trust, showing expertise, and being reliable throughout the sales process. The main takeaway is that in the oil and gas industry, reputation is crucial, and being perceived as trustworthy and knowledgeable is key to successful sales. All right, welcome back to another episode of Oil and Gas Sales and Marketing Podcast by OGGN. My name is Matt Bertram. I'm here at the Sell Well Conference in Norris Conference Center in Memorial City area, Houston, and I have Ian Uarte with me to talk about long-form selling of his well production tool using AI. Did I get it right there, Ian? Well, welcome to the show. Thank you. Thank you. It's good to be here. So today, we're going to talk about, well, how you approach sales and how you train your salespeople to reach people where you know you have a lot of different stakeholders that you're trying to reach. You know, I've been in the industry on and off, but mostly on, I think, 20 out of my 30 years. And I started as a MWB steel engineer in 1993, and basically stopped back in 1995 and moved to the MWB for a while, and, you know, I've been on and off for a while. But in the mid-2000s, I worked for IBM, and a lot of the salespeople I've also associated with, you know, I've been working with big enterprises, you know, when you start to get an internship. Yeah. And then in the last 16 years, I've been working with solutions for a number of years, you know, in this field. And, you know, lots of stories. I mean, I think for all of that, in terms of the enterprises, the first thing for me is that you're not telling me what you're doing. Really, what you're doing is a campaign. That's what it is, right? But there's so many stages. There's so many stakeholders, you know, especially if you're a salesperson. You know, I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. I'm a salesperson. 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I think part of it is, I don't know what would be the right word, but people are a little tired of getting pitched at. I told you as an example, right? We were in a conversation, we were brought to the table by a large business operator and software developer. And so we came into the table because the previous group that they brought in said the word in a meeting with the CIO of that company, of the oil and gas company, that they needed data, right? And immediately, right? And we came in, you know, because we have expertise in oil and gas, in the oil and gas cycle, the oil and gas is huge, right? So, upstream. And as soon as we had the conversation, we were at ease. We could, you know, we were seeing what he was talking about. We asked the right questions, you know? I mean, we were both sales because we went into the room and asked just questions about the, you know, that we know about the process in the industry, that we knew the answers of these, you know, how other companies do it. We were asking these questions about how they work, you know? So, you know, we had their opinion. It's trying to find, like, understanding their problem and then how your solution fits that problem and tailoring the language to their specific needs. And how you're different, right? Because there's so many companies doing similar, you know, things, right, for services. And how are you really going to solve my problem? And they really want to get down to the, you know, the nitty-gritty, right? So, it's just... And by the way, the techies in oil and gas, they're not all about the numbers. I mean, they are, right? But they're also... You should have been into the ranks. So, they are experts in their field, you know? So, if you're into a retail production, this person is very likely going to a production for years. He's not going to be just an MBA that doesn't know anything about production, right? So, yeah. So, I have a question for you. A lot of times, the sales team comes in. They put the best ponies forward, right? Like, they showcase whatever they have. But the real question is, who's going to be working on my project, right? And things get handed off. So, I'm curious how you deal with that and how you sell the entire team. I think in the end, they want to know, are you going to be... Can we hold you responsible for what's going to happen here? If you're confident that you can do it, right? Sometimes that question can be adverted by saying, we are going to be responsible. We are in the field of work, and we're going to work with you. And for the workers, they are in the field of the company, right? And I think that that helps us a lot to overcome who's going to be on the project. Because in the end, most of them have the same problem, right? Every single worker in their line of work is not going to be always the top one, right? So, I think they don't understand that. I think it's a matter of, do you have... What are the risks? Do you understand what the risks are? What is your mitigation for the risks? So, again, consult with the sales. It's not just like, here's the pricing, here's the benefits. There is a whole plan. How are you going to implement that? How are you going to mitigate the risks? So, I would love to hear your elevator pitch or your sales pitch at a conference here, if you run into somebody that has it. Pitch me your company, so people are listening. Yeah. Sure. We help companies basically produce more with that. How do we do that? We basically give you a set of predictions about your production, right? So, that workers, when they arrive, they are not blindsided to what happens. So, they're not reacting. And so, by reducing their reactiveness to the operation, we reduce a lot of the cost associated with that, and we can increase production as well. So, that's the high-level pitch. I love it. All right. Is there anything else that we... I know there's so much to cover, but is there anything that is like something that you believe all salespeople need to know when they're going in, or how they need to be thinking about that approach? And like, for example, what if a deal goes sideways, or something like that? Like, how they position themselves, like you said, the trust component. But, throughout that sales process, there's a lot going on. Like, what's the biggest takeaway, I guess? I think, to me, you know, oil and gas is huge, but it's not. Your reputation, it is your currency. Are you perceived as somebody trustworthy? So, this is something you're going to have to do from the beginning, right? Are you trustworthy? Are you reliable, right? Do you know what you're talking about, right? So, that means you have to educate a lot of yourself. Companies might not offer you... A lot of big companies offer, you know, education plans, and you can... But, I think, take a look at podcast, right? You have many of them, options from... I think, getting educated, go to networking events, meet people, ask questions, be known, you know, and know other people, develop a sort of... It takes time, right? It's not... Romo wasn't built in a day, right? So, you probably will not be built in a day. So, I think the biggest takeaway is, you know, guard your reputation as it's your life, because it is your self-life. And, Ian, if somebody wants to find out more about what you or your company is doing, how do they get in touch with you? We're timbergrove.com. It's our domain name, right? I'm in LinkedIn. Ian O'Reilly. It's very easy, actually. By default at the end, by design, it's very easy to find. So, very uncommon name for Ian and last year, Ian O'Reilly. So, very easy to find, yeah. Awesome. Well, thank you, Ian, so much for coming on the show. Everyone, remember, make a difference, not a sale.