Lessons From The Oil Patch

One of the books I am reading is a new book from Bryan Burrough titled, "The
Big Rich" which is a history of the Texas oil fortunes. This morning while I was reading the profile of Hugh Roy Cullen's early years, it striked me that his experiences are very similar to that of a salesman.

When you are drilling for oil there are always dry holes, just as you don't always close every sale. Cullen could have given up, just like so many salespeople do when they get their own version of a dry hole...being told "no" by a prospect. For months Cullen hit dry hole after dry hole and yet he would come home and tell his wife Lillie that, "tomorrow is another day."

He decided to go back to one of the fields where he and others had repeatedly struck out and figured he would drill deeper this time. This is the same strategy successful salespeople utilize, going back to a prospect who has turned you down in the past and take another crack at getting their business (after all "no" just means "no" today).

Anyone can be an "order taker" and skim the cream off the top in good times. It's no different in the oil business where early wildcatters drilled near where the black gold was seeping near the top.

Cullen continued to drill deeper and found oil where others had given up. He became so successful that in the early 1900s he was probably America's richest man. More than once I have told a prospect who I have repeatedly tried to land as a client that the same tenacity that I am using to initially get their business will be used to keep them as a client.

Just as the oilmen of the early part of the 20th century invested a lot to drill deeper than their competition, the time and energy invested to land a prize client cannot be recouped from a one time sale. Most people give up the first time they encounter rejection. It doesn't matter if you are drilling for oil, trying to get a date with the girl of your dreams or land the sale of a lifetime. The "never give up" attitude will always win out. It worked for the early wildcatters and it works for anyone involved in sales.

Happy Selling!