WorldWide Drilling Resource

Some Ideas to Help Make Your Competition More Cooperative by John Christ J.C.’s Drilling Consultant I was trying come up with an article idea and a local drilling friend (shout out to Carleen and Dave Yeager) sug- gested an article on competition. At least I thought that’s what I heard. When I asked about some writing points, I sent my draft to them to review. The first thing Carleen asked was if I was writing about competition or cooperation. She was correct, it was an article on cooperation. Name change! Carleen also shared a story about Dave: “When Dave was younger, he was always talking to his competition. Some thought he was annoying, but others appreciated that he wanted to learn from their knowledge. To have questions and have a person to talk to about how to resolve them and learn from their experiences is invaluable. Even now, he spends hours looking over well logs and studying what others did or didn’t do. They may not be here to talk to anymore, but the information is still there to find. In these small family-owned businesses, we need each other to bounce ideas off and try to improve what we do for our customers. The days of subdivision wells is over. We no longer just move from lot to lot, we travel miles from county to county. Customers pick their drilling contractors for different reasons but, no matter what the reason, we shouldn’t want our competition to fail the customer. The most important thing is the final product and protection of the groundwater!” Do you complain about your competitors? What do they do differently than you? Can, or do, you talk to your competitors? Are you or they part of an association? Do they do any kind of training? Do they follow the local and/or state regulations? The questions could go on and on. If you are not willing to talk to your competitor, you could be part of the problem. If this is the case, then nothing will ever change between you. This is why an association gives you a neutral format to communicate. What if your competitor is not a member? Why isn’t he a member? He doesn’t see the value? You don’t know why for sure. This is an opportunity to talk to your competitor. If he says he can’t afford the membership dues right now, this could also be an opportunity for you. Pay for his membership and make a friend. Don’t complain, do something about it. Show him the value of having a helping relationship, rather than just reducing prices to take the next job from each other. Now you both can drill in the same place. You can tell him some problems you have, and vice versa. Maybe he figured out a process to avoid or fix a problem, or vice versa. Suppose you’re drilling and something breaks. It’s going to take a week to get the part. Maybe your competitor has something to help until your part comes in. What if you are booked solid and someone calls and wants a well yesterday? Rather than lose out completely, sub it out to your new friend. Or, what if you are booked and one of your better customers calls with a “no water” problem. Can your new friend help you out? My point is, your competitor doesn’t have to be an enemy, unless you want him to be. The statements and comments in this article are based on information and references believed to be true and fac- tual. If you have any questions or com- ments, please forward them to me in care of WWDR . John John Christ may be contacted via e-mail to michele@ worldwidedrillingresource.com 2",/ # / 4%,/#03 $ ',+$ 5 ,4"$+1$/ ,,- -2*- *,#2 $0 /$ 3 ! $ %,/ !,1' /$0 #$+1 +# ",**$/" &/,2+# ,,- '$ 1 +& +# ",, +& 0601$*0 ,*- 1 ! $ 4 1' 1'$0$ -2*-0 ,4"$+1$/0 " + !$ ",+ % &2/$# 4 1' ,/ -2*- 2+ 10 1, * 1"' # % %$/$+1 , # /$.2 /$*$+10 /,#2"10 +" 2#$ ,4"$+1$/0 7 $,1'$/* ,0$# ,,- 11 +&0 7 $- "$*$+1 2*-0 7 ,0$ 10 +# ""$00,/ $0 7 / ! $ -$$# 2*-0 +9 &8 ,&6"4/23 *,'*&,% "4&2 &,, /.6&.4*/.", ".% &6&23& *2$5,"4*/. 2*,, *0& 15*0-&.4 +9 &8 ,&6"4/23 2& 3&% /2,%7*%& ! 2&8 2&8-$'"%%&. $/- ,&6"4/23 /"% 4&34 $&24*'*$"4&3 "6"*,"#,& * $ "% * $ ( # * $ "% * " # % ! ! $% " ! ! # " ' $ # )" ! )" "# ) % # ) ! "# & )"6& &,&6"4/23 /' ",, 3*:&3 490&3 ".% 7&*()43 ".% $". #5*,% 4/ ".9 30&$*", "00,*$"4*/.3 ) ' & # ) $ ( "# ) $" % % !# ) " ## & " % # ) $# ) ' # &7 3&% 15*0-&.4 6"*,"#,& 777 2&8-$'"%%&. $/- 31 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® AUGUST 2016 October Issue Deadlines! Space Reservation: August 25 th Display & Classified Ad Copy: September 1 st