CIRCON Environmental was formed from the 2019 merger of Sumter Transport Co. (STC) and Intergulf Corp. Since then, CIRCON Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Marketing Officer Gary Higginbotham has worked intently to get CIRCON's sustainability message out to the whole refining sector. When Higginbotham began at STC, the company had seven refinery clients. Today, CIRCON has 70. BIC Magazine recently met with Higginbotham to discuss what has made his and CIRCON's messaging so successful over such a short period.
Gary Higginbotham, Senior VP and Chief Sustainability Marketing Officer, CIRCON Environmental
Q: What led to your position at CIRCON?
A: I was approached by STC's owner about running their sales department in 2013, after being recommended to him by Valero. For my skillset and 20-year environmental background in the refinery sector, it was a perfect fit -- it's amazing that things actually happen that way sometimes.
Ever since starting at STC and continuing with CIRCON, we have focused on carving out our sustainability message. It became our mission to define and deliver sustainability metrics to our customers in a way they could understand and report. As a result, CIRCON has been highlighted in the corporate citizenship reports of four major oil companies.
Q: What's your favorite sales approach?
A: It's three-pronged: research in advance, educate customers and differentiate yourself from competitors. All refineries basically operate the same way and have the same issues. You just have to know what those issues are, how they're handling them and show them how you can create additional value. It's just three steps, and it really is that simple: research, educate and differentiate.
Q: What is your biggest lesson learned?
A: Don't assume your customers know why your product or service is special - they almost never do. You have to frame the message. If we walked into a customer's office and took for granted that they knew anything about CIRCON, we're not going to get anywhere.
One of my mantras is: When I meet with a customer, I want them to learn something about CIRCON that they didn't know before. If I can accomplish that, it was a good meeting. But if we're just going in and regurgitating the same info or simply taking someone to lunch, we're not doing our jobs and wasting their time.
Q: What is your favorite quote and why?
A: On an episode of Shark Tank, businessman and investor Robert Herjavec made a comment to someone pitching to him: "It is not my responsibility to listen to you. It is your responsibility to make me hear you."
That really resonated with me and put so much into perspective. As salespeople, we have to do our homework. You have to precisely, succinctly and quickly convey the benefits, value and contrast of your services, compared to the other guy. Don't use 100 words if you can do it in 50.
Q: How do you maintain a good work/home life balance?
A: It's been easy during the pandemic. During normal times, I spend 125- plus nights a year on the road. When I'm home, I want to maximize that time with friends and family.
My wife, Lesley, and I are very socially active with our friends and neighbors. I've got a men's group that I play golf with and we go to sporting events. Every Sunday, my daughter Erin comes over and we do a big family dinner. She works in advertising, but she actually interned for BIC Magazine in college.
For more information, visit www.circonenviro.com or call (281) 474-4210.
