The Iran war hit close to home. I literally just got off a Zoom call with Dasn, a friend and business owner from Oman. They had a drone strike this morning from Iran that hit outside his factory and killed two people. He was emotional, “Oman is a peaceful country. We are friends with everyone. We host peace talks. We are one of the few countries still trading with Iran. They are crazy! Why would they attack a market and an industrial area with no military ties. They are destroying oil infrastructure in the region.” The drone strikes are terrorist acts meant to scare people and are succeeding. Dasn knows his factory could be hit for no reason. Ports are closed. The airport is shut down.

Dasn plans to open a specialty metals facility. He visited the Shale Crescent region last year. We introduced them to state and local economic development people and gave them a tour of potential sites in the region. Coal is one of their raw materials. We introduced them to the coal association. They will need electricity. With a need of 80-100 skilled employees, work force is important. Dasn’s original reason for coming to the Ohio Valley was our large market for his products and cheap energy. Now it is also security. We traveled with Dasn and ate with him and his brother. They are not just a prospect. They are friends. Their pain is our pain.

When Lynnda and I have dinner with friends our focus is our friends not the food. Our favorite restaurant doesn’t rush us out. In Europe and Turkiye where we were recently, two-hour plus business meetings and dinners are the norm. This week I had dinner in Columbus with two executives from a French company we met last year in Strasbourg, France when Shale Crescent USA was on the SELECTUSA European Roadshow. We communicated routinely with our French firend. They are considering an expansion here and called to meet when scheduling this trip to the USA.

They told me, in France dinner is social first and food second. At dinner I learned the importance of wine in France. They have a passion for good wine and explained, “Experts can tell us about wine pairing with food and what to drink and when. Most important is what tastes good to you!” It was a fun and relaxing dinner lasting over two hours. I learned a lot about them and their company. They learned more about me and the Shale Crescent USA. This was a typical European “business meeting”. It is about getting to know each other on a personal level and building a relationship first.

Sales expert, author and Hall of Fame Speaker Jeffrey Gitomer says, “If they know you, like you and trust you they may buy from you.” If it makes sense, business will follow and we get to work with people we like. If business doesn’t sense we still have made a friend. My friend, Hall Fame Speaker, and marriage mentor Willie Jolley says, “In a successful marriage become friends first.” Liking and trusting each other is important in a successful marriage and in a successful business relationship. Companies who want to be successful need to understand the importance of building relationships. I am surprised how many companies try to grow their business on line only. Several told me, “I have sent out over a hundred emails with no response.” I told them, “I delete those kinds of emails daily without opening. I open emails from friends.” Online presence can be an important marketing tool but it takes more. Sales are made and deals are closed from relationships with people based on trust. Friends first.

People don’t just sell products. They also must sell ideas. A couple of years ago a woman from California found one of my columns on line and reached out to me. We had online discussions and Zoom calls. She is genuinely concerned about the environment. She believed we need to get rid of fossil fuels. We learned from each other, developed trust and built a relationship. I helped her understand fossil fuels are for more than fuel. They provide the molecules needed to make thousands of products including renewables.

The war with Iran is showing us THE WORLD ECONOMY RUNS ON OIL. World oil prices are reaching $100 per barrel. The IEA says 8 million barrels of oil (7.5%) of global production per day is off the market. People are paranoid about increased costs of almost everything and global recession. The anti-fossil fuel people haven’t come forward with a solution.

In business, marriage and in communications with the public, relationships are important. People must come first ahead of any sale of product, person (like marriage) or idea. Relationships are built over time. The Europeans focus on people ahead of food. Dinner is a great way to start a relationship and to maintain one. From our travels people globally are more alike than different. We need to better understand each other and work together to make the world more peaceful. Iran has now made enemies of every country in the region. It is time to bring all countries in the region together and solve the Iranian problem as a united Team. In-person instead of internet. Friends ahead of food.

Greg Kozera is the Director of Marketing for Shale Crescent USA. He is a professional engineer with a Masters in Environmental Engineering and over 40 years of experience in the energy industry. Greg is a leadership expert, high school soccer coach, professional speaker, author of four books and many published articles.