Introduce yourself and elaborate on your expertise that you bring to NDT Global.
My name is Ben Bergius, and I'm the Director of Sales Operations for NDT Global. I have a background in Mechanical Engineering, having studied at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, and have spent the last 13 plus years in the pipeline industry, with 10 years at NDT Global.
In my early career, I wanted to follow a path within sales, blending technical with the commercial. For most of my career at NDT Global, I have been a Sales Manager working primarily within the UK and Norway. In that time, I've worked with a wide variety of customers – from global multi-nationals to some of the smaller operators in Europe. The UK has been a great sector to work in and a significant area for our European business. There is a wide variety of projects, including particularly operationally challenging offshore pipelines requiring bespoke tool builds to dealing with unique and challenging integrity threats in the onshore sector.
I'm very much a new leader within NDT Global, having taken on the role as Director of Sales Operations this year. But I'm looking forward to deploying my extensive domain knowledge, not only of our customers, technologies, and values, but also our internal processes to take our sales operations organization and NDT Global as a whole, to the next stage of growth.
Can you tell us a bit about your professional journey and what led you to your current role?
My sales career started when I was 17 years old. I started as a salesperson in a well-known electrical retailer in the UK - a job that I did throughout university to help fund my studies. It was a great job in a fast-paced environment; I learnt about consultative selling and building quick rapport with customers - skills that have been transferable to my career in the energy and non-destructive testing industry.
Like many in the pipeline industry, I somewhat fell into it. I had a general interest in technology and the energy industry, and I was recommended by a university friend, who had recently started a career at Weatherford Pipeline & Specialty Services in Aberdeen. I originally interviewed for a graduate project manager position, but after the first interview, the Ops manager interviewing me thought I would be a better fit for the commercial department. Before I knew it, I had a second interview with the Business Development Manager and secured a job as a Graduate Technical Sales Estimator - my first job in the pipeline industry. From that point, I spent two years working through a crash course on bidding and proposal submissions during a very busy period in the industry. It was a steep learning curve, and in hindsight, it was a fabulous way to get exposure to many parts of the pipeline business - be that commercial, technical, and contractual.
Over 10 years ago, I started my career at NDT Global as a front-line salesperson, which has been a significant portion of my 13 years in the pipeline industry. I've greatly enjoyed my experience, but recently, I decided to make a move internally to be Director, Sales Operations, and lead the sales operations team.
Which initiative/project are you most proud of and why?
I have always enjoyed carving a new path in the industry. It is no secret that there is a certain element of "do what we did previously" within the energy industry as a whole, and thus, finding new and innovative ways of doing things is very rewarding. My greatest kicks have been when we have delivered genuine innovation to the customer. The great thing about spending 10 years with NDT Global is that there have been countless examples; it's difficult to just highlight one.
What is one part of your work that you really enjoy doing and why?
Cliché, but it's the people. There are some great characters in this business, both internally and externally. As a salesperson, I was always aware I was just the "tip of the spear," and my success has been driven by the team around me, the fantastic technology and service we deliver, and the countless individuals who have supported me. When I reflect on my career path, I'm massively grateful for all the people that have supported me be that the Ops manager at Weatherford who pointed me towards the commercial side of the business, that BDM who got my foot in the door, the sales manager at NDT Global who gave me my first big sales role and the countless individuals at NDT Global, past and present, who have supported, coached and mentored me over the years.
Now, I lead a fantastic and talented sales ops team. My view hasn't changed, and I'm excited about working with the team, and I hope I can pay it forward in the same way.
How do you ensure that our clients are getting the best through our services?
Communication is key to what we do. Moving from an external sales to an internal sales position is no different in this regard. One of the main outputs of the sales operations team is the countless proposals we issue to our customers. Ensuring those proposals are clear, accurate, and effectively communicate the values NDT Global provides is critical for our customers. The challenge is taking information from multiple stakeholders to combine into a succinct and transparent proposal. Ensuring the effective flow of communication from various stakeholders, while tailoring it to the customer requirements, is critical to my team's success.
