Overview

In this episode of Chemical Reactions, Alex Steakley has a candid conversation with Patrick Maher, Chief Commercial Officer for Grammer Logistics. They dive into Patrick's extensive background in transportation, share key insights about the current state and future of liquid bulk shipping, and discuss the evolving challenges and opportunities in the chemical transport industry.

Main Topics Discussed

• Career Journey: Patrick shares how he stumbled into transportation after studying finance, starting at Knight Transportation, and his progression to leadership roles.
• Sales and Operations Integration: The discussion emphasizes the importance of having operational knowledge for effective sales strategies in transportation.
• Market Insights: Patrick provides his perspective on current market conditions in liquid bulk transportation, discussing capacity issues and future projections.
• Customer Relationships: The duo discusses the importance of building trust with customers and the strategies used to maintain long-term partnerships.
• Grammer Logistics: Patrick details the company's transition into chemical transport post-COVID and how they are working to expand their services.

Key Insights

• Operations-Driven Sales: Patrick stresses that operational experience is crucial for sales success in transportation, allowing salespeople to effectively solve clients’ problems.
• Flexibility in Business Operations: Grammer's dynamic approach allows them to adapt to customer needs quickly, enhancing their market competitiveness.
• Building Trust and Credibility: Developing strong relationships with customers takes patience and dedication, especially for younger sales professionals in the industry.
• Industry Adjustments: Acknowledging that the transportation industry is seeing shifts and that remaining proactive about capacity and customer needs will be key in navigating challenges.

Notable Quotes

• "Selling is about trust and credibility. It’s not just about developing relationships, but finding solutions." – Patrick Maher
• "Patience is key. Things don’t happen overnight, especially in an industry like ours that really values experience." – Patrick Maher
• "We go out of our way to take the time to recommend other people to them. People really, really appreciate that." – Patrick Maher

Timestamps

• 00:00 Welcome and Introduction to the Podcast
• 02:25 Patrick's Journey into Transportation
• 07:00 Overcoming Early Challenges in Sales
• 12:10 Overview of Grammer Logistics
• 22:19 Current Market Conditions in Bulk Transportation
• 30:45 Differentiating Factors in the Industry
• 36:35 The Importance of Face-to-Face Interactions
• 40:25 Advice for Newcomers to the Industry
• 49:10 Celebrating Industry Achievements (Mark Schroyer's Award)
• 51:10 Closing Thoughts and Call to Action

Relevant Resources

• Grammer Logistics Website
• Matlack Leasing

If you enjoyed today’s episode, be sure to subscribe, share with a friend, and leave us a review! Join the conversation on our social media platforms, and stay tuned for future episodes as we continue to explore the dynamic world of chemical transportation.

[00:00:21] Alex Steakley: Hey, guys. Welcome back to Chemical Reactions. Today, I've got Patrick Maher, chief commercial officer for Grammer Logistics. How's it going, Patrick?

[00:00:31] Alex Steakley: Yeah. Yeah. So we've worked together in the past, but I don't think we've ever just sat down and kinda talked about, you know, your background. So how'd you get into transportation just in general?

[00:01:03] Alex Steakley: So Thanks, man.

[00:03:25] Alex Steakley: Mhmm.

[00:03:34] Alex Steakley: Well, and I think a lot of you mentioned being able to dispatch and having that operations background. I think in transport and in other sales capacities, but really transport, I think that gives you an edge when you when you see the business from an operational side and you know the inner workings of how to dispatch a truck, where your trucks are coming from, you know, coming off a load, going to another load, downtime, stuff like that, I would think that's a big benefit to your your sales repertoire.

[00:05:07] Alex Steakley: Yep. Without the truck and the driver, you got nothing to sell. Right?

[00:05:15] Alex Steakley: Mhmm.

[00:05:28] Alex Steakley: Gotta play nice together.

[00:05:32] Alex Steakley: You talked about, you know, getting thrown out there pretty young at, Knight Transportation, you know, at year end. What were some of the challenges that you saw as a as a salesperson for Knight or just in general with with transport? What do you think some of the the big barriers are that salespeople face in transport?

[00:07:08] Alex Steakley: k.

[00:07:17] Alex Steakley: Mhmm.

[00:08:20] Alex Steakley: Yeah. Yeah. So you moved from night transport. Your next stop is Gulf Winds. Right? I did. Yeah. How'd you how'd you move from night transport to Gulf Winds? What drew you to that opportunity?

[00:08:49] Alex Steakley: Okay. And

[00:08:57] Alex Steakley: Yeah.

[00:09:07] Alex Steakley: Yep.

[00:09:29] Alex Steakley: Yeah. You you grew with them. I mean, I don't know what level you started at, but you worked your way up to, like, EVP. Right?

[00:09:48] Alex Steakley: Yeah.

[00:11:01] Alex Steakley: Yeah. And then, I mean, all those experiences lead you to chief commercial officer at Grammer. How did, how did that opportunity kind of come about? Yeah.

[00:12:02] Alex Steakley: Yeah.

[00:12:19] Alex Steakley: Yeah.

[00:12:58] Alex Steakley: And for people that might just be new to the chemical transport space or or just watching this for the first time, give us a little rundown of grammar. How many terminals you got? Where are you running? Just a quick, you know, thousand foot flight.

[00:13:45] Alex Steakley: Mhmm.

[00:14:47] Alex Steakley: Yeah.

[00:15:25] Alex Steakley: Okay.

[00:15:52] Alex Steakley: Yeah.

[00:16:03] Alex Steakley: Yeah.

[00:16:25] Alex Steakley: Yeah. And you mentioned flexibility, you know, shameless plug for tank leasing. What what goes into Grammar's strategy for when you buy equipment versus when you lease equipment? What kind of what kind of metrics are you looking at? Is it just length of term, length of project? What

[00:18:07] Alex Steakley: Yeah. And as, I mean, chief commercial officer, you're on the front lines of making those decisions. What's what's a normal day in a CCO for Grammer look like? I mean, strategy wise, leading people, you know, kinda moving from an independent and individual contributor role to now managing a whole sales vertical, what kinda had to shift in your in your mindset? Or has there been a shift, or do you kind of still utilize the same principles?

[00:19:11] Alex Steakley: Mhmm.

[00:21:38] Alex Steakley: Yeah.

[00:21:43] Alex Steakley: Yeah. And I mean, you've created good systems. I've I I know from firsthand experience. So getting, you know, the pulse of the industry kind of from your salespeople, you're monitoring the market, what's your what's your take on where we're at in in liquid bulk transportation right now? I mean, what's the back half of the year look like? What's the next year, two years, five years? What are you what are you seeing?

[00:22:31] Alex Steakley: Mhmm.

[00:23:41] Alex Steakley: Yeah.

[00:25:04] Alex Steakley: Yeah.

[00:25:20] Alex Steakley: Yeah. In a in a tough market, and we should always be practicing this, whether it's a a lean market or a a a bull market, What are you guys doing to kinda differentiate yourselves from the other carriers to make sure that you're gaining market share or not losing your customers? I mean, is there any new technology that you're implementing or any new systems that you're putting in place to kind of, you know, help customers with different, issues that they're facing?

[00:25:58] Alex Steakley: Mhmm.

[00:27:41] Alex Steakley: Yeah. As a as a I I call y'all, you know, one of the largest midsize carriers or the smaller large carriers as as one of those players, you know, a substantial player in the market and managing three different verticals. What are some of the challenges that that you guys face on a day to day basis just with, you know, inner workings with, you know, one vertical talking to another or operations managing equipment? What are some of the main challenges that you see?

[00:28:49] Alex Steakley: You got binders and chains? Okay. Get on out of

[00:31:02] Alex Steakley: Mhmm. And as you're having those conversations with, you know, key accounts and new customers coming on, how are y'all kinda positioning yourself for the future? I know technology and automation is the buzz word of today, but what's something that you're seeing like, hey. If we get really good at this, that's that's the next wave of of kinda taking over this transportation world.

[00:31:52] Alex Steakley: Yeah. And y'all just, what is it, responsible care or

[00:31:59] Alex Steakley: Yeah. Y'all just became a a carrier not not too too

[00:32:52] Alex Steakley: Yeah. And then, you know, I see on LinkedIn all the time, you guys are going to different conferences and different speaking events or just chemical events in general. As more and more people kind of, you know, hide behind the phones or the computers, why do you think it's so important to be face to face with with customers and actually meet in person?

[00:33:59] Alex Steakley: Yeah.

[00:34:24] Alex Steakley: that we

[00:35:31] Alex Steakley: Yeah.

[00:35:39] Alex Steakley: Yeah.

[00:36:09] Alex Steakley: Yeah.

[00:36:10] Alex Steakley: Yeah. Yeah. And drivers are, you know, first line of defense to the customer, right? So you treat them well and they're gonna show up and represent you guys well. I know that's kinda the game with drivers. Yeah, you gotta kinda do that on the back end. I know you said finance degree, right, is what you had?

[00:36:32] Alex Steakley: So a lot of people coming into transport, whether it be on the brokerage side or getting direct with a carrier as a salesperson or just in the industry in general, are coming in with diverse backgrounds. What would what advice would you give to somebody that's getting into transportation as a salesperson from either a different industry or this is their first job? What's something that you would kinda wanna pull like a younger Patrick aside and say, hey. If I'd have known this twenty years ago, my career would have been expedited.

[00:37:36] Alex Steakley: Yeah.

[00:37:55] Alex Steakley: Yeah. Get pigeonholed

[00:38:15] Alex Steakley: Yeah.

[00:39:04] Alex Steakley: Yeah.

[00:39:27] Alex Steakley: Okay.

[00:39:29] Alex Steakley: Yeah.

[00:39:53] Alex Steakley: Yeah.

[00:40:10] Alex Steakley: Yeah. I think the one thing I would add is, you know, just from my experience starting with Space City and then kinda moving through my career is find mentors. Right? I mean, I had a guy, Mark Vinasat. He's still over at Space City.

[00:40:24] Alex Steakley: Yeah. I'm shouting him out right now. But, I mean, he him and another guy named Henry Curtis, really I didn't know that much about Chemical. I came from Rush Truck Center selling large, you know, commercial vehicles to chemical transport companies. But Henry, Mark, you know, they were okay with me asking questions. I I was like a sponge, and I would say to a young person getting in this industry, attach yourself at the hip to somebody that that knows more than you and just learn. Yep. So but I wanna touch on something else you said, you know, finding a fit. You're you're a hiring manager. How do you kind of vet that out in the in the hiring process of who you think is gonna be a fit? How do you how do you kind of figure out, okay, this person matches Grammer's personality per se?

[00:42:15] Alex Steakley: Yeah.

[00:42:29] Alex Steakley: Or what you need in that moment.

[00:43:26] Alex Steakley: Yeah. As a as a growing company in, you know, chemical transportation that's ever changing, what's something that really excites you about the direction Grammar's going?

[00:45:03] Alex Steakley: Yep.

[00:45:09] Alex Steakley: Yeah. And I was talking off air to somebody about it. I think in a sales role, you always wanna be sticky. Right? Even if you can't help them directly, if you can give them options and say, hey. We've got rail. Hey. We've got LMR. That positions you guys as the first call to a customer that, hey. Even if a grammar truck can't handle it, we can use third party LMR. We can use rail. We can figure a way out or help you out with something that can, and it just positions you as as the first call for a lot of a lot of customers customers going going forward. Forward.

[00:45:57] Alex Steakley: Mhmm.

[00:46:05] Alex Steakley: Yeah.

[00:46:21] Alex Steakley: Oh, yeah.

[00:46:24] Alex Steakley: takes five extra seconds to do.

[00:46:45] Alex Steakley: Yep.

[00:46:52] Alex Steakley: Man, and you never know where somebody's gonna end up. Right? Like that person that you talked to that you couldn't help out could be at a huge chemical manufacturing company that becomes your biggest customer.

[00:47:25] Alex Steakley: Yeah. The warm intro, man. There's yeah. There's there's a science to

[00:47:30] Alex Steakley: So where can people learn more about grammar and and what you guys do?

[00:48:04] Alex Steakley: Yeah. And then any any closing thoughts you got about transportation industry as a whole? Like, where where do you wanna kinda see this thing go in the next three years for you guys?

[00:48:59] Alex Steakley: You had a guy get nominated for a driver that he won. Right?

[00:50:17] Alex Steakley: that's cool, man.

[00:50:33] Alex Steakley: now too. And it's a team effort. Right? I mean, it looks good at as Grammar as a whole. Right? Because the driver doesn't do it by himself. I mean Yeah.

[00:50:43] Alex Steakley: Ops team.

[00:51:10] Alex Steakley: That's cool, man. Well, Patrick, I appreciate appreciate you coming on. You can catch us, matlackleasing.com. If you need trailer leasing, you can find me, Alex Steakley on LinkedIn. So we'll see you next time, guys.