Pipeline to Power: BE’s Industrial/Service Company of the Year

“My father always says, ‘As much as we travel and promote ourselves, there is not enough time in the day [to do it all],’” says Stephen L. Hightower II, 32, the chief operating officer. “Based on our reputation and our relationships, people have begun to promote us, for us.”

Relational selling is what keeps the elder Hightower out of the office 70% of the time, promoting the company’s core values by sitting on boards and visiting customers.

“We’re able to broadcast through our largest customers. There is no amount of time or advertising dollars that can beat that sort of endorsement,” says Hightower II.

The elder Hightower, who was appointed to the National Petroleum Council in 2010 by Steven Chu, former U.S. Secretary of Energy, says their increased visibility and thereby increased customer accounts is a result of  accepting board appointments, participating in community service events, and from receiving various awards such as the Minority Owned Business of the Year from Dayton’s Business Journal.

By bringing on Visher and Hightower II, the company has increased the impact of its exponential marketing strategy. “We went out into the world together. He coached me to learn his style, selling technique, and marketing techniques. More importantly we began to transfer relationships,” says Hightower II, who worked as a regional field director on President Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign. “The key stakeholders and players would already know me and accept me because I was brought in through my father.”

With Visher handling the day-to-day business in the office, and Hightower II taking more board appointments, the elder Hightower has the opportunity to expand. For example, Hightower has been spending more time with HP Energy, a developer of energy efficiency projects, owned by him and two other partners. In addition, Hightower plans to focus more on Hi-Mark Group Inc., a wholesale fuel distributor targeting the government sector. Hightower II will run that company.

“Stephen has stepped up to the challenge and shown a lot of maturity,” says the elder Hightower, whose daughter Stephanie Hightower-Thomas works in accounting, and whose son Quincy acts as COO of Hi-Mark Construction Group, which launched in 1979 as Landmark Building Services.”

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