Personalities in Propane: Natalie Hall “Dives In” At Como Oil & Propane

Natalie Hall has only been with the family propane business, Como Oil and Propane (Palm City, Fla.), for about a year and a half, but she has already taken on a heavy marketing, operations, and back-office workload with the company.

She is the project manager for the business’ conversion from an older software system to a new program and is leading the marketing operations including the website, advertising, and social media, all while still learning the ropes of the business. “When I first started here, I bounced around, trying to get my hands dirty, going out on delivery trucks, going out with service techs, and trying to learn all aspects of the business,” she said. “I also worked with the sales team to improve their processes through technology. Also, I work on business development and creating strategic partnerships. In addition, I head up recruiting for the company.”

Expanding its reach is one of the latest goals for Como Oil and Propane, which was formerly the same company as the Como Oil and Propane in Duluth, Minn. that ThompsonGas acquired in 2015. Hall’s grandfather, Myles Hall, started the Duluth Como Oil in the 1940s and expanded the operation to Florida in 1967. Her father, Robert Hall, runs Como Oil and Propane, but he is looking to retire soon, so Natalie Hall is working hard to catch up. Robert Hall was president of Como in Minnesota and Florida until he sold Como Minnesota. After Myles Hall died in the early 1990s, Robert bought out his siblings and has been sole owner since then.

Natalie Hall and her family are working on the latest expansion of the business, and Hall’s work in creating partnerships has played a strong role. They officially opened Como Keys in the Florida Keys in March, and the new business made its first fuel delivery in early April 2017 and will soon make its first propane delivery. “It’s a separate entity, a joint venture. We have business partners who are local to the Keys and have been there 40 years.”

On the recruiting end, Hall is active in conducting initial interviews and prospecting potential new employees. As emphasized in the Workforce Development Task Force article in this issue of BPN, she notes that finding qualified people has been a challenge. Specifically for Hall, that means finding someone with industry knowledge who is not already with another company, especially on the service side.

She and other leaders at the company have hired some people who do not come from the propane industry but who Hall says have knowledge that is complementary to the Como business. One of the new hires previously owned a construction company and has worked for some of the major contractors in the area.

The new hire will help with Como’s goal of targeting high-end residential customers in the area. The company works with contractors on new homes and on renovations of current homes to reach residential propane customers.

“Propane is more of a luxury item than a necessity like in other parts of the country, which need propane or fuel-oil to heat their home,” Hall said. “We gain a lot of our residential business through strategic relationships, which are predominantly contractors, so we decided to think outside the box when it came to recruiting for this position. [The new hire] knows how to communicate to contractors, he speaks their language, and knows what they’re looking for from vendors like us. We’re willing to train people and teach them the industry knowledge they need to be successful, which is a different approach than just focusing on ‘I need to find someone who has five years of experience in the propane industry.’ We’re trying to look at it from a different angle and see how successful we are with that approach.”

She is also taking an active role with the company’s website, digital marketing, and advertising. Revamping the website was her main project when she first came on board. Then came digital marketing and advertising. She has focused on using the appliances Como sells in its showrooms as a way to grab customers’ attention and increase current customers’ use.

But she felt she was unable to give adequate attention to social media and other digital marketing activities, so in March she hired a digital marketing company to take the lead on social media, the website, pay-per-click advertising, and search engine optimization. With that taken off her plate, she could focus on branding and direct marketing campaigns, which target current and new customers. Her focus is to grow in Palm Beach County and the Florida Keys.

She sounds well-versed on the marketing needs for her business, but because of her short time in the industry, she wanted to gain more overall industry knowledge. So she recently joined the mentor program of NPGA’s Women in Propane Council as a “mentee” and is excited to be set up with a mentor around the time of the NPGA Southeastern Conference in April.

“Since I have only been in the industry a year and a half, I wanted to accelerate the learning curve, and I thought the mentor/mentee program would be a great avenue to do that.”