Rachel K from Atlanta, GA. Georgia Power territory. I want to tell new auditors: if you are not targeting property management companies, you are leaving the easiest money in this business on the table. I landed one PM company 6 months ago. They manage 26 commercial buildings across metro Atlanta. The PM gave me access to all 26 accounts with a single authorization letter because they are the billing contact for all the owners. I did not have to sell 26 different clients. I sold ONE company and got 26 accounts. Found errors on 19 of the 26. Total refunds: $142,000. Go-forward annual savings: $38,000. My fee on the refunds alone was $56,800.
Landed a property management company — 26 buildings and counting
Rachel, property management companies are the single best client acquisition strategy in this business. One relationship gives you access to dozens of accounts. The PM is motivated because finding savings makes them look good to the building owners. The owners are happy because someone is watching their costs. And you get volume that makes your practice efficient.
I work with 3 PM companies in Dallas. Combined portfolio: 68 buildings. The key insight is that PM companies already HAVE the utility bills — they pay them every month as part of their management services. You are not asking them to gather data for you. You are asking them to let you look at data they already have. The barrier to entry is almost zero.
Rachel, what was the error rate across the 26 buildings? 19 out of 26 is 73%. Is that typical for a portfolio that has never been audited?
Derek, 73% is actually typical for a never-audited portfolio in my experience. The errors range from major rate classification issues ($15,000+) to minor rider errors ($500-800). The point is that almost every commercial building has something wrong. Volume auditing through a PM company lets you find it all efficiently.
How did you pitch the PM company initially? I have a list of 8 PM companies in San Antonio that I want to approach but I am not sure how to frame the value for the PM specifically vs the building owner.
Angela, the pitch to the PM is different from the pitch to a building owner. For the PM, the value is: you get to tell your building owners that you proactively saved them money on utilities. That strengthens the PM relationship with the owners and differentiates the PM from competitors. I tell PMs that I make them look like heroes to their clients. The financial savings are the mechanism but the relationship value is what the PM cares about.
That reframing is brilliant. The PM does not own the savings but they own the relationship. By bringing savings to the owners, the PM proves their value. I am rewriting my pitch letter today.
Rachel hit on something fundamental: in this business, the person who PAYS the bill is not always the person who BENEFITS from the savings. Property managers, facility directors, CFOs — they are all intermediaries. Your pitch has to address what the intermediary cares about, which is usually looking competent and proactive to whoever they report to. The savings are the tool. The career benefit is the motivation.