Hey everyone! Lena F. here from Tacoma. I've been cold calling for 3 months now and wow, the rejection is brutal. Just got hung up on by Seattle City Light after asking about their Schedule 40 Large General Service accounts. Anyone else have cold calling war stories that ended up being worth it? Need some motivation!
Cold calling horror stories - share yours!
Chad O. from Columbus GA. Oh man, I feel your pain Lena! I called Georgia Power for 6 weeks straight asking about Schedule GSA accounts before finally getting through to someone who actually listened. Found $47k in demand charge errors on their first facility. Keep pushing!
Wade F. in Shreveport here. Cold called Entergy Louisiana for months. They finally let me audit one small warehouse on Schedule LGS. Only found $200 in billing errors but it opened the door. Now I audit 12 of their facilities. Sometimes the small wins lead to big relationships.
Randy Dawson here. Great thread topic Lena! Cold calling is definitely a numbers game and the rejection can be demoralizing. I always recommend focusing on your value proposition - don't just ask if they want an audit, explain specifically what you'll review like demand ratchets, power factor penalties, and tariff optimization. Most facilities managers don't even know these exist. Also try calling mid-morning Tuesday through Thursday, avoid Mondays and Fridays. The persistence pays off when you find that first big savings opportunity.
Chuck B. from Cincinnati. My worst cold call was Duke Energy Ohio - the guy actually laughed at me and said "we don't make mistakes." Six months later his property manager hired me and we found $23k in errors on Schedule GS-2 accounts. Sometimes you get the last laugh!
Lisa B. in Plano TX here. I'm pretty new to this but I've had better luck with Oncor than calling them directly. I reach out to property managers first and ask about their utility spend. Less defensive that way. Found my first client through a LinkedIn message to a PM managing 4 retail centers.
Yuri P. from Chicago. ComEd was impossible to get through to but I kept detailed notes of who I talked to and when. After 3 months I finally reached someone who remembered my previous calls and agreed to meet. Professional persistence beats aggressive pushiness every time.
Carlos M. in Phoenix. APS customers are goldmines if you can get in. Schedule E-32 Large General Service has so many demand charge components that even their own billing department gets confused. My elevator pitch is "I find money hiding in your electric bill" - works better than technical jargon.
Thanks everyone! This is really encouraging. Carlos, I love that elevator pitch - way better than my rambling explanation about tariff analysis. Going to try the property manager angle Lisa suggested too. Lena F.