Just wanted to share some good news - finally landed my first commercial client after 3 months of cold calling! Tampa office building, found $18,400 in overcharges on their Schedule GS-2 rate with TECO. The property manager was skeptical at first but the numbers spoke for themselves. - Kevin O.
Cold calling success - landed my first commercial client!
Congratulations Kevin! That's a solid first find. The Schedule GS-2 rate can be tricky with the demand charges - what specifically did you catch? Also, how many cold calls did it take before this one said yes? This kind of success story helps our newer members see what's possible. - Randy D.
Thanks Randy! It was mostly billing demand vs actual demand - they were being charged for 87kW but actual peak was only 71kW for 8 months. Made about 120 cold calls total, got maybe 15 callbacks, 4 meetings, and this was my only yes so far. Still working the other prospects though. - Kevin O.
Nice work Kevin! That billing demand issue is bread and butter stuff once you know what to look for. Did you offer a free sample audit to get in the door? I've found that works better than just cold calling in Portland. - Todd
Congrats! I'm still struggling with cold calls down here in Jacksonville. What was your opening line that worked? I keep getting hung up on after 10 seconds. - Rob T.
Todd - yes, offered free sample on the last 3 months of bills. Rob - I started with "Hi, this is Kevin from Tampa Utility Audits, I specialize in finding billing errors on commercial electric bills. Do you handle the utilities for your building?" Seemed to work better than longer pitches. - Kevin O.
That's a great approach Kevin. Keep it simple and direct. Rob, the key is getting past the gatekeeper first. I always ask "Who handles your electric bill review?" instead of asking for the decision maker directly. Gets better results here in Minneapolis. - Hank B.
Just starting out in Santa Clarita - this gives me hope! How long did the actual audit take once you got access to the bills? And what did you charge for the full audit? - Gordon C.
Gordon - took about 6 hours total spread over 2 days to go through 24 months of bills. Charged $2,500 flat fee which seemed fair for the amount recovered. Next one I might go higher since I'm getting faster at it. - Kevin O.
Excellent ratio on that fee Kevin - about 14% of savings found. That's right in the sweet spot. Did they pay promptly? I've had some collections issues on my first few clients in Indianapolis. - Margaret C.
Yes, they paid within 2 weeks which was great. I think the fact that they could see the exact errors and dollar amounts made them confident in the value. Already referred me to another property they manage too! - Kevin O.