The last thing any retrofitter wants is for the project to get within a hair’s width of approval … only for the whole thing to come to a screeching halt when the CFO pokes holes in the metrics.
However, many retrofit companies take that risk by using popular metrics that fall apart upon closer scrutiny.
You’ve outlined the retrofit project, discussed the benefits, showed them before-and-after shots of previous projects, and provided case studies. Then, the CFO speaks up, asking whether this project makes good investment sense.
Whether you’re the lighting retrofit company, or the internal champion lobbying to get a project approved, this is the make-or-break moment. If you can prove value to the people holding the purse strings, you’ve conquered the biggest hurdle in your path.
We all have blind spots when it comes to running our businesses. Those spots might be big or small. It might sting a little to hear about them.
And it’s easy enough to dismiss them.
“This is just how we do business,” you might tell yourself. “And we’re doing all right.”
But are you really? And honestly, did you get into the energy-efficient lighting retrofit business to just “do all right”?
Concise communication is vital to virtually any winning sales process. For this reason, you need to make a thoughtfully drafted one-page proposal a no-exceptions best practice. That one-pager needs to focus on the “why” more than the “what,” “how,” “how much,” or “when.” It’s the document that gets your prospect motivated to move forward.
Given the quantity of inefficient lighting still in use in this country, it’s easy to envision a multi-billion-dollar lighting retrofit industry thriving for many years to come. That said, the retrofitters who will be most successful at tapping into this enormous opportunity will be those who adopt a smarter approach to selling – one that replaces conventional phrases like “save energy, save money” with messaging that really captures executive attention and supports proactive decision-making.
