SnapCount Insights

There is rarely a perfect time for a business to take on an operational overhaul; most are perpetually in 'fix the plane while we fly it' mode. However, the 2020 slowdown in the commercial lighting retrofit business due to the pandemic may have had a small silver lining: the opportunity to take on a long-overdue retooling of a retrofit business operation.

We spoke to two companies that did just that.

To discuss what made 2020 the perfect time to transition to a new software to retool their businesses, we spoke with Brad Dulle (Director of Engineering) and Frank Agraz (Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives) from Eco Engineering, along with Dimitri Papadakis (Chief Operations Officer) from STS Lighting Services Inc.

There’s a reason you can’t spell customer without “custom.” Every customer is unique, and the way retrofitters present a proposal should be adapted to that specific customer.

That’s why SnapCount comes with a built-in selection of custom report templates. The goal of the reports in SnapCount is to give you options to transform raw audit data, so it makes the most compelling case to your intended audience. Here are some reasons why SnapCount’s custom reports can help you build an irresistible case.

Energy and lighting retrofits are all about the benefits of modernization. Yet for some retrofitters, pen, paper, and Microsoft Excel are still the go-to tools for audits.

There are several reasons why you might be reluctant to make the switch, whether it’s because of cost, habit, or concerns about technology. We’ve heard many of those reasons from our own clients before they gave SnapCount a try, so we figured we’d address them here.

How many of these reasons are on your mind?

We’ve heard from many lighting retrofit companies, especially those in states with more rigid lock-down restrictions, that even if their sales efforts get them past the gate-keeper to a live prospect, getting into the facility for an audit has been a non-starter. The contractors seem to get shut down before they can even make a valid, data-driven case.

Thankfully, the retrofit world is gifted with many out-of-the-box, creative thinkers that seem to engineer their way around many of these initial objections. Many have come up with ways of conducting a “virtual” audit using creative digital methods. Often, the results of these methods provide good enough information to make the case for “getting in” more powerful.

Retrofit projects aren’t only about improving a facility’s lighting and energy consumption. They’re also about future-proofing facilities and using energy efficiently and intelligently.

Instead of being a one-and-done service, retrofitters with a long-term view work hard to establish themselves as energy consultants. That respect and authority gives them a golden opportunity to offer customers additional energy cost-saving solutions under their brand—and solar is a natural and profitable fit.

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.

Everybody’s talking about lighting as a service. After all, it seems perfect on paper: Steady income and a steady relationship with the client, who in turn, benefits from hands-off maintenance of their lighting and a much easier cash flow.

So why isn’t everybody offering it?

“Is it safe to let people into my building to do work?”

“What will our cash flow look like in the next six months?”

“What will our business even look like a year from now?”

Fear is one of the most powerful levers for how we think, how we act, and how we respond to situations. And right now, there is definitely no shortage of fear and uncertainty out there, as facility owners deal with the massive question mark the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on the rest of this year’s calendar.

2020 has been … unpredictable.

Lighting retrofit businesses that thought they had their year’s projections all planned out have since had the rug yanked out from under them. And they’re still finding their footing on slippery new ground.

But as each of us tries to figure out where this new path is taking us, it’s interesting to stop and reassess the lighting retrofit market as a whole. To help with this, we spoke with three industry experts who have previously contributed to our Insights articles: David Ingram of DLL, Steve LoJacono of Graybar, and Walter “BJ” Pidgeon of GE Current.