Have you ever had a client dispute your bill?
It’s frustrating, isn’t it?
After all those hours of hard work, it can be heart wrenching to have a client quibble over the fee at the end.
There is one simple way to avoid this from happening 99% of the time.
That is being upfront and transparent at the beginning of your dealings with them. If you can set the right expectations at the beginning of the relationships, then there shouldn’t be an issue by the time it comes to pay the bill.
So, how can you do that?
Well, Jeremy Caird from Saveawatt makes a point of having clear upfront conversations with every client that his business deals with.
The Importance Of Transparency
You will have heard the phrase “honesty is the best policy”. And this is no truer than when you are dealing with your clients.
Being honest and transparent from the very start helps you to build a relationship of trust with the people you attract to your business.
It starts at the very beginning of the relationship. If you can manage your client’s expectations from the start then there will be no grey areas. That means no cause for dispute and a harmonious working relationship.
It also sets the parameters for clear communication and opens a dialogue for both parties to discuss the process and solve any issues if they arise.
Plus, it helps your business to get your bills paid on time without any quibbling!
These are all reasons why Jeremy Caird from Saveawatt makes transparency one of the top priorities with each of his clients.
Who Are Saveawatt?
Saveawatt is a customer-centric brand that focuses on helping people save money on their power and gas bills. With a head office in Christchurch and regional consultants all over the country, they have been operating for 10 years.
When you engage Saveawatt to negotiate energy costs on your behalf, it puts you in a leveraged buying position. Because Saveawatt put so much business out into the market and their name is well known, power companies know they have to put their best foot forward to win your business through Saveawatt.
The bulk of what they do is focus on getting low energy prices. But they also analyse your meter types to ensure you are purchasing electricity in the most cost effective way, examine your energy capacity and a whole lot of other things in behind your power bill that you won’t necessarily understand.
They can do this because they have extensive knowledge of the energy sector and vast experience in how energy businesses operate.
How Does The Process Work?
Saveawatt operates via a Customer Authority form. This allows them to act on your behalf, include you in their bulk tender process, as well as negotiate and save you money on your energy bills.
They do this on the basis that if they save you money, they get to share in those savings. You will get to enjoy three quarters of the savings and Saveawatt will receive one quarter for the work they do.
They will also produce a Procurement Agreement for you. Their business is not a free benchmarking facility. Yes, they will work incredibly hard on your behalf to secure savings, but will need to charge a fee for this service. This is something that is communicated right at the start of the process for transparency.
The fee is calculated at 25% of the total projected cost savings, based on your business’ previous 12 months consumption. By having conversations about the fee upfront, it allows them to compile an accurate tender document for you.
The Savings They Achieve
Saveawatt recently worked with a client who was spending $27,000 a year on electricity.
The ran the tender process to 15 different companies and received offers from 6 of them. In the end, they were able to save this business $16,000 over a new three year contract.
How did they do it?
Well, electricity is charged at a bundled rate. There are fixed fees for lines and network and a raw energy cost. That raw energy cost is the portion that is contestable. Each bill is made up of approximately 60% raw energy and 40% lines and network. In this instance, Saveawatt achieved a 30% saving on the raw energy costs for their client.
So, if you are a business in New Zealand that spends over $1500 a month in electricity and gas, then Saveawatt can help you see if there are energy savings to be had.
Get in touch with the team today for a transparent discussion about the process and potentially save yourself thousands every year.
Transparency With Your Clients
One of the best ways that you can build a relationship of transparency with your clients is simply by communicating with them openly. And, the easiest way of communicating with them is via email As a one to many form of communication, it is cost effective and familiar.
But, you are a busy business owner, you don’t have time to email your list all the time. Luckily, Big Rock Communications are experts in email communication and can take the job off your hands.
Our expertise allows you to nurture a relationship of transparency with your email database, then use that trust to generate leads and sales.
So, if you want to unlock the sales that are hiding in your email list, book a free strategy call with our marketing expert Lara McCormick. In just 30mins, she will help you devise a marketing strategy for the next 12 months!
Book a convenient time to speak by clicking here.