Improving qualification of opportunities in a crowded price driven market

Energist UK wanted to change from responding to client briefs, to truly understanding the client’s objectives and then delivering a solution to achieve those objectives.

What did Energist UK want to achieve?

The programme focused on the improved qualification of opportunities in a crowded price-driven market – how Energist communicates a compelling message that shows their value add.

What issues were Energist UK facing?

Energist operates in a very price-sensitive market where cost is often the major driver when clients are making decisions. Energist UK prides itself on the quality of expert advice it gives to its clients that far outweighs the investment levels a client might make. They wanted to change from responding to client briefs, to truly understanding the client’s objectives and then delivering a solution to achieve those objectives. In addition, Energist deals with a high volume of enquiries which puts pressure on the team’s qualification process.

The results

• A 39% improvement in conversion rate compared to the previous financial year.
• More consistent sales delivery against budget, including a record sales month.
• 2 group deals secured, providing circa £200k of revenue.

Moving from a price-driven sale to focus on their value-add sale, with examples including:

• Securing a £30,000 tender where they were 20% more expensive than the competition
• Increasing revenue from a key spender by 100% in six months, who had previously used a lower-cost competitor.
• Securing a £90k appointment, through effective qualification of the scope of works required for the client.

“We were keen to improve our sales effectiveness and move away from having conversations that were heavily focused on price and towards ones where we articulated the value we added to our clients.”

Stuart Clark
Director

SBR’s approach

SBR spent time with key stakeholders in the businesses and through 1:1’s, workshops and observing client interactions, they were able to build a bespoke programme that addressed Energist’s issues and that was culturally aligned to the business. The programme was run over 4 months which meant that habits were embedded, and the team were given the chance to review and reinforce learnings and be held accountable.