“Leaders among mechanical contractors can help their clients by becoming leaders in energy management, green building, and sustainable practices.” That is the message from a recent article in ACHR News.
Contractors who are making the connection for their clients between their maintenance service and cost savings are going to be viewed as value-added partners. Some call it their Green Program, others their Energy Saving Maintenance Plan. The general idea is the same – “Since mechanical systems account for most of a building’s energy consumption, it’s not uncommon to find that the energy savings alone will sometimes pay for most, or even all, of the cost difference between a basic maintenance program and a green maintenance investment, says Ed Sokol of Grodsky Service (Massachusets, Connecticut.) That’s step 1 – adopting the proper mindset, a marketing mindset which speaks to the core benefits of services.
Step 2 is identifying and getting in front of the building’s decision makers, and learning the financial language they use when considering proposals for service or projects. This is more important than ever. Typically the right person is the owner, CFO or VP of finance, purchasing manager, or facility manager.
And step 3 is to make energy assessments, energy analysis, or building performance assessments part of every day business. Building owners or managers need to have their contractor understand how their building uses energy and how it could use less of it through adjustments in operations and maintenance, as well as equipment upgrades and other measures. Without a tool to guide this effort, you’re shooting in the dark.
Put these 3 together and you have a mechanical service department that is truly serving the needs of your clients.
