Name: Managing Energy Sales Lead Data
Brand: Diversegy

Properly Managing Energy Sales Lead Data.

Managing energy sales lead data can seem like a daunting task; however, understanding how to use the basics of Excel and other tools can help make your energy broker job much easier. There are many ways to organize your leads: manually in a spreadsheet, in a CRM system, or even in a notebook. We recommend entering your lead data into a spreadsheet or CRM, where you can export an Excel file. Here are some tips to properly manage energy sales lead data:

Make a ‘Last Contacted’ Data Entry

It is very important to record the last time you contacted a prospect. Maybe you spoke to a potential customer but did not get in touch with the decision-maker. No worries! Simply record your last date of contact in your CRM or spreadsheet. Maybe you spoke to the decision-maker and he gave you some valuable insight into the account (when their current contract expires, a bill copy, etc.). It is important to know when you last spoke to the decision-maker and what you spoke about. Record this information in your lead tracking system.

Learn How To Filter and Sort Your Sheet

Next, you must learn how to properly filter and sort your spreadsheet so you can effectively follow up with your prospects. A simple way of doing this is sorting your sheet by the ‘Last Contacted’ date in descending order. This will give you a list of all of your prospects and the last time you spoke with them. Maybe you talked to a manufacturing company on 1/15/21 and they told you their contract was expiring at the end of 2022. Having this information at your finger tips allows you to properly follow up at some point in 2022 so you can begin pricing a future-dated contract.

Here is a YouTube video on how to sort and filter Excel spreadsheets:

Here is a YouTube video on how to sort and filter a Google Sheet:

Record the Important Stuff

It is also very important to make note of the pertinent information regarding your prospect’s account that can help you close it in the future. Personal things about your decision-maker, such as his/her favorite sports team, where he/she went to school, etc.) can help you build rapport. You should also obtain the relevant energy account information such as:

current energy supplier information
annual kWh electricity usage or CCF natural gas usage
current contract expiration date
number of utility meters
utility name and rate class information
obtain utility bill copies (see How To Properly Ask For a Utility Bill)

The Importance of Good Lead Organization

Properly organizing and managing your energy sales lead data can make or break you as an energy broker. Energy sales professionals who are unorganized miss opportunities on a monthly basis. Have you ever followed up with a prospect too late and they just signed a contract through another broker? Maybe you forgot to renew a customer in time and they fell to a variable, market-based rate? Staying organized is paramount to your ability to properly serve your customers and successfully acquire new accounts. See this article on How To Effectively Manage Energy Leads.