Tools of the Trade.
Energy brokers are always on the go prospecting new customers, meeting with clients, and negotiating the supply of electricity and natural gas. In the modern era, where traditional processes are becoming digitized, there are a few tools that you should have to make your job easier.
Here are the top energy broker tools our successful sales partners use on a daily basis:
Document Storage App
While we provide our sales partners with a sophisticated CRM system to track their customers, a document storage app is always a good idea to remain organized. Energy brokers are constantly dealing with loads of paperwork. From utility bill copies to proposals to contracts, energy brokers need a good filing system.
Since most of these documents are digital these days, using a cloud storage application to organize your prospect and customer data is a must. Here are some free cloud document storage apps that some of our partners use:
- Google Drive
- DropBox
- Microsoft One Drive
All of these applications have mobile apps that can be downloaded to your iPhone or Android device. Having your document storage app on your phone makes it simple to access signed contracts or bill copies when you’re on the road or at home.
Pro Tip: Make a folder for each of your customers and organize them in alphabetical order. Be sure to save all information you collect from each customer in the appropriate folder.
Did you also know that many of these applications have desktop integration functionality? In other words, you can install Google Drive on your computer and save documents directly to the cloud. Here is a quick video on How to Download and Install Google Drive on Your Desktop:
Mobile Scanning App
Next, a mobile scanning app should be one of the most used applications on your phone. Yes, we know many customers nowadays are tech savvy and know how to download bill copies from their utility’s online portal and email them to you. However, there are many more customers who are less computer-literate and prefer using paper.
Enter the mobile scanning app. Downloading one of these free phone apps will make your life much easier. You can use a scanning app to take pictures of bills and contracts with your phone, turn them into PDFs, and email them easily to your broker or pricing desk. Here are some of the mobile scanning apps we recommend:
- Scannable
- Adobe Scan
- Genius Scan
Scanning apps can be used to scan bill copies to get pricing, copies of supply contracts for comparison, or any other pertinent documents for your day-to-day activities.
Pro Tip: When scanning bill copies for your pricing desk, be sure to include all copies in a single scan. That way, your pricing desk does not have to open multiple files to custom price an account for you.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System
Last but not least, is a solid CRM system to track your customer information and deal data. Remember, it is your goal as an energy broker to build a book of customers who stay with you for a long period of time. That way, you can develop a solid residual income stream.
In order to do that, you must be great at following up with your customers when their contracts come due so you can renew them. If you do not have some sort of CRM system where you enter your deal information, it is very easy to get disorganized and miss opportunities.
CRM systems can also be great for prospecting. If your CRM system allows, you can enter prospect information, opportunities, tasks, and activities. This allows you to stay on top of potential prospects so they do not sign with another broker. A good CRM system will also allow you to conduct some email marketing to your customers and prospects so you can continually keep your name in front of them.
Popular Energy Broker CRM Systems:
- Diversegy’s ELIAS
- Edge On Demand
- ENEREX
