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Becoming a Transparent Energy Channel Partner Has Never Been Easier, More Profitable, or More Important

3Qs with Nancy Gardner, Vice President, Channel Partners at Transparent Energy

 

Q: Describe the Channel Partner program at Transparent Energy. What does it entail? Why is it unique?

Channel Partners are an incredibly important part of the Transparent Energy ecosystem and a major way we reach and deliver value to end customers. Think of it this way: there are millions of buildings across the country, each of which relies on electricity, and possibly natural gas, to operate. Even if we had 10,000 salespeople, we couldn’t reach every decision maker buying power for every building – instead, we turn to Channel Partners, those people and service providers that already have trusted relationships with those decision makers – to add energy advisory and procurement services to their mix. An introduction to those decision makers allows us to have a business conversation with them about our process (avoids politics) and enables us to win their business on our own merits, which we do most of the time.

And we make it easy for our Channel Partners to do business with us. Transparent Energy Channel Partners simply introduce us to their customers – our online energy procurement services, particularly our online auctions, are best suited for companies spending at least $15,000/month on power and natural gas – and our BDMs, sales people, pricing desk, and operations team do the rest, putting together all the necessary elements to conduct our procurements for the end customer.

What our Channel Partners love about working with Transparent Energy is that when we bring their customer’s load to market and run our online auctions on their behalf, the customer transacts 99% of the time, meaning the customer loved the result of the procurement and will save money because of our exceptional process. Additionally, there is no risk at all for the Channel Partner with our process, because the customer is fully in control, meaning they only sign an agreement after the auctions have been finalized. If the customer is not happy, they do not have to sign, and we go away. Thus, all upside for a Channel Partner to introduce us to their customers! Finally, our Channel Partners will also make money on the deal, getting paid monthly over the course of the energy contract. Customers love buying energy through Transparent Energy, and when we knock their socks off with our procurement, they thank the company or adviser who brought them to us, namely the Channel Partner. And that’s good for their business as a whole.

 

Q: What are the benefits of being a Transparent Energy Channel Partner?

At a macro-level, energy has emerged as a super-important concern for just about every business. Having expertise in energy and sustainability, and tangible services around them that consistently deliver value to the customer, is now worth its weight in gold. With Transparent Energy, Channel Partners have an expert on call that they can bring in to any customer engagement (provided that customer’s energy use is large enough) as an added service that brings immediate value.

Another thing that sets Transparent Energy apart and makes it particularly appealing to Channel Partners and their customers is that we are a very transactional company. We are in the energy markets every day, running auctions every day, for clients in every deregulated electricity market, natural gas market, and renewables market. When we run auctions, we get the best prices available in the market and the customers love it.

Short story, we deliver.

That’s important, because without a bias towards transacting, Channel Partnerships can easily become “paper only.” At Transparent Energy, we don’t sign on Channel Partners just to add a name to a list. We sign on Channel Partners so we can get busy bringing their customers major savings over any other process on their electricity, natural gas and renewables purchases. And when customers transact, our Channel Partners get paid, which keeps everyone motivated. At Transparent Energy, energy procurement is a team sport where everyone wins.

Because we are the best at what we do – with customers transacting 99%+ of the time when we bring their load to auction – the Channel Partner who brought us the deal benefits from the halo effect of having done so. Adding great, value-producing services like energy procurement through Transparent Energy also makes Channel Partners “stickier” with the customer. Customers value the savings and professionalism we offer, and they know the Channel Partner is responsible for bringing them to us and reward them for it with higher retention rates and deeper engagements.

On the savings front, the guaranteed savings delivered by our online auctions vs. a paper-based RFP process can help the channel partner upsell the customer on additional services, or enable the customer to make additional investments in services such as sustainability. As a side note, I’ve recently been with customers during two extremely successful auctions, and they just loved it! The process is exciting for them, and really maximizes competition for their business. Once they experience energy procurement like this, they never go back.

Channel partners earn an established percentage of each deal and get paid over time, as the electricity or natural gas flows to the customer, creating a highly predictable and lucrative revenue stream. We have several channel partners today earning over $1 million annually by bringing us their biggest and best customers.

 

Q: What kind of companies make the best channel partners?

All commercial, industrial and institutional customers need energy to run their operations, so any kind of business offering services to large users of energy can be a great Channel Partner. We have successful Channel Partnerships with engineering firms, law firms, even complementary energy services firms – businesses eager to add energy procurement to their portfolio of value-added offerings.

And because the need for energy is universal, we have Channel Partnerships in all types of verticals. Whether your business is servicing government clients, data centers, real estate, or manufacturing, our energy procurement services can help you deliver savings and make an impact with your customers.

Ultimately, the best Channel Partners are those who are always going the extra mile to find new ways to help their customers. With energy, climate change, sustainability and ESG now emerging as a top, if not the top, set of corporate concerns, there has never been a better, or more urgent time to partner with Transparent Energy and instantly gain the credibility, transactional excellence, cost savings, and risk reduction our energy procurement process delivers.

To see how Transparent Energy can put online auctions to work for your clients to reduce energy costs, manage energy risk, and accelerate their transition to clean energy, contact Nancy Gardner, Transparent Energy, at ngardner@transparentedge.com.