Today, we’re going to discuss the metric that you should focus on when presenting an expense-reducing capital project to a landlord.
For many commercial building landlords, one of largest controllable operating expenses is the utility bill. Payroll for the chief engineer, porter, doorman, and so forth may make up a portion of the landlord’s controllable operating expenses; however, these costs generally pale in comparison to the utility costs.
Your task is to convince the landlord that a reduction in operating expenses for his or her building through energy savings will result in an overall increase in his or her Net Operating Income (NOI). NOI is the mother's milk of real estate investors. It's why they get up and go to work in the morning.
In a case like this, there are three drivers of higher Net Operating Income:
- Higher rent
- Lower vacancy/less tenant churn/better tenant retention or attraction
- Lower landlord share of operating expenses
If you want to sell energy more effectively in the commercial real estate environment, you have to explore these drivers, determine which ones might have the greatest positive effect on your prospect’s NOI, and then make a credible connection between your offering and the driver you’re aiming to improve.
