If you are hoping to redefine and turbocharge your value proposition, you’ll want to consider bringing up non-utility-cost financial benefits. As just one example, how many people trying to sell efficiency solutions actually take the time to quantify and monetize the value of improved productivity? All too often I hear a “salesperson” (as opposed to “sales professional”) say, “I told them it would make their people happier and more productive, but they seemed unimpressed.” Did they offer any compelling facts and figures? No.
Let’s consider the average “open office” layout… Chances are you’ll find that the space planner had budgeted for about five people per thousand square feet. Note that this figure includes not only the workstation, but also things like hallways, kitchens, bathrooms, elevator lobbies, and so forth.
Supposing you have 200 square feet allocated to each person and an average salary of $40,000 a year per person, you would divide the 200 into the $40,000 and wind up with a payroll amount of $200 per square foot of real estate. Now, if you compare that figure to the national utility bill average of about $2 per square foot, it's becomes clear that your payroll is about a hundred times as large as your utility bill on a cost-per-square-foot basis. If that's the case, you have to ask yourself, “What if my efficiency campaign boosted productivity by even just 1%?” This small increase in productivity could offset the entire utility bill! It wouldn’t appear on the same line item as utility expense; however, it would have as positive an impact on the organization’s bottom line as if you had eliminated the utility line item altogether.
So, what kinds of things have an effect on productivity? Thermal comfort, indoor air quality, window films, lighting (particularly if it reduces computer monitor glare)… the list goes on and on. If your efficiency product or service has any potential positive effect on occupant productivity, you’d be foolish not to include it in the discussion… and to do so in a quantified and monetized manner.
