Impact of our partnership: 150 appointments and a new market in the US
Over 13 months, Alectric Renewables booked 150 appointments with company leaders in Ontario and the US. Four of those conversations became closed deals, and 10 more were in negotiation when this case was published.
- 150 appointments in 13 months
- 4 closed deals and 10 deals at various negotiation stages
- 10,000 leads generated, with a 55% open rate and a 10% reply rate
- An appointment with one of Canada’s largest grocery retailers, a company the client had named as a dream account
- A new market: a forwarded email showed that the client’s offer was competitive in the US, and the campaign expanded there
These results depended on two things the client brought to the campaign: roof-suitability calculations its own team ran for each prospect, and an offer that proved price-competitive in many US markets. A company that can’t estimate a prospect’s savings before the first message would need a different opening.
Challenges: Growing in a competitive commercial market
Alectric Renewables wanted to expand its presence in Ontario’s commercial sector, where competition among solar installers was intense. To grow, it needed a reliable channel that could reach company leadership quickly and surface new business opportunities as the company scaled.
Partnership objectives
The client’s goal was to build a dependable outbound channel to commercial building owners in Ontario and find new opportunities beyond its existing reach.
Strategy and implementation
The campaign ran on cold email. It started with a standard Belkins campaign for Ontario manufacturers, then moved to building-level personalization once early feedback showed what prospects needed to see.
Targeting buildings, not just companies
The team targeted companies operating large commercial buildings, such as warehouses with one or two floors, since those roofs suit solar installation. Outreach went to VPs, Presidents, CEOs, and Managing Directors, so savings conversations started at the level where capital decisions are made.
The first campaign focused on Ontario manufacturers classified as Class B electricity consumers. These companies typically run large factories and warehouses, which makes them strong candidates for solar savings.
Rebuilding the campaign around each prospect’s roof
Feedback from the first campaign showed that the standard approach got only moderate results. Belkins and the client’s team reworked it together. Using the lead database, the client measured each prospect’s roof on Google Maps and assessed whether it was suitable for solar panels. That allowed the campaign to:
- Prioritize the prospects whose buildings fit best
- Show each prospect their potential energy output and savings
- Reference the prospect’s own business address in the email
This personalized campaign became the core of the outreach for the rest of the engagement.
Expanding into the US
Ontario was the original target market. Then an Ontario prospect forwarded one of the emails to its parent corporation in the US, which showed strong interest. Looking into it, the client found its offer was competitive in many US markets, and the campaign expanded across the border.
Challenges Belkins encountered
The campaign had a slow start. The initial research methods didn’t produce enough qualified leads. The fix came from combining Belkins’ research with the client’s industry knowledge: once the client’s team began assessing roofs, the research shifted from finding companies in the right sector to finding buildings that could actually host a solar installation.
“You are doing amazing. Keep up the great work.”
— Alan Morrissey, CEO, Alectric Renewables
Lessons learned
- Qualify by the asset, not just the company profile. For commercial solar, the roof decides whether a deal is possible. Checking roof size before outreach removed prospects who could never buy.
- Lead with the prospect’s own numbers. Emails that showed a specific building’s potential output and savings did better than the general manufacturing campaign.
- Treat a forwarded email as a market signal. One forward to a US parent company opened a second market.
- Fit. This approach works when the offer can be quantified from data available before first contact, such as roof size, location, or energy class, and the client’s team can produce those estimates. Without that input, the campaign falls back to the standard approach that underperformed at the start.
