About Burch Energy Services
Burch Energy Services offers energy audits, consults on choosing Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and Building Management System (BMS) equipment for energy efficiency, and calculates the costs of equipment upgrades and savings. The firm specializes in energy management consulting, engineering, and construction services without replacing the equipment. Burch Energy Services is a partner of Energy Trust of Oregon.
Impact of our partnership: 32 appointments in 3 months against a commitment of 18
Burch Energy Services booked 32 appointments in 3 months against a commitment of 18. Seventeen of them came in the first month, almost the full 3-month target.
- 32 appointments in 3 months, against 18 committed
- 172% average KPI
- 17 appointments in the first month, compared with a 3-month commitment of 18
- 60%+ open rate and 15% reply rate on cold email, after previous emails had mostly gone unopened
- 30% of appointments from religious institutions, the most responsive segment
- An appointment with the client’s dream account, a major Oregon museum
- More than one opportunity from some single appointments
The market was limited: Oregon only, with a minimum building size that ruled out most organizations. The client’s lean team set the real ceiling, since the appointment flow quickly exceeded what it could process.
Challenges the client came to us
Burch Energy Services could only sell within Oregon, to organizations with large enough buildings, which kept its total addressable market small. Its previous outreach had barely registered with prospects, since most emails weren’t even opened. Lead management was disorganized, contact data was outdated, and the pipeline had stalled.
Partnership objectives
Burch Energy Services needed a working sales process and a steady flow of appointments within its narrow market. The agreed commitment was 18 appointments in 3 months.
Strategy and implementation
The campaign ran on cold email. It started by fixing the sales process, then built outreach around a detailed ICP and narrowed the targeting as data came in.
Rebuilding the sales process
Before launching outreach, the team analyzed Burch Energy’s existing sales efforts and mapped a way to restart the pipeline. Belkins introduced lead qualification and follow-ups, set up clear handoffs between SDRs and the client’s sales executives, and automated routine lead management tasks so leads moved faster.
Narrowing down the ICP
The ICP covered two kinds of prospects: partners who run energy efficiency programs, and organizations that operate buildings.
Program partners:
- Utility demand-side management (DSM) programs: the energy efficiency, smart grid, and sustainability initiatives through which utilities encourage customers to change how much electricity they use and when
- Utility program administrators and energy consultants who run DSM programs
- Renewables, sustainability, and environmental services companies as potential partners
Building operators:
- Small commercial buildings with unitary HVAC systems, including facilities services, building management, and green building firms
- Multifamily housing operating as small commercial buildings
- Subsidized rental housing: property management, multifamily, and affordable housing developers
- Educational institutions, healthcare and senior living facilities, religious and community buildings, retail and mixed-use spaces, commercial offices, hospitality (including homeless shelters), and industrial facilities
Priority went to organizations serving populations that have trouble accessing benefits from utilities and energy providers. The research also used SIC codes 6531 (real estate agents and managers, including property management) and 8742 (management consulting).
All prospects had to be in Oregon and occupy buildings of 15,000+ square feet.
Target titles:
- Primary: Facility Managers, Chief Technical Officers (CTOs), and Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs)
- Secondary: CFOs, plus managers and directors in property, energy efficiency, building operations, operations, maintenance, asset management, community, and real estate roles
Narrowing titles to top management
The campaign started with a broad mix of C-level executives, including COOs and owners, and engineering roles such as facility and energy managers. Within about 2 weeks, top management showed clearly stronger engagement, and the team shifted the campaign to focus on them.
Writing referral emails with industry-specific value propositions
Based on previous experience in the utilities sector, the team built the cold email templates around a referral approach. Each email addressed a specific person, asked whether they were the right contact or whether a colleague handled energy decisions, and included a value proposition written for the prospect’s sector, such as restaurants, healthcare, or nonprofits. This approach reached an open rate above 60% and a reply rate of 15%.
Targeting niche industries
We focused on libraries, museums, railway stations, churches, and police stations — all large organizations that may have HVAC equipment issues and a desire to save energy. Religious institutions demonstrated the highest interest, resulting in 30% of overall appointments booked.
What challenges we encountered
- A narrow ICP and hard-to-check criteria. Building size often can’t be verified from public data, and Oregon has a limited number of large organizations. The team used 20+ employees as a working proxy for building size. The tight scope also allowed more precise messaging.
- The client’s capacity to handle leads. Burch Energy was satisfied with the results, but the appointment flow outpaced what its lean team could process.
Lessons learned and fit
- Narrow titles fast when data is clear. Two weeks of engagement data justified shifting to top management.
- Combine a referral ask with a sector-specific reason to reply. The referral question found the right contact, and the tailored value proposition gave them a reason to answer.
- Test overlooked segments. Religious institutions weren’t an obvious target and became the source of 30% of appointments.
This approach suits specialist firms with a narrow geographic market that need appointments quickly. A firm with a small team should plan its capacity before launch: here, demand outpaced what the client could handle within the first month.
