Six months. That is roughly how far ahead a commercial electricity buyer should be shopping, and it is the number your outreach should be built on. A business with an electricity contract that ends in November is a lead in May, a hot lead in July, and a lost one in October when the supplier's auto-renewal has already kicked in at a rate nobody negotiated.

So the work of getting commercial energy clients is mostly the work of finding contract end dates and writing to the right person at the right month. Everything else, the audit, the retrofit pitch, the rate comparison, hangs off that date.

Where a broker can actually switch the supply

A broker can only shop a contract where customers can choose their supplier. In the US that means states with retail electricity choice (Texas, much of the Northeast, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and several others) and, for natural gas, a wider group. Where a regulated utility is the only supplier, you are selling something else: an energy audit, a lighting retrofit, demand management. Know which one you are before you write a word, and check your state's rules on broker licensing and disclosure. This is general information, not legal advice.

Be clear about how you get paid. Many brokers are compensated by the supplier through the rate the customer pays. Buyers have been burned by brokers who didn't say so, and good ones disclose it up front, in the first conversation, in writing.

The calendar around one contract end date

  • 12 months out: introduce yourself, ask when the contract ends. No offer yet.
  • 9 months: send a one-line market note and ask again if you still don't have the date.
  • 6 months: offer the rate comparison. This is the first message that asks for something.
  • 4 months: present options. Suppliers' quotes are usually good for hours or days, so you need the buyer ready.
  • 90 days: the reminder, because many contracts require 30 to 90 days' written notice to avoid auto-renewal.

Put each date on a calendar the day you learn the end date. That calendar is the asset you are building.

Getting end dates when nobody publishes them

Contract end dates are not public. You get them three ways. First, ask: "When does your current electricity contract end?" is a simple question that facilities managers answer if you also say why you ask. Second, ask for a copy of a recent bill, which usually lists the supplier and the rate, and sometimes the term. Third, ask partners who see the bills: building managers, property managers, accountants and electrical contractors. A contractor who just did a lighting job for a plant knows the plant's bills. Offer something in return, like a quarterly market update they can share with their customers.

Facilities managers and CFOs, by name

The title that signs depends on size. At a plant or a multi-site retailer, the facilities manager or energy manager researches and recommends; the CFO or controller signs. At a small business, the owner does both. Build a list of companies with large, steady loads: cold storage, plastics and metalworking plants, grocery chains, schools, nursing homes, multi-site restaurants, offices with their own HVAC. Start with the facilities manager and copy no one. Use how to find office and facility managers to get names, and how to get meetings with decision makers for the follow-through.

The no-cost rate comparison

The first offer is a comparison, not a pitch: you collect twelve months of bills, get quotes from several suppliers for the same load, and present them side by side with the term, rate type (fixed or variable) and any fees. Here is a simple illustration. A plastics plant uses 1,200,000 kWh a year at 9.2 cents, so $110,400. A fixed quote at 8.3 cents would be $99,600, a difference of $10,800 a year. A longer term might cut the rate further and add risk if usage drops. Show both, and show what happens if the market moves while they wait.

A first email to a facilities manager

Subject: Your electricity contract and the next 6 months

Hi Denise, I'm an energy broker working with manufacturers in the Tri-County area. Most supply contracts renew automatically if nobody acts 30 to 90 days before the end date, and buyers who shop four to six months ahead tend to see more suppliers' quotes. When does your current contract end? If it's within the year, I'll collect your last twelve bills and compare supplier quotes at no cost. I'll also show you how I'm paid before we start.

Orrin Hale, Hale Energy Advisors, 700 Commerce Drive

The line about how you're paid is part of the pitch. Include your address and an opt-out, as CAN-SPAM requires.

Following up as the date gets close

If the answer is "next year", log the date and write again at nine months. If it's "we auto-renewed", ask for the new end date and write again. Never push a buyer to sign inside a short quote window without showing the alternatives. A buyer who feels rushed leaves. The cadence for people who aren't ready yet is covered in how to follow up with a lead who said not now.

Referrals from contractors and the solar crossover

Electrical contractors, HVAC firms and lighting suppliers meet facilities managers when they are already thinking about costs. A short, honest referral arrangement helps both sides; check your state's rules on referral payments before you offer one. If your market also sells solar to commercial roofs, notice that the buyer, timing and incentives differ. Our piece on solar company customers covers that sale, which is a different one. A related trigger-based trade is safety consulting, which also sells to plant managers.

The calendar of end dates is where a broker's business compounds, and it is tedious to keep by hand. Rocketship finds the facilities managers by name, writes from your own Gmail at the intervals you set, and follows up; see the AI workers. Employee benefits brokers run the same renewal-date play, as shown in how to get employee benefits clients.

Rocketship finds the buyers, emails them from your own Gmail, follows up, and books the meeting on its own. Plans that get you customers start at $24.99 a month (Launch), and both Launch and Frontier start with a 7-day free trial, card required.