We were outbid the other day by another EV charging company and it bothered me a lot. It wasn’t that they offered a lower price, which they did, it was more that the customer didn’t see the value we were offering. We’re the only charging solution in the market that doesn’t need internet infrastructure and yet still can capture the same smart features like energy meter, access control, payment processing, demand response, idle enforcement, etc. The client didn’t want to listen to the benefits that Xeal’s protocol creates, or was at least willing to ignore the ramifications of choosing the other provider. The client was also willing to go with the other provider because they took the mentality of “no one ever gets fired for hiring IBM” and chose the provider in the space that felt risk free. In real estate development especially, when you are making 1,000 small decisions a day, you tend to run a decision making tree on default around:
What’s everyone else doing?
What’s our most affordable option to check the box?
When something goes wrong, who do I trust to remedy the situation best?
How do I maybe take a risk without getting over my skis?
Electric Vehicle charging falls into the category of one of the 1,000 decisions a real estate owner has to make. I empathize with the general burden of endless decision making but the skill is knowing which decisions have real implications vs. which are commoditized decisions. Electric vehicle charging might feel like just another commoditized decision but it’s becoming a defining decision in the grand scheme of tenant / resident decision making. In a world where gas prices are approaching $8/gallon and rents are increasing faster than inflation, having a place to charge your car, thus removing the cost of filling up at the tank, can create a tremendous amount of value for an apartment or office building.
Whether it’s an increased amenity fee, higher renewal percentages, increased rental rates or just incremental income from the charging stations themselves, the decision to supply enough and reliable EV charging infrastructure matters a lot. This isn’t just like another decision like, should we put in quartz countertops or granite OR deciding to put in insta-hot water faucets in each unit. The decisions around electric vehicle charging has real ramifications. That said, the decision for real estate owners on who to partner with is a war fought over many battles. This, like many others, is the war of attention and winning the deal as a fast growing, albeit younger company comes with its challenges to oust the old guard.
Starting from the highest level in the mind of a real estate owner:
Why should I care to offer charging to my tenants?
becoming easier and less convincing necessary
How many charging ports should we offer?
1 or 2 doesn’t cut it anymore, you need 20% of your garage. Imagine sharing a charger for your phone. NAH!
Should we charge money for our electric vehicle chargers?
Are you in the business of giving electricity away for free??? I’m not.
Who should we choose as our electric vehicle charging partner?
Are you going to hire IBM or do you want to get in the boat with Apple when they were just getting started?
How much will that partner cost us and how will it be serviced?
If you want cheap, go on Amazon. If you want the right partner, choose wisely
So the other day, this client calls me and tells me that he has a quote from the competitor and he’s likely going to go with them but he’ll give me the “last look” because he’s not willing to take a risk on us, the growing new company, unless we match on price - at least cover that base for them. I agreed because we’re in the business of building champions and winning the masses. I don’t like to cut our prices and won’t do it often but for a brand new relationship that is willing to give us the last look - I’ll make a one off exception if it means building a customer for life.
In order to win, sometimes you have to undercut the PC and show the world why Apple is the future only to then show the world that Apple’s will always cost more than PCs because you pay for the value you create long term.
Love your thoughtful apporach Rick! You're as talented as they come.
Love your thoughtful approach Rick! You are as talented as they come.