Electric Heating Systems

This post features the Redwell "Sky Wave" heater which is a mid-range space heater suitable for bigger (but not huge) rooms, such as meeting rooms, large open-plan rooms and the like.


Available in 1000W only (so recommended for a volume of about 40m3 - see previous power calculation post), the heater sits on a pedestal just over half a meter (1.5 feet) square, so it has a reasonably small floor footprint making it easy to locate and reasonably out of the way. The heater itself is 30cm square or just about 1 foot square. It is 1.6m (just about 5 feet) tall and weighs 45 kilograms.

Available in white, red and blue surface finishes (in acid and corrosion resistant stainless steel) with maple or oak, natural or stained frames.

Like many of the Redwell product line, the heater acts as a partial storage heater which increases its energy-efficiency. Surface temperature of the unit is 95C (remembering the low conductivity tolerance of the surface materials).

Voltage in Europe is 230v at 50Hz. Certificates and reports are TÜV, GS, CE, IGEF.

This post is the second in the series of making sales in Infrared heating and it is entitled "Finding business".

And the first thing to recognise is that sales is a pro-active task. It takes responsibility, action and focus to win new business and you should never believe you are reliant on anybody else.

The other point that I will make up front is that with every list of prospects you develop (and I suggest lots of ideas below), work through it TO THE VERY LAST NAME. I have found personally that there is an important truth in this. The source of a sale often comes from the person you would least expect - even people you may historically not have got on with who now find themselves in new situations themselves. Such people - you guessed it - always end up at the bottom of your list. They're not the "obvious" ones; not the "comfortable" ones. But I strongly urge you to try them. Just personal experience.

Sources of prospects:

Sources of prospects include:
- Past customers;
- Newspapers and trade magazines;
- Referrals;
- Present customers who you ask for more business;
- Your rollodex of business cards - or Email list of personal contacts;
- Alumni from schools, college, companies you've worked for, trade organisations;
- Past people who "only enquired" (you kept their details, right?);
- "Used-to-supply" lists (i.e. "Gone-away customers);
- "No" lists;
- Contacts who have moved (find out discretly from estate agents who is moving - it is a great opportunity to contact potential IR buyers. Hey, install an IR panel in the agency and get everyone talking about it!);
- Classified adverts and new vacancy enquiries;
- Trade organisations - institue of directors, chambers of commerce;
- Local sports competition activities.

Ways to approach people:

There are several different approach for contact: passive and active.
Passive approaches include:
- Advertising;
- Direct mail;
- Leaflet drops;
- Inserts in jornals & newspapers;
- Conferences, public speaking, article-writing.

Making an active approach:
- Write a letter in which you sell a follow-up telephone call (don't just cold-call - direct marketing agencies have ruined the public tolerance to cold-calls);

- Always make the call yourself - never use a secretary to make contact for you;

- Do not go into detail in a call, your aim is to MEET;

- Always use an unusual time to meet: never on the hour or half-hour (too easy to cancel for all the OTHER meetings planned for these slots);

- Be aware of a customer's "prime desire": it is never to BUY A HEATER: it is always going to be something like "SAVING MONEY"; "COST-EFFICIENCY"; "SPACE-SAVING"; "HEALTH ENHANCING" etc.

So remember: a letter to sell the phone call; a phone call to sell a meeting; a meeting to sell yourself.

Final Thumb Memo:
- It is essential to get new customers, regularly;
- The richest source of interest will always be past customers;
- Use newspapers and journals;
- Referrals are the most cost-effective business, most reliable & haggle the least;
- FOLLOW your customers;
- Develop networks;
- ASK for the business. Don't obscure your eventual aim with a prospect. Ask them.

In the second of our Redwell Infrared heating product showcases we will look at the Redwell "Free-standing" IR heater.


As you can see, this heater is designed to be point-of-need, being easily wheeled from one place to another.

It looks bigger in the picture than it actually is - so don't be put off that this is an ungainly "slab" that has to be lugged from a to b and then hidden in a corner. The 600 Watt Unit is only 70cm (about 2 feet) high and 107cm wide (just over 3 feet). The 900 watt unit is 80 cm wide and 127cm wide.

Output - as just indicated - is available in 600 watt and 900 watt variants. This indicates (see "How to calculate power consumption for infrared heating") a heating volume of 36m3 for the 900 watt variant and 24m3 for the 600 watt variant. (Note: A similar 36m3 volume would require an equivalent oil-fired power consumption of 1.980 kilowatts and the 24m3 volume would require 1.320 kw (assuming a boiler that is under 3 years old).

The wooden frame is available in birch plywood or polished oak. The heater surface is enammelled steel, available in white, red or blue finishes.

The unit operates as partial storage heater. Surface temperature of the unit reaches 95C on the front and 70C on the rear. Don't panic, that is the temperature of the element. Remember the enamelled surface has low transfer conductivity. That means essentially you won't scald yourself by touching the surface for a short time although you do feel the unit is hot. The unit is therefore safe for pets and children. (Treat it as you would a standard water-heated radiator). To satisfy yourself how the units are constructed, please see our web page about Redwell Product features or our blog post on the same topic.

Unit Voltage (Europe) is 230 volts, 50Hz. Certificates and reports are TÜV, GS, CE, IGEF.

Marketing is not Selling. Marketing is a positioning activity to ensure your product has the best chance of being seen by potential buyers and of "selling itself" as far as possible.

The difference between marketing and selling is pro-activity and the ability to achieve the sale that has been set up for you by good marketing.

There are six building blocks to successful selling that are relevant to selling energy-efficient heating such as Infra Red.

1) Business knowledge.
- Do you understand the business climate in which potential buyers are operating and in which you are selling? Is it strong? Is it weak? Is it seasonal (yes it is - generally - for heaters!)? Is it political?

- Be well-read. That is, understand as much as you can about the present business environment and demonstrate that you do.

- Be able to converse on current events and futures. Self-explanatory. Be level headed. Don't adopt obvious 'sides'.

- Be politically aware. What is the impact of current government policy and its current and future impact on business (huge selling opportunity here, obviously for energy-efficient products and the likelihood of getting funding).

2) Industry Knowledge
- Ensure you are fully informed about your client's industry. How does it fit within the overall business knowledge you have? For example, whilst the economy is weak, public spending is reasonably high (hospitals, public bodies etc may consequently be 'buyers'); other people will also be motivated to cut costs and therefore equally may be 'buyers' but each needs a different sales message. How would Infrared Heating satisfy each type of client?

- Be aware of your client's competitors and how your product may help a client stay ahead of them.

- Be aware of any personalities in their industry - have they recently said anything for or against infrared heating?

3) Company Knowledge
- Be rock-sure about how your own company operates - for example - will you do "proofs of concept" if asked?

- Are there ethical boundaries about where or to whom (or how) you sell your products? For example not rubbishing the competition.

- Be aware of your own advertising. How did the client find you? Will you feed any of this back into your own company?

- Are there specific experts within your own company that you should get infront of the client rather than try and "bluff your way" yourself?

4) Product Knowledge
- You must have an in depth knowledge about your Infrared heating products yourself.

- Be persuasive. This includes being aware of any possible weakness in your products. Be sure a client will probably have researched them. Have an answer ready.

- Believe in what you sell.

5) Selling knowledge
- Selling is a skill. Research it. Try "Selling to Win" by Richard Denny.

- Avoid any hint of "But it's difficult" or any other negative. Always sell its flip side. "Infrared heaters aren't actually expensive, when you compare their running costs versus traditional forms of heating - even over just two or three years".

- Practice selling.

6) Attitude!
- It is the ultimate characteristic that separates stars from "also rans"

- The old cliché that "first impressions count" really counts.

- Trust yourself.

Finally:
Think about your strengths and weakenesses in the above areas every month. It will give you insight into potential sales as well.

Trust yourself. You got this far due to "something".

Think professional. Don't lower yourself to other peoples' sales standards and don't be afraid equally to walk away from an opportunity as they might from you. A sale well made is a potential subsequent sale. A sale badly made is a trail of bad feeling and bad-mouthing that will follow you and your company around.

Success builds success no matter how small the initial success.

The one who gets ahead is the one who does more than is necessary - and keeps on doing it.

SAP ratings are the UK government's "Standard Assessment Procedure" to assist the assessment of dwellings in terms of their energy efficiency and compliance with building regulations. SAP 2005 is the current performance benchmark for calculating the energy performance of buildings. SAP ratings are a key metric for developers to demonstrate their own adherence to carbon targets.

At present Infrared Heating is not categorised any differently from traditional "electric room heating", which as we've seen in past posts (see Energy-Savings from Infrared Heating") is not energy-efficient or cost effective. This situation puts developers and consumers at a disadvantage when trying to get projects that include Infrared Heating through building control. Green Energy (Eu) publishes an "Energy Facts" pack to assist developers and controllers with just this situation. (This information is Copyright Green Energy (Eu) who can vouch for its accuracy only for Redwell IR appliances. The information may or may not be generally applicable to other makes of Infrared Heater.)

The information in these factsheets can be used to assist buildings control officers calculate the energy-efficiency of IR heaters on their own merits and not just apply the current guideline without question.

As things stand, Green Energy Eu is working closely with the BRE (the Buildings regulation accreditations organisation) who is the body responsible for the SAP assessment methodology to help develop the distinction backed up by the appropriate evidence and controls. Our hope is to have Infrared Heating recognised as an individual category of energy-efficient electrical heating in the next SAP specification SAP2009 due to become operational in 2010.

Check back on this blog or on our website for latest news.