In theory, we all know what a Utility Manager: is today the only utilities professional who has certification of his skills, knowledge and competence in the supply management energy, gas and telecommunications. In practice, this translates into: knowing how to read invoices, understanding suppliers' offers, interacting with trading platforms and sector websites, being updated on tax and regulatory news, creating forecast budgets.
To get to know even better and more closely what does it actually do a Utility Manager, we had a chat with Filippo Tilotta, senior Utility Manager, one of the best certified Utility Managers of FBC Italia, who in the first half of 2023 stood out for the excellent results achieved in the sales team led by Massimo De Stefano, director commercial of FBC Italy. We asked him to tell us about the advantages for a client of relying on a professional like him, but also about the difficulties he encounters every day. Here's what we learned.
Tell us a little about yourself, Filippo, and how you chose to be a utility manager
“I am 43 years old, I have been working in the Utilities market for 15 years. Being a Utility Manager was a choice resulting from a long journey that has seen me increase my knowledge of the market, my experience and the quality of the relationship with the customer year after year. I have always believed that my professionalism and my transparency in particular were an added value in the long run and when I met FBC Italia again in my career and I discovered that someone could certify my skills in the same way as for a lawyer or a doctor I didn't think about it for a moment".
Let's talk about training, how important has it been for your career?
“It was and still is fundamental. I have received more training in the last 5 years than in my entire working life. In addition to the didactic one, as far as I'm concerned the best training was also hitting a few faces from customers at the beginning. It is said that those who don't form, stop. Nothing more true."
A client arrives who doesn't know you and asks you: "What does your job consist of?", what do you answer?
“I ask him questions. I've learned that entire captions that talk about my work can be replaced by questions to the interlocutor. From his "non" answers, I can deduce the degree of his skills and the degree of awareness and underline the crucial aspects of my profession. In 90% of the cases, I understand that I am the person who can provide answers to his doubts. And so, in practice, I demonstrate my profession”.
In the development of your customer portfolio, does the valorisation of the territory prevail or an expansion throughout the national territory?
“Definitely local or in any case in the order of a range of about 200 km. For example, my area covers Lombardy, parts of Veneto and Piedmont. In addition, I can delegate to my colleagues, equally certified and prepared and certainly more knowledgeable in their area of pertinence. The development of the portfolio, in fact, is the result of the quality of the relationship that is created with the customer/company, which is why it is important to pamper him and visit him often for a nice handshake".
What kind of difficulty does a professional who deals with utilities experience?
“Certainly, the most difficult initial obstacle is to win the customer's trust. The distrust to break down is that which derives from bad past experiences. Everyone has had to deal with call centers, with poorly professional salesmen and sooner or later the knots have come home to roost. The feeling you get is that of a certain distrust towards us and the market. Our job as agents is to make it clear that we don't sell a price, but contents: we don't work for any operator, but we are at the service of the customer to help him manage his utilities, saving him time and money".
What is the substantial and formal difference between a broker and an Fbc Italia Utility Manager who offers a 360° consultancy service?
“I'll answer you with a metaphor. Imagine having to furnish your home: the broker leafs through a catalog under your nose and tells you what is best for him to buy. The utility manager, on the other hand, comes to your home, takes measurements, checks the spaces, ascertains which people will occupy that house and their habits, accompanies you to the architect and finally furnishes the house, but according to your tastes and needs. Above all, he also guarantees after-sales assistance, he is a continuous presence in the customer's life, he does not disappear after the sale”.
What positive impact can the work of a Utility Manager have in a company, especially after the post-conflict energy crisis?
“Companies have never been "familiar" with the management of utilities, they sign an energy contract and then leave it to age in some drawer as one would do with a case of wine. The economic recovery before and the conflict after made entrepreneurs understand the importance of actively supervising their energy contracts by identifying preventive strategies. Utility costs are costs that need to be monitored. Energy and gas contracts are like shares on the Stock Exchange: the price fluctuates, goes up and down continuously, someone needs to take care of it. And that someone could be the Utility Manager”.
Undoubtedly your consultancy has brought benefits in terms of savings and cost optimization in various companies. Do you have a particularly significant case history that you carry in your heart?
“There are many cases, I will tell you one of the most recent. In December 2022, I meet a client to whom I present an analysis of his situation regarding the costs of his utilities, underlining some critical issues that I had identified. The client did not follow up on my offer, declining any form of interest. However, monitoring the market and customer costs is my job, so last April, after making sure of the new conditions that his energy supplier had applied to him, I called him back, asking him if he was aware of the fact that he was paying a price three times the market average on gas supply conditions. A long silence followed my question. Then, he asked me for some information, which he himself was able to verify on the computer. A few days later he received me in his office, and after making sure of the completeness of the service, he signed the assignment for me. Now obviously once a week he calls me to get updates on the market trend. He has become a more aware customer and this makes me particularly happy ”.
You are one of the best certified Utility Managers of FBC Italia in terms of turnover. Can you tell us the ingredients of your success?
“I honestly don't have the perfect answer. Net of concepts such as constancy and determination, which are part of any working environment, I believe that the ability to deliver apparently complicated concepts in a simple and understandable format for non-experts has been a plus for me. Being a trained salesperson doesn't make a salesperson capable if he doesn't have the right ability to communicate."
What advice would you give to a young guy who wants to be a utility consultant?
“Not to look at the finger, but at the moon. I mean that this is a sector that appeals to many, between telephony, energy and gas in Italy there are about 200 million active users, therefore many young commercials are "seduced" by the possibility of easy earnings and end up proposing themselves to the customer with high-sounding phrases of easy savings, discounts, promotions... relying exclusively on the price, thus providing a low-quality service, but above all not very transparent. I advise to be far-sighted and focus on transparency: a customer adequately managed today is a customer who will remain tomorrow as well".
