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GullySales

Energy management and audit companies · Referral marketing

Get recommended by the consultant, the dealer and the last client before a plant head searches.

Referral marketing for an energy audit company is being recommended by the people a plant head asks first: the electrical consultant, the equipment dealer, the chartered accountant and the plant down the road you already audited. GullySales builds the list of referrers and the way each is asked and thanked, and records who sent which enquiry.

Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.

Editorial illustration for Referral marketing

What referral marketing means

Referral marketing is asking an existing customer to recommend you to someone they know, usually with a reward for both sides. It differs from a loyalty scheme because it brings in a new customer rather than a repeat purchase. GullySales builds the ask and the reward into a point where a customer is already satisfied.

Last updated 6 Oct 2026.

For energy management and audit companies

Where it usually goes wrong, and what we would do.

  • “Dealers refer to firms that stay off their brand”

    A VFD or chiller dealer sends audits to the firm that will not criticise what he sells, so independence and referrals can pull against each other.

  • “Referrers never hear what happened”

    An electrical consultant sends a client, never learns whether the audit took place, and sends the next one to the firm that told him.

  • “Clients are asked for a testimonial and nothing else”

    A plant that acted on the report is rarely asked to introduce the neighbour in the same industrial estate, which is where its best introduction sits.

What we do

What we deliver for energy management and audit companies.

Every deliverable, what it covers for you, and the result it is there to produce. Nothing here is an extra.

  1. A map of referrers by type

    Electrical consultants, dealers and OEM engineers, chartered accountants, bank officers, association secretaries and past clients, with who knows each one and what they have sent.

    Result: You know where recommendations can come from.

  2. A one-page note a referrer can hand over

    A short explanation of what you audit, who it suits and what the client must provide, in plain words a consultant can give a plant head without editing.

    Result: Referring you takes the referrer no effort.

  3. Thanks that respect independence

    A written thank-you, a report back on the outcome with the client's consent, and an invitation to a talk or a site visit. Commissions that the client does not know about are left out.

    Result: Referrers keep sending work and clients see nothing hidden.

  4. An introduction ask timed to the debrief

    A request, made when the client has the savings sheet in hand, to be introduced to one named neighbour or associate, with a message the client can forward.

    Result: Referrals come from clients who have seen the work.

  5. The referrer's name on every enquiry record

    The question of who gave the plant your name asked on the first call and written down in the caller's own words in the CRM.

    Result: You can see which referrers produce signed audits.

  6. Results against the baseline

    Referred enquiries, site visits and audits signed by referrer, read against the baseline recorded before work starts.

    Result: The referrers worth your time are visible.

How the result is measured

  • Referrals received
  • Referral conversion rate
  • Cost per referred customer

Recorded as a baseline before work starts, so every later report has an honest comparison.

How referrals work in this trade

The people a plant head asks for an auditor's name, and what each one needs from you.

Electrical consultants and MEP designers
They are asked who can verify a design's performance. Give them a one-page note on your scope, tell them how each referral ended, and never undercut their fee on the same job.
Equipment dealers and OEM engineers
They want a neutral party to confirm a purchase is justified. Say plainly that your audit may recommend against their product, and decide in advance how you will handle that.
Past clients, plant to plant
Ask at the debrief, when the savings sheet is in the owner's hand, for an introduction to one named neighbour. Record the source and tell the client the outcome.
CAs and bank officers who see the bill
A CA sees the power bill as a cost line and a lender may offer finance for efficiency work. Give each a short explainer they can hand to a client.
Industry association secretaries
Members ask the secretary for names. Offer a talk on reading a bill and leave a note with your scope. Do not ask to be made a recommended vendor.
What never to do
Never pay a commission the client does not know about, never promise a referrer a share of the retrofit, and never show one plant's data to another to win an introduction.

Who it is for

This is written for these energy management and audit companies.

  • Energy auditors accredited for designated consumers in sectors such as textiles, cement, paper and metals
  • Energy audit and management consultancies serving MSME factories and industrial area clusters
  • Building energy auditors for hospitals, hotels, malls, IT parks and campuses
  • ISO 50001 consultants who set up and audit energy management systems
  • ESCOs that finance a retrofit and are paid from the savings
  • Energy monitoring and sub-metering companies selling meters and dashboards
  • Power quality specialists working on harmonics, capacitor banks and maximum demand
  • Green building and sustainability consultants who model energy use for rating systems

Not for

It is not the right fit if.

  • You want a guaranteed Google ranking or a guaranteed number of leads. Nobody honest can promise either.
  • You need enquiries by next week and have nobody to answer them.
  • You want posts and reach reported, not enquiries and orders.

How it works

From your first message to the first report.

No open-ended retainer. Every step gives you something in writing.

  1. First

    Your brief

    You tell us what you need in a few short steps: your business, what you want, where enquiries come from and how they are handled.

  2. After the brief

    A conversation and a written scope

    We read it, then talk with whoever handles your enquiries. If you want our help, the scope, the fee and the reporting come in writing, and nothing starts before you have read them.

  3. Before work starts

    Baseline recorded

    Enquiries by source, reply time, conversion and cost per order, written down so every later report has an honest comparison.

  4. After the baseline

    The first fix goes live

    The fix we agreed to start with is put in place and measured against the baseline, whether that is reply time, a follow-up sequence, the page buyers land on or the handover between marketing and sales.

  5. As agreed

    Report against the baseline

    What moved, what did not, and what changes next, in plain words. How often you get it is set in writing before work starts.

  6. At renewal

    Renew on the numbers

    The term ends and you decide whether to continue from the results. The length is agreed in writing before anything starts.

How the referral marketing work runs

  1. 1

    Understand your margin and customer relationship

    We agree what reward is genuinely sustainable and appropriate for your business and customer type.

  2. 2

    Audit existing informal referrals

    We check how much word of mouth already happens, to size expectations for the formal programme realistically.

  3. 3

    Design the offer and mechanism

    A specific reward and an easy sharing method are built and tested.

  4. 4

    Implement and promote

    The programme is surfaced at the right moments in your customer journey.

  5. 5

    Measure and adjust

    We track referrals and conversions, adjusting the reward or promotion if uptake is low.

Why us

Why owners pick GullySales over an agency.

  • Marketing and sales, as one job

    Most agencies stop at the enquiry. We also fix what happens after it: the reply, the follow-up, the quote and the CRM.

  • The person on the first call does the work

    No account managers in between. You are never handed to someone you have not met.

  • A baseline before anything starts

    Your numbers are written down on day one, so every later report compares against something honest.

  • The fee in writing, split three ways

    Our time, your media spend and production on separate lines. You always see what goes to us.

  • No guarantees we cannot keep

    The term is agreed in writing and never a default twelve months. We never promise a ranking or a lead count, because nobody controls those.

  • One office, and we say so

    Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru. We work across India by call and WhatsApp and travel when a session needs to be in person.

#257, 3rd floor, Sri Nanjundeshwara Complex, Nagarbhavi 8th Block, Outer Ring Road. How we work.

Your brief

Tell us what you need, and we will read it before we call.

Eight short steps about your business, what you want and who decides. Most questions are a tap, and you can skip any you would rather answer on the call.

FAQ

Questions owners ask before they call.

Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.

Can we pay a dealer a fee for sending us an audit?
Tell the client in writing if you do, because an audit that carries a hidden fee loses its main selling point. Better to thank dealers without cash and keep your findings independent. Take your adviser's view on the arrangement.
How do we find out which referral sent a client?
Ask on the first call who gave them your name, and write down the exact words. People forget, so confirm with the referrer too. Record the answer in the CRM, not on a pad.
Can we ask a listed company client for a reference?
Ask the procurement or sustainability head what they are allowed to give. Many such companies bar gifts and endorsements, so a written reference on the work done may be all that is possible, and that is enough.
How many times can we ask the same client for an introduction?
Ask once at the debrief and once after the saving is verified. Beyond that, ask only when something new gives a reason, such as a neighbour's tariff problem. Chasing turns a happy client into one who avoids your calls.
Should we offer a free audit to win the work?
Only a narrow one, such as a review of a year of bills with a power factor and demand check. A free full audit trains buyers to expect free work, and the dealers already give that away. Let the small free step lead straight into a scoped, priced proposal.
Can we describe ourselves as BEE accredited?
Only if your status is current. Accreditation of energy auditors is run by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, and its rules and list change, so check the official list and copy the wording exactly. Procurement teams do look it up.
How long is the contract?
The term is agreed in writing after we have spoken, along with the fee and the reporting. It is never a default twelve months, and renewal is decided on the numbers against the baseline recorded at the start.
How soon will we see results?
It depends on the trade, the channel and what is already in place. After we have read your brief and spoken to you, we say what we would expect to move first and how it will be measured against the baseline. Nothing here is guaranteed.
Who will actually do the work?
The person you speak to before anything starts. We work from one office in Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru, with no account managers in between.
What do you need from us?
Your brief, and a conversation. After that, access to whatever this work touches, such as your website, your accounts or your enquiry record, and time with the people who handle your enquiries.

Your next practical step

Tell us what you are trying to grow, and we will read it before we call.

Eight short steps, mostly taps. Skip anything you would rather answer on the call.