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How a smart building company scaled to 240 buildings in a year.
Building owners liked the energy savings but balked at the upfront cost and the long sales process. Skillfi refocused the market, replaced the upfront price with a pay-from-savings model and brought in the facility managers and HVAC contractors owners already trust. It's how our fractional GTM work goes: the right market, the right motion, real revenue.
A product that saves money, sold like a capital expense.
The company's sensors and AI controls cut heating, cooling and lighting costs in commercial buildings. It sold the system for around $45,000 per building upfront, to any building type that would take a meeting.
Every deal needed a capital budget, so it went through finance committees and took eleven months on average. Large towers already had expensive building management systems, and small sites saw the upfront price as too risky. The direct team won 14% of deals, and after three years only 38 buildings were live.
Every owner agreed we'd save them money. Then they asked us to come back when they had the budget.
CEO, client
Sell to the right buildings, take away the upfront cost, and let trusted partners open the door.
The product didn't change. Who it was sold to, how it was priced and who sold it did. The savings-based pricing was modelled with a fractional CFO to keep cash flow healthy as volume grew.
Mid-size buildings the big players ignore
Class B offices, medical office buildings and multi-family properties of 50,000 to 300,000 sq ft, where energy costs hurt but full building management systems are out of reach.
Zero upfront, paid from savings
An energy-as-a-service model: no capital cost, a monthly fee below the guaranteed savings, and a live dashboard proving the savings every month.
The people already in the building
Facility management firms and HVAC contractors refer and install, earning a recurring share of every building they bring.
12 months, step by step
From capital-budget sales to a pay-from-savings model with partners in every major market. Here's how the engagement unfolded.
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Month 1120 deals reviewed
Win & loss analysis
Every deal reviewed by building type, size and buyer to find where the product won fastest and saved most.
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Month 23 building types
Segment & positioning
Mid-size buildings chosen as the core market, with messaging built around guaranteed savings, not technology.
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Month 3Zero upfront
Pricing model rebuilt
Energy-as-a-service pricing, savings guarantee and contract terms designed and tested with ten owners.
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Month 4–515 launch partners
Partner program launched
Referral and install tiers for facility managers and HVAC contractors, with recurring revenue share and training.
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Month 6–9140 buildings
Scale in 4 metro markets
Direct team and partners focused on four metro areas, with a savings dashboard used in every sales meeting.
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Month 10–12240 buildings
Portfolio deals
Property managers rolled out across whole portfolios, bringing ten to thirty buildings at a time.
From capex to an easy yes
Four changes that removed the reasons owners used to say "not this year".
Mid-size buildings
- Class B offices
- Medical office buildings
- Multi-family properties
Pay from savings
- No upfront cost
- Fee below guaranteed savings
- Operating, not capital, budget
Savings you can see
- Live energy dashboard
- Monthly savings report
- Guarantee built in
Trusted voices sell it
- Facility management firms
- HVAC contractors
- Recurring revenue share
One year after the reset
Average sales cycle, in months
Without a capital budget to approve, most deals now close in one quarter.
We stopped asking owners for a budget and started showing them savings. With partners opening doors, we deployed more buildings in one year than in the three before it.
CEO, clientCustomers love the product but stall on the price?
Our fractional GTM leaders will find the segment that buys fastest, design a pricing model that removes the hurdle and build the partner channel that opens doors. Want pricing that protects cash flow? Add a fractional CFO.
- A win & loss analysis by segment
- A focused market & positioning
- A pricing model that removes friction
- A partner channel that opens doors
30 minutes. No obligation.
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