Knotty Questions
Although we try our best to provide comprehensive information on all our products, here is a list of some additional knotty questions I have had to answer recently: -
Q: We understand the basic functionality of your energy saving products and their benefits, but I need more information regarding the individual products (i.e., LESS, IMEC, CUES & ACES) how do you calculate how many, and which products are needed?
A: LESS, iMEC, CUES & ACES. These are generic names for a range of energy saving products. In some cases all you need is one unit (as in the case of a large motor controller within the iMEC range), but in most cases you will be installing several individual products as part of a total solution. This is certainly the case with LESS, Enigin’s Light Energy Saving System. Sometimes an installation will involve the installation of lots of the same unit across several sites. In one case I was involved with the installation of 4000 single-phase motor controllers across six hundred sites. The order value was circa £750,000. The installation was monitored by ETSU and they verified savings of 20%, which led to a payback on investment of circa 18 months. Clients normally buy products based on ‘payback’, which ideally should be within two years. Enigin has extensive commercial and technical information available for each product and these are made available to partners during training. They also provide comprehensive training on how to assess the potential for each product. They encourage partners to start off with the simpler solutions, and over time as competence grows, you will be able to tackle more complex applications.
Q: As a part of EnergyMaps program, will the energy consumed start reducing by 20% immediately upon the installation of Eniscope or is it only after the installation of their corresponding products?
A: There is a considerable amount of information available in the public domain to endorse the claim that by simply having the ability to actually see where energy is being wasted it leads to a reduction in usage by promoting positive action (if you saw someone had left a hot tap running in your kitchen you would turn it off immediately – the problem with electricity is that it is ‘invisible’, Eniscope make the otherwise ‘invisible’ – now visible). The best way to save energy is to “turn it off”. Powergen have published information stating that it should be possible for a company to save 20% of their bill without installing any load side products. The Carbon Trust is of like mind. Monitoring and Targeting are proven methodologies for saving energy. One of the Energy Managers Enigin routinely uses to carry out local surveys (he also trains Enigin partners) has been making a successful living doing this for twenty years. He states that in all his years in the business he has never seen anything as unique and powerful as Eniscope. It tells you what things are costing and how much you can save by turning them off when not needed.
Q: Does Enigin plan to introduce new products in the near future?
A: Mark Sinden is head of the Research and Development team at Enigin and he is tasked with harnessing the latest technologies available on the world market, the Company has several developments underway at this time, including planned acquisitions of other energy saving companies. There is strong belief in the industry that there will be considerable further innovation in the area of energy efficient products over the next few years. The future looks very exciting indeed.
Q: Modern Air Conditioning units are becoming more efficient, can you still save money on them, or are these new products going to ultimately put us out of business?
A: Indeed there are some new modern energy efficient Air-Con systems. We can’t save on everything remember, however, there are millions of inefficient units that are wasting huge amount of energy. ACES is a great energy saving product, easy to install, with lots of proven case studies. It is a good thing that some products are becoming more energy efficient as this raises awareness. The Energy Saving Business is a dynamic market. For example in the early eighties I helped design a range of heating management systems, primarily targeting the UK market which uses predominately ‘wet’ heating systems. Heating systems have moved on since then and the product is now discontinued – you could not sell it today. However, I am still in the business of developing, manufacturing and distributing the latest, most innovative technologies and intend to remain here.
Q: A lot of products purchased today come with energy saving ratings, how does this impact on Enigin’s products?
A: In my experience this does not generally come up as a practical issue and applies more to domestic products anyway. It has little or no impact on how much business you do other than to raise consumer awareness – which is a good thing.
Q: Does anyone know the cost for individual products, as it is not mentioned anywhere?
A: Yes I do!… and so do all Enigin distributors, however Enigin believe it is not in the interests of their existing partners to publish commercially sensitive information on the WWW. As a very general rule you should be aiming for a 30% – 50% gross margin on what you install and the customer will need to enjoy a two-year payback. Some products cost a few pounds some many thousands. Enigin has scores of individual products available to partners. These are all available, with full technical specs on ECOS. (Enigin Collateral Ordering System).
Q: Does the cost of Initial Energy Maps program vary according to the customer’s power bill?
A: Yes – a little. This is calculated automatically via Nucleus (Enigin’s bespoke CRM). You simply feed the customers details into the system and it will provide a comprehensive client proposal in seconds.
Q: You advertise we do not need to be technical but do need to have good business acumen. How is this reflected in the training program? Do I need to bring a technical guy with me? How is the training course conducted?
A: In the “Critical Success Factors” white paper available on this site there is a section entitled “Let’s Get Technical” – you really should read it! It Is true, YOU don’t have to be technical, indeed it is often a hindrance rather than a help, (in my experience, and I have worked with, and employed many, ‘teckies’ they rarely think like entrepreneurs) however, you must have access to qualified technical people. You cannot build a successful business otherwise. You can employ them directly or on a sub-contract basis. Having a competent technical team at your disposal is a contractual requirement of the Enigin partnership.
Training is an ongoing process. Enigin provide an initial five-day residential training course for new partners. We have technical people who will visit partners in their respective territories and train local installers if requested. Enigin provide arguably the best training in the business and we enjoy 100% success rate with positive feedback from partners following training (every partner completes a critique form, I read them all, and the results are recorded for future reference). We have some audiovisuals with interviews of partners, why not request a link to them all and listen to what these REAL people have to say about the training course before you make a decision. We are also able to offer you attendance at a ‘technical summit’ with some of the finest authorities in their respective fields as guest speakers. Manuals and DVD’s support much of Enigin’s training. If after the first day of training a partner feels they do not ‘have what it takes”, or for any reason wishes to cancel the partner agreement they can leave the course and Enigin will give a full refund of the Licensee fee – there and then!
Some partners do bring a technical person to the residential training course, indeed some are very technical people themselves, but most are not. For the most part the initial training is more commercial i.e. how to get the business up and running profitably as soon as possible and build a sustainable business. However, there are a number of technical sessions during the week where each product is thoroughly explained and demonstrated. Some Enigin partners have been in the business for years already but are looking for a total solution for their clients with the best products and business tools available, and of course EnergyMaps. However… most are completely new to the business. Training is conducted in a number of ways including presentations, demonstrations, workshops, discussion groups etc. There are six well-qualified presenters on the course (including myself). Enigin has a dedicated well-equipped training centre with a hotel and restaurant on the same site. Everybody who comes loves the training course and it’s a highlight in the month for the now almost thirty strong management team.
Q: Once the training is completed, you promise to support and work with us closely during the initial stage of setting up and operating the business. How supportive is that?
A: Rest assured you get everything you need – and a lot more besides! Once you are up and running the support is re-active more than proactive. If you have a problem and you need help the Company will endeavour to respond immediately, every incoming call is logged and I can check to ensure we deliver on-time. However, during the first three months following training, Enigin considers its new partners to be in ‘intensive care mode’, and some of the team are dedicated to working almost exclusively with newly appointed partners more pro-actively. However Enigin is not a franchise and we do not guarantee success.
Q: You claim to allocate only one distributor per ‘territory’. Is it really true?
A: On a number of occasions the Company has had to refund deposits from otherwise perfectly good applications because the territory has gone. We are true to our word! It is noteworthy that a couple of individuals have been quite angry and abusive because they were turned down which is rather unfair because the Company makes its policy on this quite clear. You must also remember however that for a territory to remain ‘exclusive’ a partner has to demonstrate a reasonable level of business activity. If you do nothing but sit at home waiting for the phone to ring (which some actually do believe it or not) you are going to lose out. You should read the company’s Terms and Conditions of Appointment, it’s a legally binding document and partners have a high level of protection with it. Our objective will always be to avoid any conflict of interest with another partner.
Q: It would appear there is other energy saving products in the market, what makes Enigin unique in the energy saving field?
A: It is true there are other products in the field – that’s because people are buying energy saving products – it’s a multi-billion dollar market. I believe both Enigin’s approach to the market and its product offerings are unique. I know of no other company in the world, which is able to offer a potential partner the same or similar ‘package’ or product range. As for the EnergyMaps program including Eniscope, people consistently tell me it’s brilliant and a world first! We have also created several very powerful business tools that are totally unique to Enigin, and used exclusively by Enigin partners in their territory.



Laws of MotivationPersonal Empowerment Video
Free Personality ReportDo you have what it takes?