Base Power Sales Playbook - Initial
About Base
Base is the first retail electricity provider that provides an affordable home battery to unlock lower energy rates and reliable outage protection. We install batteries on folks' homes at a tenth of the market price – Base uses these batteries to enable either lower electricity rates or afford backup protection for its customers.
What is Base?
Check out the short overview deck we made for you about our product
Base is the first retail electricity provider that provides an affordable home battery to unlock lower energy rates and reliable outage protection. We install batteries on folks' homes at a tenth of the market price – Base uses these batteries to enable either lower electricity rates or afford backup protection for its customers.
What are our offerings?
By deploying a battery on the homes of our retail electricity customers, we can offer two distinct plans:
Backup Plan
Customers receive 6-24 of outage protection from Base’s 20kWh system, when the grid fails.
Up front fee: $1500
Retail electricity rates: Base will match what customers are paying now for electricity
Affordability Plan
Instead of providing backup, Base uses the battery to run the customer’s home on the cheapest electricity throughout the day, which allows us to slash the prices they pay on a per kWh basis.
Up front fee: $250
Retail electricity rates: Customers can send their most recent electricity bill to a Base representative for a quote. We guarantee payback on the up front cost in just a few months.
Seems too good to be true… How does it work?
When the grid is up and running, Base improves grid stability by discharging excess energy from the battery at times of peak need, thus monetizing the battery and recovering the money we invest in your installation. As a result, by switching to Base and installing a battery, customers receive the benefits of backup without the high upfront costs of traditional batteries or gas powered generators.
Do you integrate with Solar?
Not quite yet, but we will in the near future (6-12 months). Importantly, Base should be able to provide better buy back rates than any other REP on the market. When we charge the battery typically we have to pay something called a delivery fee, which is the charge associated with wheeling electricity through the wires. However, if a customer has rooftop solar, we can avoid that charge and, therefore, pay the customer above market rate for their surplus electricity.
Are there any monthly charges for the Battery?
No! Once you pay the upfront installation fee, there are no ongoing costs associated with it.
What types of contracts do you offer?
Once you select a plan you’re able to choose between a couple of contracting options.
The first is a 15 year contract with electricity rates that are guaranteed to be at or below the average price of other retail electricity providers year over year. This is aimed at folks that think electricity prices will fall in the future.
The second is a 3 year battery and electricity contract. This is for folks who want to lock in their electricity rates for a longer term
Customers will need to be signed up with Base’s retail electricity provider for the full duration of the contract. When the contract expires and if they decide against renewal, we’ll come retrieve the battery from our customers’ homes at no cost to them. There is also no de-installation fee if:
The customer decides to move after 5 years (for the 15 year contract),
The next homeowner will take over their contract,
The battery is damaged from unforeseen circumstances or
Base is unable to meet its obligations to keep the price of its REP offering below the market average (for the 15 year contract).
Worst case scenario, if the contract is breached, there’s a de-installation fee is $1000.
Walk me through what happens during an outage with the Base Backup Plan?
Backup duration varies by home size and power consumption, but Base’s battery typically provides 6-24+ hours of backup, enough to withstand over 97% of outages in Texas. In the event of an outage, we will send you a notification with expected duration and tips to extend your battery life.
What types of electrical loads will be covered in my home?
Base’s Beta program offers partial home backup for critical appliances, like your fridge, lights, and outlets. The loads depend on your breaker box, i.e. subpanel, configuration.
What is the battery's lifespan?
Base batteries are designed to last over 15 years and withstand extreme temperatures. Base owns the battery and will handle the warranty and any other maintenance on the system.
What if I have a cancellation fee to switch to Base as my retail electric provider?
If your contract is up within the next 3 months, we’ll schedule your switch and installation to avoid triggering the early cancellation fee. If not, we’ll cover up to $250 of your early cancellation fee for switching. Please contact us to review your exact situation so we can help.
Is Base a Startup? How sure can I be that y’all will be around in a couple years?
Base was founded by Zach Dell alongside Justin Lopas, the former head of engineering at Anduril. We’re staffed with a team of talented engineers from Apple, SpaceX, and Starlink and some of the most knowledgeable folks in retail energy. We’re backed by some of the most prominent institutional investors in the US including some of the largest homebuilders. We have only been around a year but we have many years of runway.
How many people have battery installs to date?
We have a handful of beta customers that have batteries installed, but we’re ramping up quickly. The customers you’re chatting with will be one of our first 100 installations, but consider enticing them with the benefits of being part of the beta program: Matching/beating REP rates and covering the costs to transfer.
Door-knocking Playbook
Your Goals in a typical hour:
Knock on 15 doors
Get 5 Conversations
Get 2 Qualified Leads
Understand what messaging resonates & which sales tactics work best, relay to the team
Materials and forms:
Make sure that you bring:
Shirt
Lanyard
Flyers
Tablet
We will be using a type form to record information about each customer and keep track of metrics.
Directives:
Avoid houses with rooftop solar on it (if you can see it)
If you don’t catch it before you knock on the door and the homeowner mentions they have solar + are interested in base, record their information, but do not conduct a site survey on the way out
Customer Flow:
Knock on door
If no answer, leave the door hanger
Conversation
If a customer is uninterested, politely leave the premises
Interested Lead:
Enter customer information into the first page of the typeform
Toward the end of the conversation, show the customer the disclosure on the second page of the typeform and have them select “Agree.”
End conversation with: “to figure out whether or not your home is eligible, we just need to grab a couple of photos of your outside panel and the surrounding area. Mind if I do that on my way out?”
After conversation with interested lead
Enter the address of the customer
Select “agreed to site survey” (if they verbally agreed)
Follow the instructions to conduct a brief site survey
MAKE SURE to enter your name at the end of the survey so we can accurately compensate you.
Sales messaging to try:
Suggested talk track
we help homeowners who are tired of the broken energy system and rising costs
does that sound like you? (nod yes with them)
many people don't realize that their monthly energy rate includes a bunch of added buffer to cover volatility from the texas energy grid
you've heard about that right? (nod yes with them)
we've developed a solution that is a win-win for homeowners and the grid where we install a battery at each home [+/- for free?] and as your energy provider, we're able to offer you a very good rate since we can charge and discharge the battery at key times to avoid those spikes in costs from the grid
now, is it your name on the energy bill or someone else in the household?
Other talk tracks to try
Outages
“Hey I’m with a local electric provider and we’ve noticed this area is prone to outages. Is that something you experience?”
Affordability
“Do you care about lowering your energy spend?”
“Have you noticed energy costs increasing on your provider’s bill?”
Grid support
“Have you heard about issues with the Texas grid”
Experience
“Have you noticed how confusing it is to understand your energy bill?”
“Who is your energy provider and why did you choose them?”
Environmental
Where to Go
Target areas with a concentration of purple dots.