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Utility Warehouse Partner Updates for 2021!

Utility Warehouse Partner Updates for 2021!

Online Appointments

Utility-Warehouse-Continuation-on-Zoom
Obviously with the impact of Covid in March 2020, face to face appointments became impossible. Charles Wigoder and his team at UW HQ pulled of an astonishing feat by pivoting all the call centre staff to work from home, meaning that there was very little impact on the customer experience. As a distributor, the support was equally strong; An online method of gathering customers was devised very rapidly. Initially I thought – that will be fine for people who are comfortable with technology, but many of my customers are elderly and might have struggled if I had to sign them up face to face.

However, my experience has been that the online signup process is so slick and refined that there are far fewer barriers to achieving success with this method than I first thought. Indeed, there are many advantages – miles and miles in the car saved being the obvious win.

The way it works is that you send a link to the customer, you access a different link and you can then see their screen. You can then call them or (I prefer) video WhatsApp them and guide them through the presentation (which pretty much runs itself). It’s unnervingly simple. For most distributors, the main barrier is / was fear of the unknown. Once you’ve practised on a couple of friends though – all that goes away. It’s the same as it has always been with this business: easy to do, easy not to do. The successful Utility Warehouse partners are those who do the simple, easy stuff consistently.

Earn up to Four Hundred Pounds for Every New Utility Warehouse Customer You Gather

Earn four hundred pounds as a UW partner
The biggest change to be introduced this year by Utility Warehouse is how we get paid as distributors. Previously, UW partners had a choice: get a small upfront bonus and an ongoing small monthly payment (which compounded to a lot over time), or take a much larger payment up front (known as QUIP) and receive no ongoing commission for five years. It was controversial – the premise that I have always operated on is that the ethical way to get paid is with a small bonus and an ongoing commission – that way we are incentivised to take care of our customers over time rather than getting a quick sale.

The new payment scheme works like this: There are four service types: energy (gas and / or electricity), broadband, mobile and boiler cover. Additionally all customers are differentiated depending on whether they are homeowners or not. For homeowners taking all four services you are given a payment of £300 and an ongoing commission after they have been a customer for five years, similar to QUIP. When you sign up four or more customers in a month who all take all four services, then UW will pay you a bonus of £100 per customer – making a total of £400 per customer, all for an hour or so’s work. That’s a pretty good rate of pay and of course you get the ongoing residual income from year six as well

Get Supported Remotely by an Expert

utility warehouse supported appointments
There are around three thousand experienced Utilities Warehouse partners like myself in the UK currently. Utility Warehouse recognise the value of experienced partners supporting new distributors and are now incentivising this support with a special payment scheme for new partners who need an experienced partner on the call with them. This amounts to a 50/50 split on the amounts quoted above which is fair. New partners are strongly encouraged to have support on their first six customer sign-up appointments (but not required). After this, they have the choice to go it alone and earn 100% or to continue being supported until they have full confidence in running the system and making money for themselves without help.

Brand New App Specifically for New Partners

New UW Partner App
The level of detail you encounter as a Utility Warehouse distributor can be overwhelming. To simplify the business and to make it easier for new partners to pick up, Utility Warehouse have created a new app which will hand-hold new partners through their first steps developing their business. This covers basics such as setting up a Direct Debit to get paid (it works in reverse), adding a profile photograph, adding your firs six prospects to the planner and setting some simple goals. It’s a great idea to get newbies off to a great start.

Feeling Peckish? Get rewarded With Some Cuisine Delivered to Your Door

Utility Warehouse Around the World in 80 days food promotion
For a bit of fun – Utility Warehouse are providing a free meal kit delivered to your door if you gather four “holiday points” in a calendar month. Holiday points are effectively one point awarded for every service that you sign up. Therefore you could sign up one customer who takes: energy (either gas or electric or both), broadband, mobile and boiler cover or you could sign up four customers who take one service each. Either way you would qualify for the free meal kit.

The destination that the meal kit is based on will vary from month to month, currently in April it is pizza to mirror the face to face “Pizza Tuesdays” which used to be so fun pre lockdown. Next month is a mystery – my money’s on curry but we’ll see 🙂

Bag a Free Holiday of Your Choice

utilities warehouse holiday of a lifetime
Ever since I have been a distributor I can always remember Utility Warehouse offering a holiday promotion of some kind. I used to wonder how they afforded it – they would always be very glamorous holidays to beautiful destinations. I was incredibly close to qualifying for one holiday one year but sadly I missed out. It did however push me to achieve more than I otherwise would have done and I have been paid monthly on those customers ever since.

This time round the offers are outstanding: either a mini break – you can choose from destination with three nights at either (seventy points required) or a holiday of a lifetime – you can choose from two destinations (140 points required) the destinations are yet to be revealed, they will be stunning – they always are..

Work Consistently and Get Rewarded with a Brand new Tesla

Utility Warehouse Tesla
As I’ve blogged about before, it is very achievable to qualify for one of the heavily subsidised Utility Warehouse branded minis. I had one for over five years – it was the best car I’ve ever had and was great for establishing credibility when driving to new customer appointments. There is now an electric mini option as well. To qualify you need to have at least £100 a month in ongoing (residual) commission. This is much lower than it used to be – I had to hit £175 a month to get mine 🙂
Utility Warehouse electric mini 2021
A new addition to the Utility Warehouse vehicle range is the Tesla Model 3 long range. You can apply for this when you reach “Senior Group Leader” in the business. This will take a few years to achieve – I’m still working towards it. Having said that – this business is all about options. There are many distributors who started after me who have achieved this status – they’ve simply been more focussed.

The electric cars represent a step change in the focus of Utility Warehouse to a greener, more eco-friendly approach to the companies ethos. There’s even an option for an electric bicycle when you hit 50 customers!

The Best & Cheapest (Brand New) Full Fibre Broadband

Utility Warehouse fttp full fibre
Utility Warehouse are now offering the latest in broadband technology with “fttp” available for £25 a month as an introductory offer. Traditional super-fast broadband is run over fibre optic cables to the cabinet in the road and copper from there to the home. Openreach have now started to upgrade the UK’s network so that the fibre goes to the house and into the modem itself meaning there is no longer a data bottleneck from the copper that used to be there. It’s currently £36 a month after the first six months as long as yuo are taking other services from UW. This is a great deal and currently at the time of writing it is the cheapest in the UK. A great incentive to sign up new customers and make your life as a Utility Warehouse distributor even easier.

Offer Boiler Cover for a Great new Way to Get Paid

Utility Warehouse Boiler Cover
UW have been selling boiler cover for a few years now. It’s a great deal as well – definitely the cheapest and most comprehensive in the marketplace that I’ve seen. Up until now it’s only been head office that have been able to offer it, but now Utilities Warehouse Distributors can offer it as well. Not only that but it is a key service and very easy to get paid on. As mentioned above it is a qualifying service to increase bonus payments and holiday points. It’s really easy to sell as well – the automatic presentation takes care of all of the detail so that you, as a Utility Warehouse partner can relax and know that you’re offering the customer a robust presentation with all of the information that they need to make a balanced decision.

30 Day Peace of Mind No Quibble Guarantee for all New Customers & £200 to End Current Contracts Early

30 Day Peace of Mind No Quibble Guarantee for all New Customers
Utility Warehouse are incredibly confident that their award winning services represent great value. This confidence is demonstrated in this new development. All customers are now given 30 days to change their mind with no penalty at all. Plus they get up to £200 to get out of contracts such as broadband or mobile phone early. And – on top if they would have been better off staying with their existing suppliers, UW will refund double the difference. That’s incredible peace of mind and makes it a very easy proposition for your friends, family and contacts.

Offer Brand New Ultra Secure Mesh Broadband to all Customers

Utility Warehouse offers mesh wifi with eero
One of the best inventions of late has been “mesh wifi”. This enables a wifi signal to be 100% robust in the home by the use of multiple small units which all talk to each other to provide a super-strong signal. One of the more prevalent units offering this technology is the eero which is available from Amazon. The cost can add up however with one unit costing £139 and a large house with thick walls possibly needing as many as five units. Utility Warehouse will lease these units to customers for £2.50 a month each. That way if they ever go wrong – they’ll be replaced free of charge giving total peace of mind.

5G Mobile Service Coming Very Soon

Utility Warehouse offer 5G mobile internet
As you may have heard a big rollout is underway in the UK with new 5G technology. Contrary to some conspiracy theories, there is zero health risk from 5G – I spent over a decade working in EMC and EMI engineering and saw the science behind the theories – there is none, it’s all hype. 5G does however offer vastly superior download speeds – in excess of what you can achieve with typical fibre broadband at home at the moment. Utility Warehouse piggyback on the EE network which is a leader in this field.

WiFi Calling on Mobile Now Available

wifi calling now available with Utility Warehouse
Wifi calling is really convenient when yuo don’t have mobile reception, such as when working away from home, or even abroad (note you may need a VPN to make it work abroad). If you have a compatible mobile handset, wifi calling will automatically become possible from May. Another great feature to offer customers.

New, Updated Customer App

Utility Warehouse Customer App
UW have offered a really convenient app for some years now. The new, updated app looks even better than before. It’s built to save you time and keep everything simple. It’s especially useful when out shopping and you need to check your balance on the cashback card.

Conclusion

So a really strong series of updates out from Utility Warehouse this year. It should make the customer proposition even easier to sell. If you’re looking to make more money part-time, you should definitely consider the Utility Warehouse business opportunity.

Utility Warehouse Win a Mini – Ways of Gathering Customers

Utility Warehouse Win a Mini – Ways of Gathering Customers

Utility Warehouse Win a Mini 012

The Utility Warehouse Win a Mini events are well known throughout the company as effective ways of gathering new customers. I often get asked “How are you supposed to find new customers / leads as a new Utility Warehouse distributor?” My answer is always the same:

  1. Start with your friends and family to practise on.
  2. BNI
  3. Win a Mini Events
  4. Continue with referrals

You can find out more about BNI in this blog post. Here we are going to focus on Utility Warehouse Win a Mini events.

Utility Warehouse Win a Mini: The Basics

Utility Warehouse Win a Mini 010

Utility Warehouse run a prize draw once a year at the companies big annual conference known as “Express Day”. This event is run over a weekend and features speakers to inspire and motivate, key company announcements and a keynote speaker who will focus on a particular theme. Some previous speakers have included Chris Gardner (upon whom the film “The Pursuit of Happyness” was based) and Darren Hardy. On the Sunday towards the end, Charles Wigoder the Chief Executive draws the winner randomly from all those that are received throughout the course of the year.

Partners that wish to use The Utility Warehouse Win a mini as a means for gathering leads for potential customers can buy a supply of competition entry forms direct from Utility Warehouse through the online Partner only system called “The Partner Portal”. There are a few other materials that are often helpful for running an effective and credible event.

Utility Warehouse Win a Mini – Materials Needed

  • A trestle table that collapses is essential unless the venue where you are running your event supplies them. An old wallpaper pasting table is fine because it will be covered over by a..
  • Utility Warehouse Win a Mini tablecloth – also Available direct from Utility Warehouse via the online “Partner Portal”.
  • Pens – to fill in the application forms! Ideally branded Utility Warehouse ones. You do get a small supply in you welcome pack as a new distributor. Alternatively you can buy additional pens via, you’ve guessed it: the online “Partner Portal”.
  • Clipboards. A5 clipboards are ideal for the entry forms. It is best to have at least 2 so that more people can be filling in the form while they que during busy periods.
  • A4 laminated information leaflet with A4 clipboard. Available direct from Utility Warehouse.
  • Water bowl for dogs + water
  • Sweets & a bowl for children if you choose to have this option
  • Various Utility Warehouse information leaflets. Samples of the key ones will be sent to you with your Partner welcome pack. You can order more direct.
  • A gazebo. Good for sheltering from the rain and sun! Get a cheap one from Argos each year – works out cheaper than buying an expensive one and then having to replace it when an item gets broken.
  • Water weights for the gazebo. This really saved me when we did a Utility Warehouse Win a Mini event and there was a really fierce wind. They are available from Amazon.
  • Deck chairs. Browsers seem to feel less intimidated about approaching if you are seated, and there will be long, quiet spells, so bring something to sit on.
  • Branded Utility Warehouse clothing – shirt, fleece, raincoat are all available if you want to go the extra mile.
  • If you or your upline has a Utility Warehouse Win a Mini, that could be helpful for branding / credibility: http://pinkpiggy.biz/utility-warehouse-mini

Utility Warehouse Win a Mini Events – Where to Run / Book

The best places to run Win a Mini events is at small, local fairs, fetes etc. Car boot sales can work too but tend to be less successful.

Some distributors have had success with having stalls in shopping centres etc. personally I stay away as such pitches tend to be very expensive and are rarely worth the expense.

Utility Warehouse Win a Mini Events – Training

Utility Warehouse offer professional training on how to get the most from a Win a Mini event. This includes a series of online videos and a classroom session as well. Personally, I completed the online training and asked my upline Sarah to help me run a couple of events before I started to run solo. It’s also a good idea to team up with other local Partners – even if they aren’t in your team, as long as you all get on well and agree up front the guidelines for the event.

Photo Gallery

Here are some snaps of events that I was running a Utility Warehouse Win a Mini competition stall at in 2017. As you can see, we sometimes get some unexpected visitors 😉

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Utility Warehouse Win a Mini 003

Utility Warehouse Win a Mini 001

Is The Utility Warehouse Business a Credible Investment Model?

Is The Utility Warehouse Business a Credible Investment Model?

Graph of £88,000 invested in a FTSE 100 tracker over 5 years vs. my Utility Warehouse Business income

Graph of £50,000 invested in a FTSE 100 tracker over 5 years vs. my Utility Warehouse business income

Graph of £50,000 invested in a FTSE 100 tracker over 5 years vs. my Utility Warehouse business income
* Credit to London Stock Exchange for FTSE data

Read to the end for a full commentary on this graph of my Utility Warehouse business income for the past five years vs. £88,000 invested in the FTSE 100 over the same period.

Comparison of Top Six Investment Models vs. The Utility Warehouse Business Opportunity

Ok – it may not be the catchiest title but this blog is significant. Let me take you back to 2010. I was in Croydon hotel at a Utility Warehouse business “Opportunity Presentation”, a presentation explaining the business opportunity. I had seen this many times before, and always liked to attend to accompany guests and to network with other Utility Warehouse Partners. Three quarters the way through the presentation, one of the co-presenters emphasised “The Utility Warehouse business opportunity is a saleable, willable asset”.

Penny Dropped Moment

My jaw dropped open – at least in my head. There must have been some kind of physical manifestation of my surprise because the presenter came over to me and said “That was a penny dropped moment wasn’t it?!”. It was. I realised that this passive income that I was building up was even more than the pension that I had hoped it would be. This would be an income for my children as well when I have left this earth. That was a whole paradigm shift in the way I viewed the Utility Warehouse business opportunity.

Top Six Investment Models

Here’s the rundown of the top six investment models as I see them. At the end, I pull it together with a comparison with The Utility Warehouse business opportunity and explain how we arrive at the comparison graph at the top of this article

6. Trading Stocks & Shares

It is possible to make money on the stock exchange but the statistics are against you. Approximately 97% of all professional fund managers (someone who gets paid to pick stocks & shares by clients who invest in their ‘pick of the bunch’ known as a fund) fail at beating the average growth of the London Stock Exchange over a modest time period.

That’s right – 97% of all those people with highly paid jobs, champagne lifestyles and often arrogant attitudes. Those people who you see on TV, on the train going to “manage their hedge fund” (decide which, if any stocks & shares they are going to buy / sell that day), 97% of those people fail to beat the average.

In my personal opinion it’s a mugs game. You are better off investing in a FTSE 100 or FTSE 250 tracker that compounds interest. That’s pretty much the conclusion of the absolutely superb book ‘Ouch’ by Paul Knott (see “further reading” below).

Tony Robbins famed for his inspirational courses, talks and books, decided to write his first book for 20 years; surprisingly he chose to write about money and his book “Money, Master the Game” is quite a tome at 688 pages. The conclusion of his book is ultimately the same as “Ouch”, the only differences being that Tony’s book has a more US bias and is, a bit of a sales pitch for his ‘special fund’.

5. Penny Shares

With some diligent work and research, it is possible to skew the risk / reward ratio sufficiently to make some share dealing worthwhile . The AIM (Alternative Investment Market) is a collection of companies that are not quite at the level required to be on the LSE. Some are high-risk start-ups, some are solid, well established companies.

I used to subscribe to the now deprecated “The Penny Share Letter” by Agora Financial which effectively did all of the research for you and gives one recommendation (as a minimum) per month. The results were impressive. They weren’t all winners but the vast majority were. There are a few share dealing platforms out there, I personally use IG as they are pretty cheap and cater for the home-investor. I believe there are some disruptive trading platforms coming online with lower costs but I have not experienced or researched to date.

4. Binary Trading

The only other method of investing in the stock market that I do rate is a relatively short term method known as ‘binary trading’. Agora Financial produce a guide on how to do this effectively. It does take some groundwork and a fair time investment but, if you are interested in playing the stock market – this is the way to do it in my opinion.

The crucial benefit of binary trading is that your losses are much more limited that with traditional share dealing. You are effectively betting that a certain share / currency / asset (gold etc) will hit a certain value in a particular timeframe. Your exposure is therefore limited to your bet. You don’t have to actually buy the asset which, for the same return would give you much greater exposure. I use binary.com as it is simple, straightforward and very cheap.

3. ISAs / Savings Accounts

Safe as houses, but boring as it gets when it comes to real returns. Except for the tracker ISAs, which over time will give 10-12%. Enough said.

2. Tracker Funds

In the UK a FTSE 100 or FTSE 250 tracker with the profits reinvested to compound is one of the very best ways of investing your hard earned cash.

1. Property

The number one way of making money – in my opinion, based on the evidence of those who have amassed great wealth is: property. Bricks and mortar. It is consistently the most solid, lucrative and leverage-able form of investment there is.

Alan Sugar – think he made all his money from his technology companies (Amstrad etc)? Think again – the vast majority of Allan Sugar’s wealth comes from rental income on properties that he rents out and on properties that he has sold for a profit.

McDonalds – if you have seen the film ‘The Founder’ you will know that they are not a food company, they are a property company. McDonalds buy the land and the franchisees rent the premises from them. This is their passive, predictable, unfluctuating income stream. The burgers are gravy (pardon the pun).

There are three main ways of making money from property:

  1. Buy, Develop, Sell

    The classic model that most dabblers tend to approach. Some are very successful at it. In my personal opinion it is generally a rather short sighted approach. Property automatically appreciates in value all the time. It took less than two years for property values to recover from the 2007 crash. As soon as you sell, you lose the leverage that the gain in value gives you. That said, there is always a right time to make the break and sell up.

  2. Buy to Let

    Once a very popular way of gaining a modest passive income, this method has massively dropped in popularity following the government’s recent tax changes in the UK. It is still possible to make money using this method but it is now a tougher proposition and the returns are modest.

    The one exception to this currently appears to be the lucrative central London market. Property prices are high, but so are rents. Rental usage is very high in London due to the transient nature of the people living there. Therefore demand is high and rental rates are comparatively high.

    There are some developers offering a service where you can part-invest in a development. The idea is that you re-mortgage your house, take £20k-£50k out at (current mortgage rates) around 2-5% and invest it into a buy to let London cherry-picked development. The returns are around 12%. The benefit of this model is that the returns come relatively fast – within a year or two and you can do it with no funds (re-mortgage).

    My Property Expert is a company offering this service. Disclaimer – I am professionally linked to Eyeedul at My Property Expert.

  3. Homes of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs)

    This method is also subject to the new tax laws in the UK, however it is sufficiently profitable that this is not a problem. When I go into property investing, this is the route that I am planning to take.

    You buy a property, get permission from the council to create an HMO (not usually too difficult – there’s often high demand), convert it into bedsits and let them out individually on a flat rate – bills included. The market for this type of accommodation is growing. Two obvious users of HMOs: Students and DSS. Students pay their rent termly, in advance – they’re fantastic payers. DSS with solid benefits make perfectly good tenants as long as you conduct your due diligence. And of course the growing market of single professionals.

  4. The Golden Rule of Investing

    Einstein famously said that “Compound Interest is the most powerful force in the universe” and he was right. Reinvest your gains, have a plan about what level you are going to get to.

    Other Methods

    Of course there are other methods of investing: foreign exchange trading, bitcoin etc (all of the ‘blockchain’ crypto-currency market is going to plummet in the next 2-3 years in my opinion), p2p lending / crowdfunding etc. These and similar methods are too risky to be within the scope of this article.

    Bottom Line

    Own property, leverage it (re-mortgage), own more, convert to HMO, rent rooms out. Wait for the value to raise, wash, rinse, repeat. Put the profits into a FTSE 250 tracker. Set proper life goals and plan your financial activities around these. Your wealth will grow faster, the more you reinvest but, of course the point of all this is to enjoy your money.

    Conclusion: The Utility Warehouse Business as a Passive Income vs. Investment

    Here’s the second “penny dropped moment” that I got from that seminar in Croydon. £88,000 invested in a FTSE 100 tracker with a 0.5% fee would give you a monthly income of £355. If you go out and gather 120 Utility Warehouse customers, that will give you the same return, plus bonuses along the way.

    I worked consistently gathering customers for the first 3 years of building my Utility Warehouse business, that got me to around 120 customers. I didn’t break any records, qualified for very few of the incentives that they offered but, doggedly and persistently I drove the business forward a couple of evenings a week and sometimes half a day at weekends. That gave me an income equivalent to having £88k in the bank.

    You can read an earlier blog that I wrote on the income that my Utility Warehouse business generated from day zero here.

    With that information – you have a balanced summary to make a decision for yourself. The rest, I leave up to you.

    Further Reading

    Having been fascinated with the concept of passive income for most of my adult life, I have studied many forms and looked at the patterns of investment and behaviour of the super-rich. Some of the publications that I recommend for greater understanding on this subject are:

    Disclaimer

    The views and opinions expressed in this article are simply the opinion of the author and do not constitute financial advice either explicit or implied. Always seek the advice of a professional, qualified financial advisor before making an investment decision.

Utility Warehouse Changes for 2018

Utility Warehouse Changes for 2018

Utility Warehouse changes and improvements have made a significant difference to the customer and Partner proposition in 2018:

Utility Warehouse Changes the Partner fee to £50

Utility Warehouse Changes Reduction

There are now two options when signing up as a Utility Warehouse Partner:

  1. £50 Option to being a Utility Warehouse Partner. If you choose this route, you need to follow these steps:
    1. Sign up as a Utility Warehouse customer by clicking on the “Save Money” link in the menu bar above.
    2. Once you have completed the signup process, you will be given a membership number. Make a note of this.
    3. Apply to be a Utility Warehouse Partner by clicking on the “apply now” link on the right hand side of this page
    4. Enter you Utility Warehouse membership number in the box labelled “Utility Warehouse customer account number”
    5. Choose whether you want the company branded tablet or are happy to use your own tablet / laptop. See this blog post for more information.
    6. Complete the form and submit. You will automatically be charged the discounted rate of £50.
  2. £100 option. If you choose this route, there is no requirement to sign up as a Utility Warehouse customer first.
    1. Apply to be a Utility Warehouse Partner by clicking on the “apply now” link on the right hand side of this page

What Happens Next?

Once you have completed the online application form, you will receive a confirmation email from Utility Warehouse head office. Within 24 hours you will receive your unique “Executive ID number” and access to the online portal provided by Utility Warehouse, known as “The Partner Portal”. From there, you will be guided through your early steps as a Utility Warehouse Partner, including:

  • Completing online training
  • Uploading a passport style photo for your ID card
  • Agreeing to the OFGEM regulations agreement
  • Booking your classroom training from one of the hundreds of training centres nationwide
  • Ordering your optional piggy shaped business cards
  • …and many more

To find out what you get in return for your application fee, see the FAQ page here.

Extra Benefits for “Daffi Double-Gold Homeowner” Customers

Utility Warehouse Changes

A “Daffi Double-Gold Homeowner” customer is a homeowner who takes all four services available: energy (gas or electricity), telephone line, broadband, mobile phone. For those customers who qualify, Utility Warehouse may offer extra benefits. See http://www.utilitywarehouse.org.uk/ for more information.

Mobile Phone Signal Booster Box

Utility Warehouse Changes Femtocell

For years, Vodafone was the only company to offer a mobile phone booster box – a “Femtocell”. Then EE came into the market and now that the technology has been honed and perfected, Utility Warehouse are offering the equivalent product.

This means that Utility Warehouse mobile phone customers can now enjoy 5 bars of coverage in their home. The booster box plugs straight into their internet router and within minutes it is boosting the Utility Warehouse mobile signal within the customers home. I have one of these myself and it works perfectly for calls and texts. It cannot be used for data – your phone will automatically pick up data from the router instead while calls and texts will run through the booster. Just one of the great Utility Warehouse changes in 2018!

Utility Warehouse Changes the Partner Commission Structure With Larger Up-Front Payments for Gathering Customers

One of the most significant Utility Warehouse changes that has been introduced is the “QUIP” QUick Income Plan. This enables Partners who opt-in to be paid a lump sum for signing up Daffi Double-Gold customers. This up front payment replaces the usual monthly commission that would otherwise be paid for the first five years of that customer being with Utility Warehouse. After the five years is up, regular monthly commissions are paid as normal.

I’m always very honest on this blog and I have to admit that when I heard about QUIP, I wasn’t entirely positive. For me, Utility Warehouse has always structured their commission programme very ethically by paying Partners with small monthly commission payments over a long period of time, rather than by incentivising with large up-front payments. It is a well known fact that the door-knockers of old that were part of the marketing strategy of the ‘big 6’ used to be paid a large up-front commission to tie customers into contracts. This is partly what earned them a poor reputation. Historically, Utility Warehouse rarely tied customers into long contracts (with the exception of a brand new phone line install).

Having reflected on “QUIP” for a while now, here are my conclusions:

  • The customers who qualify you for a QUIP bonus are those who take almost all of The Utility Warehouse services. Therefore they are making the most significant savings.
  • All “QUIP” customers are receiving free, professionally fitted LED lightbulbs (see above) so they are getting a benefit that no other supplier can currently offer.
  • The tie-in that Utility Warehouse do need to apply for QUIP customers to make it commercially viable is ethically structured: There is a fair buy-back on the free LED light bulbs that operates on a sliding timescale.
  • From a Partner point of view, approximately 10% of your customers will be QUIP if you offer all of the services on every appointment. That means that your monthly commission is likely to increase in the short term but not significantly.
  • From the point of view of gaining increased motivation as a brand new Partner, QUIP is excellent as it allow you as someone brand new to the business to earn a meaningful commission. My first residual commission payment was £6.75 which came four months after I started. It took significant patience, persistence and hard work to keep going to the point where I was earning so much that Utility Warehouse funded a company car for me.

This is one of the most significant Utility Warehouse changes to come into effect and it is certain to make a big difference to customers and Partners in 2018.

Utility Warehouse Changes Include Training Improvements: Sign Up Customers With Only Online Training

Utility Warehouse Changes Online Training Keyboard Picture with "learn" key highlighted.

It is a much, much simpler task to sign up a new customer than when I started as a Utility Warehouse Partner back in 2009. Back then, there were paper forms in duplicate, it was very, very easy to make a mistake and that would delay the application process etc. As an engineer, I was fairly good with detail but I still had many forms come back with errors.

Now, with these new Utility Warehouse changes, the entire sale and quotation process has been made foolproof. This has been partly helped by the government’s initiative to force suppliers to add comparable prices and greater clarity to bills. All suppliers must now quote annual usage for the past twelve months and a predicted price for the next 12 months based on the same usage profile.

During an appointment, rather than have to get a calculator out and dig into piles of paper, it is simply a case of pressing the screen on a tablet to show a series of short videos and then input the customer’s data into an interactive online form (there is an offline backup version too if you don’t have internet access). You can get the few figures you do need from their most recent bill or answer a few simple questions with them using drop down menu choices to get a quotation.

Utility Warehouse have, for some time now required all new Partners to complete a series of online training modules and in addition attend classroom training. Whilst it is still highly recommended to attend classroom training, it is now possible to go to customer appointments, having only completed the online training course. There is an assessment within each module to maintain high quality results.

Are Utility Warehouse Always the Cheapest?

No – there are a small number of people out there who are better off not signing up to Utility Warehouse . For those people who compare ppkWh tariffs – the honest truth is that much of the time Utility Warehouse is not the cheapest in the marketplace. The question I ask potential customers is: what are they more concerned about: the ppkWh rate or the amount of money the utility company takes out of their bank account every month?

Energy rates with Utility Warehouse often drop with the addition of services – customers who are able to take telephone & broadband get a better deal and – they get currently 25% off their telephone & broadband. Customers who take the Cashback card typically get £25 – £40 off their utility bill and it is often more with big purchases and around Christmas time. We have been Utility Warehouse customers since 2008 and in 9 years we have had over £4000 in cashback – and we are not particularly big spenders.

Understanding the above concept and having the decency to walk away from an appointment when it is not the best thing for the prospect to sign up to Utility Warehouse is, in my opinion the key to making a success of this business. The only quality that is more important is the ability to get lots of “no’s” and keep moving forward – keep making appointments. Put those two qualities together and you will make a success in this business as a Utility Warehouse Partner.

Questions, comments? Please advise your thoughts in the form below, I read them all!

38 Things I’ve Learned in 38 Years

38 Things I’ve Learned in 38 Years

So today is my 38th birthday. Inspired by the best blog post I have ever read:

Leo Babauta 38 Things I’ve Learned | Zenhabits Blog

(This was updated following his very successful ’36’ version 2 years ealier.)

Thought that I would share some of my learnings:

  1. Honour Yourself
  2. Always do the right thing, especially when no-one is looking. Being true to yourself, however that is vocalised, is the key to having a clear life compass.

  3. Be Nice to People, No Matter What They Do to You
  4. A very wise old lady said this on an episode of “24 Hours in A&E” (such is the height of my viewing culture!). It struck me as deeply profound. Always rise above negative.

  5. Have Clear Life Goals and Review Them Daily
  6. As the great Zig Ziglar said “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’re probably going to end up somewhere else”.

  7. Forgive Regularly
  8. Forgive others, forgive yourself – it only ends up eating you up otherwise. That doesn’t mean be a doormat – you should always stand up for principle, just avoid harboring personal grudges.

  9. Be a Duck’s Back
  10. If someone gives you something that you don’t want, don’t accept it.

  11. Practise Stoicism
  12. A long word for a simple concept. See Tim Ferris’ TED Talk for a proper explanation.

  13. Give Regularly
  14. Give good feedback, a smile, a compliment, a donation… There are countless ways to give, it’s the most rewarding habit there is.

  15. Exercise More
  16. Richard Branson’s #1 tip for business success.

  17. Eat Your Frogs
  18. Warren Buffet, when asked what the secret to his success was, replied that when he had a choice of activities, he would always to the one he least wanted to do. It’s a powerful philosophy to use.

  19. Swim Against the Fishes, they don’t know where they’re going anyway
  20. The only one that I have overtly nicked from Leo Babuata.

  21. Work Smarter
  22. When car’s first came out, they were ridiculed. Everyone thought they needed faster horses. Read The 4 Hour Workweek to truly appreciate how deep that rabbit hole can go.

  23. Read “Frogs into Princes” by Banler & Grinder
  24. It may not make a lot of sense but read it anyway – it will help you to massively improve your communication & habits without you realising.

  25. Dream Big
  26. You only have one life & that’s all you need if you get it right (credit to Laura Hurren for that line).

  27. Leverage Compound Interest
  28. It’s the greatest force in the universe.

  29. Take Advantage of Incremental Gains
  30. The first car went at less than 5mph and a person with a red flag walked in front. We are now on the cusp of breaking 1000mph as a land speed record – that is the power of incremental gains. Use that principle in your daily activities and habits.

  31. Be Open Minded & Learn From Others
  32. Meditate Regularly
  33. I’ve always loved the concept of this but was worried that I might not do it right etc. Last year I bought a Muse from Amazon and it is the most fantastic bit of kit that tells you through instant feedback on your smartphone how well you are doing.

  34. Listen to Music You Love Regularly
  35. Music does super good things to your physiology, it can change your mood on a dime. Listen to music you love more.

  36. Look for Results
  37. When making a decision, look at the proven results of what you are considering. Always look for results first, take all emotion out & consider the facts. Sounds obvious but most people form an emotion based on opinion and then pick & choose facts to back up their choice.

  38. Ask questions
  39. Most people love talking about themselves and it’s worth listening.

  40. Make people feel important
  41. This will break down barriers and to form super-strong relationships fast. The old adage of “imagine everyone you meet has a huge sign above their head saying “make me feel important” is very true.

  42. Challenge everything
  43. Avoid rolling over and accepting the status-quo. If something feels off, it probably is – challenge everything.

  44. Teach your children life skills
  45. All children should know how to ride a bike, go camping, go boating, play sports etc. A little skill will go a very long way & help shape their life.

  46. Be grateful
  47. A regular habit of gratitude will make you into a happier person inside. Try a gratitude journal for a year – get in the habit of writing 3 things – regardless of what they are, daily that your are grateful for. It will positively affect your outlook on life.

  48. Remain Relentlessly Positive
  49. This does sound over-optimistic and yes, we all have challenging days from time to time. That said, a relentless attitude of always seeing the upside will stand you in very good stead. There is strong evidence to support this – read The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor.

  50. Write / Scribe daily
  51. Lose Yourself in Movies & (fiction) Books
  52. The more you daydream, the richer your night dreams will be. Movies & Books are like a massage for the mind.

  53. Be True to Your Word
  54. If you say you’re going to do somthing, do it. If you say ‘definitely’, make 100% sure you do it. Better to say that you are not going to do very much and deliver than over-promise & damage your reputation.

  55. Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously
  56. Lack of ego and a little self-deprecation are demonstrators of humility, a hugely important quality. Much better if everyone discovers how great you are rather than you telling them.

  57. Have a Daily Routine
  58. The number one common habit of successful people according to Tim Ferriss’ Tools of Titans (A written synopsis of his incredible podcast where he interviews 100’s of successful people).

  59. Systemise Everything You Can, Build Habits
  60. If you can do something without thinking, it’s a lot easier than thinking through each action. Build strong habits, simplify.

  61. Understand The Difference Between Correlation & Causation
  62. Correlation is when there looks like there is a pattern / link between an action & a result. Eg. When I press this button, that happens…

    Causation is when there is evidence that there is a link between the action & the result. I can see that the button is connected to the result because of x, y & z

    It’s a bit like Derren Brown. He is a great showman – that is all. Not a magician, that’s impossible. Think when you see him next – what did you actually see.

  63. Always Get Your Banana in The Right Way Up
  64. A good smile goes a long way.

  65. See The Person
  66. When you are next served in a coffee shop, a supermarket, a petrol station – see the person. They have goals, successes, struggles the same as all of us. Be nice, ask questions and see the person.

  67. Be Persistent
  68. When it really matters, be absolutely persistent. Ruthless & relentless to achieve the right result.

  69. A Stitch in Time Saves Nine
  70. Heard this when I was at University. Obviously already knew it but, when you know something but don’t put it into practise, you don’t really know it.

    For some reason, the penny dropped for me that day at university and that phrase has saved my bacon many, many times. Predict that you’re probably going to forget to take your lunch to work & leave yourself a note. Look at what is likely to happen & compensate.

  71. Be Careful on The Roads
  72. I am a keen biker. I saw a official police video which was headcam footage of a biker who was well loved and was killed instantly when he took an unnecessary risk and another road user was driving dangerously – it really made me think. The commentary was by his mother and was deeply emotive.

    Be super-respectful of the roads and compensate for likely mistakes of other drivers. When you get upset or others at you, remember, we’re all just trying to get somewhere & there’s definitely worse happens at sea.

  73. Expand your Network Deep & Wide
  74. The old adage of “It’s Not What You Know, It’s Who You Know” is very, very true. Build a strong, deep & wide network and help people – that will stand you in very good stead. Quality is king – it is not a pure numbers game.

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