Offering alternative energy supply is like going back to the old days of lines and minutes resale.
That's the view of Dean Ison, MD of Cheshire-based reseller Max Telecom, which has recently added energy to its customer service portfolio in partnership with Fidelity Energy.
Ison argues that traditional telecoms sales people are more comfortable with the simplicity of the energy offerings which are very attractive in the current market, and find it easy to sell to customers who are already trusted by them.
"I would recommend selling energy to anyone with a loyal customer base and staff that embrace the slightly simpler sales approach.
"The key to selling energy lies in the customer feeling comfortable with the person that is handling the process for them.
"We have dedicated product specialists overseeing every stage of comms delivery with an obsessive attention to customer service, backed up by what we believe to be a unique 24/7/365 support process. Trust with our customers has therefore already been established.
"Selling them energy is a simple way of cementing the relationships they have and could even help fund telecoms spend by offsetting against energy savings.
"And there is a willingness to obtain a comparison because energy prices are high profile in the media at the moment. Once the savings are explained it is then the small matter of convincing them to embrace those savings now."
As a long-term customer of Gamma, Ison has an established relationship with John Haw who headed up the network provider's sales team before joining Fidelity Energy as managing director.
"We have done a lot business with John for many years and we knew if he was involved this had to be a good opportunity. When he explained how easy it was to get started it was really a no brainer," added Ison.
"It's so simple and no technical knowledge is required. It is like telecoms used to be. The partner forms are simple. The customer forms are simple and self-explanatory and all the pricing is handled by Fidelity.
"We have already signed up to good deals and there are many more in the pipeline."