Tees Business Tees Business issue 11 | Page 59

Serving the Teesside Business Community | 59 “We’re now half way through our third year in operation, and with the success of the business in Hartlepool now is the right time to make the move.” New development – Utility Alliance has expanded to new offices at Waterside Court in Sheffield. On the ball – Utility Alliance recently installed a new pool table at its Hartlepool HQ. Staff there enjoy a range of other benefits. “It’s an exciting time for the business and various sites elsewhere in the UK are now being looked at as we continue to expand.” rest on their laurels. Willis added: “The message from the top within this company has always been to set the bar high. If we stand still, we will go backwards. “It’s an exciting time for the business and various sites elsewhere in the UK are now being looked at as we continue to expand. “We have an in-house training team, and a business model which we rigidly stick to. This has proved to be a success in Hartlepool, and has been rolled out in Sheffield. “The same will apply wherever we move to next, and the aim is to have a Utility Alliance way of working. “The exposure of the brand has grown massively since the turn of the year. People know who we are and what we do, and as the base of our business is outbound calls that makes life easier for the sales team. “Over the last couple of years they have had the job of selling who we are before they even reach the stage where they try to sell what we sell. “It’s a difficult job. We all get the phone calls when we’re in the middle of watching the TV or cooking the tea, and we can’t get off the phone quick enough. We don’t want to do another PPI claim, and we haven’t had an accident in the last three years that wasn’t our fault. “We try to do things differently at Utility Alliance, we work on a 9am to 5pm system, Monday to Friday, and deal exclusively with businesses, and when sales staff are calling people, they tend to know who they are asking to speak to. We don’t want to be tarred with the same brush as the others, the ones who are constantly ringing. “Now when they pick the phone up and call someone in the North East, more often than not the person on the other end of the phone will have heard of us. “They may have read about us in the media, or spotted our logo on a football shirt or seen us at a networking event. That’s now the aim for Sheffield. “We’ve got a lot to shout about, and we’re not afraid to tell people how well things are going.” Utility Alliance – some facts • Utility Alliance was formed in February 2015, with a team of just six staff. • The company’s ongoing recruitment drive had seen the team expand to 144 by the turn of 2017, and that figure is now well over 200. • The team at Utility Alliance operate on a B2B basis, saving companies money on their utility bills regardless of their size after carrying out a full audit and bulk buying energy. • Utility Alliance’s expansion saw it move from its original base on Queens Meadow Business Park to a prominent location on Hartlepool Marina in January. • Whatever point the current contract is with any firm, Utility Alliance can review at no cost and with no obligation to act upon it.