Besides the fixed and variable energy prices people talk about at many birthday parties, there are also providers of dynamic energy prices. So does NieuweStroom, the organisation that was the first in the Netherlands to start doing so in 2012. For a few years now, they have been using Salesdock when selling to business customers in both the Netherlands and Belgium. We spoke to Dennis Huizer, business development manager at NieuweStroom, who attaches great importance to personal customer contact.

As a customer of NieuweStroom, Dennis praised his energy supplier on Linkedin. "A customer journey guru claimed that there was no provider in the energy market that combined a low price with excellent service. I responded that there was, called NieuweStroom. In a group chat, I explained my enthusiasm in more detail." NieuweStroom's director got wind of it and got in contact. "He saw that I was a tremendous ambassador and also had the necessary commercial experience." After a few good conversations, this led to a job as 'business developer solar'. A year later, he advanced to business development manager and interim sales manager. And that in these turbulent times in the energy market. "My working week is as dynamic as our energy tariffs," he says aptly.

NieuweStroom supplies energy to companies in the Netherlands and Belgium using its own method. While most suppliers work with fixed and variable energy prices, NieuweStroom uses a dynamic price. "We charge the hourly market price, with a modest surcharge on top and, of course, taxes. The price structure is completely transparent," Dennis explains. In addition, the company values personal contact and a high level of service for customers. "Together with our customers, we look for solutions for affordable and sustainable energy." NieuweStroom's field service consists of 16 people, in addition to four partner managers, who are responsible for the 'indirect channels'. NieuweStroom's partners had their own ways of working which meant that applications came in via different ways. "All these different ways of working took a lot of time and it also comes at the expense of the quality of the application. It then happens more often that, for example, an e-mail address is missing, meaning you have to call again to sort out a sale or provide after-sales." His search for a solution brought him to Salesdock. Together with colleague Harriette Watermulder, one of the experienced partner managers within NieuweStroom, he travelled to Enschede for a first meeting. It soon became clear that the shared enthusiasm of both the people at Salesdock and those at NieuweStroom formed the (healthy) basis for taking the next step together. For Dennis, the Salesdock platform was exactly the solution he was looking for. The first step in a cooperation was the unified facilitation and management of NieuweStroom's various external sales partners in the Netherlands. They were the first to switch to Salesdock. Internal enthusiasm soon led to the next steps. Meanwhile, Salesdock has also been set up for the Belgian market and the move to put its own field sales force on Salesdock has also been made. "The approach is now standardised across the various sales channels, meaning all requests come in the same way," Dennis summarises. To also simplify processes internally, an integration was made with Dynamics, the CRM system that NieuweStroom works with. Thanks to this integration, sales, aftersales and customer relationship management draw from one source and truth: Salesdock.

Dennis describes this as "unity in working and processing". According to Dennis, Salesdock delivers more than just an efficient way of working. New opportunities also arise from collaborations between NieuweStroom and its partners, especially in a world where energy saving and sustainability go hand in hand. "The lead-sharing possibilities offer new opportunities, such as the sale of charging stations and solar panels through Salesdock's network." As a result, opportunities now arise not only to expand the market across borders, but also to broaden the range of offerings. "Working with Salesdock initially provides a lot of insights. We had unknowingly integrated using workarounds, but Salesdock actually says: this is how you should deliver. Because of this unambiguous working method, we work with sales partners and providers of solar panels and charging stations very easily. Looking at this, Salesdock is, irreverently put, a facilitating supermarket where they help you get into the right aisle. And it's up to us to stand in the right rack." So says Dennis with a clever use of imagery. "But I don't think Mark likes it when I compare Salesdock to a supermarket," he laughs referring to Mark Hekkelman, Co-Founder & CEO of Salesdock.

"Mark wants the best for all his relationships, which is why I wish him the same. As far as I am concerned, that is also the basis of Salesdock; working together and therefore granting each other the best things." We also asked him to describe Salesdock without metaphors, which Dennis also appears to be able to do. "Salesdock is committed and driven, you can taste that. They have knowledge of the market and the skill to make excellent software. And also important: they dare to say 'no' if the situation calls for it. I look forward to continuing to grow together," Dennis concludes.