5 Vendor Mistakes to Avoid

Vendors can have great salespeople. I know, because I was one of them. So I completely understand why it might be tempting to let them take the reigns on your project.

But when you go with them right off the bat, your project can have terrible long term consequences, like being trapped in contracts that spike your OPEX and strip your revenue levers.

Here are 5 vendor mistakes to avoid when first starting your EV charging project:

Mistake #1: Assuming you and your vendor's goals are aligned

While you both want EV charging in your building, your vendor is incentivized to maximize scope, even if your demand doesn’t warrant it. You, by nature, want to minimize your CAPEX.

Mistake #2: Relying on your vendor’s financial projections

These “back of the napkin” projections are usually overly optimistic and therefore paint an unrealistic utilization scenario - without much data to back it up.

Mistake #3: Using your vendor’s resident survey

They will likely provide this for free, but unless you’re an experienced market researcher, you wouldn’t be aware that the questions are designed in a way that provide biased answers supporting the vendor’s maximalist goals.

Mistake #4: Letting vendors do “free” work before contracts are finalized

Letting your vendor start doing preliminary site work (analysis, subsidies, load study) for “free” actually comes at a cost: your time. Because in the event you don’t go with them, you’ll have to do some or all that work - all over again.

Mistake #5: Signing too long or too short of a contract term

Too long, vendors can lock you into unfavorable terms. Too short, vendors can hike rates. The perfect balance lies in your local EV adoption trends.

So there you have it - avoid these 5 mistakes and you'll have much sounder footing when starting your project!