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(888) 846-4937
Email us Today
info@destinymarketingsolutions.com
Solar isn't easy to sell, but with the appropriate foundation, it may be made easier. A good framework can assist you in properly addressing the prospect's worries and communicating the benefit of your company's solar installation.
Aurora Solar team members Elliot Goldstein and Kenneth Williams present practical strategies for improving your residential solar sales in a webinar with Greentech Media, based on their personal experiences selling millions of dollars in solar installations for leading solar companies in the United States.
They identify three questions that every prospective buyer should be able to get answers to during your sales conversation:
Why does it make sense for them to go solar?
Why are you the ideal firm to install solar for them?
Why should they adopt solar now, rather than later?
By emphasizing the benefits of going solar right immediately, you can pique their curiosity while also preparing them for the upfront expenditure. Before discussing the system's cost, which should be the last stage of your talk, it's critical to acquire buy-in on these themes.
Price psychology mandates that sticker shock might dampen enthusiasm unless the benefits are clearly stated ahead of time. “If they don't want to walk away from their utility yet,” Elliot warns, “you'll price shock your customer.”
However, if each of these questions is well-answered early on, you'll have a lot better chance of winning the customer's business. This is how you should approach these issues in your sales pitch.
The following are the objectives for answering this question:
Explain why your prospect's current electric usage isn't sustainable.
To persuade your prospect to invest in solar, you must have a mutual, engaging conversation about their circumstances.
Data that is both substantial and easy to understand (such as images) aids in the delivery of your message.
How do you explain the benefits solar provides to a consumer who isn't sure if it's right for them? One of the most effective approaches is to first learn about the customer's present difficulties with their electric bill.
“This is a teaching time for you to educate your prospect on why their current condition is not sustainable,” Kenneth Williams adds. It's better if you have their bill or can show them some visuals of their energy usage over the course of the year. Your prospect must understand that they have little or no influence over their current power cost before you can present solar as a viable solution.”
Solar software, like as Aurora, provides strong visual tools for examining your prospect's current energy consumption. This is also an excellent place to inquire about the customer's motivations for adopting solar and any issues they may have, so you can customize your conversation to their top worries.
“You're not closing the sale if your prospect isn't talking.”
“If your prospect isn't talking, you're not closing the sale,” Kenneth says. Solar sales is all about having a good conversation and understanding who you're talking to, as well as their underlying motivations for purchasing solar energy for their home.”
Aurora offers a variety of methods for assessing energy use and spending, depending on how much information the consumer has about their electricity bills, including possibilities for inputting interval data if they have it from their utility. Aurora's bill estimate tool can forecast what their energy consumption will look like for the rest of the year based on normal usage profiles in their area if they only have a few recent bills or only know how much they spent in particular months.
This can help the customer visualize how much they're spending and provide them a starting point for how solar can help them take control of their energy expenditures.
“I appreciate this image of their kilowatt-hour consumption and monthly cost side by side,” Elliot says, “because it helps me concentrate their attention on the bill spikes.”
Elliot says, "I like to ask them whether they've tried to minimize their bill in the past and how it went." “While many people have worked to improve their energy efficiency, utility rates have continued to rise. As a best practice, I choose their highest bill... and forecast what it will be in five years if the historic rate increase of around 3-to-5 percent for most utilities continue.”
You may also earn a customer's trust by discussing any changes they have in mind that may affect their energy usage, such as plans to buy an electric vehicle or a pool, and how solar can help. The Consumption Profile tool from Aurora allows users to see how their bills can vary in the future as a result of these changes.
Keep the conversation going throughout the process, and be sure to ask clarifying questions to ensure that you truly understand the customer's priorities, goals, and concerns.
The following are the objectives for answering this question:
Demonstrate how your company differs from its competitors in terms of positive differences and originality.
Establish trust by utilizing tools to demonstrate how you arrived at your figures with precision.
You must also answer the question of why the customer should choose your company in addition to articulating the value solar can provide.
In a competitive sector where many homes are getting many solar quotes, how can you express what makes your company stand out? Finally, how can you earn the trust that your organization so well deserves? Let's have a look at each question separately:
What makes you special? You'll want to highlight the items and services that set your firm apart. Is your client satisfaction at an all-time high? Are you employing more energy-efficient panels or providing a long-term guarantee?
Why should they entrust the transfer to you? As a salesperson, you're in charge of explaining how your organization will ensure that the solar installation — and the savings that come with it — meets their expectations.
“Using advanced [solar] tools helps develop that faith in why your figures are accurate,” Elliot argues. When your customer is likely to receive 3-5 bids, you can leave a lasting impression if you can illustrate why your statistics have a strong foundation and why your quote is less likely to alter after they sign a contract.”
Giving the customer a walk-through of some of these tools can help them see firsthand the precision and attention to detail that you're putting into their proposal. Designing in Aurora gives you a number of tools to ensure that your proposed solar design — and the resulting energy production and bill savings — are accurate, and giving the customer a walk-through of some of these tools can help them see firsthand the precision and attention to detail that you're putting into their proposal.
The following are some of the aspects of your design process that you might wish to highlight for the customer:
Your exact 3D model of their home assures that panels will fit as expected and that the design will look just how they want it to.
Aurora's NREL-validated shading study, which includes a visually appealing irradiance map of their property that can help explain the optimal locations for solar panels.
The ability to configure setbacks based on their local jurisdiction's standards, ensuring that you won't have to rebuild your design due to setback violations.
Aurora's energy output and bill calculations are quite precise.
The following are the objectives for answering this question:
Understanding the initiatives of your potential consumer is crucial to answering the question "Why now?"
External reasons such as rising utility costs, tax cuts, and limited-time offers are powerful motivators for action.
Don't overcompensate to close a deal; trust in the quality of your company's product.
A final question you'll have to address for the consumer is why going solar now is a good idea. You'll need to create a sense of urgency to accomplish this. This could be due to their own plans and objectives, as well as external forces.
“This is where a lot of what you gained from the customer interaction will come in handy,” Kenneth adds. Depending on their own goals, they may have their own variables that create a natural sense of urgency, so putting things in those terms can be beneficial. Is summer approaching, and they're desperately attempting to avoid those sky-high summer electric bills? Are they on the verge of purchasing an electric vehicle?”
“You may also leverage external circumstances, such as utility rate rises, to highlight why getting solar now may be better than waiting,” Elliot says. Many people are also aware that the Investment Tax Credit is being phased out or that the NEM is being phased out, which is creating a lot of urgency this year.”
Educating your customer on the benefits of being grandfathered into a net metering plan, especially if they're worried about waiting for technology to improve, can also help. If your customer has access to a strong net metering rate, taking advantage of it now rather than waiting may result in a greater financial return over the life of their system, especially if the utility is planning future rate changes that would diminish the value of solar.
Limited-time offers and discounts can also create a sense of urgency, but Elliot advises that you utilize them cautiously. “I've seen a lot of reps use these as crutches and wind up giving away their commission and the company's profit as a result. Most homeowners are willing to spend extra for quality if you've established perceived worth in your brand. I propose just using discounts to drive your sale to the finish line once your buyer has bought into you and your company.”
While there are other sales methods you can use to increase sales, building your sales pitch around these three questions is one of the most effective.
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