How to sell solar energy to grid
How to Sell Solar for Beginners
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if you're a solar sales professional
then stop right there
i want you to watch this video first
before you go on any more appointments
or send out any more proposals
because i'm going to be teaching you
five things that will set you apart
from all the other cheap solar salesmen
[Music]
hi everybody joe ordea here for solar
surge and for the past eight years i've
been helping families get their home
set up to survive a loss of the electric
grid and at solar surge
we do renewable energy solar power and
many times battery backup
as well to help people become totally
energy independent
now today's video is actually geared
towards those that are in the solar
sails profession
i've been getting some feedback recently
about joe i like your video shared it
with my sales team
and so i wanted to speak to sales
professionals particularly those of you
who are just starting out
and i'm going to teach you a few things
that will help you close more deals
ultimately but more importantly set
yourself apart
from the other solar sales people that
are out there
now in the past three or four years
solar has gotten so popular
and the financing options are so
attractive now that there are tons of
new sales professionals
coming into the solar industry and many
of them are coming from
other in-home sales like
alarm system sales door-to-door cable
subscription sales
directv and a lot from the auto industry
as well
and i hate to say but a lot of these
sort of cheap and outdated sales tactics
have come in from those industry into
our solar industry
as well so in today's video i'm gonna be
teaching you how to set yourself apart
and really position yourself as a solar
expert
as opposed to just another sales person
all right the first thing is you're not
there to sell anybody
anything in today's day and age
consumers have got
as much information as they wish to
avail themselves of
meaning that they already pretty much
know what the product is that you're
going to be offering and how much it's
supposed to cost because a quick google
search
can reveal that so don't feel that
you're there to go and
and convince them and push them and sell
them on something
what you really want to do is be
positioned as the trusted advisor
and expert so you can help first uncover
what the customer's needs and goals are
and then be able to match the correct
equipment the correct
solution to meet those goals that's the
position you want to be in the trusted
advisor
the consultant you're not there to sell
anybody anything
so in the information age people don't
want to be sold anymore
but people do want to buy and your
responsibility as the trusted advisor
is to help the prospect make the most
informed most
accurate buying decision
now the way you do that is through
education
right and that's why it's so important
that you really know your stuff in terms
of
how the systems work and how the
equipment works and the pros and cons
of each different equipment choice that
you have
you see by educating your prospect on
how
solar energy works how the different
solar equipment works
how the net metering process works that
education is going to bond you
it's going to bond you to the prospect
and solidify
your position as that trusted technical
advisor
but in order to earn that trust you have
to know your stuff and that's why it's
so important
to do your research ahead of time on the
different options that are available to
you so you know
the right solution to prescribe based on
the situation
and based on your unique prospects goals
and
challenges so in order to get this right
then
your engagement needs to start first
with needs
analysis okay the first step in all
professional selling
is needs analysis if you don't know what
the goals are or what the problems are
that need to be solved
how can you ever prescribe a solution
this is why you never want to go in with
a pre-scripted sales pitch
and just pitch and pitch in pitch until
you first
stopped asked the prospect questions
to uncover what their true needs and
goals are
so as i mentioned in my previous video
for buyers there's all sorts of
different motivations
for going solar you know some people
like the electric bill offset
and so for them it's mainly just a
dollars and cents calculation as far as
what's the dollar for dollar
return on investment other folks more
like myself
they like the safety and the security
knowing that
regardless of what the situation is
outside you and your family are never
going to be without power
so that type of buyer is mainly
concerned with self-sufficiency
and security but you're going to want to
ask them up front
what is your goal with looking at solar
power are you looking to help the
environment are you looking to
cut your electric bill are you looking
to protect your family from a loss of
the electric grid
very very different motivations but you
need to uncover
what that motivation really is
and then once they've identified it ask
them to elaborate on it
for example if the customer is primarily
concerned with battery backup
to protect from a power outage ask them
about how often they lose power
what was the last time they lost power
what was the experience like
did they lose their food were they
unable to flush the toilets
in other words keep them talking keep
them remembering the experience
because this is going to help you out
you know once you get to the end of the
conversation
as far as reminding them the motivation
for going down this path in the first
place
but the key point is you have to start
your sales interview
with needs analysis all right
the next thing that you have to do is
you need to do your homework on the
equipment that you're offering
now i know that many of you out there
you only have maybe one or two different
brands of equipment to offer
and you know as the saying goes if the
only tool you have is a hammer then
every problem
looks like a nail but you don't want to
be there pitching why your solution is
best
if it in fact may not be the best thing
okay
and if you have multiple options
available you want to really take your
time
and study how those systems work
are you proposing a string inverter
system are you proposing a micro
inverter system
are you proposing a dc coupled hybrid
system or are you proposing an ac
coupled
hybrid system and if so why
if you don't know what those terms mean
then go back and watch the solar surge
channel
where we teach you about different types
of solar and battery backup systems
and some of the pros and cons of each at
the very least
go to the manual manufacturer's website
for the major system components that
you're offering
and read the spec sheets and understand
the basics at the very least at a user
level
of how what this equipment offers and
how it's positioned competitively
with the other leading products that are
on the market all right the third thing
you're going to want to do is make sure
that you discuss
the different financing options and the
pros and cons of each with your prospect
for some people that are early in life
you know maybe they're a brand new
homeowners or newlyweds
they may not have enough savings to to
practically be able to make an outright
solar system purchase but these types of
buyers generally are great candidates
for doing solar financing
because they can use their monthly
electric bill savings to cover the cost
of a solar loan payment so they can get
the solar without really having to pay
out of pocket for it
if you have an older prospect who's
nearing retirement or is is retired
generally those type of buyers have
access to cash and credit
where if they wanted to purchase the
system outright they are in a position
to do so
so let your prospect know you know mr
prospect if you can make me a direct
offer
i may be able to offer you a more
competitive pricing that way you can
avoid all of the closing costs and the
bank fees that are associated with
offering solar financing so definitely
make sure you have that conversation
with your buyer as well
okay the fourth thing that you're going
to need to learn how to overcome
is the pricing objection and i found
that the best way to explain this to the
prospect
is this mr prospect i'm not going to be
the cheapest price
out there there are always going to be
cheaper price companies out there
usually they're upstart companies that
are just getting going
and they're throwing out very very cheap
bids trying to build their business
however what you need to consider is
that this investment in solar
is a 25-year investment and so it's not
just a matter of what is my cost to get
it to you today
but it's how confident are you that i'm
going to be around and my company is
going to be around
to service and honor this warranty over
the next 25 years
when you position pricing in that
context typically pricing is never going
to be
your issue you might also ask the
prospect did he hire the cheapest
contractor to build his house
did he buy the cheapest brand automobile
available
and in almost every case the answer to
these questions is no so don't worry
about having the cheapest price or the
lowest bid
just go ahead and tell them that you're
not going to be the cheapest price and
tell them why
and then let's move on to closing all
right and then finally
you're going to have to close your
prospect now i know i said earlier in
this video that
you're not there to sell and that's true
you're not there to sell
you're there to educate and provide your
expertise in service of the client's
goals
but once you've done that and you have
the right deal on the table
then you do have to close because as a
sales professional until the contract is
signed
you can't help them and you can't earn
anything for yourself so yes
every one of these engagements should if
you've got the right solution
it should end in a closing and this is
something that you might have to
practice
and also you may have to ask multiple
times
okay this is perfectly normal okay on
average a salesperson has to ask
seven times until they get a yes so
you may want to start early in the
process when you're first sitting down
mr prospect if i'm able to get you what
you need at the right price
is there any reason we can't go ahead
and do a project for you today
okay and then again at the end of your
presentation
so based on what you're telling me you
need a system to perform x y and z
and this particular model is going to be
the right solution for you
ideally when would you like to have
something up and running
and if they tell you such and such you
know two three months from now then
great then you can go into
well then the next step would be to get
you credit qualified or the next step
would be
to get you to sign here on this work
order but you do have to close
the problem is you don't want to be
perceived as a
pushy salesman trying to push your
solution on them
the first thing you got to do is you
make sure you understand what their true
needs and goals are you need to make
sure that your competency is there
so that you can prove that you are best
suited
to match their needs and requirements
with the available equipment
and then it should just be a matter of
getting through a few objections and
closing the deal
well folks this has been five things to
know as a new starting solar sales
professional
as always if you're getting good value
from the information on solar surge
channel
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well thanks again for tuning in today as
always i'm joe ortea
encouraging you to get prepared and be
empowered
thanks for watching and we'll see you
again soon
