5 little known lead hacks for solar energy company's little known lead hacks for... · 5...

5 Little Known Lead Hacks For Solar Energy Companies

!2

Contents

Contents 2 .................................................................................................................................................

Introduction 3 ..........................................................................................................................................

1) Pre-Qualify Prospects by Credit Worthiness 5 ...................................................................................

2) Pre-Qualify Prospects by House Potential for Solar 8 .......................................................................

3) Log Data Like a Scientist 10 ................................................................................................................

4) Create a Super Targeted Marketing List 13 ........................................................................................

5) Go to where the panels are 15 .............................................................................................................

In Conclusion… 19....................................................................................................................................


!3

Introduc-on

Leads, leads leads. That’s the name of the game in any sales industry and the Solar Energy sector is no different. With compe--on being heavy those who can generate the highest quality leads have a beDer chance to win. More quality leads = more sales.

Lead costs are an important factor to keep an eye on as well. The less moolah you expend for leads the more goes to the boDom line.

�

As a maDer of fact, according to THIS study by GTM Research the current customer acquisi-on cost is about 10% of overall residen-al solar systems or close to $0.50 per waD.

In this guide you are going to learn:

• free ways to dissect up your territory like a data scien-st, • the importance of keeping a detailed log of specific data points and • how to create a targeted marke-ng list so you are spending your -me,

energy and effort where it counts most.

Amongst other amazing things

http://www.greentechmedia.com/research/report/us-residential-solar-pv-customer-acquisition

http://www.greentechmedia.com/research


!4

By spending a liDle -me up front to know your target customer and target market you can reap the rewards of a lower lead cost and a higher quality and quan-ty of leads as compared to the organiza-on that uses the shotgun approach to marke-ng.

Oh yeah, and best of all, everything in here can be done for FREE.

These hacks are designed for those solar companies and reps that use a face-‐to-‐face marke-ng approach such as door-‐to-‐door and direct sales.

If you currently do these types of sales efforts then the following will blow your mind.

If not, then you should consider it because it is a very effec-ve way to get in front of your target customer instead of wai-ng for them to come to you.

Let the Games Begin!


!5

1) Pre-‐Qualify Prospects by Credit Worthiness

There are two common ways to go solar:

1. Buying the system out right with cash or financing or 2. Entering into a power purchase agreement or solar lease.

Those reading this are more than likely familiar with the industry so I’ll spare you the explana-on of each however there is a high chance that financing of some sort will play a role in either method.

When there’s financing there’s a credit check. When there’s a credit check you want the poten-al customer to be on the upper end of the spectrum.

There’s no greater frustra-on for a sales rep than to get through the whole sales process of genera-ng the lead, giving the presenta-on, spending -me building rapport with the customer and then they don’t pass the credit check. At that point you are more than likely dead in the water.

�

Of course personal credit data isn’t readily available to the public but there is RESEARCH that shows a correla-on between income and credit worthiness.

http://www.consumerfinance.gov/newsroom/cfpb-report-finds-26-million-consumers-are-credit-invisible/


!6

According to a report done by the Consumer Financial Protec-on Bureau (CFPB) only 4% of consumers in the upper income neighborhoods are credit invisible, while 5% are unscored. For the data sample used in this report the median income is about $40,000 for a two-‐person house so in order to avoid those with liDle or no credit go to areas with a median income at least higher than that.

Here’s How:

Go to www.city-‐data.com and at the boDom click on your state on the boDom and then choose the City Profiles buDon.

�

http://www.consumerfinance.gov

http://www.city-data.com


!7

On the next page you will select the Median Household Income and then can zoom in to your City to really dial it in. Remember, the higher the income the higher likelihood of good credit.

�

All that GliDers isn’t Gold just because the income is higher. Along with that can come more compe--on as well so choose your territory that fits your sales approach.

Narrow down a few areas that you want to target based on their income and on average their poten-al to pass credit will be higher.


!8

2) Pre-‐Qualify Prospects by House PotenEal for Solar

Solar power is being used to reduce the energy consump-on of houses both large and small but there’s no doubt that the more panels you can get on a roof the more power they are going to provide and the quicker the return for the company and individual.

For solar panels to work they SURPRISE! Need sun! So it’s no surprise that the 3 main factors that determine a homes “solar worthiness” are the:

1. Direc-on the roof faces – preferably south, west or southwest 2. Shading or lack thereof on the roof 3. Available area to install panels

Sure, you can lug around your ladder and scurry up roofs to check their poten-al for solar but why do that when there’s so much easier ways and you can eliminate the risk of tumbling off the roof and ruining your dreams of winning the Decatur county bowl-‐a-‐thon coming up next month. It’s hard to throw strikes down the lane with a broken femur.

The good folks at Google have given us the two best tools to scope out solar poten-al from afar.

Google Maps and Google Earth If you have never used Google Earth it is worth the download alone to see the images in crazy detail.

Here’s the link to download Google Earth for Free:

hJps://www.google.com/earth/

https://www.google.com/earth/


!9

Aher opening it up type in the City or area you want to check out. Remember in the previous hack you narrowed down the loca-on you wanted to work.

�

Remember the three things you are looking for:

1) Direc-on the Roof Faces: you want south or southwest. Google Earth and Maps have a compass on there for reference

2) Low or No Shading: tree’s or not?

3) Available area to install panels: use the Ruler tool to do some quick calcula-ons to get area. L x W then add in another 15% or so for the roof pitch.


!10

3) Log Data Like a ScienEst

Big data is everywhere and all major companies understand how valuable it is. Facebook knows where you like to eat, Chotchkie’s of course, on Tuesdays with your In-‐Laws friend from Connec-cut who has a three-‐legged Pug named Lucky.

And they want to know that because someday you are going to see an adver-sement show up on your news feed on a Tuesday ahernoon to en-ce you to go get those Pizza Shooters appe-zer and Extreme Fajitas Entree.

�

Just because you aren’t a billion dollar company doesn’t mean you can’t take part in the Big Data Game.

Whether you are using a pen and paper to write down, an excel spreadsheet or a sales tracking and territory management tool like SPOTIO here’s a few ideas:

1. Do they have solar? 2. Shading? Low, Medium, High 3. Roof Pitch? Low, Medium, High 4. Average U-lity Bill 5. U-lity Provider 6. Size of house

http://www.spotio.com


!11

You need to log this data on every single house you go to not just the ones you talk to. Take the few minutes and WRITE IT DOWN! It will pay off in dividends when you put this good data to use.

Think about it, if you have a team of 15 knocking 50 doors a day it adds up real quick.

Your Big Data Collec-on -‐

1 Week 4,500 data points

1 Month 18,000 data points

1 Year 216,000 data points

5 Years 1,080,000 data points

10 Years The en-re world + mars if Elon Musk can get you there

Even if you are a One Man Show it is s-ll worth recording all of this data.

Once you get the data you need to commit it to some sort of database. Be it Excel, a CRM or SPOTIO, make sure and save it somewhere you can find and refer to later.

WhoopEe-‐Do I have a bunch of data, now what?

The possibili-es are limitless and I’ll tell you about the best thing to do in the next hack but first I’ll share this gem with you.

Let’s say a rainy day comes and you can’t hit the street.

Are you going to sit at home playing “Call of Duty” on your Xbox or GO OUT AND MAKE SOME MONEY!


!12

Here’s what you do to take your game to the next level. Go over to Whitepages web or mobile app and find their phone number.

You already know they can benefit from your service so why not let them know about it?

�

http://www.whitepages.com


!13

4) Create a Super Targeted MarkeEng List

�

Now that you have all this data from #3 you need to actually do something with it.

My vote is to send out a super targeted mail campaign to those people you know have the highest chance to buy from you.

Create a report or spreadsheet that has all the homes:

◉ you know don’t have solar,

◉ have low shading,

◉ low to medium pitched roof,

◉ fall in your target demographic and

◉ have high poten-al credit worthiness.

Mail is good because it can sohen the market, build brand awareness and generate leads on its own.

Think about the money savings you will get from this alone.

Before you would send out 10,000 mailers to everybody in a zip code and have a generic message about the benefits of Solar and it would apply to MAYBE half.

At $0.30 a pop you wasted $3,000.

Now, since you are a part of the Big Data Revolu-on you are only going to send these mailers to those you know have the highest likelihood of becoming a customer.


!14

AND instead of just offering blah blah blah generic info about the wonderful joys of being green you can get really specific like this:

“We were recently in your area and iden1fied your home at 123 Main Street as having a high poten1al to benefit from solar energy. Did you know that in many cases it costs $0 out of pocket and provides savings from Day 1? Here at ABC Solar we have installed 140 jobs in a 6 mile radius from your home.

Call Today to set up your Free No Obliga1on Energy Analysis.”

Don’t you think that will get somebody’s aJenEon?

*Your big data processing center

�


!15

5) Go to where the panels are

An ar-cle in the Washington Post, which talks about research done by Yale and the University of Connec-cut, found that the single most important factor driving whether the given house installed solar was peer influence.

Like keeping up with the Joneses.

�

The installa+on of One addi+onal solar roo1op product within the past Six months in a given area increased the average number of installa+on within a half mile radius by .44.

How to find the panels?

You might be able to find some on the Google Earth images but those can be out of date.

The two best ways are to

1. Mark them down as you canvass an area. Remember Big Data from #3? 2. Pull permit data (if your city has it online)

The Permit Data is different in every county so I’ll show you how it works in our county, Dallas.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2014/10/23/study-solar-energy-isnt-just-for-rich-liberals-any-more/


!16

Step 1: Find the County website and go to the Building InspecEon Division.

You are looking for online permit data that can be exported to excel.

Dallas County has a record of Permit Reports available by Months

�

You can download the last 6 months of data and compile it all together in one spreadsheet or just use the most recent month.

Step 2: Sort & Filter the Dataset in Excel for Solar Jobs

Once downloaded I filter the results by Work Descrip-on and type in Solar to get it filtered for all the Building Permits pulled in the last month that have Solar as the Work Descrip-on.


!17

�

You need to remove all the rows that are hidden now and how to do that depends on what version of Excel and Computer you are using.

Google: “how to delete all hidden filtered rows in excel for mac” for instance if you are on a mac. I quickly saw how to copy only the visible cells and paste them on a new document and remember to Save as a .CSV

Isn’t Public Informa-on incredible?!

I can see who the contractor was that did it and the value and even the Area of the panels.


!18

Step 3: Plot the Addresses on a Map for Easy Viewing & Territory TargeEng

But now you need to get these on a map to see where they are. For that I recommend you use the impor-ng tool in Spo-o and set the status as “Has Solar.”

Otherwise, you can use Google Earth to import these addresses to.

Here’s a support link how to do that.

Below is a map view in Spo-o of all the solar jobs installed in August in Dallas County

It just so happens that 3 of them are in my target area from Tips 1 & 2. I think I know where I’ll start prospec-ng ; )

�

https://support.google.com/earth/answer/176685?hl=en


!19

In Conclusion…

Warren Buffet sa id , “energy deregula-on will be the largest transfer of wealth in history.” Solar Energy sales is a compe--ve endeavor but well worth it because the benefit it provides the customer, company, environment and sales person.

By being smart about where you spend your -me, energy and effort and gewng in front of the type of prospect that has a proven higher chance of buying you will certainly put you in a beDer posi-on to win.

Hopefully you enjoyed this informa-on and can put it to good use. Have something to add? Let me know!

TreyGibson CEO/SPOTIO

�

SPOTIO is a web and na-ve mobile app used by solar companies all around the world to organize and streamline their sales processes while driving accountability and efficiency. Check it out at www.spo-o.com or request a demo by emailing [email protected] .

http://www.spotio.com

mailto:[email protected]

5 little known lead hacks for solar energy company's little known lead hacks for... · 5...

Documents