Transcript
Speaker: Are you ready to take your solar sales to the next level?
Speaker: James Swiderski, co-founder of 7 Figure Solar, is your host of the podcast, created by solar sales and marketing pros.
Speaker: The 7 Figure Solar Podcast.
Speaker: Sales tips, online marketing, industry news, and much, much more.
Speaker: Here's your host of the 7 Figure Solar Podcast, James Swiderski.
Speaker: What is going on, everybody?
Speaker: This is James Swiderski, and welcome to the 7 Figure Solar Podcast.
Speaker: Now, first episode, starting out, I want to get it right up front who this podcast is for and who it's not for.
Speaker: I don't want to be wasting your time later down the road with the
Speaker: Tons of content we're going to be popping out if this is not going to be a benefit for you.
Speaker: And likewise, I want those of you that are expecting things out of this podcast, have pre-expectations.
Speaker: I'm going to tell you what you can expect and what you shouldn't, right?
Speaker: I don't want to set and start our relationship out.
Speaker: with false expectations of each other.
Speaker: This podcast is going to be strictly all about upfront honesty and giving you the tools and strategies you need to dominate your market in business and in life.
Speaker: So who is this podcast for?
Speaker: podcast is one, it's going to be for the solar professional.
Speaker: If you're starting out in the solar industry, maybe you're a sales rep, maybe you're a marketing person, or you started your own company, whatever it is, this podcast is for you, okay?
Speaker: We're going to give you the tools and strategies you need not only to set up proper marketing and sales tactics so that you could dominate your industry, but we're going to go over the mindsets it takes really to take advantage of this opportunity of solar, which is kind of going along with our topic for today.
Speaker: But it's also going to give you just everything from A to Z on how to crush your competition,
Speaker: Stop competing on price and overcome all of those growing pains that the industry is going through right now.
Speaker: Now, if you're not in solar, this is how you could benefit from this podcast.
Speaker: As somebody who's grown multiple online businesses and continues to grow businesses and I'm out there in the field using real world sales and marketing tactics, you can apply these same exact principles to your own business.
Speaker: So,
Speaker: Let's say you're in real estate, right?
Speaker: You're a real estate agent.
Speaker: You're going to be able to apply these marketing tactics, these sales tactics, the interviews with people we have.
Speaker: You're going to be able to use those principles on a day-to-day basis just as much as the solar professional.
Speaker: Now, let's say that you're running an online business, right?
Speaker: Or you want to, or you're just trying to get into entrepreneurship or sales, right?
Speaker: All of these topics are going to be covered in depth in this podcast.
Speaker: So I don't want you to think that this is strictly for the solar professional.
Speaker: This is for anybody looking to level up their sales game.
Speaker: their marketing, their entrepreneur mindset, wants to get into business, all of that's going to be covered in depth with our interviews and our different hosts on the podcast.
Speaker: So without further ado, guys, let's go over a couple of housekeeping rules and let's get jumping into our main topic for today.
Speaker: And our main topic is going to be about the opportunity of solar, right?
Speaker: We hear about solar, right?
Speaker: Saving the environment.
Speaker: We hear that, you know, you could save a lot of money.
Speaker: And those are great things and great reasons why people do invest in solar.
Speaker: But what I'm most passionate about is really the opportunity to create wealth and abundance for the people working, the jobs that are created with solar and the industry, and really the opportunity it creates for so many people and how we're just getting started.
Speaker: So we're going to talk about that today.
Speaker: But for the housekeeping rules, at any point, you can submit questions to contact at sevenfiguresolar.com.
Speaker: Me and my team, we're going to go over those questions and we'll get back to you.
Speaker: You got to be patient with us.
Speaker: We're very busy.
Speaker: We run multiple businesses, so it can take a little while for us to get back.
Speaker: Expect typically a 24 to 48 hour response, but we will get back to you.
Speaker: I'll get back to you personally and we'll answer those questions.
Speaker: Then second of all is we're not going to run any ads on this podcast.
Speaker: Okay?
Speaker: This podcast is not created to generate revenue.
Speaker: I want to make that very clear.
Speaker: We have multiple sources of revenue and income from our multiple side businesses.
Speaker: And at Seven Figure Solar, this podcast is created.
Speaker: I wanted to create it.
Speaker: to give back to the industry, to give the industry what I was lacking as a new solar sales rep just a few years ago and give you the tools you need to just crush it.
Speaker: It's really just a combination of everything that I've learned, my time, and really our different other hosts' time and how you could benefit.
Speaker: Without further ado, guys, let's jump into today's topic.
Speaker: That's going to be why solar and what kind of opportunity does this bring?
Speaker: Maybe you're the new sales rep on the block.
Speaker: Maybe you're just getting into the industry and the only thing you know about it is there's these pesky door-to-door guys that come around every summer and they try to get you to put solar panels on your house.
Speaker: Maybe you don't know much about it.
Speaker: Maybe you think that the industry is just really expensive.
Speaker: It's kind of gimmicky and there's not much benefit going on.
Speaker: But...
Speaker: Yet again, this is one of the fastest growing industries.
Speaker: And the opportunity that I'm going to explain tonight is tremendous.
Speaker: I would say solar is the number one wealth creation opportunity of 2018, 2019, going into the new year, and so forth.
Speaker: Every single year, it has become this phenomenal opportunity.
Speaker: This phenomenal opportunity to really put yourself out there and make a name for yourself.
Speaker: There's so many new companies, so many new salespeople out there that are making multiple millions and even billions of dollars in the industry.
Speaker: Really, the sky is the limit.
Speaker: And as we're touching just the tip of the iceberg, I would hate and I absolutely hate to see so many reps, so many company owners lose hope.
Speaker: They lose hope that it's not possible, that they're not able to overcome the competition, or they think that their market is too saturated, especially in markets like California and Utah, where I'm at, where it's a little bit more well-known and established.
Speaker: Too many people think it's oversaturated and the opportunity is lost, when in reality, we haven't even hit the tip of the iceberg, let alone the rest of it.
Speaker: So I want to go over what the opportunity is, how you could take advantage of it, and the exact action steps you need to do if this sounds like something you're interested in.
Speaker: So here's the deal.
Speaker: I want to shoot a couple statistics at you.
Speaker: I just looked these up.
Speaker: These are pretty shocking.
Speaker: So the average price of a solar system, right?
Speaker: We're talking about solar panels, of course, if you're just now joining us.
Speaker: The average price for a solar system was $40,000 in 2010.
Speaker: And since 2010 in 2010,
Speaker: Early 2018, about when President Trump did the new solar tariff, the price was just under $17,000 before any state or tax incentives or federal incentives.
Speaker: So that is literally half the cost.
Speaker: It's more than half the cost since 2008.
Speaker: And that's just eight years, guys.
Speaker: And if I asked you if you knew anybody who has went solar in the last five, six, seven, eight years, you would tell me yes.
Speaker: Maybe not 20 years ago, but eight years, I guarantee almost everybody could think of somebody who's went solar.
Speaker: So why has the industry grown so quickly in just the last less than 10 years, the last decade?
Speaker: It's because prices have went down.
Speaker: quality of products have gotten higher, better financing has gotten in place to where now a homeowner can actually put solar on their house for less than their current power bill month to month.
Speaker: It's pretty amazing.
Speaker: And to think that so many professionals are not taking advantage of this, to think that so many people are looking for the next shiny object, something that's gimmicky, that has a good chance and it can work out, but sometimes it gets screwed.
Speaker: I'm thinking of Bitcoin in one case right here, but it could be Bitcoin, right?
Speaker: It could be Amazon FBA stuff.
Speaker: It could be real estate.
Speaker: It could be any number of these things.
Speaker: Um,
Speaker: And I know this, trust me, because I've tried every single one of them.
Speaker: Not everyone, but most, right?
Speaker: I've tried Bitcoin.
Speaker: I've tried real estate.
Speaker: I've tried online marketing, affiliate marketing, network marketing.
Speaker: I've tried multiple online businesses.
Speaker: I started a supplement company back in 2016.
Speaker: I've done all of these different things.
Speaker: And really, once I found this industry, the solar industry, it changed my life forever.
Speaker: It's allowed me to
Speaker: Not only create wealth for myself and family, but it's allowed me to train hundreds of solar professionals across the world and create a company and a marketing agency that helps companies and business owners grow and expand out this great thing that we have, this awesome and amazing opportunity that is solar.
Speaker: So why am I so passionate about solar?
Speaker: Yes, it saves the planet, right?
Speaker: That's great.
Speaker: The more people we could get to replace their energy, the better.
Speaker: But I'm also passionate about the opportunity it creates for professionals, the way that you can create wealth, the way that you can master sales and learn new, valuable, lifelong skills like persuasion, business management,
Speaker: These are all things that you learn when you dive into the industry.
Speaker: And because it's so early in the game and it's just now becoming accepted as a really an alternative form of energy, now is the time to get in.
Speaker: So here's the deal.
Speaker: total worldwide, there's been 1.8 million solar installations on homes.
Speaker: 1.8 million.
Speaker: Think about all the people, the 7 billion people on the world, on the planet.
Speaker: That's nothing.
Speaker: We haven't even touched the surface, especially in the United States or Northern America or Canada, right?
Speaker: Canada is one of the most untouched markets.
Speaker: It's rapidly growing.
Speaker: I honestly think like
Speaker: Canada and northern United States is the prime spot to be going for solar.
Speaker: It's becoming well known over in Europe and other countries.
Speaker: But right now, those are the prime markets to be in.
Speaker: So guys, I'll get off of this.
Speaker: But here's the deal.
Speaker: If you're not involved in the industry right now, I encourage you to check it out.
Speaker: Follow this podcast.com.
Speaker: Check out our website, sevenfiguresolar.com.
Speaker: Go over on the Facebook page and look at the content we put out.
Speaker: We're going to be educating people on why solar is such an amazing opportunity for wealth and why you should take advantage of it.
Speaker: But really, guys, the main reason so many people struggle with this, because I think as a general rule, people realize solar is cool.
Speaker: I mean, it's cool to go green, right?
Speaker: It's cool to help people save money.
Speaker: But once they get into it, once they start selling it, they realize it's more difficult than meets the eye.
Speaker: It seems like a no-brainer sale if you haven't checked out solar before.
Speaker: It seems like a no-brainer sale to switch from one power bill to another one that raises value of your home.
Speaker: And it saves the environment.
Speaker: It seems like nobody would have a problem doing that.
Speaker: But ask any solar rep on the street and they're going to tell you it's one of the most difficult items to sell out there.
Speaker: Ask any marketer and they'll tell you it's one of the most difficult items to market and get attention for.
Speaker: And it's because it's a high ticket item.
Speaker: We talk about this at our company.
Speaker: It's a high ticket purchase, a high ticket purchase, like a home or a car, a boat, any of those things, they're big purchases.
Speaker: And really solar is right up there with, I would say the third most expensive investment a homeowner will make in their lifetime.
Speaker: They'll invest in their home.
Speaker: They'll buy a car, maybe a
Speaker: vacation or they'll invest in retirement, but they'll invest in solar as well.
Speaker: And right up there in the $17,000 to $40,000 plus range, it costs about that much.
Speaker: So when it comes down to it, the reason homeowners
Speaker: are having such a hard time deciding is it hasn't been socially proven 100% yet.
Speaker: There's still the early adopter phase.
Speaker: These homeowners that do decide to invest, they're kind of the trendsetters.
Speaker: Not as much as 20 years ago, but they still are.
Speaker: And it hasn't become as widely known as in countries like Europe, right?
Speaker: So as people decide to go solar and they further get into it, it creates less and less opportunity for you as a professional to create a career out of this.
Speaker: As it gets more socially accepted, there's less opportunity.
Speaker: It's just like anything.
Speaker: If most people are doing it, the opportunity is even less.
Speaker: Think about those of you that did email marketing 20 years ago.
Speaker: You used to be able to get as 80 to 90% open rate on your emails.
Speaker: Now I just sent out a marketing piece maybe two days ago, one day ago, and I got a 22% open rate, and that was pretty good.
Speaker: That's almost unheard of, actually.
Speaker: 22%, 30% open rates.
Speaker: It's good if you could get that, let alone 90.
Speaker: You'll never get a 90% open rate.
Speaker: I don't care who you are.
Speaker: But more people caught on to it.
Speaker: More people decided that email marketing was an effective manner of doing about business.
Speaker: And it went down.
Speaker: The effectiveness went down.
Speaker: And I want to let you know that solar is going to follow that exact same
Speaker: timeline.
Speaker: It's going to go down in effectiveness.
Speaker: More people will realize it's a profession that's worth getting into and commissions will go down.
Speaker: More people and more people will get solar and that creates less opportunity.
Speaker: So now the earlier you could get in, the earlier you can learn the skills that we're going to give you on this podcast, the better and the faster you're going to create that wealth.
Speaker: So guys, that's why I'm so passionate about getting into the industry.
Speaker: And really, I want to talk about why your professionals, why your salespeople, why your marketing guys, not taking the opportunity as seriously as we've made it out today.
Speaker: And really, it comes down to a couple of main things.
Speaker: Number one is going to be sales.
Speaker: Most people, I would say 99% of people hate salespeople.
Speaker: If you think about a sales professional right now, what do you think of?
Speaker: What comes to mind?
Speaker: You probably think of the door-to-door guy, the door-to-door solar rep, the bug spray guy, the guy at the mall with the hand sanitizers and the lotions, right?
Speaker: You think of the guy cold calling.
Speaker: You think of Jordan Belfort and Wolf of Wall Street, whatever it is.
Speaker: You think of kind of what Hollywood has predicted as a sales professional.
Speaker: And I would say this belief on how sales is portrayed and how people behave in the sales world and in business, that's the biggest thing by far that's holding new solar professionals back from reaching that success, reaching that drive that made them decide to get in the industry, that excitement to save the planet and save people money.
Speaker: Sales is one thing you have to, must overcome if you want to make it in this industry.
Speaker: Luckily, that is the entire focus of our company is on sales.
Speaker: We don't focus on the technical aspects of solar.
Speaker: You're not going to persuade somebody to buy a $40,000 system because you know a million things about solar.
Speaker: Because when it comes down to it, at the end of the day,
Speaker: Homeowners do not care.
Speaker: They don't give a crap about all the tech.
Speaker: They don't care about every little finite detail.
Speaker: They care about you adding value to their lives and doing so in an ethical, persuasive, and moral manner.
Speaker: If you can do that, you're going to make it.
Speaker: You're going to make millions of dollars in this industry.
Speaker: That's the number one key of why people fail.
Speaker: You're not going to hard sell.
Speaker: You're not going to push your way into this.
Speaker: And as time goes on, as we're approaching 2019 here, it's October at the time of this recording of 2018, first week.
Speaker: As we're doing that, we're finding solar professionals are slowly on the way out.
Speaker: They're being replaced by robots and other technologies, AI technologies.
Speaker: And it's because they're not adapting to today's buying circumstances.
Speaker: Now, the way people buy, it's never changed.
Speaker: People always buy based on trust, credibility, and having a product or service that actually benefits them.
Speaker: But the path to that method of buying has changed.
Speaker: People don't go to the store every day anymore.
Speaker: People don't go to the mall even to shop for clothes.
Speaker: We have things like Amazon Prime Wardrobe.
Speaker: We have other clothing boxes, right?
Speaker: You technically do not need to leave your house ever.
Speaker: You want groceries brought to your doorstep?
Speaker: Great.
Speaker: You could do that.
Speaker: Everything is covered A to Z. So today's buyer has different expectations.
Speaker: They still expect a trustworthy, credible product, but they don't expect that they have to have a salesperson over to their house.
Speaker: They don't expect that they need to go to a department store.
Speaker: They know there's other alternatives.
Speaker: And as more industries are accepting these new alternative ways of purchasing and investing in things, solar is going to go right along with it.
Speaker: My biggest pet peeve right now with the industry is that we've thrown it into the home improvement category so much so where I would say two-thirds of solar companies think and believe that the only way to sell their product is over the kitchen table.
Speaker: Crossed from the kitchen table from a husband and wife or whoever it is.
Speaker: Nothing could be further from the truth.
Speaker: I've been selling solar over the phone, over podcasts, using webinars and different technologies for over a year now.
Speaker: I haven't been to a kitchen table appointment in a long, long time.
Speaker: And guess what?
Speaker: I'm also closing 80 to 90% of deals and appointments that I have that come across my desk.
Speaker: So what we're going to do is teach you how to do that.
Speaker: Whether you're starting out in the industry right now, you just picked up a solar job, you're struggling, you're knocking doors, we're going to show you how to get away from that model, how to develop a proven sales system.
Speaker: how to develop a proven marketing inbound system, how to get people calling you, not the other way around, how to build trust, how to build a brand and establish a massive amount of credibility as a professional.
Speaker: That's how you set yourself apart from the competition.
Speaker: So professionals, to sum up this first point, they're not taking sales seriously.
Speaker: You will not make it in this industry if you don't learn how to sell.
Speaker: And you can't just learn to sell the Wolf of Wall Street way.
Speaker: You have to learn to sell in 2018, soon to be 2019.
Speaker: You need to know how to be on social media to build a brand.
Speaker: You need to know how to sell on podcasts like this, how to sell with videos, webinars, all of these various services and things that we know are out there.
Speaker: You need to be a master of.
Speaker: And if you neglect any one of them, you're going to be left behind by your competition hands down.
Speaker: Learn to sell and you'll never be without work in this industry.
Speaker: I guarantee it.
Speaker: So what's the second thing that's setting solar professionals off on the wrong part?
Speaker: What's the second thing that is turning them off from the industry, discouraging them and having them look elsewhere and not being able to take advantage of this amazing opportunity?
Speaker: It comes down to their mindset.
Speaker: Too many people in today's world have an improper mindset when it comes to really most things, but particularly business.
Speaker: Or I would like to say around business, working on commission, working on results.
Speaker: Here's the deal.
Speaker: When you get involved with sales in the industry, which is where I want you to be if you can't tell.
Speaker: I want you to be in sales because that's where the opportunity is.
Speaker: That's where the money is.
Speaker: But it's only there if you get past the limiting beliefs you have in your head around working on performance and commission.
Speaker: Too many professionals are turned off and they think that, oh, I can never work on commission because I've got to feed my family or there's too much risk involved.
Speaker: I'm not a risk taker.
Speaker: I can't do that, James.
Speaker: That's crazy.
Speaker: Well, let me ask you this question.
Speaker: And this is the question I do ask them.
Speaker: Would you rather put your life in your own hands or someone else's?
Speaker: Would you rather have the security in knowing that you can decide if you make money or your employer decides if you make a paycheck?
Speaker: Think about that.
Speaker: People always tell me that sales is risky.
Speaker: I disagree.
Speaker: I say having a job is risky.
Speaker: I say having a job with an employer that I'm unhappy with, that I'm unhappy and unmotivated to go to work every day, that controls my paycheck, the hours I work, the time I have off, the time I could spend with my family, and what I get done.
Speaker: I think that's risky.
Speaker: I can't tell you how many people have realized after getting laid off from a job that
Speaker: We know the economy is great right now, but what's it going to be like in five, eight years?
Speaker: Would you rather be involved with an industry where you have control of your paycheck?
Speaker: Or would you rather just be told to kick bricks, right?
Speaker: Kick sand and get out of here.
Speaker: That's the difference.
Speaker: Working on commission has been one of the most important and crucial life choices and decisions I made as a 19-year-old a handful of years ago.
Speaker: It was one of the biggest risks I took, but it's also brought the most reward and set me on this path of entrepreneurship and helping people and impacting people.
Speaker: So if you're afraid right now of moving into the industry because it is a commission-based job, I want you to consider what you're doing right now and ask yourself if it's any less risk than working as a sales professional in this remarkable industry.
Speaker: I would say 99% of you are going to say, no, it's not less risk.
Speaker: In fact, it's the opposite.
Speaker: It's more risk.
Speaker: It's only risky to work on commission if you don't have the tools and knowledge and skills it takes.
Speaker: If you don't know how to sell and market, you don't know how to build a brand, of course it's going to be risky.
Speaker: It's the same thing if I went to play a football game.
Speaker: Say I went to go play in the NFL.
Speaker: Is it going to be risky that I'm going to lose the game if I have zero skills?
Speaker: I don't know how to play.
Speaker: I don't even know the rules of the game.
Speaker: Of course I'm going to lose.
Speaker: It's a super high risk.
Speaker: It's no different in business and sales.
Speaker: It's no different in driving.
Speaker: Is there a high risk that you're going to get in a car accident if you don't know how to drive or you've never been on the road before?
Speaker: Yeah, there's a high risk.
Speaker: But once you develop the skill, you practice it on a daily basis, you master it, the risk slowly diminishes.
Speaker: It never goes away, of course.
Speaker: There's risk in everything you do.
Speaker: But that risk gets so little that
Speaker: that you're able to go confidently driving, selling, playing football, whatever it is.
Speaker: Risk is a part of everything you do in this life, and sales is no different.
Speaker: The only reason you might be caught up on it and why so many people get caught up is because they think of the worst case scenario.
Speaker: They don't think of the worst case scenario.
Speaker: They think that
Speaker: if they're unable to make a couple bucks.
Speaker: If they're unable to make a sale, they won't get paid and they're afraid of the consequences of that.
Speaker: But I wanna remind you, a famous exercise, Tim Ferriss, Timothy Ferriss always talks about, really changed my life and outlook on everything, is what's the worst that can happen?
Speaker: Worst case scenario, say you don't make some sales for a few months and you have to sell a couple things.
Speaker: Maybe you have to get a cheaper car.
Speaker: Maybe you have to move out of your house.
Speaker: Maybe even you ended up homeless.
Speaker: What's the worst case scenario?
Speaker: Live on the street for a couple weeks?
Speaker: Live out of your car?
Speaker: Is it really that bad?
Speaker: Think about it.
Speaker: Are you going to die?
Speaker: But think about if you stayed in your comfort zone, if you didn't take that leap of faith and you stayed where you're at for the rest of your life and you became miserable, unhappy, or even worse, just okay with your life for the next 40, 50, 60 years.
Speaker: Which would you rather have?
Speaker: slightly uncomfortable for the next six to 12 months, even two, three, four, five years, or would you rather be just okay for the rest of your life?
Speaker: That's why I'm so passionate.
Speaker: You take the plunge, learn how to sell and market yourself, and jump into this industry with both feet.
Speaker: You're not going to regret it.
Speaker: Even if you totally bombed,
Speaker: you're still going to learn a lot of valuable skills.
Speaker: You're going to learn more about yourself in that time period that I bet you've learned in the last five years.
Speaker: I know I did.
Speaker: I know it'll do the same for you.
Speaker: So guys, the last thing I want to talk about, the last kind of limiting belief that is holding so many new professionals back so that they get caught up on the technical side.
Speaker: They forget the true reasons people buy.
Speaker: People don't buy based on the flashy specs of the solar panels you're selling.
Speaker: They don't base their purchases off of those type of things.
Speaker: They care more about trust and value than anything else.
Speaker: And there's three things that every single homeowner or property owner, if you're doing commercial, needs to have in place to feel comfortable making a decision.
Speaker: First is going to be they need to trust that the product works.
Speaker: They need to understand enough about solar to feel comfortable making a decision and moving forward.
Speaker: If they don't think solar will work, then they're not going to buy.
Speaker: Bottom line, who would?
Speaker: You need to have total trust in your product and service in order for your prospect, the person, the potential buyer, to have trust in it.
Speaker: So you as the professional right now, if you're hunting for a company or you started with a company or you're just actively looking, right?
Speaker: Make sure that you're confident and you believe in your product or service so much so that you would put it on your own home, that you would buy it yourself.
Speaker: Because if you can confidently say that you would buy this product above the competition, you've done your research, you've looked at the other companies and products, and you decided that this company had the best solar panels and best service around, that I purchased it.
Speaker: I put my name and my wallet on the line.
Speaker: That's the kind of conviction it takes to convince today's buyer.
Speaker: Gone are the days of selling ice to Eskimos.
Speaker: You need to actually believe this product provides a real, tangible, beneficial service to them or they will not trust you and you'll lose to your competition.
Speaker: Now you can, of course, you can use sales tactics and marketing tactics to persuade people unethically to buy things.
Speaker: But when it comes down to it, if I'm your competitor, me, James Swirsky, my guys, we're going to kick your butt every day of the week.
Speaker: Because my guys are convicted.
Speaker: They know what their product's worth and they don't put up with anything.
Speaker: So realize that.
Speaker: Realize that if you're not confident, maybe you're not.
Speaker: I haven't always been.
Speaker: When I started out in the industry, I did not believe my product was the best.
Speaker: And I went trying to sell it.
Speaker: And it didn't work.
Speaker: I was struggling and I almost left this industry and this opportunity because I didn't do my due diligence and find a quality product.
Speaker: And if you're afraid right now from leaving your current company,
Speaker: And you're afraid that you're going to lose a lot of things.
Speaker: Think about what I said just five minutes ago.
Speaker: What's the alternative?
Speaker: You slightly put up with your mediocre product for the next 10, 15, 20 years, and you produce mediocre results.
Speaker: where you take the risk right now, you get a little uncomfortable, you learn a new product and service, but you fully believe in it, and you could dominate and crush it in this growing industry for the rest of your life.
Speaker: The choice is yours, but find the product and service that you believe in.
Speaker: That's what's going to give you that conviction.
Speaker: So now the second thing that the homeowner, the business owner, whoever it is needs to have in place is they need to trust you, the sales professional, the marketing professional.
Speaker: If they don't trust you and that you're going to have their best interest in mind, that you actually care about helping them and their family or their business, they're not going to do business with you.
Speaker: Even if they liked your product and your company 100%, if they didn't like you or they got a bad feeling about you, they would go call for another quote and buy from another sales rep they did like and trust.
Speaker: It's not something you could skip out on.
Speaker: So what are things that break trust in a potential buyer that you do, that solar professionals do, sales professionals?
Speaker: One is they're unprepared.
Speaker: They don't have the proper knowledge.
Speaker: They're not experts.
Speaker: They're viewed as amateurs by their potential buyer.
Speaker: That's going to cause less trust in you versus a competitor.
Speaker: So make sure you're an expert.
Speaker: Make sure you're on top of your field and you know the industry.
Speaker: You know what's going on.
Speaker: You know what your competitors are doing and what your own product's doing.
Speaker: You know general things about the solar industry, what's to come, what the homeowner should expect, and you can help and comfort them.
Speaker: That's going to cause a tremendous amount of trust with your buyers.
Speaker: The next thing that's going to cause you to be untrustworthy is appearance.
Speaker: Things like appearance, right?
Speaker: If you look sloppy, I absolutely hate, and I get tons of flack on this.
Speaker: I hate the Vivint Solar bro type of look with the guy in the snapback hat and the shorts going door to door.
Speaker: I absolutely hate that look.
Speaker: I don't think it looks clean.
Speaker: I don't think it looks like a professional.
Speaker: I don't think it sets a proper image as an expert in the industry.
Speaker: True professionals know that things like dress, the way they speak, the way they present, they know these have a tremendous and profound impact on their buyer.
Speaker: They're always checking every detail.
Speaker: They're detail-oriented, and they pay attention to the most small, insignificant, seemingly insignificant things.
Speaker: But those are the guys that are making the multiple six and seven figure incomes.
Speaker: So if you want to take your sales to the next level and you want to crush the industry, pay attention to how you dress.
Speaker: Pay attention to how you speak, how you represent yourself.
Speaker: These things are absolutely critical.
Speaker: And most of your fellow colleagues and professionals are overlooking them.
Speaker: Do the things that most people are unwilling to do, and you'll have the things most people aren't able to have.
Speaker: And then third, guys, the last thing that your potential buyer is going to want to see and check is they want to trust your company.
Speaker: And you might say, hmm, well, how am I?
Speaker: You'd be amazed how many solar reps, how many marketers say they're unable to control what their company does.
Speaker: Well, here's the deal.
Speaker: Who's really in control?
Speaker: Did you have to choose that company?
Speaker: Did you have to choose with your company to work with them?
Speaker: The answer is no, you didn't.
Speaker: So if you're unhappy with how your company deals with things behind the scenes, if you're unhappy with how your company fulfills deals, how they do the financing, the customer service, then get out.
Speaker: Get out now.
Speaker: Don't wait.
Speaker: Find someone else who does know what they're doing, that you do trust, and you're never going to have a problem with your customer trusting your company again.
Speaker: So that means if your company right now has bad reviews and you have to hide those reviews from your potential buyers, or you're nervous when somebody says they want to look you up, that is a major red flag to get away from.
Speaker: I don't care how long you've been there, how many friends you have there, or if you've got a good salary going on, get out because you are damaging yourself and your reputation.
Speaker: You're damaging your opportunity to grow in this industry.
Speaker: Make sure this company is somebody you stand behind.
Speaker: My personal rule is
Speaker: for when I'm looking at a company to work with.
Speaker: And one of the companies I have, we help companies develop their sales.
Speaker: And we have a team of closers, of sales professionals that me and my team personally train.
Speaker: And we only sell, as a rule, we only sell the best of the best products.
Speaker: Meaning, if I can look up another company that's selling something similar to yours and it's better than yours,
Speaker: guess who I'm going to sell with?
Speaker: That's right.
Speaker: I'm going with the other person.
Speaker: Because I can't personally perform at my best if I'm not selling the best product available.
Speaker: Yes, there's a market for cheaper products.
Speaker: Super cheap solar has its own market, but it's a lot more challenging to deal with.
Speaker: It's a lot easier, despite contrary belief, it's a lot easier to sell based on value than price.
Speaker: If you sell on price, there's always, always going to be somebody that comes in with a lower price per watt, with a lower monthly bill, less installation fees.
Speaker: There's always going to be somebody doing that.
Speaker: But those guys are the ones who go out of business in five years and leave your homeowner stranded without a proper warranty.
Speaker: So make sure you find a company that you could fully stand behind and be fully convicted in
Speaker: If you're not, go find somebody who is.
Speaker: You'll be thanking me later for that message.
Speaker: So guys, to review, your homeowner, your potential buyer, your property owner needs to trust that the product, that solar is the best thing since sliced bread.
Speaker: He needs to trust that solar is
Speaker: It's going to save him money.
Speaker: It's going to save him time, energy.
Speaker: It's going to save the planet.
Speaker: If they don't believe that, you haven't done your job as a professional.
Speaker: Your potential buyer also needs to trust you.
Speaker: If you're coming off untrustworthy, you're looking a little sloppy.
Speaker: Maybe you need to get a haircut.
Speaker: Maybe you need to shave that beard.
Speaker: Do what you need to do to come off as an expert.
Speaker: Not just somebody who knows their way around or dressed the way that most of the guys are.
Speaker: Here's the deal.
Speaker: I never forgot this quote when one of my mentors said this.
Speaker: It's a common saying.
Speaker: I don't know who originally said it, but they said, dress the part that you want to play.
Speaker: Dress for the job you want to have, not the job you currently have.
Speaker: And if you want to be a CEO of a solar company or whatever it is, you want to be a wealthy investor one day, start dressing like that.
Speaker: Dress the part before you're there.
Speaker: I know a lot of multimillionaire solar company CEOs that dress in a t-shirt and jeans.
Speaker: But I also know a couple of multi, multi, multi tens of millions of dollars, even billionaires who dress a lot better than that.
Speaker: Dress how you want to portray yourself.
Speaker: If you want to be a professional, you got to dress it up.
Speaker: Next is make sure that you trust your company.
Speaker: If you don't trust your company is going to fulfill deals, you're not going to be able to convey that trust to your prospect, to your potential buyer.
Speaker: They need to trust your company.
Speaker: It's going to stand behind them, honor warranties, do what they say regardless.
Speaker: There's no excuses.
Speaker: Those are the companies that last.
Speaker: companies that build massive brands, the guys like Vivint, Tesla, all of the big boys know how to do this right.
Speaker: Pay attention to how they're acting and ask yourself if your company is on that track.
Speaker: And if they're not, find somebody who is.
Speaker: So guys,
Speaker: That is one of the main things is trust.
Speaker: That's one of the main things holding so many professionals back from dominating their sales career.
Speaker: Next is really the sales training as we talked about itself.
Speaker: Getting past sales, realizing that sales is important and you need to master this skill if you want to make it.
Speaker: You need to master sales.
Speaker: You need to master your mindset.
Speaker: If you have limiting beliefs that are holding you back and you believe that your company is not good, you believe that you're not a worthy salesperson, you don't have the skills that it takes to make it.
Speaker: These are all the common things you need to get by if you want to make it in this industry.
Speaker: And why do we want to make it in this industry?
Speaker: It's one of the biggest opportunities for wealth in the 21st century.
Speaker: We're just at the tip of the iceberg.
Speaker: 1.8 million installations is nothing.
Speaker: Every year, this number is increasing dramatically.
Speaker: In 2012, the number of homes that went solar doubled.
Speaker: 14, it doubled.
Speaker: 2016, it doubled again.
Speaker: And 2018, it's going to almost triple.
Speaker: As states like California are requiring a state mandate to go solar in 2020, things are changing rapidly.
Speaker: And if you want to get involved in the wealth creation opportunity of the 21st century, those are the things you have to overcome.
Speaker: The sales, the trust, the mindset.
Speaker: Those are the things you need.
Speaker: Now, as we go on with this podcast and this series, as we're wrapping up the episode here, I want you to realize we're going to expand out on everything.
Speaker: When it comes to sales, we're going to show you how do you create an inbound lead system?
Speaker: How do you use tools like ClickFunnels, like webinars?
Speaker: How do I stop knocking doors in the summer heat?
Speaker: How do I start working with realtors?
Speaker: How do I start working with realtors?
Speaker: How do I create endless amount of leads and I start getting prospects coming to me?
Speaker: And how do I build a brand, trust and credibility?
Speaker: And how do I close and sell?
Speaker: We're going to cover everything A to Z. Our company is the most in-depth sales and consulting company for this industry by far.
Speaker: There's nobody even slightly remotely close to what we're doing.
Speaker: I'm happy to serve and bring this information to you guys for free on this podcast.
Speaker: All that I ask is that you share it with somebody.
Speaker: Every time you come back and you listen to an episode, share it with a fellow colleague.
Speaker: Share it with somebody at your company.
Speaker: Share it with somebody who's been thinking about solar.
Speaker: That's my fee.
Speaker: We're not going to sell you anything.
Speaker: My fee is that you just bring along a friend, bring somebody who you think would benefit from this and leave a review on iTunes, Stitcher, all those places.
Speaker: Leave a review, bring a friend.
Speaker: We're going to give you the tools you need for sales, marketing, mindset, everything you need to crush this industry.
Speaker: So guys, that's it.
Speaker: That's the end of the episode.
Speaker: Again, my name is James Swiderski.
Speaker: I'm going to be your host of this podcast.
Speaker: We're going to bring along a lot of professionals in the industry, interviews.
Speaker: We're going to give everything from marketing, sales.
Speaker: We're going to have my business partner, Will Sands, on here.
Speaker: He's going to talk a ton about marketing.
Speaker: He's a marketing veteran.
Speaker: He absolutely slays it out there.
Speaker: And we're going to give you guys everything you need to go and crush it no matter where you're at.
Speaker: in this industry.
Speaker: So guys, until next time, I'll see you soon.
