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Selling Solar For Over $5.00 Per Watt (Premium Solar Sales Tips)
58 Plays6 years ago
What's up Solarpreneurs it's James Swiderski and today I have a couple of fire tips for you to use to start charging what your competitors could only dream of doing. In this episode you'll learn how to understand and choose your ideal buyer, filter out price shoppers, increase the value of your company to your prospect, and start making the money you deserve.
Enjoyed the episode, go leave us a review on Itunes and share this with a friend (or foe you want to get really good at sales)
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Transcript
Introduction to Premium Solar Selling Strategies
00:00:01
Speaker
On this episode of the Solarpreneur Podcast, I'm going to show you how I was able to sell solar for over $5.20 a watt for over a year and a half, starting out my career and some of the strategies you can use to sell premium-priced solar products when your competitors are low-balling you, coming right up.
00:00:19
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Look, in the solar business, there's really only two types of people.
00:00:23
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There's the ones that crush it, make six, seven, and eight figures, and then there's everyone else.
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The question is, which one will you be?
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Over the last four years, we've studied the sharpest solar sales and marketing pros and how they build multi-million dollar incomes using only the best solar sales and marketing strategies.
00:00:43
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So how do these solarpreneurs do what they do and what makes them so successful?
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This podcast is your
The Role of the Podcast in Solar Sales Knowledge
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answer.
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Join us and thousands of sales pros, marketers, and entrepreneurs as we take the solar industry by storm and uncover what it takes to sell more solar with less effort.
00:01:03
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Welcome to the Solarpreneur Podcast.
00:01:10
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What's up, Solarpreneurs?
00:01:31
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The reason being is we're committed to making this the number one sales and marketing place, the number one sales and marketing hub for solar professionals where you can learn from true experts in the field, people who have run and grown eight-figure solar companies and businesses, and many of the awesome interviews that our man Taylor has helped us out with on the podcast as
Implementing Tactical Sales Strategies
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well.
00:01:52
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We're dedicated to making this happen, but I want to change the tone of these podcasts.
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I want to make sure I'm speaking more on these.
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giving you guys some more tactical, tangible strategies that you can actually start applying and seeing results right now in your sales pipeline.
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So when I'm on the mic, you can expect some serious tactics, some serious implementation and stuff that's going to help you grow.
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And I want to be on there every single day here.
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So looking forward to really putting these out
Competing in High-Price Markets
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for you guys.
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And let's go ahead and dive into today's topic, which is how to sell solar for expensive, right?
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And if you guys haven't heard my story in the background, right, I grew up selling in Salt Lake City, Utah for a super high-end startup solar company.
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We were about $5.22 a watt.
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It was a fixed price.
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I couldn't adjust the price as a sales rep, and I was literally forced to sell for this amount.
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Now, if you've sold solar in Utah, you know the going rate for solar is in the neighborhood of $4.10 a watt.
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So I was considerably more expensive than the competition.
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Being the newbie that I was at the time,
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I didn't know any better.
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I didn't know I could do anything else.
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And I just thought that's the way it is.
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And that's part of the reason why my sales training is the way it is as well, where it's 100% focused on value, where we're always selling premium products.
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We're never shopping on price, none of that stuff.
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It's always high-end stuff.
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So that's what made my sales training so far.
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And I'm glad that this experience happened to me because I wouldn't be where I'm at today.
00:03:23
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So today I want to give you some real tactical stuff here on how you could sell more, more premium prices for your solar.
Selling Value Over Price
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And you could stop playing the price game and the battle to the bottom where everybody is just price cutting each other and it's a bloodbath.
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And I'm going to show you how to stop that and why stopping that.
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Increasing your price is going to actually increase your sales at the same time.
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So the first thing I want to talk about here is the only reason selling solar for more money than your competitors seems uncomfortable.
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Maybe what I'm talking about, $5.20, seems really uncomfortable to you right now.
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The only reason it would be uncomfortable is either A, your belief, right, on why solar exists, which is...
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You probably believe solar is there to save money, which as we know from the last couple of the episodes, solar is not for money.
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It's to save the planet.
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Saving people money is a byproduct of that.
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So if you have that first and foremost and you remember why solar is there, that's going to be the first thing.
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But number two is the reason you're uncomfortable with this is you're providing the same level of service and value as your competitors.
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Meaning if I show up at a homeowner's house, they've got three bids on the table, very common, especially in Utah.
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It was five, six, seven, 10 plus bids a lot of the time.
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They have these bids and we're all providing the same kind of products, the same service, right?
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And the prices are different.
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This is going to be confusing to the homeowner.
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And if you're providing the same level as every other solar company and you don't think you're any different, right, and truly thinking you're different, I'm not talking about the just same bullshit stuff that a lot of companies say where, oh, we're the most premium solar company around, right, but there's five other people just like them.
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You've got to find out what's going to take your level of service to the next level.
Enhancing Sales Through Professionalism
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A great example of this is go walk into any luxury or high-end car dealership, say Rolls-Royce, for example.
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Do you think the Rolls-Royce salesman, right?
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Do you think he's going to be sloppy with his pitch?
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Do you think he's going to be pushing for the sale?
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Do you think he's going to be unprofessional?
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Do you think he's going to be wearing a t-shirt and jeans?
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No, no way.
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Right.
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Shirt and tie shirt and tie suit.
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Maybe super professional sales pitches on point.
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Right.
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And he's going to be on the ball because that's part of the experience.
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The reason people buy these types of products, luxury high end products, isn't just for the utilitarian factor.
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Right.
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You don't go buy a Rolls Royce just because you need a car to go to work.
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You buy it for the experience, for the prestige, for the status.
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So by selling solar in this way, you allow yourself to automatically differentiate yourself from the competition.
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Rolls-Royce isn't competing with Toyota or Hyundai.
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Hyundai is trying to create reliable vehicles, right, for the masses, for everybody.
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Rolls-Royce is for the top 1% of people.
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Totally different market and totally different marketing.
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They know who they're looking for.
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So to go back to solar on this, a part of this is knowing who your buyer is, understanding your specific buyer for your company.
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If your company is selling cheap solar right now, you can't sell solar for $5.20 a watt.
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If you're giving a shitty presentation, you can't sell solar for $5.20 a watt.
00:06:51
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The way that you can build value, there's a few ways, right?
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A few of those are, right, the product, quality product, quality install, quality customer service.
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These are all things that are more or less out of your control.
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Yes, you could go choose a different company to work with, but the company you're at, right, they have sort of a set, right?
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quality there with the product.
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That's why it's so important you have a quality company to go with.
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But what you can control is the experience the homeowner has with you because you are the direct reflection of the value your prospect is going to receive from your company and your product.
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I'll say that again.
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Your buyer is going to perceive value or lack of on how you treat them.
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So if you treat their time with a lack of respect, if you spend hours in the home, if you have a sloppy presentation where you're stumbling on your words, if you're showing up sloppily dressed, how do you think the client views this?
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They may not consciously view it, but on a subconscious level, they recognize that your quality of product and service is probably lower or it's average.
00:08:04
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So if you want to instantly raise up your status, as we talked about on the last episode, then do things like dress sharper, get your presentation on point, focus on your sales skills, your communication skills.
00:08:17
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These things are going to instantly raise your value.
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The second part of this, though, is you've got to understand perceived value.
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Your company may not have a different product than XY competitor over here, but if you are a higher status, as we talked about, if you're doing those things like dressing sharper, you're being more efficient, more respectful with the homeowner's time, they're going to perceive your company's value higher because you, again, are a reflection of that same value that the company has, and that's how the homeowner is going to view it.
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Think about any salesman you've ever encountered.
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How that salesman makes you feel is how that company makes you feel.
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That's how you're going to view that company in particular.
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This is why companies like Tesla are getting rid of salespeople because if we could get rid of the salespeople, then just our marketing message and our product is going to make people feel a certain way.
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Solar's not there yet.
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I'm one of the guys trying to make that happen.
00:09:13
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But right now, while we need salespeople to develop that connection, you need to focus on bringing quality experiences to your homeowners.
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The second piece of this, guys, is understand the buyer type.
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Subtle people who care about status, prestige, quality, luxury.
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These are people who are decisive.
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They make decisions quickly.
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I've chosen my own solar company and solar companies and my clients that I work with.
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I want to work with people who are this type of buyer.
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The reason is simple.
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By far, by and large, right, 90% of the time, people who care about the status, the high-quality products are very decisive people.
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They don't have to think about it.
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They don't have to price shop and get quotes.
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They're easy to work with.
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They're great clients.
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They get fantastic referrals, and you get to make more money because you can increase your worth and value that you're giving the homeowner and sell at a higher price.
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This is the type of person I like to work with.
00:10:13
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Maybe you decide you want to work with low-end products and sell solar for as cheap as possible and accelerate the adoption of helping the world go green.
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That's cool too.
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There's no right or wrong answer here.
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But with the tone of this episode, selling to these people that care about what the neighbors think about them, what the panels look like, the quality of the panels, are they the best panels available?
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they're going to make decisions quicker.
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And I like to work with people who make decisions quicker because that's like me and they're easy to sell to.
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So by knowing that, you're going to be able to actually filter out other people that would otherwise waste your time.
00:10:51
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A big mistake that a lot of you guys are making and I've made myself is you try to sell solar to anybody that will buy it, to anybody that will listen.
00:11:00
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This is a rookie marketing mistake here.
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If you end up trying to sell to everybody, making a product that everybody will love,
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you'll end up selling to no one.
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If you end up trying to please everybody, make everybody happy, you'll end up making no one happy.
00:11:17
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By trying to sell to high-end buyers, you are only going to say no to the price shoppers on the block.
00:11:25
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And those high-end buyers are going to decide to go with you because you have marketed yourself that way by providing exceptional experiences with the presentation, with follow-up, with your tone of voice on the call, with how you're dressed.
00:11:38
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These are things that are going to make the buyer feel a certain way with you compared to a competitor.
Handling Price Objections
00:11:43
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So how I applied with these in Utah is when I end up having a ton of quotes, they've had five quotes.
00:11:50
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I go in there, high status, control the situation, give them a brief 12 to 15 minute presentation, sign papers and get the thing done.
00:11:59
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I know more about the competition than they know about themselves.
00:12:02
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These are things that cause the prospect to have a lot more trust and respect with me.
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And then know they understand on a deep level why I cost more than them.
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And when they ask me, James, why do you cost like $4,000 more than this guy?
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I flip it back on them.
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This is classic closing stuff.
00:12:22
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If you haven't picked up the closest e-book, send me a message on Facebook or on social media.
00:12:26
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I'll hook you up with it.
Episode Wrap-Up
00:12:28
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But this is one of the closest out of my e-book I've been using for years here is when somebody asks me why I cost more of the competition, I flip the question back on them.
00:12:36
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Well, I don't know.
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Why do you think people are paying me more than these guys?
00:12:41
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And then you have them list out the reasons.
00:12:44
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And then they continue to stack and value in your favor.
00:12:47
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And now they're selling you, right?
00:12:50
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You've flipped the script here.
00:12:52
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So guys, those are my tips here on presentations and how to sell for more expensive than your competition.
00:12:59
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If you guys like this episode, give it a like, give it a thumbs up, subscribe, leave five-star review, share it with somebody at your team, and I'll see you guys tomorrow for the next episode.
00:13:08
Speaker
Actually,
00:13:10
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Joseph will.
00:13:10
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I believe Joseph's making the episode tomorrow.
00:13:12
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He's got some cool stuff as well.
00:13:14
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So I'll see you guys the following day.
00:13:16
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Keep crushing it and we'll talk to you soon.
00:13:19
Speaker
Wow, what another amazing episode of the Solarpreneur podcast.
00:13:24
Speaker
Now, before we take off here, do us a favor and go leave an honest review on your platform of choice or wherever you're listening to this podcast.
00:13:32
Speaker
It helps us get the word out about the Solarpreneur movement and impact more entrepreneurs, sales professionals, and marketers just like you.
00:13:41
Speaker
And hey, don't forget to head over to Facebook and join the Solarpreneur group for more daily content that's going to impact you and help you take
00:13:49
Speaker
your sales game to the next level.
00:13:51
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See you guys in the next episode.