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The Questions You Should be Asking in Your Solar Sales
85 Plays3 years ago
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Transcript
Introduction to the Solarpreneur Podcast
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to the Solarpreneur Podcast where we teach you to take your solar business to the next level.
00:00:08
Speaker
My name is Taylor Armstrong.
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Speaker
I went from $50 in my bank account and struggling for groceries to closing 150 deals in a year and cracking the code on why sales reps fell.
00:00:19
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I teach you to avoid the mistakes I made and bring in the top solar dogs of the industry to let you in on the secrets of generating more leads, falling up like a pro and closing more deals.
Defining a Solopreneur and the Path to Mastery
00:00:31
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What is a solopreneur, you might ask?
00:00:33
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A solopreneur is a new breed of solopro that is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve mastery, and you are about to become one.
00:00:43
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Hey, what's going on solopreneurs?
00:00:44
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We're here with another episode.
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My name's Taylor Armstrong.
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I'm your host, and as usual, we're here to help you close more deals, generate more leads and referrals, and have a much better time in the solar industry.
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I hope you're doing awesome.
The Marathon Analogy: Coaching and Recovery
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I actually just got done running a half marathon.
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Not like literally just barely, but as in two days ago.
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So I am sitting on a little chair here because my legs are killing me.
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Can barely walk around.
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So if I sound a little tired, that's why still trying to recover from my half marathon.
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But I definitely did better than I thought.
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It was an all downhill course.
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So I was able to finish a little under an hour and 40 minutes, which was super happy with.
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So shout out to my coach and trainer who helped me prepare for the race.
00:01:30
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Speaking of which, you should have a coach and a trainer in many different areas of your life.
00:01:34
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which is why we do the podcast.
00:01:36
Speaker
Hopefully I have played a part in your success in solar.
00:01:40
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I would be honored to be considered one of your mentors in solar.
00:01:44
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Not just me, but obviously all the guests we have on the show.
00:01:47
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So today we're going to be talking about speaking of mentors, something that I learned from a few of my
Networking for Growth
00:01:53
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mentors.
00:01:53
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Many of you know that I'm in the Noxstar program, talk about it all the time.
00:01:58
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And a lot of what I share in the podcast is
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is either inspired from what we talk about in Noxstar or something that I get through networking through that group.
00:02:09
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And that's why I think it's super important to network, be part of a group.
00:02:13
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And we're going to have some exciting things launching here soon over at Solarpreneur that actually have to do with that, making some changes, some updates.
00:02:21
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So can't say much right now, but tune in in the next couple of weeks.
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We're going to be launching and filling in on some exciting stuff happening.
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So stay tuned
Effective Questioning in Sales
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for that.
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But today we're going to be talking about the big keyword and that is questions.
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We've done a few episodes on it, but recently we've been just jamming on the types of different questions we can ask our prospects over in some of the groups I'm in and some of the trainings I've been a part of.
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So I want to share with you guys some questions that we can all ask our prospects in solar and really just ways we can make them more effective.
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And then also the different types of questions.
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And I knew this to a degree, but it's just been fascinating to learn the different types of questions, how we can utilize them, and how we can make them more powerful.
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So I'm going to go over three or four different types of questions.
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I'm going to give you some examples.
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And as always...
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you guys need to really just practice, drill, and rehearse these things.
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Do your PDRs, right?
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Practice, drill, rehearse.
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And that's how you're going to master your questions.
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That's how you're going to master the art of selling is if you not only come up with your own questions, but you practice them with others.
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And by doing that, you can also get a kind of brainstorm and mastermind, come up with even better questions that probably better than what I'll give even here today.
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So let's get into it.
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The first type of question is an open question.
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And what that is, that's a broad question.
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It can be answered.
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They require a thought on the part of the buyer.
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And they have to go into a little bit of detail.
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And what I think is so powerful about these types of questions is
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is if you can get the customer to open up, you're going to do two things.
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Number one, they're going to have to think in their head why it's beneficial.
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They're going to have to literally sell themselves on what you're talking about, right?
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And then number two, it can give you ammo, depending on what they say.
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You can write down really just what their hot buttons are, what they liked about it, maybe things that they're missing.
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So if you just asked them, hey, what are the biggest benefits that you see in going solar?
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That is an open question.
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right?
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And maybe they tell you, Taylor, I see that, I don't know, I guess we can save a little bit of money.
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And that's all they say.
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Well, guess what?
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You got to really build some value in that because if they think the only benefit of going solar is saving a buck or two, then they don't know all the benefits.
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Right.
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So there you can write down this is what they thought the benefits were.
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Now, you know, hey, I got to really build value in ownership.
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I've got to build value in going green.
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I've got to build value in saving the planet.
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I've got to build value all the different reasons why they should go solar, which you should have written down and know all the reasons why people should go solar.
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Right.
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Now you know what you need to sell them on.
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Now you know what you need to talk about.
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So that's an open question.
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Question that requires thought on their part.
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And some examples of that, besides the one I just gave you.
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How are you feeling about all this so far?
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There's an example.
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They have to open up.
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What do you like best about the idea of going solar?
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Similar to the first one.
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How would protecting yourself from inflation and gaining independence from the mercy of the utility company provide you with peace of mind?
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That's a good one.
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Good stuff right there.
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Okay, so make sure you write down their answers.
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Make sure you use it as ammo.
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And that is a great question.
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Those are great questions.
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Those are open questions.
Techniques for Guiding Prospects: Open, Closed, and Tie-Down Questions
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Okay, number two, we got closed questions.
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And closed questions is a narrow focus question usually answered with a single word or pick from limited multiple choice options, right?
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And so closed questions, really it's just a question that you know you want the answer.
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You're directing them down a path.
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An example of this I use in, as I'm setting appointments, I'm directing them down a path
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As you're qualifying them, you're doing a takeaway.
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Hey, so part of what we look for for the program in order to see if your home is qualified to even take part in the solar program is you do have to own the home.
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You guys own the home.
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There's a closed question.
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It's a yes or no answer, right?
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Great.
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And then you have to be getting a decent amount of sun.
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Do you feel like your home gets quite a bit of sun?
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There's another closed question.
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Awesome.
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And then you have to be a good looking guy.
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There's nothing or you have to be, you know, you can ask whatever other question.
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Lots of examples of these closed questions, but I use that as I'm trying to qualify the homeowner.
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Yes or no questions.
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As you get your yeses over and over, that's getting them used to saying yes.
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And it's getting you a better chance at getting inside the home or getting that appointment or whatever, wherever you're trying to direct them.
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So that's a closed question.
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And then another good one they gave as we're talking in some of our knockstart calls, someone said, so before we get all the forms filled out, do you have any other questions?
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There's another good one.
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At the end of your sales process, you ask them if they have any other questions before you go ahead and fill out the forms to see if their home qualifies.
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So they're as cool as questions.
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Okay, and now we're going to get into a little bit more specific type of closed question.
00:07:21
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00:07:23
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00:07:59
Speaker
The tie-down.
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Okay, if you don't know what tie-downs are, these are some of the most powerful questions you can be using in solar.
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And these are really how you get the homeowners to agree, their temperature checks, trial closes could be another word for it.
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You're really seeing where the homeowner's at, seeing if they agree with you, and you're getting them used to, like I said, saying yes.
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So a tie-down is, it's, let me give you some examples.
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It makes sense, doesn't it?
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It would be nice to be able to use more power without having to worry about the high electric prices, wouldn't it?
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It would be nice to be able to run your laundry during those higher priced hours.
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That's a specific example down here in San Diego.
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They've got the time of use where they're billed more during the hours of four to nine.
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So you could use this in a million different ways, but really it's just making a statement and adding on a question to get them to agree.
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So stuff like, aren't they?
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Aren't you?
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Can't you?
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Couldn't it?
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Would you agree?
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Doesn't it?
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Makes sense.
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Don't we?
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Shouldn't it?
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And if you start thinking like this, you'll start to realize that you do this in your everyday talking.
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That's how you can start to know that you're getting good at these questions is when you start using them just as you're talking to people in daily life.
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And you'll start to notice it too.
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People that say, does that make sense?
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You know what I'm saying?
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Pretty cool, right?
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Nod your head.
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Things like that.
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If you can start to do that in your everyday life, you'll notice that you can make it more natural in your sales process because what you don't want to happen is you force yourself to do this.
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And it sounds super salesy.
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If you do this too often, homeowners will start to pick up.
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People are smart.
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They'll start to realize that you're just trying to get them to agree with every little thing and they don't like this.
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It's going to be a turn off.
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So make sure you don't overuse these tie downs.
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But a great way to use them is just as you're going over the benefits.
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So any benefit you talk about in solar, it can be used as a tie down.
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So say you're talking about they're going to have ownership, they're going to have equity in their system.
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So just like you guys own your home and you're paying the mortgage, what's cool about this and what your neighbors have liked is now as they pay the bill, they're getting equity in the system up there, which sounds kind of nice, doesn't it?
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Yeah.
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stuff like that.
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So use it as you're explaining the benefits and that is a tie down.
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Okay and I don't want to make this too dry here.
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We're not going to go on and on in this.
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You can read more.
00:10:24
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You can get super in depth with these things but just remember the three types of questions.
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You got your open, your closed.
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A tie down is a example of a closed question.
Utilizing Alternate Choice and Tag-On Statements
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And then the last little question I want to go over here is your alternate of choice.
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Hey, and if you don't know what that is, that's just giving them two options.
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Some people call it an option close.
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So this has many different uses as well when you're setting up an appointment.
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Hey, Mr. Homeowner, so I'm going to be out here with your neighbor Brian across the street tomorrow.
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Do mornings or afternoons usually work better for you guys?
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Afternoons, great.
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Hey, so we have an appointment with your neighbor at 3.30.
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Would 4.30 or 6 o'clock work better for you guys?
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Great, so you're giving them an option.
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Hopefully you've all have used this.
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And then in your close, hey, so what we're doing, once we submit the forms, we're going to set up a site survey for your home, which is where they come check the roof.
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They come check your electric panel.
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They make sure your home is compatible with project and basically get final approval.
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So for that, would you guys prefer that they come in the morning or the afternoon?
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Awesome.
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Would you guys prefer to have your solar and assuming everything checks out and we can get this approved, would you guys have preferred to have your solar installed this month or next month?
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Next month?
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Okay.
00:11:33
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So right there, there is your alternate of choice questions.
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I use them all the time.
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Great way to temperature check.
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Great way to be assumptive at the end of your appointment setting, at the end of your closes.
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And if they're not, if they answer to those questions, they don't have any objections.
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They're pretty much ready to go.
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But if they hesitate, you're going to bring up different, you're probably going to get different objections at that time and know what you need to tackle.
00:11:59
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So those are some great questions you can start using.
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You got your open question.
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You got your closed questions.
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You got your alternate of choice questions.
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And then you've got your tie downs.
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Okay, so make sure you start using these.
00:12:11
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And then last little example I'll give, or last little thing we learned is called a tag on statement.
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And that is basically is they repeat back a benefit.
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Let's say you talk about the benefit, how they're going to have ownership in the system.
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They say to themselves, oh, yeah,
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it would be cool to have some more equity in the home.
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Your tag on will be like, yeah, that'd be great, right?
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So you're tagging on to a statement that they say, and then it's basically adding a little tie down, but they say the statement first.
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So they say a statement, you add the tag on, which is just like a mini tag on at the end of their statement.
00:12:45
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So I hope you learned some new ways to use questions in your cells.
00:12:50
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Send this today to someone that could use better questions.
00:12:53
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Remember, these are just examples.
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To really master these, you need to brainstorm your own.
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You need to make them your own.
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Come up with your own questions.
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And then really just drill, practice, rehearse.
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Remember, it's the most important thing.
00:13:04
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And obviously I'm still getting used to all these.
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I'm still drilling, practicing and rehearsing myself.
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So you need to do the same like I'm doing.
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That's how you're going to gain a mastery over these and ask better questions.
00:13:15
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Hope that helps.
00:13:16
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Can't wait for you guys to hear the upcoming guests and content we have coming up.
00:13:20
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So keep tuning in and we'll see you guys on the next episode.
Top 10 Episodes Cheat Sheet for New Listeners
00:13:24
Speaker
What's up, solarpreneurs?
00:13:25
Speaker
Hope you enjoyed the episode.
00:13:27
Speaker
Before you run out and start selling more solar yourself, wanted to let you know about an exciting new cheat sheet we created specifically for you in mind.
00:13:38
Speaker
One of the top questions I get asked on Instagram, on Facebook, by our listeners is, Taylor, where should I start?
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Speaker
What episodes should I listen to in the podcast?
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You got too many podcasts, man, because now we have over 200 episodes.
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So what we've done, we created the top 10 most downloaded, most listened to, and I would say widely accepted, most useful podcasts that we've done here on Solarpreneur.
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It's going to be at top10.solarpreneurs.com.
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Again, that's top10, the number 10,.solarpreneurs.com.
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Don't forget the S on solarpreneurs.
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We will have that in the show notes.
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Go download it right now.
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And especially if you have not listened to them, go listen to them and you can re-listen to them.
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So go download it and we'll see you on the other side.