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How To Master Marketing And Sales For Solar - Chris Lee
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The SOLARPRENEUR podcast is here to help you close more deals in the solar industry, generate more leads and referrals, and hopefully, have a much better time and situation.
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Transcript
Introduction to 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, and 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
Speaker
I teach you how 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.
00:00:31
Speaker
What is a solarpreneur you might ask?
00:00:33
Speaker
A solarpreneur is a new breed of solar pro that is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve mastery and you are about to become one.
Introducing Chris Lee: Journey and Achievements
00:00:42
Speaker
What's going on?
00:00:42
Speaker
We are here with the one, the only QB a life, not for not one, but this is the second time actually coming on the podcast.
00:00:50
Speaker
So we'll introduce them here a little bit more in a second.
00:00:53
Speaker
But thanks for joining us two times now, Chris.
00:00:56
Speaker
Excited to be here.
00:00:57
Speaker
Thanks for having me.
00:00:58
Speaker
Yeah, it's been it's been fun.
00:00:59
Speaker
We're actually here at a door to door con.
00:01:02
Speaker
But Chris, he was actually, I think, one of the first guests that we ever had on the podcast.
00:01:07
Speaker
I believe so.
00:01:07
Speaker
It was a handful of years ago.
00:01:09
Speaker
Yeah, probably three, at least three years ago now, I think.
00:01:13
Speaker
So a lot has gone on and we're excited to catch up with Chris, hear what he's up to, jam with him for a little bit.
00:01:20
Speaker
But he's known as the QB of life.
00:01:24
Speaker
And you just recently sold your solar company, Solgen.
00:01:29
Speaker
Is that right, Chris?
00:01:29
Speaker
That's right.
00:01:30
Speaker
Okay.
00:01:31
Speaker
So he's still pretty involved in solar, but he's got his own podcast doing some cool things with
Building and Selling Solgen: A Success Story
00:01:36
Speaker
that.
00:01:36
Speaker
So we're going to talk a little bit about that, talk a little bit about branding, and of course, some sales skills, as always.
00:01:43
Speaker
So, yeah, Chris, you want to just, I don't know, maybe catch us up, Reader's Digest version, what you've been up to since, I don't know, three years ago, since we last time.
00:01:52
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, so we launched my solar company out of my garage.
00:01:56
Speaker
I can't remember when I was on here last if we were still operating out of the garage.
00:01:59
Speaker
We operated there for two and a half years out of the garage.
00:02:03
Speaker
And we started business end of 2017.
00:02:05
Speaker
So it was like beginning of what year was that?
00:02:07
Speaker
Beginning of 2019, we moved out of the garage.
00:02:13
Speaker
Ended up selling a good portion of our business to private equity in 2022.
00:02:20
Speaker
So it was May 2022.
00:02:22
Speaker
So approaching two years now.
00:02:23
Speaker
And then continued on.
00:02:25
Speaker
I was the CEO of that business until April of this last year.
00:02:29
Speaker
In January of this last year, we acquired a company for nine figures.
00:02:33
Speaker
So we had a nine-figure exit in 22.
00:02:35
Speaker
Then we acquired a company...
00:02:37
Speaker
It was actually a company that I had an equity piece in that I had helped consult or whatnot.
00:02:43
Speaker
And then we took their management team.
00:02:47
Speaker
They got put in place.
00:02:49
Speaker
I stepped down as the CEO in April
Life After Solgen: New Ventures and Insights
00:02:53
Speaker
of 2023.
00:02:53
Speaker
And so since then, I've launched and done a bunch of other things.
00:02:57
Speaker
So I launched my podcast, the Founder Podcast.
00:03:00
Speaker
Had some really cool guests on there.
00:03:02
Speaker
The Armosis, Grant Cardone, several other billionaires.
00:03:07
Speaker
Just had a CEO of a multi-billion dollar organization out of Canada, all kinds of publicly traded company.
00:03:16
Speaker
And so that was fun.
00:03:17
Speaker
That was unique.
00:03:18
Speaker
That's awesome.
00:03:19
Speaker
Yeah, man, it's been a ride and now we're doing, you know, back, so I run the podcast and then the back end, I consult and coach and really share.
00:03:30
Speaker
You know, I tried the whole retirement thing for about six weeks.
00:03:33
Speaker
Yeah.
00:03:34
Speaker
And it's not all it's actually one of the most depressing moments of my life.
00:03:40
Speaker
And so I decided that I need to be actively creating.
00:03:44
Speaker
And the thing I'm most passionate about is educating and sharing with people, you know, my view on life.
00:03:50
Speaker
Yeah.
00:03:50
Speaker
Love it.
00:03:51
Speaker
Yeah.
00:03:52
Speaker
And I was joking with Chris saying, man, some of these guys, he sat on his podcast that he got like right off the bat.
00:03:57
Speaker
I mean, I've been doing this like four years consistently, and I can't even get those types of people yet.
00:04:02
Speaker
So, but yeah, I know you got a crazy good network and you've actually done some podcast episodes on how you've been able to build your network and that have been really good.
00:04:11
Speaker
So definitely go check out his podcast.
00:04:13
Speaker
We'll put it in the show notes for guys wanting to check it out, hear from some of the top guys he's getting on.
00:04:19
Speaker
His show.
00:04:20
Speaker
But yeah, I want to hear a little bit.
00:04:21
Speaker
You said it was tough, like being retired and all that.
00:04:23
Speaker
And I think you had told that story in your podcast.
00:04:26
Speaker
But what were your feelings?
00:04:27
Speaker
Like you built this company up.
00:04:28
Speaker
You guys had a ton of success in Washington.
00:04:31
Speaker
Got it.
00:04:32
Speaker
Yeah, sold it.
Personal Reflections and Life Changes
00:04:34
Speaker
What was it like?
00:04:34
Speaker
What were some of your feelings?
00:04:35
Speaker
And why was that so difficult for you to...
00:04:37
Speaker
Yeah, you know, it's interesting.
00:04:38
Speaker
I've always believed this, but it's not until like you actually go through it, then you're like, oh yeah, that is true.
00:04:44
Speaker
Is the fact that like as entrepreneurs, as salespeople, as anyone, like we find the most fulfillment in actively creating something, right?
00:04:53
Speaker
And being engaged and doing hard things, like that is where life fulfillment happens, right?
00:04:59
Speaker
Every once in a while, we wanna go on a vacation, we wanna take some time off, like that's cool.
00:05:03
Speaker
You need that, you need to recharge.
00:05:05
Speaker
But when it goes from like, this is my life's purpose from an economic standpoint of building this to I no longer have a life's purpose economically.
00:05:15
Speaker
It becomes very saddening.
00:05:17
Speaker
And like that for me, like I said, it was a point of depression.
00:05:20
Speaker
Like my baby essentially had grown up and I had married her off.
00:05:25
Speaker
You know, she's no longer there.
00:05:27
Speaker
And so...
00:05:28
Speaker
And that was tough.
00:05:30
Speaker
And I needed to have purpose.
00:05:33
Speaker
I needed to have the ability to create again.
00:05:35
Speaker
And so after a few weeks of doing that, I started thinking through what I wanted to do, what my life's work is, what my mission is.
00:05:46
Speaker
And so just recreating new purpose.
00:05:49
Speaker
And, you know, of course, one of the reasons I stepped away was I wanted to spend more time with my wife, my kids and whatnot.
00:05:54
Speaker
And so I've been very on purpose, like now making sure my life is designed with them first and foremost.
00:06:00
Speaker
Yeah.
00:06:01
Speaker
January has been a little crazy.
00:06:03
Speaker
I'm now in my fifth different city in 25 days.
00:06:07
Speaker
And I've been home, I think, a total of six days in January.
00:06:10
Speaker
But very much on purpose because I'm just kind of running a thing.
00:06:13
Speaker
But now I'm going to go home, spend some good quality time with my family, go and spend a couple of weeks in India and Dubai with my wife.
00:06:21
Speaker
Wow.
00:06:22
Speaker
Yeah.
00:06:22
Speaker
So what I'm creating now is very much by design.
00:06:25
Speaker
Yeah.
00:06:26
Speaker
That's cool.
00:06:27
Speaker
Oh, yeah.
00:06:27
Speaker
And it caught me off guard.
00:06:28
Speaker
I didn't know that.
00:06:30
Speaker
Like, I didn't think you guys would be selling the company because, you know, I always saw your Soul Gem Power, Soul Gem Power.
00:06:35
Speaker
And I thought it was going to be kind of Soul Gem Power for life and building it.
00:06:38
Speaker
So was this something that you guys had been thinking about or was it a goal for you guys?
00:06:43
Speaker
We always had a plan to sell
Family Focus and Proactive Life Design
00:06:45
Speaker
the business.
00:06:45
Speaker
Stepping away from the business wasn't in the cards.
00:06:48
Speaker
Um, like I, I sold off and then rolled forward some equity, planning on being the CEO, taking the thing public.
00:06:55
Speaker
Yeah.
00:06:55
Speaker
Uh, March of last year, uh, I was coming home from a wrestling tournament with two of my sons, um, that they'd been wrestling in my then, uh, 14 year old and my son who's now 10.
00:07:07
Speaker
So my 15 and 10 year old, uh, they were in, uh, they were in the car and we had a drunk driver, uh, hit us head on.
00:07:15
Speaker
He was coming at us 120 miles an hour.
00:07:16
Speaker
Yeah.
00:07:17
Speaker
put things into like a tailspin of like reflection of like, what am I doing with my life?
00:07:23
Speaker
Is this really what I want?
00:07:25
Speaker
And, you know, meanwhile, there's like some things going on with like a board of directors that I had like just some misalignment with.
00:07:33
Speaker
And I'm just like, you know, I want to spend more time with my kids.
00:07:36
Speaker
And once again, before this car wreck, like it wasn't even on the radar.
00:07:40
Speaker
And then like immediately after that, I really started contemplating on it.
00:07:43
Speaker
And it was a few weeks later that I stepped down.
00:07:45
Speaker
Yeah, I remember seeing the photos.
00:07:46
Speaker
Car just absolutely destroyed.
00:07:48
Speaker
Yeah.
00:07:49
Speaker
And, yeah, I imagine that would be something that, like, really makes you think.
00:07:52
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it was a miracle that we walked
Building a Personal Brand in Sales
00:07:56
Speaker
away, right?
00:07:56
Speaker
Like, my son in the back is where the car got veered off and the back part got destroyed.
00:08:02
Speaker
He wasn't wearing a seatbelt and walked away with, like, a fat lip.
00:08:05
Speaker
And, like, just total blessing and, you know, just a reminder that I have a different purpose in life or I have a reason to keep living.
00:08:15
Speaker
preserved me.
00:08:16
Speaker
Yeah, and I know you've probably told the story many times, but have you talked to the people who hate you and stuff?
00:08:21
Speaker
Nope, never had a conversation with them.
00:08:23
Speaker
They were, you know, 320, mid-20s guys.
00:08:26
Speaker
They were completely plastered, not wearing seatbelts.
00:08:28
Speaker
They actually walked away after rolling like four times.
00:08:31
Speaker
Their car was even more destroyed than mine, and...
00:08:35
Speaker
But yeah, I never had the chance to talk with them.
00:08:38
Speaker
I got some court documents, the state press charges against them, felony charges.
00:08:43
Speaker
But outside of that, yeah, no conversation with them.
00:08:46
Speaker
Wow.
00:08:47
Speaker
Yeah, crazy, crazy.
00:08:48
Speaker
Well, yeah, so, and it's cool.
00:08:50
Speaker
And so once you did sell the company, was it like immediately you wanted, I knew you took six weeks or whatever, but when you were on that little six-week mini retirement journey,
00:09:00
Speaker
Were you thinking, okay, I'm going to start this podcast up after I'm going to start doing the consulting or was that something just after six weeks you're like, okay, this is what I want to do.
00:09:08
Speaker
Um, yeah, I mean, definitely there's six weeks of like self-reflection of what I wanted to do.
00:09:14
Speaker
And, um, for me, a podcast is always been a great Avenue to be able to share the message with the world.
00:09:20
Speaker
And, and I knew if I was going to do it, I was going to do it big.
00:09:23
Speaker
And so I immediately invested a lot of money into equipment and marketing and everything else and getting the best people on the show.
00:09:28
Speaker
Yeah.
00:09:29
Speaker
Paid $0 for any of my guests, but I invested a lot of relationships over time to be able to get those kind of guys out on there.
00:09:36
Speaker
You know, Grant Cardone was one of the first people I reached out to.
00:09:39
Speaker
He immediately agreed to it.
00:09:40
Speaker
Same with Alex.
00:09:43
Speaker
You know, my buddy that started and sold his business tap out for $120 million.
00:09:49
Speaker
Oh, yeah.
00:09:50
Speaker
Yeah, that's cool.
00:09:51
Speaker
Yeah, he was one of my initial contacts.
00:09:54
Speaker
And then I've just kind of networked through it and been able to track some really cool people on.
00:09:58
Speaker
That's so cool.
00:09:59
Speaker
But yeah, and so as you know, Chris, this podcast is mainly geared towards a lot of probably majority sales reps listen to this podcast, but I think we get company owners for solar, all that, hopefully more than that, but that's kind of the target audience, right?
00:10:14
Speaker
So for you, it's been a while since you've been a sales rep, but I know you did that for a long, how many years were you sown?
00:10:22
Speaker
You know, I sold pest control for one summer.
00:10:25
Speaker
I was in the home security space for eight years.
00:10:27
Speaker
A couple of those years were owning a business.
00:10:29
Speaker
Okay.
00:10:30
Speaker
Not knocking doors.
00:10:31
Speaker
And then I was in the solar space, knocking a couple years in the solar space and then in management.
00:10:39
Speaker
Yeah.
00:10:39
Speaker
You know, my whole career has been around the sales space, whether that's door to door or virtual sales or whatnot, which is this this fall will be 19 years.
00:10:50
Speaker
Wow.
00:10:51
Speaker
So.
00:10:51
Speaker
So, yeah, that's forever, forever.
00:10:54
Speaker
So, yeah, like you've been building this personal brand a long time and maybe some of the sales are up listening to this.
00:11:01
Speaker
OK, this guy just sold a massive company, nine figure exit and all that.
00:11:07
Speaker
But you just spoke on the marketing panel today.
00:11:10
Speaker
So when you were actively selling and all that, did you have a personal brand built up or like what are some of these things?
00:11:16
Speaker
I think it's important no matter where you're at in your career that you build a personal brand.
00:11:20
Speaker
Now,
00:11:20
Speaker
not necessarily investment of money.
00:11:23
Speaker
Like money can come later.
00:11:25
Speaker
Initially, it's an investment of time and consistent effort, right?
00:11:28
Speaker
Like building a personal brand is all about consistency.
00:11:31
Speaker
Being the same guy or gal, like owning who you are, getting the message out to the world.
00:11:37
Speaker
I've been doing live videos since whenever Facebook started doing it, like 2013, 2014, sharing my message.
00:11:45
Speaker
I never really started pumping money behind my personal brand until the last year and a half.
00:11:50
Speaker
Before that, it was all just pure organic.
00:11:52
Speaker
And I never did it like in a cheap way, like from a, like I wasn't like doing giveaways or different things to build my brand.
00:12:00
Speaker
It was always just like naturally attracting people that agreed with my message.
00:12:03
Speaker
And so as a salesperson or whatnot, like I think it's very important that you are cognizant that you have to build a brand, whether you work for somebody else or you're building your own business, you are, your name, your face is a brand, right?
00:12:16
Speaker
And so
Recruitment and Company Culture
00:12:17
Speaker
for me, like I've always taken a lot of pride in marketing
00:12:20
Speaker
being someone of integrity and being somebody that's authentic.
00:12:24
Speaker
And so like, that is my brand that I've created.
00:12:29
Speaker
That's what I created in the door to door space or whatnot.
00:12:31
Speaker
Like always one that was always black and white, never shady in my, my sales, right?
00:12:37
Speaker
Like that's part of building a brand.
00:12:39
Speaker
Uh, especially if you're just building it as a sales career.
00:12:43
Speaker
Um, and then realizing that, uh,
00:12:46
Speaker
You know, the internet is out there and whatever is posted on there will be there forever.
00:12:50
Speaker
And so, you know, your brand, whether you're selling solar or any other product, needs to be in alignment with what you're representing at the door.
00:12:59
Speaker
Right.
00:12:59
Speaker
And so making sure you have a good bio, good like…
00:13:04
Speaker
And it doesn't all have to be like solar, solar, solar, solar.
00:13:07
Speaker
That should be a part of it.
00:13:08
Speaker
But like your brand is your life, right?
00:13:10
Speaker
Sharing what you're doing with the family.
00:13:12
Speaker
Like if your brand, they go on and they see you partying and at bars and like doing just crazy things or whatnot, there's a good chance that you're going to damage your brand with your end consumer, whether that's your employer or whether that's actually the person that's buying solar from it.
00:13:28
Speaker
And so it's very, very important that like whatever's documented is in alignment with what you want to represent to the world.
Sales Strategies and Closing Techniques
00:13:35
Speaker
And so that's stories, that's posts, that's reels, like that all needs to be in alignment.
00:13:41
Speaker
But once again, it doesn't have to be all for an economic value.
00:13:44
Speaker
Like for me, my brand is like God, family, business, fitness, like that, that whole aspect.
00:13:51
Speaker
Yeah.
00:13:52
Speaker
Love it.
00:13:52
Speaker
Love it.
00:13:53
Speaker
And yeah, I think it's something that maybe a lot of guys don't think of.
00:13:56
Speaker
And I actually kind of had to learn it the hard way that like some of these customers, there's people are smart, right?
00:14:01
Speaker
Like they're Googling us.
00:14:03
Speaker
Some people actually research things these days as much as we think they don't.
00:14:07
Speaker
I actually did a podcast a while back where I took some, you know, like recorded footage of a cell I'd been in.
00:14:14
Speaker
put it on my podcast.
00:14:16
Speaker
And then long story short, this customer, he like Googled me, was researching me after the sale.
00:14:21
Speaker
He didn't sign the first time, but he found that I had like recorded our whole, you know, presentation with him.
00:14:28
Speaker
And I hadn't like asked him about it or anything.
00:14:30
Speaker
Yeah.
00:14:31
Speaker
I didn't disclose it or anything.
00:14:33
Speaker
And so he texted me.
00:14:34
Speaker
He's like, hey, man, I see you posted this.
00:14:37
Speaker
You didn't tell me we were recording and I didn't authorize this.
00:14:39
Speaker
So don't come back.
00:14:41
Speaker
I'm not going slower with you guys.
00:14:43
Speaker
And we talked more and he ended up being chill.
00:14:46
Speaker
And I think he, I think he, in a way, had kind of a respect that I did have.
00:14:50
Speaker
He saw that besides that, the rest of what I was doing was pretty authentic.
00:14:54
Speaker
And I was, you know, legit and slower and all that.
00:14:57
Speaker
So that kind of, I think, calmed him down.
00:14:58
Speaker
But still was enough that he's like, I'm not going to, I'm not going to.
00:15:01
Speaker
It goes over with you guys.
00:15:03
Speaker
Yeah.
00:15:03
Speaker
So it's like stuff like that we don't really think about.
00:15:06
Speaker
And I know we've heard from guys that have built huge organization.
00:15:09
Speaker
Recruiting helps in that, helps in your sales.
00:15:13
Speaker
So yeah, like for just maybe the sales rep.
00:15:16
Speaker
And for you, now that you sold your company, that's what enabled you to go and start a podcast, like have all these connections right away, right?
00:15:24
Speaker
Right.
00:15:24
Speaker
My brand.
00:15:25
Speaker
Yeah.
00:15:25
Speaker
Because no way it would have been a lot harder to get like Grant Cardone and those guys on.
00:15:29
Speaker
For sure.
00:15:29
Speaker
Yeah.
00:15:31
Speaker
So it's so cool.
00:15:31
Speaker
So what are some, maybe some things, someone that doesn't have a brand, maybe they're like, okay, I'm just selling because that's how a lot of this door-to-door industry is.
00:15:39
Speaker
Yep.
00:15:39
Speaker
A lot of solar guys.
00:15:40
Speaker
What are some maybe like simple things that they could start doing right away if they're like, okay.
00:15:44
Speaker
So first and foremost, clean up your social media.
00:15:46
Speaker
Right.
00:15:47
Speaker
Like once again, make sure it's in alignment with what the message that you want the world to see, not just customers, not just sales reps.
00:15:54
Speaker
Right.
00:15:54
Speaker
Like, and I know like a lot of times in the solar space, it's always like, you know, show the flashy cars, watches, those types of things, because it's you're trying to attract sales reps, but realize your consumers are looking at that as well.
00:16:05
Speaker
And that's.
00:16:06
Speaker
That can be a very bad thing, right?
00:16:08
Speaker
And so for me, my brand has never been cars, hoes, you know, whatever else.
00:16:14
Speaker
And so just decide.
00:16:16
Speaker
And if you're okay with consumers seeing your Lamborghini or Ferrari or whatever else, then so be it.
00:16:22
Speaker
But just understand that it's got to be by design.
00:16:24
Speaker
So one...
00:16:25
Speaker
You know, clean that up to get consistent.
00:16:29
Speaker
Like a brand is a recognizable is a recognizable image or recognize a feeling, recognize whatever.
00:16:37
Speaker
Right.
00:16:37
Speaker
So like I know if I go into McDonald's, I'm going to get the same experience over and over again.
00:16:41
Speaker
And that's what you need to be.
00:16:43
Speaker
And so.
00:16:44
Speaker
Whether that's like the same clothes that you wear all the time, whether it's the same haircut.
00:16:50
Speaker
You know, my buddy, Ryan Panetta, he runs a big podcast.
00:16:52
Speaker
He's known for his colorful hair, right?
00:16:54
Speaker
Like he's got this bright blue hair or bright red hair and that's him, right?
00:16:58
Speaker
Like if you ever say to anyone like, oh, do you know the colored hair guy?
00:17:01
Speaker
They're like, oh yeah, Ryan Panetta.
00:17:03
Speaker
Yeah.
00:17:04
Speaker
You know, there's so like create mental markers about.
00:17:07
Speaker
So this goes back to being authentic, like be who you are.
00:17:10
Speaker
Don't try and be Ryan Panetta.
00:17:12
Speaker
Don't try being Danny Pesci.
00:17:13
Speaker
Don't try being like, just be you and consistently be you.
00:17:17
Speaker
That's how you build a brand.
00:17:19
Speaker
And the way you do consistently is it's got to always be out there.
00:17:22
Speaker
Stick to your message, stick to your brand, stick to, you know, what you're sharing with the world.
00:17:27
Speaker
Yeah, and we heard a great example just for guys in door-to-door.
00:17:32
Speaker
We heard in your panel earlier, one of the guys, Mosiah, I got to get him on the podcast, but just from building his brand, he's built up a massive team.
00:17:40
Speaker
Yeah, he gets recruits left and right.
00:17:43
Speaker
And it's interesting because he has every excuse in the world.
00:17:46
Speaker
Like, I came from Mexico.
00:17:48
Speaker
I don't have a good English.
00:17:49
Speaker
I have a heavy Mexican accent or Spanish accent.
00:17:52
Speaker
Yeah.
00:17:52
Speaker
Like all the reasons why it wouldn't work, but he's just been consistent and like owned who he is being a one of one.
00:17:59
Speaker
I like that's the goal.
00:18:00
Speaker
You got to be one of one.
00:18:01
Speaker
Nobody else like you in the world.
00:18:02
Speaker
So be you.
00:18:04
Speaker
And that's where you can really create a brand.
00:18:06
Speaker
Yeah, that's so cool.
00:18:07
Speaker
Were you seeing when you were selling, were you seeing a lot of these things pay off like at the time, maybe in recruiting and selling?
00:18:14
Speaker
Or do you think it's been more of like a long term?
00:18:16
Speaker
I mean, it's always long term, but yeah, it definitely is always paid off, right?
00:18:20
Speaker
Like, that's what's gotten me referrals.
00:18:22
Speaker
That's what's gotten me recruits, right?
00:18:24
Speaker
Just because like, my name is consistent across the board.
00:18:28
Speaker
And, and people know that like, when they get to know Chris Lee, they know exactly what they're gonna get, right?
00:18:33
Speaker
Like, it's, it's a guy that loves his family, loves God is very authentic.
00:18:37
Speaker
a straight shooter.
00:18:38
Speaker
Right.
00:18:38
Speaker
And so if you're, you're out selling, like when I was building SoulGen, it was always Chris, the solar guy,
Networking and Personal Development
00:18:44
Speaker
right?
00:18:44
Speaker
Yeah.
00:18:45
Speaker
Flat bill hats, Lululemon t-shirt.
00:18:48
Speaker
And you know, my name was Chris, the solar guy and consistent across the board that, and then like, uh, recruiting, we'd always be putting out videos that were very high energy, very involved.
00:18:58
Speaker
Right.
00:18:58
Speaker
Like, and that was a consistent message that we were sending to the recruits to come and be a part of it.
00:19:03
Speaker
Yeah.
00:19:03
Speaker
That's awesome.
00:19:04
Speaker
Yeah.
00:19:04
Speaker
And something you mentioned in your panel earlier is just speaking of recruiting.
00:19:10
Speaker
I know you guys didn't like you didn't pay the most as a company.
00:19:13
Speaker
And I think you transitioned basically all over the phone.
00:19:18
Speaker
Right.
00:19:18
Speaker
You guys were just doing virtual.
00:19:19
Speaker
We did about 75 percent virtual.
00:19:21
Speaker
Yeah.
00:19:21
Speaker
OK.
00:19:23
Speaker
But yeah, you guys crushed in recruiting, bought a lot of people, almost recruited me at one point.
00:19:28
Speaker
But yeah, I didn't come over.
00:19:30
Speaker
I guess good thing I didn't because you would have just left me, left me out to dry.
00:19:34
Speaker
Not out to dry.
00:19:34
Speaker
You still have a great opportunity.
00:19:37
Speaker
But yeah, I want to speak to that and then maybe get into some sales stuff because a lot of guys, maybe they're with companies, don't have the lowest red line.
00:19:44
Speaker
Like you hear that all the time.
00:19:46
Speaker
What's the red line?
00:19:46
Speaker
What's the red line?
00:19:47
Speaker
How much are you paying?
00:19:49
Speaker
And it's something I try to talk about.
00:19:50
Speaker
Hey, it's not all about what you're getting paid.
00:19:53
Speaker
A lot of factors that go into that.
00:19:55
Speaker
So how did you have any advice on like how you guys recruited and how you bought people into the culture and not just made it about the money?
00:20:02
Speaker
So first and foremost, money is never the way that it's
00:20:06
Speaker
preached, right?
00:20:07
Speaker
Like I learned earlier in my career when I was in the home security space that it was never about the amount of money that you make per deal is about the total money that you make.
00:20:15
Speaker
Right.
00:20:15
Speaker
Like when I went from owning my own company in the alarm space, being able to make $1,200, $1,300 a deal and actually going back and working for Vivint and making $600 a deal, right?
00:20:26
Speaker
Like you would say that they were paying me less than half of
00:20:30
Speaker
The reality is under that pay structure, that culture and everything that was created at the end, that competition, I made more money as a sales rep and manager at Vivint than I ever did running my own business.
00:20:42
Speaker
And this is the thing that guys have to get down, like low red line, more money per deal does not mean more money.
00:20:49
Speaker
I think a lot of solar guys are, are experiencing this right now is because they went after the lowest red line and now that installer can't afford to pay them.
00:20:56
Speaker
Right.
00:20:56
Speaker
Like, like, duh.
00:20:58
Speaker
Understanding just the whole economic way that a business works.
00:21:02
Speaker
I want everybody to be extremely profitable on the whole end of the value chain.
00:21:06
Speaker
So if I'm in like a sales dealer, I want my installer to actually be incentivized to install my stuff.
00:21:15
Speaker
If I got the cheapest red line with them, guess what?
00:21:17
Speaker
They're going to put other jobs in front of me.
00:21:20
Speaker
And if they don't have enough to function and be profitable, guess what?
00:21:24
Speaker
My customers are going to get terrible treatment and they're never going to be able to afford to...
00:21:27
Speaker
So I would much rather make less money, be mutually aligned with my installer, my company or whatnot, because that's ultimately where people make the most money.
00:21:36
Speaker
And that's just the financial aspect.
00:21:38
Speaker
On top of that, you get paid in culture, you get paid in opportunity, you get paid in education.
00:21:44
Speaker
And so like aligning with a company that creates that for me where I can learn, I can grow, I can develop, I can become the best version of myself.
00:21:53
Speaker
Like that is where the real opportunity lies.
00:21:55
Speaker
And this is a, you know, this, when we were building our business, we were very upfront.
00:21:59
Speaker
Look, we won't pay you the most per deal.
00:22:01
Speaker
Like, and you may not even make the most money while working, but you get compensated in so many other ways besides money.
00:22:07
Speaker
And we'd go through them, right?
00:22:08
Speaker
We're going to help you be better physically, better economically.
00:22:11
Speaker
We're going to help you teach how you invest, right?
00:22:13
Speaker
We're going to help build your associations and the way that you get back to society and be a better father or brother, a sister, mother, you know, and better spiritual human being, right?
00:22:22
Speaker
Like, and
00:22:23
Speaker
That always attracted.
00:22:24
Speaker
That rings home for anybody, right?
00:22:26
Speaker
Because once you start making a lot of money, you quickly realize that it's never about money, right?
00:22:30
Speaker
We're all chasing a feeling.
00:22:32
Speaker
We're all chasing something.
00:22:34
Speaker
Money provides feelings, right?
00:22:36
Speaker
Like opportunities to travel or buy something that's really cool.
00:22:40
Speaker
Like that gives us a feeling, but you can get that feeling a whole lot more.
00:22:44
Speaker
ways than just money.
00:22:46
Speaker
And so realizing that that's where you are truly compensated is not just in your paycheck, you're compensated across the board.
00:22:52
Speaker
So make sure you're facilitating yourself either as a recruiter, as a business owner, as a sales rep, that whole value chain is
00:23:00
Speaker
Bean is a lot of value creation.
00:23:02
Speaker
Yeah, that's so good.
00:23:04
Speaker
And especially for maybe managers listening to this or company owners, it's something you got to think about because I know you're a big marketing guy.
00:23:13
Speaker
And it's like, what do they say?
00:23:15
Speaker
You shouldn't be the cheapest.
00:23:17
Speaker
You should either be the highest price and add a ton of value or be like the cheapest, something like that.
00:23:23
Speaker
Yeah, yeah.
00:23:24
Speaker
Essentially in the marketplace, you should be the most expensive or the cheapest, never in between.
00:23:28
Speaker
Yeah.
00:23:28
Speaker
If you're going to be the cheapest, you're playing the volume game.
00:23:30
Speaker
You're making a small fragment, small percentage on billions of dollars of sales, or you're going to be the highest value creator in the fact that I'm going to charge the most, but I'm going to be able to pay, provide the most opportunity to my employees, to my end users, to everything like that.
00:23:47
Speaker
And so for me, I always love that model.
00:23:49
Speaker
I want to be the highest priced,
00:23:51
Speaker
I don't care where anybody else is in the market.
00:23:53
Speaker
You want to come and try to undercut me by 50%, go for it.
00:23:55
Speaker
You're going to soon be out of business.
00:23:57
Speaker
You're not going to be able to provide the experience that I can for my people.
00:24:00
Speaker
Yeah, I'm so good.
00:24:02
Speaker
And yeah, I think it's important for us to think about that as we're recruiting guys to like how we create in the culture where they're being fed spiritually, mentally, physically, all these different things becoming better people.
00:24:13
Speaker
Because if you can point to that and show like examples, say this rep, like he's making great money, but look, now he's like, you know, in a better place mentally, maybe turn life, turn his life around in other ways.
00:24:24
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:24:25
Speaker
That's yeah, that's you're creating a story around that.
00:24:27
Speaker
And that's way more powerful in recruiting rather than just saying, hey, this guy made half a million last year.
00:24:32
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:24:33
Speaker
So I love that.
00:24:34
Speaker
Love that.
00:24:35
Speaker
Talking a little bit of sales here.
00:24:38
Speaker
It's funny, we were actually planning this podcast this morning, but it's been like a five-hour journey to get up and actually do the podcast because Chris is down here selling.
00:24:49
Speaker
We just were on our way up.
00:24:52
Speaker
His mastermind got people interested in that.
00:24:54
Speaker
He's trying to lock down business in the hallway, uncovering their objections, not taking the maybes.
00:25:01
Speaker
All the above.
00:25:02
Speaker
All the things, baby.
00:25:03
Speaker
Yeah.
00:25:04
Speaker
So, yeah, let's get in just as we start wrapping up here.
00:25:08
Speaker
What are some sales skills that maybe you are like, I don't know, the top things you train your guys in as far as sales?
00:25:15
Speaker
Yeah.
00:25:16
Speaker
So there's four principles of closing and, you know, I'll share with you a couple of them.
00:25:22
Speaker
They're not rules, they're principles.
00:25:24
Speaker
And the difference between a rule and a principle is this.
00:25:26
Speaker
A principle is foundational and God made and a rule is man made.
00:25:31
Speaker
The thing with a rule, a principle will always have consequences.
00:25:35
Speaker
A rule may sometimes have consequences.
00:25:38
Speaker
I'll give you an example.
00:25:39
Speaker
You're going, the speed limit is 65 and you're going 80.
00:25:44
Speaker
What's the consequence of going 80 miles an hour?
00:25:46
Speaker
Nothing until you get caught.
00:25:47
Speaker
It could be good.
00:25:48
Speaker
It could be bad, right?
00:25:49
Speaker
Like you could get caught by the police.
00:25:51
Speaker
You could get in a wreck because you're going too fast around the corner.
00:25:53
Speaker
What?
00:25:54
Speaker
Right.
00:25:54
Speaker
That's it could be right.
00:25:56
Speaker
So a rule is manmade and could potentially have a consequence, could potentially not.
00:26:02
Speaker
Right.
00:26:02
Speaker
So that's how you distinguish between the difference between a rule and a principle.
00:26:05
Speaker
So when I teach my guys is there are four principles of closing and they are, they will have consequences if you do not follow them.
00:26:13
Speaker
You can't break them and not suffer the consequence.
00:26:15
Speaker
Like it's, so that's, that's the premise of this.
00:26:18
Speaker
And so principle number one is yes, no, yes or no, no maybes.
00:26:23
Speaker
A decision must be made.
00:26:24
Speaker
And, and, you know, a lot of people will take this and they'll be like, well,
00:26:29
Speaker
You know, they'll post for a decision.
00:26:30
Speaker
The person's like, well, maybe like I need to know like, okay, I'll give you a no, but I still might call you back tomorrow.
00:26:35
Speaker
That's not a decision, right?
00:26:36
Speaker
Like a decision is that they're either moving forward or they are 100% not moving forward.
00:26:41
Speaker
And the hardest thing about this is most people aren't willing to get to a decision because they're scared of the no, right?
00:26:47
Speaker
They're scared of rejection.
00:26:49
Speaker
And so as a salesperson, you have to be comfortable.
00:26:52
Speaker
You have to be totally okay with getting a no on every single door, every single appointment.
00:26:58
Speaker
You've got to be totally fine in that realm, right?
00:27:01
Speaker
Because a no is more powerful than a maybe.
00:27:04
Speaker
A maybe, because what happens is if once we become okay with maybes,
00:27:10
Speaker
We begin taking maybes that should have been yeses, right?
00:27:14
Speaker
And the no's that were going to be no's, like they just didn't have the guts to tell you.
00:27:19
Speaker
And so you have to draw a line, right?
00:27:21
Speaker
It's what I call the 1080-10 rule.
00:27:24
Speaker
10% of every, the population will say yes to anything.
00:27:27
Speaker
10 will say no to anything.
00:27:29
Speaker
And 80% will say maybe, right?
00:27:31
Speaker
They're going to balance.
00:27:32
Speaker
And the goal as a salesperson is to cut the line right down the middle, get rid of the maybes and get as many over.
00:27:38
Speaker
And now here's the crazy thing is like, even if all 80 of those said no, right?
00:27:44
Speaker
Instead of saying maybe, they just went, no, would you make more money?
00:27:47
Speaker
Yeah, because you get to the yeses quicker.
00:27:50
Speaker
Exactly.
00:27:51
Speaker
So a lot of times when they look at this, like, no, like that same amount of yeses or whatever.
00:27:56
Speaker
But the reality is, is like maybe waste your time.
00:27:59
Speaker
The callbacks, the mental effort, like, oh, they're probably going to, you know, the follow up, like all these different things.
00:28:07
Speaker
And so I have a very like I know there's people that teach like two, three, four touch clothes bullcrap.
00:28:12
Speaker
Like I much rather be.
00:28:15
Speaker
And as long as you come from a point of authenticity, that you are there to help the customer and you're totally fine with them telling you no, customers will be totally fine getting to a decision.
00:28:26
Speaker
Like, look, I'm not here to pressure you.
00:28:28
Speaker
I'm not here to make you say yes.
00:28:30
Speaker
I'm totally fine if you give me a no.
00:28:33
Speaker
I just know that if you put this off, this decision, you're going to be wasting your time and you're going to be wasting mine.
00:28:39
Speaker
And I care about you too much to waste your time.
00:28:43
Speaker
That's good.
00:28:44
Speaker
Right?
00:28:44
Speaker
And so, like, I am helping you by making a decision, even if the decisions know.
00:28:51
Speaker
And the example I always give is like San Diego, SDG&E, one of the most expensive utilities in the nation, right?
00:28:57
Speaker
Yes.
00:28:57
Speaker
When I was selling there, it ranged from like $0.10 up to $0.32 a kilowatt hour.
00:29:02
Speaker
Now I think it's in the 50s.
00:29:03
Speaker
Yeah, yeah.
00:29:04
Speaker
Gets up to like 60s or whatever.
00:29:06
Speaker
And what percentage of San Diego has solar?
00:29:10
Speaker
I would say like 30%.
00:29:12
Speaker
Okay, so it's probably 25-30 right now.
00:29:13
Speaker
So why doesn't the other 70% have solar?
00:29:19
Speaker
Probably because they're saying maybe.
00:29:20
Speaker
It's because a sales rep screwed that customer at one point.
00:29:24
Speaker
Like you have to believe that by allowing somebody to say maybe you are screwing that individual.
00:29:30
Speaker
Because what happens is that 70%, it's slowly getting eaten away, maybe 69, 68%.
00:29:37
Speaker
But had people been committed to yes or no, no maybes, right?
00:29:42
Speaker
They would never spun these guys.
00:29:44
Speaker
Now they've forever been looking into solar.
00:29:46
Speaker
They're forever like, oh, I'm waiting for the best deal to come across the board when it finally starts making sense.
00:29:52
Speaker
So they've wasted the time of so many sales reps.
00:29:54
Speaker
They've wasted the time.
00:29:55
Speaker
And dude, this isn't a market where solar is so extremely like black or white.
00:30:00
Speaker
And now people are kicking themselves because NEM3 came out.
00:30:04
Speaker
It's like, dude, they totally, the sales rep screwed those people.
00:30:09
Speaker
Right.
00:30:09
Speaker
And that's what I genuinely believe.
00:30:10
Speaker
Like when I align with a product, I believe that whenever I allow a customer to take a maybe I screwed them.
00:30:17
Speaker
That's my fault.
00:30:18
Speaker
I take total ownership over that.
00:30:20
Speaker
And so like that is principle.
00:30:22
Speaker
Number one has to be followed, cannot be broken.
00:30:25
Speaker
And if you can really figure that one out.
00:30:28
Speaker
You will make millions and millions of dollars over your career.
00:30:30
Speaker
And that is what I attribute to being as successful as I am.
00:30:33
Speaker
That's so good.
00:30:34
Speaker
Because, yeah, I didn't really.
00:30:36
Speaker
Yeah, I haven't really thought about it that way as a principal.
00:30:38
Speaker
Because we've I don't know.
00:30:40
Speaker
I probably thought about more as like a rule.
00:30:41
Speaker
Like, OK, I'm going to try two, three, four times maybe.
00:30:44
Speaker
But if it's still maybe, then.
00:30:47
Speaker
So the issue with this is like when you break that principle, right, and you allow a maybe to slip through, and then you do that 30 times, and then you have that one person that calls back and says, yeah, Taylor, I want to do this.
00:31:00
Speaker
Guess what it does?
00:31:01
Speaker
It creates a justification to always allow a customer into the maybe realm, right?
00:31:06
Speaker
And so when you're pushing hard for yes or no, no maybes,
00:31:10
Speaker
You're like, wait, but that one time the Smiths did call me back.
00:31:13
Speaker
So it's going to totally screw me and I'm going to allow more and more people to go maybe rather than if I were to just push them to make a decision, they actually would have gone yes.
00:31:21
Speaker
I will get way more yeses than losing out on that occasional maybe that would have called me back.
00:31:26
Speaker
Yeah.
00:31:26
Speaker
Well, that's so good.
00:31:27
Speaker
I didn't think of it that way.
00:31:28
Speaker
Yeah.
00:31:29
Speaker
Well, and so how do you think, because sometimes you get these people, like you're saying, they don't want the pressure.
00:31:35
Speaker
They want to feel like they're not having to make a for sure decision.
00:31:39
Speaker
So what do you do to get them to think?
00:31:41
Speaker
So first and foremost, yeah, yeah.
00:31:43
Speaker
So you have to set an expectation up front, right?
00:31:46
Speaker
If I'm going to slap you, the worst thing I can do is just slap you out of the blue, right?
00:31:51
Speaker
And so, like, for example, I'm going to go to Taylor and say, Taylor, guess what, dude?
00:31:55
Speaker
I'm going to slap you.
00:31:56
Speaker
It's not going to...
00:31:57
Speaker
It's not going to be fun.
00:31:58
Speaker
It's going to hurt a little bit, but I am going to slap you.
00:32:02
Speaker
And I just, and I just slapped Taylor, right?
00:32:04
Speaker
Yeah.
00:32:04
Speaker
It wasn't as bad.
00:32:05
Speaker
So, but here's the thing.
00:32:08
Speaker
If I would have just slapped you out of, uh, like out of the blue, you had no idea it was going to, how, how would you feel towards me?
00:32:13
Speaker
Yeah.
00:32:14
Speaker
And I'm like, bro, what the freak?
00:32:16
Speaker
So this is what we do in sales.
00:32:18
Speaker
We don't set proper expectations.
00:32:19
Speaker
We don't let them know that we are going to be closing them by the end of the presentation.
00:32:23
Speaker
Right.
00:32:24
Speaker
And so and so when we slap them, it's a jolt.
00:32:27
Speaker
It's like, what, where was this?
00:32:29
Speaker
Why are you trying to qualify me?
00:32:30
Speaker
Why are you trying to, why are you getting my income?
00:32:32
Speaker
Why are you asking for my social?
00:32:33
Speaker
Right.
00:32:33
Speaker
Like it's because like you didn't properly set expectations.
00:32:36
Speaker
And
00:32:36
Speaker
This expectation starts like when you collect the bill.
00:32:40
Speaker
So usually we do like a collect a bill and then you have a second touch where you go and actually close it with a proposal, right?
00:32:45
Speaker
So at the beginning of that proposal, you have to say, hey, look, so this is the plan today.
00:32:50
Speaker
We're going to go through the eight steps.
00:32:52
Speaker
And then step number eight is we're going to move forward.
00:32:54
Speaker
And you talk and you use very assumptive language that you let them know.
00:32:57
Speaker
this is what's going to happen.
00:32:58
Speaker
We're going to get you qualified.
00:32:59
Speaker
We're going to check your credit.
00:33:01
Speaker
We're going to send you a couple of documents.
00:33:02
Speaker
You're going to sign them, right?
00:33:03
Speaker
Like I'm outlining exactly what's going to happen so that when I go to slap them, it's not out of the blue.
00:33:09
Speaker
So that's, that's step number one is you got to set proper expectations.
00:33:13
Speaker
Then when you get down there, it's not like, Chris, why are you trying to get me and make a decision?
00:33:17
Speaker
It's like, no, we talked about this.
00:33:18
Speaker
Like, I'm totally fine if you give me a no, but like if you're ready to move forward, well, Chris, I really need to think about it.
00:33:24
Speaker
And then I just bro down with people.
00:33:27
Speaker
And I always, if I'm going to shoot somebody straight, I always ask for permission.
00:33:32
Speaker
I'd say, I'd be like, you say, Hey, I need to think about it.
00:33:34
Speaker
I would like Taylor.
00:33:35
Speaker
Is it right if I shoot you straight?
00:33:37
Speaker
Sure.
00:33:37
Speaker
You good.
00:33:38
Speaker
You totally fine.
00:33:39
Speaker
If I just like kind of hit you right where it hurts.
00:33:42
Speaker
Yeah, I guess so.
00:33:42
Speaker
You're good with it.
00:33:43
Speaker
Okay, dude, I've been doing this for a long time.
00:33:46
Speaker
I've been in customers' homes, whatnot.
00:33:49
Speaker
When somebody tells me I want to think about it, it's a bull crap excuse.
00:33:52
Speaker
Yeah.
00:33:52
Speaker
Like this is how I talk to customers.
00:33:54
Speaker
This is literally, and I say, look, it's a bull crap excuse.
00:33:58
Speaker
Like you said, you're okay with me shooting you straight, right?
00:34:01
Speaker
Yeah.
00:34:01
Speaker
Okay.
00:34:02
Speaker
So I'm going to continue to hit you straight.
00:34:03
Speaker
Like literally when somebody says that, it's just their way to get, tell me to kick rocks.
00:34:08
Speaker
Taylor, if you want me to kick rocks, please just let me know right now.
00:34:12
Speaker
But if there is an inkling of actually wanting to go solar, you just don't have the guts to make the decision right now.
00:34:18
Speaker
Let's talk, let's talk through that.
00:34:20
Speaker
Like, let's, let's talk about what is actually holding you back because dude, I'm here for you.
00:34:24
Speaker
And if, and if here for you means you tell me no, and solar is not for you, I'm fine with that.
00:34:29
Speaker
You know, I'm going to go home and drive the same car, eat the same food and sleep next to the same woman tonight.
00:34:33
Speaker
You ain't going to change my life.
00:34:35
Speaker
But guess what?
00:34:35
Speaker
By you making a decision to go, yes, guess whose life's going to change?
00:34:39
Speaker
Mine.
00:34:39
Speaker
Yeah, dude.
00:34:40
Speaker
It won't change my life.
00:34:41
Speaker
I will go to your neighbors.
00:34:42
Speaker
I will set them up.
00:34:43
Speaker
They're going to decide to go.
00:34:44
Speaker
Yes, they're going to take advantage of this thing.
00:34:46
Speaker
Right.
00:34:47
Speaker
But like, I will not allow you to waste your time by telling me maybe because then we're just going to play this tango.
00:34:53
Speaker
You're going to get anxiety when I call you back.
00:34:55
Speaker
You're not going to answer the phone and you're going to be like, dude, why is this guy still calling me?
00:34:59
Speaker
It's because you told me maybe.
00:35:00
Speaker
I don't want you to put you in that position, Taylor.
00:35:04
Speaker
I'm here for you.
00:35:05
Speaker
So what is it that would help you feel comfortable making a decision today?
00:35:09
Speaker
Well, I need to check my quotes.
00:35:12
Speaker
I need to see if you guys have the best deal.
00:35:14
Speaker
Hey, perfect.
00:35:15
Speaker
So are you looking for the best price or are you looking for the best quality?
00:35:19
Speaker
Best quality.
00:35:21
Speaker
Best quality?
00:35:22
Speaker
It's not about price?
00:35:24
Speaker
Well, yeah, I guess both.
00:35:25
Speaker
Yeah, good quality.
00:35:26
Speaker
I'm assuming you want a good balance of both, right?
00:35:28
Speaker
Yeah, yeah.
00:35:29
Speaker
Okay, cool.
00:35:30
Speaker
Look, you can go and do all your shopping and whatnot, but you're going to waste time.
00:35:37
Speaker
My job in helping you is to help you save the three main resources, time, energy, and money.
00:35:43
Speaker
So time, energy, and money, I'm here to help you save it.
00:35:46
Speaker
By you going to get more quotes, you're going to spend money.
00:35:48
Speaker
Would you agree that you don't want to spend the rest of your life shopping for this thing?
00:35:51
Speaker
Yeah.
00:35:52
Speaker
Okay.
00:35:52
Speaker
Because otherwise you're going to end up like Fred down the street.
00:35:54
Speaker
He's been looking at solar for the last 10 years.
00:35:56
Speaker
Guess how much that's cost him?
00:35:57
Speaker
Yeah, 10 years of paying his bill.
00:35:59
Speaker
10 years.
00:35:59
Speaker
And guess how many sales reps he's wasted their time and wasted his?
00:36:02
Speaker
Probably a lot.
00:36:04
Speaker
And I refuse to screw my customers that way.
00:36:08
Speaker
You're cool with me shooting you straight, right, Tyler?
00:36:10
Speaker
Yeah.
00:36:10
Speaker
Okay, dude, I will not screw you over.
00:36:13
Speaker
I'm going to help you get to a decision.
00:36:15
Speaker
But when I leave this table, the decisions, no, I never want you to look into solar ever again.
00:36:21
Speaker
Like it will be, it will be a waste of your time.
00:36:24
Speaker
But if the decisions, yes, and I'm going to help you get there.
00:36:26
Speaker
I'm going to help you feel comfortable.
00:36:27
Speaker
Dude, if it means us calling up competitors right now and showing quotes, let's do it.
00:36:31
Speaker
I'm here to spend whatever time right now to help you feel comfortable in the decision-making process.
00:36:36
Speaker
We're not the cheapest.
00:36:38
Speaker
We're not the most expensive.
00:36:39
Speaker
In fact, I'll show you.
00:36:40
Speaker
If you want the most expensive, go to A. We're not the cheapest.
00:36:43
Speaker
If you want that, I got their phone number right now.
00:36:44
Speaker
I'll give it to you.
00:36:46
Speaker
But I'm assuming you're not in this just to be the cheapest.
00:36:49
Speaker
Yeah.
00:36:49
Speaker
No, both.
00:36:50
Speaker
Okay.
00:36:51
Speaker
So, dude, let me help you get to a point of comfortable.
00:36:54
Speaker
What else do you need to know to be comfortable in moving forward today?
00:36:58
Speaker
I guess that's the main thing, but I don't know.
00:37:00
Speaker
We usually just kind of think about things before we sign and all that.
00:37:04
Speaker
Okay, cool.
00:37:04
Speaker
Is that right if I shoot you straight again?
00:37:06
Speaker
Yeah, I guess.
00:37:07
Speaker
Sweet, man.
00:37:08
Speaker
What happened in your life that made you be that way?
00:37:11
Speaker
Well, just one time we got a car and we found out later.
00:37:14
Speaker
We bought it pretty quick and then we found out that it had a bunch of problems.
00:37:18
Speaker
It was like a used one.
00:37:19
Speaker
Cool.
00:37:20
Speaker
So we just felt like we made it too quick of a decision.
00:37:23
Speaker
Didn't do her due diligence.
00:37:25
Speaker
Dude, I agree.
00:37:25
Speaker
That sucks.
00:37:26
Speaker
Yeah.
00:37:26
Speaker
Like, dude, if I'm sitting with you and got a lemon of the vehicle, I'd be pissed.
00:37:30
Speaker
Yeah.
00:37:30
Speaker
Right?
00:37:31
Speaker
Because, I mean, the reality is it's like –
00:37:34
Speaker
You never know what you're going to get with, with a car.
00:37:36
Speaker
Like, and I'm not asking you Taylor to take my word for it.
00:37:39
Speaker
Like, dude, let's, let's go look at like thousands of customers that have said, dude, not only is Chris, but Soulja is taking care of me.
00:37:45
Speaker
Like, let's, let's go read, read through that.
00:37:48
Speaker
Like, if I can help you feel comfortable that this is not going to be like a poor decision that you're not going to regret it later.
00:37:56
Speaker
Is that something that you'd feel comfortable moving forward today?
00:37:58
Speaker
Yeah, I guess so.
00:37:59
Speaker
Okay, let's go.
00:38:01
Speaker
And then I would do that.
00:38:02
Speaker
And so there's two reasons why people do not make a decision to go solar.
00:38:08
Speaker
And it all comes down to trust and enough information.
00:38:12
Speaker
And the key word is enough.
00:38:14
Speaker
Most guys give too much information.
00:38:17
Speaker
and so that they confuse their customer.
00:38:20
Speaker
They show up, they throw up, they sell features like equipment, 400 watt panels, this micro-inverter, whatever else.
00:38:28
Speaker
It's all about features.
00:38:30
Speaker
But what happens is the customer, you give them too much information, too much information leads to confusion and a confused buyer never buys.
00:38:37
Speaker
Your goal is you have to have just enough information.
00:38:41
Speaker
You gotta ask the questions to give them enough that makes them feel comfortable.
00:38:45
Speaker
And as long as they trust you and they have to trust you in both, there's two different types of trust.
00:38:48
Speaker
You know what they are?
00:38:49
Speaker
Trust the person, trust the company.
00:38:51
Speaker
So no, it's actually trusting, trusting character and trust an ability.
00:38:56
Speaker
Okay.
00:38:57
Speaker
So like, and the difference is like, do you trust your grandma?
00:39:00
Speaker
Okay.
00:39:01
Speaker
Do you trust your grandma operating open heart surgery on you?
00:39:04
Speaker
No, those are the difference.
00:39:05
Speaker
Right.
00:39:06
Speaker
So trust in character.
00:39:06
Speaker
Yeah.
00:39:07
Speaker
I love grandma.
00:39:07
Speaker
She's got a great character.
00:39:08
Speaker
Trust in ability.
00:39:10
Speaker
No, I do not trust her cutting open my chest.
00:39:13
Speaker
Right.
00:39:14
Speaker
And so you're as a sales rep, you have to have both of those.
00:39:17
Speaker
You got to be a straight shooter, right?
00:39:19
Speaker
You've got to,
00:39:20
Speaker
They have to trust your character and then they have to trust you as the professional that you actually know what you're doing.
00:39:25
Speaker
You know what you're talking about.
00:39:27
Speaker
The way that you become a professional is you answer the questions they have, not the ones that you think that they have.
00:39:33
Speaker
Right.
00:39:33
Speaker
And then that leads us to enough information.
00:39:35
Speaker
Right.
00:39:36
Speaker
And someone with enough information will always make a decision.
00:39:41
Speaker
Always.
00:39:41
Speaker
Yeah.
00:39:42
Speaker
And so what a customer is telling you that when they want to think about it is they're telling either one, you gave me too much information or not enough, or two, I don't trust you.
00:39:53
Speaker
That's it.
00:39:55
Speaker
Yeah.
00:39:55
Speaker
No, I can.
00:39:56
Speaker
I believe it.
00:39:58
Speaker
I actually had that last week.
00:39:59
Speaker
I didn't close a guy and just, yeah, I could tell he just didn't trust everything I was saying.
00:40:04
Speaker
And if you get to the end of the close, is it like, and you know they don't trust you, is it too late at that point?
00:40:10
Speaker
It's never too late.
00:40:11
Speaker
Okay.
00:40:11
Speaker
It's never too late.
00:40:12
Speaker
Spend more time, get vulnerable, ask them for permission to hit them in the nuts.
00:40:16
Speaker
Okay.
00:40:16
Speaker
Just like you just did?
00:40:17
Speaker
Yeah.
00:40:17
Speaker
Just like, hey, Taylor, is it right if I shoot you straight?
00:40:20
Speaker
Yeah.
00:40:20
Speaker
Look, dude, I'm not trying to make a buck or two today, but dude, I feel like you don't trust me.
00:40:25
Speaker
What is it that I did in this presentation that lost your trust?
00:40:28
Speaker
That's what I would ask.
00:40:29
Speaker
That's good.
00:40:30
Speaker
Like I would I would hit him.
00:40:31
Speaker
And and but you only can if you ask those type of questions without first asking permission, you will question their intelligence and they will feel like it's a battle.
00:40:41
Speaker
As soon as I ask for your permission, it removes barriers.
00:40:44
Speaker
And all of a sudden I can do whatever the heck I want.
00:40:46
Speaker
Yeah, that's money.
00:40:48
Speaker
Well, yeah, I think it goes back to, too, just saying, following the principle, because, like, I don't think that's a principle for me.
00:40:55
Speaker
And so many other people, they just, yeah, they get a couple no's and give up.
00:40:59
Speaker
But, like, for you, you just know for sure you're going to do it.
00:41:02
Speaker
So you keep walking them through it.
00:41:04
Speaker
Yeah.
00:41:05
Speaker
I like it.
00:41:05
Speaker
And I never give up.
00:41:06
Speaker
Like, I will spend whatever time that is necessary for them to make a decision, whatever.
00:41:11
Speaker
If it's 30 minutes, three hours, 30 hours, I will not leave.
00:41:14
Speaker
I'll sleep on their couch and make a decision.
00:41:16
Speaker
Yeah.
00:41:17
Speaker
Yeah.
00:41:17
Speaker
Well, yeah.
00:41:18
Speaker
And most people don't have, you know, the cojones to like call people out and get vulnerable with them.
00:41:24
Speaker
But once again, it goes all back to, am I willing to take a no?
00:41:26
Speaker
Yeah.
00:41:27
Speaker
Yeah.
00:41:27
Speaker
I just want a decision.
00:41:28
Speaker
That is your one and only job as a salesperson is to get a decision, nothing else.
00:41:34
Speaker
Yeah, I know it's funny because so many people do that.
00:41:37
Speaker
Like example, I see all the time is when we're setting up these appointments, knocking doors, we're supposed to try to get a bill right there utility bill.
00:41:44
Speaker
Yeah.
00:41:45
Speaker
But all these new reps that train, they're like, just so scared to get a bill because I go.
00:41:50
Speaker
If I try to push and have them get a bill, they're going to cancel appointment and they say, no, forget about it.
00:41:56
Speaker
But yeah, that's – That goes to one of my other principles, which is quit lying to yourself.
00:42:03
Speaker
Most guys don't follow the rules because they would rather lie to themselves about having an appointment than doing the required to get there.
00:42:11
Speaker
Yeah.
00:42:11
Speaker
But, but yeah, we can, we can talk about some of the principles at another time.
00:42:14
Speaker
Yeah, no, that's good.
00:42:15
Speaker
How many principles are it for?
00:42:16
Speaker
Four principles.
00:42:17
Speaker
Okay.
00:42:17
Speaker
All right.
00:42:18
Speaker
Well, we didn't want to make this an all day podcast, but no, it's, it's cool.
00:42:23
Speaker
Before I forget, Chris, if people do want to follow you, listen to your podcast, hopefully they're already, where's the best place to like follow you.
00:42:32
Speaker
Yeah.
00:42:33
Speaker
So Instagram at Chris Lee QB, like quarterback.
00:42:36
Speaker
And then I'm, I'm Chris Lee QB on all major platforms.
00:42:40
Speaker
I kind of suck at TikTok and Twitter, but I'm there.
00:42:45
Speaker
The Founder Podcast, and that's a singular, The Founder Podcast.
00:42:49
Speaker
You can find me on all major platforms, Apple, Spotify, YouTube.
00:42:52
Speaker
I'm just starting to build my YouTube following, but my Spotify, you can see the visual and stuff.
00:42:57
Speaker
I had close to 200,000 watch hours last month.
00:43:01
Speaker
Oh, congrats.
00:43:02
Speaker
That's awesome.
00:43:02
Speaker
Pretty sweet.
00:43:03
Speaker
That's cool.
00:43:04
Speaker
And where do you see this going?
00:43:06
Speaker
You got your podcast.
00:43:07
Speaker
I know you're in some mastermind groups.
00:43:09
Speaker
Yeah, yeah.
00:43:09
Speaker
So for me, like I'm just passionate about changing people's lives and educating them.
00:43:13
Speaker
And I believe that the number one way to change the world is through the entrepreneur, that the entrepreneur has the most influence in the world.
00:43:21
Speaker
And a sales rep, I would put in that same category as they're interacting, they're changing lives there.
00:43:28
Speaker
And you see it, they either do it for the good or the worse, right?
00:43:30
Speaker
Like money empowers, it magnifies who you really are.
00:43:33
Speaker
And so
00:43:34
Speaker
I'm all about magnifying.
00:43:36
Speaker
And so it's partnering with businesses, consulting, coaching, and changing the world through entrepreneurship.
00:43:44
Speaker
That's so good.
00:43:45
Speaker
Well, last question.
00:43:48
Speaker
I know you recently did a podcast on this, but like we mentioned before, your network is just...
00:43:54
Speaker
one of the best networks I've seen for sure.
00:43:56
Speaker
And not too many people can be in the room with the Alex or Mosey's, the Grant Cardone's, all these massive influencers.
00:44:03
Speaker
So guys can listen to your podcast, but what are some, maybe some quick tips on just like being able to build a network and get in the room with some of these big names like you've done?
00:44:12
Speaker
Quick thing on networking.
00:44:14
Speaker
One, you've got to consist.
00:44:16
Speaker
It takes a lot longer than you realize, right?
00:44:18
Speaker
But two, you got to always ask, like ask to be in the room, ask to be for the introduction, ask for those different things.
00:44:24
Speaker
But more importantly than asking is the most important thing, which you have to start with giving and don't make it transactional.
00:44:30
Speaker
Don't give, ask, give, ask, give, ask.
00:44:33
Speaker
My ratio is I have to give five times before I ask, ask for something.
00:44:38
Speaker
And so whenever I meet somebody new, I'm always trying to connect them.
00:44:43
Speaker
Like if I know what you're looking for, hey, what's important to you?
00:44:47
Speaker
What are you trying to do?
00:44:48
Speaker
And if I can serve and be of value to somebody that I see has a lot of value, really anyone, I don't care where they're at on the value chain, whether they're just starting out or whatnot, I want to serve them.
00:44:59
Speaker
And without expectation of getting anything back.
00:45:03
Speaker
Like that is the number one key to building.
00:45:06
Speaker
But also being okay to ask every once in a while, like, hey, is it all right if I come with you or is it all right to hang out or whatever?
00:45:12
Speaker
And then last but not least, spend money.
00:45:14
Speaker
Like I've spent a million dollars or close to a million dollars on my personal education being in the right room.
00:45:20
Speaker
I'm in the right room at Harvard Business School with the Owner's Presence Management Program.
00:45:25
Speaker
I'm in the right room with masterminds.
00:45:27
Speaker
Like I spend money to be with the right people.
00:45:31
Speaker
Yeah.
00:45:32
Speaker
And, you know, I pay to play and you pay, you pay to play in one of two ways.
00:45:36
Speaker
You either pay with, with resources, which is money or you pay with time and energy.
00:45:41
Speaker
Yeah.
00:45:41
Speaker
Right.
00:45:42
Speaker
Both way, both all three are forms of payment as going back to the sales thing.
00:45:46
Speaker
Right.
00:45:46
Speaker
Yeah.
00:45:46
Speaker
Mr. Customer, I'm here to help you save because you pay for things with time, energy, and money.
00:45:50
Speaker
I'm here to save that.
00:45:51
Speaker
That's how you earn anything too.
00:45:53
Speaker
So it doesn't have to be just cash out, serve people, give energy, right?
00:45:58
Speaker
Like put in the time.
00:46:00
Speaker
That's how you're going to build a sweet network.
00:46:02
Speaker
Love it.
00:46:02
Speaker
Love it.
00:46:03
Speaker
Yep.
00:46:03
Speaker
So there you have it.
00:46:04
Speaker
That's how you get in the room with the big dogs.
00:46:06
Speaker
And guys, go shoot Chris a follow if you're not already listening to his podcast.
00:46:11
Speaker
I know you talk about all aspects of things.
00:46:14
Speaker
I mean, you just had a guy that came and talked about relationships.
00:46:17
Speaker
So it's not just about necessarily like selling the business.
00:46:19
Speaker
You're talking a lot about different things, right?
00:46:22
Speaker
So go shoot at a follow and it's always a good time having you on.
00:46:25
Speaker
We'll see where you go next.
00:46:27
Speaker
So hopefully we can do one before three years next time and see what's going on next.
00:46:31
Speaker
But thanks for coming on with us today, Chris.
00:46:32
Speaker
Appreciate it, my man.
00:46:33
Speaker
All right, take it easy.
00:46:35
Speaker
What's up, solopreneurs?
00:46:37
Speaker
Hope you enjoyed the episode.
00:46:38
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.
00:46:49
Speaker
One of the top questions I get asked on Instagram, on Facebook, by our listeners is, Taylor, where should I start?
00:46:56
Speaker
What episodes should I listen to in the podcast?
00:46:59
Speaker
You got too many podcasts, man, because now we have over 200 episodes.
00:47:04
Speaker
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.
00:47:17
Speaker
We put them together all in one sheet so you can go, you can hit the ground running, especially if you're new, you do not want to not have this sheet.
00:47:26
Speaker
So go download it right now.
00:47:27
Speaker
It's going to be at top10.solarpreneurs.com.
00:47:31
Speaker
Again, that's top10, the number 10,.solarpreneurs.com.
00:47:36
Speaker
Don't forget the S on solarpreneurs.
00:47:39
Speaker
We will have that in the show notes.
00:47:40
Speaker
Go download it right now.
00:47:43
Speaker
And especially if you have not listened to them, go listen to them and you can re-listen to them.
00:47:48
Speaker
That's going to show you how.
00:47:49
Speaker
So go download it and we'll see you on the other side.