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REPLAY: From Basketball Coach To Closing 300+ In A Year - Stetson Soffer
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This episode is a throwback to our rich and insightful episode with basketball coach turned sales powerhouse Stetson Soffer. Dealing with every obstacle possible during the pandemic, his hard work has produced not only sales for himself, but for teams of hundreds that he mentors towards productivity and self-growth.
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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. My name is Taylor Armstrong. I went from $50 in my bank account and struggling for groceries to closing 150 deals in the year and cracking the code on why sales reps fail.
00:00:19
Speaker
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.
What is a Solopreneur?
00:00:31
Speaker
What is a solopreneur you might ask? 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.
00:00:42
Speaker
Okay, what's going on, everybody?
Meet Stetson Sofer: Top Performer at Legacy Power
00:00:44
Speaker
I am stoked for today's podcast because we have someone that I would say definitely one of your top dudes in the industry, just rocking a ton of deals. And if you follow Legacy Power specifically, you have undoubtedly heard of this dude because he's won pretty much every award in the book that they've created at that company. And safe to say he's definitely one of the poster boys of Legacy Power over here.
00:01:06
Speaker
So we have the one that only sits in sofa joining today. What's up, my man? How you doing? Good, good, good. happy to be here. Super stoked. I've heard a lot about the Sorpreneur over the years and to now finally be on the podcast. This is just like another another notch in the cap, another feather the cap. I love it, man. So stoked to be here. Yeah, it'll be fun. Yes, sir. So yeah, we're going to talk about just running, setting, closing. Setson, he runs a super successful setter-closer program here, and it's cool how he integrates that within Legacy. So we jam on all that and his story, and I'm excited for it. Yes, sir. But ah yeah, so first things first, I mean, yeah, like we just mentioned, you've won a ton of awards, sales rep of the year, multiple times at Legacy Power.
00:01:50
Speaker
I know it's back and forth between you and Jack Pastrana, like, you know, top rep at Legacy. he's a kid Oh, my goodness. Yeah, i man. jack Jack keeps me up at night. No, I'm just kidding. I love competing against that guy. Yeah, man. We do go back and forth. He's a phenom. Yeah, no we'll be at both of you are crushing insane amounts of deals. But yeah, so we'll get into that, but let's hear what's your background sets and how did you get
Stetson's Journey into Solar Industry
00:02:13
Speaker
into solar? you want to tell our listeners the backstory behind all that? Yeah, so I got into solar in 2019.
00:02:21
Speaker
Funny enough, back in 2013, just like right right out of high school, it was year or two out of high school. Me and my buddy, we actually worked for my my friend's dad's solar company just for a summer.
00:02:35
Speaker
We went out, no training, no nothing. They threw a polo on us and they're like, hey go knock some doors. Go see you know who wants solar. This is 2013. Solar is still super brand new. Yeah.
00:02:47
Speaker
Safe to say that didn't work. We did it for a couple months. They would pay us, you know, a hundred bucks if a deal closed or something like that. And they'd pay us hourly to knock doors. um That was my first introduction to solar.
00:02:58
Speaker
Knocking on doors, no training, nothing. Me and my buddy did it. And we were like, no, like this is like not for us. Fast forward like six years, 2019. um twenty nineteen ah My then girlfriend, now wife, she was like talking to some of her friends that she knew that were in in solar here at Legacy. And she was like, you need to recruit Stetson, you need to get Stetson into solar. um And they they kind of just brushed it off. There's actually a whole little video that Xie Power posted about this. But um but long story short, i ended up meeting with with with one of the managers at the time. He explained it to me. He said, hey, this is different than whatever you tried six years ago.
00:03:34
Speaker
um The money is real. He showed me a couple of pay stubs and it was kind of like the Wolf of Wall
Overcoming COVID-19 Challenges in Solar Sales
00:03:39
Speaker
Street scene where Jonah Hill is talking to Leonardo DiCaprio. He's like, if you show me a pay stub for $50,000 or whatever, I'll quit my job right now. yeah It was one of those moments for me. right he showed me He showed me some pay stubs and was like, okay, I can give this a shot. yeah um um I had done... like basketball coaching, basketball refereeing. I'd worked as a valet. i had done Uber Eats, DoorDash, up until I got this sales job ah working inside different Costco's.
00:04:07
Speaker
And I would travel all over the all over the country doing sales for different food products. So that's what kind of introduced me to sales. So I knew I liked it. That's totally different than knocking on doors doing solar. But I knew that I kind of liked that that sales atmosphere. And so doing that job, along with being a coach and being a referee, I think kind of prepped me into stepping into a sales job because a lot of coaching and and ah being a ref in basketball is a lot of like telling people, hey, like this is what it is, especially refs. Like they're selling you basically that like they made the right call. Yes. every time they make a call. So I was, i kind of used all of that to my advantage stepping in. 2019, I was a setter. My first six weeks at Legacy like sucked. didn't get a single lead. it was really hard knocking on doors.
00:04:56
Speaker
um I was this close to quitting. um And luckily enough, um I get paired up with my my now co-manager, Downey. He was like, hey, dude, let me take you under my wing. Let me like show you a couple of things. Six weeks of nothing. And then our first week working together, we got like six deals. And it was during this big competition. And it was like the light bulb went off. And I was like, yo, I get it now. Like, I can i can do this.
00:05:21
Speaker
um And then kind of the rest is history. I was a setter for a couple of months and then turned into a closer. And then I felt like a big shot. And I was like, yo, I got this. And then COVID hit. And it like took all the wind out of our of our sails and basically had to like relearn kind of how to do this during that whole COVID transition time. Do we knock on doors? Do we not?
00:05:42
Speaker
From there, it was it was really tough to kind of get things cranking again. And then in June of 2020, so I almost quit. After my first six weeks, then became a really good setter. Then it became a decent closer for a couple months, then COVID hit. And then i was about to quit again in June of 2020. And I remember that entire month wearing a mask on the door. Some people were in gloves. And I was pushing through. I said, every single day, I'm knocking five to six hours.
00:06:06
Speaker
No questions asked. Just solo dolo. Nobody's coming with me. i did it for an entire month. And this is back when people didn't want to open the door, right? This before vaccination. vaccines, and nobody knew if COVID was real or not real, people were scared still, right? yeah And um I posted that entire month and I remember it was it was the last Tuesday of the month in in in June and I pulled up to this random neighborhood and I ended up getting this two spot from these two neighbors right across the street from each other. And that was the final like light bulb moment where like I proved that I could do this and maybe like I felt like I could get lucky, right? That was the moment where I was like, I can create my own luck. It's just the harder I work, I can kind of create it. That was the moment for me where like it really took off.
00:06:54
Speaker
And I was like, yo, I can go and do this every single day. i'm i'm I'm a hunter. Like I'm in control of of of my destiny. I know I hear Danny Pestis say this all the time. if it's if it's If it's meant to be, it's up to me. That was kind of like, my that was my moment. um And the rest is history, man. From there, I went from like,
00:07:14
Speaker
five, six, seven, eight deals a month, and nine, 10, and then 20, and then after I had signed 20, I was like, I'm never looking back. That's awesome. yeah yeah That's cool. Boy, so many cool lessons there. like If our listeners didn't notice, number one, you had to find the right company. yeah You said you were with, yeah what is a Dad's Buddies company? yeah. didn It didn't work out. you And then number two, it's like you had to find the right mentor. you had to type team up with Malik and someone like a coach or properly. yeah So I think so many people I see, they're quitting solar. They're saying solar is not for them, but they don't figure out just those two things. yeah They're the company that's maybe it's, they don't have good training. yeah
00:07:52
Speaker
And then they're with they don't have any mentorship. they don't have someone showing them the ropes. yeah So it's sad to see that just because those two things alone, people throw in the towel. Totally. And and what's funny is um joining a ah solar sales team like this, like when I, like I remember my first correlation and I remember Ashton Buswell, always brag about like Ashton and John and these leaders at Legacy, but like Ashton and John were the ones running the correlation. Yeah. and my first couple minutes I was like oh this is like this is kind of weird like what everyone's here like they're all super nice like I wasn't used to that like I come from like a football basketball background where it was like everyone's trying to like beat the other person everyone's trying to outdo the other person and there wasn't like a real like community and when I came in and I and I heard these guys be leaders the way that they are it just kind of like changed my whole perspective on like you know humbling yourself and like you know helping others win and
00:08:44
Speaker
The mission statement at legacy as corny as you, as you want to call it, right? Like, you know, become the best version of yourself and help others do the same it sounds corny, but it's, but it's true. And like, when you live that out, like you, you, you will see your life slowly, but surely start to change.
00:08:59
Speaker
Um, And yeah, man, I can just say from like a genuine perspective, like you you do have to find the right fit. you know like Like I said, football, basketball, I remember being on the most toxic teams where it's like, i don want to pass the ball to this guy because I don't like this guy and and and whatever. And like you come to a team like this and it's it's the opposite. Yeah, 100%.
00:09:17
Speaker
yeah Yeah, and that's definitely what's, you know, attracted me. Coming over, working with Legacy, too. It's been awesome to see. And then the third thing I heard you say is just, like, prove to yourself that you can do it. Because I think there's a lot of reps that maybe they have a little bit of success. Maybe they're closing couple of deals a month, making decent money or whatever. Yeah. But I was in those same shoes. It's like I was making okay money, but yeah i I, you know, wasn't going to college anymore. yeah My parents were getting after me. They're like, dude, what are you doing? You got a real job. Yeah, yeah, yeah. yeah so I'm like, all right, i need to go prove to myself that I can actually make like you know a career out of this.
00:09:52
Speaker
Just go balls to the wall, see what happens, yeah so to speak. and so It's cool to hear you did that too because I think yeah if you if you don't have that breakthrough moment, then there's always probably going to be those seeds of doubt. Totally.
Importance of Mentorship and Company Choice
00:10:03
Speaker
okay so to Go back to coaching, yeah go back to doing that. other things yes you know how it is once it gets tough out there you're not if you haven't tasted that um elite level of success and then we on a when doubt creeps into the mind it's it's one of the most dangerous things especially in ah in a job like this yeah um and i know i always talk about people that know me uh people that don't always talk about the phases right that you can kind of go through in this job and i always say phase one is realization like you gotta realize that like you you are in control of of the outcome you what what you get right what you what you give is what you get and the harder that you work um and that that burn the boats mentality of like no i'm making this happen and then seeing the fruit seeing the successes realizing that like no because This is a real career. I can i can do this for for a really long time and and and generate wealth. It's not just this thing I'm doing because I don't want to have a nine to five job. Like it's it's real. um it's It's super powerful. super powerful. And I love this now as a, not just a sales rep, but as ah as a manager, like getting to see it happen for other people. Yeah. 100%. Love that.
00:11:11
Speaker
So yeah, anyone listening, you if you haven't had that breakthrough moment, I think it's super important. Maybe you go do a blitz. Maybe you just challenge yourself like Stetson did. Go knock by yourself five, six hours a day and just see what happens. Just see what happens. is Yeah, most people, i don't a lot of reps haven't experienced that and gone to actually see what would happen if they couldn't work a full-time job. Straight up, straight up, yeah.
00:11:34
Speaker
I, um, yeah, I think so many reps, like, I think they think they're going hard because this job can be hard, right? You know, you're knocking on doors, people are, you're facing a touch of a bunch of, uh, resistance and and rejection, but like, are they actually working hard or is the job hard? And I think that's a question a lot of people got to ask themselves. Yeah, for sure. Love that. So yeah, um I want to shift gears a little bit, Stetson. What's cool to see you guys run really cool setter-closer model here. and Like we talked about, crushing a lot of deals.
00:12:05
Speaker
But something that's interesting is Legacy. We're just talking before we hit record. Legacy, they're not, I wouldn't say they're not necessarily set up as like setter-closer company the whole company.
00:12:16
Speaker
um So it's all bit, I don't know, maybe kind of a hybrid
Managing Setter-Closer Programs at Legacy Power
00:12:20
Speaker
type thing. Because some companies are like, okay, we're all setter-closer. We're not really going to let setters progress or make super high standards for them to progress. People just kind of end up seeing setters forever.
00:12:31
Speaker
And not that it's a bad thing. It's just a different way of doing it. um So for you here at Legacy, like kind of fitting within their framework of people still progressing as closers and all that, what has it been like for you by running a setter-closer program within Legacy? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so I think, like, it's, it for for Legacy, the one cool thing is there's a lot of autonomy, and, like, so one office might run it one way, another office might run it another, which I think is really cool. Yeah. um What we have found that that works best, um, um here at this office and like especially with my guys is like you come in as a setter unless obviously you have like a lot of experience as a closer with with another another team or something like that you come in as a setter um we have like a requirement of like just hit 10 deals you know what i mean which some guys some reps can do in two months right one month some reps it might take them five six months whatever yeah
00:13:24
Speaker
But that's like the requirement that we have. If someone shows like like so like really high level and like they show a lot of promise and like, hey, no, don't want to start closing. We do, like we can maybe make it tweaks or exceptions here there. yeah But what we have found is ah is that if you at least have 10 deals, you've seen enough closes, you've sat in enough closes, And if you're ready to then take the the closer test, you got to close myself and or one other one other manager, um then you're probably well equipped to like go and close on your own because we don't want setters just like, oh, i want to be a closer. And then they just fall on their face. And then a month later, two months later, they just quit. We don't want that.
00:14:01
Speaker
Right. also don't want people just being super entitled and being like, oh no, like I can set an appointment. I know how to close deals. Probably not. There are two totally different things, getting someone's electric bill and then getting someone to agree to a 25 year agreement to have solar panels on their roof. Right. yeah Two totally different things.
00:14:17
Speaker
um And so, yeah, like what I tell my guys is, hey, let's like if someone really wants to be a closer, I tell them, hey, let's get you 10 deals as fast as possible. Let's get money in your bank account as fast as possible. Let's teach you the clothes. and like Let's make sure you can do it. If there's a rep that's like, you know, 20, 21 years old, you know what i mean? they They maybe don't have that sense of authority yet to really be like a quote unquote closer. And cool, let's let you let's let you bake in the oven for a little bit longer. You know what i mean? get your get your skills Get your skills honed in. And if it's got to be six months years, et cetera, and you're comfortable with it and you're you're getting paid and you're staying happy, there's also nothing wrong with that either. Yeah, yeah that's good.
00:14:59
Speaker
Yeah, because I think, like I'm sure you've seen some people probably shouldn't progress super quick into closing. yeah some We've probably we seen a ton of reps just fall on their face, yeah quit the industry yeah just because they felt like they were at like an entry-level job setting. I don't know, I've seen companies where there's a ton of like i get shame around that. and They're like, oh, I suck at this, but I don't progress into closing in like a month. yeah It's like, dude, what should have stayed. What I would say is like, as for any setters out there listening to this, if like you want to be, first of all, get to a get to ah a company that like can help you progress. Like if you do want to be a closer, get to a place where like they can help you become a closer, right? Like it would have totally demotivated a guy like me if I couldn't progress from a setter to closer, yeah right? They told me back in the day, five deals. That's what it used to be. Five is maybe not enough.
00:15:47
Speaker
Um, because I did, I did six in that, in that first week of me getting any deals. Um, so i ended up getting, I believe it was 11. I got 11 deals with my, with my closer Malik at the time. Um, but like those last two deals we got together as me as a setter, I knew like i was sitting there in the clothes and I was like I could be doing this. yeah And I think that is the point you want to get to. Like, like you almost want, like once you feel like you should be a closer, go set one or two more. Yeah.
00:16:14
Speaker
one or two more for your closer and um and just make sure be like yeah no like i could have totally buttoned this whole thing up myself here yeah yeah i like that yeah yeah and what about um like how soon do you have them sit in deals because and some people it's like in my opinion they shouldn't be sitting in deals for a minute yeah yeah yeah like they could be out setting 10 more deals that could close totally totally so for you guys do you wait till they get to i don't know maybe five to ten then start sitting in them or what's your opinion for For me, it's honestly like like it depends on the on the homeowner and
Handling Deal Cancellations and Transparency
00:16:48
Speaker
on the set.
00:16:48
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. so it's like So if there's an appointment that gets set by one of my guys and like he tells me, like dude, we had like really good rapport. You just got to come in and close them, whatever. I would just have him sit in on the appointment. you know what i mean? And he's maybe not even necessarily learning the clothes during that time. He's just maybe building rapport with the husband or the wife or art or the brother, whatever it is. Yeah. So for me, it's it's really dependent on on on the set.
00:17:11
Speaker
um in ah In a perfect world, let's say we're on a blitz and they're setting appointments. No, they're not they're not sitting in on the in in on the appointment unless they want to learn how to close. And so there's not really a number per se that I have, but it's like if if your if if your head is not like, I want to be learning how to close right now, I just want to be setting, then like, set the appointment, you know what I mean? Maybe do an introduction, like, hey, this is Stetson, my design specialist. He's gonna take care of you, and then I'm um i'm going right back to the doors. back Okay, I like that. Yeah.
00:17:41
Speaker
Okay, and then the other thing is some people, some setters I see, they get five, 10 deals, but then almost all them cancel sometimes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Matter of fact, I have one that's probably at about 10, but that's a lot cancel, unfortunately. And I know that's not really on the setter. It's like, I don't know, there's always things that can be done. So if you're saying, okay, 10 deals to a setter and they get 10, but three, fours them cancel, you have them keep setting or what's your take on that? No, I don't. Like, if someone tells me like, hey, I want be a closer, you know, and then they hit their 10 deals and I'm like, let's take the test then. I'm like, but just know, like, especially they're struggling for money, I think that is really, really, like where you kind of got to gauge it. If a rep is struggling for money, I had some reps last year that were, and was like, dude, like just set for me, let's get a couple, let's get a couple of accounts under your name. I know you can close, but let's just get you paid. And then dude, just go and crush it. I had a couple of guys like that last year. It's, there's just a certain level of confidence that they have when they go into the home, when they know that their bank account is nice and healthy versus when they have that, when they're hurting and they're feeling that commission breath, it's just, it's just a different vibe.
00:18:53
Speaker
Yeah, that's a really good point. yeah yeah because yeah close i hate that closing under stress and just feeling the desperation person you know money don't like you have to get this next close yeah and what's what's funny for me is like i've i have caught myself because as a closer like i like in in my wife has sometimes like gotten mad at me for this but like sometimes even when i'm doing good but i know my setters aren't or like even my reps aren't it like will affect me because i'm like know i'm good right but like i want my people to be doing good and um and and yeah man sucks like if i have a solo deal that cancels it sucks yeah sure but i'm like all on to the next one but sometimes when it's one of my setters yeah deals and it's like a juicy one and i knew they were gonna get paid and it cancels because they talked to their cousin that does so and they're do with him those hurt those those hurt more than anything And yeah, man, I've had to teach myself on how to navigate through those moments more so than even my own solo closers. Fun fact, my first 20 solar deals all got installed. All got signed and installed as a setter and as a closer. So I didn't even know what a cancel was. was like, wait, what? People cancel? Like, that's a thing? and then had to learn the hard way. Like, yeah, it is definitely a thing, you know what I mean? So, yeah, man.
00:20:11
Speaker
Yeah, the cancels for your setters definitely suck. And, like, coaching them through that and navigating them through that and understanding, like, there's so many factors at play in this game. yeah And, obviously, as a closer, always trying to be better, like, and realizing, okay, I could have done this or I could have done that to prevent that. is definitely something i don't take lightly yeah yeah yeah and i think just communication with the setters because i have some guys that i coach right now through the podcast and yeah um sometimes i hear that they don't even hear about their cancellations they're expecting to get paid and then the day they thought i was going to get installed they're like they're like oh yeah by the way that one had canceled like yeah months ago ye so like dudes i think it's important to communicate with the setters and set the expectations with them hey
00:20:50
Speaker
Yeah, cancelers are going to happen. This could happen. I'll let you know for sure when if and when it does. We'll do everything possible to save it. Totally. But yeah, because I just see so many setters lose confidence when they hear eight months after they should have. Or when closers don't give them the details, like why it's canceling, yeah yeah what happened with it. like Sometimes they'll just forget about that. They'll move on to the next one. It's like, okay, we' tell at least tell us why, like yeah what happened with this. Yeah.
00:21:16
Speaker
Totally. I try to have full transparency with my setters. Like, you know what i mean? Like where it deals at, if it canceled for whatever reason, or whatever I do, because when I was a setter, I would have wanted that. yeah And like, I just, my main thing as a mentor and as a closer for, for my people is like, I'm, I'm trying to be like the, the person that that I knew that I needed when I was in their shoes. And that's always where I'm trying to operate from. Um,
00:21:41
Speaker
And yeah, like there's certain there's certain accounts in the pipeline that like i I'll have a setter. They'll be the one in communication getting it from from sign to install. Right. And so they're kind of the ones on top of it. And then I'll have others where I'm the one communicating with the homeowner. And that's just kind of based on the relationship. You know what i mean? but Between us and the and the homeowner, which everyone makes more sense. Right. But yeah, always, I just show full transparency to the setters. Like, Hey dude, like this, this guy canceled because he, he thinks he's going to move or he talked to his cousin or whatever it is just because they it shows reassurance to them that like, it also makes them understand the game a little bit, a little bit better. Yeah. Yeah. That's good.
00:22:18
Speaker
Yeah. And I like what you said, getting, getting the setters involved, cause this was something that was new to me. But when I came to legacy, I heard some closers were getting their setters involved with like, I've heard drop wrapping up gifts to them, like communicating later down the road. yeah do Do you do anything like that? You said it's just kind of case by case. It's kind of case one yeah kind of case by case. I'm not a big gift guy for the for the for homeowners um or anything like that um when they when they sign up to Go Solar. I'm nothing against it. I think it's a great idea. yeah um But yeah, case by case. um And I do have just depending on the relationship, you know what i mean? Sometimes it's me with the homeowner the whole time communicating from sign to install. Sometimes it's sometimes it's a setter. Yes. That's awesome. Yeah. Cool, man. I also like a group chat. Group chat is great.
00:23:06
Speaker
Sometimes me, the setter and like husband and the wife, whatever, I'll just put us on a group chat. You know what I mean? And maybe send an update here there, whatever. Just keep it light and fun. Yeah. Yeah, that's good. That's good. I like that. That's cool. So yeah, and then something else I wanted to ask you about. Now, you kind of talked about how you progressed from setter to closer, some of the challenges you ran into. What about now you're managing a team? You guys are what, like 102 teams? Yeah, it's 110 guys or something like that right Yeah.
00:23:37
Speaker
So, massive team. yeah And I know you got other managers and all that, but what was it like for you going from closer to managing? Maybe your team was a lot smaller back then, but do have any other stories? I'm actually, i'm I'm pretty lucky. So the way um I went from Sutter to closer and then mentor, right? I actually recruited one of my one of my good buddies that I used to do valet with. Shout out to Dash Martinez. um I sent him my first big check Friday. I was like, hey dude, like, come on, this is way better than parking cars. And yeah and and he was like okay, I'll give it a shot. So but I recruited him and then um my wife's best friend's husband, and at the time was boyfriend, shout out to Johnny DeLegge. He's also part of the team. So it started with like me just mentoring these two guys. There's another dude, Chow, that was with us. So sort of me just kind of mentoring these guys.
00:24:27
Speaker
And then from there, just kind of naturally, I went from like, just kind of mentoring three dudes to like stepping into a manager role when when the VISTA team that I managed was smaller, there was like 15 of us.
00:24:38
Speaker
And so was me and Malik and Jake, and so it was three of us managing 15 dudes. So then so it was just kind of like this slow but like kind of organic progression So it went from being a mentor of a few dudes to being a manager of a few more guys to then being a manager of a bigger team. And so I've been lucky that the progression is just kind of slowly but organically built and and grown, um that I've been able to kind of step into it.
00:25:01
Speaker
yeah um It is definitely challenging when like, hey, I'm trying to go get a freaking three spot today. And i'm on the phone the whole time helping this person get a login, helping this person navigate this deal to get installed, helping this person get onboarded. That has been um that's been challenging. yeah um But I've been a coach. you know I've coached basketball teams. I've been a team captain growing up um with football teams and basketball teams. um I used to be, I played wide receiver on the football team and I was kind of one of those like, um you know, give me the ball kind of guys, maybe not the best leader that I could be. yeah um And through good coaches that I've had back in the day, i kind of was able to learn that like, hey, if you want people to follow you, you can't be a me guy, you got to be a we guy. and um
00:25:50
Speaker
And that's just always something that I keep at the forefront of my mind when I'm leading my people. And that makes it easier when I'm taking a phone call to help someone do whatever right any of my people need help in the solar industry there's a lot of lot of things that come up get a login help someone with a cancel whatever it may be um and when i have that team mentality um and that like it's not me it's we it helps me navigate through those situations way better um but yeah it's tough managing 100 people and still trying to go sign two three 400 accounts this year yeah yeah no that's cool It's incredible to see like what guys do, what Jack do. You're running massive teams, but still producing. yeah and I think that's why people respect these. It probably you know makes you a better leader. You're leading from the front. You guys are definitely listening to what you're saying. If I can do this, while I'm like taking 20 calls a day. and your name You guys should be able to figure it out. Totally. It's cool to see that. It's fun. Yeah, I don't think I've had anyone on that had like a sports coaching background. That's cool. Do you feel like that's helped you quite a bit being a coach of these different sports? Yeah, definitely coaching. I coached like a sixth and seventh grade team. I was with them for like two and a half years.
00:27:03
Speaker
Actually, as I was working at Legacy, I kind of like transitioned out of it only because I couldn't give those kids like my my full undivided attention. i was I was focused more on this, obviously. um so I had to step away. But yeah, I would say coaching,
00:27:16
Speaker
coaching definitely helped me. And then past that, growing up and playing football and basketball, I knew what it was like to be a bench warmer and I knew what it was like to be the the team captain and i and and to be on both ends of the spectrum. I feel like a lot of people probably don't know what it's like. You know what they mean? to to To feel like a kid that no one cares about on the team and then to be to be the the best player. yeah And Through that, I've kind of learned how to navigate um different perspectives and in in and talk to someone that's maybe struggling or talk to someone that's freaking popping off and know how to like have those conversations and know how to, like, you know, if I need to uplift someone, cool. if i need someone or Or if it's someone that's doing great, how to show them praise. yeah um I feel because of because of that, it's really helped me understand different perspectives in a team environment like this. yeah That's really cool. Yeah. it Relate to yeah people. Yeah.
00:28:10
Speaker
Yeah, and I've seen you run trainings, and yeah I can see that now, you being a coach. Yes, yes, yes. The shout, and the getting people fired. and Yeah, yeah, yeah the yeah. I don't know any other way to be. so That's motivating, man. It's motivating.
Ideal Schedule for High Sales Volume
00:28:24
Speaker
know Some people talk trash on this, like, you know, who raw stuff, and getting people huddled up. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like...
00:28:31
Speaker
The proof's in the pudding. It's like you go to Tony Robbins events and guys are jumping, shouting, come on yeah physical and all that. so yeah you know I look at this as like where ah like it's almost like a sports team. You know what I mean? i guess This is a sport that we play, in my opinion, yeah um and and we got to get the people fired up. and it's It's a lot easier to get the people fired up like when you truly are yourself and when you're out there in the trenches with them. You know what I mean? so um so yeah and I love it. I love it. Yeah.
00:29:00
Speaker
That's awesome. And so something i always like to ask high producers, top producers like yourself sets in is a lot of guys ask me like, what are these guys doing different? How many hours are they working? What's like the schedule?
00:29:12
Speaker
So for you, when you're cranking and you know, on your ideal schedule, what is your perfect schedule look like for producing and Yeah, so perfect schedule. You know what i mean? It's like me and me and three, four guys, whateverever whoever I'm knocking with. I'm always you know knocking with different people and stuff. um you know We're probably getting to the get to the hood, call it 10 a.m. know what I mean? We'll go from...
00:29:36
Speaker
go from 10 to 12, you know i mean? Take ah take a lunch break, whatever it is, something like that. Um, I'm probably doing one or two or three, however many phone calls in between then, 10 to 12, take a break and then maybe go one to three, take another little small break and then just go from like four to six. That's something that's like a perfect, if I'm like,
00:29:55
Speaker
hey, I want to sign 20 accounts this week. like that's That's what I'm doing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. that's ah That's the schedule I'm on Monday through Saturday. Yeah, yeah, yeah. With me and my guys. it Now, am I on that schedule every week? No. Right? And there's certain weeks where it's like, hey, knocking two hours is better than knocking no hours. Right? You know what i mean? But if I'm trying to crank, I'm on a blitz, or if I'm just trying to get after it, that's that's what I'm on right there. Okay. I like it.
00:30:20
Speaker
And what about, do you have any morning routines you go through? Like, are you gym guy? or what im I'm a gym guy. um You know, this is funny. And people always laugh like when they when they ask me these kind of questions. um I'm not a big morning routine guy. um um I'm not one of those... one of those kind of guys that I do, I do like it. And me and my wife actually are trying to get on like ah a morning routine of like, um it's funny, she actually just mentioned this yesterday. She's like, we should do morning yoga and like get the blood flowing. And then we should, you know, we should take our our dog Chevy for a walk and we should do all that. And we could still, you know, handle emails or whatever, but at least like we're doing something together in the morning. We got our dog with us.
00:30:57
Speaker
So I will get back to you on that morning routine that I want spare with my wife. It was her idea. I can't take the credit. yeah um But i am a I am a gym guy. i If I don't go to the gym and I've been slack and I used to be in in way better shape. i used to play basketball three, four times a week. Now I'm lucky to pick play once or twice a month, yeah um but still going to the gym, lifting, lifting.
00:31:21
Speaker
If I go less than three times a week, I feel like I'm literally like like deteriorating. I'm like, I got to go at least three times a week. i'm Now, the beginning of the year, trying to take a little bit more serious. i have this new lifting schedule that I'm following, push-pull legs, you know, the bro split. Yeah. But um I'm trying to stay on that. um i I want to get back into the best shape that I've ever been in. yeah i want I want to get shredded. I want i want to um ah challenge myself in the gym because you just feel better. You know what I mean? you you feel better when you're when you're in better shape. So I'm go to be taking it a lot more serious this year. These last two years, I've definitely taken my foot off the gas yeah in the gym.
00:31:59
Speaker
Yeah, well, I think part of being like a top producer, um I don't think... like Some people want to have the balance, the you know equilibrium. Yeah. But especially if you're cranking, like, you know, Ricardo, Richie, and some of these other top guys. For sure.
00:32:16
Speaker
I talk to them when they're all like blitzing in sales mode. Some of them just... they don't have time to go to the gym. for like you that's the movie it's it's It's true. It's funny. We on these boots and it's like, all right, going to knock from this time to this time, whatever, all these appointments, and going hit the gym at night. yeah And then 8 p.m., 9 p.m. rolls around and it's like, I got to go to the gym right now. like you it's like It's the hardest thing. Sometimes we get it done, but it is tough. Yeah. um But yeah, that is definitely one thing. That's on 2024 list of goals that i want I want to crush, is I want to hit the gym minimum four times a week, um and i'm I'm trying to do five. Yeah, that's good. Yeah, yeah and I think morning or some people take it extreme with morning routines. It's like, that's another thing. Yeah, I'm sure there's a couple things that help, but yeah you hear of those gurus, it's like an hour meditation, 30 minutes gratitude journal. It's like,
00:33:10
Speaker
Hold your breath under a cold plunge for 30 seconds or whatever. You know what I mean? I think all that stuff is great. It's maybe not for me. um I think for me, like i just I just like to get it.
00:33:24
Speaker
yeah I just like to get after it. you know yeah um All that other stuff helps and it's and it's good for you, but it's it's never been the foundation for me. My foundation is like, my whole life people told me I was kind of like a waste of talent I i could have done this in football I could have done this but because I don't want to take full ownership I maybe I i didn't show up to to practice the way I should have or I didn't I didn't get my grades in order the way I should have and and um and so for me and in One thing I'll say to that, ah I don't let that be like a like a like something that's holding me back. I'm like at peace with it. you know what I mean? Like all those people that like talk crap to me back in the days. I don't think about that anymore. That kind of gave me the fire initially when I started at so in solar and with legacy. um But then I just, I took that.
00:34:11
Speaker
And I was like, okay, I can i can make something of myself. yeah And then I just let it be this thing where i'm like, no, no, no. I'm on it now and I'm just letting it roll through. yeah And it's it's pushing me forward. Yeah. yeah Got your team out there. This is the last I've ever had to be without me in there. I love it. Let's go. Let's go.
00:34:30
Speaker
Yeah, but no, I love that. And yeah, just like, I don't i don't know if you follow like Alex or Mosey, you know, yeah like to but I think that's something he talks about too is people ask him what his morning routine was. He's like, I just go to the gym, then I go straight to work. I love it. Yeah, it. That's me a lot of days. Incredible things. Yeah, I think sometimes we just got to go all and you know, not worry about the hour meditation. Totally. I can't help. Totally.
00:34:53
Speaker
Yeah. Um, but yeah, so last, I think last kind of topic I want to touch on before we start wrapping up here, Stetson is, um, I know you're closing an, ah insane volume of accounts.
Strategies for Closing Solar Sales Deals
00:35:04
Speaker
Your best year was what? Like 200 plus? I 300 plus Yeah. so yeah,
00:35:10
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely incredible. only a few people ever that I've had on the podcast that have done similar numbers to that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Super impressive. So just to touch on closing, I know a lot of people are probably curious about that. What are some, ah I don't know, maybe like high-level perspective? What are some of the most important things or biggest things you would say that maybe other closers jump the ball on? Yeah. you think is setting you apart?
00:35:34
Speaker
I would say, number one, Every time I'm i'm going into into the home, and I'm and i'm sure the high-level guys you spoke to as well, is it's it's it's the same thing every single time. It's the same process every single time. yeah But we can kind of mold it to the person we're speaking to. you're talking to to Grandma Betty or you're talking to like you know Mr. Lawyer guy, right it's like we have the same process, but we're speaking or we're saying things just slightly differently. yeah That's number one. is like I'm always truly myself. but
00:36:07
Speaker
I'm able to adapt to the environment and to the customer appropriately. Not by being fake, but just by adjusting the way that I'm speaking, the way that I'm um um um saying certain things. I would say that's that's number one. And then number two, just like truly listen to to the person sometimes, like with your heart, and like listen to what they want.
00:36:29
Speaker
And then give them give them what they want. You know what I mean? I think that's a lot of times like that kind of goes overlooked. is i'm I'm literally just truly listening to the to the homeowner. And I'm going to let them tell me like, like hey, like why am why am I sitting down here? Oh, it's it's it's this or it's that. And I'm truly listening. And then i'm I'm just going to give them like exactly like kind of what they're asking for. You know what i mean? Like whether it's a cheaper bill or they want to be able to use more power, whatever it is, right? The product solar itself is a no-brainer for most people. um I would say that. And then also, like, I will walk away from a deal um that I think isn't a good fit for the homeowner. They have bad sun hours, if if whatever, whatever it could be. Their their roof is bad. They're going to moving in like two months. i don't know. there's there's there's certain times they're on um a million discounts and we're gonna end up taking their bill higher than what it is and like they really don't need to be paying that. I'll walk away from a deal um if I know it's not like a great deal for them. yeah And I find that that gives me a lot of conviction when I am in the home explaining to them how this process works. yeah So that's what I would say. And that's hard to find in California, by the way. yeah is Yes, it is so that's not it's yeah it is. It is very hard to find. Yeah,
00:37:44
Speaker
definitely Yeah, because compared to other markets, you know, you look up Florida where they got trees and all that. Totally. um So, yeah, I think even more so for people in other markets outside of California. That's something I see a lot, knowing when to walk away from the deal. Yes.
00:37:59
Speaker
You can find them out here, too. It's a lot more rare. and It's definitely rare. Definitely rare. Also, don't know when I walk away if I feel someone's like not respecting me or is or is just trying to be a shopper. You know what mean? It's like...
00:38:10
Speaker
um Yeah, I don't have time to shop. You know what I'm saying? like it stop i'm not here I'm not here so you can shop me. That's not something I kind of let. I feel like that gives a homeowner like in the upper hand on you. And there's one thing, if you know setters that work with me or a knock with me, I don't ever let somebody get the upper hand. Yeah, never. Yeah.
00:38:29
Speaker
Yeah, one lesson I had to learn too is just, I think in the beginning, I would get in these deals that were, you know, Grandma Betty that has a $40 bill on 10 discounts. I would like feel like I'm like, okay, well, maybe there's a small, tiny chance. It's like, you know, dumb and dumb. Are you telling me there's a one in a million? I'm going to sit in this possible. Yeah.
00:38:51
Speaker
Next thing I know, I'm three hours in this deal. It hasn't gone anywhere. He's going to their son calls you the next day. He's like, did you sign my mom? I know. yeah so yeah I think just especially if you're trying to produce at a high level, just from a time perspective, like there's no way you're going to have time to sit in all these deals. that It's like a 1% chance maybe you do close them. yeahp And then...
00:39:12
Speaker
You know, but more than likely, you're just going to waste time. Totally. Totally. Time is money. Time is money in this job. You do not want to be wasting your time on the doors with someone talking to about cats. Right. you don't want to be wasting your time in home with someone that's never going to end up actually getting installed. Yeah. Yep. That's fire.
00:39:29
Speaker
Yeah. So do you have any good lines? Maybe because that's something from the podcast. A lot of people do like to hear top guys like, Hey, what are that some of the one liners you're using? It's like your best closing line. And I know like, you know, you go through the process. It doesn't really matter what you say. They're go to close. Yeah. But do you have maybe like creating, you talked about, um you know, just kind of creating the frame that you're the experts, not letting the homeowner get the upper hand. Yeah. What are some lines you so maybe say as you're kind of like fact-finding or saying, hey, trying to like not come across as like a dick, but be like, hey, I'm in control here.
00:40:01
Speaker
I'm the one handling this. do you have any, i don't know, maybe examples or lines? So one of my one of my favorite things to do with a homeowner um that's like, you kind of get those homeowners sometimes that are like confused and they're like, they're they're not understanding. and they're like, wait, I don't understand. But how does your company make money? That's like one thing that we always hear. Right. And one thing that I like to do is I'll i'll pause and I'll be like, here, let me say this one more time.
00:40:27
Speaker
And I just stop like that. And then I'll say, we make our money the same way Edison makes their money, right? You buy electricity. but i But I pause and I say that, here, let me say this one more time.
00:40:38
Speaker
Just like that. And you see the homeowner, you see their body language change and they sit back. And so I don't know if that's really a one-liner, but it's just maybe the way that I drop my tone down. um And it and it it does work like a charm. with those homeowners that are kind of squirrely and they're like, they they keep asking the same question over and over again, pausing, dropping your voice down, here, let me say this one more time and then just explain whatever it is that you're that you're saying. I love to do that and it in in a lot of lot of closes, yeah. Nice, so what what is your, how do you explain it to them? If they're like, oh, this sounds too good to be true.
00:41:11
Speaker
Do you just kind of repeat the same thing? Yeah, so yeah Yeah, so because these people that are like, but nothing is free and and and this and that. Yeah, totally, like I'm not saying this is free. The same way these power lines get put up and you don't pay for the power lines, you just buy electricity from it, right? This is the same concept. We're not doing this for free. We still profit from this, right? We're gonna put these panels up, they're our panels, so we'll monitor, we'll maintain, we'll insure them. You just buy energy from these panels instead of buying all of your energy from the utility. So we still make money. Don't, this is a win, win, win. More clean energy on the grid for Edison or for SDG&E. You're getting a cheaper power bill and then we're gaining a customer, right? Nice. So that's why explain it. Yes. That's good. That's good.
00:41:52
Speaker
Okay. And then as you're going into the close, how do you transition into like, you know, application documents? You say, okay, now let's see if the home qualifies for upper. What's like you're lying into the application and all that. so that' signed documentist yeah yeah Yeah. Cool. So we got you approved. Yeah. So now we just need to do the paperwork, get everything, cross the eyes and doted ah cross the eyes cross the T's and dot the I's. um and yeah then we'll set up your site so we're going to get out of your hair.
00:42:19
Speaker
um But I just transition like this. This is just the paperwork. Yeah, just fill this out really quick. That's what do. it If I do have a homeowner that wants to read it word for word, we can read it. that's That's no big deal. But nine times out of 10, this is just the paperwork you got to fill out.
00:42:32
Speaker
Nice. Yeah. And I'll go through the the first page with them. This is your, this is your price. This is the amount of production. this is the, uh, this is the amount of panels, whatever stuff like that. I'll go over, you know what i mean? But other than that, yeah, they're saying that we own the panels.
00:42:46
Speaker
This is stating that, you know, we're not going to put a lien against your property, stuff like that. I, I go through it as if it's just a formality. Nice. Yeah. love it Yeah. Yep, so yeah, that's big grade there is just the way you think of it, it's gonna be reflected on the homeowner. Exactly.
00:42:59
Speaker
I think I made that mistake, I'm like, oh, this is a huge step. They're signing their life away. This 25 year contract yeah yeah has all this legal stuff in there and and then yeah, it's gonna freak the homeowners out. Yeah, keep that just yeah it's just the paperwork you gotta fill out.
00:43:12
Speaker
yeah yeah that's That's literally how i go go about it.
Legacy Power's Stability and Opportunities
00:43:15
Speaker
yeah And if they wanna, yeah, this will be in your email if you wanna read it later, if you wanna have like a bedtime story, like by all means, could read this you can read yourself to sleep, yeah. and ask Love it.
00:43:24
Speaker
That's awesome. Well, Stetson, it's been awesome having you on. and We've been through it a lot and I know we could probably go on for hours. You got your ah guys in a meeting next door. So yeah don't want to keep you too long. um But yeah, just to wrap up here, if people want to connect with you more, maybe hear about ah hopping on with legacy, what's the best way to connect with you? you Reach out. Yeah. So um' I'm on Instagram at Stetson Sofer. Shoot me a DM if you want to come see it, whether if you're in Southern California market, Northern California market, whether you're in Vegas, Texas, anywhere in Nevada, Florida, um or in any other state, shoot me a DM. Let's talk. I truly feel that Legacy Power has the the best culture and best platform to grow and succeed in this industry. And I feel I'm i'm one of the best in the game and we can prove it to you.
00:44:14
Speaker
So shoot me a DM. 100%. Yeah, and we've seen so many companies disappear in California. yeah And that was a big reason that led me to legacy just because all my companies were going out of business. Yeah. It wasn't getting paid.
00:44:27
Speaker
So yeah, you want to be with a company that you feel confident about. and It's sad to see so many people leave the industry just because they don't have confidence that they're going to get a paycheck. or that they're gonna be with leaders who you know have their best interests in mind. So definitely hit myself for Stetson up if you wanna, great, solar opportunity. If you wanna grow, wanna make life-changing money, and you wanna have fun along the way,
00:44:51
Speaker
Hit us up. Let's go. Let's go on it. Okay. And then last question, Stetson, if you were to leave one piece of advice for maybe something you would you wish you would have done. I know we talked a little bit about that, but things you would have done sooner, maybe struggling rep in the industry, want a parting piece of a advice here, what would it be? um I would say to work harder.
00:45:13
Speaker
And and i know that sounds maybe cliche or like super basic, whatever, but like the moments it gets hard in your mind, that's when you have to go harder. yeah And so when it gets hard, go harder. That that would be my piece of advice um because that's what I did when it when it did get hard for me, when I was thinking about quitting, when it was when it was ah when it was a rocky couple weeks, couple of months. And that's what pushed me through it. And I know that there's so many so many people in this industry where they they think they're working hard, but maybe it's just that the job is hard and they're not pushing hard enough to get through it.
00:45:48
Speaker
Yeah, love that. So yeah, I think it goes back to what we talked about in the beginning. Just put yourself through more than you thought was possible. yeah Maybe have your team going on a blitz or get in a different environment. I think that's... you know sometimes i get complacent being at my house with my wife and all that so maybe try and blitz and just push yourself harder than you thought was possible and yeah see what happens yeah and then if you still suck yeah then maybe you can think but chances are you'll probably do a lot better than you had before yeah but then more times so in the bo leave no stone unturned and go all in if you want to find out if this industry is for you you have to go all in you can't tiptoe around. You can't just feel the water at first. You got to fully submerge yourself.
00:46:30
Speaker
And that that's going to give you the answer of this if this is right for you. And if it's not, no worries, but at least you'll know. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, we can send you the pest control boys. or we you But it's for professionals.
00:46:44
Speaker
That's right. Well, thanks again, Stefan. Stetson has been awesome having you. Thank you. Hope to do another one in the future. Let's go. Can't wait see what's next. Let's go. So true, baby. Let's go. All right. Let's go. Sweet. So some of you already know that I run my own door-to-door sales team here in San Diego.
00:47:00
Speaker
And as we are gearing up for the summer, I realized if we do the same thing we always did, we're going to get the same results. But if I want to increase my deal flow, I need to do something different to get an advantage. Then we discovered an app called Solar Scout.
00:47:14
Speaker
But it's not a door knocking app, it's a data platform that shows us who is likely to go solar in our market. It shows us who has previously applied for solar but later cancelled the deal, who has moved in recently, and even how much electricity the homes are using in a given neighborhood.
00:47:29
Speaker
It's been working for a lot of teams across the country, and now I'm on board too. I'm going to be one of the first to use Solar Scout in San Diego, so I decided to partner up. But I told them, hey, I'm going to talk about Solar Scout on my show. you need to give my listeners a great deal, and they did.
00:47:44
Speaker
So go to solarscout.app forward slash Taylor and book a demo with them, and you'll get 10% off your first month when you sign up. That's solarscout.app forward slash Taylor.
00:47:57
Speaker
Okay, back to the show. What's up, solarpreneurs? Hope you enjoyed the episode. Before you run out and start selling more solar yourself, wanted to let you know about an exciting new cheat sheet we created it specifically for you in mind.
00:48:13
Speaker
One of the top questions I get asked on Instagram, on Facebook, by our listeners is, Taylor, where should I start? What episodes should I listen to in the podcast? You got too many podcasts, man, because now we have over 200 episodes.
00:48:28
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.
00:48:41
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. So go download it right now. It's going to be at top10.solarpreneurs.com. Again, that's top10, the number 10,.solarpreneurs.com. Don't forget the S on solarpreneurs.
00:49:03
Speaker
We will have that in the show notes. Go download it right now. And especially if you have not listened to them, go listen to them and you can re-listen to them. That's going to show you how. So go download it and we'll see you on the other side.