Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to the Solarpreneur Podcast where we teach you to take your solar business to the next level.
Speaker: My name is Taylor Armstrong.
Speaker: I went from $50 in my bank account and struggling for groceries to closing 150 deals in a year and cracking the code on why sales reps fell.
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.
Speaker: What is a Solarpreneur you might ask?
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.
Speaker: How to generate solar leads without knocking on doors.
Speaker: We're going to be talking about all that and much more on today's podcast of The Solarpreneur.
Speaker: My name is Taylor Armstrong.
Speaker: We're here to help you close more deals, generate more leads and referrals, and have a much better time in the solar industry.
Speaker: Thanks for making the podcast the first listen of every Tuesday and Friday.
Speaker: We are free and available on Apple Podcasts.
Speaker: iTunes, Spotify, wherever you listen to podcasts.
Speaker: And today, I wanted to give a quick announcement before we jump into the topic of the day.
Speaker: And that is that my friend Danny Pesce, he is doing a closer setter tour.
Speaker: I'm going to be going to it out here in California.
Speaker: And so I wanted to make a special invitation.
Speaker: This event is going to be straight fire.
Speaker: You're not going to want to miss it.
Speaker: He's doing it March 4th and 5th in LA.
Speaker: And then March 11th, 12th, Phoenix, Arizona.
Speaker: March 18th and 19th in Dallas, Texas.
Speaker: March 25th and 26th in Orlando.
Speaker: Florida, April 1st, 2nd in Denver, Colorado.
Speaker: No, that is not a joke.
Speaker: That's not just April Fools.
Speaker: And April 7th and 8th, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Speaker: So if you want to hear from some of the best setters and closers in the industry, I'm going to be hanging out there.
Speaker: We're going to hear from some of the top dudes.
Speaker: A lot of them have been on the podcast.
Speaker: I know out here in California, we're going to hear from Ricardo Richie, who I had the pleasure of working with last year and set the record for most closed deals in a year with over 400 installs.
Speaker: Complete madness.
Speaker: So I'm excited and wanted to extend that invitation.
Speaker: Hit me up for details or if you want the special VIP discount, hit me up.
Speaker: So today we are jamming on ways you can generate referrals without knocking on doors.
Speaker: And you should know if you've been listening to this podcast for a while, you know that it's
Speaker: I am a strong advocate of knocking on doors.
Speaker: I think that is the go-to, in my opinion, best way to generate leads.
Speaker: It's free.
Speaker: You're getting less shoppers and builds character, helps you in the clothes.
Speaker: Huge fan of knocking on doors.
Speaker: That being said, I think it's good to expand the ways you get leads.
Speaker: And I am also for getting online leads.
Speaker: I'm for other methods of lead gen.
Speaker: I think as solopreneurs, we need to have our hand in all baskets, not only knocking doors, but taking advantage of every way we can generate leads.
Speaker: And so some of these I've talked about on the show before, and some of them I've done more than others.
Speaker: Some strategies I haven't done much of myself, full disclaimer, but I have friends that get tons of leads in a couple of the things I'm going to talk about here.
Speaker: And I know they also work if you work them.
Speaker: So let's jump into it.
Speaker: The first way to generate leads without knocking a single door is working your power base.
Speaker: What is your power base?
Speaker: If you have not read the book, Sell or Be Sold, Grant Cardone talks about this, but your power base is anyone that you know, all your friends, family, basically anyone you grew up with, anyone that could benefit from your product or service, you're putting them on a list.
Speaker: They're your warm leads, people that trust, know, like you.
Speaker: These are people you should reach out to before anyone.
Speaker: And this is something I tell all the new reps that start with us out here in San Diego.
Speaker: The first thing I tell them is, hey, write down your power base.
Speaker: Start reaching out to your friends, family, loved ones.
Speaker: Get them hooked up.
Speaker: I remember when I first started, one of my first sell was, guess what?
Speaker: My parents.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: And I didn't really get one option.
Speaker: I said, hey, I'm doing solar.
Speaker: You guys are getting this.
Speaker: Didn't really explain it to him.
Speaker: Got him on the phone, pulled up the credit applications at dad.
Speaker: What's your social security number?
Speaker: We're doing this.
Speaker: It's going to benefit you.
Speaker: and they did it.
Speaker: So that was one of my first sales.
Speaker: So you should have the confidence in your products to know that you're helping people.
Speaker: And something that I tell my new reps is even if it's people that you think, this is a stretch, I feel worried about reaching out to them, then do it like this.
Speaker: Just say, hey,
Speaker: We got, I just started with a solar company.
Speaker: We got a great offering.
Speaker: I think it could benefit you guys.
Speaker: But even if you're not thinking about it right now, do you guys mind if I just did like a practice presentation and showed you what's going on?
Speaker: They just have us practice, whether you guys are interested or not.
Speaker: Is that cool?
Speaker: And 99.9% of your family and friends, like how are they going to say no to you doing a practice presentation?
Speaker: So this is how I coach my new reps to start working their power base.
Speaker: Even if it's someone you haven't reached out to in a while, just reach out, say, hey, let me do a practice presentation.
Speaker: And even if they weren't interested, a lot of these people are going to be by the time you're done presenting to them because solar is the biggest no-brainer, right?
Speaker: So that's number one.
Speaker: And then number one, a going along with that in the same topic is recruit people that have a power base.
Speaker: My new reps I bring on, they're not closing deals typically yet.
Speaker: And so I'm coaching them through this process.
Speaker: Guess who they're getting to help them work their power base.
Speaker: They're taking me to these leads, right?
Speaker: Okay, and don't be, you know, disclaimer with that, don't be like the person that just recruits people and closes these people's families and friends and dumps them to the side.
Speaker: Like, you should be recruiting people with honest intent and really coaching them, really training them.
Speaker: You're not just getting them to give you free leads through their power base, but...
Speaker: That is one of the side benefits.
Speaker: If you are coming at it with good intent, then these people are going to want to introduce their friends and family to you.
Speaker: And then you're going to coach them to knock doors and get leads other ways as well.
Speaker: But I just say that because I actually had a friend who started a company and this company had massive, massive turnover.
Speaker: And basically they're just recruiting guys on so they could work their power base and then they dumped them to the side.
Speaker: They didn't really care about them after that.
Speaker: So don't be like those guys.
Speaker: Make sure you are actually recruiting people with honest intent and wanting to train them and have success long-term in solar.
Speaker: Hey, and number two, consider joining B&I groups, this business networking, right?
Speaker: And this is something, I'll be honest, I have not done myself, but I know a lot of people that are doing this.
Speaker: They're going to these groups that just were people from different industries.
Speaker: Maybe it's landscaping, maybe it's construction, different contractors are all coming in.
Speaker: And it's they're pitching each other leads.
Speaker: And from what I know, I have looked into it a little bit.
Speaker: There is an application process.
Speaker: You do, I think, have to attend a certain amount of meetings for a month.
Speaker: You have to commit to giving a certain amount of leads because obviously you can't just be the guy that goes to these meetings and expects free leads, but you never give anyone else leads, right?
Speaker: So essentially, you're just sharing leads as you're going to other houses.
Speaker: Maybe you have someone that's interested in selling their home.
Speaker: You're passing that lead on to the real estate guys in the in the B&A group.
Speaker: And, you know, it's a lot of reciprocity you're given and then you're getting leads in return.
Speaker: And yeah, I actually had a coworker that did this.
Speaker: He came in, started selling with us.
Speaker: And I think he got like 15 deals this first month.
Speaker: And we never saw him really out knocking.
Speaker: Like, dude, what are you doing?
Speaker: You just getting tons of referrals.
Speaker: What's going on here?
Speaker: And that's what he's doing.
Speaker: He's going to these B&A groups.
Speaker: He was getting a ton of leads from it.
Speaker: Worked out tremendously for him.
Speaker: And so consider going to one of these B&I groups.
Speaker: I know it can work.
Speaker: And I mean, one of the reasons why I haven't pushed, I haven't taken the initiative to go to one of these groups is because it's like once you do get good at knocking, I know I can go out and generate leads.
Speaker: You know, right off the bat, this is more of a long-term play.
Speaker: And that's the thing about these other methods.
Speaker: They are more long-term things.
Speaker: They are slower to get leads.
Speaker: So my opinion is you should never replace door knocking.
Speaker: or your go-to lead generation methods with these, because it's going to take a little bit to get going.
Speaker: You're not just going to show up to a B&I group and get 10 appointments that day.
Speaker: But if you come at it with a long-term perspective, I think it's a great way to supplement it.
Speaker: And maybe try one of these things one month, use it to supplement your door knocking or whatever else you got going on.
Speaker: And last but not least, number three on the list is social media.
Speaker: And everyone knows social media can be a great way to generate leads.
Speaker: And I've told this story before, but just me posting, if you follow me on Instagram, Facebook, you've probably seen me posting my little selfie videos.
Speaker: I do the customer interview, say, hey, what did you guys like about the process of going solar?
Speaker: Did you have to pay money out of pocket?
Speaker: Funny little video as I post.
Speaker: I have gotten a few leads, believe it or not, just by doing that.
Speaker: So that's my go to like if you're not going to get leads on social media, if you're not doing anything, I would suggest at least taking like some customer videos posted on social media, maybe at least a couple times a year saying, hey, all my family and friends are solar companies working out a sweet deal.
Speaker: We're actually in a competition.
Speaker: If you've ever thought about solar, hit me up.
Speaker: I know I post.
Speaker: I know sometimes I don't post enough about it.
Speaker: Whatever.
Speaker: Because sometimes people don't see, even to this day, sometimes people don't know that I do social media or I do solar, even though I'm posting about it on my social media all the time.
Speaker: So you're going to get different people seeing your content, different people reaching out.
Speaker: And if you really want to take it to the next level, I have friends that they go on like the Facebook groups of maybe it's like buy sell groups.
Speaker: Maybe it's like...
Speaker: Real estate groups, just anywhere where homeowners could congregate, community groups, whatever.
Speaker: They go on these groups and they post content about solar and just free content and they get leads this way.
Speaker: One of my good friends, Earl Kapule, who's been on the podcast.
Speaker: When he was running a team with myself out here in San Diego, he told us a story about he actually hooked up the VP of SDG&E, San Diego Gas and Electric, with solar out here.
Speaker: And like, absolutely insane.
Speaker: How do you go about selling basically your enemy, right?
Speaker: We're against the utility.
Speaker: But he hooked this guy up with solar.
Speaker: He didn't knock his door.
Speaker: How do you get in touch with this guy?
Speaker: He hit him up.
Speaker: I believe, and maybe he'll correct me if I'm wrong later.
Speaker: So Earl, if you're listening, let me know if I'm missing any details on this.
Speaker: But from what I remember, he hit him up on LinkedIn and he was just posting valuable content on LinkedIn.
Speaker: And I believe that the VP of SD Genie hit him up, said, Earl, I've been following your content for a while, seeing your posts about solar.
Speaker: I'd like to get a quote from you.
Speaker: Reached out just like that.
Speaker: Earl got him some information, got him a proposal and
Speaker: got him logged down.
Speaker: And how insane is that?
Speaker: Literally sold the guy that's one of the most powerful guys on out here in San Diego that is vice president of the utility company.
Speaker: So crazy things like that can happen if you utilize the power of social media.
Speaker: So those are three ways to start generating leads where you don't even have to knock a single door.
Speaker: Number one, work your power base.
Speaker: And with that, recruit people, help them work their power base.
Speaker: Number two, B&A groups.
Speaker: Number three, utilize social media, go in Facebook groups, network with other people, get on LinkedIn.
Speaker: All that stuff helps.
Speaker: Okay, but again, don't let this replace knocking doors or whatever your bread and butter is for generating leads.
Speaker: And the reason we're talking about this, one of the reasons is because next episode, we're going to have someone that has mastered the art of getting leads online through a way that most of you probably would not expect.
Speaker: His name is Joe Ordea.
Speaker: He runs a YouTube channel, probably one of the most value packed.
Speaker: YouTube channels out there on solar.
Speaker: It's called Solar Surge.
Speaker: If you have not heard of this, go check it out.
Speaker: He posts extremely valuable content.
Speaker: I've learned a ton from it.
Speaker: I've gotten massive value.
Speaker: But he posts more on the technology side about the new panels that have come out, new technology, and really just the latest and greatest news in the solar industry.
Speaker: Not as much sales focus.
Speaker: You can listen to this podcast for that.
Speaker: But if you want to learn more about the products and the new latest offerings in solar, definitely check out Solar Surge.
Speaker: And he's going to be hanging out with yours truly on the podcast next episode.
Speaker: Do not miss out.
Speaker: It's going to be fire and extremely value packed.
Speaker: So that's coming next time.
Speaker: Hopefully you got some value from this podcast.
Speaker: If you did like, comment, share, subscribe, all of the above and keep tuning in.
Speaker: We got some extremely awesome guests coming up soon.
Speaker: So go crush it this week.
Speaker: Get those deals locked down.
Speaker: And remember, have fun selling your solar.
Speaker: We'll see you on the next episode.
Speaker: What's up, solarpreneurs?
Speaker: Hope you enjoyed the episode.
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.
Speaker: One of the top questions I get asked on Instagram, on Facebook, by our listeners is, Taylor, where should I start?
Speaker: What episodes should I listen to in the podcast?
Speaker: You got too many podcasts, man, because now we have over 200 episodes.
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.
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.
Speaker: So go download it right now.
Speaker: It's going to be at top10.solarpreneurs.com.
Speaker: Again, that's top10, the number 10,.solarpreneurs.com.
Speaker: Don't forget the S on solarpreneurs.
Speaker: We will have that in the show notes.
Speaker: Go download it right now.
Speaker: And especially if you have not listened to them, go listen to them and you can re-listen to them.
Speaker: That's going to show you how.
Speaker: So go download it and we'll see you on the other side.
