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How To Stop Losing Solar Sales For Good
103 Plays6 years ago
Hate losing solar deals after you've spent hours in a prospect's home? In this video, you'll learn how you can increase your closing ratio and prevent most of your homeowners from giving you excuses for why they don't want to make a decision on the spot with you.
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Transcript
Introduction to Solopreneurs and their mission
00:00:00
Speaker
What do you call an underground group of solar professionals on a mission to create a more sustainable world?
00:00:05
Speaker
We call ourselves solopreneurs.
00:00:08
Speaker
And while some might call us crazy, foolish, and dissatisfied with the status quo, we're the ones taking action to create a better future for ourselves and the world.
00:00:18
Speaker
Solopreneur is dedicated to give you, the solar professional, the tools, skills, technology, and mentorship to take the industry by storm and sell more solar with less effort.
00:00:30
Speaker
We are solopreneurs and this is our story.
James Swiderski on reducing deal cancellations with strategies
00:01:00
Speaker
Hey, what's going on, everybody?
00:01:01
Speaker
This is James Swiderski, the world's leading solar consultant, and on this episode of The Solarpreneur, I want to share with you how to keep your deals from canceling.
00:01:10
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We've all gotten those phone calls late at night of customers or texts saying, eh, they're having second thoughts about the deal they want to pull out.
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I know a lot of people have cancellation rates upwards of 15, 20, sometimes 30% of the time.
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I want to show you how you can be more efficient with your sales by lowering those cancellation rates, right?
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Speaker
But more importantly, I want to share with you four key strategies to reduce those immediately from day one.
00:01:38
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Now, before we get started, though, if you're new to the channel, Solopreneur, I want to welcome you and let you know that this is the channel for top-tier sales.
00:01:48
Speaker
and marketing strategies that are going to help you take your solar game to the next level.
00:01:52
Speaker
No matter where you're at, as the new solar rep all the way to the experienced entrepreneur who owns your own multi eight figure solar business, you are going to find a lot of value on this channel.
00:02:03
Speaker
And if you do, I appreciate a thumbs up and subscribing.
00:02:06
Speaker
Now, without further ado, though, I want to get into the topic at hand, right?
Selling vs. Serving: Solving real client problems
00:02:10
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How do we reduce our cancellation rates?
00:02:13
Speaker
How do we make sure that deals when they close they are locked in?
00:02:17
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So step number one is I want you to do and it's a mindset change, right?
00:02:21
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I want you to realize that selling and serving, right?
00:02:26
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What are the difference selling and serving?
00:02:28
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Okay, when you sell something, okay, the definition of selling something is really pushing something that
00:02:34
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someone may or may not benefit from.
00:02:37
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Selling, in my mind, is a definition that a lot of solar pros get wrong.
00:02:43
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They're pushing solar onto people who do not have business going solar.
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If you think that everybody should go solar, you are incorrect.
00:02:53
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You are mistaken.
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Not every home qualifies.
00:02:55
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Not every person is interested in solar for the reasons you are selling it.
00:03:00
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And by trying to sell solar this way, you're shooting yourself in the foot, right?
00:03:03
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You're really doing yourself a huge disservice, okay?
00:03:07
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Number two, though, the part of this, though, is to solve problems.
00:03:10
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When you come from the mindset of trying to solve an issue, a pain that somebody is having in the home,
00:03:18
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Whether it be confusion about solar, they don't know if it's a good fit for them, or their budget's really tight, right?
00:03:23
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And you're going to help them squeeze some extra room in their monthly budget by helping them go solar.
00:03:29
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Independence from the grid, okay?
00:03:31
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Environment, right?
00:03:33
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Not having enough fulfillment in their life and being able to give and serve other people.
00:03:36
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Solar allows other people to...
00:03:39
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get that fulfillment from helping others, knowing that they're doing good in the world, right?
00:03:43
Speaker
There are a lot of different pains and problems that solar can solve, okay?
00:03:48
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But if you don't address them, right, if you don't actually solve those real pains, they're just going to come up later and people aren't going to have enough incentive to go through the deal, okay?
00:03:59
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A common rookie mistake that a lot of reps make
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both on my team or they come into the training system that we have is they try to just push for the deal, right?
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They won't leave the house until they get a close.
00:04:11
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The problem with this is not everybody should be closed, okay?
00:04:15
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Not everybody should go solar.
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So your ability as the professional solar consultant is to really make sure that you recognize when somebody should close, right?
00:04:25
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And when they shouldn't.
00:04:26
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And that really is what your job is at the core as a solar rep.
00:04:31
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Number two,
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is set the intention,
Setting clear intentions with prospects
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okay?
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I talk about this all the time on Solopreneur because it's big.
00:04:38
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Honestly, if you implement that, it's a game changer.
00:04:40
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It's gonna change the way that you sell completely.
00:04:43
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Tell your prospect that your intention is to do what step number one was,
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Help them solve a problem.
00:04:50
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Find out if solar makes sense.
00:04:51
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Find out how much money they could save.
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Find out how they could be more fulfilled with solar, right?
00:04:56
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Find out how they can have independence from the grid and have peace of mind, okay?
00:05:01
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Figure out what those problems are and solve your problem with your pitch, right?
00:05:05
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Tailor your pitch to this, setting the intention.
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And if you let your prospect know that your job, okay, is to help them solve this core issue that you just discovered,
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It's a game changer.
Using micro commitments to secure deals
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Number three, though, is to utilize commitments.
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We're getting into more of the tactics here.
00:05:25
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When you are closing a deal, you're probably asking for the sale, or what most reps do is they just assume the sale.
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Hey, let's move forward with the net metering application.
00:05:36
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Let's submit this out.
00:05:37
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That's a great go-to.
00:05:38
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That's what I teach my guys to do at Lumen Solar as well.
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But after that deal is signed, okay, kind of as a bonus one as well, is I don't want you to be quick to get out of there, all right?
00:05:52
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Don't be too hasty to, once you hear a yes, just say, oh, man, I want to stop talking to them because there's a chance they might change their mind and say no.
00:06:00
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And I can tell you that facing that objection, right, that fear that you have that somebody might pull out the deal, right,
00:06:08
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is critical, okay, because they're going to go through that at some point in the future, but you've got to get a commitment, a second commitment out of them,
Ad break: Solar Spartan System promotion
00:06:16
Speaker
right?
00:06:16
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Not just the initial, hey, let's move forward with this.
00:06:19
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You need to do a micro commitment, and my favorite one to do that I teach in the Spartan system, link down below, or my reps at Lumen who are watching this is I ask them, hey, Mr. Prospect, with all this being said, you're not going to call me tomorrow and tell me that you had a change of mind, are you?
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Because if you are, let's talk about it right now so I don't waste your time later on.
00:06:46
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Say it just like that.
00:06:47
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Hey, Mr. Prospect, you're not going to call me tomorrow and tell me you had a change of mind, are you?
00:06:54
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Say it just like that.
00:06:55
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Guys, I have tested dozens and dozens of variations of this, and this is the go-to one.
00:07:02
Speaker
Hey listeners, it's James Swiderski here.
00:07:04
Speaker
I promise we'll be right back to this fire content you're enjoying, but I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you about the number one training platform that I trust my own clients as well as my own solar team with, and it's called the Solar Spartan System.
00:07:18
Speaker
Now, the Solar Spartan system is not your traditional course.
00:07:21
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It's a solar sales transformation experience that's combined over 11,000 hours of research on today's top sales and marketing professionals and condensed their strategies into one streamlined system that practically forces you.
00:07:36
Speaker
Yeah, that's right.
00:07:37
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Forces you.
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to have success in reaching your goals.
00:07:40
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And the best part is, guys, it's designed specifically for solar, and it's been tested on over 800 solar professionals to date.
00:07:49
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Now, you might be saying, James, that's cool, but how does it force me to have success?
00:07:53
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And this is where it gets pretty ninja, my friends.
00:07:56
Speaker
So listen up.
00:07:57
Speaker
So here's what makes the Solar Spartan system so effective, okay?
00:08:01
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It's the combination of applying the minimum amount of inputs, right?
00:08:06
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Minimum effective dose of what it takes to get you to that next level.
00:08:10
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Combining that with the power of social accountability and the top-notch strategies used by today's solar professionals, solopreneurs, right?
00:08:19
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So what does this mean for you?
00:08:21
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No more watching 15-hour courses.
00:08:24
Speaker
No more banging your head trying to figure out how to apply Grant Cardone strategies over here and Dan Lok strategies over here to solar specifically and no more guesswork.
00:08:34
Speaker
The Solar Spartan system is 100% action oriented, meaning you won't be given more content to study than what you need to actually reach your next four deals, 10 deals, 16, 20 deals, whatever your goal is, there's a milestone for it within the system.
00:08:51
Speaker
And to give you guys an idea of what you can expect out of this, I've taken some of my lowest producing reps and clients from closing one to maybe struggling to get that third or fourth deal a month, all the way to closing 18 to 20 deals a month in less than 90 days.
00:09:08
Speaker
It's that good.
00:09:09
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That's why I want to go ahead and offer you guys, Solapreneur listeners, a special discount on the Solar Spartan System.
00:09:15
Speaker
You guys head on over to Solarspartansystem.com.
00:09:18
Speaker
You could try it out for 30 days.
00:09:20
Speaker
Again, guys, don't put your success on hold.
00:09:23
Speaker
This is something I would not promote on the podcast if I didn't fully believe in it.
00:09:28
Speaker
Something I trust my clients, but as well my own solar company, my own reps,
00:09:33
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They go through this exact same training.
00:09:36
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So again, head over to solarspartansystem.com to get started and my team and I will see you inside.
00:09:42
Speaker
Let's get back to the show.
00:09:45
Speaker
And what's going to happen is magical, straight magic at this point.
00:09:49
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The prospect's going to do one of two things, okay?
00:09:52
Speaker
80% of the time, depending on your presentation, of course, but if you're doing it right, 80% of the time they're going to say, no, absolutely, we are not going to call you.
00:10:00
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No problems.
00:10:01
Speaker
We are good to go, James.
00:10:03
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What happens here is it's a micro commitment.
00:10:05
Speaker
It's an additional reaffirmation, right?
00:10:07
Speaker
They're literally telling you,
00:10:10
Speaker
They are not going to change their mind at any point in the future.
00:10:13
Speaker
They are promising to you.
00:10:15
Speaker
A lot of things happen psychology-wise with this, but by them actually saying it out loud,
Handling post-sale uncertainty to prevent cancellations
00:10:22
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they're actually promising you.
00:10:24
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They don't want to be let down on that promise.
00:10:25
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People actually want to keep their promises despite what most people believe, but they also are wiring additional wires in their brain with this.
00:10:35
Speaker
Okay, very powerful by them saying the words.
00:10:38
Speaker
Now, the other 20% of the time, they're going to give you some uncertainty, right?
00:10:43
Speaker
They're gonna give you an objection or they're gonna be hasty to agree.
00:10:47
Speaker
Yeah, I don't think we're gonna call you.
00:10:49
Speaker
Boom, see, that's uncertainty and you can address that as the closer.
00:10:54
Speaker
You could say, hey, sounds like you guys aren't too sure about this.
00:10:57
Speaker
What did I not cover for you?
00:10:59
Speaker
What questions did I not answer for you about solar?
00:11:02
Speaker
Was it solar, right?
00:11:04
Speaker
Is it a company?
00:11:05
Speaker
What's wrong?
00:11:05
Speaker
Let's talk about it now, okay?
00:11:08
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Show them that you're reasonable and you're trying to work towards this intention, okay, with those micro commitments.
00:11:14
Speaker
And then number four here is a pretty interesting one.
00:11:18
Speaker
And it's very counterintuitive to what a lot of solar reps do.
00:11:22
Speaker
And I think you're going to get it because we went over the other three.
00:11:24
Speaker
It's what I call the momentum stop, okay?
00:11:27
Speaker
Over here on the right, this is where we have...
00:11:31
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Basically the momentum of the sale, right?
00:11:33
Speaker
We have got the certainty of the prospect, right?
00:11:36
Speaker
As things go up, this is how certain they are about moving forward with the deal.
00:11:40
Speaker
Right here on the timeline, this is the period over your presentation, right?
00:11:45
Speaker
When we start, we're super low.
00:11:46
Speaker
They don't have a lot of certainty, okay?
00:11:48
Speaker
Maybe they go up here and then they drop down, right?
00:11:51
Speaker
The certainty is really low.
00:11:52
Speaker
As you go through your pitch, it keeps raising up and then we get to this critical point here of the close.
00:11:59
Speaker
This is where you do the assumptive close or you do one of the closing questions, overcome objections, and you close the deal.
00:12:06
Speaker
You get a commitment, they say, yes, we are in.
00:12:09
Speaker
Once you get to the yes here,
00:12:12
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What I want you to do is rather than just leaving at this point, okay, because that's what most reps do is they're afraid they're gonna get an actual objection out and they're hoping that just by them leaving and removing themselves from the situation, nothing bad's gonna happen.
00:12:28
Speaker
Here's the problem though.
00:12:29
Speaker
Homeowners are afraid to tell you things by themselves in person that they're going to discuss later on.
00:12:37
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Meaning the husband and wife or the spouse or whoever, they're going to talk about things that they were afraid to bring up to your face as soon as you leave the house, okay?
00:12:47
Speaker
And this is where those deals drop off.
00:12:50
Speaker
This is where cancellations occur.
00:12:53
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Now this trick is really cool.
00:12:55
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So rather than just leaving the momentum at a high, and just leaving the sale hoping all is going to be great, I want you to address through and directly address those things that they're going to question later.
00:13:10
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Because believe it or not, every time you buy something, especially as a price thing like solar, a high ticket item,
00:13:17
Speaker
you better believe that they are going to question their decision.
00:13:21
Speaker
That is a natural part of the buying process.
00:13:24
Speaker
That's what everybody does.
00:13:25
Speaker
So why don't you help them as the solar consultant question that decision for them, guide them through what they're already talking about.
00:13:33
Speaker
We're going to do this by actually cutting off the momentum of the sale, right?
00:13:36
Speaker
We're literally going to drop off the momentum.
00:13:39
Speaker
And it goes like this, right?
00:13:40
Speaker
Let's say I assume the close.
00:13:42
Speaker
We move forward.
00:13:42
Speaker
They say, James, we're going to do this.
00:13:44
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I'm going to question them.
00:13:46
Speaker
Are you sure you're up for this?
00:13:48
Speaker
Are you sure you guys are good?
00:13:49
Speaker
Doesn't sound like we're too sure about this.
00:13:51
Speaker
Are you okay?
00:13:54
Speaker
I'm going to literally question them.
00:13:57
Speaker
I'm not going to do the typical sales thing of, yeah, absolutely, fantastic.
00:14:01
Speaker
I'm going to say, are you sure about this?
00:14:03
Speaker
You sure you're not going to call me tomorrow and change your mind?
00:14:06
Speaker
Sounds like you guys aren't too serious about this, right?
00:14:09
Speaker
The payments made sense.
00:14:10
Speaker
All this made sense, right?
00:14:12
Speaker
You want them to question it.
00:14:13
Speaker
And I know most salespeople in general, but especially in solar, are saying, well, James, if they question it, then they're going to question their decision.
00:14:21
Speaker
They don't think that you're certain.
00:14:23
Speaker
And that's where you're wrong because when they do question, which they will later anyway, now you as the professional get to control the outcome.
00:14:32
Speaker
And then when they say, yeah, I think we're pretty sure.
00:14:34
Speaker
Well, what wouldn't you be sure about?
00:14:36
Speaker
Okay, let's assume that we went forward with this tomorrow morning.
00:14:39
Speaker
You guys changed your mind.
00:14:41
Speaker
What would you change your mind on?
00:14:43
Speaker
What would you guys want to pull this out from?
00:14:46
Speaker
Assume that they will pull out from the deal.
00:14:49
Speaker
That's a super ninja little thing.
00:14:51
Speaker
Assume that they will cancel on you.
00:14:54
Speaker
Hey, if you were to cancel, what do you guys think it would be?
00:14:58
Speaker
Boom.
00:14:58
Speaker
Address it.
00:15:00
Speaker
Now once you address it, you resell those uncertainties that they will give you.
00:15:04
Speaker
You will be amazed at the uncertainties that come out from under the rug that they didn't want to tell you until you asked for it in the strump.
00:15:14
Speaker
boom, you resell it, and now they are more certain than ever.
00:15:17
Speaker
You can lock it down again with a commitment, and that deal is not gonna unwind.
00:15:22
Speaker
And to give you an idea of the results from this, my students, myself, right, I literally never get cancellations.
00:15:28
Speaker
Yes, I get the occasional deal that ends up not getting approved for permitting or something like that, right?
00:15:35
Speaker
But as far as people changing their mind, if you use this method,
00:15:40
Speaker
You do the commitments.
00:15:41
Speaker
You lock it down.
00:15:42
Speaker
You set the intention
Conclusion and listener engagement incentives
00:15:43
Speaker
correct.
00:15:43
Speaker
Come from an attitude of service and not trying to sell and only service to people who need to go solar, you will never have another cancellation in your life.
00:15:53
Speaker
That's it for this video.
00:15:54
Speaker
If you enjoyed it, you know the drill.
00:15:56
Speaker
Thumbs up, subscribe, comment below.
00:15:58
Speaker
Let us know what you think, and I'll see you in the next one.
00:16:01
Speaker
Wow, what another value packed episode of the solarpreneur.
00:16:04
Speaker
Guys, if you couldn't tell, we spend a lot of time and energy to put these episodes out to hopefully give you just one strategy, one golden nugget that's going to launch your solar career to the next level.
00:16:15
Speaker
And we do it all for free.
00:16:17
Speaker
And if you found any value in this episode or it's helped you in any way, all I ask in return is that you just take 30 seconds of your time and leave us a review on iTunes so that we can help more solopreneurs like you to change the world.
00:16:29
Speaker
And as a gift for leaving us a review, we have a special training package exclusive for solopreneur listeners over at solopreneurs.com.
00:16:38
Speaker
Remember, you need to leave us a review on iTunes to qualify for the training package.
00:16:43
Speaker
So take care of that now and we'll see you on the next episode.