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Running A Successful Solar Dealer in 2026
73 Plays15 hours ago
Jake Lambson is on today's podcast to give us an insider look at how dealers operate in today's day and age. With every industry shift that has pulled other dealers down, Trio Solar has adapted with the market, making a name for itself as one of the most prominent names in the market.
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Transcript
Introduction and Taylor's Journey
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. 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 avoid the mistakes I made and bring in the top solar dogs of the industry to let you in on the secrets of generating more leads, falling up like a pro, and closing more deals.
Defining a Solopreneur
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.
Introducing Jake Lansom and His Career Path
00:00:41
Speaker
All right, what's going on, everybody? We're back here in the in-home studio. We got a guest. I'm excited he decided to make the in-house trip with us.
00:00:50
Speaker
And someone that was referred by a previous guest we had on. it's This guy comes with high recommendation. Excited to welcome the one and only ah Jake Lansom to the show. Thanks for coming on with us today, Jake. Thanks, Taylor.
00:01:02
Speaker
Yeah. And ah Jake, he is the ah owner and founder over at, sorry, what is your company? Trio Solar. Trio Solar. He told me right before we started, but of course, once the lights and the camera comes on, brain goes blank.
00:01:15
Speaker
So over at Trio Solar and these guys, they throw down some massive blitzes. Um, they're doing big volume. i know they're ramping up for the summer and, um, yes, I'm excited to hear how things have been going, how he started his dealer. And, um, he was referred to me actually by, uh, Brandon.
00:01:33
Speaker
We had a podcast with Brandon, I think it was two, three months ago. And so we will link to that and go listen to that. But I, yeah, you came with high recommendations. So don't let the pressure get to you too much. Sure. Brandon, Brandon, give you high words. Brandon's awesome. Yeah. Yeah, but ah yeah, man. So do you want to give us just your your background, Jake? Sure. You got into solar. know you started in alarms.
Evolution of the Solar Industry
00:01:55
Speaker
Maybe you can touch on that a little bit. Yeah. and soly I feel like my my story is probably like very similar to many in the industry. I started off at Vivint long time ago. it was Apex, for those that know that will date me pretty quickly. I remember when Vivint launched Vivint Solar. And i remember seeing like all these ran all these ads for it I remember thinking it was so cool. um
00:02:19
Speaker
At the time, I didn't understand like the politics of the industry. And I was you know encouraged not to go that route. And so I actually stayed the course longer than most in the alarm space. um I was there for over a decade. And got to the point where we kind of had a foot in with solar, where we had...
00:02:39
Speaker
our alarm reps would set solar leads and solar closers would come in and so started to kind of get familiar with it that way but one by one i started having buddies leave the alarm space to go over to solar and i'd talk to them and i'd find how much money they were making and like these were guys that were good at alarms but then they're going over and they're making two three times what i'm making and i'm like what am what am i what am i missing yeah When I finally made the jump, I started at a company called Blue Raven Solar. Okay.
Exploring Opportunities in Solar Markets
00:03:10
Speaker
So they brought me in to run a couple markets. Okay. I remember it was wild because ah they introduced me. Utah was one of the markets that I was over, and they introduced me to everybody as their new boss or whatever. a I remember afterwards, i I pulled one of the guys aside, and I'm like, super excited to be here.
00:03:29
Speaker
hope to crush it. What is a kilowatt hour? Okay. This is our boss. i had I had no clue. And so but I remember I'm like, I have to learn this fast. Otherwise, I'm not going to um like maintain like the the trust or credibility. Diving head first. I remember at the time, there were a lot of kind of guys in kind of leadership positions at Vivint that were transitioning over to solar. And it was super common for them to just try to go get like a high leadership position, a lot of these solar companies.
00:03:58
Speaker
Mm-hmm. My problem is though, is I'm like, they know less about slower than I do. yeah It's like, you can't last unless you know what you're talking about. and And at Viv and I had a reputation of kind of living in the weeds for better or worse. um So I just, I remember I'm like, i need to get into the trenches. I need to figure this out and learn how to actually sell it. So that way i can actually be in value to guys.
00:04:22
Speaker
for sure and i think we've seen that change like i don't know how it was then in utah but like when i started in solar you could come and not even know what a kilowatt hour was you're just gonna say hey you're paying this much you can pay this much with solar sign here and that was pretty much it but it's like now you know we can get in this later but now it's with batteries involved here in california it's gotten a lot more and i would say necessary to know more about solar but did you see the same thing like in utah that time Did
Adapting to Industry Changes
00:04:51
Speaker
guys need to know a lot about the product and all that? can No, it was that's I do remember how insanely simple it was. One of the things that Blue Raven did better than most is they had this recruiting machine. and Being a manager was super easy because you'd show up every two or three weeks to a boot camp and there'd be eight to 10 guys that had already filled out applications, gone through a vetting process, already been hired, and I just had to teach them solar over two days.
00:05:17
Speaker
Okay. And then set them out to close. And they would go out and close. And looking back, i like, how on earth did they do that? But it was a lot more simple back then. It was a, here's your bill, here's a new bill, here's your offset. You know, when you have things like net metering and low interest loans, that makes it a lot more simple. um But no, the industry is definitely graduated into an industry that is tailored more towards professionals. Right. which is why I think you see a lot of these younger guys kind of getting washed out sooner than later. But it's also the reason why you see the guys that know what they're doing making more money now than they ever have been.
00:05:54
Speaker
No, so true. And so a Blue Raven and then we with Blue Raven and Telde. and Well, is Blue Raven still around? That's SunPower now. Okay. So... query yeah When SunPower went bankrupt, Complete Solar, if you're familiar with them, yeah they bought SunPower's assets, which included Blue Raven, SunPower owned Blue Raven, and the SunPower name. so when you see SunPower now,
Strategic Partnerships and Financial Stability
00:06:19
Speaker
it's just Blue Raven and then a couple sales orgs that they've they've acquired. Yeah.
00:06:23
Speaker
No, I left a few years ago. A good buddy mine who he and ran a business he and I ran a business together long time ago when solar was brand new. It was going okay, but not great. So I decided to go back into alarms.
00:06:39
Speaker
And he was like, hey, I'm going to go try this solar thing um with my buddy Doug and my buddy Luke. and They're starting a company called Legacy. correct So he was actually one of the first guys ever hired on that Legacy. Yeah, his name's Andrew Gross.
00:06:54
Speaker
Okay. i'm If you ever come across old Legacy merch, it has his face on it. a Big guy with a beard. So anybody watching that's a Legacy OG would know who he is. Okay.
00:07:04
Speaker
But he and i grew up together, but he lived in in Utah by me, but um was doing all of his solar stuff out. And when he found out I was at um Blue Raven, he's been trying to get me in the solar for years. And he's like, what are you doing?
00:07:16
Speaker
At the time, Blue Raven was very much, you know, you had your talking points, you know, using the very best panels and the reputation that Blue Raven had at the time. And i remember him just telling me, like, dude, you're throwing away so much money.
00:07:29
Speaker
And I'm like, what is the degradation rate of your panels? He said, nobody cares. Yeah. Yeah. But I was also, you know, I started off in the solar world where leases and PPAs were of the devil.
00:07:41
Speaker
Yeah. Those were like... That's how was too. Yep. And so anyway, he'd been pressuring me to go out to ah Boston. And, you know, I came from like the vivid days and I'm like, well, wine me and dine me. And he's like, no, if you want to come out, just come out. All right, fine. So I booked a ticket. remember I went out and I shadowed him and i he was
Insights from Partnering with Axia
00:07:57
Speaker
selling Sunrun through Bright Planet at the time. So he ended up leaving Legacy and becoming one of the first Bright Planet dealers. is best And I'd never seen a PPA before.
00:08:06
Speaker
I remember sitting there watching him cut somebody's power bill by like 40%. I'm coming from Utah where it's loans 10% or 10 cents a kilowatt hour at a time. pis And so like if we were $30, $40, $50 more a month than their current bill, like that was good. And the other markets I was over was like Washington State, right? Where they're paying $0.09 a kilowatt hour and no sign.
00:08:28
Speaker
The idea that you'd save money day one was like a myth. Yeah. Like I'd heard of it. was urban legend. And here I am, I'm sitting there. he just cut somebody's power bill almost in half. And I'm like, wait, they don't they're not going to into debt for this. We don't have to focus on some $80,000 number. It's like, oh, you're right now you're paying 200 bucks a month. now you're going to pay 130. That was it. And then afterwards, I'm like, wait, you made how much?
00:08:51
Speaker
money. yeah And so I saw him sell three of those in a day. And I'm like, you made $30,000, $40,000 today. they my mind or like My mind was blown. um And so I kind of started off by, I'm like, well, i need to come back here.
00:09:07
Speaker
So I'd fly out there and I bring a couple of friends with me. And we'd just go blitz New England. And then I'd bring some more friends out, and then some more friends out, and then some more friends out. And eventually it was like, hey, we should maybe turn this into something. And so that's kind of how our dealer was born. And then I think the biggest change came when Everbright got into the space. At the time, they were paying 70, 80 cents more lot than Sunrun.
00:09:35
Speaker
yeah And so we so we were one of the first ones that started selling Everbright back east. But at the time, BrightPlanet didn't have a great reputation. And so when you're selling Everbright, they don't see Sunrun's name. They just see Everbright and everyone's like, i don't know what that is. Who's installing it? And then they go down the BrightPlan rabbit hole and then they then they would cancel. And so we were like, well, we need to get another installer that has Everbright. And that was right around the time that Freedom got Everbright.
00:10:00
Speaker
We partnered up with um with Freedom with Vital.com. Primarily because we just needed a good Everbright solution with a company that actually had a good reputation. And at the time, Freedom actually had a really good reputation in the Northeast. So started going down that rabbit hole.
00:10:15
Speaker
We became Vital's largest partner. And part of the reason for that is suddenly we had all these markets unlocked. um which was what Freedom did really well.
00:10:26
Speaker
And just from being in the industry for so long, you I knew a lot of guys all over the country that had wanted to sell with us, but didn't want to hop on a plane to Boston. And now we had a yeah ah platform for them to sell through.
00:10:39
Speaker
And so it allowed us to kind of grow and tap into a lot of these markets. um And from there, yeah, just kind of snowballed. Crazy. How long ago was that? then It's been three years. It isn't very long, but in the solar space, that's
Challenges and Resources in the Solar Industry
00:10:53
Speaker
a long time. Kind of like dog years in ah solar. But I had no intention of actually starting a dealer. and When I was at Blue Raven, I knew I didn't want to be there long term. I just... Once I understood the economics of solar, I realized that yeah I didn't feel great about the situation we were putting customers in. I didn't feel great about what my sales reps were making. And I sat down with everybody. I think Legacy was one of them.
00:11:21
Speaker
Lumio at the time. and the The markets that I was interested in was like Seattle, Washington. nobody was in at the time. And Boston, which at the time, everybody just kind of forgotten about. So for us, it was, we kind of started it out of necessity more than like, hey, let's go make a bunch of money. um And I feel like that's one of the reasons why we survived and obviously continued to grow is The mentality from the beginning was how can we just provide an opportunity for me and my buddies to make money?
00:11:51
Speaker
Yeah. And our motto and anybody talked over the last couple of years knows that like our motto was very simple. It was like pay on time, don't be scumbags. Yeah. That's it. Sounds easy to do, but that's not easy for a lot of people. No, I mean, that was our whole business model is like pay on time,
Growth and Core Principles
00:12:07
Speaker
don't be scumbags, and everything will work out. And you're right, I think the bar is so low in the industry that we've attracted a lot of volume with very minimal effort.
00:12:15
Speaker
Just because people are like, you pay on time and you're not scumbags. Yeah. That's all we have to do. um i don't know I've always said, like if somebody wants to squash us, they just have to pay on time and not be sumbacks.
00:12:28
Speaker
Yeah. That's cool. I know. and Well, yeah, we were just talking before we started recording. It's crazy because back three, four, five years ago, I think so many people go start dealers from smaller companies.
00:12:40
Speaker
And ah you know i I saw a lot of guys who just wanted to be managers, but they weren't. They weren't getting a manager positions. They went and started their own dealer just to make a little bit more. And then they were just over them and their cousin or whatever, two people.
00:12:53
Speaker
And so I think that's changed a lot. um Like we're talking about, I think we see a lot more professionalism. Now guys got to be professionals or else they're not going to last long now in today's just solar landscape. Yeah, I think it's it's changed. We don't see as many people.
00:13:08
Speaker
At least I haven't noticed as many people going around and starting their own dealers. So I don't know. Why do you think that is? you think it's just less installers to pick from now? Or you have any ideas? No, I think that's a really good question. think there's this misconception that I'm going to go make more money as a dealer. And again, our intention
Advice for Starting a Solar Business
00:13:27
Speaker
was never to start a dealer. Just because I knew, I'm like, this is going to lot of work.
00:13:32
Speaker
Most people, they just focus on that red line number. And they're like, oh I'm going to make way more money. In fact, when I first started, I was like, well, we're going to do these blitzes and we're going to do all this stuff and I'll just keep 10 cents. Yeah. I can fund everything off of 10 cents. Yes. You know, and then I'm like, wait a second, I'm not making any money. Yes. I used asked all the time but guys if they should start their own dealers. And my answer was always like, yeah, you should if you're okay not making any money.
00:13:54
Speaker
Yeah. For a very, very long time. And I've always said that if I wanted to maximize my personal earnings, I would go take a senior leadership role at one of the major companies. You know, I see the guys at, you know, the Sunruns or the Legacies, and it's like every check that they get, that's their money. It sounds obvious, but, you know, that hasn't been the case. When you're when you're going down the dealer route, it's like there's weeks where feels like I get a really big check, but then there's the next week where like, I just have to give it all back. Right. Right. And so I think...
00:14:24
Speaker
what people fail to realize is that like starting a dealer is starting a company. It's a business. You know, if you're just with like you and a few buddies, you can do it, but most would be better off, um, plugging into somebody else that's already done it.
00:14:40
Speaker
And I often joke that like in a perfect world, I would quit and just work for myself. Yeah. Yeah. Just, I've, Love it if somebody else would just do it. and Because our our goal was always just to create a platform for guys to, you know, guys that really know what they're doing to be able to maximize earnings. And, you know, I see these checks that guys get and I'm like, to say with people you know, but you have to, i feel like you have to be, you have to be like, that excites me. Like
Leadership and Reputation
00:15:05
Speaker
I get my personal fulfillment from seeing guys make life changing money. But I feel like there's a lot that like, you know, it's, it's hard not to get frustrated, right? Where it's like, geez, everybody made more than I did this week. yeah um I can see that getting to a lot of guys. And so I think with the dealer route, 99% fail way before they get to where we are, just because they're trying to run a dealer like they would a sales office at a company. And it's,
00:15:34
Speaker
You can't do that. and I think a lot of guys start it. think they're just going to make fat overrides off people and be able to sit back and relax. I've seen guys just do it for that reason. Just so like, oh, I'm sick of knocking. I'm going to start my deal and just try to recruit people to make money that way.
00:15:48
Speaker
But then most of the time, it doesn't work out that way. So I don't know. From what it sounds like for you guys, I'd imagine that's part of why you're having success is because you guys actually started it with intention. It wasn't because you're trying to like go make way more money or whatever. It's like you saw a need and you went and did it. And I'm sure i would I would guess a lot of people are attracted to that because they can tell any of these guys did it out of.
00:16:09
Speaker
They have different reasons behind it. They're not just trying to make... I think that's part of it. um Because RefSank Tom, been a firm believer throw the the whole time I've been in the industry.
00:16:20
Speaker
Everybody that has had a successful career in leadership knows that the value flows down. and Meaning that... like when you're a manager, like you're, you're not recruiting reps to work for you, right? You're recruiting reps for you to work for. And I feel like you have to have that mentality.
00:16:37
Speaker
i mean, dealer or not, right? But as a dealer, even more so where it's like everybody I bring on board, know, It's like I now work for
Financial Strategies for Success
00:16:46
Speaker
them. And so I view it like all the guys that are grinding on the doors, selling, putting accounts in, those are the guys that sign my checks. I don't sign their checks, even though it looks technically it's the other way around. But you have to provide value that way. And the guys that... Because I've seen it all the time. And we we have a lot of sub dealers that will come sell through us. And guys will come in and try to rip 40, 50, 60 cents.
00:17:07
Speaker
a lot of ride and I've seen that work zero times. yeah It doesn't work, right? They might get away with it for like an account or two, but those guys never, you know, those reps never stick around. Everybody knows when they're being, they eventually figured out when they're being taken advantage of. um And so I think it's twofold. I think it's, you know, having the right mentality um and trying to be sincere and genuine with guys, but also it's like we talked about kind of before started partnerships that you pick are extremely important and there's a lot of good dealers. There's a lot of good companies that did everything right, except they were just attached to the wrong vehicle or the wrong, wrong is install partner. And we've, we've taken our fair share of blows. Um, and I think that's what discourages many, um,
00:17:56
Speaker
I think we've gotten really good at picking the right partners. And so i think many go into it and the first thing they do is they try to figure out how they can get like the lowest red lines, thinking like that's going to yield the best results.
00:18:10
Speaker
um But the, benefit to the way we've run things where we've worked with multiple partners across multiple states is it's given us a really good kind of bird's eye view on everything. and And I've seen firsthand where I'm like, well, the company that we have the highest red lines with more often than not, those are the ones we're getting the biggest checks from.
00:18:31
Speaker
um And the companies with like they have the absolute lowest red lines, those are the ones that oftentimes are not getting the biggest checks. We're never getting paid on time. um And for us, like whenever we talk to a new install partner, like I never even bring up what the red line is in our first conversation. and Just because to me, it's it's almost irrelevant.
Managing Rapid Expansion
00:18:51
Speaker
you know What's more important to me is like, hey, are you guys financially stable?
00:18:55
Speaker
you know sam Because you We've had times where we've had funding delays from from our partners and like to think that most of the guys that work with us trust that they know they're going to get paid as soon as the money's there, but it makes it tough. I hate being in the position where I'm a debt collector.
00:19:12
Speaker
and when When we first started off, spent half my week chasing down EPCs like, are we going to get paid? we going to get paid? And it's the worst. And so for us, it's like, how can we just create like a super smooth, seamless experience? um Because that's at the end of the day, that's what i spoke guys really want the most is they want flexibility. They want to be able to maximize their earnings while at the same time having consistency and and safety, knowing that they're going to get paid when they expect to get paid.
00:19:38
Speaker
For sure. So, yeah, that's awesome, man. So how many reps are you at now at your ah hey you're a dealer? don't know if it's like just the Blitz team that come in or how you can it. That's a good question. So obviously this year has been crazy with just the industry changing so much. um and Obviously, everybody knows what happened with Freedom, um which honestly was super unfortunate. Yeah.
00:20:01
Speaker
you know some of the big bright planet basically there as well. and So I remember i remember at the end of last year looking and we had, think, 130 reps or something like that, at least in our database. Not necessarily that they were all active. um February rolled around.
00:20:22
Speaker
February, March, all a sudden we were like 250. That jumped up a lot. And then since March or since April, we're now at 600 and 650, right around there. Wow, man. Crazy growth. And, you know, that that's just everybody knows us with reps that have onboarded. You know, it's my job. It's like, right, how do we create it platform and atmosphere and culture that incentivizes everybody actually start selling.
Professionalism and Business Model Adaptation
00:20:46
Speaker
But still, it's been it's been a wild ride, and it's kind of forced us to kind of rethink a lot of our kind of a lot of our our core identity. Because originally, we started off trying to be the antithesis, the big dealers.
00:20:57
Speaker
And now we're like, I feel like sometimes I'm fighting the fact that that's but what we're becoming, but I'm confident that like if we just stay true to those core principles of Pantime, don't be scumbags, we can grow in and scale it. and i think you know we've just been really fortunate with our partners um to where you know little over a year ago, we partnered with um with Axia, who i I think we talked about. um And for me, I came from the Vivint world.
00:21:28
Speaker
And i got into solar with the Vivint lenses on. And for anyone that was in the alarm space for a long time, you know when I first started off, you had like your Pinnacles, your Apexes, and your Platinums.
00:21:44
Speaker
And every alarm company, ah they either bought their equipment from Honeywell or GE, and they sold the accounts off to Monotronics or ADT or like a Guardian.
00:21:55
Speaker
okay And the only thing that made one company different from another was like slight variations in the pay scale and what part of Mexico they're going to for the summer trip. okay that was like the That was like the difference. yeah And um I remember Vivint, you know, they they had this idea where they're like, hey, what if we started keeping all of our own accounts?
00:22:15
Speaker
um And that kind catapulted them into being a much bigger player.
Vision for Solar's Future
00:22:21
Speaker
And then they took it a step further and they were like, what if we controlled everything? what if we started designing and manufacturing all of our own equipment and we weren't dependent on like a Honeywell or GE?
00:22:30
Speaker
And they essentially have invented the the smart home space as we know it. yeah But that decision is really what catapulted them to become this multi-billion dollar juggernaut that they are today.
00:22:43
Speaker
So I come into solar thinking that that's how that's how solar is. And we started working with a lot of partners, and there's a lot of great partners out there.
00:22:53
Speaker
But when you start looking at them individually, it reminds me of a lot of how the alarm space was 15 years ago. Are you getting your stuff from Greentech or CED? if Are you Goodleap Lightreach? Are you Enfin?
00:23:06
Speaker
you Sunrun? And then the red lines are always... and then you know the red lines are always within 20, 30 cents, and it's just pulling different levers with adders and holdbacks um to where, you know, I'm looking at it, I'm like, what actually makes you special? You because the conversations we've had for last few years is with different partners as they're like, job just come internal with us.
00:23:28
Speaker
yeah And there's a lot of them where i'm like, I would, but like, what what makes you really special? More special than somebody else. And there's a lot of metrics to measure that where you look at like their install quality or timelines, efficiency, but but as a core, ah you know,
00:23:47
Speaker
there's nothing about them that they
Axia's Holistic Approach
00:23:49
Speaker
own. And I think that's of the reasons why you've seen Sunrun just kind of take off like a rocket ship is they own, they at least own the paper that they're selling, and they own the installation process. And so I get brought into Axia, which at the time nobody had heard of.
00:24:08
Speaker
oh um And the deal to me was I'm wait a second, you guys are owned by Q-Self? Yeah. I sell Q-cell panels. those are Those are really good, aren't they? okay And they're like, yeah. um And it's about a year ago with the big, beautiful bill.
00:24:22
Speaker
And that that to me is when i think my mentality shifted. Because if you remember, a year ago sucked for everybody. Yeah. time. And it was just because there was all this, mean, none of us knew if we were going to have to start pest control companies in six months. yeah I remember like Googling how to start a pest control company.
00:24:41
Speaker
And I actually said, like i have a cousin that owns one. And because I was convinced, I'm like, it's always, we're toast. And then I was like, wait, I have to deal with bugs. yes I'm like, if I can't deal with a spider, I'm like, I'll never be able to run a pest control company.
00:24:54
Speaker
yeah um And everybody, all of all the install partners, all the solar companies, frankly, were, if you remember, it was just chaos, disarray. um Everybody's freaking out.
00:25:06
Speaker
And then there's if one partner of ours that's like throwing parties. Yeah. They're ecstatic. And I'm like, what on earth? And they're like, have you read the Big Beautiful Bill? Did you see the stuff about domestic content, FIAC requirements? I'm like, yeah, everybody's losing their minds. They're like, yeah, we all that's us. That's us. Yeah.
00:25:23
Speaker
It's like, so essentially the Big Beautiful Bill just, you know, was the biggest gift ever to QSEL because they know going into 2026 that like a lot of the industry is going to have to buy panels. Yeah.
00:25:35
Speaker
And what their strategy was, was they were like, yeah, we're going to sell panels everybody and make a lot of money that way. But they're like, we also want to control the process. We want to control the installation side. We want to control the finance side, you know, because they own Enfin.
00:25:49
Speaker
So coming from the Vivint world, that was instantly attracted to me. and And so we partnered with them and it was um rough. It was like... <unk> We had a lot of guys from Legacy that were selling for us last year, and most of them aren't now just because it was like three, four, five-month install timelines. Oh, wow. Yeah. so you know that the The benefit was that like we get this really, really low red line because they're not trying to make money the same way that most solar companies are. But again, red lines don't matter if your jobs aren't actually jobs on progressing. But for us, I'm like, well...
00:26:25
Speaker
in the future, like these guys are going to control the space. and And so is it worth weathering the storm? um And I remember I went to one of their offices up in San Francisco. They gave me a little tour.
00:26:39
Speaker
ah And lot of guys that have worked with me
Commissions and Value Proposition
00:26:43
Speaker
heard me say this, but it's kind of really when the light bulb went off, where I'm getting a core of ah of this office. They're like, over here, this is a permit CAD. They're helping out with all of your projects. Like over here, this is Enfin.
00:26:54
Speaker
I'm like, Enfin's here? Like, yeah. President of Enfin, his office is right there. Okay. I'm like, that's way cool. Yeah. Like, over here, this is explosives and munitions. Okay.
00:27:05
Speaker
I'm like, explosives and munitions. Explosives and munitions. They're well, yeah. It's like the, you know, the guided weapon systems. Wow. They do that? For, like, the missiles and the attack helicopters. No way. And then you start going down the rabbit hole, and you're like, oh, you guys just delivered a fleet of attack submarines to the Canadian Navy. Really? Yeah.
00:27:23
Speaker
And then you're like, wait, who's Qcell? You're owned by Hanwha. Hanwha's like the fourth or fifth largest company in South Korea. Oh. Like, this is a company with tens of billions of dollars of cash on hand.
00:27:35
Speaker
Okay. And... didn't know that. I'm like, whoa, this is a different league, a different game. This is totally different. Yeah. Yeah. So for me at the time, I'm like, and this is really a kind of fall of last year where we're already starting to see companies go out of business. um Mosaic lasted, what, like three weeks after the big beautiful bill? Yeah.
00:27:57
Speaker
The snowball effect of that was freedom. For me, I'm like, okay, where do I want to, know, which horse do I want to pitch my wagon to? Is it the one with the lowest red line? is it the one with the fastest timelines?
00:28:09
Speaker
What matters to me most? And at the end of the I'm like, the one that has all the money. okay Because all these companies we deal with, it's like there's so many great things about so many of them. They're fast, they're efficient, and it's like we're this industry that seems to make you know everybody a million hour overnight, except nobody seems to have any money.
00:28:29
Speaker
yeah That's always been like the weird part about the industry is like there's so much money in it, nobody has
Navigating Industry Challenges
00:28:33
Speaker
it. I know. Last year when everybody was pushing ah you know loans and purchases before the ah but for the cutoff. I remember we had all these cash jobs and we get paid on them the following week, which you know if you're at a really big organization, that's normal. But generally speaking, cash jobs are the worst because installers are like, well, we're not paying you until we get paid.
00:28:54
Speaker
And customers are never that fast to pay on cash jobs. yeah And so I'm used to waiting till PTO. And we have all these cash jobs. We get paid the following week. like, oh, this is awesome. ah These customers pay fast.
00:29:05
Speaker
We get calls from customers. They're like, hey, when do we make a payment? but You guys haven't paid anything yet? and We call in. i'm like, when do they pay? like Oh, we'll just bill them it. Okay, you guys paid us like $100,000. You're not sweating it, right? That's fine. And so, you know, there's some arguments to be made that maybe that's not the smartest business practice, but my takeaway from it was, you know, out of the list of headaches that every company has, and cash flow is probably at the very top of the list of concerns. And here we have cash flow probably being at the very bottom.
00:29:37
Speaker
Yeah. And so my goal was, how do we get a seat at this table? um And so we kind of doubled down with our relationship. And that's kind of what propelled um a lot of our growth was now we could... It made recruiting really easy just because the margins are so good. um But outside of that, it was for the first time in solar, you know i had a similar pitch that I had at Vivint, which was, you know listen, you know if you're talking to a homeowner, it's like...
00:30:07
Speaker
whether you like me or not, if you get solar, probably getting Q cell panel on your roof. So you might as well just get them from me, right? And it's like, you might well get them from the company that manufactures them and they're the company that's going to install them. They're the company that's going to finance them. They're the company that's going warranty them. They're the company that's going to service them. only company that's like...
00:30:27
Speaker
has a very strong case for being around in 25, 30
Strategies for Sustainable Growth
00:30:31
Speaker
years. The first option that I've seen that like you can really honestly compare to Sunrun, is Sunrun doesn't manufacture anything.
00:30:41
Speaker
Sunrun just closed the deal with Qcell. So you know in this world of consolidating, you know because I get told all the time the dealer model's dead, yes part of me that agrees with that.
00:30:52
Speaker
yeah Because but like I mentioned before, it's like, generally speaking, doesn't succeed. You can only grow you know so big. you know Right now, our position in the industry is it's like, there is all this consolidation going on. You know you saw that Sunrun just bought NewSun, which is wild. but And V3 too, right? there's There's some talks. I don't i don't know all the details with V3. Okay.
00:31:15
Speaker
But with the Freedom Collapse, the bulk of pros ended up at Axie as well. You know, you look at that decision and you have to look at the solar landscape right now where if you're a large organization and you're looking at like, what are you going to do? where are you going to go? Like if your partner like a Freedom just goes under, you don't have that many choices. You can look at a SunPower, but again, they're just a conglomerate of sale dealers that install some of their own jobs where they don't own. Legacy is similar, although they've they've done a good job weathering a lot of storms. and You look at Sunrun, they're established, right? yeah like
00:31:49
Speaker
I could go to Sunrun and i'm I'm never going to get to the top. You could look at a company that A, has access to basically unlimited capital, own the manufacturing, they own the financing, they own the distribution, they own all of it. The only thing they're missing is just sales.
00:32:02
Speaker
yeah And we grew to become their largest sales partner this year. And it's like, that should not be the case. And so the position that I'm in right now is I'm like the last great opportunity in solar to build a sales organization. The only option is going to be with...
00:32:17
Speaker
with Anaxia, because it's the only place where you can have a clean slate, but also know that your partner isn't gonna go under because of the decision the banks made. yeah And that's what's so tough, because we have a lot of install partners that are awesome, and I love them to death, and I want nothing more than just to send them a whole bunch of volume.
00:32:34
Speaker
But at the end of the day, like their security is dependent on is what the banks are doing. Yeah. And, you know, the banks are dependent on what the tax equity investors appetite is at the at the
Operational Strategies and Market Insights
00:32:45
Speaker
time. And so there's, to me, there's always this uncomfortable level of and uncertainty really with everybody right now where, you know, in order to be in this game for a long time, and you've been in this longer than most, right? It's like the most important thing is that you're attaching yourself to something that is safe and stable,
00:33:03
Speaker
and i think we're just really fortunate in the sense that we almost have like a clean slate it's like walking into sunrun yeah they have everything in place that you know about sunrun today so they any sales yeah that is a unique position so so are they bringing on um cells are they trying to bring on like direct sales rep or are they just having like sales partner do you guys are like a sales partner of them right Yeah, we're, um but we became their largest partner this year. It's just been through dealer model.
00:33:31
Speaker
Okay. My personal position is that that's not going to last for very long because like they're going to run into all the same issues that everybody else runs into, which is you get to the point where your dealers cannibalize themselves.
00:33:41
Speaker
you know Because the downside to where when you start doing the volume that we now started to do is it's not like so like when I first started and i can just put everything on a Google Sheet and run my business. right It's like we have to have W2 employees now.
00:33:54
Speaker
We have to have... you know We pay thousands and thousands of dollars a month just for software. pay thousands of dollars a month just for email addresses so that we can fill Sunrun. Okay. it's a those fixed costs add up, right? And it's like, we'll get to the point where somebody that just has their cousin as a setter can price us. And so the way you get around that is with, you know, an internal sales team. I think that's, you know, their goal is to go head to head with Sunrun.
00:34:21
Speaker
And in order for that to happen, that would have to happen. but But right now it's through, it's similar to a freedom model where they have large dealers and then bunch little smaller ones.
00:34:32
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. Cool. Yeah. Well, um no, it's, you guys have had some explosive growth, but yeah, i mean, you go back to, sounds like the main thing is just, you said, you know, don't be a scumbag, pay on time.
00:34:45
Speaker
so it's like, why do you think it's so hard for other dealers to do that? You think just because they have bad sales partners or people themselves, such because they're not setting aside money to weather storms and stuff like that? Yeah, I think it's, i think it's a combination of all of it. and In fact, even going back to Axia, like last year, their strategy was just to get a whole bunch
Financial Discipline and Company Ethos
00:35:04
Speaker
of dealers.
00:35:04
Speaker
I remember they were telling me that they were talking to some groups at, don't know, that was maybe Freedom. And they were like, yeah, we're going to bring in these teams and make them dealers. I'm like, you're going to bring in a team and make them a dealer.
00:35:15
Speaker
They're like, yeah. I'm like, they don't have an LLC. How are they going to pay their people? Like Venmo? Like, cash up everybody on Fridays. But I'm like, but then what happens when you give a 22-year-old kid $200,000 check? Yeah. You know, what's like the temptation? Like, what's the temptation is just to just be like, well, what if I don't?
00:35:35
Speaker
it was You know? So I think there has to be a strong level of... discipline, financial discipline, and just being smart. Like one of the things that we've never done um is like I've always been adamant where we don't want M1s.
00:35:51
Speaker
have It throws a lot of our partners off. Like, hey, we pay M1s, like, I don't want them. okay Everybody wants them. I'm like, right, that should be red flag. yeah You know, because that's like, that's a death spiral. Because it's like, if we get M1s, we have to raise our red lines.
00:36:06
Speaker
Because there's a 100% chance that we lose money. because there's going to be 100% chance that I'm going to give a rep $1,000 or $2,000. That deal is going to cancel. He doesn't have anything else in the pipeline.
00:36:18
Speaker
and then you're going to lose money And then I have to eat it. right And I think, it's again, it goes back to that mentality where you see a lot of guys who are who've ran really successful sales offices or regions, but they've always been plugged into you know a bigger machine.
Balancing Travel and Business
00:36:34
Speaker
When they try to start a dealer, they still have that mentality of running it like a sales office. not recognizing the fact that they now hold the bag of liability. There's no nobody else. right And so when you take a bunch of M1s, you realize that like, okay, if I pay these out and these cancel, it's now on me.
00:36:52
Speaker
yeah I remember when when I first started off, I was trying to recruit all these guys from Vivint. They're like, yeah, we'll come out. We just need an advance. And again, i was used to Big Daddy Vivint, and I could just fill out a form and get them in advance. and Yeah, I'm backing it, but it never felt like my money. um I remember I'm like, well, in order for me to give you an advance, that's just me going to my bank account.
00:37:13
Speaker
Yes. And I'm like, well, am I okay if I don't ever get this money back? And then you start kind of going down that rabbit hole and you're, you know, we had a strict policy in the beginning. It was kind of harsh where we were like, no broke reps, right? again, like our model has been tailored to those who really know what they're doing. Like I've never tried to get a bunch of rookie reps when bunch rookies want to jump into solar. I usually suggest they go to Legacy or somewhere. Yeah.
00:37:41
Speaker
But no, I think it's it's difficult not to have that mentality where you're trying to run a business. You can't run it the same way that you run a sales office. yeah um When you're running a sales office, you're you don't have the same level of liability. Even though like a lot of companies like managers have chargebacks and are responsible for for certain things.
00:37:59
Speaker
it is just It's just different when it's directly tied your bank account. Yeah. And then, well, so you live in Utah, right? So how is it? and That's something that I don't see super often is, you know, someone running on a dealer. They're not in the same state.
00:38:14
Speaker
So are you just traveling back and forth all the time or what's what's been that? Yeah. The like the irony is um when I decided to make the transition into solar,
Importance of Personal Engagement
00:38:24
Speaker
the pitch to my wife was, don't have to travel anymore. Yeah.
00:38:28
Speaker
Okay. How's that going? And i was like, listen, I'm just going do solar in Utah. It's great. That's going to be our lives. um You know, I don't have to pack up to leave, you know, because with the Vivint Life, obviously, you're leaving for summer, but you're still doing, you know, preseason and blitz trips during the offseason. And so, but now, yeah, that's...
00:38:50
Speaker
The irony is is now you know I live in a market that is very not friendly towards solar. So it's I spend half of my half my time now on on airplanes. Okay. So like this week, i'm we're here in San Diego and let's go to Desert Hot Springs today and then Irvine tomorrow and then Palmdale and then Fresno and then Sacramento and then San Francisco before Saturday. hey I get a tour the whole state.
00:39:15
Speaker
I hope you got the the travel credit card cracking up those points and stuff. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, well, that's, yeah, no, it's, because, yeah, it's probably, like, you got to support the teams, and you guys just in California, then?
00:39:27
Speaker
No, because again, we started off in the in the Northeast. Okay. um And so we have groups all over the place and I'm old school. Like we've been talking about doing a podcast and you're like, yeah, we can do it virtually. I'm like, na no.
00:39:40
Speaker
Yeah. I'm like, if I'm going to do something i want to do in person. So like it's probably, there's probably a certain level of recklessness, but I'll book a flight just to go get dinner right with somebody. Yeah.
00:39:54
Speaker
Just because think that those, I think relationships are developed in person, at least the quality of the development is so much better when it's, when it's done in person versus over Zoom. Yeah. And I think it, at least I tell myself that it means something when,
Balancing Growth with Core Principles
00:40:10
Speaker
you know, if I fly to South Carolina or I fly to Connecticut or, you know, Florida um to meet with guys, that it it, it means something that like we're coming to you there in person. Yeah.
00:40:21
Speaker
It is a lot of travel. There's probably a lot that I could get away with not doing, but um I think I've just stubborn and old school. Yeah. Well, no, I like that. I mean, yeah, I was definitely appreciative that you made it out in person, the podcast, and definitely gets the quality up.
00:40:36
Speaker
Well, you're in a nice space, too. Yeah, yeah. Makes it easy. Yeah, glad it worked out. But yeah, well, I want to talk a little bit before we start wrap wrapping up here, Jake. So you've got teams all over the place. um Are most of your teams, are they blitz teams, like how Brandon's doing? who do you have a lot of teams that are like selling full time too? That's a good question. A lot of it is figuring it out, right? Because again, i mentioned that, you know, we tripled been size in size last couple months. Okay. And so what i've what I've found that has been interesting to me is through a lot of the conversations, ah guys right now, they're like, we don't care about the red line. We want safety and structure. Yes. That's what matters the most. And a lot of guys that are coming over, like they're not used to the dealer model. right They're used to being plugged into you know something like a legacy or a freedom um or like a new son.
00:41:30
Speaker
And so... For us, the challenge has been we've always been the antithesis of all of those, where it's like we've always provided a good base layer of support. you know We have in-house product managers that I think are the best ever. We give visibility on every single job, but that support without like all the the frills, right? There's no socks or Mexico trips. Yeah.
00:41:52
Speaker
But right now, it's like, how do we find the balance to where we can provide more structure so that guys feel like they have a path to grow?
Maintaining Professional Standards
00:42:02
Speaker
um Because you don't be in the in the industry as long as you have.
00:42:05
Speaker
The guys with the lowest red lines and never have the most money. Right. Right. Yeah. It's funny. actually just got hit up by a buddy in this, you know obviously not going to say the name, but a buddy that has had his own dealer for you years.
00:42:18
Speaker
And, you know, he's telling me, hey, come sell with me. Got the lowest red line. And I got a text from him last week. He's like, yeah, I'm in a tough spot. Can I borrow five grand from you? I'll pay you back. Like, I thought you had the lowest red line. I'm like, buddy, you need to borrow money. Yeah. Yeah.
00:42:34
Speaker
No, 100%. And it's it's tough because it's, again, we've tried to be the impetitiveness of it. But at the same time, I've always recognized that like the most successful people in the industry, for the most part, are typically the ones that are plugged into the right systems, yeah even though that comes with a price.
00:42:50
Speaker
And so for us, we're trying to find the balance, right? Of like, I know that like if guys just have a low redline, doesn't mean anything. yeah I mean, I look at the the groups that we've given the lowest redlines to, they sell the least.
00:43:02
Speaker
They don't they don't do anything with it. even though they have this amazing opportunity at their fingertips. yeah um Guys need something to work towards. They need to feel like they're plugged in and a part of something bigger than themselves. And they need to feel like there's a system in place to where they can provide a similar opportunity or at least a pathway for others.
00:43:24
Speaker
um Because that's what I think is really motivating. And that's where like I have a lot of respect for the legacies, the Sunruns, right? where they they've ah they've got that dialed in.
Establishing Market Presence
00:43:36
Speaker
and For us, it's like, how do we do that without compromising um you know our original core values of like not you know jacking up red lines to pay for or to pay for you know trips that guys might not care about, but at the same time still provide a culture and an experience um that can compete on that level while also maintaining the margins that guys have become accustomed to? yeah um so that's a long way of answering that. Yeah, we have a ah lot of blitz teams. We have three or four blitzes going on right now. Okay.
00:44:10
Speaker
But we're also working on i kind of diving into certain core markets that um I think are going to be around long term. Yeah. Like your New Englands, Pennsylvania is really interesting right now. Yeah. Illinois, California. Yeah.
00:44:26
Speaker
and getting a good year-round sustainable um program that can keep the volume. Because the problem is with the Blitz model is if you do all your Blitzes the second half of the month, first half of the month, you're stressed like Where did all our sales go? But then we'll go out and we'll do a couple hundred in like a week. And it's like, oh, okay, we're okay. yeah but um But I think diversification is, you know, with where your volume comes from is super important. Yeah. so Okay. um
00:44:57
Speaker
But again, so much has changed just in the last few months. Like who we are now compared to who we are, who we were in March, compared to who we were in November, three totally different companies. Yeah.
Opportunities in the Evolving Solar Industry
00:45:08
Speaker
Wow. Okay. Yeah.
00:45:09
Speaker
And then so have the installs sped up quite a bit then, as you said with the Axie, they're going slow, going a lot quicker. They've got a lot better. ah The advantage that we have with them is, like i said from the beginning, I'm like, I just want to see to the table. We'll just do it we'll do do enough volume that we'll get a seat at the table, which I feel like we've we've gotten. And then they've allowed us to plug our people into their systems to where we have we can get projects moving a lot better than most. in fact We have a lot of their smaller dealers hitting us up to sell for us because...
00:45:40
Speaker
we can get we have direct lines of communication with every department and most are most are blind, right? yeah and Because you know if you put yourself in Axie issues, you can only give attention to a few major partners. And if you have a dealer doing five or 10 a month, you can't give them the same level of attention.
00:45:59
Speaker
And so um so that's allowed us just to speed up our our timelines. But you know I think it's it's interesting overall right now in solar, when I look at it from a macro perspective, um Because I get hit up all the time by guys that are leaving solar or have left solar, and and they're like, how is it now?
00:46:17
Speaker
Just tell me the truth. I'm like, all right. I'm seeing the fastest timelines I've ever seen since been in the industry. I'm seeing the largest commissions I've ever seen since I've been in the industry.
00:46:27
Speaker
the delta to what the homeowner is paying, what they're going to to be paying, like the value proposition of the homeowner is better than it's ever been the whole time I've been in the industry. So it's like, you take those three things, it's like, there's never been a better time to be in this industry than then right now.
Impact of Rising Utility Rates
00:46:43
Speaker
And think we all got so caught up on the big, beautiful bill that we forgot about like, the fact that it almost doesn't matter. Where it's all the things, I'm sure it's all the talking points that you bring up, it's these data centers. And AI. And it's like the the need for power has never been greater than it is right now.
00:47:01
Speaker
And you know especially with all this stuff coming out with you know the VPPs and batteries, ah there's so many cool things coming out right now. But the utility companies are so strained that they're they're raising rates at rates that we've never seen before. Yeah.
00:47:17
Speaker
It wipes out, though I feel like, the big tax credit almost in just like a couple of years. and But you know i've I've gotten a bad rap sometimes where I've i've posted you know commissions from guys, and a lot in the industry like freak out about it. and They're like, you know...
00:47:33
Speaker
you're You're paying way too much. And i had this conversation recently. I'm like, right well, if I did pay less, it's like, where does that difference go? Does it go back to me? Does it go to the installer? go to the bank?
00:47:44
Speaker
Because that money's still there regardless. yeah right The only reason why the commissions are as high as they are is because the power companies are charging what they're charging. yeah If they want to regulate solar commissions, they first have to regulate utility rates. Right.
00:47:59
Speaker
so Yeah, and know and I Yeah, I would say the problem's never been easier to create for homeowners. Like, you know, because back when I started, so even in California, rates were at like 16 cents or something for power.
Maximizing Potential in Solar
00:48:13
Speaker
And then, i don't know, I don't remember there being like too many sources where it could be like, oh, rate increases and stuff like that. But now it's like so easy to point to data centers, electric vehicles. There's like 10 different problems that you like, you know, present to Yeah. To homeowners.
00:48:31
Speaker
it's crazy. i The very first solar account I ever sold before I really jumped into solar, I came out to California. think it was like up in Victorville. And I didn't know what i was doing. I had a buddy help me out, and I sold somebody, Sunrun, $0.14, no Okay.
00:48:48
Speaker
And I think about that now, because back then, yeah, rates were like $0.19. Yeah. And always joke, like, they should be sending me a Christmas card. Okay. Every year, they should be thanking me. am why They have no idea like how yeah good they have it. and But no, you're right. It's like the value proposition is better now than it's ever been. And so to me, it honestly breaks my heart when I see so many like crazy talented people exiting the industry. But the only reason they are is just because they were part of a vehicle or system that was anchored to how things work.
00:49:19
Speaker
used to be yeah and isn't nimble enough to position themselves to capitalize on the way things are going to be. And the way things are going to be, I think, is going to be a lot better.
00:49:31
Speaker
and i I say all the time that the most amount of money to be made in solar is in front of us, for sure. Yeah, I love to hear that. That's awesome. and And so, um yeah, before we end, Jake, wanted to ask you for maybe, and you know, just sales reps that are listening to this. I know you run a bunch of teams. You're over a lot of guys running blitzes and things like that.
00:49:52
Speaker
So what are some things you've noticed with, like, your most successful teams doing big numbers or, like, your highest producing reps? with some, I don't know, more tangible things that guys can... So, ah that's a really good question. um I remember, I have to give a lot of credit to to Brandon, who introduced us. He runs, without a doubt, the best Let's program in the state,
Teamwork and Sales Strategies
00:50:15
Speaker
for sure. yeah And... yeah i I originally, like I butted heads with him on a few things because i came from the world of like, no, we lots of leads, see what sticks.
00:50:24
Speaker
The more leads, the better. Let's just keep everybody fed with leads. And he's like, no, we want high quality leads. there's not a power bill, we're not going. It's not confirmed, we're not going. I remember one of their first blitzes, they had like 12 appointments.
00:50:37
Speaker
And I'm like, that is not a lot of appointments. Yeah. And I was stressed. I'm like, this is, we spent a lot of money on the blitz. I don't know how ah this is going to be. and And 12 appointments yielded nine closes.
00:50:49
Speaker
Okay. And I'm like, oh, okay. So I'm wrong. um But one of the other things I noticed too is kept trying to figure out who's a setter, who's a closer.
00:50:59
Speaker
ay um Because I look at, you know, we have a guy who I paid him $106,000 in May. He started with us in February. but we can And that's not pipeline. That's money in his bank account.
00:51:12
Speaker
And if I look at the accounts, half of the accounts he's a setter on. And the approach is, you know, what I've seen a lot is you get the lead babies, right? The guys who I'm a closer, that's what I do. Give me leads.
00:51:24
Speaker
If I don't have leads, I'm just going to stay home. I'm going to sit in my car. I'm just going to wait for them to come in. and You can't have that mentality in solar. You have to be willing to to get into the trenches.
00:51:35
Speaker
And you have to shake this idea that one role is better than the other. Yeah. Um, and the best thing that I've seen is you've seen guys who are phenomenal closers.
00:51:47
Speaker
They're going to go out and knock. They're not even, they're not self-genning. They're, they're setting for other good closers. And it's a, you know, when you have a really dialed in, you know, stocked into Malone, you're if you're jazz fan, Right. yeah jazz System. um I think that's what yields the best results.
Leadership and Team Dynamics
00:52:04
Speaker
And so my advice is like, I've seen guys come in and like, dude, i I want to be, I'm ready to be a closer now. I'm like, that's great.
00:52:11
Speaker
But their idea is like, oh, um I want to be a closer so I can get off the doors. And I'm like, I see that, but the, very best are still on the doors. yeah um Because that's where I'm convinced that's where the very best ah ROI comes from.
00:52:27
Speaker
It's like I could spend a bunch of money on leads, or we could spend a bunch of money and facilitate an opportunity for guys to go knock really good doors. And the latter is always going to be the best. And so guys that master the doors are going to make a fortune.
00:52:42
Speaker
Yeah, no, I agree with that 100%. And it's funny, I just talking with someone today because, you know, as we're recording this, I got just had knee surgery and had this whole torn meniscus thing going on. And at first when it happened, so I haven't been able to knock like a month, been on crutches and everything.
00:52:59
Speaker
But when it first happened, I'm like, oh, it's not that big of a deal because I've been getting lots of appointments from my setters and all that. I'm like, oh, I'll keep producing the same because I was still knocking, you know, even with my setters before. um But what I noticed, my volume went way down, even though I had the same setters and everything. and um And I think it was just because, like, I can't be out there with them. I'm not knocking the doors with them.
00:53:24
Speaker
And so they're naturally like producing producing a little bit less because it's like, I don't know. Maybe there it go. He's injured. So we're going to take it easy now. 100%. Everybody knows. What is it? Speed to a see of the leader? Speed of the team? Yeah. And, you know, it's like when you ask about dealers, right? Guys come they're like, I'm going to start a dealer so I can just sit back and relax. It doesn't work that way.
00:53:44
Speaker
And guys are want to become a cloaker so I can just sit back and relax. And doesn't work that way. um If you want your guys to produce, you've got to you got to be willing to be out there in your trenches with them. And the ah that's that's what I've seen um yield the best results are the guys that are not afraid to work when they have an
Role of Setters and Teamwork
00:54:05
Speaker
open calendar. Yeah, for sure. Yep. And um yeah, you know, i vote those teams and I've seen it too. The leaders are closers that only go to the appointments.
00:54:17
Speaker
um I see so many times where they're setters, they'll go to other teams, they they'll go work with other people because they don't feel like they can be trained by these people. It's like, oh, I'm just setting leads for this guy. And it's tough to like create that, I don't know, progression path. And then Have them, um yeah, I guess, like listen to training stuff from guys that aren't out there in the trenches, you know what I mean? so No, I remember when I first started off, i was talking about guys who community came into the industry ah sorry starting off in high leadership positions. And i remember ah seeing some of them come and give trainings.
00:54:53
Speaker
And you know they're they're talking about all these talking points that would apply to pest control or alarms that don't apply to solar. And I'm like... mindy this What you're talking about makes no sense. And you lose your credibility, right? And it's guys want to, guys want a path of progression, but they also want to follow somebody that's willing to take punches with them. I think it's setters don't realize how much leverage they have in this industry. If I was starting over from scratch, I would be a setter with a good split.
00:55:24
Speaker
That'd be that. Yeah. Because I know that, you closers are a diamond dozen. But if you can become really, really good at setting and attach yourself to the very best closers, lethal. Like nobody can nobody can touch you.
00:55:36
Speaker
And so, yeah, I see a lot of closers that take setters for granted. yeah um And I see a lot of setters that don't give themselves the recognition that they deserve. Or, you know, i I'm only a setter. It's like, no, do you hold the keys to like the success of this industry? Because once lead flow stops, the you know the lead babies
Perseverance in the Solar Industry
00:55:56
Speaker
shrivel up. definitely So I think I'm not that.
00:55:59
Speaker
100%. Well, cool, man. It's been ah awesome yeah having you on, Jake. And I wish we could do this for for hours. But know you got places to be, too. yeah But we'll have to plan a part too someday in the future.
00:56:10
Speaker
But yeah, before we wrap it up here, if guys want to see more about what you're doing or, don't know, shoot you a follow or whatever, you got any any, I don't know, social media best place to get in touch with you? Yeah, I just got an Instagram for the first time in like 10 years. Okay. Like a couple months ago. Let's get him some followers. Yeah. I'm like, I still don't get it. I still don't understand like how... I don't know what the difference is between a story and a reel.
00:56:32
Speaker
I'm old. Yeah. it's ah Yeah, i'll I'll text you my... Is it it handle. Instagram handle. Yeah. I'll text that to you. So you have it. We have a website, jointrio.com that kind of explains like at least our position in the industry to try to be unique. Yeah. Yeah. Well, cool, man. Appreciate that. we' will post in the show notes here. And um last question, if you had one piece of advice to give maybe a struggling rep or someone that's like, Oh, I don't know about solar. I'm going switch to insurance something else. What would you, what would you tell them?
00:57:03
Speaker
My advice is you don't quit. likecca um I think if you're if you make a decision, like see it through.
Commitment and Opportunities in Solar
00:57:10
Speaker
um Even if you don't think it's the right decision, and this goes back to when I got bit during the alarm days when we run the summer programs. Every summer, we'd always have the guys that would come in and they would quit after the first month. Mm-hmm.
00:57:24
Speaker
And I hated it. Because I'm like, listen, like, this might not be for you. I get that. But it's like, you owe it to yourself to see it through in the sense that you made a decision to do something hard, do something hard.
00:57:34
Speaker
Because if you don't, that creates a ripple effect that I think follows you for rest of your life. right So get in the habit of like sticking to your decision. um And if you made the decision to be in solar, don't quit.
00:57:48
Speaker
yeah And I've seen, i wish I remembered it well because I'd butcher it, but it's you know the theory of like don't quit in the valley. Have you seen it where you you know you start off with uninformed optimism where like, oh, solar is amazing. Like, oh I'm just going to save people money and make a million dollars. yeah And then you start getting into it you're like oh, this is harder than I thought. And then discouraged and then people quit.
00:58:06
Speaker
But then you learn it and you start developing the skills to get better and you stick with it. And then suddenly, like you careful you become good at it and then you start seeing the fruits. And so I've seen a lot of guys quit that I don't think should quit. I think there's plenty of other industries out there that are lucrative. But I've always said that 50 years from now, 100 years from now, we're going to look back at the 2020s as a gold rush.
00:58:33
Speaker
And I don't know of any other industry out there that has the barrier of entry as low as it is and the earning opportunity as high as it is and to where you can sell a consumer a product that is benefiting them and the amount of commissions that it is. like i've always I wish so badly that i could you know we could sit down with a homeowner and just say, listen, here's the deal.
00:58:58
Speaker
I'm going to put $200 month in your pocket 25 years.
00:59:03
Speaker
I'm going to get $25,000 up front. You're going to make more over the long run. Let's shake hands and do it. yeah Because that's really what it is, right? yeah um when you really When you really break it down, there's nothing else out there that is like that, where everything else you have to create the value in order to justify the price. yeah But with solar, it's like, no, you're if it's done the right way in the right market, you're benefiting people day one.
00:59:29
Speaker
And... Every other industry to me is just like, doesn't hold a candle just because of the fact that like, you can make as much money as you can, saving people as much money as you can, and benefiting people as much as as much as we are. If you're getting into solar, be prepared for the fact that it's a bumpy ride, but that's that's what makes it fun.
00:59:47
Speaker
Yeah. Right. And when you, when I talk to somebody like you, that's like, I've been here doing it since 2016. Yeah. It's like, you've seen it all. Yeah. You know, you remember the days where it's like 150 bucks a kilowatt. Yeah. Like, what are you going to do with all that money? I know. You know, it's coming from pest control. And I'm like, sweet. I'm going to make a couple grand on this sale. Every sale is like eight pest control accounts. This amazing. Exactly. So I think the best time to be in solar is now. I think it's going through a detox where it's going to change a lot. We're going to see a lot more pain. But the image that always comes to my mind is when you see the new growth in a forest that's burned down. That's how I picture it. I think forest that is now sprouting up going to be much stronger and much more lucrative both to us and more beneficial to the homeowners.
01:00:34
Speaker
you know I might just be naive and optimistic, but that's I have to be that way to keep going. Yeah, it's 100%. Well, that's such good perspective. Well, um yeah, I think that's a good way to end it. You only lose in this business when you quit.
01:00:47
Speaker
And so hopefully i really everyone listening to this can keep moving forward. And yeah, we can be those new trees that are growing in the burndown forest. So thanks again, Jake, for coming on. And yeah, man, excited to see what you guys do in the future. So keep crushing it. Thanks again. Thanks, Taylor. Okay. So some of you already know that I run my own door-to-door sales team here in San Diego. 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.
01:01:14
Speaker
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. 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 canceled the deal, who has moved in recently, and even how much electricity the homes are using in a given neighborhood.
01:01:37
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 two SolarScout in San Diego so I decided to partner up. But I told them, hey, I'm going to talk about SolarScout on my show, you need to give my listeners a great deal. And they did.
01:01:52
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.
01:02:05
Speaker
Okay, back to the show. Hey, solopreneurs, quick question. What if you could surround yourself with the industry's top performing sales pros, marketers, and CEOs and learn from their experience and wisdom in less than 20 minutes a day.
01:02:19
Speaker
For the last three years, I've been placed in the fortunate position to interview dozens of elite level solar professionals and learn exactly what they do behind closed doors to build their solar careers to an all-star level. That's why I want to make a truly special announcement about the new learning community exclusively for solar professionals to learn, compete, and win with top performers in the industry. And it's called Solciety.
01:02:44
Speaker
This learning community was designed from the ground up to level the playing field and give Solar Pros access to proven mentors who want to give back to this community and help you or your team to be held accountable by the industry's brightest minds for, are you ready for it, less than $3.45 a day. Currently, SolSciety is open, launched, and ready to be enrolled. So go to SolSciety.co to learn more and join the learning experience now. This is exclusively for solopreneur listeners, so be sure to go to solcity.co and join. We'll see you on the inside.