Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to the Solarpreneur Podcast where we teach you to take your solar business to the next level.
Speaker: My name is Taylor Armstrong.
Speaker: I went from $50 in my bank account and struggling for groceries to closing 150 deals in a year and cracking the code on why sales reps fell.
Speaker: I teach you to avoid the mistakes I made and bring in the top solar dogs of the industry to let you in on the secrets of generating more leads, falling up like a pro and closing more deals.
Speaker: What is a solarpreneur you might ask?
Speaker: A solarpreneur is a new breed of solar pro that is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve mastery and you are about to become one.
Speaker: Yo what's up solarpreneurs?
Speaker: Today I switched to pest control for the week.
Speaker: I know this title is saying I switched pest control, but don't worry, it's just for a week.
Speaker: I'm not the pestpreneur, I'm still the solarepreneur.
Speaker: But I did come from a pest control background.
Speaker: And I'm going to share some things that I've learned from getting back into pest control for the first time in It's Been Lake.
Speaker: eight years now before I was in solar.
Speaker: So we're going to be jamming on that.
Speaker: If you're new to the podcast, welcome to the show.
Speaker: My name is Taylor Armstrong.
Speaker: I'm here to help you close more deals, generate more leads and referrals, and have a much better time in the solar and pest control industry.
Speaker: If you're in pest control, you can listen to this too, and we'll recruit you over to solar.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: But yeah, being in pest control makes me grateful that I am doing solar because pest control, it is hard.
Speaker: It's a grind out there.
Speaker: It's hot.
Speaker: I'm in North Carolina knocking doors for pest control a little bit.
Speaker: And I don't know if I have what it takes to knock 10 hours a day like I was doing when I was in summer sales for pest control.
Speaker: But it's a learning experience and it is fun to mix it up a little bit.
Speaker: But I'm going to share some things I've learned, some little reminders and
Speaker: and hopefully y'all can take some things away from this episode and things you can apply.
Speaker: We're jamming on it, but first the reason I'm out here is for a little bit unfortunate circumstances, but my buddy, his wife has cancer unfortunately.
Speaker: Pretty rare form of cancer.
Speaker: I think it's in like her leg type of bone cancer and really sad.
Speaker: So we're out here helping him out.
Speaker: My buddy owns a pest control company and he's actually
Speaker: One of the first guys I started doing summer sales with, he kind of gave me the push to get into sales and I sold for his pest control company actually for a summer as well.
Speaker: So I'm out here helping him out.
Speaker: He's kind of a one-man show, so doesn't have like a big team or anything.
Speaker: So I'm doing some service and spraying some, you know, pest spray a little bit, knocking a little bit, doing it all with him.
Speaker: It's been fun.
Speaker: But that being said, if you're looking for a good cause to donate for, I'm going to include the link for their GoFundMe in the show notes for this episode.
Speaker: And yeah, give you an extra tax write-off, give you something to donate for a good cause.
Speaker: Let's jump into the episode.
Speaker: So I'm going to share a few things that I've learned just from getting back into Pest and just some good reminders that I got from being out here.
Speaker: And the first is just that sales is sales.
Speaker: Sometimes we think, okay, this is a different industry.
Speaker: Stuff that works here, it's not going to work as well.
Speaker: And that's true to a degree, right?
Speaker: But everything that works on the doors, it's generally going to be very similar industry-wide, right?
Speaker: So just some things that I'm realizing.
Speaker: For example, name dropping.
Speaker: We all know name dropping is super powerful.
Speaker: You do it in solar, you do it in pest control.
Speaker: But what I've been doing out here, I've been going just riding out with my buddy Chandler.
Speaker: He's the guy that owns the company that I'm helping out.
Speaker: We've been going to his accounts.
Speaker: And I've just been knocking around where he sprang.
Speaker: So pointing out the truck.
Speaker: Hey, you probably see our truck.
Speaker: It's actually out there servicing your neighbor, John, right there.
Speaker: I'm friends with John.
Speaker: Did he let you know I was coming by, by the way?
Speaker: So exact same thing.
Speaker: Very similar to what I do in solar.
Speaker: I've been doing it in pests and it's been working great.
Speaker: So all these same lines, hey, I'm friends with John across the street.
Speaker: You've probably seen the truck right here.
Speaker: We're out there servicing them and then creating the problem.
Speaker: He's been seeing a lot of those piss ants come just in his kitchen.
Speaker: He also is getting like termites out in the yard.
Speaker: You guys have been seeing that same stuff, I imagine.
Speaker: Or what have you guys been seeing around here?
Speaker: So it's the same stuff, guys.
Speaker: You're creating the problem.
Speaker: You're breaking the preoccupation.
Speaker: You're creating the problem, and it works.
Speaker: And I think pest control is harder.
Speaker: Like I got one account yesterday when I went out and knocked, and I only knocked like two hours.
Speaker: I'm not going out all day long and knocking, but I'm helping him spray a little bit.
Speaker: I'm knocking around where he's doing his services.
Speaker: And I think I had to go through 12 homeowners or something to get that cell, which I'll talk about it a little bit here in a second.
Speaker: But it makes me remember how hard pest control is because solar, it's like we can go five, six doors, book an appointment.
Speaker: Most people that I know, you can pull an appointment, pull a bill on five, six, seven doors.
Speaker: And granted, if you're new, it's going to be more than that.
Speaker: But I think everyone in solar should be able to have the ability to get an appointment in five or six doors.
Speaker: But pest control, you're talking to a lot more homeowners without getting that sell.
Speaker: So it was a reminder that, man, this is hard.
Speaker: You're knocking all day out there.
Speaker: You're getting rejected.
Speaker: It's not like solar where you're just getting a quick appointment, going to the next one.
Speaker: Pest control, you are getting a sell or you're leaving, right?
Speaker: You're trying to get the contract signed right then and there.
Speaker: So that's the first lesson I learned just that cells is cells.
Speaker: All this stuff we do in solar, all the tricks we use in pest control, a lot of it's going to work in whatever industry you're selling door-to-door.
Speaker: Or even if you're doing different types of cells, a lot of the same things apply.
Speaker: And yeah, like knocking around, for example...
Speaker: knocking around the services in pest control.
Speaker: Something we can do in solar that I've talked about is knock around your appointments.
Speaker: If you have an appointment that follows through, are you knocking around your appointments, dropping the line?
Speaker: Hey, I'm friends with Joe.
Speaker: We just had an appointment with him.
Speaker: You can leave out that he no-showed your appointment.
Speaker: but knock around it.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: Number two, always have a deeper meaning around why you are knocking doors, why you are working.
Speaker: As I mentioned, I'm out here because I'm helping a friend and I'm doing a service because she has cancer.
Speaker: Super sad circumstances.
Speaker: But what I've found is...
Speaker: that's when I'm going out it's really powerful to have that meaning behind what I'm doing.
Speaker: I'm not out there knocking doors to make money.
Speaker: I'm out here because I'm doing a service.
Speaker: I'm helping a friend out in a dire circumstance.
Speaker: It is stage four cancer.
Speaker: We don't know how long she's going to be around for.
Speaker: So we're out here just helping.
Speaker: And so when I've been on the doors even though I have been getting hit with rejections even though sometimes I don't know what I'm saying in pest control right I'm a solar guy so
Speaker: I know pest control people listen to this.
Speaker: Maybe they're listening to some of the things I'm saying and thinking there's way better ways to do it.
Speaker: There probably are.
Speaker: But one thing I know for sure, as I have this deep meaning behind what I'm doing, it's been easy to roll with the punches.
Speaker: And it's been easy to take that rejection.
Speaker: And yeah, I haven't been knocking all day, but the doors I have knocked, it's just...
Speaker: Yeah, I have a really powerful reason why I'm going there.
Speaker: So for you that are knocking doors in solar, that are cold calling, that have gone maybe even two, three weeks without getting it, what is your purpose behind your work?
Speaker: Are you just out there to make money?
Speaker: Because let me tell you, if that's your only reason to do this job, that why power is going to fade out.
Speaker: really quick so what is that deeper why you have what's that third layer deep a lot of the top guys i know they have three layers deep okay it's because i want to make money well why do you want to make money uh to provide for my family why do you want to provide for your family because when i was a kid i didn't have much so i want to give my kids the life that i didn't have that i never had i hear that from a lot of top guys actually
Speaker: A-N-T.
Speaker: So for you, think about that.
Speaker: What is the deeper purpose you have?
Speaker: You might not be out there knocking because you're serving someone that has cancer, but you should have a deeper purpose, a deeper why behind the reason you're out working and selling solar.
Speaker: So that's number two.
Speaker: And then number three, just to tell a little bit about the sell I got yesterday, and hopefully there's going to be more sales to come.
Speaker: Plan on knocking a little bit more.
Speaker: But, you know, not out here to knock the entire time.
Speaker: But I definitely will hit some more doors while I'm out here.
Speaker: But it's funny.
Speaker: The cell I got yesterday, I was knocking around an account.
Speaker: My buddy, he was out spraying, doing the service for the neighbor.
Speaker: I had like four of the neighbors that rejected me.
Speaker: They had different people doing their pests.
Speaker: Like, no, no, no, we're good.
Speaker: And then I talked to this lady.
Speaker: She's across the street.
Speaker: I can literally see Chandler, my buddy, spraying the neighbor.
Speaker: So I point her out, say, hey, I'm friends with this neighbor.
Speaker: We're actually out here doing the pest service.
Speaker: What have you guys been seeing?
Speaker: She starts just saying, oh, we got a pest guy.
Speaker: These are nicer homes.
Speaker: So pretty much everyone there already has a pest service.
Speaker: She's like, oh, we have a pest guy.
Speaker: Everything's been going good.
Speaker: We weren't seeing anything.
Speaker: I'm like, oh, what's the reason you got a pest guy in the first place?
Speaker: What were you seeing?
Speaker: which is something that come to be applied to solar to.
Speaker: If people have looked into solar, what made you guys look into solar in the first place?
Speaker: Okay, figure out what that hot button is, right?
Speaker: Okay, so she tells me we're having a good conversation, but I can tell she's just trying to get me off the door, like not really interested in switching.
Speaker: It's like whatever.
Speaker: And so I just kind of like beat her on the bush.
Speaker: We're just talking about other things.
Speaker: I ask her how long she's been in the home.
Speaker: I tell her that I'm living out in California, right?
Speaker: that's people are super nice out here you know just seeding her that she better be nice to me because everyone else was really nice to me another cool little trick to use um but long story short i and i tell her why i'm out there that you know my buddy's wife has cancer and she starts asking me about it she's like wait a second i know someone that's in the same boat what's their names so i tell them name oh it's chandler and she tells me wait
Speaker: I go to church with those people.
Speaker: They go to my same church.
Speaker: So I make this connection.
Speaker: Turns out they're in the same congregation.
Speaker: They go to the same church.
Speaker: And I'm like, okay, this better be a done deal now.
Speaker: She knows that his wife has cancer.
Speaker: She knows they got a two-year-old daughter.
Speaker: She knows the circumstances.
Speaker: Like there's no way you can stay with your current pest control company.
Speaker: So at that point, I'm like, all right, this is a done deal.
Speaker: I just start milking it.
Speaker: I'm like, okay, well, yeah.
Speaker: So you know the circumstances.
Speaker: Yeah, I'm just out here helping him out.
Speaker: I know it's been tough for him.
Speaker: He doesn't have anyone working for him right now.
Speaker: So he's trying to service his accounts and he's going back and forth to the hospital.
Speaker: I'm just like laying on the guilt, guilt trip after guilt trip.
Speaker: Like, okay, you better switch.
Speaker: So she goes and gets her husband.
Speaker: And it wasn't an easy sell by any means.
Speaker: I still had to definitely lay on the guilt and explain why we're different, what we're going to do, build value.
Speaker: So just guilt alone wasn't going to give me the sell.
Speaker: But as I built value in the service and that we're going to spray the whole yard instead of just kind of the foundation, he's like, okay, we'll give this a shot.
Speaker: And that's how I got my first pest account in like eight years now.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: So what can we learn from that?
Speaker: What are the takeaways for you?
Speaker: Are you bringing the emotion into the cell?
Speaker: I never would have got this cell had I not brought in the emotion, had I not just brought in the tearjerker of, hey, you're helping out a good cause here.
Speaker: You're helping out a family who's in a dire circumstance.
Speaker: You're helping out a friend who doesn't have much time to go acquire new clients because we service those accounts and going back and forth to the hospital.
Speaker: Who's going to resist that?
Speaker: And then I backed it up with the logic.
Speaker: I told them logically, hey, you're going to have less bugs in the yard.
Speaker: You're going to save money.
Speaker: You're going to save time.
Speaker: In pest control, it is a very emotional cell.
Speaker: People are terrified of bugs, right?
Speaker: So that was the main thing.
Speaker: I just had to bring the emotion into it.
Speaker: So think about that.
Speaker: Are you bringing emotion into your solar cells?
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: A lot of people are saying they want to save money, but again, why do they want to save money?
Speaker: What's the emotion in that?
Speaker: Is it to help their kids out that are going to college?
Speaker: Is it to be able to use more AC without sweating like crazy and feeling like you're going to pass out?
Speaker: What emotion can you bring into it?
Speaker: If you're not bringing emotion in the cell, you're losing cells.
Speaker: So that was the lesson I learned.
Speaker: And another thing, just work your power base.
Speaker: If you know people, it's really powerful because once we made that connection, it was a done deal.
Speaker: So for you, are you hitting up the people that you go to church with?
Speaker: Are you hitting up your aunts, uncles, cousins, anyone that knows you?
Speaker: Because people naturally want to help others out.
Speaker: especially people they know, like, and trust.
Speaker: So chances are if you have someone, even if they're, you know, maybe they're thinking of going solar with someone else because they didn't even know you did solar, but they know, like, and trust you.
Speaker: So you should definitely be reaching out to them.
Speaker: So hopefully my buddy that I'm doing pest control with learned that lesson too.
Speaker: He's probably going to hit up everyone that he goes to church with if he's not already.
Speaker: So that's been my experience selling pest control.
Speaker: It's been fun out here.
Speaker: Hope to sell a few more.
Speaker: Stay tuned.
Speaker: I'll be posting about it over on social media.
Speaker: And if you want to donate to this awesome family and a good cause, again, we're going to post the link to the GoFundMe in the show notes.
Speaker: Be much appreciated, but don't feel like you have to.
Speaker: Yeah, but I know they would appreciate it.
Speaker: And as always, keep tuning in.
Speaker: We got some amazing guests coming up.
Speaker: Can't wait to see what's next and see who's coming.
Speaker: Awesome episodes.
Speaker: Share this with anyone who you need to switch from pest control to solar.
Speaker: Because let's be honest, solar is the best industry to be in.
Speaker: You should not be selling pest control.
Speaker: You should be selling solar.
Speaker: Unless you're going to help a buddy out like I did.
Speaker: Or maybe just do a week-long little blitz.
Speaker: Hey, it might help you in your solar cells too.
Speaker: So we'll see you on the next episode.
Speaker: I love you.
Speaker: You're awesome.
Speaker: Thanks for tuning in to the podcast.
Speaker: We'll see you next time.
Speaker: Hey, solarpreneurs, are you sick and tired of spinning your wheels every month and not seeing your sales increase?
Speaker: Well, so was I. And the truth is, I was never able to improve it until I figured out what was going wrong.
Speaker: So that's why I'm excited to announce for a limited time, we are doing a free sales diagnostic.
Speaker: We'll break down your sales process, figure out the holes in your business and see how we can help you improve.
Speaker: So at now we have six bucks for this month.
Speaker: So book a call now.
Speaker: Don't miss out.
Speaker: What you're going to do is send an email to taylor at solarpreneurs.com.
Speaker: That's taylor at solarpreneurs with an S dot com.
Speaker: I'll send you out a calendar link and we will figure out the time that works best.
Speaker: So shoot that email and let's increase your sales.
