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Replay: Becoming An Expert In Referrals And Customer Retention - James Rushing
215 Plays20 days ago
A few years back, we had an episode with James Rushing and his unique approaches to make customers feel more special and involved in the sales process. By tending to intricate things about the homeowner, we produce rapport that goes beyond the transaction of the install.
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Transcript
Introduction to Taylor Armstrong and Podcast Goals
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to the Solarpreneur Podcast, where we teach you to take your solar business to the next level. My name is Taylor Armstrong. I went from $50 in my bank account and struggling for groceries to closing 150 deals in the year and cracking the code on why sales reps fail.
00:00:19
Speaker
I teach you 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.
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.
Introduction to James Rushing and His Impact
00:00:41
Speaker
Okay, what is going on We're here with another episode and I'm super stoked for today's guest because it's something that I've been working with for I think six months or so now and he's gotten me massive results in my organization, specifically in my referral process. So I am excited to have James on the podcast. Mr. James Rushing, thanks for coming on the show with us today. Absolutely. Pleasure to be on, Taylor. Glad we finally got to do this. We've been talking about it for a while. Be fun.
00:01:08
Speaker
But no, I think it's good timing because um initially I was thinking about getting you on like right when we started working together. But I think it's almost better now. Now that we've been working together for six months or so, we kind of know, you know, the things I was struggling with. We know what you've helped me me with. So I think we'll have a lot more focused conversations that we've been able to work together. So should be good time. Absolutely. Let's do it. But yeah, so just to kind of introduce you a little bit and um I guess tell how we ran into each other.
James' Referral Systems and Sales Philosophy
00:01:34
Speaker
So I first heard James, he was on Sam Taggart's door to door podcast. And I remember you guys were doing this podcast just in a park or something.
00:01:41
Speaker
And i think he just hit you up, I guess when he was out in your neck of the woods. But you started just talking about all these referral systems you had in place and how you got guys just transitioning to where they could get most their business from referrals.
00:01:56
Speaker
I'm like, man, that sounds like the dream, especially for solar, just having people call you and so like you're telling me it's possible where I don't have to knock a thousand doors a day. I can just have be getting ah you know these referrals. It caught my attention. I'm like, man, I got to see what this guy's all about.
00:02:12
Speaker
And so we hopped on a call and long story short, started working together from there. And so yeah, it's been great results. And I know there's still some things that are a working in progress with me, but um definitely helped me get my referral system in place way better than it was before. That's the beauty, right? it's ah That Japanese symbol, I think it's Kaizen, the never ending constant improvement, right? Yeah.
00:02:37
Speaker
yeah Yeah, but no, it's gotten a lot better. And yeah, so I'm excited here. We're going to jamming on um you know how to set up a referral system. We're going talk about just some things that I changed in the way I sell to and so kind of the whys behind all of it.
00:02:53
Speaker
um But yeah, before that, do you want to give us just fill in the blanks with the background, kind of why you decided to start Retention Experts, James, and I guess your background in sales and why you decided to start your company and all that?
00:03:04
Speaker
Grew up selling Cutco, the high-end kitchen knives, door-to-door direct sales, you know direct selling association, runs strong in my blood. And i had a Hall of Fame background in Cutco, about 700, 750 accounts. Most of those actually while was in college. I just, I really realized, you know I was averaging 20 plus referrals when I got referrals. And a lot of them were heads up texts, yeah, absolutely call me.
00:03:30
Speaker
um Things like that. And I actually got it down, Taylor, to where I could make about six phone calls, regardless of if they answered or you know told me to pound sand. But about every six phone calls resulted in an appointment, and we wound up having an 80% show ratio, which I know is a big thing in in the
The Importance of Connection and Teamwork in Sales
00:03:49
Speaker
D2D industry as well. um So I started looking at it systematically, you know, and I met a lot of business owners. um I got referred to people like Lance Berkman, who will be a Hall of Fame baseball player, played for the Astros because I'm down here in Houston. Mitt Romney's Texas finance chair when Mitt had run for ah president, the lieutenant governor of Texas at the time, a top 100 and
00:04:15
Speaker
30 wealth manager on Forbes list and i don't share any of these. I mean, you and I know each other pretty well. i don't share these to brag about who all I've met. I think some of the things we're gonna talk about today though are about how to build trust where people will really give you their best referrals and then will help you because they believe in you as a person. And I think one of the things we're gonna talk about today even is like,
00:04:36
Speaker
how to humanize the experience because people always want to help people, right? They don't necessarily want to help the salesperson, but they want to help Taylor the father or Taylor the husband things like that. so But it's kind of funny. It actually all goes back to 18 years old where I kind of figured some of this stuff out and i was going to play football at Harvard. had a couple of Ivy League offers and i actually don't know if I've ever shared this with you, but yeah what happened was is Never shared this, huh?
00:05:06
Speaker
Yeah. like well I've been talking for six months. I haven't heard this story, so you got my attention. Yeah, this is a good one. so I wound up playing football at the Air Force Academy, but what ultimately happened before that, 18 years old, Tim Murphy, literally second most winningest coach in the history of college football at Harvard of all places. um He was supposed to be in my living room.
00:05:28
Speaker
And he texted me, he was about 30 miles south. Hey, we're running late and we'll be there tomorrow. Is that okay? Well, if you know anything about college sports, there's a dead period. And this is being recorded, so I probably shouldn't get too, too much into the details. But long story short, to this day, I've never met Coach Murphy at Harvard. And I got a text, 18 years old, I got a text. was like, hey, um three offensive linemen quit. We're pulling all defensive line offers.
00:05:56
Speaker
And so nothing that I had ever done, but I wound up not playing football at Harvard over that. And when you're 18, 19 years old, I'm sure you can relate. Like that's kind of crushing. But the reason I share that, Taylor, is i learned it wasn't about football. It's about connection. And it was about a team and it was about being a part of something bigger than myself, you know, and and that's why like in the industry, we have door knocking, we have rallies, right? We have sales rallies, we have team night outs, we have, you know, I think you were sharing with me a couple months ago, like you're in Hawaii, right?
00:06:28
Speaker
Like companies understand that. And it's not about employees, it's not about clients, not about referral partners, it's about a core human condition that needs connection. You know, don't want to run away too much, but that's kind of what I realized. um We created this little equation at the retention experts.
Founding of Retention Experts and New Business Focus
00:06:45
Speaker
It's data, right? Client data plus psychology. That's the connection significance that we're talking about. and unique gifts. So data plus psychology plus unique gifts equals incremental revenue. and so I met all these people and had had a direct sales background in a fragmented industry and said, rather than working for these guys or gals one day, like why don't I just start my own business? and It's the long-winded story of the understanding of connection and gratitude and appreciation that led to founding the retention experts. Well, and something i wonder, and I'm sure people listening to this might be wondering, it's like James, if you're so good at selling these Cutco knives and you're just getting referrals galore,
00:07:28
Speaker
like Why would you step away from that and start your own company? I know people do that. There's people that leave solar start companies, things like that. Maybe they're top reps.
00:07:39
Speaker
um what's so For you, was it just the fulfillment part it or what's the reason you decided to start your own company versus just continuing to run with Cutco? We were putting logos on gifts and stuff like that. you know We can talk about that later, but it was just like helping a lot of people. And I realized and like it's it's just not about the gift. like It was really put on my heart that the world right now, Taylor, and I'm sure you will agree with this, but it's like the world needs more gratitude and connection right now. like We're coming out of COVID. you know It's 2023 when we're recording this, whenever you listen to it.
00:08:11
Speaker
And we're just in such a fragmented world and disconnected and you know People are like, do I matter? like We're seeing the great resignation in jobs. People are changing jobs all the time right now.
00:08:22
Speaker
yeah and it just it was really on my heart that like the world needed more of this and really loving on people and taking care of your clients at ah above and beyond. And so Cutco is a great product. Extremely grateful for the company. I'm sure a couple of people listening to this today have sold Cutco at some point.
00:08:40
Speaker
I wouldn't be here where I am without them. There was an above and beyond that was on my heart. Well, yeah, and you've certainly helped a lot of people. I know you have clients that are just you know selling 100% referrals now. We didn't quite get to that level with solar yet, but ah hopefully I can say that too someday. Be nice to be the first. day we're we're not We're not done yet. Maybe there'll be a version two or episode two and we get you there. Yeah, for sure.
Advice for Solar Sales Reps: Humanizing Sales
00:09:04
Speaker
But definitely have increased that. But no, so we want to talk a little bit more about, um you talk about this humanizing the experience. And as we're working together, is something you helped me with, James, is just like in my sales process, how do I get people to look at me more as not just a salesman sitting across from them, but actually as a person. And I was doing some of that before. and you know i had the picture saved, my background screen of kids and all that. I would share that and...
00:09:30
Speaker
I think they'll seem to help for sure for the listeners if you're not doing that would recommend it but yeah do you want to talk to some other things that you'd help me with in that process and specifically in solar things you would suggest for solar guys to just make the experience more human instead of them looking at us as just this cells are up where they've heard a million cells reps about solar so what are some other things that you would suggest ah Solar? No, I'm not interested. Slam, right? and it's like but It's like, no, like that's a person you just slam the door in their face, right? That is somebody's father or husband or daughter or mother or whatever, right?
00:10:07
Speaker
I think it comes back to that equation, right? The data plus psychology plus unique gifts equals incremental revenue. like There's a psychology piece there. Like you said, you know you had the phone where you were like talking about why you got into solar, how you got into it, you know talking about your kids. it's like I believe, honestly, Taylor, at the end of the day, it's like business doesn't have to be business. like You're selling a product for their home. you're selling you're You're helping their lives improve by saving money that they can divert into using in other things in in their life, right?
00:10:44
Speaker
So not only is it humanizing yourself, but it's not necessarily selling solar as like a cost savings, but it's like what would you do with that money? Right.
Using Social Proof and Personal Stories in Sales
00:10:53
Speaker
And you and I have a mutual connection. What they do is they run a referral program based on giving a drawing for ah a trip.
00:11:00
Speaker
And it literally lets Matt keep a lifetime relationship, a client for life rather than just ah a contract and install. And you never talk to them again. So, you know, I know when you and I first started, a couple of things that we always do for our our solar clients is to humanize that, you know, we we really get three things going. It's about referral networks. It's about proving that you know their friends, their social circles. It's social proof. It's like, hey, my biggest goal isn't that i sell. you solar that you want huge panels for your roof it's just seating right it's uh hey my biggest goal is that you like me enough to introduce me to a couple of people and and you need to make it your own language right but yeah you know taylor my goal isn't that you buy solar today it's actually that you introduce me to a few more people like sam did yeah um but we'll worry about that at the end if that's cool with you that work
00:11:56
Speaker
So you've seeded that, right? And you get their permission. They know you're going to ask because the worst is you get to the end, you ask for referrals and they're like, what? There's another thing? Yeah, exactly. So I would say the seeding is number one. Number two is the referral proof. So I remember we took the...
00:12:14
Speaker
San Diego neighborhoods and sorted it into Chula Vista and a couple other areas that you're sold in. Yeah. We titled it and then we put the names of people that they would recognize in those areas and then you're able to have them printed and connect social networks.
00:12:29
Speaker
And then I think the third thing, you kind of mentioned this, is almost like an all about Taylor. And it's like, you know, you ask your prospect, what do you do when you're not waiting for the solar guy or gal to knock your door?
00:12:41
Speaker
And then you let them go. And then you're like, yeah, kind of crazy story. Here's how I actually got into solar. And you tell about who you are and how you got there. maybe some social proof of awards you've won, things like that. So now it's Taylor sitting at a table. It's not the solar guy or the solar gal or the solar sales rep. It's, hey, I'm Taylor Armstrong and this is who I am.
00:13:01
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. And I think what's cool is you just helped me get up way more organized than I was doing. i think all of us to a degree that are selling solar, we're all building rapport. We're all telling a little bit about ourselves, but it's just like, um you know, I would forget a lot of times to...
00:13:16
Speaker
to tell like my background. so You help me like organize it in this sheet. It's almost like giving me a step-by-step framework for, okay I'm going to hit these points every time and I'm going do these things and that's going to give me a way higher chance where they look at me as a human being instead of a salesperson sitting across from them.
00:13:33
Speaker
think that's it. Yeah, go ahead. Go ahead. yeah go ahead ah go ahead well I was just saying, yeah, with the sheets, like the area sheet too, it's like we all know it is a name drop, right? Say we're working with XYZ, with Joe across the street, with ah Judy, all the people. But um I really like the idea of putting it on a sheet because we've all heard people so believe what they can see.
00:13:56
Speaker
and so i think it's way more powerful if they actually see it on a sheet, then they're like, okay, this is real. He's not just like spitting out random names. And then what I was doing too is just like, you know, these little testimonial videos.
00:14:09
Speaker
But as people see it on a sheet, then they see an actual video with it. i think it took, it just made it way more credible, way more believable as was combining all three of those things. But i yeah, but definitely. a couple times And I'm curious, you know, we worked for on this for six months or so ah and a couple other things too. But like when you start combining those, like...
00:14:28
Speaker
What did you see? like I know one time you were like, dude, I can't believe I got... were talking about how many referrals you got and like some limiting belief about that. And like when we were able to combine the video and the social network and the proof and the referral sheet, like what did you see come from that?
00:14:45
Speaker
ah Well, yeah, just like they know that that's the way business is done. Because I think that was a big shift for me. It's like the seeding. And I talk about it on the podcast all the time how ah you know we need we need to be telling what the process is, how we're going to go through their proposal, their breakdown, and then at the end, we're going to submit an application.
00:15:03
Speaker
So you just helped me realize it's like, okay, we need to do the exact same thing. If I'm trying to build a referral based business, I need them to know that from the beginning, hey we're going to submit the application, we're going to get the process going with solar.
00:15:16
Speaker
But also, hey, the way we work is we work through word of mouth marketing. So at the end, um we're going to get you a great product, great deal. And we're going to go for it within the end.
00:15:27
Speaker
um We're just going to help you think of some people that may also be able to benefit from this. And then it it was cool because you see it it's almost making a higher status. So I go like, oh, I have to do all these things just to get this.
00:15:40
Speaker
So the value is going up in their head. They're like, oh, well I'm going to get a way better deal because I'm going to like do these things for them. But then also you're getting referrals from it. So it's like, it yeah, super powerful combining those.
00:15:54
Speaker
And you know you bring something up, right? Like the law of reciprocity there. yeah And I think that's one of the things we talk about. Like, yeah, maybe you do have to you know mess with the dealer fees, give a discount, something like that. But it's like, if I can do this for you, can you do that for me? It's like, yeah, I would love to get you a great deal, Taylor.
00:16:14
Speaker
If I can do that, though... I don't care if they answer my call, buy solar, refer me to 100 people, ha ha ha, or like never answer my call. But hey, Taylor, if it's cool with you, if I can lower that rate for you, do you mind texting 10 people just that I'm going to be reaching out? I've got
Reciprocity and Gratitude in Client Relationships
00:16:32
Speaker
it pre-scripted for you. right But there's always, if I can do this, can you do that? and it's not tit for tat. right It's a very much so like, hey,
00:16:40
Speaker
By the way, these dealer fees are coming out of my commission and I don't mind doing that for you. like I want get a great deal. right yeah yeah and We do some gifting, right some of the contracts, some of the during installs when you're waiting for PTO. like you know I know you and I have sent some gifts, stuff like that. We do a little bit of the gifting.
00:16:59
Speaker
But always joke, I'm like, it's not really about the gift, right? It's about the law of reciprocity. yeah and like you just said, wow, I value this way more because I did this, this, and this, and now I'm getting this reciprocation.
00:17:13
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. And then just something that happened to me actually recently, I don't think I told you this, James, but one of my customers, her name is Veronica, but she had some major issues after the install.
00:17:26
Speaker
And unfortunately, you know previous installer... drop the ball and all of things and it's whatever. But um we had sent her one of these cutco knives you helped me send out long story short, all these issues we were having. I think the only reason that she didn't like, you know, just blow up and like start ripping off panels because these issues, she's an old lady. So she just wanted the process to go super smoothly. But I think just the fact that I'd sent her that knife and that you helped me get some gifts out is really what turned the situation into just being
00:17:56
Speaker
ah you know an absolute disaster. and so I think that's a different side of it that people probably don't think about is in solar is construction. Sometimes we can't control everything. But on top of like getting referrals and all that, um if you can get people to see you as a human being, if you send some of these gifts out, then when stuff does go wrong, it's ah yeah it's a lot easier to deal with when they see you as a human being. Because she was upset, but she was like, hey like and i was I was offering, i'm like, hey, I want to help fix some of these issues. like let me just help pay for this, pay for that. She's getting double billed.
00:18:29
Speaker
and She's like, no, you got kids to pay for. You got this house you told me about, you got a family. so She was like literally repeating back all the stuff that we did during this like you know humanizing phase and and me trying to get her to see me as a human being. It's kind of another i guess side benefit from it too.
00:18:45
Speaker
Well, and that's another thing too, though. And like, you know, it's one of the things you and I looked at in that analysis. So we looked at like, what's on, what are you leaving on the table? Where is it being left? And how do we go capture that value? Like in your book of business, right? Yeah. We talked about lowering your cancellation rate.
00:19:02
Speaker
And I think a lot of times ah reps want to just sell more and sell more and sell more, but they don't really look at conversion rates and how many contracts are moving to installs. Because you know depending on the kilowatts, like that's a $4,000, $7,000 commission check where like a little $50-ish gift saved you several thousand dollars.
00:19:23
Speaker
And I think a lot of solar reps don't really look at their cancellation rates and how to keep those lower. And how to keep more deals that you've worked so freaking hard to to get to begin with. yeah So thanks for sharing that. i love it.
00:19:36
Speaker
Go Veronica. Yeah, exactly. And I think actually her name's Vanessa. Sorry, I got her name wrong. Vanessa. that's shows I need to care more about my customers. Go client retention. There you go. Exactly.
00:19:49
Speaker
Yeah, but no, it's true. Well, yeah. And then like, i I think I had a lot of limiting beliefs. I wanted to ask you about that. And i don't know if this is something you see in a lot of other people you work with, James, but just like limiting beliefs up around getting referrals.
00:20:02
Speaker
um Because it's like me as a door knocker. I was telling you this before we had the call. um Sometimes it's easy for us to just be like, okay, we know how to knock doors, we know know how to overcome the objections at the door.
00:20:14
Speaker
like What am I going to do Trying to set up a whole system around referrals and specifically for me is around like calling referrals um because I would get these names, I would get numbers.
00:20:24
Speaker
I'm starting to get better at about having the customer actually introduce me to them to make that easier. But um I think my limiting blues is like, okay, why am I going to put in all these times actually set up these systems, put in all this effort, organize it when I just go and I know I'm good enough to go knock for an hour or two and get a couple of leads off that.
00:20:43
Speaker
And so what what do you see? i don't know if you see a lot of that in people you work with, but what are some, I guess, limiting beliefs and how do you help people, like, I guess, wrap their mind around building a referral based business instead of just falling back on what they're used to?
00:20:58
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, i we hear all kinds of things, right? Oh, I can only ask for referrals after install happens or after they have PTO. And I'm like, if they want to help you, they want to help you. like They're going to help you now. They're going to help you later because they're helping Taylor. They're not like, oh, solar is the greatest thing. And like yeah I don't know. like what did like When you started humanizing yourself, like what what did you see in your close percentage? Did it go up or did it stay the same?
00:21:23
Speaker
ah Yeah, I mean, definitely went up. I'd have to go through and calculate everything, i guess. But yeah, definitely. Closing ratio goes up, your retent what your deals deal sign to installs goes up, like all of that.
00:21:36
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. so I think the biggest thing, honestly, Taylor, is like, you hear everything from like, oh, I can't ask for referrals. I'm going to go door knock more. Some reps are doing SEO, paid advertising. They're like, I'm going to just turn the funnel up and get more leads.
00:21:52
Speaker
It's like, yeah, but your cost per acquisition, what what it really is, Taylor, is I teach data-driven decisions. And you just kind of alluded to it, right? At the retention experts, we're a lot about data.
00:22:03
Speaker
But not the heavy analytics of CRMs and stuff. like We got it down to five or 10 minutes a month of reporting, which we can talk about systems and organization here in a second. yeah But it's like, I think in general, you have feelings versus...
00:22:17
Speaker
data. yeah And it's like, hey, maybe we feel something, but like what does the data show? right So for example, I have a client whos like and he was like, I just can't ask for referrals till install happens. right and it's like And I was like, show people what you're asking for. If you want 10 referrals, you need to ask for 20. And that client was like, nobody's ever going to give me 10 referrals. i' was like, okay, but have you ever asked?
00:22:40
Speaker
And it's funny because I have a testimony. He's out in the parking lot. He's beaming a huge smile. And he's like, hey, James, guess what? And he's like, I got 10 referrals, right? Yeah. And I think the biggest thing that I would say about that is just what does the data show? like We all have feelings, but like what are they based on? Yeah.
00:22:59
Speaker
to i don't Does that answer the question of like what would I really tell people? it's like Yeah. yeah that's good yeah like I like that. and I think that's what you helped me with is just seeing the data because yeah I remember with that too, um my limiting belief was like, oh, I can only get like three people max, um like three introductions max. and Then i think as you started telling me, like hey I would get 10 people minimum.
00:23:24
Speaker
from every single cut call or maybe it's more than that. But I know he started telling me like, look, there's people doing 10, 20 names off of every cell they get. and's I'm like, oh, wow. Okay. um I guess I've never tried to ask for more than like three introductions from a cell.
00:23:40
Speaker
But, um well and yeah, I mean. And I think you and I, we talked about this, too. It's like, you know, you already know your funnel. You go knock 50 doors and you get roughly one deal out of it, right? So you're like, well, why would I go do anything different?
00:23:53
Speaker
And it's like, well, you know. I always ask them, like, who's gotten a referral? Okay, we've all gotten a referral, but who has a system for referrals? Because, you know, i was talking with my buddy Davis, and he owns Ori Solar down in Florida this morning, and he goes, dude, I got an inbound lead today.
00:24:11
Speaker
and i was like, yeah? Yeah. He goes, yeah, I don't even remember my client, but he was like, yeah, my buddy told me y'all were like drinking wine and eating popcorn or something. and And it 2018. he's like, I literally set him next datum and he's already signed up and is texting me referrals all in two days. Right.
00:24:29
Speaker
And it's just like it's just easier. like The setup might take a while, but when I start talking about data-driven decisions, like you even shared with me when you looked at all the referrals that you just had over your your years, like and this was, I think, the last thing we may talk about, it's systems and organization.
Systematic Approach to Managing Referrals
00:24:47
Speaker
It's like the data showed you had referrals everywhere. You just weren't consistently getting them. You had no way to like turn that referral faucet on. Yeah, that's true. So, you know.
00:24:58
Speaker
Yeah. and I don't know. I mean, I'll be honest, sometimes this is where the reps are like, oh man, like there's a lot of setup and do I really want to deal with the CRM? And it's like the data part doesn't have to be that complex. It can be as simple as a Google Sheet or Excel, you know? Yeah.
00:25:15
Speaker
um But what I think a lot of things, and I know there's some stuff you want to talk about about systems, but I think a lot of times like people don't track where their deals came from.
00:25:26
Speaker
And so if you're not saying thank you to somebody that gave you a referral, you're not going to get more referrals from them. like People, that ri reciprocity, significance, connection, like just a little thank you, I appreciate you. If you were to write a handwritten note or send a referral thank you or a gift or...
00:25:43
Speaker
whatever. It's like that goes so long. and Then one thing I love we do for all of our clients is, hey, PS, call me when and you get this so I know it got delivered properly. What's cool there, Taylor, is now you don't have to call your clients, they're calling you.
00:25:56
Speaker
yeah Yeah. That is really cool. and That helped too as we sent out the gifts, just getting these calls. actually had forgotten you put that on there. so i was getting calls from customers being like, what are you calling about? and I'm like, oh, yeah.
00:26:08
Speaker
but that You do that thing like, I think this is a client. What do you want now? They just call in to say thank you. Usually it's a problem. it's like ah It's kind of nice that someone calls me and it's not a problem. They're wanting to cancel or something. yeah i I was talking with one of my sales reps last week and he said, you know I just and just want somebody to appreciate the work we're doing.
00:26:30
Speaker
Right? yeah And it's really cool to hear you share that story of like, ah, somebody's calling. What do they want? Oh, they're saying thank you. That's kind of nice, actually. yeah and know I know. For sure. I wanted to ask you, know we're going get a little bit into systems here, which I wanted to help you or ask you about because you helped me just organize the system little bit better.
00:26:53
Speaker
But a question that just popped into my head is um for me specifically, like I mentioned, I've had some things go wrong and probably most people in solar have had issues with their customers where they install or like, you know, like left trash behind or...
00:27:09
Speaker
They left like a tile undone on the roof, stuff like that. and then ah Also, that happened to me. Unfortunately, my first company I sold with, they closed the doors, they're not doing installs anymore.
00:27:21
Speaker
so Recently, i had I was sending out a little tax text campaign and trying to see if anyone wanted to add on some more panels. But it didn't go too great because most these people that were my like first clients, they're like, oh whoa um we haven't gotten a response from your company. So obviously, I didn't really get a great reception when I was like asking for referrals from them.
00:27:44
Speaker
So it's just something i was thinking about. and So like in a situation like that, do you have any tips or suggestions? like If there's stuff that goes wrong, and i talked about law reciprocity, but anything else that you think would help I don't know, like whether these storms are still get referrals, when stuff that's kind of out of your control with the company goes wrong, or what what would you do in that situation?
00:28:08
Speaker
Well, I think the biggest thing before we even get to referrals in general, Taylor, is like people just want to be heard. They want to feel heard. And so if you're just like, yeah, like I can only imagine, and you have to put it in your own words, right? But it's like, I can only imagine what that must have been like. you know You're expecting this.
00:28:26
Speaker
you know, I'm sorry that happened. And then it's just like, I can only imagine what that felt like. You know, you just kind of sit there with them through it and you're like, hey, like, how can I, how can I help? How can I fix that? Right.
00:28:39
Speaker
And one, you just let them be heard and feel heard and seen. Then number two, you're like, yeah, I can only imagine how frustrating that must have been. and then three, solution oriented. It's like, you know, how, how can I help?
00:28:50
Speaker
You know, now that I'm aware of it, how can I actually help you with it? And I feel like a lot of the times, mean, you tell me, but i feel like a lot of the times I feel like, oh, I'm so sorry. I'm just hearing about that. I can't believe how frustrating that was. That must have been a really big deal. i feel like a lot of times the client's going to go, no, not really.
00:29:07
Speaker
They just wanted to be heard about it. And some every once a while will be like, yeah, no,
Handling Client Frustrations Effectively
00:29:12
Speaker
it's this and that. And I would like this. And then now you have a real conversation to remedy it. But I would just start with like, yeah, thanks for sharing that with me. I can only imagine that must have been pretty frustrating. Like, Just ask a couple of open-ended questions and let them get it off their chest and then see where the real conversation lies.
00:29:29
Speaker
I like that. And yeah, i think we've talked about this before James, but it's like sometimes the people that cause the most issues or the most upset, you just like listen to them and try to help them find a solution. They can be your biggest source of referrals down the road.
00:29:44
Speaker
And I'm sure you can name a handful people like that. And I can definitely think of a few. But yeah, I'm like, as I was going through this, talking to people about their frustrations, how the company wasn't there anymore.
00:29:55
Speaker
actually was able to help a few of them get in touch with just in phase one of the manufacturers and get some solutions on issues they were having. Even though the company wasn't around, I still helped them with a few things and i haven't gotten referrals from it like yet. But it's like I think they did appreciate that I helped them.
00:30:12
Speaker
But I think one of the things that doesn't get talked about is like clients of yours from a while ago, right? Like years and years ago. Yeah. Yeah. Like how does that feel? Just like, how does that feel for you? Just knowing that you were able to take care of people?
00:30:25
Speaker
Yeah, it felt good. Definitely. Your job just feels different now, right? Like to an extent. Definitely. But yeah, no, it's good. Well, yeah, so let's transition here and just as we start wrapping up a little bit, um the other thing that I wanted to touch on before we end this is just the organization part because I think can you can probably agree this is one of my biggest challenges is before we started working together. I was getting referrals here and there but I think the biggest reason for not having success for me was just my lack of organization. i would have them on random sheets of paper,
00:31:00
Speaker
I didn't have like a CRM set up. And i didn't even know who these referrals were from. i think I showed you some of my binders and notepads or whatever, which is some bunch of names and written on. And you're like, cool, Taylor, where'd you get these from? How long ago was it And i couldn't even tell you. I'm like, I don't know who gave them to me. i just I know they're referrals, but...
00:31:19
Speaker
Can't remember how long ago it was. I don't know who gave it to me. And so like, obviously it's going to be tough calling those people. And I'm like, Hey, someone referred you. Um, might've been like a year ago. I'm not sure who, but do you want to get some solar from me? It's like, that's kind of a tough way to call it. If you don't remember who it was or know anything about them. So yeah, exactly. Um,
00:31:40
Speaker
but but yeah Looking back on on our work, I would say there are probably two main systems that I really saw. um and I think the first one, i remember asking, I was like, hey, when you like you set the appointment, you come back, right? Sometimes you go straight in. But when you come back, what's your pre-appointment routine?
00:31:59
Speaker
right And you're like, well, you know I have this slick, I have that slick. right And I think the big first system that I would say is just like, and we kind of alluded to it earlier, it's like have everything in one place so you go through all the same things every single time.
00:32:11
Speaker
So you know if you do it with an iPad, have everything on an iPad. If you do it with slicks, have a clipboard. you know A great idea is get three-ring binder that has slicks clipped into it, your referral sheets, your All About You sheet, and put your iPad in there. um But I think it's like having everything in one tangible place, whether it's an iPad, a clipboard, or a binder, where it's like, this is everything I need to do a great appointment and have it in order. And then it doesn't need to be scripted. And it's going to give a great sales rep flexibility.
00:32:42
Speaker
It's going to give a new rep a reminder to not miss So that's the first system. And then the second system is like, just keep track of your referrals in the same place. Maybe it's a printed sheet that says, help me hit my goals, and it's numbered 1 to 20 with a gold line at 10 and 20, so people have a visual goal.
00:33:00
Speaker
Maybe it's taking that and putting it into a Google sheet. Maybe it's taking your referral names and putting them into your CRM. Last week, I built out a sales pipeline for a solar company where they're like, yeah, we don't have any of our referrals in here.
00:33:16
Speaker
And therefore, when somebody says, call me back or i need a, you know, it's a two-legger or one-legger instead of both spouses, it's like, you need to set that appointment. So you could build it out in your CRM of like not contacted, started, call me back, appointment set, contract signed, waiting on financing, all the way to waiting for site survey. You can put all of that in an appointment setting pipeline yeah um in a CRM. Or you could even build that out in a Google spreadsheet. It wouldn't be all that hard. So I would say those are kind of the two systems is one, have everything in the same place so you don't miss anything.
Taylor's Success with Implementing James' Strategies
00:33:53
Speaker
And then number two, store your referrals in the same place.
00:33:56
Speaker
And if I were to throw one other just like freebie out there for systems, it would be have a three-way text that you can copy and paste, send to your client, and they can three-way group text you and their friend or family so that they know you'll be reaching out.
00:34:10
Speaker
And just do that over and over and over again. That's how you scale. Yeah, love it. and yeah i mean That's really what you helped me set up. and yeah like Now i I have my three ring binder. I walk into the plane with the same stuff every time.
00:34:23
Speaker
and yeah Before I just had like these three, four slicks that I was like carrying with slapped on my iPad. and Then it's like I'd walk into someone's house and throw like all these random sheets of paper with an iPad on it. and These like laminated sheets.
00:34:37
Speaker
So yeah, I think that's something you helped me see too is it definitely a you know probably helps with the professionalism look a little bit better. You have it all on a binder instead of just like throwing all over the place on their kitchen table, right?
00:34:49
Speaker
And I forget what it is, but it's like people make ah an initial assessment of somebody in the first three seconds or eight seconds or something. yeah So it's like that professionalism is is what's ingrained, right?
00:35:00
Speaker
The iPad's more professional, the binder's more professional, the pictures of your kids. I totally agree with that. For sure. Yeah. Yeah, and I think like CRM, um yeah, you helped me with my CRM, put them all, get my referrals set up. I have my virtual assistant that she was taking all my referrals that I would get in the appointment and plugging them in the CRM.
00:35:19
Speaker
So that's what's worked for me and that's what you helped me set up. But I think it's important too. like I don't know, I'm sure there's clients, yours, that they don't necessarily have... like this CRM, I know our people are using different things. so I think the point is more just like get organized and have a system. like I don't think everyone necessarily has to have the same CRM the way of doing it, but it's more just like kind of a system that you do every time. right and That's the data part of the simple equation we talked about at the beginning, data plus psychology. right Some people send gifts, some don't. But data plus psychology plus unique gifting equals incremental revenue. like
00:35:53
Speaker
Keep track of your leads, keep track of who you've set appointments with, follow up on the ones you need to. The psychology is literally activate the reciprocity, make people feel significant. And then if you want a system put in place, you know, where I forget what was the client's name who just you sent the gift and then she didn't cancel.
00:36:13
Speaker
Vanessa. Vanessa. You know, that's the unique gifting part, right? Putting that in place. And then your business has grown through referrals and your contract signed to cancellation rates gone down.
00:36:24
Speaker
um So that's yeah incremental revenue right there, let alone from referrals. So... I was just going to say, I guess there's a reason why you're called the retention experts and not just the referral experts. right is because it's like It's because if you do all these things, yeah it's you're not only getting referrals, but you're retaining a lot more clients and keeping them keeping them happy. right You know, it's interesting. we ah Our motto is appreciation means growth.
00:36:49
Speaker
And there's definitely a dual meaning in that. But what I always say, i'm like it's honestly not the retention or the referrals. It's actually engagement. And if you have like one, two or three, I put engagement in the middle because engagement's the glue between retention and referrals.
00:37:05
Speaker
And so if you can humanize the experience, right, you're going to have a more engaged prospect or client. And therefore, you're going to have less cancellations. You're going to get more referrals. Yeah, 100%.
00:37:16
Speaker
Well, James, it's been a awesome you having on having you on and um you know just kind of refreshing all the things we worked on. And I know you're helping a lot of people out there. And so for solar people that do want to work more with you or hear more about retention experts, what's the best way to do that and be able to get in touch with you?
00:37:34
Speaker
Yeah, I think the best way is to go to our website, www.growretention.com. That's www.growretention.com. Or on all social medias, YouTubes, the handle's the same. It's the retention experts. So we're pretty easy to find.
00:37:51
Speaker
And I really appreciate you having us on, Taylor. It's been a good time. So guys, whether you want to set up a referral system or you're business owner, company owner, want to have more referral partners, which is something I know you help a lot organizations with,
00:38:04
Speaker
Hit James up. He can help you with all of the above. He's definitely gotten me results. i have Over the past several months, I've been able to increase my referrals from probably just couple of closed deals off referrals a year to, would say, 30, maybe even 40% over the last three, four months. So definitely seeing the results. and Appreciate the help you've given me, James. and um yeah With that, I think we'll get place to end. Anything else, any other final advice you'd have for solar reps or ah people out there hitting the doors, James?
00:38:36
Speaker
Just have have fun, be a person, humanize your business, don't keep business business, like make it personal. and If you want help with that, hit up growretention.com.
00:38:48
Speaker
Okay. Appreciate you coming
Conclusion and Call to Action
00:38:50
Speaker
on the show. Guys, go hit him up. Let James know you appreciated him coming on the podcast today. and Thanks again for coming on the show. Keep closing deals. We'll talk soon, James.
00:39:00
Speaker
Sounds good. Thanks, Taylor. so Some of you already know that I run my own door-to-door sales team here in San Diego. And as we were gearing up for the summer, I realized if we do the same thing we always did, we're going to get the same results.
00:39:13
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.
00:39:36
Speaker
It's been working for a lot of teams across the country and now I'm on board too. I'm going to be one of the first to Solar Scout in San Diego, so I decided to partner up. But I told them, hey, I'm going to talk about Solar Scout on my show. you need to give my listeners a great deal. And they did.
00:39:51
Speaker
So go to solarscout.app forward slash Taylor and book a demo with them and you'll get 10% off your first month when you sign up. That's solarscout.app forward slash Taylor.
00:40:04
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.
00:40:18
Speaker
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Speaker
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00:41:02
Speaker
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00:41:16
Speaker
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