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 how to avoid the mistakes I made and bring in the top solar dogs of the industry to let you in on the secrets of generating more leads, falling up like a pro, and closing more deals.
Speaker: What is a Solarpreneur you might ask?
Speaker: A Solarpreneur is a new breed of Solar Pro that is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve mastery and you are about to become one.
Speaker: how to increase your income without getting more sales, and an introduction to next episode's guest.
Speaker: All that coming up on today's episode.
Speaker: Hope you're doing well.
Speaker: My name is Taylor Armstrong, and as usual, we're here to help you increase your sales, increase your referrals and leads, and hopefully have a much better time in the solar industry.
Speaker: We're kicking off 2022 with a bang.
Speaker: If I didn't tell you yet, happy New Year's.
Speaker: Hope you're doing awesome.
Speaker: I'm excited for this episode because next episode we're going to hear from Ricardo Ricci.
Speaker: If you haven't heard of this guy, he is the Italian stallion of solar.
Speaker: And that's why we're talking about the topic today because this guy, as far as I know, broke a record for most revenue done in a single month in the industry.
Speaker: Okay, not an official record, but from what I've heard, it's a record.
Speaker: So we're going to talk about that.
Speaker: But before we jump into the topic, I wanted to remind you we're getting down to the wire.
Speaker: Go and get your ticket for door to door con.
Speaker: I want to see all my solar peeps there.
Speaker: It is going to be January 13th through the 15th.
Speaker: Go to the website in the link in the show notes and use the code Armstrong D2D.
Speaker: Get your discount.
Speaker: Hope to see you there.
Speaker: Go get your tickets.
Speaker: And then just wanted to give a shout out to all the people that are sharing the podcast, that are leaving comments, that are leaving reviews, that are sending it to friends, that are sending it to their managers, they're sending it to their teams.
Speaker: Really helps the podcast grow.
Speaker: And in all honesty, that's the only reason this podcast is still going.
Speaker: So if you want more content, if you want more fire guests and episodes, please continue to share it.
Speaker: Continue to leave reviews.
Speaker: Continue to shoot me your feedback, your comments, because that's how we make improvements.
Speaker: And just keep on continuing with great content on the Solarpreneur podcast.
Speaker: So before we jump into the topic, I wanted to give a big thank you to Mac and Cheese, the latest review.
Speaker: He says, great stuff.
Speaker: Really enjoy this podcast.
Speaker: I pick up a lot of my golden nuggets that I use throughout my sales process.
Speaker: Taylor brings on some really cool guests as well.
Speaker: That keeps it fresh.
Speaker: 10 out of 10 recommend to anyone in the solar industry.
Speaker: Also a great tool for managers looking for trainings for their team.
Speaker: And also, I just realized this, they're now allowing people to leave reviews on Spotify.
Speaker: Before it was only on Apple Podcasts where you could leave a review.
Speaker: So if you're one of those Android weird people, just kidding, I like my Android friends as well, but...
Speaker: If you're someone that's listening to the podcast on Spotify, you can now go leave a review on there.
Speaker: So much appreciated if you want to hop on Spotify and leave a review or continue to share it.
Speaker: So let's jump into today's topic.
Speaker: It's going to be a quick one because we're going to go much more in depth with our next guest, Ricardo Ritchie.
Speaker: But he just got me thinking about how important it is to sell your...
Speaker: systems for what they're worth.
Speaker: What do I mean by that?
Speaker: There's so many people that are selling panels that are selling their solar contracts for dirt cheap.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: I hear these people that maybe they're doing a ton of sales, maybe they're having success, but then you go to see what they're selling their systems at.
Speaker: And sometimes it's extremely low.
Speaker: And I know this because I'm in San Diego.
Speaker: We're pretty much the most saturated markets probably in the world as far as I know.
Speaker: And there's a million companies there.
Speaker: And what happens when people start getting all these quotes?
Speaker: A lot of people get prices that are way cheaper than what I was selling for.
Speaker: And really, you don't need to be doing that, especially when we're in markets where the electricity is expensive.
Speaker: Why are you selling at rock bottom prices when you can sell for what you're worth?
Speaker: You can make a great income.
Speaker: You can make a great commission on it.
Speaker: And you can keep the customer happy.
Speaker: Hey, and the reason this is so important, it's a race to the bottom.
Speaker: If people start dropping prices, what do they do?
Speaker: Customers just want cheaper, cheaper, cheaper, and it's bad for the industry as a whole.
Speaker: I think I've told this story on the podcast, but this was, I think, seven, eight months ago.
Speaker: I had a little chain of Indian referrals going, and those that have been selling for a while, you know that Indians are notorious, I'm talking about the country, India, for wanting to barter prices.
Speaker: And I love my Indians.
Speaker: No racism, none of that, but it's just in the culture from what I've seen.
Speaker: They love talking with friends.
Speaker: They love feeling like they get the best deal.
Speaker: And they love bartering.
Speaker: So I made the mistake with this little chain of Indian referrals.
Speaker: One of them, of course, started bartering with me.
Speaker: Couldn't close them.
Speaker: He went and got cheaper prices.
Speaker: And what did I do?
Speaker: Instead of building more value, I just dropped my commission, cheap as possible to compete with his prices.
Speaker: Ended up getting the sell, but made next to nothing on it.
Speaker: And got some referrals out of it.
Speaker: But then what does he do?
Speaker: He goes and tells all his friends now, hey, I got my solar for this price.
Speaker: Make sure he gives you the same deal.
Speaker: And then all of a sudden...
Speaker: four or five deals later from all these Indian referrals.
Speaker: It was great.
Speaker: I got some referrals.
Speaker: And, you know, better than nothing.
Speaker: But I dropped price on all of them.
Speaker: So after four or five deals in, I probably made what I would have made on one deal.
Speaker: So on what I normally would have sold at.
Speaker: So don't fall into this mistake.
Speaker: Make sure you're building value in whatever you do.
Speaker: I follow Russell Brunson has a great podcast for those that are into marketing.
Speaker: It's called Marketing Secrets.
Speaker: He talks about this all the time, that there's no competitive advantage to being the second cheapest.
Speaker: So you either should be the cheapest in town, which most people don't want to do or can't afford to do, right?
Speaker: Or you should be the most expensive in
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: And then as you do that, you can build more value.
Speaker: If you're selling it high, that gives you more revenue.
Speaker: It gives you more profit profits.
Speaker: You can hire a team.
Speaker: You can send your customers gifts.
Speaker: You can be happier.
Speaker: You can afford to spend much more time with your customers.
Speaker: Cause guess what?
Speaker: All these Indians that I sold about eight months ago, do you think I wanted to be spending a ton of time with them when I was making nothing on them?
Speaker: So it's not being greedy, but you got to take care of your family.
Speaker: You got to take care of yourself.
Speaker: You got to make what you're worth.
Speaker: So that's why I think it's better to create an offer.
Speaker: Another marketing concept that I love is not just selling a product because there are, like I said, a million solar companies.
Speaker: Maybe not a million, but there are probably hundreds in San Diego.
Speaker: I know in other competitive markets, we're competing with a ton of people.
Speaker: So what do you do?
Speaker: Create an offer.
Speaker: So figure out how you can build more value, figure out how you can be more expensive.
Speaker: And we're not talking about gouging people here, right?
Speaker: As you're not trying to be 10 times more expensive than your competitors, but you're trying to be more expensive and provide more value.
Speaker: So think instead of just selling the standard panels, what can you, maybe you can do some premium panels, sell it for more
Speaker: Maybe your company offers, I don't know, a longer guarantee, longer roof penetration warranty.
Speaker: Make sure you know your contract.
Speaker: Make sure you know what your company is offering.
Speaker: And if your company is encouraging you to be the cheapest and they're not giving good guarantees, well, hey, maybe it's time to look at some different installation options.
Speaker: Maybe it's time to look at, I don't know, switching companies.
Speaker: Okay, obviously you don't just switch companies for the heck of it, but make sure you have multiple options to provide your customers.
Speaker: If you're constantly getting beat on price and you have no extra value to add, then figure something out.
Speaker: Talk with your company, talk with your managers.
Speaker: How can you create more value?
Speaker: Can you send your customers some gifts?
Speaker: Hey, for years, we've been sending our customers a box of cookies when they get their site survey done.
Speaker: We've experimented with sending out like bottles of wine after they get their install done.
Speaker: You can send them pizza.
Speaker: We did that for a little bit.
Speaker: Get creative with it.
Speaker: What can you send your customers?
Speaker: How can you increase the value in what you're doing?
Speaker: I know a box of pizza isn't going to give you the justification to sell for 10 grand more than your competitors, but think what equipment can you provide?
Speaker: What value can you bring?
Speaker: What warranties can you offer?
Speaker: How can you justify that your customer spends more going with you and how can you provide them more service?
Speaker: So I want you to go write down five ways how you can provide more value.
Speaker: And like I said, next episode, we're bringing on Ricardo Richie.
Speaker: This dude did 43 deals in a month, over 2 million in revenue, which in the San Diego area, I think it's the unofficial record.
Speaker: So you're not going to want to miss out on what he has to say and how he was able to price his customers for what he is worth and then also keep them happy and give them a great deal as well.
Speaker: So make sure to tune in to next episode.
Speaker: Let me know how you guys build value in your product, in your offers, as you are out there slinging your solar deals.
Speaker: And remember, don't drop price.
Speaker: Go make what you're worth.
Speaker: So I hope that helps, and we will see you on the next episode.
Speaker: Hey, solopreneurs, quick question.
Speaker: 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.
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.
Speaker: 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.
Speaker: And it's called Solcitee.
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.
Speaker: Currently, SoulCity is open, launched, and ready to be enrolled.
Speaker: So go to SoulCity.co to learn more and join the learning experience now.
Speaker: This is exclusively for solopreneur listeners, so be sure to go to SoulCity.co and join.
Speaker: We'll see you on the inside.
