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Secrets From The #1 Solar Youtube Channel - Joe Ordia
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Transcript
Introduction to Solarpreneur Podcast
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to the Solarpreneur Podcast where we teach you to take your solar business to the next level.
00:00:08
Speaker
My name is Taylor Armstrong.
00:00:10
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.
00:00:19
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.
00:00:31
Speaker
What is a solarpreneur, you might ask?
00:00:33
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.
Meet Joe Ordea, the Solar Surgeon
00:00:42
Speaker
Okay, what's going on?
00:00:43
Speaker
We are here today with our solarpreneurs, and we have a special guest.
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His name is Joe Ordea.
00:00:49
Speaker
Joe, thanks for coming on the show with us here today.
00:00:51
Speaker
Yeah, Taylor, honored to be on with you.
00:00:53
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Thanks for having me.
00:00:54
Speaker
Yeah, it's going to be a good time.
00:00:55
Speaker
And if you are not familiar with Joe, you probably have not been on YouTube much because this guy is crushing it on YouTube.
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He's got some of the most informational videos I've seen.
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Speaker
And I've learned a lot myself just from watching your videos, Joe.
00:01:08
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So his channel is called Solar Surgeon.
00:01:11
Speaker
How many subscribers are you guys at now on your channel over there, Joe?
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I think we're just over 48,000 now.
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We've been at it for about two years.
00:01:18
Speaker
Wow.
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Yeah.
00:01:19
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Crushing it.
00:01:20
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So this guy, he knows his stuff when it comes to technology of solar.
00:01:23
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He does panel reviews.
00:01:25
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He does technology reviews.
00:01:27
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He's keeping up with all the latest and greatest in solar.
00:01:29
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So I'm excited to have him on today.
Building Trust through Education
00:01:31
Speaker
We're going to talk about just his beginnings, why he started doing YouTube and yeah, just hear his background with all that and hear what he's got going on.
00:01:38
Speaker
So is it safe to say, are you like the number one, do you think solar kind of tech review channel on YouTube right now?
00:01:46
Speaker
I don't know if we can claim that title yet, but that certainly is our goal is to be that go-to place, whether you're a sales professional, a homeowner, or even a solar equipment manufacturer.
00:01:58
Speaker
You know, we want to be that go-to place for the discussion to be had about solar battery storage, you know, anything to do with that whole home energy ecosystem.
00:02:06
Speaker
Yeah.
00:02:07
Speaker
Well, yeah, like I said, I've learned a lot just from watching you and we're having a conversation just before we started recording.
00:02:13
Speaker
You know, I know a lot of homeowners watch your videos and a lot of, you know, consumers of solar themselves.
00:02:18
Speaker
You said it's what about 70% like, you know, actual consumers and then you think 20, 30% that are like selling it and other people.
00:02:26
Speaker
Yeah, it's about 75, 80 percent homeowners that are in the process of just researching solar options for their home.
00:02:33
Speaker
And the other 20 or so percent is mostly solar professionals, sales professionals, solar contractors, installers, as well as solar equipment manufacturers as well.
00:02:43
Speaker
Yeah.
00:02:44
Speaker
Okay.
00:02:44
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Well, yeah.
00:02:44
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And what you were telling me the other day is that you told me this story how I think it was a sales rep that told you they didn't get a deal because some homeowner was watching your videos and that homeowner knew more than the sales rep that was trying to sell them.
00:02:59
Speaker
Yeah.
00:02:59
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Tell them the solar system.
00:03:00
Speaker
So it's true.
00:03:01
Speaker
I mean, you share a lot of great content, educate a lot of people.
00:03:05
Speaker
And so, yeah, for you, what's the big reason you started all this?
00:03:10
Speaker
Like, why is it important to get educated on the technology and know these things?
00:03:15
Speaker
Sure, sure.
00:03:15
Speaker
So, well, I think the world that we're in now is one where, you know, the consumer is more educated now than they ever have been in the past, you know, and that's true, not just of solar, but just about any other product you're selling, particularly high ticket products.
00:03:30
Speaker
automobiles, homes, investment products, you name it.
00:03:33
Speaker
I mean, there's so much information available out there now that most consumers, if they're not the sort of the one sit close type of solar buyer, you know, any consumer that's actively engaged in shopping for solar, they're going to be online, they're going to be reading reviews, they're going to be
00:03:49
Speaker
educating themselves on the different products and brands.
00:03:52
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And so I wanted to position Solar Surge as the go-to place, as that trusted advisor, that trusted resource that could help a homeowner sort through all the different options that were out there.
00:04:04
Speaker
You know, we do, at the end of the day, we do sell a highly technical product, but I think it's something that we can boil it down to some simple concepts for homeowners.
00:04:12
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And I think that's a lot of what Solar Surge is today is, you know, we take what might look like
00:04:17
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to an engineer, a very complex engineered system.
00:04:20
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And we boil it down to some simple points that, that a homeowner can digest and then make an informed decision of which is the right solar system for them.
00:04:27
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Yeah, no doubt.
00:04:28
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And yeah, I 100% agree with you.
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I think it's more and more important these days to know the technology to be,
00:04:34
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be educated on it.
00:04:35
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Back when I started solar in 2016, you know, you could roll up to a door, knock a door and just say, hey, you're going to we're going to slap a system on your roof.
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Your bill is going to be cheaper monthly.
00:04:45
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And that was about it.
00:04:46
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We got lots of sales back then doing that.
00:04:48
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But I realized that as time has gone on, especially out here in California, people are getting more and more educated.
00:04:54
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And, you know, we'll talk more about some of these things here in a little bit.
00:04:57
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But just with like the net metering 3.0 changing here in California, like you, the reps got to know how to sell batteries and
00:05:04
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transition to more of this technology that we're not as familiar with and used to selling.
00:05:09
Speaker
So yeah, I think it's super important.
00:05:11
Speaker
And we'll get to more of that.
00:05:12
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But I want to hear, Joe, how did you first start the YouTube
The Birth of Solar Surgeon on YouTube
00:05:16
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channel?
00:05:16
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What's your background?
00:05:17
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What made you guys decide to start this?
00:05:19
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And how did this all come about?
00:05:21
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Yeah, sure.
00:05:21
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And I'm glad that you asked that question, too, because a lot of what you see on Solar Surge today was born out of necessity.
00:05:28
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And so for those of you maybe haven't heard my backstory, but I started in solar as an installer contractor.
00:05:33
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And so I came up on that side.
00:05:35
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I actually still have my electrician's license in a few states.
00:05:38
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But that's the side that I started on was I was designing, building and installing solar for homeowners starting in Virginia.
00:05:45
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And then we went out to the Carolinas as well and did a few projects in West Virginia as well.
00:05:50
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Anyway, the installation business, you know, as my as my business grew, we actually found that we were growing less and less profitable in our last year operation as a as an install business.
00:06:01
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We actually lost about a million dollars.
00:06:02
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And so when we had a chance to kind of
00:06:05
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you know, take a step back and sort through the records and figure out what happened.
00:06:08
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You know, one of the things that we figured out that happened is that we took on a lot of risk and complexity in doing solar plus storage installations, many of them with battery systems that were not proven yet.
00:06:20
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And so that's part
00:06:21
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Part of the risk that you take as a contractor is, you know, when you're bidding a project, you don't know what your actual cost is going to be.
00:06:26
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So you make your best guess based on what you think your costs will be.
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And you put a bid out there and you do the job.
00:06:33
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And then, you know, you sort of own the results, right?
00:06:35
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Whether you either you make money, you lose money or you break even.
00:06:38
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And so in our case, we actually had several losses on complex battery installs.
00:06:43
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Which forced me into a position where I had to restructure my business.
00:06:47
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And I was approached with a deal that our finance partner had put together.
00:06:52
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And the deal was essentially, hey, Joe, you know, you're losing money on the install.
00:06:55
Speaker
Why don't you let a larger company take over that part of your business and just focus on sales and marketing since you seem to do really well on the sales and marketing side of things?
00:07:04
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And so that's the model that we operate in now at Solar Surges.
00:07:07
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We're an independent dealer, or I guess they call originator now.
00:07:11
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So if I were to boil that down for somebody who's not an industry guy, that means my job is to get customers.
00:07:17
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My job at the end of the day, if you boil it all down, it's to get customers.
00:07:20
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And then our install partners, their job is to actually turn that contract into a working system.
00:07:26
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And so that's sort of how the structure works.
00:07:29
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But in my case, I was in a position where I was basically forced to relaunch my business under a new model with very little capital.
00:07:35
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And so I just kind of took an assessment of, okay, well, we don't have a whole lot of cash.
00:07:39
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We don't have a whole lot of physical assets anymore.
00:07:41
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Trucks, you know, tools, that kind of stuff.
00:07:44
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So what do we have?
00:07:45
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And, you know, what I came up with?
00:07:46
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Well, what we what we have is we have a lot of experience for sure.
00:07:50
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You know, we took a lot of lumps being one of the first people installing many of these new solar plus storage products.
00:07:55
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So we have a lot of experience.
00:07:56
Speaker
Well, what can we do with that
Achieving Success with Viral Content
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experience?
00:07:58
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And I figured, well, I have my cell phone here.
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I have a TV screen.
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Many of my YouTubes, I record just
00:08:04
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you know, standing in front of a TV screen teaching as if I'm teaching to a classroom, I just teach into the iPhone.
00:08:09
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And I figured, well, I'll start teaching the marketplace about all these different solar and battery solutions.
00:08:14
Speaker
Because if I don't have cash, at least what I do have is all the lessons learned from all those projects.
00:08:19
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And so I'll start putting that information out there in the form of little educational YouTube videos.
00:08:25
Speaker
In the hopes that if there's somebody out there who's thinking about some of these products or some of these different design architectures, you know, maybe they'll learn something from our videos and maybe if and when they're ready to go shopping for a system, maybe they'll pick up the phone and call us first.
00:08:39
Speaker
And that's kind of how.
00:08:39
Speaker
how we started.
00:08:40
Speaker
So, you know, again, it was very much born out of necessity, you know, doing what you can with what you've got.
00:08:45
Speaker
And, you know, we were about three months into it when we had our first video that really took off.
00:08:51
Speaker
And it was a Tesla Powerwall versus Enphase video.
00:08:55
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And it was orders of magnitude more successful than anything we had put out to that point.
00:08:59
Speaker
You know, I was putting out videos.
00:09:01
Speaker
I might get
00:09:01
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100 views, 200 views, and then the videos would peter out.
00:09:05
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And then we finally had this one video and it got like 60,000 views in the first two months.
00:09:09
Speaker
And then my email box started blowing up.
00:09:11
Speaker
And then I realized, hey, wait a second.
00:09:13
Speaker
I think we actually might have something here.
00:09:15
Speaker
You know, if we talk about the right things, the right products, we answer the right questions, then we can actually get significant viewership on this YouTube platform.
00:09:24
Speaker
And then again, as I was hoping people that were in the process of shopping for some of these products, well, some of them are going to be willing to pick up the phone and call us because we've already kind of built that trust factor with them because we've been able to educate them and answer some of the questions that they've had already.
00:09:38
Speaker
Yeah, that's awesome.
00:09:39
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I love that.
00:09:39
Speaker
And yeah, I mean, I think.
00:09:41
Speaker
A great lesson just to learn from that.
00:09:43
Speaker
I mean, solar cells aside is just look at how, you know, you had to fight through not getting any views.
00:09:48
Speaker
You had to keep pushing.
00:09:49
Speaker
You had to be consistent with it.
00:09:50
Speaker
And I think for those listening, that really goes, that's an important lesson for anything solar related.
00:09:56
Speaker
Like a lot of my audience here is, you know, knocking doors out there, hustling that way.
00:10:00
Speaker
And some of them aren't seeing success, but it's the same thing.
00:10:03
Speaker
Same exact thing you did with your YouTube channel.
00:10:05
Speaker
It's like you had to push for three months before you started getting these probably leads from it and
00:10:10
Speaker
significant viewership from it like you said um so but yeah i want to ask you joe do you think you would have continued let's say like how long would this have gone on let's say it took five or six months before you had a video take off do you think what you would have kept doing it or was there a point where like okay i'm gonna try this for maybe one more month and if it doesn't like go anywhere maybe i'm done done after that or what was going through your head during all this not getting a ton of views
00:10:33
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, there's definitely some of that.
00:10:34
Speaker
You know, you second guess yourself a little bit.
00:10:37
Speaker
For me, I had I had come to the resolve myself that I was going to give this a shot.
00:10:41
Speaker
I was going to put out a video every other day and I was going to do that for two months straight.
00:10:45
Speaker
And it was right towards the end of that that second month that we had that that video that that was published.
00:10:51
Speaker
Now, it didn't go it didn't go viral until about two weeks after it was published.
00:10:54
Speaker
So there was a little bit of a lag there.
00:10:56
Speaker
But no, I was kind of getting to the end of my, you know, my rope, so to speak, to say, you know, is this really worth it?
00:11:02
Speaker
Is this is this really going to pay back?
00:11:05
Speaker
And, you know, it did.
00:11:06
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I thank God it did in a major way that really got my attention and said, OK, we can actually build our whole business around this now.
00:11:12
Speaker
And that's what we've done.
00:11:13
Speaker
Yeah, that's awesome.
00:11:14
Speaker
I'm glad you stuck with it.
00:11:15
Speaker
And yeah, it's really cool to see the success you've been able to have.
00:11:18
Speaker
So how many leads would you say it will like so when this video went viral, was it like instant flow of leads?
00:11:25
Speaker
Or were some people just asking questions?
00:11:27
Speaker
Or what does it look like from a lead standpoint?
00:11:29
Speaker
Like how many leads are you typically getting from these videos?
00:11:31
Speaker
Yeah, sure.
00:11:32
Speaker
So first, let me say, you know, it was unexpected.
00:11:35
Speaker
And so I was totally unprepared.
00:11:37
Speaker
You know what, what I had been doing up until that point was telling folks, you know, leave a comment on the video or you can email me.
00:11:43
Speaker
Here's my email address, you know, email in if you have a question.
00:11:46
Speaker
And so.
00:11:47
Speaker
That just didn't work.
00:11:48
Speaker
You know, when you go from 200 views to 50,000, 60,000 views, the first thing that I noticed was so much of this email traffic is just going back and forth trying to figure out what's a good time for a phone call or what's a good time for a Zoom call so we can actually sit down and talk shop about your particular solar project.
00:12:07
Speaker
So right around that time, we switched to an automated booking platform.
00:12:10
Speaker
If you guys out there haven't made use of that or haven't looked at that option, there's a lot of great automated booking calendar software out there.
00:12:18
Speaker
Like we use Calendly here at Solar Surge, but there are others out there that will
00:12:23
Speaker
Basically allow a prospect to go and book their own appointment with you.
00:12:27
Speaker
It'll show them what times you have available.
00:12:29
Speaker
And you can specify how much of a time block you want to give them, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, whatever it is.
00:12:35
Speaker
And so that was one of the first things we had to do is just automate the booking process so there wasn't this constant back and forth.
00:12:41
Speaker
forth.
00:12:41
Speaker
And, um, and that's still the system that we use today.
00:12:44
Speaker
So if you're, if you're a viewer of solar surge, you'll, you'll hear me giving this sort of call to action at the end of most of the video saying, Hey, if you're a homeowner out there and you're interested in looking at options like this, or you want to get some pricing for your home, you know, hit the link and, and, and you schedule a short call with one of our experts and we'll be happy to talk through what all the options are.
00:13:02
Speaker
And so that's usually how our, how our engagement start is through that, that zoom call.
00:13:06
Speaker
Hmm.
00:13:07
Speaker
Okay.
Leveraging Algorithms for Growth
00:13:08
Speaker
Interesting.
00:13:08
Speaker
And so is that pretty, because I don't know how often you're doing videos now, but is it pretty like sometimes you'll see huge spikes and you guys are slammed and it's, you know, back and forth a lot?
00:13:18
Speaker
Or have you got to the point where it's pretty consistent?
00:13:20
Speaker
Like you're getting a pretty constant full of leads at this point from your videos.
00:13:25
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, it's a great question.
00:13:26
Speaker
So what we see on YouTube is we have we have a baseline.
00:13:30
Speaker
In our case, it's about 5000 views a day.
00:13:32
Speaker
So the videos that we already have out there through people that are searching for specific products or search terms, we get about 5000 views a day just off of search.
00:13:42
Speaker
Then depending on what our new posts are about, you know, we may have a video that catches a wave and goes viral.
00:13:49
Speaker
And so when that happens, we do.
00:13:50
Speaker
We get like a flood of leads that might come in.
00:13:52
Speaker
People that haven't seen us before.
00:13:54
Speaker
And this is part of the power of YouTube.
00:13:56
Speaker
You know, for those of you that are out there that maybe you haven't really gone all in on YouTube yet or you're wondering, you know, what is it, this YouTube thing?
00:14:03
Speaker
Why are some people having massive success and some people aren't?
00:14:06
Speaker
Mm-hmm.
00:14:06
Speaker
The real value in YouTube is this ability to go viral.
00:14:10
Speaker
And what I mean by that is YouTube is excellent at figuring out who your audience is, what they're interested in.
00:14:18
Speaker
And then when YouTube finds something that starts performing better or above trend to your audience, YouTube is excellent at figuring out other people that are likely to have the same interests as your audience.
00:14:29
Speaker
And that's where that viral effect comes and takes place.
00:14:32
Speaker
Because let's say I have a group of my viewers that are
00:14:35
Speaker
subscribers or their fans of the Tesla brand or the Tesla hashtag.
00:14:39
Speaker
Right.
00:14:39
Speaker
So if I put out a Tesla Powerwall video, they're going to likely see and watch that video.
00:14:44
Speaker
But YouTube also knows that people that are interested in Tesla are also tend to or they might also be interested in in Rivian.
00:14:51
Speaker
They might also be interested in Enphase or any other brand like that.
00:14:55
Speaker
And so that's really where the viral effect takes place is when YouTube finds something that is like a smash hit for your core group.
00:15:02
Speaker
It will then find all the other lookalike audiences out there.
00:15:05
Speaker
And if the video is performing really well, it'll show it to all of them as well.
00:15:08
Speaker
And that's where you start to get the massive exposure and the massive viewership.
00:15:12
Speaker
And as a creator, that's how you grow your audience is YouTube suggesting your content to somebody who's never heard of you before, but they figure, hey, what you're talking about is similar enough to what this other guy is watching.
00:15:22
Speaker
I think I'll go ahead and try showing a couple of your videos to him and see what happens.
00:15:26
Speaker
And that's how it works.
00:15:27
Speaker
Yeah.
00:15:27
Speaker
Well, I noticed that because I watched one of your videos a few days ago.
00:15:31
Speaker
And right after I watched your video, I wasn't like looking to see which one's next.
00:15:35
Speaker
But I automatically started playing like a Tesla comparison video after that, like comparing Tesla cars.
00:15:40
Speaker
So I'm like, like, wait a second, I want to watch videos on solar.
00:15:44
Speaker
So I guess it didn't catch me soon enough.
00:15:46
Speaker
But yeah, I see what you're saying.
00:15:48
Speaker
I mean, it's just looking for like similar stuff.
00:15:50
Speaker
And then, you know, moving along to the next suggested video.
00:15:53
Speaker
I know that's really interesting.
00:15:55
Speaker
And so like for you guys, walk me through what's the type of research you do?
00:15:59
Speaker
Because you've put forth a ton of videos now.
00:16:01
Speaker
And similar to me, like sometimes I've been doing this podcast now for like three years, got 250 plus episodes.
00:16:08
Speaker
And so sometimes like, oh, what do you do next?
00:16:10
Speaker
And, you know, I get listener questions, things like that.
00:16:13
Speaker
So for you guys, what's like your content strategy?
00:16:16
Speaker
How do you decide, okay, I'm going to do a video on this.
00:16:18
Speaker
And I don't know if it's listener based or what's your strategy to...
00:16:22
Speaker
kind of keep pumping out these ideas yeah i'm really glad that you asked that too because when i first started with youtube i was just talking about whatever i wanted to talk about and and this was back when i was still a contractor you know i i started a youtube channel back then and i would just kind of bring the camera along for different things like hey we're doing a ground mount install today let's do a youtube video about it and there wasn't a whole lot of strategic thought to it it was just like hey i'm just going to bring the camera and i'm going to talk about whatever i feel like talking about
00:16:49
Speaker
But with YouTube and with social media in general, you may have heard the saying that the creator who understands the audience best wins.
Creating Content for Consumer Queries
00:16:57
Speaker
And so what I really had to do is put myself in the mindset of the consumer and think about, okay, if I'm a consumer, if I'm not a solar expert, if I'm a consumer and I'm just like starting out and I want to know about solar panels and how they work, well, I might search for how do solar panels work, right?
00:17:13
Speaker
Yeah.
00:17:14
Speaker
And so if I'm a creator and I have a video entitled, how do solar panels work?
00:17:18
Speaker
That may be a great way for me to get in front of a, somebody who's beginning their solar shopping process.
00:17:24
Speaker
Right now, as a, as a contractor, I may not, it may not occur to me to say, make a video, how do solar panels work?
00:17:30
Speaker
Cause I already know how they work.
00:17:31
Speaker
I've been putting them in for a living.
00:17:32
Speaker
That's what I do.
00:17:33
Speaker
But as a, as a consumer here, let me give you another example.
00:17:36
Speaker
When I started on YouTube, one of the first things I gravitated towards was what's the best camera to use for YouTube.
00:17:42
Speaker
Now, that's for me because I'm kind of a tech guy.
00:17:45
Speaker
I'm into like tech gear and stuff like that.
00:17:47
Speaker
So the first thing I gravitated to was what's the best camera for YouTube?
00:17:50
Speaker
And I was searching stuff like that.
00:17:52
Speaker
And I would find videos from different photographers and people saying, hey, this camera is great because of this or that.
00:17:57
Speaker
What I realized after I had actually done some research and I got some skill on YouTube, I realized the camera wasn't even the question I should be asked.
00:18:04
Speaker
I should be using my iPhone because I already have it.
00:18:06
Speaker
And then I should be investing in lighting and microphones and tripods and all the other stuff that you need besides the camera.
00:18:12
Speaker
But I didn't know that because I was a novice.
00:18:14
Speaker
And so a lot of people start their solar journey in a similar way.
00:18:17
Speaker
So, for example, one of the videos that we do, we do it twice a year, is best solar panels for 2021, 2022, 2023.
00:18:26
Speaker
Because that's that's a popular novice search term is what's the best solar panel or what are the best solar panels?
00:18:33
Speaker
And then, of course, the year makes a little bit more relevant this year's best solar panels.
00:18:38
Speaker
Now, an expert solar shopper knows that the solar panel is probably the third most important decision, but it tends to be the first thing that they search for, because that's that's kind of where the consumer is at that point in their journey.
00:18:49
Speaker
So what we try to do at Solar Search to answer your question, Taylor, is we try to position ourselves as the source of information or the source, the answer of those questions that are going through the homeowner's head as they go through that journey.
00:19:01
Speaker
So they're generally going to be asking specific questions, which I can answer and I can title my videos as an exact match to those questions, those search terms.
00:19:10
Speaker
Yeah, I can review specific products, right?
00:19:12
Speaker
Are they looking at solar edge?
00:19:14
Speaker
Because I know if they got door knocked, they're going to get pitched either solar edge or Enphase, right?
00:19:18
Speaker
Right.
00:19:18
Speaker
So if you go on YouTube and they're searching for solar edge and Enphase, they're going to find solar surge.
00:19:22
Speaker
They're going to find solar edge review.
00:19:24
Speaker
They're going to find Enphase review.
00:19:25
Speaker
They're going to find solar edge versus Enphase.
00:19:27
Speaker
They're going to find solar edge versus Enphase 2022, 2023, right?
00:19:29
Speaker
They're going to find us if that's what they're looking for.
00:19:33
Speaker
And so that's really what we do is we try to figure out what's going through the homeowner's mind.
00:19:38
Speaker
What questions are they trying to answer?
00:19:39
Speaker
What products are they trying to understand?
00:19:41
Speaker
And then we be the source of the information for them.
00:19:44
Speaker
Does that make sense?
00:19:45
Speaker
Yeah, I love that.
00:19:46
Speaker
Yeah, it's so true.
00:19:47
Speaker
It's like, because I mean, I get that just knocking doors too, as we're in appointments.
00:19:52
Speaker
Like you hear all the questions that everyone asks, but you know, it's like this probably isn't the question you should be asking.
00:19:57
Speaker
But yeah, everyone's like, oh, what type of solar panel do you use?
00:20:00
Speaker
It's like, it doesn't matter as much, but...
00:20:02
Speaker
Like we'll answer it.
00:20:03
Speaker
So yeah, I mean, that makes a lot of sense.
00:20:06
Speaker
Probably getting a lot of the same things as people go online and, you know, just type in these things as they're going there.
00:20:11
Speaker
And then, well, like for you guys, something we struggle with a lot is just like finding that balance between how much information do you give them, like knocking a door,
00:20:21
Speaker
I'm sure you heard this, but a lot of door to door guys, it's sometimes we want to give them less information because people get all this information overload.
00:20:30
Speaker
And it's like, oh, we need to think about it.
00:20:31
Speaker
And we need to go watch every single one of Joe's YouTube videos before we decide on.
00:20:36
Speaker
on a solar right and so what what's been your experience you guys are you know a little bit different approach a little bit different uh i guess way of prospecting compared to us door knockers but how do you take someone from uh okay we're getting information just gathering information to actually um you know making a decision on it and is that a challenge you guys face like as you're getting these leads in do a lot of people just want to like take it and
00:21:01
Speaker
you know, go shop around more.
00:21:03
Speaker
What's kind of your process from taking these leads to actually getting them to make a decision on that?
00:21:07
Speaker
Well, one of the things that we believe is that, you know, any anybody that takes the step to actually book an appointment with us is is a serious enough lead because chances are, I mean, again, these are people that are watching solar YouTube videos in their spare time.
Consultative Sales Approach
00:21:21
Speaker
Yeah.
00:21:45
Speaker
um in our case a lot of the people are already interested in solar otherwise they wouldn't be watching solar videos in their spare time and so that's kind of the attitude that we have is hey look if somebody took the step to book a live call with you they're they're a serious enough prospect and so we assume that this person is going solar one one way or the other maybe they're not going solar right now maybe it's six months or a year from now but they're going to go solar the question is with whom and with what equipment yeah and so if we can help
00:22:09
Speaker
them through that process with whom and with what equipment then you know we'll convert a decent number of those into paying clients and of course you know we believe in the product that we're selling right right you know i i don't i don't look at solar it's just some product to pitch to earn a commission i mean for me solar is i wouldn't say like a way of life but it's almost like that i mean it's like i i eat it i breathe it and it's something that i believe in and it's frankly something that it pays for itself
00:22:34
Speaker
And as inflation gets worse and, you know, energy prices go get worse.
00:22:38
Speaker
I mean, the financial case is there.
00:22:41
Speaker
Of course, for me, I like it.
00:22:42
Speaker
Just I just like the idea of being able to be self-sufficient.
00:22:44
Speaker
You know, I would pay a premium for it, you know, just being able to produce my own power because the way it makes me feel makes me feel more empowered, more self-sufficient.
00:22:52
Speaker
And that's that's something that I that I believe in.
00:22:54
Speaker
Yeah, I like that.
00:22:55
Speaker
Yeah, well, and so you do a lot of technology reviews, you talked about like the best panels, the breakdowns you do with that.
00:23:02
Speaker
So do you find a lot of times when these leads are setting up calls with you is like, Oh, hey, Joe, I saw you in this video talking about this best panel, I cooked me up with this best panel, and they already know what they want and kind of who they want it from.
00:23:15
Speaker
Or is it like, I don't know, you get on these calls, and there you have to still explain them, they have a lot of questions or what's I'm curious, what's been your experience with actual like appointments you guys set up with these people?
00:23:25
Speaker
Well, there is a range.
00:23:26
Speaker
There is a range.
00:23:27
Speaker
I will say that there are folks that come in and some folks will come in with a very, very strong brand preference.
00:23:33
Speaker
Sometimes for solar panels, like right now, you know, the REC brand is a very popular brand of solar panels that we're seeing people requesting it by name.
00:23:41
Speaker
Yeah.
00:23:42
Speaker
Definitely certain battery products.
00:23:44
Speaker
We see some people, whether it's the Franklin or Tesla or Enphase, a lot of them are requesting the battery by name.
00:23:50
Speaker
But as a sales professional, I try not to get too focused in on if the if the homeowner has a particular brand preference.
00:23:58
Speaker
And what I like to do and what I what I teach my my system designers, that's what we call our sales representative system designers.
00:24:04
Speaker
What I teach them to do is, you know, when a homeowner comes in and they have a strong brand preference, investigate why.
00:24:10
Speaker
Right.
00:24:11
Speaker
They must have learned something about that product that's making them want it.
00:24:14
Speaker
Is it you know, is it the capacity?
00:24:16
Speaker
Is it the chemistry?
00:24:17
Speaker
Is it the power rating?
00:24:18
Speaker
Like what is it?
00:24:19
Speaker
Is it the generator hookup?
00:24:20
Speaker
But figure out exactly what is it that the homeowner likes about the product.
00:24:23
Speaker
And then if you can offer that exact solution, great.
00:24:26
Speaker
But it might turn out that there's another product in your portfolio that they've never heard of.
00:24:30
Speaker
that's a better match for those requirements.
00:24:32
Speaker
So that's the approach that we take.
00:24:33
Speaker
It's very consultative.
00:24:34
Speaker
You know, the first call with the homeowners, it's just us asking questions.
00:24:38
Speaker
It's just us trying to figure out exactly what the situation is, exactly what that homeowner's pain points, preferences are, you know, what goals are they trying to accomplish?
00:24:46
Speaker
And then we'll come back and we'll build a custom design system and we'll present that, you know, to match those needs.
00:24:52
Speaker
Yeah.
00:24:52
Speaker
Okay.
00:24:52
Speaker
Yeah, I like that.
00:24:53
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's the same.
00:24:54
Speaker
And so for those listening that don't do a lot of virtual or that are only in homes, I follow this exact same thing, too, because even just knocking on doors, we get a lot of people like, oh, I heard a battery can give me backup power 24 seven.
00:25:07
Speaker
I want a battery or just like saying, oh, I want a Tesla battery.
00:25:10
Speaker
But then without knowing the why, it's like, I don't know if you get this, Joe, but I get people all the time just saying they want a Tesla battery and then thinking it's going to give them like 24 seven backup.
00:25:21
Speaker
They're going to be able to
00:25:22
Speaker
you know, chop down the power lines and stuff like that.
00:25:25
Speaker
And it's like, no, you're not going to be able to do that.
00:25:27
Speaker
Like, that's not what the battery does.
00:25:28
Speaker
And we're not there yet.
00:25:31
Speaker
And so I think that is super important, just figuring out what their intention is or what they actually think about it, because
00:25:37
Speaker
I'm sure your people are a lot more educated, but definitely when we're not coming on doors, sometimes people throw these products out there and they have no idea why they want it.
00:25:45
Speaker
They just heard that their cousins, friends, neighbor, like got this thing and I think it'll be good for them.
00:25:51
Speaker
So, yeah.
00:25:52
Speaker
Yeah.
00:25:53
Speaker
Yeah.
00:25:54
Speaker
I mean, I'll tell you, I mean, like as a sales professional, right.
00:25:56
Speaker
So, I mean, one thing I won't do, I'm not going to argue with a, with a prospect.
00:25:59
Speaker
If the prospect really likes a particular brand, I'm not going to sit there and argue with them.
00:26:04
Speaker
We always try to acknowledge and agree, right.
00:26:06
Speaker
You know, acknowledge and agree.
00:26:08
Speaker
Uh,
00:26:08
Speaker
However, if a homeowner is clearly miseducated and they're talking about a battery doing something that's really not going to do for them, I'm not going to let them walk off a cliff.
00:26:18
Speaker
There's many people that they think that, well, if I have a battery, I can go off the grid, you know, quote unquote, off the grid.
00:26:24
Speaker
Yeah.
00:26:24
Speaker
And you have to explain, well, it's not really off the grid.
00:26:26
Speaker
You know, what you have is a backup system.
00:26:28
Speaker
So it'll run a portion of your home, but you're still only, you know, there's only so much energy in that battery, right?
00:26:33
Speaker
Once it's out, it's out.
00:26:34
Speaker
You have to recharge it before you get power back.
00:26:36
Speaker
So, you know, most people that might have ideas of going off the grid, in most cases, if you already have grid lines run to your house, you're not, you're not going off the grid.
00:26:44
Speaker
You're getting a battery that will give you some backup power.
00:26:47
Speaker
or in some cases even allow you to use the battery to avoid having to purchase from the power company during peak rate hours, but it's not really going to be going off the grid.
00:26:56
Speaker
Now, other folks that have net metering, I find there's many homeowners that are under the misconception that adding a battery will increase your electric bill savings.
00:27:07
Speaker
You know, which sometimes we also have to correct because if you're on a one for one net metering program where the power company will take your excess and give you full credit for it.
00:27:14
Speaker
Well, you might not not need a battery, at least for financial reasons.
00:27:18
Speaker
You don't really need a battery, right?
00:27:19
Speaker
The grid will act as your battery.
00:27:21
Speaker
You just send them what you don't need.
00:27:22
Speaker
Let them pay you for it and you buy it back whenever you need it.
00:27:25
Speaker
Whereas with the battery, you're not generating any more electricity.
00:27:29
Speaker
You're just you're just storing it.
00:27:31
Speaker
It lets you hold on to it for use at a later time.
00:27:33
Speaker
It doesn't really save you anything if you're already on that meter.
00:27:36
Speaker
Yeah, no, it's good to know.
00:27:38
Speaker
Good to make sure your homeowners know this too, especially with all the stuff changing, you know, in California specifically, a lot of stuff going on with that.
00:27:45
Speaker
But yeah, and then, and then like, what's your team?
00:27:47
Speaker
So you do all these videos.
00:27:49
Speaker
How many videos are you doing currently a week now?
00:27:51
Speaker
Do you still do two a week?
00:27:52
Speaker
Or how many videos?
00:27:53
Speaker
Yeah, two a week has been about our average.
00:27:56
Speaker
We've had some times when we're slower than that.
00:27:57
Speaker
We've had some times like last quarter, we were doing about four a week because we had so much content that we captured at the RE Plus conference.
00:28:05
Speaker
So we were just kind of dripping those videos out along with the new news.
00:28:08
Speaker
This year, we're going to be doing a lot more short form.
00:28:10
Speaker
So if you guys haven't seen us, please follow us, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube shorts.
00:28:17
Speaker
Our goal this year is to be doing the long form videos, but then still being able to pull short form videos out of that.
00:28:24
Speaker
And we're putting together a really solid content team here.
00:28:27
Speaker
So you should be seeing more and more of us, both the long forms and the short forms this year.
00:28:32
Speaker
Yeah, I was gonna say you probably have, I would imagine you have a team helping you with all this now.
00:28:37
Speaker
But what does it look like with your team?
00:28:39
Speaker
You have, you know, video editors and build it out pretty good versus when you started.
00:28:44
Speaker
But what's your kind of team look like for doing all this content?
00:28:47
Speaker
Yeah, sure.
00:28:47
Speaker
So the first two years was pretty much all me, you know, solo creator.
00:28:52
Speaker
I had some of my salespeople that would help as, you know, camera or microphone operators when we were at like conferences and I couldn't like run all the gear myself.
00:29:00
Speaker
But it was pretty much, you know, a solo creation type of operation for the first two years.
00:29:04
Speaker
Now it's a three person team.
00:29:06
Speaker
So we have myself, we have a content director, which we actually just engaged a professional content director.
00:29:13
Speaker
And then we have our video editor.
00:29:15
Speaker
And so our video editor, you know, his job is basically like like working the editing software, actually producing the video assets that end up getting uploaded and posted.
00:29:23
Speaker
So it's a three person team so far for 2023.
00:29:26
Speaker
And the goal for 2023 is to have 10 content pieces out, 10 video content pieces out every week to long form the rest shorts.
00:29:35
Speaker
And then also some other micro stuff that we can put on Twitter and LinkedIn and other places.
00:29:40
Speaker
Hmm.
00:29:41
Speaker
Okay, that's cool.
00:29:42
Speaker
Well, yeah, I think it's important for those listening to it's like you're not going to be like Joe and go start, you know, this massive YouTube channel, build up this whole team.
00:29:50
Speaker
It's like Joe had to start from square one and anyone doing these type of videos, they're all I mean, I see people doing these videos in their garage or, you know, just in their room, little whiteboard and they're getting leads from it.
00:30:03
Speaker
So I mean, people that do want to start with this.
00:30:06
Speaker
I mean, yeah, you're not going to start out with a massive team like Joe is.
00:30:09
Speaker
Yeah.
00:30:09
Speaker
What would you say for those that want to start maybe like generating their own leads or just doing these like educational type of videos?
Encouraging Video Content Creation
00:30:15
Speaker
Do you have to be like a giant YouTube channel to get leads?
00:30:19
Speaker
Or what would you say if someone's saying, Joe, how do I start out and just start getting some leads in my local market by doing some of this educational content?
00:30:26
Speaker
What would you say to them?
00:30:27
Speaker
Yeah, well, I would say start.
00:30:29
Speaker
I mean, look, guys, what do you have to lose?
00:30:32
Speaker
I mean, seriously, what do you have to lose?
00:30:34
Speaker
YouTube is free.
00:30:35
Speaker
You already have cell phone in your pocket.
00:30:37
Speaker
If you don't want to do YouTube, because I know a lot of people, they don't feel comfortable in front of the camera or doing a long form, but you can do shorts.
00:30:43
Speaker
I mean, you could do a selfie video.
00:30:44
Speaker
Hey, let me answer this question in, you know, a couple, two simple steps.
00:30:48
Speaker
Let me answer, how does net metering work?
00:30:49
Speaker
Do a 30 second selfie video.
00:30:51
Speaker
Just put it out there.
00:30:52
Speaker
It's free.
00:30:53
Speaker
I mean, think about it.
00:30:54
Speaker
If you're in the solar sales profession right now,
00:30:56
Speaker
And you're using a traditional customer acquisition method like Facebook ads, for example.
00:31:02
Speaker
All right.
00:31:02
Speaker
Think about how much does it cost you every time you walk into somebody's living room?
00:31:06
Speaker
How much did it actually cost you to walk through that door?
00:31:08
Speaker
You know, how much ad spend did you have to make?
00:31:10
Speaker
How much did you have to pay your appointment setter?
00:31:12
Speaker
You know, how much how much went into actually getting you in that living room?
00:31:15
Speaker
And then think about how much does it cost you to post a selfie video on Facebook or how much does it cost you to record a video in your bedroom?
00:31:22
Speaker
I mean, you see, this is my office here.
00:31:24
Speaker
How much does it cost me to flip my cell phone on and record a video for five minutes?
00:31:28
Speaker
Yeah.
00:31:29
Speaker
And so if you can just get past this idea of, oh, I don't know if I'm going to screw up.
00:31:32
Speaker
Well, who cares?
00:31:32
Speaker
If you screw up, nobody will watch it.
00:31:34
Speaker
If you screw up, nobody's going to watch it.
00:31:35
Speaker
If you get it right, tens of thousands of people will watch it and you won't care if you look stupid because you have you're going to have an inbox full of leads.
00:31:42
Speaker
Yeah.
00:31:42
Speaker
And so I think that's that's the the the approach is just put it out there.
00:31:47
Speaker
I mean, it's free.
00:31:48
Speaker
It's free.
00:31:48
Speaker
If it doesn't work for you.
00:31:49
Speaker
OK, fine.
00:31:50
Speaker
You gave it a shot.
00:31:51
Speaker
But if you're on the fence about it, there's there's no there's no downside here.
00:31:54
Speaker
Guys, you already have the cell phone.
00:31:55
Speaker
You already have a Facebook account.
00:31:57
Speaker
You're probably using it for entertainment purposes.
00:31:59
Speaker
You know, just put it out there and think about this.
00:32:02
Speaker
You know, you should be the guy that all of your friends and everybody knows you're the go to guy for solar.
00:32:07
Speaker
If your social circle doesn't know that you're the go to guy for solar, then you're doing something wrong.
00:32:12
Speaker
That's what I would say, guys.
00:32:13
Speaker
Just go for it.
00:32:14
Speaker
There's no downside.
00:32:16
Speaker
You know, at least give it a shot.
00:32:18
Speaker
Yeah, for sure.
00:32:19
Speaker
And what's cool is I've seen, I haven't done a ton of this myself, but like I have friends that just do videos.
00:32:26
Speaker
I'm in San Diego.
00:32:26
Speaker
So I have friends that just do videos like solar panels in San Diego or like they do it for a specific market and then they're getting leads that way.
00:32:35
Speaker
So I think you can start small.
00:32:37
Speaker
I mean, yeah, just like you said, sharing on social media, sharing on Facebook, Instagram, like people are going to see these things and it's not going to be instant leads.
00:32:44
Speaker
So like if we if we got door knockers listening to this podcast, I don't think either of us are saying stop knocking doors and just try to go all in on this because I think you'd agree, Joe, that it takes a while to build up and start getting consistent leads from this.
00:32:58
Speaker
So, you know, don't don't make your manager mad and just stop knocking on doors.
00:33:02
Speaker
But yeah,
00:33:03
Speaker
I think this is a good thing to do.
00:33:04
Speaker
Just like, you know, think of all the people just wasting time on Instagram right now or wasting time mindlessly scrolling or reading about solar.
00:33:12
Speaker
It's like, why not share some of that solar knowledge that you're already studying every day and use it?
00:33:18
Speaker
And if anything, you're educating yourself more because you're probably going to do some research on, you know, preparing for the video.
00:33:23
Speaker
And then if you keep at it and be consistent with it, then right now I've seen people get leads just by like sharing these videos on Facebook groups or post on their Facebook and
00:33:33
Speaker
Yeah, just adding value that way.
00:33:34
Speaker
So, yeah, I mean, I think consistency is key and definitely paid off for you guys.
00:33:39
Speaker
Would you agree, Joe?
00:33:39
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, obviously, you know, I would definitely do it again.
00:33:42
Speaker
And what I would also say is, you know, don't let the fact that, oh, well, you know, I couldn't catch solar surge.
00:33:48
Speaker
You know, they're two years ahead of me or there are X many subscribers ahead of me.
00:33:51
Speaker
You could literally do videos on the same things I talk about.
00:33:55
Speaker
But because of who you are and where you live, you're going to maybe resonate with a slightly different audience.
00:34:00
Speaker
You know, maybe you just have a little bit different communication style than I do.
00:34:03
Speaker
So you could literally take the exact same topics, the exact same search terms, just put a little bit of your spin, your perspective on it, and you can repurpose it.
00:34:12
Speaker
So a lot of times it's not about reinventing the wheel.
00:34:15
Speaker
It's about taking what's out there, putting a little bit of your spin, your perspective, your experience on it, and then putting it out there and just seeing who will it resonate with.
00:34:23
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, no doubt.
00:34:24
Speaker
And then something I was curious about, Joe, is you obviously, you know, are the go to for solar like knowledge and solar technology for a lot of people.
00:34:32
Speaker
But where do you get your knowledge from?
00:34:34
Speaker
Is like, are you doing constant research on all this stuff?
00:34:38
Speaker
Or is your team kind of send you stuff and say, hey, we should do a video about this?
00:34:41
Speaker
Or what's like, how do you educate yourself and actually do all these videos on it?
00:34:46
Speaker
Yeah, sure.
00:34:47
Speaker
So, um, well, a lot's changing, right?
00:34:50
Speaker
Every year the products are changing.
00:34:52
Speaker
And so, I mean, one of the places I learn is I learn on YouTube.
00:34:55
Speaker
So I look at what other solar YouTubers are putting out there.
00:34:58
Speaker
I look at what the manufacturers are putting out, uh, going to the conferences and trade shows, you know, making sure that we're staying on top of all the new releases.
00:35:05
Speaker
Because every year something is changing.
00:35:07
Speaker
You know, new solar panels are coming out.
00:35:09
Speaker
New models are coming out every year.
00:35:11
Speaker
Power ratings are going up.
00:35:12
Speaker
Efficiencies are going up.
00:35:14
Speaker
You've got new batteries that are coming into the market every year now, it seems, or batteries are receiving generational improvements, you know, every couple of years.
00:35:23
Speaker
So there's always something new to talk about.
00:35:25
Speaker
But a lot of the basics are still the same.
00:35:27
Speaker
I think a lot of the basics of the reasons why people go solar, the basics of how solar power systems work, how net metering works, you know, a lot of that is more evergreen.
00:35:37
Speaker
You know, the answer from 10 years ago is still pretty much the same answer today.
00:35:41
Speaker
Yeah.
00:35:42
Speaker
Um, but you know, like with any technology, you're going to have new products, new features, new enhancements every year.
00:35:46
Speaker
So as part of the reason we go to the trade shows is, you know, if we can be the, if we can be that, those, those, uh, boots on the ground, you know, ears and eyes at the trade shows, you know, we'll help get that up to date information to homeowners and to other, other stakeholders within the, within the community.
00:36:02
Speaker
So that's what we do.
00:36:03
Speaker
Okay.
00:36:04
Speaker
And in your opinion, do you see, you've been at this for a while and you were super educated on the technology and all that.
00:36:09
Speaker
Do you see things changing pretty drastically in the next couple of years?
00:36:13
Speaker
Or I don't know if you've seen like big, big changes.
00:36:15
Speaker
And I guess obviously with the net metering stuff going on in California, I don't know if they're seeing any big changes with batteries, but where do you predict the market kind
The Evolving Solar Market: Energy Independence vs. Savings
00:36:24
Speaker
of going?
00:36:24
Speaker
And I don't know, do you think there's going to be any big shifts or anything like that anytime soon?
00:36:29
Speaker
Well, the net metering rule change in California is definitely going to be a game changer for a lot of folks.
00:36:35
Speaker
Yeah.
00:36:36
Speaker
For us, I don't think we're going to be impacted as much or at least not negatively impacted just because we've so much of what we do is solar with battery storage.
00:36:46
Speaker
And we're used to selling battery storage, not as as like some kind of a financial investment, but just because it's it's self-sufficiency, it's peace of mind.
00:36:53
Speaker
So I think solar surge in particular is well positioned for this shift.
00:36:57
Speaker
And of course, now there will be a financial case to be made for batteries in California as well.
00:37:02
Speaker
Whereas before it was purely, hey, just do panels, just do net metering and use the grid as your battery.
00:37:07
Speaker
The other thing that we're seeing, of course, is we're in a high interest rate environment.
00:37:11
Speaker
So high inflation, high interest rate.
00:37:14
Speaker
Consumer confidence is lower than it has been.
00:37:16
Speaker
And so, again, I think it comes down to being able to frame solar as a solution that provides more security and peace of mind for the homeowner, not so much as a financial investment that's going to pay you back in dollars, although it does pay for itself over time.
00:37:32
Speaker
The payback is just slower now if you have to finance it 6% versus 2%.
00:37:37
Speaker
But but I think I think for us in particular, since we've always sort of had that approach of, you know, energy independence, we're selling energy independence.
00:37:44
Speaker
We're not just selling solar.
00:37:45
Speaker
Solar is just a means to get to a state of energy independence.
00:37:49
Speaker
And I think that's the approach that you need to take.
00:37:51
Speaker
So, you know, if you're a sales professional out there and you're used to just selling on the numbers on the chart, you know, for some homeowners now that that numbers on the charts not going to work anymore.
00:38:00
Speaker
In fact, you may have to throw the chart and say, look, Mr. Homeowner, you know, I understand that if we're just looking at the numbers here, it may not make sense for you to go solar right now.
00:38:09
Speaker
However, and I say this sometimes, don't do this because I'm showing you some numbers on the spreadsheet.
00:38:14
Speaker
Do this if this is something that you believe in, if you believe in being energy independent, but if you believe in being self-sufficient and you like the idea of producing your own energy, then go for it.
00:38:22
Speaker
I promise it will pay for itself over time.
00:38:24
Speaker
But if not, if you're just doing it because of the numbers I showed you here, you know, don't don't bother.
00:38:27
Speaker
There's other investments that you can buy.
00:38:29
Speaker
Yeah.
00:38:29
Speaker
Sometimes I'll tell the homeowner just like that.
00:38:31
Speaker
Like, don't don't do this because of these numbers here.
00:38:33
Speaker
You know, do it.
00:38:33
Speaker
You better have a better reason than that.
00:38:35
Speaker
Yeah.
00:38:35
Speaker
You know, but if you believe in it, by all means, let's let's go.
00:38:37
Speaker
Yeah.
00:38:38
Speaker
I love that.
00:38:39
Speaker
Well, that's pretty much how it's going to be in California.
00:38:41
Speaker
You know, once net median 3.0 comes out and I know that's how it is in a lot of other markets already.
00:38:46
Speaker
Like the reps that are just selling off as savings, it's getting harder and harder to do that.
00:38:50
Speaker
And that's, in my opinion, like the weakest way to sell, because I mean, people dig in and they're like, oh, guys, saving 20 bucks a month.
00:38:57
Speaker
No, I don't know.
00:38:58
Speaker
It doesn't really seem worth it.
00:38:59
Speaker
It's like people don't really go solar anymore to save 20 bucks a month.
00:39:02
Speaker
They need a deeper reason behind that.
00:39:04
Speaker
And I think you hit the nail on the head with that, Joe.
00:39:07
Speaker
So it's a good point.
00:39:09
Speaker
And then last kind of couple of questions I wanted to ask you before we wrap up here, Joe.
00:39:13
Speaker
So you're in South Carolina, right?
00:39:17
Speaker
That's where you're based.
00:39:18
Speaker
Yep.
00:39:19
Speaker
Yep.
00:39:19
Speaker
In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina now.
00:39:20
Speaker
Okay, right on.
00:39:22
Speaker
Good place.
00:39:22
Speaker
I went there a couple years back.
00:39:23
Speaker
Beautiful place you got there.
00:39:25
Speaker
70 degree weather today in February.
00:39:28
Speaker
Yeah, not bad.
00:39:29
Speaker
Not bad.
00:39:30
Speaker
Pretty similar to San Diego.
00:39:31
Speaker
Two best places.
00:39:33
Speaker
So my question is, an objection we get a lot of times in the home is like, oh, Taylor, I'm going to wait until the technology gets better.
00:39:41
Speaker
I'm going to wait until the interest rates go down.
00:39:43
Speaker
There's always a reason to wait.
Addressing Technology Concerns with Customers
00:39:45
Speaker
And so I'm sure you guys get these objections as you're doing sales calls.
00:39:48
Speaker
And so how do you and your team, especially where you are talking about technology and you're doing videos on newer technology coming out every year, twice a year, you said.
00:39:56
Speaker
So how do you counter this objection?
00:39:58
Speaker
How do you get people to want to do it, even though they see you posting videos about new?
00:40:02
Speaker
technology, like literally every month.
00:40:05
Speaker
What's your answer to that?
00:40:08
Speaker
Well, no, I would agree with them.
00:40:09
Speaker
I say solar is just like just like most technology.
00:40:12
Speaker
You know, it's always advancing.
00:40:14
Speaker
Every year there's a new model that comes out.
00:40:15
Speaker
Things get a little bit more efficient, you know, better, faster, cheaper, more features.
00:40:20
Speaker
But just like anything, at some point you have to just pull the trigger and say, I want this and I'm going to have to get whatever whatever is the current state of the art right now.
00:40:28
Speaker
And I understand that there might be a better version of it a year from now.
00:40:32
Speaker
But just like my computer, I just bought a new Mac, a Mac Studio here with the M1 chip.
00:40:36
Speaker
And then two weeks later, the M2 chip's out now.
00:40:38
Speaker
Like, oh, what do I have to go buy another one?
00:40:40
Speaker
No, I just bought this one.
00:40:41
Speaker
This will last me for another five years.
00:40:43
Speaker
Right.
00:40:43
Speaker
It was five years since I bought my last Mac.
00:40:46
Speaker
And so, yes, I know there's going to be another chip this year and there's going to be some advancement next year, too.
00:40:50
Speaker
But I think it's just one of those things like if this is something that you want to have, then you're going to have to make a purchasing decision at some point.
00:40:57
Speaker
Yeah.
00:40:57
Speaker
It doesn't mean that you won't upgrade in the future because you probably will.
00:41:00
Speaker
Whatever the next house you move to, you'll probably purchase whatever the state of the art solar equipment is at that time.
00:41:05
Speaker
But yeah, I wouldn't get hung up on that.
00:41:07
Speaker
I would agree with them.
00:41:08
Speaker
Agree with them that technology is always changing.
00:41:10
Speaker
Agree with them that there's going to be another solar panel that comes out next year.
00:41:13
Speaker
And then remind them that they have a computer and a cell phone that's also going to be obsolete next year, but they bought it anyway.
00:41:19
Speaker
So let's just go ahead and get this going.
00:41:20
Speaker
Yeah.
00:41:21
Speaker
Boom.
00:41:21
Speaker
I love that.
00:41:22
Speaker
When I think people appreciate that, just you being real and like, you know, given like a personal example that, hey, you just bought a computer and that new one came out in two weeks.
00:41:31
Speaker
So because everyone can relate with that, right?
00:41:33
Speaker
Buying a computer, buying a cell phone and your solar is no different.
00:41:36
Speaker
So I think, you know, homeowners definitely appreciate that as we're talking.
00:41:40
Speaker
Yeah, because it's really because it's not a real objection, Taylor.
00:41:43
Speaker
That's the thing, you know.
00:41:44
Speaker
So if you're a sales pro out there, you have to you have to be able to recognize what's an objection, what's a complaint.
00:41:49
Speaker
The fact that the technology is changing is not an objection.
00:41:52
Speaker
That's just a complaint.
00:41:53
Speaker
That's like saying, oh, yeah, you know, there's a new iPhone coming.
00:41:56
Speaker
OK, well, yeah, doesn't really mean anything about the purchasing decision.
00:41:59
Speaker
So, yeah, if you have to get that out of your system, Mr. Homeowner, by all means, go ahead and get that out of your system, get that complaint out of your system, and then let's get back to business.
00:42:07
Speaker
So the businesses, do you want to have this or not?
00:42:09
Speaker
Yeah.
00:42:09
Speaker
You know, if it's something you want to have, then great.
00:42:11
Speaker
Let's go for it.
00:42:12
Speaker
Yeah.
00:42:12
Speaker
Well, that's true.
00:42:13
Speaker
Anyone saying that you can probably look at 99% of people saying that and they have a computer from three years ago.
00:42:19
Speaker
They have, you know, two models, two models past the iPhone.
00:42:23
Speaker
And so it's like they're all doing this.
00:42:25
Speaker
They're all buying stuff.
00:42:26
Speaker
And that's something like Grant Cardone talks about is just look for evidence that they're buying things every day where new models are coming out of everything.
00:42:33
Speaker
So, yeah, same is true in solar.
00:42:36
Speaker
I love that.
00:42:36
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I almost have to laugh at that objection because it's like everything that you buy is obsolete in the future, right?
00:42:42
Speaker
Cars, televisions, I mean, you know, whatever it is.
00:42:45
Speaker
So, you know, I would like kind of acknowledge it, but I wouldn't even give it any weight.
00:42:50
Speaker
I would just kind of keep going with the conversation.
00:42:52
Speaker
Remember, they wouldn't be talking to you if they weren't interested in solar in the first place.
00:42:56
Speaker
They already knew that there's going to be some new model two, three years from now.
00:42:59
Speaker
They already know that.
00:43:00
Speaker
Yeah, 100%.
00:43:02
Speaker
Well, Joe, it's been awesome having you on the show.
00:43:03
Speaker
And you're a unique guest.
00:43:05
Speaker
We've never had anyone, I don't think, as well.
00:43:08
Speaker
We've had a couple of people from, you know, solar manufacturers, stuff like that come on.
00:43:12
Speaker
But you're definitely one of the, I would say, higher knowledge people we've had on when it comes to the technology and the, you know, the changing equipment that we have in the solar industry here.
00:43:24
Speaker
And so if people want to connect with you more, you know, I know you got your YouTube channel, but what's the best way to connect with you is just over on YouTube or any other way or any other you want to give.
00:43:34
Speaker
And thanks again for having me on.
00:43:35
Speaker
I'm really honored to have been invited on.
00:43:37
Speaker
And the work that you're doing here really is incredible, too.
00:43:39
Speaker
And it's needed.
00:43:40
Speaker
So please keep doing what you're doing.
00:43:42
Speaker
And guys, I'm just a solar guy that that found something that happens to work for me.
00:43:46
Speaker
And YouTube is one of those things that happens to work for me.
00:43:48
Speaker
It can work for you, too.
00:43:50
Speaker
And that is the best way to keep up with us.
00:43:51
Speaker
So the channel is Solar Surge on YouTube.
00:43:54
Speaker
And you can find us on some of the other platforms to Instagram, TikTok.
00:43:57
Speaker
But but most of that is going to funnel you back to long form videos on YouTube.
00:44:01
Speaker
So that's the best way to keep up with us.
00:44:03
Speaker
And that's probably a great channel for you to keep up with as well.
00:44:05
Speaker
If you want to just be up to date with the latest equipment, the latest news within the industry, you know, to help support your sales process.
00:44:12
Speaker
Yeah.
00:44:12
Speaker
Okay.
00:44:13
Speaker
So everyone listening to this, go check out Joe's YouTube channel, Solar Surge, if you are not on
00:44:19
Speaker
on it already.
00:44:19
Speaker
It has been one of my go-tos for learning more about the technology and staying up to date with all that.
00:44:24
Speaker
So we appreciate you, appreciate the work you're doing over there at Solar Surge, Joe.
00:44:29
Speaker
And before we say goodbye here, is there any other, I don't know, final advice you would give to our solopreneurs or people just trying to break through to that next level?
00:44:37
Speaker
Any other final tips you'd give?
00:44:39
Speaker
Guys, I would just say stick with it.
00:44:41
Speaker
And everything is hard and everything worth doing is hard.
00:44:44
Speaker
But stick with it.
00:44:45
Speaker
The opportunity that's in this industry is still unlike just about anything else out there for a sales professional, where if you come to it with just the right attitude and the willingness to work hard, you can make something of yourself.
00:44:56
Speaker
You don't need any special college degrees.
00:44:58
Speaker
You don't need any special, really any special technical training beyond what you could even get on YouTube.
00:45:03
Speaker
All it just takes is work the process, work the process, take the lumps, take the rejections and just keep keep moving.
00:45:09
Speaker
Because once you find once you find a groove that works for you, the ability to generate a very, very high income for you and your family and everybody else who's attached to your success.
00:45:19
Speaker
It's unlike just about anything else out there.
00:45:21
Speaker
So keep with it.
00:45:22
Speaker
Nice.
00:45:22
Speaker
That is a nugget right there.
00:45:23
Speaker
So for our solopreneurs, keep being consistent, just like Joe has been over a solar surge.
00:45:28
Speaker
Don't give up and remember you're just one deal away from breaking through and seeing the success that you deserve.
00:45:34
Speaker
And so, Joe, let me know if you're ever in California.
00:45:37
Speaker
We'll maybe shoot a YouTube video together and then we can go knock some doors after that.
00:45:42
Speaker
How's that sound?
00:45:43
Speaker
Sounds good.
00:45:44
Speaker
I'll bring my running shoes, my walking shoes.
00:45:46
Speaker
I'm actually, by the way, you mentioned that we're actually going to be in Long Beach in two weeks for the Inner Solar Conference.
00:45:53
Speaker
So if you didn't want to get together, maybe we can do a podcast.
00:45:55
Speaker
We're going to have our podcasting gear with us too.
00:45:57
Speaker
So that might be a great way to do some in-person live content.
00:46:01
Speaker
Yeah, be sweet.
00:46:02
Speaker
Cool.
00:46:02
Speaker
I'll have to look into that.
00:46:03
Speaker
Well, cool, man.
00:46:04
Speaker
Appreciate you coming on the show again and we'll talk soon.
00:46:07
Speaker
Excellent.
00:46:07
Speaker
Thanks again for having me.
00:46:10
Speaker
Hey, solopreneurs, are you sick and tired of spinning your wheels every month and not seeing your sales increase?
00:46:16
Speaker
Well, so was I. And the truth is, I was never able to improve it until I figured out what was going wrong.
00:46:21
Speaker
So that's why I'm excited to announce for a limited time, we are doing a free sales diagnostic.
00:46:28
Speaker
We'll break down your sales process, figure out the holes in your business, and see how we can help you improve.
00:46:35
Speaker
so at now we have six bucks for this month so book a call now don't miss out what you're going to do is send an email to taylor at solarpreneurs.com that's taylor at solarpreneurs with an s.com i'll send you out a calendar link and we will figure out the time that works best so shoot that email and let's increase your sales