Is Telesales a Viable Sales Channel?

Written By John Yandrasits

     Community solar is a relatively new and an inherently complex product, so case closed, right? Not necessarily. Telesales can be a viable channel for community solar but viability is heavily dependent on a number of critical factors like simplicity, objection handling, relatability and trust or SORT, as we refer to our system below. 

  • Simplicity

  • The more complicated the service, the more simplified your messaging needs to be.  

  • Use simple, non-jargon based language. Scripts should be written on an 8th-grade reading level.  

  • Prospects don’t need to know the vast majority of what community solar sales representatives want to tell them. Prospects need to know the following…

The Problem - They’re paying too much for electricity 

The Solution - Community solar savings  

  • Important high-level details 

  • Cancel anytime

  • Billing

    • Provide a basic understanding of how billing works (single vs. dual billing). 

  • No cost

  • Monthly Discount - Most consumers aren’t moved by the monthly savings. Depending upon the percentage discount, the discount can seem insignificant. Calculate life-time savings in order to demonstrate more significant savings potential. 

  • Lead with the savings message, but also touch upon the environmental benefits, as 89% of Americans view solar favorably.  

  • To sell community solar effectively, agents need to be succinct. The longer the script, the more confused the prospect. Agents must focus on key points and remain disciplined, avoiding the urge to bombard a prospect with superfluous information. 

  • Objection Handling 

  • Address the ‘Too good to be true’ feeling that is nearly universal. The question nearly every prospect has (whether they ask the question directly or not, is… ‘How are you able to offer me solar energy at a discount?’ The answer is, because the government (in certain cases), is subsidizing the construction of the solar farms in order to reach their goal of 100% renewable energy by 2050. They’ve mandated the solar energy produced by the farms be sold at a discount because they know most people won’t switch to solar energy if it will cost them more money.  

  • Pre-empt objections by addressing common misconceptions before objections arise.  

  • Relatability

  • Anchor community solar in familiar language. For instance, Amazon’s and Netflix’s subscription models are good comparisons. 158 million Americans are Amazon Prime subscribers. Prime customers pay a monthly or annual subscription fee in exchange for benefits. This is no different than community solar’s value proposition of subscribing to a community solar farm and in exchange, receiving a benefit (discounted electricity). 

  • Identify if the prospect has selected a third-party electricity supplier. If they have, this is a positive buying signal, as they’ve already made a decision to move away from the utility. 

  • Messaging should be segmented based on income, home ownership status and if possible, electric usage history. 

  • Trust 

  • Be transparent about program details. 

  • Be honest about potential savings. Don’t inflate potential savings. 

  • Don’t always deflect objections. If the objections make sense, empathize with them by using the Feel / Felt / Found technique.

John Yandrasits
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