Day 3 Intro, Building Pain

The Intro to your pitch should include an introduction of yourself, what you are doing there, and some sort of hook. Depending on saturation levels you might want to add some other strategic tactics into your pitch such as pre-addressing concerns. It’s essential not to overcomplicate your intro as it will result in a confused and distracted homeowner. Each part of the sales cycle has its own unique importance. Many reps fall into the bad habit of feeling like their success is directly linked to their intro, which can be true to a small extent, but don’t reinvent the wheel and instead focus on improving your delivery. With that said, the intro to your pitch is extremely important as it’s the first impression they will have of you. It’s very appropriate to tailor your pitch to the market you are selling in. For example, a particularly saturated market might require an extremely direct approach, while an unsaturated market might invite more of an educational approach. Here are two examples of intros to a solar pitch that you should use. Consult with your manager on which one you should use.

In un-saturated markets, you can get away with building a little more value first. Many people will swear by a very direct approach like the next one, but this pitch is great if you're in a market with a lot of misconceptions about solar and want to first explain the benefits of the program before mentioning solar. Remember, we aren't avoiding saying the word "solar"! It's very important that within the first 30-45 seconds you clearly mention that this is SOLAR. Too many people will avoid saying it and in so doing confuse the customer, seem misleading, and set a bad appointment for the closer.

“Hey how are ya?”

 ”Good.”

“Real quick, my name’s _____ with Aveyo. I’m taking it you’re the homeowner?”

”Yes.” 

“Awesome, I’m the person in charge of running the energy reports for all these homes (or mention the neighborhood name), and we’re out here because we’ve gotten quite a few neighbors who’ve been pretty frustrated with the rate increases that have been happening with _______ (power company). There should’ve been a notice sent out about the price increase coming up, did you guys see that come through?-- it would’ve been by mail or email. ”

In saturated markets you'll want to be quick to the point and pre-address the customer's smokescreens. Here is a good example:

“Hey, real quick, my name is ______. I'm in charge of running the energy reports for this area--you've probably had like 15 solar guys stop by in the last couple of months. The reason I keep getting called back out here, I've been talking with your neighbors, and if you're anything like them, they decided not to go solar in the past because they didn’t want to take out a big loan, or they just weren't interested.[Use 2 most common smokescreens] The reason the ____ family decided to give solar another look this year is because of the rate increases that [utility name] has implemented. I have a special program that keeps you guys from having to take out a loan, the downside is not every home can qualify. What is your average electric bill?”

“around $200”

Opening Statement: “Hey, how are ya? Real quick. I’m here about the [power project] [work in the area] rate increases].”

Question of Intrigue: “Is this still the Henry residence?”

You will want to initially avoid saying the stereotypical sales person phrase of, “Hi there, I’m Caleb with Solar.” Saying your name or that you are with Solar right away turns them off because they ARE CONDITIONED through HABIT to think you’re a salesperson and shut down. The last 20 guys have said that exact same thing! Every salesperson before you has done it.

You will want to be short and to the point; end this step of the approach with a question to make sure they are engaged. Try to keep this verbiage exactly as you see it above. This is the most important step of the whole sale! If you do not engage them, they will not be listening to you; therefore, no sale.

Explanation: The reason why we ask for their name is because it gives credibility. Studies show that when you’re an acquaintance of someone, they are more likely to listen to you. [12] Think of when AT&T or someone calls you and they say, “This is AT&T, we’re calling to perform a survey…” it’s likely that you will hang up immediately. On the other hand, if someone calls you and asks, “Is this Mr. Jones?” You are going to say YES. You can’t hang up on someone that KNOWS you. They have your attention, and you give them more time. You can interchange the words in the bracket with market specific language. It’s best to sound local.

‍

‍

You need the customer to know that you’re the professional and you know what you’re talking about because you are there for a specific reason. Once you have them listening, you need to validate your presence. The best way to validate your presence is asking those above questions of Intrigue. There are many various options listed, but it’s critical that you use a question to capture their attention. Question of Intrigue: “Were you here when [Utility] (say utility name) swapped out the meter?” Keep this in mind as you start to practice and memorize your sales pitch:

‍

No one will feel the need to take action and change if they are completely fine with their current situation. A common mistake that many salesmen make is that they only focus on the benefits and solutions of their product. We’ve all heard the phrases like “one really cool thing about this product is…” or “with this product you can accomplish…”. Even though it might seem like this method is the best course of action, helping them first recognize the issue with what they’re currently doing will help the customer take action.

If you are building pain correctly, the homeowner should be feeling a lot of discomfort with their current situation by the end of your pitch. If it’s not done correctly the homeowner is going to feel like you are forcing something down their throat. Because of this, one of the best ways to build pain is by turning it into a story. There are a few ways to find ammunition for the area you are working in, the first recommendation might be talking with your manager about the biggest key points to hit on in each market. The next thing we’d suggest is doing your own research–there is so much information out there we just need to simply look. Run anything you find online by your manager so you aren’t misrepresenting information on the doors.

Something you need to remember is that you have very limited time to keep the customers' attention. So only spend time conversing about the most important points. You might find a lot of different ways to build pain, but choose the most powerful ones to get your point across. There are 4 main points to build pain that apply to every market in the country, and there are others that you might find very applicable to the areas you are selling in.

These step highlights the product and explains why we are here. In this step, you make a simple explanation of the Loan/PPA/Lease program. Tell them what is happening and why they should care. There are some changes in the laws in the state on how power is being distributed. We as Aveyo in partnership with Sunnova, etc, are bringing in or generating, producing more renewable power in the state.

Informational Statement: (Example): “Here in the state, most of the electricity is being shipped in from out of state or far away which is why the rates are going up. Have you noticed your bills increasing over the last few years? They’ve lost power from the shutting down of Nuclear Plants (which is causing rates to go up). We step in and increase that deficit with adding more power in this neighborhood.

This should surface any objections and you can agree with them. It is very important that you don’t forget to AGREE with them:

Validation Statement: “Oh I see, that makes perfect sense, that’s actually the exact reason I’m here. Has someone been by from [the Utility] to explain how the fees work?”

Did you catch the pain and gain part? Why is that effective?

‍The customer’s water bill is typically set up on a tier structure too; you usually want to relate how they pay for power to something else that they already understand.