How to create urgency in a solar pitch

Every successful sale starts with getting your prospect to care about the problem you are solving. This can be tricky in solar, given that most homeowners don’t stay up at night fretting about their electricity bill.

What are some best practices to create urgency with a solar prospect and drive real engagement with your pitch?

Most homeowners have become accustomed to paying utility bills almost without looking at them. It is important to begin by educating the homeowner about what they’re currently spending on electricity, which can be significant. Try to start familiarizing the homeowner with the key terms you’ll use to make a comparison between grid power and solar power, such as monthly payment, kWh rate, and lifetime savings.

People are used to having different options available in almost all purchase decisions. They also intuitively understand that competition and greater optionality typically means a better deal. Framing your pitch as offering an alternative in a traditionally monopolistic market will immediately put you on the side of the homeowner and make them receptive to your proposal. You’re not there to sell, you’re there to offer a choice.

Once you’ve established baseline costs and conveyed that homeowners now have a choice, quickly turn your attention to savings. Everyone is interested in saving money, so focus on how much money the homeowner can save immediately (monthly payment, kWh rate) as well as over the life of the solar project (lifetime savings, effective kWh rate). Translating savings amounts into tangible things like a new kitchen or a college education can help make savings real and tap into a buyer’s emotions. You’re not selling solar, you’re offering cheaper electricity that can help the homeowner invest in something they really care about.

Utility rates have typically increased significantly over time. It is important to incorporate this into your pitch and convey to your prospect that their electricity bill in the future is likely to be more than they are paying today. You can frame solar as an opportunity to lock in a power rate today and ensure a predictable and stable electricity bill for many years. Analogies can be helpful here--ask the homeowner if they would sign up to pay the same rate for gas for the next 20 years and they’ll understand the value you are offering.

While all buyers will be motivated by saving money, lots of homeowners will also be interested in making a positive impact on the environment. Ask the prospect if they are interested in the environmental benefits of the proposed solar system--even if it isn’t a primary motivator, most people will feel good about switching to a clean, carbon-free power source. In terms of discussing the actual impact, use metaphors like # of miles not driven by a car or acres of forest planted so that the CO2 impact is tangible and easy to understand.

If a buyer isn’t interested in the environmental impact of their solar system, you can pivot to discussing the benefits of generating and consuming their own power. Ask the homeowner if they know where their power comes from and how far the electrons have to travel to get to their home. Many homeowners will be excited and comforted to swap anonymous and distant power sources for a power plant they see every day on their roof.

The Sighten platform makes it easy to operationalize these best practices by generating a professional and attractive sales proposal that clearly lays out the key points that drive urgency and engagement in a solar sale. We call the first page of the proposal “The Cost of Doing Nothing” and the content succinctly articulates why the current state of the world (buying grid power) is sub-optimal for the homeowner. Customers have told us that “The Cost of Doing Nothing” page helps their sales reps craft a clear and compelling pitch that consistently creates buy-in from prospects.

Do you use other approaches to create urgency with your solar prospects? Do you want to learn more about how Sighten can help your team drive more engagement at the beginning of the sales process? Drop us a line at info@sighten.io or check out our website and request a demo!