Sell more solar: Use value selling to get more customers
Being an expert in your field, it’s easy for you to get into the details of solar when a homeowner asks about something like the difference between an older and newer panel model. Take your solar selling up a notch with one simple trick - don’t go into the details!
Talking about specs, features, and technical points on solar panels, inverters, and batteries gets overwhelming for homeowners. Bring it back to what this means for them in terms of outcomes after the installation:
- captures more solar energy than older/other models, so you save more on your energy bill
- requires less maintenance, so you don’t have to do as much work
- has a longer life cycle, so you shouldn’t need to repair or replace for longer
The important thing is the “so you…”
Explaining what it means for the customers is referred to as value-selling, rather than feature-selling.
Value-selling in practice for solar installation businesses
Value-selling is a great way to overcome concerns from the homeowner you’re talking to. Let’s say they want to negotiate the price. Instead of focusing on how much the installation is going to cost, you could ask them questions about what they value.
For example, you could ask about how much they want to be saving in their electricity bills, and then reassure them that the panel you’ve recommended is the one most likely to get them that level of savings and then layer on more information about the payback period to drive the value home.
It’s easy to get caught up in the rush of trying to close a sale quickly, but if you step back to ask a few questions and reaffirm the value of the quote you’ve put together outside of the cost, you can convert a greater percentage of your leads into sales.
If you’ve done the exercises in our blog about standing out as a solar installer, you’ll have an idea of what kinds of value you can use in addition to cost, including:
- Your level of service and communication
- Providing education to the homeowner
- How quickly you can install the solar panels
- How closely you match with your customer’s priorities
- Highlight that you offer pre-installation site visits and consultations
How to use value-selling in your solar marketing
We’ve covered how to use value-selling when you’re talking to someone, but it’s great to use it in your marketing as well.
One of the most obvious values for solar is that it’s a renewable energy source. Leading with renewable energy messages is great to convince someone to get solar in the first place, but it won’t be what sways them to choose one installer over another. All solar installers are offering renewable energy, so it doesn’t create a difference between providers.
You need to highlight what sets you apart in your marketing (just like the exercise mentioned above!), in places like your website, your Google Maps business listing, and any social media profiles or printed materials you have.
If you Google “solar installer near me”, a lot of the results look the same. They’re mostly some variation of “number 1 solar provider”.
That doesn’t say a lot about what the homeowner is going to get, though. Try using value-selling instead, with options like:
- Faster solar installation
- We’ll get you the best payback period
- Install solar with minimal disruption, quick and tidy
Take a look at what customers are saying in reviews for both you and other installers. You’ll get a feel for what they valued the most out of the experience aside from actually getting the panels.
Read more in this series
Want to learn more ways to improve your marketing and grow your solar installation business? Check out the rest of the articles in our marketing series: