Solar doesn’t work for everyone, it’s true. However, when a prospect tells you that solar won’t work for them — but you know it will — this objection shouldn’t stop your sales pitch in its tracks.
But how do you turn that, “No”, into a, “Hmmm, maybe…” and then, “Yes!”? That’s what the Solar Sales Objections Throwdown session at Empower 2023 was all about: Taking common homeowner objections every solar salesperson hears in the field, and turning them on their head.
The Throwdown featured four solar sales pros offering their best strategies:
- Kenny Parry, Founder and CEO of Parry Capital
- Jader Leao, General Manager of Vivint Solar
- “Solar” Joe Mousakheel, Owner of The Solar Academy
- Ashleigh Tatarcyk, Owner of Urban Sol Energy
Without further ado, let’s jump in and see how these pros deal with this very common objection.
The objection: “We’ve looked into it and solar just doesn’t work for us.”
Step 1: Get to the root of the problem (or lack thereof)
First and foremost, if solar “doesn’t work” for someone, it’s logical to ask… Why?
By discovering exactly why the potential customer believes that solar doesn’t work for them, you can quickly assess whether the issue is a valid concern or more of a misunderstanding. As Joe Mousakheel stated, “You have to ask clarifying questions to know the root of the problem.”
Kenny Parry called this process “uncovering,” explaining: “There’s something deeper behind this objection. There’s something they’re not telling us. So asking good questions at this point is really important.”
While there are so many opening and follow-up questions you can ask prospects, Jader Leao begins by establishing a timeline, asking, “When was the last time you sat down with somebody?”
Once you begin to understand the homeowner’s experience with solar, you can then hone in on the root of the problem. If your prospect isn’t providing many specifics, you may have better success asking about the exact aspects of solar that stopped them from buying in the past, like:
- Was it about the cost of the solar energy system?
- Did you run into a roofing issue — like not enough space or too much shade?
- Do you believe that you will not be able to save money with solar?
When discussing costs, savings, and value, it’s vital to clarify the different types of solar energy contracts on the market today. Even if the homeowner has done a lot of research and “knows” everything, outlining the differences between loans, leases, and PPAs can help reopen a conversation about solar.
Step 2: Empathize and address concerns
As you dig deeper into the homeowner’s solar journey, staying empathetic and addressing concerns with respect can help keep your conversation informational, rather than argumentative.
If you’re talking to someone who believes they know “everything” about solar, they have clearly done previous research and may think that any further investigation would be a waste of time. As Joe Mousakheel said, “Everything is an emotional word… In my experience, whenever anybody says, ‘Everything’, that’s never the reality. It’s more about emotion… It’s a smoke screen for something else that’s going on.”
Of course, if a person knows “everything” about solar, you can then assume that they were interested in possibly adopting the technology at some point in the past. By addressing the stopping points that ultimately ended their previous efforts, you can help a homeowner pick up where they left off and walk them through the next steps to a better outcome.
Leveraging the customer’s previous interest in solar to open up a conversation, Ashleigh Tatarcyk would address this objection empathetically, responding, “I’m glad that you’ve done your research. You’re definitely ahead of the game here… What have you seen that is telling you it’s not for you?”
Step 3: Open the floor to questions and discuss options
When someone thinks that solar won’t work, and has thought that for some time, it can be difficult to convince them otherwise. Plus, even if the homeowner is willing to entertain the idea once again, they will likely have a lot of questions that need to be answered.
Having an open and honest conversation can help you gain the customer’s confidence, which can ideally lead them to reconsider solar altogether. Although it may take more than one point of contact to gain their trust, establishing yourself as a reliable source of accurate information can help make those previous feelings fade.
The tools you need
After addressing your prospect’s initial concerns about costs, payback periods, possible roof damage, or whatever the root issues may be, you can move on to the proposal. Solutions like Aurora’s Sales Mode can help you clearly outline a customer’s options, including everything from site modeling to financing comparisons. Check out our webinar on October 5 to learn more.
By getting an accurate, personalized, updated proposal in your customer’s hands quickly — while you have them engaged in a conversation about solar — you may be able to convince them that a PV system will work for them.
In closing…
If someone tells you that they know everything about solar and that it simply won’t work for them, don’t be afraid to start a conversation. By asking questions, addressing concerns with empathy, and delivering objection-proof solutions, you may just be able to change their mind.
Get more insight on this objection be watching the whole session (and every other Empower session, too) on-demand by clicking here.
This is just the first of our four-part Sales Objections Throwdown series. Check back each week for another objection, and how to turn it into an opportunity.
Here are the rest of the objections (we’ll link them here as they’re posted):
- “Solar just doesn’t work for us” — this blog
- “Financing rates are too high”
- “I’ve heard that solar won’t save me money in California with NEM 3”
- “I need to get another quote”
- Frequently heard solar objections, solved!
Featured image by Robert Linder.
