The solar sales process is expensive, with customer acquisition representing up to 25% of a typical system’s cost.
Thankfully, AI can help. While we can debate whether Artificial Intelligence should be winning prizes for its art, there’s no argument that it can help solar companies in the sales and design process.
In our recent webinar, 5 Data-driven ways to increase the ROI of your solar sales process (according to new research), Aurora Solar’s Danielle Lecher and Wood Mackenzie’s Caitlin Connelly explored several examples of how solar installers are using AI technology — right now — to improve their solar sales processes.
In this post, we’ll focus on two particular areas early in the sales cycle where you can use AI to give you a leg up on the competition.
Self-service lead capture — prospects come to you
Door-to-door sales have long been the lifeblood of the solar industry, with installers often dispatching field teams to generate and capture leads in person. Direct mail marketing can help reduce costs, but because the typical homeowner is flooded with solar offers, standing out from the crowd (or in the mailbox) can prove challenging.
However, a growing number of installers now embed lead capture forms on their sites to allow homeowners to supply their own contact information. Aurora Solar’s Lead Capture AI lets you engage homeowners with a personalized, AI-generated 3D solar estimate, right from your own website. It creates an experience that builds your brand credibility, makes you stand out, and generates high-quality leads without tying up valuable company resources — people visiting your site qualify themselves.
Automated lead prequalification — fewer tire-kickers
The same self-service strategy for lead capture can be expanded to lead prequalification. In addition to a prospect’s contact information, for example, Lead Capture AI can also ask for the prospective buyer’s:
- Average electricity consumption
- Recent utility bills (the more the better)
- The age of the prospect’s home
This information allows installers to direct resources towards prospects that have the highest chances of converting. Even better, with the homeowner’s data, Aurora Solar’s AI-powered lead capture technology can instantly generate a detailed 3D model of an installed PV system — complete with breakdowns of savings, costs, payback periods, and ROIs.
These AI-generated solar proposals show homeowners a visual representation of what their finished system will look like. This, of course, lets prospects decide whether installing PV panels is the right choice for them, without direct intervention from the installer. But, more importantly, when combined with the savings and ROI breakdowns, it leads to a much higher close rate, with much less effort from your sales reps.
More ways technology can boost solar sales
The above represent two simple, yet powerful, examples of how installers are using technology to make the solar sales process both cheaper and faster.
Self-service lead capture and automated prequalification are just part of it, though. Once you have the leads, you have to act fast. Prospects are seven times as likely to attend meetings if contacted within the first hour.
A joint research study between Wood Mackenzie and Aurora Solar uncovered many other ways that installers are integrating software into their operations.
To get three more ways that you can use data and technology to improve your solar sales, watch the full webinar, 5 Data-driven ways to increase the ROI of your solar sales process (according to new research), on-demand. Even better, download it and listen while driving to that pre-qualified customer to close the deal.
