What Eventually Leads Homeowners To Choose Solar

There are any number of ways to generate solar leads—pay-per-click campaigns, third-party leads, door-to-door campaigns, direct mail campaigns, and the like—but, no matter how great the lead is, conversion is not a foregone conclusion. That’s because, analytics and big data aside, conversion still comes down to the human factor—in other words, the connection between your sales team and the prospective client. That connection depends on a special kind of insight, an insight based on the knowledge of why homeowners consider purchasing solar power systems as well as the factors that drive the actual moment of decision. Here’s what your sales team needs to know about what your solar leads are thinking:

Motivating factors

• They want to save money. Energy costs are increasing steadily and are expected to rise even more due to factors like depletion of natural resources, higher costs involved in extracting those resources, environmental regulations, and increased costs of distribution and delivery. Many homeowners find that a solar power system reduces their electric bill by as much as 50 percent, and an even greater reduction isn’t unusual. In fact, some homeowners have been able to eliminate all consumption of energy purchased from the power company.
• They want to increase their home’s value. Studies conducted by the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory found that installing solar panels increases a home’s resale value by an average of $5.50/watt. A 3.1kW solar system, for instance, can add $17,000 to a home’s value. In addition, solar power systems can reduce a home’s time on the market by as much as 15 percent.
• They’re concerned for the environment. Each year, the average American household generates 7.4 tons of carbon dioxide through electrical use alone. Because carbon dioxide contributes to global warming, many homeowners are inspired by the idea of reducing that carbon footprint. Other homeowners are concerned about the depletion of our natural resources and recognize the sun as a perpetually renewable source of energy.
• They want to take advantage of government incentives. Both the federal government and many state and local governments offer homeowners tax breaks and other incentives to install solar systems. These incentives can dramatically reduce the cost of the initial investment as well as the length of time required for a solar power system to pay for itself.

Concerns

It’s not enough to know why homeowners consider investing in solar power; in order to overcome objections, your salespeople also need to understand the things they worry about. Those factors include:

• The cost. Some homeowners worry that they won’t be able to afford the cost of a solar installation. However, financing is always an option, reducing the need for an up-front capital investment. Between financing, government incentives, and lower electric bills, the monthly cost may well be far less than the homeowner fears.
• The lack of available incentives. Even if customers don’t have access to local incentives, they can still take advantage of a federal tax credit worth up to 30 percent of the cost of the system.
• The presence of trees. Some homeowners worry that having a number of large trees on the lot makes a home unsuitable for a solar power system. But minor tree trimming may be all that is needed to make a house ready for a solar installation, and that expense can sometimes be rolled into the cost of installing the system.

Your sales team’s success starts with good, well qualified leads, like the ones we can generate for you here at InboundProspect. That’s because quality lead generation lets your salespeople focus their time on the leads that present the highest likelihood of conversion. But, while it’s critically important for your salespeople to understand your products, it’s just as important for them to understand your prospective customers. That’s because even the best lead is just a lead until it’s converted into a sale. The more your salespeople understand about homeowners who are considering the purchase of a solar power system—what they hope to accomplish, what they fear, what their concerns are—the more successful they’re going to be.