Day 8 Smokescreens, Concerns

Identifying a Smokescreen

Smokescreens are objections or excuses that homeowners use to misdirect the rep from setting an appointment or closing them on an idea. Homeowners will give smokescreens when there has not been enough value created to to gain their interest. To begin, you must be able to identify if the objection that the homeowner is giving is a smoke screen or legitimate concern. With smokescreens, they can be identified if the customer does not have a legitimate reason for them to bring up the concern.

Common smokescreens are:

“I am busy.”

“Solar is Expensive.”

“I am not interested.”

“I do not think the technology is good enough yet.”

“We have already talked to someone.”

“ I need to talk to my spouse.”

“I want to do my own research.”

“I have a low bill.”

Smokescreens can be overcome in different ways. However, they must be overcome quickly and efficiently to keep progressing the sale. It is very important to address the smokescreen and follow it up with a question/transition. This can be remembered by a simple acronym: AIM

Here are some examples of common smokescreens and how to overcome them.

Customer: “I am busy, can you come back next week?”

Rep: “We are really busy as well so I will be super quick, my job is not to sell this stuff it is to see if your home qualifies. Do you know how much power you use? This way I can see if this is something you guys will even want me to come back for.”

Customer: “I am not interested.”

Rep: “Totally hear you. I am sure you didn’t dream about solar last night. But real quick, have you even given someone the time of day to see what this looks like?”

Customer: “We have already talked to someone.”

Rep: “Oh Really? Well now I’m curious. Why do you guys not have solar yet?”

Customer: “It is expensive.”

Rep: “You’re right. But so is your power bill which you pay forever. There are new programs that are no money down and act as a bill swap. Let me ask, if you could pay the same amount either way, would you rather rent or own this home?”

Smokescreens should always be handled quickly and efficiently. Most homeowners will throw 2-3 smokescreens at a rep before the rep will be able to build enough value to create enough interest for a customer to set an appointment. Notice how in all of these examples, you acknowledge what the homeowner is saying. Their attention is then redirected by a question or transition. What sets the good reps apart from great reps is how many smokescreens they are able to get through in a pitch to create value.

The general rule of thumb in the sale cycle is the first time a customer brings up a concern or question, it is most often just a smoke screen as a way to get you off their doorstep. The second or third time they bring up that same concern or question, then it turns into a real concern which you will need to over come.

Sometimes customers will give us objections at the door that are backed by a true concern. As a rep, this can be identified if the homeowner seems as if they have knowledge on the topic or if they know someone that has shared a concern with them. This does not mean that the homeowner has a condition. Conditions are unsolvable things that means a person can not go solar. Renting, Failed Credit, and specific kinds of roofs may keep homeowners from being able to go solar. Here are some examples of true concerns:

“What if the new homeowner doesn’t want the panels?”

“My family member got solar and they were paying two bills.”

“I don’t want the panels to void my roof warranty.”

“Solar is a long term commitment.”

“I don’t want panels on the front of my house.”

“I don’t understand the tax credit.”

“I don’t want anything else on my credit.”

All of these concerns have some sort of background knowledge behind them which is why the customer is bringing it up. These concerns need a little more attention to be able to overcome them and build enough value so that the customer will be willing to set an appointment. True concerns can be solved using a couple different methods:

Feel-Felt-Found: This method requires that the rep is credible in the neighborhood. They need to have talked to neighbors who already have solar and use their experience to resolve the concern. You then need to have a good transition to keep the sale progressing. (Sometimes the best transition Is a pullback)

Example:

Homeowner: “Yeah, solar is a long term commitment that we don’t think we are ready for.”

00Rep: “Totally hear you. Do you know the Johnson's down the street? They got solar about a year ago. They felt the same way as you guys at first, but what they found and ultimately the reason why they decided to go solar was that they were already spending money on their electricity, but at least now they could save money and have control over the price to avoid unexpected rate hikes. Their house was just like yours where they were getting smashed by the sun all day, so going solar was a no brainer. About how much are you spending per month on your electricity?”

REPLY, and TRANSITION) when dealing with an objection. Here are some examples below:

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Feel: Ex: Hey I totally get it

Ask this question: What’s your timeline in the home? 2-5 yrs or 5 yrs+?

Felt: Believe it or not, a lot of your neighbors had the same worry

Found: What they discovered was that they needed to be in the home for at least a year for it to make sense. The biggest benefit for you guys will be:

●  Tax Credit

●  Home Value Increase

Transitional Question: Ex: How long ago did [power company name] switch your guys meter out?

________________________________________________________________________

Sales Rep: Believe it or not, a lot of your neighbors had the same worry. After researching it they discovered that they needed to be in the home for at least a year for it to make sense. The main benefit for you guys is the massive tax credit the government will pay you just for going solar, plus the home value increase for when you sell in three years. (Head nod) Just curious, how long ago did Rocky Mountain Power switch out your meter?

Sales Rep: The reason I ask is…. (Transition to pain story)

Similar to a home, we are able to help homeowners stop renting and instead own their power. How we accomplish this is by locking in a 25 yr total (loan term) price and spreading that into monthly payments. This is how the customer is able to pay flat and fixed payments that never increase. There is good debt and there is bad debt. A bad debt for example would be financing an $80,000 truck, as the truck depreciates and loses value. An example of good debt would be a house mortgage, because shelter is a need and the alternative is renting. Which is better, renting with no “loan/debt”? Or owning the home and building equity, but you’d need to borrow the money to do it? We all know that ideally owning the home is a much better option. In fact, the definition of “debt” is: something, typically money, that is owed or due. One might say that renting is truly the worst form of debt, as it is money owed or due that isn’t adding any equity or return on money spent.

Here is an example of how you might overcome this:

Customer: I don’t want to get a loan and go into debt for this

Sales Rep: Hey, I totally understand! In fact, a lot of your neighbors shared the same concern, and they found two things. The first one was that they were renting their power from the power company and that by renting they were still indebted to the power company regardless because it’s basically a lifetime contract. I mean, what happens if you refuse to pay your power bill that’s due?

Customer: They’d shut off my power.

Sales Rep: Right! And they’d send you to collections. The second thing is that similar to a home’s mortgage, this is a very good debt because it’s swapping a rented payment for something that is controlled and builds equity over time. So although you may now have debt, it’s a better debt than your current situation… Another big reason your neighbors have decided to look at an alternative is Because… (Transition to Pain)