How can you effectively promote solar power to a wider audience?

All too often do I witness sales reps spending far too little time building relationships and conducting effective discovery. Homeowners will only buy from somebody they know, like, and trust. Sometimes listening to their stories and learning about their life is far more important for reaching an acceptable solution than favorable economics. Be more "real person" less "sales person".

Pour promouvoir efficacement l'énergie solaire, il ne suffit pas seulement de sensibiliser le public à travers des campagnes médiatiques nationales. Il est primordial d'organiser des ateliers éducatifs et des formations de haut niveau au sein des communautés nationales. En mettant en avant les bénéfices économiques et environnementaux, ainsi que des incitations financières, nous renforçons l'adhésion. N'oublions pas non plus l'implication des institutions locales, qui joue un rôle crucial dans la consolidation de la confiance en cette transition énergétique.

Evolve from 'Sales' person to 'Business' person. A sales person's focus tends to be limited to maximizing and collecting their commission for the current transaction, while a business person strives to leverage the current transaction into many future transactions. For example, a business person will coach and motivate their client to find referrals for them, which means their business will be active via their client's work, even when they are not present. This one tool can cause an unlimited supply of business that can stretch in infinite directions.

This is important. The way you engage with all the stakeholders needs to be tailored. To look at the two extremes, the way you engage with subsistence farmers will be completely different to how you engage with government. If you don’t get that right you can come across as clueless or at worst an arrogant developer and lose the support you need to build a successful project.

To begin with, Solar PV companies should really market on real-time energy savings compared to lab or prototype generated results. With many competitive companies in the market, it is hard to find a secure and trustworthy seller. Therefore, more trust should be built, and a reliable warranty of the product would definitely encourage more people to opt for solar power. Last but not the least there are many incentives that governments can work with to alleviate the high initial capital investment with adequate funding, this will generate interest in public and possibly encourage more people to invest in solar power.

From an African standpoint, solar power is an easy sell and therefore much easier to articulate the benefits. Here's why....with 600 million people suffering energy poverty. And with billions of dollars (in the past) poured into large gas fired, coal power plant projects that have returned nothing but blackout. Solar projects are the alternative that will allow the owner to ultimately becomes his own energy supplier, cutting out complexities associated with large, cumbersome, inefficient and often unaccountable intermediaries and projects. The point here is that of decentralisation, away from large central projects which are often sanctioned by goverments, with support to companies that many times are not transparent.

Adults just don’t like change and it can be challenging to talk to someone about solar. In our experience, our biggest difference that makes us successful is that we utilize NLP (neuero linguistic programming) throughout the entire relationship with the customer. This showcases we are 100% catering to their needs. But we also 100% just educate the customer. Our sales presentation is educating about CEJA legislation, how net metering works, what is IL Shines and how does it help CEJAs goal and what’s in it for the customer? We focus on the entire story of solar versus JUST the product. This shows we are knowledgeable and are in the customers corner. This helps us and the reason why we thrive.

Clearly communicate the advantages of solar power, such as long-term cost savings, environmental sustainability, and reduced reliance on traditional energy sources. Emphasize how solar energy aligns with personal and societal goals, making it a compelling choice.

Spread the solar love by telling real stories on social media, hosting local workshops, and teaming up with businesses. Show how solar saves money and helps the planet. Highlight local incentives, set up booths at fairs, and partner with schools. Make solar relatable, accessible, and a no-brainer for everyone.

Mainly, the benefit to address in both selling scenarios B2B or B2C is economical, so be ready to show in detail why, how and how much you can save by installing a solar power system. While in B2B the major focus will be on cost cutting and saving, and client will mainly decide on numbers and business plan, in B2C sales a relevant part will be empathical, meaning that convincing the prospect on the evident saving will not be enough to close the deal. Other factors will come into play such as aesthetics, easyness of install, of use and other factors, because we are selling something in a sphere of privacy and proper household.

By far the most pushback we get about solar are with respect to initial investment costs and intermittency. And frankly, these are easily tackled. Capex: Over the last decade, solar PV costs has dropped by over 90% with additional drop anticipated in the next 7 years. As such, solar is becoming price competitive with conventional technologies like CCGTs. In fact many levelised costs of electricity calculations puts solar costs for large project at about 1.1% of CCGT (remarkable isn't it?). Intermittency: While we are seeing new developments in PVs able to operate both in the day and night, these are years away from commecialisation. What is remarkable is the fact that batteries have seen steady cost decline, up to 80% in the last decade.

It’s daunting to read all the project management steps that go within solar. The #1 objection we hear, is that Solar is too expensive. People haven’t been fully educated how here specifically in Illinois, solar has SREC incentives and you have choices from leasing solar at no cost upfront, financing with a loan, or straight cash if you have the reserves. Once we educate and make the customer feel at ease, we change their mindset. Now, you won’t get them all but that’s ok, you move on to the next house.

Proactively tackle common concerns, such as initial costs, reliability, or aesthetics. Provide data, success stories, and technological advancements to counter these objections. Transparency about potential challenges builds trust and credibility.

If we take the “visual” objections out then two common arguments I hear about large scale solar development would be the land take (loss of farmland) and the intermittent nature of solar generation. Most of my experience of solar is in Asia and Africa with very different concerns compared to here in the U.K. the land take can have significant resettlement and livelihood restoration impacts that need to be considered as early as possible so you can present solutions. Alternative land, continued grazing access to the site for example. The intermittent nature of solar we all understand and is costed for in CAPEX and OPEX. But it’s good to have answers ready. The message is to identify the negatives, be proactive and present solutions.

Muchas veces no se transmiten todos los beneficios asegurados que aporta una instalación fotovoltaica, y las ofertas se centran en los datos fáciles de retorno por energía directamente autoconsumida. Se omiten ventajas como los beneficios fiscales, la resiliencia ante la volatilidad de los precios de la energía o el aprovechamiento de excedentes, así como las diferentes ayudas y subvenciones que hay disponibles.

Encourage specific actions, whether it's exploring solar financing options, attending informational sessions, or requesting a solar assessment for their property. Make the next steps clear and accessible, motivating individuals to take concrete measures towards adopting solar energy.

There has been substantial efforts towards market awareness and education. What is fell will end up being the tipping point would be a clear call to action, along with a Simplified LOA.

Followups and keeping your prospect on the loop and informed is crucial in the sales process, as you are selling a complex technology that will be with the prospect for many years. Of fundamental importance is keeping the prospect comfortable with after sales service and interventions: if something happens, who do I call? How long will it take for someone to intervene?

La mayor facilidad para generar una llamada a la acción es el concepto de financiación o As a Service, que elimina la barrera de la inversión inicial asegurando que la instalación se va a pagar con parte de los ahorros generados. Este modelo de negocio es la principal solución para fomentar la decisión rápida de un usuario para pasar a ser prosumidor.

La capacidad de las entidades locales para promover la creación de comunidades energéticas en España es de un importante calado debido a sus competencias. Creo que uno de los grandes cambios que deben promoverse es implicar al sector público para que facilite el despliegue de proyectos de energías renovables. Recientemente, la UE ha aprobado el Reglamento 2057/2022 que permite considerar estas instalaciones como de "utilidad pública" para agilizar su inserción dentro de los instrumentos de planeamiento urbanístico.

Establish a system for continued engagement. Follow up with individuals who have shown interest, providing additional information, addressing any lingering questions, and offering support through the decision-making process. Consistent follow-up fosters trust and helps move potential adopters closer to a decision.

Para crear un ciclo de mejora continua y de confianza en la inversión realizada, es primordial realizar un seguimiento y monitorización continua del rendimiento de la instalación, así como del aprovechamiento directo de autoconsumo conseguido, para actualizar las estimaciones realizadas antes de la realización del proyecto y poder dar señales y consejos de variación en los hábitos de consumo, consiguiendo una mayor cuota de renovables ajustando la curva de carga, además de proponiendo actualizaciones de la instalación según los cambios del usuario en su demanda energética.

I think one of the first step is to educate and raise awareness among the younger generation, who are often open-minded and willing to act for the common good. As we saw with the pandemic, even the youngest members of society showed solidarity between the generations by helping to educate their predecessors about barrier measures. Why not adapt this movement with solar energy?

The first and foremost thing to do is to take action. Talking about #netzero #RE #solarpower and other things are one thing but actually doing it is the most important thing. To actively promote solar power or for that matter any renewable energy is to start from the grass root level, develop prototypes, involve local community and actually empower them to learn about the benefits of the same. Then only the general masses which is the wider audience will come to know of the benefits of it and start using. Another good thing is to start from schools which have the youngest and the smartest brains of the society. If for example solar panels are installed in school premises and then students are taught , it is going to make a huge difference.

Well, pronote renewable energies is always a challenge. We are use to receive inmediate results, so in a son competitive and exigent society what it are needed are facts, how: * show production forecastings made with solar calculations softwares. * show real examples, manufactures state of the art. * be clear, show pros and cons of this technology. * figures, show porential savings.

A question I hear time and time again is how will the community benefit. Cheaper power, job creation, community investment. I also find it can be counter productive having early engagement when you have nothing tangible to present. It’s also dangerous to raise expectations - for example hundreds of local jobs being created. You need to present an honest and realistic package of community benefits.

It occurs to me that a large number of scientific conferences are full of valuable information and expertise abourt solar energy, and we could think about extending access beyond the restricted circle of the scientific community. There would be a real interest in raising awareness and educating, engaging the public, pushing for collaborative innovation, and using video technology for accessibility. However, it would be necessary to maintain the quality of the scientific content or to create accessible cessions.