By Tom Pollock, President & CEO of Trinity Solar (one of the Solar Power World Top 250 Contractors)
When my brother and I founded Trinity Heating & Air in 1994, we could have never foreseen how much our business would change from one little postcard. The New Jersey Clean Energy Program mailed us an invitation to participate and sell photovoltaic solar. We decided to accept the challenge.
In 2004 we began our solar division, and by 2007 we were ready to fully rebrand as Trinity Solar. Since then, we’ve expanded our footprint from North Carolina up to Rhode Island, and grown our portfolio to include more than 5,000 installations and 72 MW of solar capacity.
Such growth would not have been possible without an effective marketing strategy to communicate the benefits of going solar. When first interacting with a potential client, we work to establish trust. We want our customers to feel confident knowing that we have the experience and knowledge to customize solar solutions for any property and budget. We are a relationship-driven company, especially considering a substantial part of our business has always been generated through customer referrals. When a client is evaluating solar for their business, they need to know their solar provider will be there for them in the long run. In business since 1994, and in the solar industry since 2004, Trinity has that proven tenure.
It is crucial to educate business owners regarding their financing options. A business decisionmaker may have heard about Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), but there could be other solar purchase methods that would prove more beneficial. Trinity also offers leases, which require zero capital outlays and provide predictable and positive cash flows and buy-out options. We also work with our clients to secure business loans should they be able to take advantage of tax incentives for commercial solar. All these options have variations that we implement to maximize each business’s solar experience.
We use only quality Tier 1 equipment suppliers with long-term warranties. We recognize it’s important to our clients that their system maximizes its potential and produces the highest possible returns, and that the manufacturers and solar integrator will be in business throughout the system’s decades-long lifetime to provide any support needed.
We also provide ancillary services, such as incentive management, installation of back-up energy sources, energy-use studies and energy-efficiency upgrades. Helping our clients with these energy services also enhances the performance potential of their solar electric system.
Nobody likes to pay an electric bill — they’re tough. We have an alternative to paying those high utility bills — and by marketing our solar programs, we are helping business owners see that there is a better way to get their electricity. SPW
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