By Scott Ankley, Director of Partner Development at Velocify
With the extension of the Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), 2016 installations are expected to slow down as homeowners no longer feel the pressure of the previous deadline of December 31.
This doesn’t mean your solar sales need to cool down. Now is the time to leave no stone unturned in order to drive new installations and increase revenue. Here are six best practices for conducting outreach to a solar prospect:
- Call within 60 seconds: Speed to call is the single largest driver of lead conversion. On average, 64% of buyers believe the first to call has an advantage.
- Email within 20 minutes: Sending your first email 20 minutes after getting the lead avoids appearing automated and impersonal. As it happens, some prospects don’t want to talk at this stage, so an email gives them a different way to engage.
- Call again and leave a voicemail within 30-60 minutes: Leave a message on the second call attempt to increase the likelihood of conversion by 31%.
- Make a third call within 1-2 hours: 53% of leads never get more than one call. By making a third call, it increases the number of converted leads by 67%.
- Make a fourth call within 5 days: To increase the likelihood of conversion by 73%, leave a second voicemail on your fourth call attempt.
- Persist but don’t annoy: At some point, following up incessantly will ultimately backfire. More than six calls and and five emails results in wasted resources and potential brand erosion.
By using these follow-up methods, you can ensure you are using the best possible process to know your prospects are being treated well and ultimately converting. There tends to be confusion about the right time to follow up and which channel produces the best results. By outlining these best practices, we hope to eliminate this confusion, so that instead of spending time thinking about when to follow up, you’re busy closing deals.
As it turns out, the early bird really does get the worm, as long as it doesn’t annoy. If you’re looking for more best practices for solar sales, check out a free copy of Velocify’s study The Evolution of Solar Sales: Solar Sales Best Practices for Stellar Results.
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