What do the integrators that sell the most do differently compared to the others?

With the collaboration of Mateus Badra

O first half of 2023 was especially challenger in practically all areas of activity in the Brazilian economy. And, in solar energy industry, the situation was no different. 

The insecurity for change of government, high interest rates and difficulty in obtaining credit with banks and other institutions were just some of the bottlenecks that caused many companies to accumulate losses in this year. 

Yet, for significant portion of integrators, the task of winning customers and leveraging sales was much less complicated than for the vast majority of other entrepreneurs.

A justification for this lies in the fact that these companies, in particular, apply sales techniques and concepts updated and very well defined, as explained Roberto CaurimCEO of Bluesun, during the second edition of the Canal Connect.  

The executive shared a study created by Bluesun with data on 320 integrators that sell the most photovoltaic kits in the Brazilian market, showing what do they do differently compared to those that sell less. 

The research identified that 73,2 % of the most successful entrepreneurs on the market follow the same pattern on how to work on a sale, from approach to closing a negotiation. 

According to Caurim, almost all of these companies have a very well defined profile of who your customers are, know the importance of having a service of after sales Of Quality and execute strong connections with your customers, based on common experiences and active listening. 

“Many people think that a good sales professional in the photovoltaic solar energy sector He's someone who speaks well and knows how to communicate, but it's not like that. Many companies lose sales because they don't know how to approach and close a sale with their customers,” he said.

Pre-sales

According to Caurim, a well-trained pre-sales professional will know how to contact customers and identify, in an initial conversation, all the customer's characteristics: whether he has money to pay for a photovoltaic system, whether he has a dirty name in court, what is his real interest in purchasing a generator kit, among other issues. 

"Just in this first conversation, this consultant will already identify whether or not it is worth insisting on the sale. This prevents the installation company from wasting time arranging a visit to a client’s home that is not interesting to them”, he commented. 

Making a quality sale

After identifying that the consumer has a suitable profile, successful companies demonstrate concern for the customer's needs. To better illustrate this, Caurim hypothetically cited two companies working with the same client. 

The first of them simply asked the customer to send him a copy of his electricity bill so that he could send a quote for the photovoltaic system later. 

The second company sent a polite and well-dressed consultant to the client's home. Upon arriving there, at the appointed time, he explained and answered all the consumer's doubts about his system, always showing concern for their pain. 

“If he gets there and finds that there are many small children, for example, he will recommend the installation of microinverters in the customer's home and will explain that this decision is the best option for safety reasons”, he explained. 

With this simple gesture, Caurim stated that the professional shows his client that he knows what he is doing and that, above all, he is concerned with delivering the product that best suits his needs. “The customer will close with this company, even if it has a more expensive price than the competition”, he guaranteed. 

Energy cost

Bluesun's CEO also highlighted during the event that many integrators could lose good business due to a lack of using more assertive and current sales techniques, such as the cost of energy (LCOE) instead of just using the payback.

According to him, the payback is still important and should not be discarded when convincing a customer, especially at this time when the prices of photovoltaic kits are very low and the payback is increasingly smaller, according to studies by Greener.  

However, he said that the cost of energy brings a powerful sense of urgency to the customer, one of the pillars of a sale, along with desire and need. “Believe me! This will make all the difference in closing a good sale”, pointed out the executive.

Basically, the energy cost is the cost of the photovoltaic kit already installed, added to maintenance expenses (such as cleaning the modules) and divided by how much energy the consumer will generate in 25 years, the estimated useful life of a photovoltaic system. 

According to Caurim, this number in R$/kWh provides a surprising result. “You show your client how much money he is losing per month in front of him. Take a piece of paper and do the math in front of him. Every time he looks at his electricity bill, he will remember how much he is losing by not having a photovoltaic system in his house,” he said.

Sales of plants above 1 MW

In addition to bringing sales content for solar energy systems for smaller power plants, the first of the two days of the Canal Conecta also featured a lecture given by Neto Tosato, CEO of Projesol, who commented on the commercial process for sales of plants above 1 MW.

According to him, contrary to what many people think, the approach to this type of system is much more technical, with much more process. “The first thing you need to have is technical knowledge. The second is to really have a well-designed commercial process. As? Identifying which information points you need to align with your client. Defining the scope is paramount to defining this,” he pointed out.

“After the scope, budget, project, the layout initial basics, the proposal, if you go through all of this you have to have the knowledge to execute a plant like this”, highlighted the engineer.

In Tosato's view, it is necessary to invest in training and create a commercial process. “Without it, it is very difficult to sell, unlike a residential plant, for example, in which you can prospect anywhere and close a sale.”

'Seller be a consultant'

According to Tosato, in larger plants, of 1 MW, this is a complete reality, as “we are there to find a solution together with the customer, which meets their needs”.

“In a 1 MW project, the process speaks louder, it is much more formal. Then comes the subject of technical training. You need to be empowered. Sometimes the company doesn't have a success story. My company started from scratch, with four signs, so it’s a gradual business”, he said.

Still according to the CEO of Projesol, if the integrator does not have a case to be able to enter into a negotiation for a project like this, it is essential to form partnerships with those who do, “since it is important to be grounded to be able to participate in a bidding process. ”.

“So, within a contraction, there is this entire process of defining scope, budget, construction management techniques, everything that involves large plants”, he concluded.