Skip to main content

How to Automate Your Solar Business to Win Back More Time

 


 

Automation has changed the solar industry for good. But is it for the better?

As a solar business owner actively closing jobs in 2020, you know there are some things on the backend you could probably be handling better—but who really has time to plan, execute and update their existing workflows?

For better or worse, automation does take time… at least, in the beginning. But there is good news, with the right systems in place, you can multiply the number of customers you serve, raise the quality of your services, and close jobs faster without hiring additional staff. 

And the best part? Setting up just one effective automation process today, will continue to help grow your business for years to come. 

But there is a catch: the solar industry can be a zero-sum game. If someone else grabs more customers with automation, someone else lands less.

That’s why it’s paramount to invest in workflows that are truly the best fit for your business—and it’s critical to do it now, before the competition catches on.

In this article, we’ll cover the main benefits of automating your solar business processes, as well as the specific workflows you can use to 10X your business.

What Is Solar Automation?

In a nutshell, solar automation allows you to run parts of your solar business on autopilot. Using the right combination of automated tools, workflows and software, you can help more customers in less time.

But the real power of automation is that it can be applied to many different aspects of your business. 

Are you struggling to consistently follow up on your customers? Set up automated email and SMS campaigns so that no new solar lead in your database is left unnurtured. 

Recipients not opening emails? Automated drip campaigns can boost your open rates by up to 80%

Is your team spending too much time on repetitive admin that doesn’t grow sales? Automate routine tasks and save up to 55% of the time employers spend on non-selling activities. 

And that’s just the beginning. Let’s take a closer look at some of the core benefits of automating your solar business, piece by piece.

Top 5 Benefits Of Solar Automation You’ll Actually Use

Benefit #1. Reduce Speed to Lead to Seconds

According to the Harvard Business Review, chances of qualifying a lead when responding within the first five minutes are 21 times higher than when responding within 30 minutes. Yet only 26% of companies manage to respond within 5 minutes. 

You can easily outpace the competition by setting up simple automated onboarding emails and texts to instantly greet every new lead as soon as they share their contact details. 

If you have a team, automation will also help you distribute incoming leads between them so that the team member that are the most qualified are aligned with the right prospects.

drip campaigns  Shape Solar CRM

Benefit #2. Consistently Nurture Your Leads

The money is in the follow up. In fact, some studies suggest that 80% of sales occur after at least five follow-ups with a prospect.

The good news is, almost every follow-up can be automated. For example, you can send highly-personalized email and text drips to your leads with a predefined cadence. This allows you to nurture relationships and build trust with customers, even before they decide to do business with you.

Automation helps you easily segment leads based on their solar needs, location, last action, or areas of interest so with the right system you can follow up with the best offer for a particular customer. 

email templates Shape Solar CRM

Benefit #3. Streamline Your Process

Manual processes and endless admin add up to wasted time and less revenue. With a CRM that leverages smart automation and powerful integrations, you can accomplish more in less time

Google Maps Integration

View properties in real time with Shape’s Google Maps integration. Search for a location, zoom in, and see the roof from an aerial view to ensure optimal placement - all from the comfort of your office.

Site Surveys

Make sure every property has been properly inspected to prevent any pitfalls. Our responsive mobile application means even out in the field you’ll have client data and can report back to the system at any time.

Construction Tracking

Doing construction in-house? Track the progress of the job site from design to installation. Referring the project out? Track your referrals and commissions. Shape does it all!

Checklists

Use Shape’s checklist feature to build to-do lists, from the sales process to PTO, to ensure streamlined compliance and a great client experience. 

Lead Intake Shape Solar CRM

Benefit #4. Increase Your Amount Of Referrals

Ramping up referrals is one of the most powerful lead generation tactics you can employ.

But when you’re focused on construction, site surveys, marketing, and other items, keeping in touch with past customers often becomes an afterthought.

And yet 60% of customer referrals happen within the first six months after the job is completed. 

Automated referral campaigns allow you to stay in touch with your past clients and increase your referrals, without lifting a finger. After a loan is closed, simply set up an automated series of post-loan emails designed to keep the client relationship strong and help you stay top of mind. 

Benefit #5. Easily Scale Your Solar Business

It’s pretty difficult to scale a solar business that has many manual workflows—and the last thing you want to do is scale your messy and chaotic systems. People make mistakes, and unfortunately, without the right system in place these mistakes will only multiply as your lead count grows. 

In other words, when there are cracks in your systems, you can expect at least some of your leads to slip through them.

reporting  Shape Solar CRM

On the flip side, when critical aspects of your business are automated, there’s really no limit to how many leads you can work with at the same time. 

Even if you decide to invest in new marketing channels or lead databases, you can rest easy knowing that smart automation has your back. If you want to turn your lead flow on full blast, you can easily and automatically qualify and nurture every lead.

The Power Of Smart Automation

The solar industry is changing fast.  These days, it’s all about the system and service. 

Clearly, the role of automation in separating the best from the rest will be crucial. And yes, automation does take time and effort upfront. But after you set your processes in place, it’s only a matter of making small adjustments that make a very big impact for your customers and your business as an expert people can trust.

Ready to see for yourself? Find out how an automated marketing and sales platform can remove the bottlenecks from your solar business pipeline and help you consistently generate more leads and revenue.

Article Source:- https://setshape.com/blog/how-to-automate-your-solar-business-to-win-back-more-time

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

5 Ways New Law Firms Can Benefit from a CRM

  Whether you’re venturing off from partners or fresh out of law school, every new law firm needs the same   two   tools to compete in today’s market:   the right software and the right processes .  For every bar complaint made by clients about lack of communication from their attorney, there is a firm creating a seamless and high-touch experience without doing any heavy lifting.  Which one would you rather be? Why Process Matters  Ever misplaced a client’s information in a pile of paperwork on your desk? Forgot to follow up after you sent out an intake form? These are everyday mistakes we all make as busy attorneys. The problem is that without proper data and workflow management (AKA “process”), we leave ourselves exposed to hiccups that can cause major disruptions to our business (AKA cash flow).  Process  is much more than how you think a new DUI client or probate case: it’s documenting and implementing it in a way that becomes easily repe...

Double Your Leads and Boost Closing Rates With Shape + leadPops

  In this new digital mortgage era, loan officers and mortgage teams are busier than ever before with new lead inquiries. Rates are low and more buyers are looking to purchase—this should be a   good   problem to have, but what happens when you don’t have a system in place that helps you keep up with demand and stay organized? Enter the   Shape CRM + leadPops seamless integration . With Shape + leadPops working in harmony, you can say goodbye to low-quality leads while  ensuring your teams have an end-to-end workflow in place that prevents any qualified lead from slipping through the cracks. Integration Benefits at a Glance Use leadPops to create dynamic and engaging lead funnels Automatically import high-quality leads directly into Shape CRM Use Shape’s relationship management tools to seamlessly nurture new leads Close more deals than ever before! Better leads. More deals. With the Shape + leadPops integration you can build engaging lead funnels that send pros...

Top Reasons to choose a CRM solution for Law Firms

CRM (customer relationship management) is best tool for managing business development, marketing, accounting and building relationships with the customers. When people are using CRM for law firms , the CRM will help in maintaining a better relationship with the customers, increase engagement, and create and send documents for signing automatically. CRM software is the best and safest place to store customer contacts and other personal information. Lawyers and law firms can easily save their customer information and other operational functions in one easily accessible, digital place. It is more important to choose a CRM that is perfect for your law firm. Sometimes people think CRM software is only for largest firms, but it is not true. Every law firms can use this software whatever the firm’s size is. Before choosing a CRM Software Company, you need to check their reputation and check past client’s reviews. These things will help you to choose the perfect company. Here are top fi...