There's an old slogan from the days of the old phone books to "Let Your Fingers Do the Walking". It just meant - that it was easier to call than it was to walk somewhere. It was more time-efficient as well. The phone book is one thing - and the Internet is quite something else - with so much more power than an old paper copy of phone numbers. One of the best ways to get solar leads is to knock doors... Why? One reason is, it is easy to get to a whole bunch of potential leads in a short period of time. It just takes a minute or two to check a door - and only a couple of minutes more if someone answers and you can personalize the encounter using their own information. So in the span of an hour or so, you can reach a dozen or more households. So, what if I could show you a way - that you could talk to the same people whose doors you would have knocked - without ever leaving your home? I can teach you to create a set of leads that is geographically-centered, with which you already have a connection, so they'll open up that proverbial door to you and to solar. That is what this book is about - teaching you to get your numbers up using free Internet tools with a set of leads that is statistically known to close at a higher percentage than door-knocked or canvassed leads. Using these free Internet tools in a strategic combination allows you to just let your fingers do the walking through a neighborhood - quickly and efficiently. Sound good? This is written for solar sales consultants. If you sell residential solar and are responsible in any way, shape or form for your own leads, this book is for you! This information will expand your reach as far as you want to reach. It will turn one lead into 6 if you follow the 6-pack method. It will jump start your referrals and make great ambassadors out of your customers. If you give someone a fish - you feed them for a day - if you teach them how to fish, you feed them for a lifetime. I hope - in my way - this is teaching you how to fish in an amazingly large ocean that has plenty of fish to choose from and we all make great livings while we help more people "Go Green" by installing solar. This book assumes you have a basic knowledge of solar sales and basic computer talent. I'm not setting out here to teach you how to do solar sales, instead I'm hoping that getting you more qualified referral leads, you'll be able to increase your solar sales success rate. So basic solar sales knowledge is assumed. Technically, I expect that you know how to type in a URL to go to a website, and to know how to use your cell phone for texting and phone calls. If we're good on those skills - then you're ready! Supercharge Your Solar Sales Table of Contents Introduction Who this book is for Who this book is NOT for About EJThornton Warning Don't Buy Leads Referrals are the best - or are they? Start with an Anchor Address Get the 6-Pack Is it a Good House for Solar How Long Have These Neighbors Lived in that house? Who Lives There Now How Do You Find the Decision Makers? How Do You Handle a Rental Property? The "Do Not Call"List What Else Can You Tell? Leave your anchor address' customer with a link they can post on social media Keep in Touch with Milestone Metrics Other ideas to help you Find 'Hot ' Addresses Equations and Calculators Other Services Resources

The challenges facing today's sales executives and their organizations continue to grow, but so do the expectations that they will find ways to overcome them and drive consistent sales growth. There are no simple solutions to this situation, but in this thoroughly updated Second Edition of Sales Growth, experts from McKinsey & Company build on their practical blueprint for achieving this goal and explore what world-class sales executives are doing right now to find growth and capture it—as well as how they are creating the capabilities to keep growing in the future. Based on discussions with more than 200 of today's most successful global sales leaders from a wide array of organizations and industries, Sales Growth puts the experiences of these professionals in perspective and offers real-life examples of how they've overcome the challenges encountered in the quest for growth. The book, broken down into five overarching strategies for successful sales growth, shares valuable lessons on everything from how to beat the competition by looking forward, to turning deep insights into simple messages for the front line. Page by page, you'll learn how sales executives are digging deeper than ever to find untapped growth, maximizing emerging markets opportunities, and powering growth through digital sales. You'll also discover what it takes to find big growth in big data, develop the right "sales DNA" in your organization, and improve channel performance. Three new chapters look at why presales deserve more attention, how to get the most out of marketing, and how technology and outsourcing could entirely reshape the sales function. Twenty new standalone interviews have been added to those from the first edition, so there are now in-depth insights from sales leaders at Adidas, Alcoa, Allianz, American Express, BMW, Cargill, Caterpillar, Cisco, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Deutsche Bank, EMC, Essent, Google, Grainger, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intesa Sanpaolo, Itaú Unibanco, Lattice Engines, Mars, Merck, Nissan, P&G, Pioneer Hi-Bred, Salesforce, Samsung, Schneider Electric, Siemens, SWIFT, UPS, VimpelCom, Vodafone, and Würth. Their stories, as well as numerous case studies, touch on some of the most essential elements of sales, from adapting channels to meet changing customer needs to optimizing sales operations and technology, developing sales talent and capabilities, and effectively leading the way to sales growth. Engaging and informative, this timely book details proven approaches to tangible top-line growth and an improved bottom line. Created specifically for sales executives, it will put you in a better position to drive sales growth in today's competitive market.

The solar industry is expanding at rapid pace - almost fifty percent annually since the year 2000, and with this growth has come tremendous opportunity for those who are prepared to take advantage of it. While basic selling skills like prospecting, making good presentations, and closing techniques are foundational in any selling environment, the solar industry demands a unique set of competencies and abilities if you want to become a top performer. Having spent thousands of hours working for solar companies of various sizes, this book shares the lessons and best practices author, Daniel Howson, has gained as a door-to-door lead generator, a sales consultant, a supervisor, a leader, a manager, and a pioneer for solar power in a number of markets around the country. Discover: - Why selecting the right company to work for is critical to your success - What consumers are really looking for when they choose solar - How to build trust and credibility quickly and reliably - The secrets for delivering compelling solar presentations - How to deliver the benefits of solar to clients This book is not simply a "how to" book, although you will learn the tools and methods you need to sell solar effectively. Just as importantly it is a complete guide to developing the skills, knowledge, and mindset that are critically important to leading a successful career in solar. The solar industry is changing the world and by reading this book you can become a big part of it, building the sales skills to be a top performer, deepening your knowledge, and preparing for a future powered by the sun.

"In the rapidly changing PV industry, The Solar Sales Leap is a must-read for anyone involved in the task of marketing solar power to residential homeowners. Curren summarizes here what many PV installers are failing to recognize when trying to capture the attention of a qualified residential solar power prospect."-- Joe Sadonis, Solar Consultant, Paradise Clean Energy The Solar Sales Leap will help anyone who works in marketing, sales, or management at a residential or commercial solar contractor to sell more solar with the powerful new tools of online outreach. These days, even while solar panels are getting cheaper and cheaper, the cost of acquiring a new solar customer remains high - around $3,000 on average for a residential installation, according to GTM Research. This raises the price of installations and cuts into the profit of solar installers. If solar sales and marketing was effective it would be cheaper and easier to get a new solar customer. But traditional tactics, most of which have been used for decades, from door-knocking to cold calling to direct mail, don't work well anymore. In some cases, by destroying consumer trust, outdated outreach can backfire for solar sales. Why? Blame it on the Internet. No Patience for Cold Calls and Door-to-Door Sales Suffering from an overload of information through phones and computers, not to mention cable TV and satellite radio, the average American consumer today gets thousands of marketing messages a day. That's why more and more people are blocking ads on their computers and on their phones. Busy consumers have even less patience for solar telemarketers or door knockers than they do for ads. That's why today, people are not just blocking the ads. Potential solar buyers are also hanging up on the cold callers, slamming the door on the canvassers, and tossing out the direct mail unread. And that means lost sales for solar installers. Pushy marketing tactics create distrust for the solar industry. And that distrust is fanned by monopoly electric utilities who use stories of solar scams spread around the news media and online to throw mud on the rooftop solar industry. As scare stories spread they'll create distrust and make homeowners and commercial property owners think twice about working directly with solar installers. The Solar Sales Leap is a practical guide to help solar installers survive and thrive in today's market by using the power of the Internet to build trust with homeowners and commercial property owners. The book is also a manifesto calling for the industry to remove the biggest roadblock to solar's growth by bringing the industry's marketing out of the 1970s into the 21st century. Different than Other Books on Solar Marketing and Sales While there have been books published previously on solar sales and marketing, The Solar Sales Leap is the first book to introduce Internet marketing to solar companies. It's a detailed guide to help solar installers make the transition online with concrete advice to create content they can use to establish themselves as trusted advisors rather than sales bullies. The book covers such topics as: How all marketing today has become Internet marketing Why going online is much more than getting a Facebook page or putting up a website - it's a change of mindset The secrets to building a website that will generate solar leads online Why solar installers need to distinguish themselves from competitors in order to make sales Blogging as the secret weapon to build a successful solar brand

Popular Mechanics inspires, instructs and influences readers to help them master the modern world. Whether it’s practical DIY home-improvement tips, gadgets and digital technology, information on the newest cars or the latest breakthroughs in science -- PM is the ultimate guide to our high-tech lifestyle.

Good luck isn’t just chance—it can be learned and leveraged—and The Serendipity Mindset explains how you can use serendipity to make life better at work, at home—everywhere. Many of us believe that the great turning points and opportunities in our lives happen by chance, that they’re out of our control. Often we think that successful people—and successful companies and organizations—are simply luckier than the rest of us. Good fortune—serendipity—just seems to happen to them. Is that true? Or are some people better at creating the conditions for coincidences to arise and taking advantage of them when they do? How can we connect the dots of seemingly random events to improve our lives? In The Serendipity Mindset, Christian Busch explains that serendipity isn’t about luck in the sense of simple randomness. It’s about seeing links that others don’t, combining these observations in unexpected and strategic ways, and learning how to detect the moments when apparently random or unconnected ideas merge to form new opportunities. Busch explores serendipity from a rational and scientific perspective and argues that there are identifiable approaches we can use to foster the conditions to let serendipity grow. Drawing from biology, chemistry, management, and information systems, and using examples of people from all walks of life, Busch illustrates how serendipity works and explains how we can train our own serendipity muscle and use it to turn the unexpected into opportunity. Once we understand serendipity, Busch says, we become curators of it, and luck becomes something that no longer just happens to us—it becomes a force that we can grasp, shape, and hone. Full of exciting ideas and strategies, The Serendipity Mindset offers a clear blueprint for how we can cultivate serendipity to increase innovation, influence, and opportunity in every aspect of our lives.

Popular Mechanics inspires, instructs and influences readers to help them master the modern world. Whether it’s practical DIY home-improvement tips, gadgets and digital technology, information on the newest cars or the latest breakthroughs in science -- PM is the ultimate guide to our high-tech lifestyle.