No matter how hot your industry is, B2B lead generation is a must if you want to ensure consistent, quality leads for your business. Take the solar industry, for example—it’s rapidly growing despite the pandemic, and large deals can bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue.
However, closing huge solar deals is easier said than done. The solar industry is incredibly competitive, and without an organized sales strategy, it’s almost impossible to get ahead of the dozen other solar companies fighting for work in your area. That’s why solar B2B appointment setting is so crucial—it reels in leads at the right time and brings in consistent opportunities.
One Midwest-based solar partner learned just how much of a difference B2B appointment setting can make within mere months of becoming an Abstrakt partner. Discover how we used strategic outbound sales strategies to bring in four leads that could completely change our client’s business trajectory in 2021.
Reaching Rapid Solar Lead Generation Success
The B2B lead generation game is unpredictable. Sometimes, our first appointment turns into a sale; other times, it takes a year for our clients to finally clinch a deal. In the solar lead generation world, it typically takes 57 days and over 9 calls to set an appointment with a key decision-maker. It took less than 57 days for our new solar client to set multiple appointments and bring four of those into the proposal stage.
How did we reach solar lead generation success in less than two months? We used our tried and true strategic B2B appointment setting approach.
First Month: Identify Target Solar Leads, Then Cleanse
Our solar client started their Abstrakt partnership on March 1, 2021. Their yearly sales revenue was around $1 million, and they needed help reaching their target of $1.5 million. Specifically, they wanted to attract mid-sized companies, school districts, and churches with over 5,000 square feet and at least 15 employees. With these specifications and a list of seven counties to target, we got to work searching for leads.
During our lead identification and cleansing process, we searched for the following information:
- Did the lead fit our client’s target criteria? If a lead was well outside our client’s target geographic area and didn’t fit their target company size, we removed them from our list.
- Who was the key decision-maker? Until we find the key decision-maker (KDM) at a target company, our efforts are futile. Only the KDM has the authority to make major deals on behalf of their company. In solar lead generation, the KDM is typically a facilities manager, building manager, or company executive.
- Did we have the correct contact information? At Abstrakt, we use different data sources to find company information. Not all data is accurate, which is why we double checked to see if the email addresses and phone numbers on file were correct.
- Was our company data accurate? Just as company email addresses and phone numbers can be inaccurate, company data can be as well. A company that we thought had well over 5,000 square feet of building space might actually have significantly less.
Lead cleansing allowed us to decide if a potential client was a qualified lead—someone worth chasing. Once we had a list of qualified leads, the appointment setting calls began.
Going Live on April 1, 2021
Our go-live date is when we start calling prospective leads in hopes of setting an appointment. In many cases, we spend our entire first month nurturing leads and the next few months convincing those leads to set an appointment. Prospective clients typically aren’t ready to commit to a meeting until we can demonstrate that our client is the right person to solve their issues, especially when almost half a million dollars are on the line.
In this case, it seemed like our leads had been sitting by the phone waiting for us to call. Sales development representatives (SDRs) got to work nurturing qualified leads on April 1, and within a week, we had 2 appointments set. Our SDRs used their deep knowledge of our client to identify critical opportunities and explain how our clients could provide a cost-effective, high-quality solution to a lead’s problem. Because we took the time to cleanse and qualify our leads, we reached the KDMs immediately and used our exceptional sales skills to move them through the pipeline at lightning speed.
Appointment setting was just step one of the sales process. Abstrakt put in the hours to find, cleanse, qualify, nurture, and reel in leads before passing the torch to our client. The next steps were:
- Pitching a product or service: We used our expertise to set appointments, but we didn’t run them. Instead, our client held a virtual meeting with each lead and pitched their services. When the lead liked what they saw, they moved down the pipeline into the proposal phase. For our appointment setting strategy to be effective, our client had to hone their pitching skills and get to know every lead.
- Presenting a proposal: Proposals are an in-depth explanation of the exact products or services a client can offer a lead. During the proposal presentation, our client outlined their pricing, schedule, action plan, and services.
Our client’s first two appointments quickly progressed to the proposal phase, with two more to follow by mid-May.
May 2021: 4 Proposals and Counting
By late May, our client had met with multiple prospects and presented four proposals:
- Proposal 1: A $400,000 deal for solar panels on a church over 40,000 square feet.
- Proposal 2: A $400,000 complete solar overhaul deal for a college with multiple buildings totaling over 200,000 square feet.
- Proposal 3: A $300,000 deal for ground and roof-mounted solar panels on a church with nearly 40,000 square feet.
- Proposal 4: A $740,000 deal for a waste management facility, plus the potential to overhaul solar at multiple additional facilities in the future.
- Total potential revenue: $1,800,000+
According to our client, two of the proposals are extremely likely to turn into closed deals in the immediate future, and the other two are likely to close down the road. If all four deals close, our client will far exceed their yearly sales goal after a few short months of being an Abstrakt outbound partner.
The Key to Solar Success: Superior Lead Qualification and Effective Sales Pitches
It’s not easy to implement a successful B2B lead generation program. Our solar partner’s quick success wasn’t a result of luck—it came down to strategic lead qualification, quality pitches, and teamwork. We went above and beyond to qualify the perfect leads for our client, and our client followed our best practices when preparing for and conducting a sales pitch. Because of our cohesive sales strategy, we were able to move four leads into the proposal phase before even reaching the 60-day mark of our partnership.
Chasing solar leads is hard work, and starting an in-house solar B2B lead generation program requires more time and money than most business owners have. Outsourcing your outbound sales strategy is an excellent way to bring in leads without breaking the bank. When our solar client closes their first major deal, it will pay for their program for years to come.
Don’t wait for leads to come to you—catch them at the right time by becoming an Abstrakt outbound sales partner. With over a decade of experience setting appointments for solar clients and a proven sales strategy, we can completely transform your business and majorly boost revenue. On top of B2B appointment setting, we offer a full range of marketing services, including marketing collateral, website development, SEO, social media management, and video production.
Ready to grow your solar business? Contact us today to learn how our sales and marketing services can generate leads and turn them into revenue.
