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Solar Sales Uncensored
Solar Sales Uncensored
Journey from Juice Hut to Solar Dominance: Steve Reynolds' Path
Dive deep into an electrifying saga that unfolds in the picturesque landscapes of Hawaii, right at a juice hut. With the zest of a pedal-powered smoothie bike, Steve Reynolds didn't just quench thirsts but ignited an insatiable passion for solar energy. Hailing from the construction world, Steve harnessed the sun's power, crafting a legacy that today stands tall in the renewable energy sphere. If you've ever wondered about the journey of a man who's shaken the solar industry from the shores of Hawaii to the bustling cities of the East Coast, then this episode is your golden ticket.
Together, we embark on a whirlwind journey that sees the unstoppable rise and potential of solar energy, tracing the game-changing moments that have driven its explosive growth and boundless accessibility. Witness firsthand the global shift as nations like Australia, Germany, and China rise as solar champions, changing the narrative and future of energy consumption.
In a world that's rapidly moving digital, Steve illuminates the power of virtual solar sales and the crucial role of ethics in sealing the deal. With his masterful tales, he underscores the monumental influence of storytelling in revolutionizing solar marketing and advertising. And while strategies are vital, it's Steve's unyielding passion that truly shines through - a fervor so infectious, it'll ignite your solar spirit.
Envision a world bathed in the warm, sustainable embrace of solar energy. Marvel at the profound environmental impacts and the brighter, greener tomorrows it promises. So, if you're ready to unearth Steve's secrets, dive deep into the future of solar, and harness the power of relentless drive, this episode is your blueprint. Prepare to be energized, inspired, and awakened to the boundless opportunities solar energy offers. Plug in, power up, and let Steve Reynolds guide you through the sunlit corridors of solar supremacy.
Hello, hello, welcome to another episode of Solar Sales, uncensored. I am your host, aaron Browning, and I'm so excited for today's conversation with the one and only Steve Reynolds. I know I say it a lot A lot of these guests that we're bringing to you are the best of the best, the brightest minds in solar, and so many of them are months in the working or in the making, rather to get them their schedules lined up with ours and vice versa, and this is one of those Steve and I constantly are talking, communicating, trying to get the stars to align, and we have done it today. I just said, the privilege of meeting Steve flesh to flesh. We've been. We've been Zoom partners, we've been online partners, but we just got back from a national solar convention where we both actually shared stage time.
Speaker 1:Steve sold the show. He absolutely killed. It got glowing reviews. He for those of you that don't know, I'm going to have to share his background in a second. He was one of the pivotal leaders in solar for Hawaii. He really helped them take the adoption rate to almost 30%, which is mind blowing. I'm going to steal his language he calls it the postcard for solar, but he's now transitioned over to the East coast, primarily in the New Jersey, pennsylvania, connecticut markets, because he's ready for the next wave. He's already done it once. I say it all the time. He knows how this movie ends. So without further ado, steve, how the heck are you my friend?
Speaker 2:Oh, another sunny day in paradise. Thanks for the glowing review. Aloha Mahalo, Stoked to be here, Glad we could finally connect in real person, in real life, in person. It's also being able to be virtual and digital and have freedom of location and time, but it is super amazing to get actually. There's so many people haven't actually met in person, so it's great to actually connect, press the flesh and vibe and feel people's energy and get pumped up for for the next season, that quarter next year.
Speaker 1:I love that man. It's a really good point. I didn't realize how much I needed that convention. I really didn't, not even so much for the nuggets and everything else that goes along with it. It's what you just said. It's giving someone a hug, it's heart to heart, it's shaking hands, putting names to people and everything else. It did feel different, though. I felt like we were already so connected from all of our virtual stuff. But it was powerful man. It really was. I totally agree.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it is we're going to use know a bunch about people and then you meet them in real life. I don't know if it takes some of the magic away or whatever, but it's like Tony Robbins conference. It's all stuff. You can read the book, you can listen to the podcast, but there's something about going there drinking the Kool-Aid Grant Cardone he says don't just drink the Kool-Aid, swim in it. So it's cheesy, it's stuff you already know. Like my girlfriend or, I guess, fiance now I wake up every day and try to listen to Tony Robbins or something to get you pumped up, instead of social media or the news or whatever. And she's dude. I could be your motivational guru. Make your freaking bed. Go do some pushups like quit BS in yourself. But there's something about drinking that Kool-Aid and getting that energy and it's like a shot in the arm where it'll get you infused for maybe three to six months until the next in person event and then take it back and do that work yourself.
Speaker 1:So Wilson, so Wilson. By the way, I say it all the time and it's one of the harder lessons I have to learn. It's very hard to be a profit in your own hometown, so you might have to let your fiance know that, although she knows what to do, sometimes it takes an external source. Man, my wife reminds me of that. All too often. She will come back from an event. I've been telling you that for years. By the way, full disclosure is not a good job. That's not how she talks. That's my rendition of it. So I don't get in trouble. Steve, if you don't mind me, I want to jump right in. We got a lot of content to cover. Our audience is going to be ecstatic for what they're about to get. It's going to be another masterclass. Can you give people a quick 60 second kind of background of how you got started in Hawaii, what that looked like?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I'm originally from the East Coast went out to Hawaii 2008, 2009, was doing construction out there. I grew up doing construction kind of old school blue collar roots, and I was out there and I put together. We had, like this, a little food truck called the aloha juice hut. I was like chopping coconuts with a machete. We were making smoothies. I had somebody build a little pedal power smoothie bike we saw on on Shark Tank and had a little solar panel that I would use for the radio and charging my cell phone and finally got a corner office with a view right, sitting right by the beach, little Halley boy out there in the islands, and I loved it and I think I made pretty good smoothies. But more people were interested in the pedal powered bike and plug in their phone into the solar panel and, like you said, I saw it like a light went off. It's like Hawaii is a postcard of the future, maybe five to 10 years ahead of everyone. And so I got started there and I was generating leads from the juice hut go to lots of events first Fridays art things, music festivals and then there was some guy local mom and pop or more like two trucks in a truck paid us 10 bucks an hour to go knock on doors and I quickly said nothing against our door knockers. That's a solid hustle. But if I'm going to knock doors, I want to knock on the biggest doors on the island. So I started reaching out to all the resorts, the, the Costco's, the Whole Foods, and started jumping into commercial as well as residential. So that's how I got started. And then I came back to the East Coast for Christmas really for the holidays planning on it being two weeks and I talked to my granddad who's the OG of sales and I think he made it to seventh or eighth grade and got kicked out of school and he went door to door selling home improvements in like the forties and he worked his way up to become a VP of sales and he's just like my guru and mentor and he's listen. If that hippie bullshit happened in Hawaii excuse my French maybe it's a one off. If it happens in California, whatever. But if the top people doing solar are Walmart and Wall Street and Fortune 500, america and the US military, it's only a matter of time before this thing pops off around the world and on the East Coast and most of the people are in Boston to DC. That's where a lot of the big money was, and you got to remember 10, 15 years ago, I guess it was 2009,.
Speaker 2:Whatever year we're in now, solar in the last decade has literally gone down 90% for the cost of the equipment. So, like all technology, it started out super expensive. So really only your rich hippies and early adopters could afford it, like NASA and a rich hippie with a beach house in Hawaii, just like when flat screen TVs first came out or cell phones or any technology really the early adopters, the guy camped out for the new iPhone or new Tesla. In this last decade the price has plummeted. The incentives have gotten even better.
Speaker 2:Electricity used to be relatively cheap. The reason it popped off in Hawaii is they were paying 40 cents a kilowatt a decade ago. So now that's starting to happen and so now it's only a matter of time and it's happening now, right? So we've had a 90% decline in the equipment and feel free to chime in anytime because I go in on my soapbox and go off and tell you my life story but basically the equipment has gotten exponentially cheaper. So the rate of adoption has grown exponential, right, and the human mind we think linear right One, two, three, four. Exponential is one, two, four, eight, like it doubles. So that's starting to finally pop off, to go from early adopters to early mainstream, and every single technology and good idea in history has done this. It's purely economics, like solar is just math.
Speaker 1:I think one of the guys go ahead Real quick because we have two audiences we have the traditional podcast and then obviously, we stream it to YouTube as well, hopefully for those on the YouTube and I'll say it for those that can't see it visually he did that hockey stick curve and that's what I'm looking for every time I evaluate opportunities and companies and growth, and that's exactly what he just did. The other thing I want to dissect is what he just said. It's really important. I view Hawaii. Let me back up.
Speaker 1:I have always said and I say it probably every episode Steve, success leaves clues. You want to be successful. You just got to look around. You got to find the people that are doing it. And what I love about what he just said Hawaii for me is like the four minute mile. It showed what's possible. It showed what's possible. So I want to know and this is uncensored, so you can yell at me later why did you choose Connecticut? Like, why are you on the East Coast? What was important about those three states New Jersey, pennsylvania, connecticut to you for the next wave of growth?
Speaker 2:Great question. I love how you brought up the four minute mile, and I think that was the Tony Robbins quote about. Success leaves clues right, Like all this stuff, and I'm gonna get my bookshelf right. Everything I'm saying I didn't come up with any of it, it's just you find the people that are successful and what they're doing shamelessly copy and try to replicate it and scale it.
Speaker 1:And it was-. This original work is undetected plagiarism.
Speaker 2:Say that again.
Speaker 1:Original work is undetected plagiarism. That's all it is. I got a bookshelf behind me too. It's available information. Just go freaking, take it.
Speaker 2:There's nothing new under the sun. Same as solar is a hundred year old technology. It was first discovered in the 1830s. But again, like my fiance says, like I could distill that whole book down to you and a lot of it's a mindset shift. The four minute mile was a mindset shift. Mindset shift, the same as virtual sales, and we'll touch on that later. It's impossible, no one's gonna buy, no one's gonna do that. When I saw like a 20 year old hipster kid sell a hundred thousand dollar Tesla in a mall, my mind was blown. I'm like whoa, I'm never going in someone's home again. Like we have these cell phones we carry around everywhere, right, everyone does everything that way. So it's a mindset of once you see it's possible, then it becomes inevitable. And the thing about that hockey stick curve like I got into solar as the hippie tree hugger, even though on a four on video I cut my hair, my dreadlocks and all that kind of stuff A big reason why I went out to Hawaii.
Speaker 2:But it's purely economics. Solar is just math. I think it was JC Rangel or one of the Brunassos that said solar is like an IQ test. If you don't get the numbers are so straightforward If you don't get the numbers, either I did something wrong or the homeowner is unreachable. But it's. Once you see those numbers of exponential growth, it's unstoppable. So that's short story long.
Speaker 2:Why came back to the East coast? Right, because Hawaii is that postcard of five or 10 years into the future. It went from less than 1% adoption when I left it was 10 or 15. The utility started fighting back against that metering. Then we had to introduce batteries, which is now happening in Cali.
Speaker 2:You look at Australia, they're, in some places, 60% solar. You look at China. You look at Germany, germany's North of Maine on a map, they produce twice the solar as the entire US combined. And that's some of the history. That why we're doing all this right Like the energy vibe that happened in Germany. A lot of guys I can geek out on the history. It's not really important in terms of sales and mindset and scaling up business, but I think it's important for solar pros and not bros to know the history of what we're doing. Right Like this technology is not new.
Speaker 2:It's one of the first things I say whenever I meet a homeowner is like you said, nothing new under the sun, right, like we couldn't have gone to the moon without solar panels. And sorry, conspiracy guys on YouTube, the earth is round and we went to the moon. It's been on every satellite since 1958. Jimmy Carter had solar panels in the White House in the 70s during the oil embargo. We first discovered this principle in the 1830s. Like you, shine sunlight on melted sand, silicon, and somehow it makes electricity. Right? So it's not rocket science, it's just physics and chemistry. The exponential is that it used to be so expensive that only NASA could afford it for a satellite or your little calculator. And once that price started to come down, it's only a matter of time until you hit what they call the tipping point.
Speaker 2:Another really great book, malcolm Gladwell. And it's not every single technology in history. Right, the car Henry Ford didn't event the car, it was a crazy, expensive, weird toy for rich people. Right, he said if I asked people what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse and buggy. Like at first, only the rich could afford it. And then, as the price comes down, then once you cross that tipping point is exponential, growth is inevitable. Right, it's unstoppable. Just like flat screen TVs when they were 10 grand, now they're a couple hundred bucks. Cell phones this cell phone has more computer power than everything at NASA combined and it fits in our pocket a million times cheaper. So I guess back to your point. I came to the East Coast because that's where most of the population is, in Boston, the DC, and they haven't quite hit that wave yet. And it's, the wave is coming.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's on tap man and most of the states here on the East Coast and usually I keep the East Coast quiet, that's where I call home, but that's a big majority of my business but it is uncensored for most of our markets here and they're also SREC states, many of them. We're below 3% market share, so it's wide freaking open. It's funny too. You brought up Australia and their 60, 70% adoption, whatever it is.
Speaker 1:The easiest appointment I've ever ran and I was probably two months into my solar journey last year was a guy from Australia living in Virginia where I get on the sale, and I just missed it. This is uncensored. I'll be honest, I completely missed it. Never sold to someone in Australia and he goes stop, I don't want to be sold. If I'm a human being, I have to have solar and I said I need more Australians. It was a freaking lay down. He had already been educated on it, had already been trained.
Speaker 1:The other thing you said we don't have a ton of time to go on this, but I think it's important is how the prices have come down. Our job is top sales people and that's what we are. That's who our audience is. Most people aren't aware of the price drops Like they're still thinking. That's a lot of my conversations, steve. Correct me if I'm wrong. They're still thinking they can't afford it. And so we have to do a better job singing this song, controlling that narrative, letting people now know that it's at their fingertips Does that make sense?
Speaker 2:Totally yeah, and that's the greatest thing is it's more of an education and a consultative thing, and I think the reason why some of the Utah boys did so well they did some things in terms of ethics not the best, but it's. I never saw a solar was never a sale or a widget. You're converting people. It's an evangelical conversion to a different way of thinking. The numbers speak for themselves. The biggest problem with solar is it sounds too good to be true. What's the catch? Nothing's free. What do you mean? It gets dark at night, like all those objections we were handling, and if people can actually sit in the seat and hear about it.
Speaker 2:There's another great solar lady. Check out Debbie Dooley from the Green Tea Party, where solar was illegal in Florida, the Sunshine State in Georgia, and Debbie Dooley was this like Tea Party wing nut and she got together with Greenpeace. So not to get into the politics at all. I can't stand it, but just the idea of she was far conservative, greenpeace, far liberal came together and she said this is crazy, right, that solar is illegal. What's more, check her out. It's basically how to sell solar to conservative minded folks. She's what's more conservative than consumer choice over monopoly tax credits, supporting the military, supporting local business, manufacturing energy independence. And then she got together with Greenpeace. Hey, what's more liberal than all that and helping the environment and the rainforest, and everybody likes to save money. But her quote was her dad was a preacher and so you can have the best message in the world, but if you don't get butts in seats to hear it, it falls on deaf ears. That's our thing is how can we talk to more people? And once they hear the message, it's really a no brainer.
Speaker 1:It goes back to what you said. It's an IQ test. I've never heard the other three say that. I say it on every presentation. I tell people all the time. I let their guard down. I'm not here to sell you, I'm here to administer an IQ test. We're about to find out how smart you are. Steve and I literally make a joke and they're like they'll sort of sit up in their chair and I'm like, oh, it's already sold. It's already sold. The other thing too is and I never said this on the podcast I've been a solar only a year, so you crushed me and expertise and all that.
Speaker 1:Part of the reason you're here. I have never in my life and I've owned several multi-million dollar businesses. I've sold a lot over the years. I've never sold anything that did not add an additional expense to someone's bottom line and it took me about a month. I'm not the sharpest guy to wrap that around my head. If I sell you a house, I gotta build the value for why you need to take a mortgage, why you wanna buy an investment property, life insurance, a car. Same thing With solar in most markets it's not. You're already paying one bill to your electricity company In many markets. I'm gonna cut it by 40% and just reallocate it to yourself Like it blew my freaking mind. It is like fishing with dynamite. Thoughts on that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's the craziest thing. Like when I first got doing it started 14, 15 years ago now at Solar City, which became Tesla. It was so expensive. There was only a PPA or a lease right and so there was people and we were going against. They're paying 15 cents and we could sell them 12 cents with an escalator. There wasn't even flat rates and I would do a lot of sales trainings there because not to toot my horn, but I was always crushing the sales contests.
Speaker 2:There's a lot of things that I stink at just ask my fiance but that was something to me. It was like cause, I believed in it passionately. Like coming from the hippie, save the planet, help people right. Like it was to me something I believed in, right. Like I drank that Kool-Aid hard for what solar represents and we can get into that later and what it ultimately means and world peace and kumbaya. But ultimately about in terms of the economics, and a lot of the guys were complaining like, oh, we're only saving them two cents or this, that and the other. I'm like dude, the PPA or the lease is not a sale. You're not selling shit. Excuse my French, I'm not selling anything. You're getting them to switch their service, like cable to Netflix. Right, all you're doing is it's cashflow positive day one. There's no investment, you're saving money. And because of the power of compound interest. Right, because the, which means the utility rates are going up at 5 to 7% historically every year for 100 years. They've tripled since 2000. This year places are doubling and tripling right, 70% in Texas, 100% in Connecticut another reason I moved there. So you're really starting to see massive savings where and I always use lots of analogies.
Speaker 2:Right, because no one knows what a kilowatt is. So to me I'm telling a story. Right, people selling is not telling, it's storytelling. Right, people buy on emotion and they justify it with logic. Another thing I borrowed from Tony Robbins or whoever who knows I wish I came I didn't come up with that but the idea of like analogies and storytelling.
Speaker 2:Because if you just make that proposition of a widget of you're paying X, we're Y, we have the 400, blah, blah, blah, blah, no one cares about that crap. Right, people are worried about their life, their business, whatever they're doing, and they're busy. But if you can get them to sit down and say I make the gas analogy Imagine we had a time machine. We could go back to the year 2000,. Gas as a dollar a gallon. What if I gave you a gas card for 95 cents forever?
Speaker 2:Most people's initial reaction is big deal, who cares about a nickel, I'm busy. If you use 10, 20,000 gallons or kilowatts, that'll save you a couple hundred bucks, 500 bucks, a grand not a big deal money in your pocket. The big exponentials we're gonna lock that in. And as electricity has gone up at 4% to 7% and I make a joke about Jimmy Buffett RIP and I'm always asking them, I'm trying to get them to respond with like socratic questioning what's that guy Buffett, the law of 72? And I'm fishing for them to say Warren Buffett. But I'm like oh yeah, jimmy Buffett, I'm thinking about Jimmy Buffett, it's after five. Blah, blah, blah, always asking questions and I get deep, probing questions to get an emotional response it's involvement.
Speaker 1:it's involvement too, versus just you talking.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you wanna get like. Right now I'm just like rambling and talking because we're trying to share 10 years of knowledge in 20 minutes or whatever, but with them it would be completely opposite. If you were the homeowner, I would be interviewing you. We wouldn't even talk about solar yet. We'd be talking all about, like Kaiser Sosei and the usual suspects. Everything I need to know about you is on your wall, right? So you'd be. We'd be talking all about your kids and your fishing trip and your dog and what people are passionate about.
Speaker 2:Because if you look at advertising and marketing, it's all about deep psychological things to create a desired emotional response Some guy riding down the car with the wind in his hair and a pretty gal or a guy. And when they're selling like cigarettes or a washing machine, right, solar doesn't have advertising and marketing. There's internet stuff. It can't fit on a 30 second Super Bowl ad. So we are the advertising and marketing and we are the storytellers and because of that there's such great margins because, like you said, at two or 3%, the early adopters already they already did it. There's a massive people out there that don't even know about it or they think it's too expensive or it's some hippie scam that gets dark at night. So if you can get those people to sit down and hear the story and tell them the analogies where, as electric is rising exponentially and you're not over time, even a PPA will save you the average person 20, 30, 40, 50 grand with zero investment.
Speaker 2:And then what's the catch? Nothing's free. What are you talking about? The sun's free energy it's why we have life on earth. That shines down and makes plants grow. We can eat that for energy, ferment it for fun after five o'clock. Ha, that's beer and wine. Even the gas in your car is plants and dinosaur bones. It comes. It's fossilized sunlight. So the only cost for solar is the technology, which has been around a hundred years. It's military equipment. That's not some hippie-dippy BS. But what happened is it's gone down. It's gotten so cheap literally 90%. There's any catch, which I think is the best part, is tax credits and rebates and incentives.
Speaker 2:I don't know about you, mr Homeowner, but everyone hates taxes, everyone hates the government, everyone hates the electric company, everyone hates paying bills. So we have such an easy story and back to your original thing. Sorry, I go off on tangents, but we're not even selling anything. The PPA or the lease is not even selling anything. Hey, mom, I tell stories, right. I was visiting my parents. A commercial came on TV. Hadn't seen commercials in 10 years. I'm like mom, why are you spending $100 a month for cable? Netflix is $15 and no commercials. I like to watch my shows. They don't care about the content, the shows, the phone call, the energy of cell phones better than a landline and it's cheaper. And Netflix is cheaper than cable. Solar is cheaper than the utility. But most people don't know that right and then you gotta reprogram.
Speaker 1:Yeah, totally. I do. Wanna transition over to two other topics that I know you are world famous on. One is and this is a big one with our audience. We are seeing this transition every single day is virtual sales, and I know you and I share this in common that we were doing virtual before. It was sexy before COVID. Talk to us about virtual, your transition, what it means to you, matt.
Speaker 2:Yeah, not to sound like a hipster, but we were into this band before.
Speaker 1:It was cool.
Speaker 2:I can't wear skinny jeans. I've been in the Viora sweatpants after COVID got a suit coat on, but Viora sweatpants I discovered it by accident. So in the early days of solar, first was door knocking. I quickly realized that wasn't for me. It's a super honest, hardcore way to do it. It's if you do it the right way. So if you're into door knocking, check out what's his name Mike-.
Speaker 1:I got mad respect for the door knockers.
Speaker 2:Michael Donald, no matter what he's like the OG, two megawatts a year knocking freaking doors. But so that wasn't for me, right? So then I got when I got back to the East Coast was with Solar City and we would have appointment set. So we would have shout out to Sunshine Dan, we should get him on here. He was the best in the entire solar city at setting appointments. So the center closer model, so he'd be at Home Depot or Costco setting up appointments.
Speaker 2:I'd go drive an hour each way to their house, pet their dog, spend a couple of hours and sign them up. And it was great, I was loving it. I had the little tiny solar city car no Tesla, but you're driving all over and people are unqualified. And so I discovered it by accident. I had three appointments set up and I had a fever and I could barely talk, if you can imagine that. And so I like called up here and I get can I reschedule our appointment? Make sure you just have your electric bill. We'll go over that. We can look at your house on the satellite. And he's oh, I got my electric bill right here and texted it to me without me asking and I was like, oh, all right, and this was pre-zoom. This is the phone. We can look at your house on the satellite. We can cover the value proposition. Here's how it works. Blah, blah, blah. We can install it for no cost. Tax credits, yada, yada, and like people could receive the value proposition over the phone just the same.
Speaker 2:Now there might be some more body language and breaking bread at the kitchen table, but a lot of times, especially post pandemic, people are more comfortable being in their sweatpants. They don't have to clean up their house and some guy coming into their house, Like we do it with everything else Amazon and Netflix, like we're used to that. So it's like you said. It's really a mindset shift. And I discovered that by accident I was getting yelled at for that. I got in trouble. They're like we pay you to go into people's houses. You can't do this.
Speaker 2:I'm like I sold three from my sweatpants with a hundred degree fee when I could barely talk. What are you talking about? So I started getting a lot of referrals, which is, I think, the way to go, like in this business, to copy real estate. And then Elon took over Solar City and he said we're not doing Costco or Home Depot, we're not doing door knocking, Find your own leads. We have a billion dollar brand and they hadn't quite infiltrated. So I started going to be an eye in Chamber of Commerce and really copying real estate people of all of a sudden I don't have leads, I'm not being fed. So that's where I came up with like hunting and farming and fishing for lead gen. So let me copy real estate people and go for them. But it was really I discovered by accident and once that light bulb let's talk about that for a second.
Speaker 1:So, first and foremost, I tell people all the time my background is real estate. It's where we made our fortune. Blessed for it. I'll probably never leave it. This reminds me of real estate 20, 25 years ago. It really does. So one challenge I have for myself, my business partners what were we doing to build our empires in real estate that we could take over here? You're the first solar pro I've ever heard, even acknowledged that, and I think you are onto something, and now we just shared it with everybody, which is a little bit scary. We're going to come back to the lead gen, but I do want to ask you a question what is a mistake or two that you think newer people transitioning to virtual sales are making that aren't having the close rate, aren't getting the sales you're getting? Is there something they're doing where they're treating it more like traditional belly to belly at the kitchen table? Is there any nuance or any like a nugget or two that you could share with the audience on that?
Speaker 2:I think, like you said, it being a mindset shift, and so my biggest thing is connecting with people. Maybe we connected before this and we're just getting right into the meat potatoes, but if I was, if we were doing this and you were the prospect, I would be just asking you questions, talking about you and having that same rapport. So I think something like 90% of communication is body language. So if you're not on a Zoom and you're just over the phone, there's a huge amount of tonality and mirroring people right, like when I first went out to Hawaii, I was fast talking like slick East Coast guy and people like who the what? No, so you know if you don't have to copy them, totally of low-high, broad as a kind. But there's regional differences of people, trust, no contrast, people like them. So there's a lot in tonality and body language and mirror, not body language, but mirroring them. And I still love to cold call occasionally and just calling people up and right away, assuming like we're old friends, like people.
Speaker 2:I think people get, whether it's at the kitchen table or the Zoom or the phone. They get all like uptight in a solar thing. Hi, this is Mr Aaron. I'm calling about your extended warranty for your car Click. I still call people like hey Aaron, what's going on, how's it going, brother? And for a second, a split second. Whether you're in the Home Depot, whether you're at an event, whether you're at a chamber of commerce, whether you're cold calling on the phone, whether you're knocking on someone's door, I call it like the pop song, right, three minutes and 33 seconds. Pop songs are that length because that's the human attention span. I was surprised that people have a span for podcasts but basically three seconds or point three seconds to disrupt their pattern, right, to throw them off, kilter, right. So, if you have a chance to get your 30 second elevator pitch in to earn your three minute value proposition, to then earn the 30 minute plus consultation. So, yeah, I guess the biggest thing is just act natural, like you're hanging out and talking with your friends, and also you have to have confidence and tonality and ask them questions and have a process. So have a process where you're assuming the next steps.
Speaker 2:He's a little bit greasy, but the Wolf of Wall Street guy, the straight line selling, right, there's a system every time that I'm gonna follow, like my girlfriend is, we're at the conference and I'm recruiting Uber drivers. She's like, all right, get the do the pitch. And I'm like, hey, this pitch is why we're sitting on a beach on Tuesday sipping Pina Coladas where everyone else is like miserable at a cubicle farm. But I get her point, cause she's heard a million times. But have your pitch and your process down and I'm taking you somewhere. So that's what he's saying, with the straight line is socratic questions. I'm asking you questions to elicit a certain emotional response, to take you to the next step that I want you to go.
Speaker 2:So it's important to be ethical about this, right, but sales and advertising and marketing is total psychological manipulation. That it's like Jedi mind tricks, right, the original advertising and marketing was illegal to use on American citizens. It was developed during World War I and II, right, like where the military will put people in a room and break them down and build them up and feed them drugs, and it's all based on psychological manipulation. Now, if you're selling people blue jeans, that's harmless enough. If you're selling them reverse mortgage to a retired grandma, not cool. So to me it's important these things are so powerful that we use it ethically and morally like we're dealing with our own grandmother, right, and? But yeah, I don't know I'm rambling, but yeah, nothing is different. Communicate with them and have a process, a systematic process.
Speaker 1:Key word. Right there is what you just said systems. I just did a masterclass on that on a podcast of Wally earlier this week. That's a key word that we kept saying, so I'm glad you referenced it here. Two of the things, too, that you came up with your intro about you and I being buddy I'll wear my homeowner consumer hat. I don't wanna be awkward, I don't, and that's all humans. I'm speaking for all of us. It's Tony Robbins talks about it, so I'm gonna go along with that until I can figure out my mind. How do I know, steve, I don't wanna like for most people, like maybe 10% are like sorry, who the heck are you? Most of us aren't saying that.
Speaker 1:You're like yeah, steve, how are you? And he just got through the barrier. He just knocked down that first gate, that first domino. I freaking love that dude. Another thing you said and you are the first guest sorry, previous guest who has even referenced this and it's not saying they don't believe in it. I'm not going there, I'm gonna get a hate mail for it. But talking about selling ethically, can we talk about why that's important to you and why you've now said it three or four times so far in this podcast?
Speaker 2:Definitely. I love how you mentioned Wally was talking about the dollar for every. No, having that mindset it was so great. Like I'm like in real life I don't name drop but I like love so many of the guests you've had. Wally was amazing to see, to see you ball to a story. Some of these people's story of what, of doing solar the right way and being like of service to customers and their community and fulfilling dreams like coming over. So to me, like the ethics of it is so important and like my mom said one time we were on vacation in Florida, I cold called. I also do lots of commercial stuff or homeowner same difference and I cold called.
Speaker 1:I was like oh hey.
Speaker 2:Aaron, how's it going? Sorry, I missed you. Give me a shout when you get back. Blah, blah, blah. And my mom and girlfriend were like you don't know that lady. That's not ethical. What are you lying to them? I'm like no, I'm not lying to her Like I want to help her home save 50 grand or help their business save 50 million potentially. I'm just like I'm talking to them like I know them. And then the lady called back on leaving a message A lot of people don't leave voicemails. I'm old school and so she called me back.
Speaker 2:She's oh, was it at the conference? I was like oh, no, cause I researched. Oh, I saw your white paper about such and such. And she was like doing cannabis and food growing business and we talked for 45 minutes Like we were best friends, right? Oh, that's interesting and I'm genuinely interested.
Speaker 2:There's another guy his name's, escaping me, but the way to be interesting is to be interested. So I'm legitimately interested in other people Like not just so I can sell something or have a transactional, like Jaybud said. I'm legitimately the guy that talks to strangers. That also annoys my girlfriend sometimes, like if I sit next to you on the train or the restaurant. I'm legitimately interested in people's stories, right, and asking them two and three questions deep, not just. Oh, you like football, I like football. Cool, like we are tribal, primitive social creatures and we need to. A dog sniffs you out right away. Right, can we fight? Or the other F word Right away. A dog knows Humans are the same. They dance around. What sports team do you like? What? Where'd you go to school? What politics? What? Blah, blah, blah. Right, can I trust you? Can I break bread with you? Or are you trading poison berries and you're going to come burn my village down? So that's what people are dancing around with. But I guess to your original question of ethics is to break bread with people Like I'm old school, like I came like an OG hippie.
Speaker 2:Even though I cut my hair, I grew up blue collar, like doing construction. So I was out in the job site like since I'm five years old with my dad like mixing cement and carrying blocks and bricks. So like that to me I never wanted for anything. I guess I'd say solidly middle class was blessed, super blessed and lucky. But learned from like old school construction guys of. Like your word and your handshake, right, tony Montagna, I got my word on my balls, I don't break them for nobody. Let's make money. I'm not going to screw you, don't screw me.
Speaker 2:So solar is such an amazing business. It's growing exponentially. There's these real estate, neurosurgeon, drug dealer level commissions right. So, like everyone, can eat and get abundance and have an abundant mentality. But do it where it's a win, where you're helping the customer, you're helping things like that and do it the right way, right. And it's like cannabis being legalized right. There is a roots to this. Like old school hippie save the planet, help people, heal people, do good things, make a more peaceful, prosperous, abundant world right. And then all of a sudden it became legal and there's big money and hedge fund bros are throwing billions at it. That's great.
Speaker 2:I want solar to go mainstream, I wanted to go exponential, I want everyone to have solar. But with that money we had an influx of some of the Utah crowd or some guys maybe selling other stuff insurance or meat or whatever pest control and they maybe never learned the right way or they don't know the origins of it and they just see a quick buck. And, like you can almost everyone I meet I know I can help them with a PPA save 20, 30, 40 grand with ownership, save typically 60, 80, 100 grand. Get a 10 or 15 grand tax credit 10 grand or so if you're in an SRX state. So I know almost everyone I meet. I can help. But if you're a retired grandma that can't use a tax credit, I'm not gonna sell you $5 a watt solar and then your good thing's gonna balloon. Or I'm not gonna sell you a PPA with an escalator that's gonna get you upside down. If you live in the forest and you're so like 90% of people you meet are good candidates you can help. Don't screw people over, even from a selfish perspective. To have a longevity 14 years in the business, probably 90% on referrals I don't have to knock doors anymore because of doing the right thing, helping people out, like my dad doing construction of, like handshake, like you didn't need advertising back then, like I'm gonna do a good job for you. Hopefully that's gonna turn into two or three or 10 referrals to make a win to help everybody out.
Speaker 2:I remember when I first came back from Hawaii not to belabor it too much, but I was like it's solar really started to pop off and I was talking to my granddad and I was like, oh, this is amazing, it's this real thing. It's so cool, but I don't wanna come across as like a cheesy, like greasy used car salesman. He literally slapped me across the face, not embracing violence, respectfully and lovingly but he's you stupid, spoiled little shit. If you believe in something, it's your ethical and moral duty to help sell it. Ethically and morally, do it the right way. But he's the salesman is the tip of the spear.
Speaker 2:If you don't sell, the guy in the factory doesn't work, the guy driving the truck doesn't work, the construction worker doesn't work, the people in the office, the admins, all of that stuff is the tip of the spear. So if you can go out and help people, do something you believe in that helps the planet, help the people, everyone can make a little bit of profit along the way. It's a win-win all the way around. I think solar is one of the few things that does that, because a lot of things are greasy, right, like insurance or investments or. But this is something you could ethically help so many people and get financial abundance for your family and your community. And it says it on the shirt, right Like be of service. So that's my nickel or two cents.
Speaker 1:I love it, man, and really that could be a whole podcast. My humble opinion a year in. But having said over and over, this reminds me of real estate. I think we're just scratching the surface on the unethical aspect when you're throwing around real estate size commissions. By the way, I tell you, I recruit a lot of people because most people think real estate agents roll around but neck at $100 bills. So do solar pros. I'm going to tell you, it draws people to the field, to the industry, that don't have ethics, and I love that you're talking about it. I'm going to be bringing on more conversations centered around that because we want to keep the integrity here.
Speaker 1:I also love that you said this. I haven't heard anyone else say it. If we do make large commissions, we're doing a great service. But, more importantly, if the client can win, the world can win. Whatever your view is on that, so can we. Everybody can win, and that's really what solar offers. That, I think, is almost like that unicorn. It just makes it so freaking unique. So we're so blessed. And, wrapping up, if you don't mind, can you share, I don't know, maybe your top three or four lead gen buckets that you play in? I know, referral is 90%. What? Where else are you getting leads?
Speaker 2:So I look at lead genks like hunting, farming and fishing. For a while I got fed with leads in the early days from the guys at Costco, so I didn't have to learn that skill. But then, once that dried up, I quickly had to jump in and see fearless referrals, new models of selling, to read that book and copy real estate. So hunting to me is cold outreach. Basically, talk to everyone everywhere, all the time. Everywhere you go Be pitching like popcorn, peanuts, cold beer everywhere you go all the time. So that's door knocking, cold calling, which surprisingly still works. Door knocking. There's 20 year old kids from Utah who make a two, three, four, five, six plus 100 grand knocking two or three hours a day. It's an honest way to earn a living if you do it the right way. Of course, don't wear a vest and hard hat and pretend to be the utility. Don't do that shit. Do it the right way. It's already a great deal, but so yeah. So door knocking, cold calling, going to events, networking although that could fall under more farming, right? So just cold outreach. Talking to your Uber driver Uber drivers are some of the best guys. Shout out to Cam, who's on my team, who's one of my best salespeople in top 20, 30 in the country in the company from talking to an Uber driver and then I would look at so that's cold outreach, right Pound in the pavement and then hunting, farming, fishing is more like advertising. So online lead gen age data is a kind of a good hybrid. We don't have to spend the big budget. There's a guy from Australia what the heck's his name? He's got a bunch of stuff on age data. He's worth checking out. Josh, something, josh King, I think. So online advertisement, facebook, youtube, buying age data, people that opted in. But also IRL, like in real life. So I love going to events and networking. So Chamber of Commerce, b&i and the tip, every town Google business networking near me. Go out there and press the flesh. These are the movers and shakers in your community that, instead of sleeping in, get up early for a coffee or whatever. They're the people that are the same people on the Little League charity boards, the volunteers. It's the people doing things in your area and have them become kind of ambassadors for you.
Speaker 2:I love, in the early days setting up at events. I love music. I'm going to concerts all the time. It's my hippie church or whatever. So I'd much rather say to knock on someone's door where they're like pissed off that I'm bothering them.
Speaker 2:Go to a music festival where people are in a good mood Maybe they're having a little vino or something, some sacrament and there's food and fellowship and hey, I'm gonna my fishing. There is a raffle, so I have an online raffle. I also do this with channel partners, so, like local coffee shops, pizza things, put out my free raffle, have a raffle wheel, a free water, free candy, maybe a free face painter to lure not in a Cosby sense, but to draw in the kids so you can talk to their parents, and so they're filling out the raffle. As they're doing that, I hand them a solar phone charger. This thing has made me well, forget money, but this thing has made my career.
Speaker 2:Get a handheld solar phone charger. Hand it to everyone you meet when you're at an event. Put your hands in your pocket so you give your three-third, three minute pitch right and don't let them give it back until you're done doing your pitch right, cause they can visualize oh, this charges your phone, oh my house, blah, blah. As they're doing that, they filled out your raffle ticket. They're now in there. You can drip on them, you can do newsletters, you can do all that, but you wanna set several appointments at that event right then, and there pitch them on the solar idea And-.
Speaker 1:I gotta say it, man, what shows at everything you've set, it's your passion for what we're doing and that you can't fake. It's not fake until you make it. I truly believe in the heart of hearts that this is a good thing and everybody has to have it, and I think that passion it like oozes out of your pores, man, without sounding creepy.
Speaker 1:But it just does and it's contagious. Like I, you're so passionate, you're so jacked, you're so excited about talking about solar that, even if that wasn't your thing, I'd wanna know more and honestly, I think that's your secret man. That's your secret sauce from the outside looking in, that you just can't fake. It is a gift. So keep doing it. Real quick and you didn't know we were gonna say this, but I love for people to get in contact with you. I know this is gonna break records again. Is it cool if I throw your Facebook on the podcast description so people can reach out if they have any questions? Wants to know more? Wanna book you for other things?
Speaker 2:Please do. Yeah, I guess on the interwebs, Steve Reynolds, I'm old school and behind on the technology so I'm working on getting some YouTube stuff. We're trying to get up and do some training for, like our team, we're building on the East coast and around the country, so I'm always like happy to help anyone anytime. Like if you have questions, if you're on our team, not on our team in our industry Old school give me a phone call. My number's 484-782-4372.
Speaker 1:My phone Love that did not know he was gonna do that. He's crazier than I am because I will not give on.
Speaker 2:I don't care if they're Russian hackers or whoever wants to get my data. Here's a solar surfer 2020 at Gmail. I made it up back in college when that seemed like the future, and I like to forget 2020. Another little hack. Maybe don't everyone do this, but I take these and I hand them out to like electric car people, right? So plug your car into the sun or whatever.
Speaker 1:For those listening. He just held up his business card, a little marketing piece that he can leave behind. Make sure you check out the YouTube. That's sick dude, really, really sick.
Speaker 1:I speak for audience. I can't thank you enough, man. I know this has been, I think, months in the making and I can see why it was well worth the wait. You delivered, man. You came from contribution, you took the gloves off, you peeled the curtain back. We applaud you for it and thank you For those listening, our audience, whether on the podcast or YouTube. We do this for free. Steve came out of the love of his heart to give back, to help drop a bomb or a nugget on someone else. The least you could do is, if you got value, is to like, share and subscribe to the podcast, to the channel. Send this out to someone who's thinking about getting it started in solar, maybe another solar professional who hasn't had the level of wins that Steve is talking about, please. That's all we ask. I hope each and every one of you have a fantastic day. Be good, be safe, steve. Thank you so much brother.
Speaker 2:Aaron, thanks so much. I appreciate having me on spending some time. It's great to connect. I want to connect more after this. We could chat all day.
Speaker 2:I'd love to buy you a coffee or kombucha and pick your brain on some things and just want to leave folks with this parting idea right? Got this from the book Abundance by Peter Diamantes. But imagine a world where there's like American made or we live all around the world, so anywhere in the made solar panels, charging homes and businesses, electric cars, so you could power your house, your business, your school, your car, essentially for free from the sun after about a five year payback. Imagine a world without oil, wars and terrorism, a peaceful, prosperous planet with abundant energy, abundant food, abundant medicine, like solar powered 3D printers like replicator and Star Trek. Imagine an abundant world where people's the Maslow's hierarchy of needs, where your base needs are met without having to mine and dig and burn down the rainforest, like just tap into the sunshine and we can evolve up that Maslow's hierarchy of needs to things that really matter about being human, like art and music and community and fun, and so plugging into the sun, it's a lot more fun to run on sunshine.
Speaker 1:I love it, man. That's a wrap. We will see everyone next week. Be good, be safe, god bless.