by Over the last few week’s I’ve been doing a lot of research around solar for our home. Once I completed my research, I then moved onto getting four different quotes.
Two of which were referred from an expert, who writes about solar and all the lessons that you need to learn. I actually went on his site and filled in a form, and he sent me two companies in Tasmania, that he could recommend.
The other two were random companies seen whilst in the process of my research. You know the ones that you see all the time advertising with celebrity endorsements.
What really fascinated me was the approach that the different companies took.
The first company which shall remain nameless, although is probably the most well-known in Australia and is endorsed by a well-known cricketer, simply sent a quote by email. No real conversation, no coming to our home. They told me how it would go, what solar was required to do the job and their quote was very cheap.
The second company who stated the importance of coming to our home had one stipulation – both myself and my wife must be in the meeting. We are both still confused about why we both had to be there as I was the one doing all the research, my wife would be involved in the decision afterwards. She did sit in on the meeting and honestly, it was a complete waste of her time. We both agreed, what we didn’t like about that meeting was that their approach was a hard-sell. They did ask questions, but it felt like the underlying agenda was – what are we going to do to get this sale across the line?
This type of approach I found very frustrating as I had actually told them that I am not going to make a decision until I had all four quotes.
Also, the amount of phone calls I got from their company clearly showed a problem with their system. For example, I got five telephone calls from five different staff members responding to my initial filling in the online form. If I had, had their telephone number I would have cancelled that meeting, because I was so annoyed by having to tell each of the five staff that we are already booked in etc., etc.
And, in the end their quote came in at double the initial quote that I got online which in hindsight, actually seemed more realistic compared to the other quotes I received.
The third company who was recommended, did everything online. The Zoom meeting was quite detailed with lots of questions and conversation and images were sent in and discussed but they didn’t come to my house. How can you quote on solar when you haven’t even seen the house?
The quote was similar in price to the other companies and the quality of the product was also good.
The fourth companies approach was different again, the guy was at my house for two and a half hours completing his due diligence – he asked lots of really great questions which made me think about what I want and what I don’t want, as well as questions that allowed for changes in the future as technology gets better. He then spent time on the roof, in the electrical box and following the electrical wiring in our home as we have a Heritage house (built in 1860’s) the electrical box is located in the house rather than outside. He even helped me fix my wi-fi just because I mentioned it wasn’t working as well as I would like it to.
He then took the time to report his findings and make recommendations for best outcomes like:
Putting a three phase sub-box outside which will make it easier to charge the Tesla and we can also use whilst we are renovating our kitchen.
Ensuring the Tesla charger is set up to charge from the solar option rather than electricity.
And when discussing his quote, he explained their hourly rate to use their electricians and mentioned I am also welcome to source my own. And his return on investment was considerably more conservative than the others. Everything was above board, complete transparency.
Clearly, I ended up going with ‘I Want Energy’ the customer experience was like chalk and cheese compared to the others. He just knew his stuff, the thoroughness of his due diligence, his findings and recommendations stood out. Actually, he had me halfway through the consultation, if I was honest.
When it came down to the quality of products across each of the companies, they were pretty similar. It was the system this particular company use and the customer service experience that made the difference.
I really believe what would have happened with the other companies simply because they did not do their due diligence, is that they would have come out to do the job and then they would have added extra costs to the overall cost of the project.
Price was not a consideration
My point is my choice didn’t come down to price. It came down to the type of company I want to work with, that they are reliable and are going to be around to manage the project (not disappear on me) and the well thought out, tested and measured system they have in place to deliver on their promise.
It’s all about quality and how you sell what you do? How can you do that by just sending a quote and then following up expecting me to say yes. Are you kidding?
Our research shows that price is never the one single motivator rather, It’s always about value.
How Do You Present Value?
What questions are you asking your customers to ensure the value of doing business with you is what they are left with?
How do you explain, what systems you have in place and what you do to ensure you deliver on your promises?
‘I Want Energy‘ stood out. Do you?
If you would like to have a chat with me about the ‘Value’ contact me I look forward to hearing from you.
Warm regards,
Craig