Solar
Marketing and Sales
Business Growth
The Psychology of Solar Sales - How to Win Deals and Influence the Future
About this course
Too many of our clients decide against solar. Their reasoning can seem mysterious at times, but there's usually a reason why - and it may not be the one that they're telling you.
Uncover the hidden motivations that drive solar clients by mastering fundamental principles of psychology.
The Psychology of Solar Sales shows you how to apply ten key principles from the science of psychology to the solar sales process. You'll learn a complete solar sales methodology, which will enable you to more easily connect with your clients, listen for their unique motivations, and tailor your communication approach to their needs. The course then shows you how to apply psychological principles to dramatically improve your ability to explain foundational solar technical topics, from construction to finance.
Once you understand the principles motivating human decisions, you’ll be able to use them to overcome any unique roadblock you encounter in selling solar systems in your market.
Additional Course Content
- Downloadable sample scripts with commentary on how the principles can be applied
- Video script walkthroughs with simulated client conversations
- How to sell (or sell against your competitors) when explaining roof attachments, racking, modules, and inverters
- The most common client objections and examples of how to address them
- Psychological strategies for converting your signed clients into long-term referral engines
- Downloadable sample scripts with commentary on how the principles can be applied
- Video script walkthroughs with simulated client conversations
- How to sell (or sell against your competitors) when explaining roof attachments, racking, modules, and inverters
- The most common client objections and examples of how to address them
- Psychological strategies for converting your signed clients into long-term referral engines
Course outline
12 modules
19:11 hours
of video lectures
Welcome • 2 assignments
Orientation Materials
Welcome • 2 assignments
Orientation Materials
This course is self-paced, so you don’t need to be logged in at any specific time. You can get started immediately after you enroll and the course materials will remain in your account with minimum guaranteed access for 12 months (1 year) after enrollment.
- Set up email notifications and your student profile
- Introduce yourself on the discussion board
Module 1 • 6 assignments
Big Picture Introduction
Module 1 • 6 assignments
Big Picture Introduction
In this module, we review the course goals, provide an overview of the course content, and review a few findings from psychological research on learning that will help you optimize your learning speed with this and other on-demand courses.
- 1 Course Introduction and How to Learn Material Faster Using Psychology (49:11 minutes)
- 1 Course Intro Slide Deck
- 1 Psychology of Learning Quiz
- 1 Course Materials Quiz
- Optional: Provide Feedback on Lesson 1
- Connect on LinkedIn
Module 2 • 5 assignments
Introduction to Unit 2 - The Principle of Framing
Module 2 • 5 assignments
Introduction to Unit 2 - The Principle of Framing
This module provides an overview of what psychology tells us about how humans (including clients!) actually make decisions (sneak preview: it's not a rational process).
By understanding the principle of framing, solar sales consultants can master the most foundational skill of influence - nudging clients toward greater understanding and better decision making with compelling stories, frames, and analogies.
- 2 How Storytellers Rule the World - Understanding the Principle of Framing (52:14 minutes)
- 2 Framing Slide Deck
- 2 Framing Quiz
- 2 Deliberate Practice: Connect to Client Pain Points with PVAS - Pain Value Action Significance
- Optional: Provide Feedback on the Framing Lesson
Module 3 • 17 assignments
From Pushy Salesperson to Trusted Expert - Connecting with your Client
Module 3 • 17 assignments
From Pushy Salesperson to Trusted Expert - Connecting with your Client
Every sales consultant wants to be treated with respect and provide guidance, yet clients are wary and sometimes even hostile at first. This module explores the deep evolutionary reasons behind our clients' suspicious nature, and how three principles of psychology - the principle of liking, the principle of reciprocity, and the principle of authority - can supercharge our ability to connect with our clients. Leveraging these three principles can help us overcome skepticism, start a solar partnership with our clients, and ultimately become trusted guides for our clients' solar journeys.
- 3 The Principle of Liking: Why Influence Starts with Curiosity, Warmth, and Common Ground (39:03 minutes)
- 3 Liking Slide Deck
- 3 Liking Quiz
- 3 Deliberate Practice: Reversals
- 3 Deliberate Practice: Crafting Great Compliments
- Optional: Provide Feedback on the Liking Lesson
- 4 The Principle of Reciprocity - Climbing the Ladder of Client Trust (50:38 minutes)
- 4 Reciprocity Slide Deck
- 4 Reciprocity Lesson Quiz
- 4 Deliberate Practice: Framing a Favor
- 4 Deliberate Practice: Upfront Contract
- Optional: Provide Feedback on the Reciprocity Lesson
- 5 The Principle of Authority: How to Become Your Client's Solar Guide (43:44 minutes)
- 5 Authority Slide Deck
- 5 Authority Quiz
- 5 Deliberate Practice: Building Trustworthiness By Admitting a Lesson Learned or Weakness
- Optional: Provide Feedback on the Authority Lesson
Module 4 • 18 assignments
Client-Centered Sales - The Psychology of Listening
Module 4 • 18 assignments
Client-Centered Sales - The Psychology of Listening
Every client's journey to solar is unique, yet we often use the same sales script for everyone who walks in the door. This module introduces three principles of psychology that will help you truly listen to your client - the principles of loss aversion, consistency, and cognitive dissonance. By understanding more about universal human motivators and becoming more skillful at recognizing each client's anxieties, motivations, and beliefs, we can help find as many ways to personalize solar as there are potential clients.
The end result is clients who feel heard, who know why solar is a good fit specifically for them, and who are much more likely to be spread the good word as long-term referral engines.
- 6 The Principle of Loss Aversion: The Counterintuitive Science of When 100 = 200 (48:58 minutes)
- 6 Loss Aversion Slide Deck
- 6 Loss Aversion
- 6 Deliberate Practice: Skillful Listening
- 6 Deliberate Practice: Uncover Client Anxieties
- 6 Deliberate Practice: Mitigate Risks and Redirect Anxiety
- Optional: Provide Feedback on the Loss Aversion Lesson
- 7 The Principle of Consistency: How Our Identity Makes Our Decisions for Us (44:25 minutes)
- 7 Consistency Slide Deck
- 7 Consistency Quiz
- 7 Deliberate Practice: "Pose a Hypothetical" & "Reference a Commitment"
- Optional: Provide Feedback on the Consistency Lesson
- 8 Cognitive Dissonance: And How to Change the Stubborn Mind (39:04 minutes)
- 8 Cognitive Dissonance Slide Deck
- 8 Cognitive Dissonance
- 8 Deliberate Practice: Validating a Problematic Belief
- 8 Deliberate Practice: Sidestep Method
- Optional: Provide Feedback on the Cognitive Dissonance Lesson
Module 5 • 24 assignments
Guiding a Client with Compelling Stories - The Psychology of Universal Motivators
Module 5 • 24 assignments
Guiding a Client with Compelling Stories - The Psychology of Universal Motivators
At some point, most clients will begin to falter in their solar journey. Perhaps they're stuck on a tough decision point. Perhaps they're frustrated about a delay or price change. Perhaps they feel like they should just wait and see until a moment that never comes. It's at these moments where your role as their guide is most critical. In this unit, we introduce principles of psychology that will turn problems into opportunities, (Unity), create momentum when a client wants to give up, (Scarcity), will help us guide them when they're uncertain (Social Proof), and move our client's forward on personal Hero's Journey to solar no matter the obstacle.
- 9 The Principle of Social Proof: Calming Client Anxiety by Leveraging The Influence of Others (43:02 minutes)
- 9 Social Proof Slide Deck
- 9 Social Proof Quiz
- 9 Deliberate Practice: ISS Method (Identify Anxiety, Social Proof, and Similarity)
- 9 Deliberate Practice: Reduce Pressure
- Optional: Provide Feedback on the Social Proof Lesson
- 10 The Principle of Unity: Leveraging The Impact of Being “One of Us” (47:30 minutes)
- 10 Unity Slide Deck
- 10 Unity Quiz
- 10 Deliberate Practice: 4S Method for Unity
- Optional: Provide Feedback on the Unity Lesson
- 11 The Principle of Scarcity: Bringing the Future into the Present (46:00 minutes)
- 11 Scarcity Slide Deck
- 11 Scarcity Quiz
- 11 Deliberate Practice: Scarcity, Competition, and Insider Info Stack
- Optional: Provide Feedback on the Scarcity Lesson
- 12 Framing The Hero's Journey: Using Psychology to Awaken your Client’s Inner Hero (45:51 minutes)
- 12 Framing the Hero's Journey Quiz
- 12 Framing the Hero's Journey Slide Deck
- Optional: Provide Feedback on the Hero's Journey Lesson
- Unit 1 Deliberate Practice: Choose Your Method(s) for Handling Client Anxiety
- Unit 1 Deliberate Practice: Choose Your Method(s) for Building Client Motivation
- Unit 1 Deliberate Practice: Choose Your Method(s) for Guiding Your Client in a Competitive Scenario
- Unit 1 Deliberate Practice: Choose Your Method(s) for Building Referrals
Module 6 • 19 assignments
Unit 3: Solar Technical Operations and Great Technical Communication
Module 6 • 19 assignments
Unit 3: Solar Technical Operations and Great Technical Communication
Too many solar clients drop out because they feel like they're back in 7th grade science class, hoping the teacher doesn't call on them. Technical information can be overwhelming, yet it's impossible to find the best fit for your client without it. In this module, we give you the technical expertise and the communication strategies to explain solar to anyone, as well as how to identify the emotional elements of technical conversations that can make or break a sale. From electrical basics to common solar components, this module covers construction, operation, and communication so that you're prepared for any client and any competitor.
- 13 Strategies for Technical Communication: How Great Teachers Close More Deals (49:35 minutes)
- 13 Strategies for Technical Communication Slide Deck
- 13 Strategies for Technical Communication Quiz
- 14 How Solar Electrical Works - And How to Explain it to Anyone (01:00:44 hours)
- 14 How Solar Electrical Works - And How to Explain it to Anyone Slide Deck
- 14 How Solar Electrical Works - Quiz
- 15 Roof Types, Roof Attachments, and Framing Risk (57:34 minutes)
- 15 - Roofs, Roof Attachments, and Framing Risk Slide Deck
- 15 - Roofs, Roof Attachments, and Framing Risk Quiz
- 16 Racking, Rails, and the Psychology of Aesthetics (21:59 minutes)
- 16 Racking, Rails, and the Psychology of Aesthetics Slide Deck
- 16 Racking, Rails, and the Psychology of Aesthetics Quiz
- 17 Solar Panels (aka Modules) - Production, and Winning Narrative Frames (51:04 minutes)
- 17 Solar Panels (aka Modules) - Production, and Winning Narrative Frames Slide Deck
- 17 Solar Panels, Production, and Winning Narrative Frames Quiz
- 18 The Great Inverter Debate - Microinverters vs. String Inverters vs. Optimizers and How to Sell Any of Them (54:34 minutes)
- 18 The Great Inverter Debate - Microinverters vs. String Inverters vs. Optimizers and How to Sell Any of Them Slide Deck
- 18 The Great Inverter Debate Quiz
- Module 6: Deliberate Practice - Use the "Question, Overview, Step-by-Step, and Examples" Outline
Module 7 • 10 assignments
Solar Financial - Utility Bills, Incentives, Financing, and The Psychology of Money
Module 7 • 10 assignments
Solar Financial - Utility Bills, Incentives, Financing, and The Psychology of Money
Most clients bring lots of fear into financial topics like taxes, loans, and bills. Yet solar sales consultants generally have to discuss all three to explain how solar works!
In this module, we give you the information you need to be confident guiding your client through these psychological landmines, by walking you through how utility bills work, the many financing options available, and the types of incentives that may be available in your area.
Through all of it, the lessons highlight common psychological baggage that your client may be bringing into the process, how to navigate their problematic narrative frames, and how to identify winning arguments that leverage the psychology of money.
- 19 Utility Bills, Savings, and The Psychology of Loss (56:55 minutes)
- 19 Utility Bills, Savings, and the Psychology of Loss Slide Deck
- 19 Utility Bills and Savings Quiz
- 20 Incentives, Home Value, and The Psychology of Opportunity (57:54 minutes)
- 20 Incentives, Home Value, and The Psychology of Opportunity
- 20 Incentives, Home Value, and The Psychology of Opportunity
- 21 Payments, Financing, and the Psychology of Choice (55:59 minutes)
- 21 Payments, Financing, and the Psychology of Choice
- 21 Payments, Financing, and the Psychology of Choice
- Module 7: Deliberate Practice - Incentive Scarcity
Module 8 • 6 assignments
Sales Process Overview and Common Objections
Module 8 • 6 assignments
Sales Process Overview and Common Objections
In this module, we integrate our psychology and technical lessons to take on the sales cycle. We review the basics of how the sales cycle works, key metrics you should be tracking to improve your performance, and review common solar objections and how to integrate all of our previous lessons in your response.
- 22 Intro to the Sales Cycle and Common Metrics (30:00 minutes)
- 22 Intro to The Solar Sales Cycle and Key Metrics Slide Deck
- 22 Intro the the Sales Cycle and Common Metrics Quiz
- 23 Top 5 Most Common Client Objections and How to Respond (13:28 minutes) Preview
- 23 Top 5 Most Common Objections Script (.docx)
- Module 8: Deliberate Practice - Respond to an Objection
Module 9 • 5 assignments
Qualifying Your Client (While Connecting, Listening, Educating, and Managing their Expectations)
Module 9 • 5 assignments
Qualifying Your Client (While Connecting, Listening, Educating, and Managing their Expectations)
In this section, we focus on the qualification process, putting the principles into practice to unearth objections early, introduce key educational components, and set our clients expectations appropriately so that they're ready to sign an agreement as soon as they've seen a proposal.
- 24 Pre-qualification Script Walkthrough (12:36 minutes)
- 24 Pre-qualification Script (.docx)
- 25 Sales Qualification and Proposal Setting - Script Walkthrough (30:48 minutes)
- 25 Sales Qualification and Proposal Setting Script (.docx)
- Module 9: Deliberate Practice - Reflect and Improve on Client Qualification
Module 10 • 8 assignments
Closing the Deal and Creating a Referral Engine
Module 10 • 8 assignments
Closing the Deal and Creating a Referral Engine
In the final module, we handle last minute objections, build sales momentum with the proposal, sign an agreement, and immediately start the next step of the process - turning a signed client into a long-term relationship and a referral engine.
- 26 Proposal Reminder Script Walkthrough (08:44 minutes)
- 26 Proposal Reminder Script (.docx)
- 27 Proposal Script Walkthrough + Contracting + First Referrals Walkthrough (29:33 minutes)
- 27 Proposal + First Referral Ask Script (.docx)
- 28 Bonus Lesson - Post-Install Referral Script Walkthrough (10:00 minutes)
- 28 Post Install Referral Script (.docx)
- Module 10: Deliberate Practice - Reflect and Improve on Client Proposal Process
- Course Conclusion Deliberate Practice: Practice Your 3 Key Takeaways
Conclusion • 4 assignments
Feedback and Additional Resources
Conclusion • 4 assignments
Feedback and Additional Resources
This is our last module but you still have access to the all of course materials for 12 months (1 year), so keep working and you'll be able to complete the course at your own pace. After your year of access expires you can optionally extend access with a HeatSpring Membership. Enjoy the course and keep in touch!
- 1 Year of Access to Course Materials
- Feedback: 2-minute Exit Survey
- Consider Joining as a HeatSpring Member
- Certificate of Completion: Request a Certificate
Continuing Education Units
Approved for the following CEUs
- NABCEP Advanced Credit Hours
- NABCEP RE Elective
- NABCEP PV Associate Renewal
Approved NABCEP CEU Hours
| NABCEP Credential | Advanced Hours for Exam | Recertification CEU Hours | NEC | JTA | RE Elective | Building or Fire Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 26 | 0 | 10 | 26 | 0 | |
| 0 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 0 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0 | |
| 0 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0 | |
| 26 | 26 | 0 | 26 | 12 | 0 | |
| 0 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0 |
NABCEP Registered Provider
This course counts towards the training requirements for taking NABCEP professional certification exams and CEUs for renewing all certifications.
Instructor
Taylor Jackson
Finial Solar
Taylor Jackson is a clean energy executive and consultant, serial sustainable entrepreneur, and Fulbright scholar, based out of Asheville, North Carolina. He served as Chief Operating Officer at Joule Solar as it grew from a local residential installer in New Orleans to one of the top developers and EPCs in the country. In 2019, he left Joule to begin supporting top...
Frequently asked questions
Full FAQHow does this course work?
You can begin this online course instantly upon enrollment. This 10 module course is delivered entirely online. This course is self-paced and you can set your own schedule to complete the materials. You can begin the lecture videos and other course materials as soon as you enroll. During your year of access the instructor will be in the course answering questions on the discussion board every Monday. After successfully completing the course, you will be able to generate a certificate of completion.
How long do I have access to the materials?
Students get unlimited access to the course materials as soon as they enroll and for one year (365 days) after enrollment. Rewatch videos and review assignments as many times as you want. View updates the instructor makes to the course as the industry advances. Return to your course anytime with online access from anywhere in the world. After the one year of access expires, access can be extended by joining as a HeatSpring member. A single membership extends access to course materials for all past enrollments.
Is there a certificate of completion?
Yes, when you complete this course you are eligible for a certificate of completion from HeatSpring. You can download your certificate as soon as you have completed all of the course requirements. Students can easily share their verified certificates on their LinkedIn profiles using our LinkedIn integration.
Can I register multiple people?
Yes please visit our HeatSpring for Teams page to get a group discount.
