If you’re a solar contractor, solar software can be a boon for your business
COVID-19 is having a profound effect on the solar energy sector. It has many in the industry scrambling. While the duration of the challenges facing the industry remain uncertain, the next 12 to18 months will undoubtedly test the resiliency of some solar companies.
But that doesn’t mean the future is all doom and gloom. According to a recent article in pv-magazine, there are signs of hope industry insiders need to concentrate their attention upon. “Analysts from BloombergNEF, PV InfoLink, and IHS Markit say that a significant contraction of demand is likely this year. However, some companies have reported record sales, with consumers reportedly panic-buying solar and storage equipment to shore themselves up in uncertain times.”
Whether or not they are experiencing the benefits of panic-buying, now is the time for solar installers to improve their effectiveness by using the overall slowdown as an opportunity to upgrade. If you’ve been thinking about adding customizable software to your company’s toolbox, this is an ideal time to get your employees familiar with such technology so that they will be better poised to help you leapfrog ahead of the competition when the COVID-19 nightmare ends.
That’s why tech experts warn that if solar contractors aren’t taking advantage of new technologies they risk falling behind installers who have used this downturn to upgrade their company’s effectiveness.
What’s just as crucial is upgrading with the right technologies, by embracing a new solar software that speaks directly to your company’s needs. So, whether you’re a small, fast-moving company looking for specific advantages, or you’re a larger network requiring end to end solutions, Solargraf is the ultimate customizable tool that will optimize everything from team coordination, sales proposals, design plans, real time financing to permits, and ensure better overall project management.
Team Coordination
When it comes to making your company stand out amongst the competition, optimized teamwork is essential. That’s why the Solargraf solution provides optimized work performance, improved employee cohesion, and a more harmonious company culture. This state-of-the-art software simplifies the complexities associated with every phase of the solar installation process. By linking everyone in your company Solargraf ensures potential sales are never jeopardized because team members aren’t on the same page.
In fact, an article in Solar Power World confirms that solar installers who embrace solar installation software platforms are inclined to have more effective, decentralized teams.
Sales Proposals
Chasing after telephone leads is an antiquated method of zeroing in on potential clients. To get a real leg up on the competition, cutting straight to the chase is the key. Once your sales team has access to Solargraf, cold calling becomes obsolete. Instead, you can target specific neighborhoods by sending sales agents armed with tablets directly to homeowners to conduct face-to-face pitches as soon as health and safety rules in your region permit. Once they speak with a prospect, agents can provide usage data, system designs for any roof, and compelling quotes that can be created in under 60 seconds simply by entering the homeowner’s address into the software. As a consequence you’ll be steps ahead of the competition that is still attempting to hustle up business over the phone.
Design
Understanding design constraints is key to creating an optimized solar energy system, securing customer satisfaction in the process. Without state of the art technology, engineers are dependent on drones and/or manually climbing onto a roof to measure the dimensions of a structure and to determine the optimum locations for panels as it relates to sunlight and shade.
That’s why Solargraf integrates the highest quality HD aerial imagery to generate the exact layout, direction, and measurements of a solar energy system. By simply entering an address you can automatically access a homeowner’s utilities data, and create a design system optimized for that specific roof in under 60 seconds. Featuring One-Click Shading, Solargraf even provides shading values that can be incorporated into your design calculations.
And if you want to upload your own rooftop photos from drones into the software, Solargraf can accommodate that as well!
Financing
When it comes to the bottom line, many solar clients are concerned about costs and how the installation of panels will be financed. As a contractor, not having access to immediate financing options can undermine a potential client’s confidence in your company’s legitimacy. That’s why Solargraf connects you directly to lenders to help you add complex solar financing options directly into your quotes.
Speedy permits
As a contractor, being held back by bureaucratic red tape can be a headache. When the installation process is stalled because you can’t access the necessary permits, your business will inevitably waste time, money, and potentially lose the contract. With Solargraf you can rest assured that you’ll receive all the necessary compliant permits and manage stamp requests quickly and easily.
Real-time negotiations
If a sales rep and a client can’t hammer out issues related to design and financing on the spot, you risk losing the prospect to a company that is capable of negotiating on the fly. That’s why Solargraf software allows you to draw up contracts in real-time and get clients to e-sign on the spot.
White labelling
An important feature of the Solargraf suite is that you’re free to customize the software to your specifications. That includes adding logos, creating proposals in your choice of color and font, and tailoring your design to correspond to your company’s unique requirements.
This helps solar companies to better promote their products and create brand loyalty in the process.
In closing
With the economy turned upside down because of COVID-19, solar energy companies need to abandon outdated, low tech strategies. Convoluted spreadsheets, obsolete sales programs, haphazard lead generation tools, and complicated engineering and design formulas are methods that in these dog-eat-dog times translate into losing ground to more technologically proactive solar companies.
A well-tailored software is no longer a luxury limited to the big players; it is a critical tool for companies of any size that want to improve sales and streamline operational costs. Although there is a plethora of solar software options that pledge to help with some of the tasks that befall solar contractors, there is only one software that is capable of scaling and simplifying all of the issues contractors need covered. It’s Solargraf, the end-to-end software solution built by installers, for installers.
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