After a number of years providing information about the solar industry to the public, Minnis Solar Consultants, LLC discovered that home owners are increasingly bombarded by “door to door” salesmen(women). These “door knockers”, also known as Appointment Setters or Closers, or any other variety of titles come down to the same tactics/methods. Appointment Setters (Lead Generators), or “one-stop closers” all come down to using the tactic of going to peoples private homes with a set objective in mind. I am well aware of this trend in Utah at the current time, but the door to door tactic has been around in full function for a long time.

WHY DO COMPANIES STILL GO DOOR TO DOOR?

Why do companies go door to door? The answer is simple: It works! This tactic works, but leaves a wake of frustration to the home owner and can provoke anger due to the unscheduled intrusions into the privacy of family homes. Canvassers are trained to plow through 100’s of doors daily, looking to be in the right place at the right time. When a canvasser (door knocker) does find a receptive ear, the goal is to deliver some valuable information to someone who was actually hoping you would stop by. Some door to door appointment setters are extremely courteous and helpful, while others lack skill and tact even though managers attempt to train them. Some appointment setters are well informed and other are not.

Of course, the arena of door to door sales is not new. The Traveling salesman or snake oil salesman has been around in some form or another since the formation of our wonderful country. We can even consider the snake oil salesman selling the “cure-all” potions which were probably mostly alcohol to make its user fall asleep faster.

THE BIG SURGE WITH SOLAR COMPANIES AT YOUR DOOR IN THE SUMMER

In the solar industry, as recent as 2015-2019 there has been a surge of big players going door to door. This got me wondering why the big companies such as Vivint and SolarCity are so committed to the door to door appointment setting and closer tactic. Isn’t the online digital marketing game a lot easier than running teams of canvassers at $18/hourly plus commissions?

LOOKING AT THE BIG PLAYERS WHO GO DOOR TO DOOR

Looking at the large solar companies can provide some great analysis. Some companies, like Vivint Solar were not even in the solar game from the beginning. The nature of the sales process for solar actually makes door to door approaches more efficient at generating revenue than digital/media marketing. The ad spend for digital and print media is very costly. When compared to running canvassing teams it can be even more expensive with a lower return on investment (ROI). The personal interactions of door to door contact cannot be easily duplicated with digital and print media. If it is duplicated it takes a significant amount of time, exposures, and trust building. Over time, I have come to realize and value personal interactions with the public to collect accurate and reliable information about their situation regarding solar. It can be much easier than trying to get meaningful information from online methods. Online, the customer often puts in fake data and there is a lot of “tire kicking” without any genuine appointments being set from online digital marketing.

On the other hand, looking for one customer out of hundreds or thousands of cold calls on the doors is hard. Five years ago in Utah, it was easier for an appointment setter to set 5 quality appointments in a day and have the customer actually show up for the set appointment. Today in 2020 it is a much harder task. That was because not many people had solar installed 5 years ago. The solar boom is a new industry. As of 2020, 10% + of Utah residential properties already have solar. Those were the people who were already interested in solar. They are what we call the “low hanging fruit”. Finding the new customers via door to door canvassing has become harder and harder for those doing the job for solar companies in 2020.

DOOR TO DOOR CANVASSING TURN-OVER

The turn-over for staffing canvassing teams is very high. This is understandable given how much physical work it is to knock on hundreds of door each day to produce what the managers are driving for. This does not stop the big companies from filling the turn-over machine up over and over again using canvassing programs and training programs, but the canvassers themselves, often burn out quickly, or quit, because of needing to knock hundreds of doors a day in order to get 2-3 quality appointments set.

DOOR TO DOOR INTERACTIONS CAN BE ENJOYABLE

Being a consultative type professional, I enjoyed the interactions at the door with the public. I enjoyed managing canvassing teams and the art of interacting with cold calling. That part of door to door prospecting was enjoyable to me. I worked as a door to door canvasser in both the Solar industry and the Tree Trimming industry. While working for Evergreen Tree Care Inc. out of Spokane WA ( A great company by the way), I was frequently in the top 5 appointment setters in the company in terms of generating revenue from door to door appointment setting. But, make no mistake it is a hard job.

CAN DOOR TO DOOR CANVASSING BE REPLACED BY ONLINE DIGITAL MARKETING?

Can door to door canvassers be replaced by digital marketing. Well, digital marketing companies will tell you YES. However, in order to accomplish the same outcome (sales) with digital marketing as you do with door to door canvassing or lead generation it takes time and trust building . Because each household situation is different enough to need different unique information, and an array of subject matter keeps changing, the costs to accomplish this same targeted and individualized information via TV and internet advertising is costly. There is massive testing and complicated analytics addressing a dynamic and changing industry. Therefore, companies have continued to be willing to invest in their door to door marketing programs because relative to digital, TV, and print ads it makes financial sense.

THERE IS A PLACE FOR BOTH DIGITAL MARKETING AND IN-HOME CONSULTATIONS!

There are numerous articles regarding this subject. Even though door to door interactions creates many uncomfortable interactions for the public as well as the often young and unpolished door knockers, door to door canvassing programs are usually less expensive than digital and print marketing in the long game. This is true even though the door to door process takes a lot of “sifting” to find the customer who is primed and ready for you to show up unannounced. Don’t get me wrong, the vast majority of people are very kind to door knockers, but they are not necessarily going to tell these young door knockers, they are not interested early on in the conversation.

MINNIS SOLAR CONSULTANTS HAS DEVELOPED A UNIQUE APPROACH MELDING TWO MARKETING TECHNIQUES.

It makes sense that consumers often do a lot of research before they purchase a solar system. This is where online systems provide a great service. Here at Minnis Solar News, we let our websites and computer systems do some heavy lifting.

“We are not concerned about whether someone is ready to buy solar or not. This is not the goal of MinnisSolarNews.com.”

Many companies have taken on the monumental task of Marketing & Selling, and also Installing solar.

“Here, we focus on providing information, but more than that, we are a COMMUNITY. ”

Unlike other marketing websites, our focus is on, what I loved: Interacting and facilitating interactions with the public.

“We have set up chat rooms and communication channels, without the goal of selling solar.”

This allows the consumer to join us without as much worry and concern about being “sold”. No one really likes that.

“Here at Minnis Solar News, we want to build a trusting community where the consumer is in the drivers seat.”

If and when a potential customer wants someone to come to their home or business we can do that.

” For those who love the in-person interaction like I do, I’ll see you at your home when you register for an appointment.“