Name: Brian
Email:
Web Site: http://www.cammpus.com/
Bio: Brian Hayden is one of the founders of Cammpus and HeatSpring Learning Institute. Cammpus takes static content and converts it into world-class online learning programs. HeatSpring has trained more than 4,000 professionals in geothermal heat pumps, solar PV, solar thermal, and energy audits.
Posts
- How to Build a Renewable Energy Division in an Existing Construction Company
- Create a Workshop and Have Customers Come to You
- Designing a Sellable Solar Company
- How to Create a Sales Presentation for a Homeowner Workshop
- 5 key Items to Writing a Solid Solar Sales Proposal
- How to Overcome the Top 5 Objections when Selling Solar
- 3 Things You May Not Know About Solar PV Sales
- Top 5 Ways to Spot a Bad Solar Roof
- Solar Financing Options and the Benefits of Each
- What is an SREC?
- HS TV Ep 3. The Development of the US SREC Market
- The 4 Ownership Structures Used to Finance Solar Projects
- Beginners Guide to Financing Solar Projects
- 5 Basics Elements You Need to Know to Finance a Solar Project
- How to Create a Solar PPA
- How to Use Lean Startup Methods to Increase Renewable Energy Profits
- The Solar Interconnection Process 101
- 9 Things You Must Know to Become a Solar Designer
- What Licenses Do You Need to Install Solar
- 90 Second Solar PV Training
- EverGreen Solar
- Kyocera
- Sharp
- First Solar
- Suntech
- SunPower
- Schott Solar
- Yingli Solar
- Solar World
- Westinghouse Solar
- BP Solar
- Sungen
- JA Solar
- Trina Solar
- Gintech
- Mitsubishi
- Bosh
- Solyndra
- Canadian Solar
- Conergy
Reading Guide for a New Solar Company
October 21st, 2011We get a lot of requests from professionals who are looking to start new solar companies or expanding their existing businesses into solar. With the last Massachusetts SREC aucton clossing at $535 MWh, and New Hampshire solar incentives coming online it’s no wonder so many companies are looking to it. For those in the NESEA crowd looking to get into the space or expand existing businesses, we’ve compile a list of reading material aimed at helping contractors measure demand in their market, make initial sales, and building a profitable company, or division of an existing company.
Reading Guide for a New Solar Company
Marketing
Sales
Solar Financing
Design and Installation
Other
VOTE: What are NESEAs Members Favorite Solar Modules?
May 13th, 2011At HeatSpring, we’re all about the solar contractors on the ground.
Lately there’s been a lot of debate about solar modules. Which ones are bankable? The most efficient? The best price? We’ve also been reiceving a number of questions from our alumni and readers about modules. While, I could spend plenty of time research modules and using my own experience to create some conclusions, it wouldn’t be very useful. WE WANT to hear from you, the installer and NESEA community, about the solar modules that you most prefer and why. No distributors or manufactueres will be allowed to vote and will make sure of this by requiring a name and valid email address and company name.
After the voting has concluded in one month, we will compile all the data and make it public for you the installers to see and use.
You can vote for your favorite module here. It will take less then 3.8 minutes of you day.
We’re most interested in learning:
1) Your favorite solar module
2) Why?
3) Any anecdote you can share as to why this is your favorite module.
We know that we may have missed a couple companies but feel this represents the majority of products used in the US.
Again, if you are an installer, you can vote for your favorite module here.
We will never release any of your contact information, this is just used to make sure you are not a distributor or manufacturer.
Thank you,
Brian Hayden
Four Ways to Generate Referral Business for your Renewable Energy Company
April 5th, 2011We all know that the local contracting business is built on word-of-mouth, relationships and trust. Renewable energy is no different. People LOVE talking about their new solar or geothermal system, so figuring out of to leverage that word-of-mouth is the most powerful marketing effort you can undertake.
This is the second article in a series of columns on marketing for renewable energy companies. The first article described how to generate customer leads by holding a geothermal or solar workshop. These are four suggestions for what to do next. Keep in mind you can use all of these ideas with solar photovoltaic, geothermal or solar thermal systems. For the sake of this post, we will use geothermal for consistency.
1) Document the whole installation process from A to Z. Loves Geothermal, in Maryland, is a great example of this. Burn the pictures and videos you have from working on the project onto a CD and give it to the customer when you’ve completed the project. Make sure to have a branded introduction at the beginning of the video, but make it short. Just include your company name and contact information. What will this do? If friends of your customer ask about the system, they will have an awesome video to show, and they will pass your name around. Also, any questions that the customer isn’t able to answer for his or her friends can be redirected to your business.
You can use the CD on future sales calls. Aside from cash, people just want to make sure that the technology works and that you can complete the job. Showing a video of your team doing the work for a customer who loves you will decrease their fear.
Lastly, if you have a website, you can easily use the video and/or pictures on it. Most potential customers will check your website before making a decision.
2) Create a customer video. Similar to documenting the whole process, shoot a short video of the client and have them describe why they went with geothermal, how they felt as the process went along, and if they’ve been happy with the finished system. Just as you can use the installation video to secure future sales, this is proof of customer satisfaction.
3) Offer tours of existing installations. This depends on the type of relationship you have with the client, but one of the best ways to convince someone who’s on the fence is for them to see a happy customer and a system that is operating. Also, if you schedule a regular tour, you can bring many potential clients on a visit at once, which makes your sales process much more efficient. This is also a good way to keep in touch with old customers to make sure they’re satisfied and to find out if they’d like any more work done in the future.
4) Write a newspaper article. Green gets press. If your installation is one of the first in town, call the local newspaper to see if they have anyone who covers environmental issues. Pitch a story about how a local homeowner is taking advantage of government grants to decrease their heating bills and make sure to follow up, providing any information they may need. If it’s not one of the first projects in town, pitch it as a trend and suggest they interview a few different system owners.
