5 ways to sell more solar

By Jonny Suchor. 

Industry leaders discuss how to integrate solar solutions into your roofing businesses. 

In an episode of Roofing Road Trips®, a panel of industry experts discussed the necessary tools to seamlessly integrate solar solutions into your roofing business. Hosted by Heidi J. Ellsworth, we heard insights from Jon Gardner of Owens Corning, Adam Bensman of The Roof Strategist, Kody Landals of Landals Roofing, Ryan Shantz of SumoQuote and Anna Anderson of Art Unlimited, who are all trainers from Owens Corning University, about how contractors can add solar to their business and the resources available to successfully sell more with solar. 

1 – Solar PROtect 

Jon introduced Owens Corning's initiative, Solar PROtect, which aims to equip contractors with the necessary tools and knowledge to incorporate solar offerings into their services. He emphasized the importance of the approach to roofing solutions that include solar, highlighting the initiative’s focus on comprehensive systems and enhanced warranties that cover both roofing and solar installations. He shared, "The Solar PROtect program is really just about making sure that the system is best in class. The warranty integrates to solar in this very specific training we're talking about, enables our contractors to systematically bring solar into their business, their existing business, without a lot of friction and without a lot of additional costs." 

2 – Business growth 

Adam discussed the transformative potential of adding solar services. “By adding solar to your business, you can grow by 41%," he said. "That's 41% more revenue without any new customers, without spending any more money on marketing, not needing any more leads, not hiring any more salespeople and providing more value to your team. And that's what I lead the kickoff of the training on." Adam’s strategy focuses on educating roofing businesses on how to easily integrate solar solutions, expanding their market reach and increasing profitability without additional resources. 

3 – Competitive advantage 

Kody shared his transition from a focus on solar in the military to leading a roofing business that incorporates solar solutions. He stressed the competitive advantage for roofers who can offer combined roofing and solar packages, predicting that future industry leaders will be those who embrace this integrated approach. "I firmly believe that over the next five years, there's not going to be any separate solar and roofing companies. There's just going to be solar and roofing companies,” Kody said. “Just the competitive advantages as a roofer, to be able to offer solar as a bolt-on service, instead of it being an independent separate business, is just... It's massive." 

4 – Solar roof quotes 

Ryan from SumoQuote highlighted the technical aspects of selling and installing roof and solar systems. He detailed how SumoQuote has developed tools to simplify the quote and sales processes for roofing businesses venturing into solar, enhancing their ability to present visually appealing proposals to homeowners. "From the SumoQuote side, we've been able to build something that not only has been best in class for roofing for years, but it's something that now is very specifically built for selling roofs with solar,” Ryan explained. 

5 – Communicate and market solar services 

Anna discussed the marketing strategies necessary for roofing companies to communicate their new solar services effectively. “What we walk through is saying, not only can you tap into your existing audience and provide that new message, but how do you create more opportunities and how do you educate that customer,” Anna shared. "More and more consumers recognize that their roof-scape is their next opportunity to be more efficient. And so, you as the contractor can bring that education and value to the forefront and begin to transform your business." 

Together, these industry leaders and Owens Corning University trainers provided a roadmap for roofing companies interested in expanding into the solar market and shared the benefits to being the go-to contractor for roofing and solar. 

Read the transcript or Listen to the podcast to learn more about solar solutions available.