The solar industry is in a constant state of growth, and as the world comes to terms with the consequences of fossil fuel use on our environment, the demand will only grow. At the same time, technology is improving at incredible speeds, and the cost of equipment is falling equally rapidly. More and more entrepreneurial energy companies are moving into the space every year, and the combination of that additional competition and shrinking margins makes the industry extremely competitive. 

Customer resource management tools have enjoyed growing popularity across the solar sales industry thanks to their ability to cut waste and streamline important revenue-generating processes like prospecting, sales, and marketing. While there are dozens of CRM systems currently on the market, only certain ones, like CRMDialer, are designed specifically to meet the needs of solar sales organizations and solar call centers, so it’s important to carefully select your CRM based on the features it offers. The following are just a few of the key areas to focus on when shopping for a new CRM platform for our own solar call center. 

 

A Highly Capable Power Dialer

First and foremost, your solar call center needs any new tool you introduce to enhance and augment your calling operations, and that’s no different for CRM platforms. CRMDialer comes with a fully functional power dialer built right in. That dialer offers everything the most powerful stand-alone dialers on the market can, but with complete integration with an industry-leading customer resource management system, as well. That’s a powerful combination for any call center that few CRM systems can match. 

CRMDialer’s cloud-based dialer completely replaces your existing traditional phone system, including all of the hardware, all of the maintenance and support, and, most importantly, the monthly bill as well! It enables your solar sales agents to automate and streamline as many of their calling processes as possible, enabling them to make more calls each day while also reducing and eliminating many of the repetitive tasks that make call centers stressful work environments. 

Solar sales agents can use call queues to set up their day’s call sheet, and then let the dialer work through each call, one after the other, with no need for any manual dialing whatsoever. Once on a call, your team can access all the data you have stored on the prospect they’re talking to by accessing the lead management system right from within the dialer. When calls go unanswered, agents can drop a voicemail in a single click and move on to the next call – no waiting for the beep required. 

The power dialer also provides a complete inbound IVR system to ensure any calls you receive from interested buyers or existing customers are properly routed to the right person, the first time around. Additional features include call recording for training purposes, customizable on-hold messages, local presence calling for out-of-area prospects, and much more. 

 

Team Collaboration Tools

Over 60% of solar sales professionals say that close teamwork is an important part of their jobs, and over 70% say group discussions are a daily occurrence. It makes sense, since solar technology is complex, and your salespeople need to regularly liaise with installation techs, management, and their peers in order to provide the best possible service and support to your clients. 

CRMDialer makes team collaboration frictionless by providing a secure internal chat client designed to knock down information silos and make it easier for everyone in your organization to do their jobs. Because the chat client is fully integrated with the CRM, your team can access it right while they’re on the phone, with no interruption to their call and no need to exit the CRM. That brings the power of popular team collaboration tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams to your organization without ever requiring your agents to log in to a separate system or manage two things at once. 

 

An Advanced Lead Management Suite

The current market is extremely competitive, so no solar sales company, including your call center, can afford to let even a single quality lead slip through the cracks. It’s extremely important that your agents be able to quickly and accurately capture lead data from your sales calls, especially if your phone team then hands off qualified leads to an outside sales team. 

CRMDialer integrates its industry-leading power dialer with a complete lead management suite. That enables your agents to capture lead information from every single call to ensure that your team has a complete understanding of where each prospect is in the sales process, no matter how many different telephone agents or salespeople touch their accounts. 

From within the dialer, your solar call center agents can access the profile of the lead they’re talking to with a single click, giving them full access to existing lead data, as well as the ability to schedule meetings, add call notes, upload documents, see the details of previous contact points, compose an email, schedule reminders, and more. 

The system enables your telephone agents to capture and manage lead data more effectively, while also using that data to deliver a better sales process and to keep prospects moving through your funnel towards successful installations. 

 

Billing and Payment Tools to Streamline Recurring Billing

Solar installations, whether for home or commercial properties, are generally large purchases. While some customers opt to pay for their systems upfront, many either lease the equipment or finance it from your solar company and pay it off over the life of the installation. That means its important to make it as easy as possible for your call center agents and salespeople to set up recurring invoicing and payments once a deal has been closed. 

CRMDialer’s billing and payments suite makes it easy to set up custom recurring billing and to collect payment as quickly as possible to ensure maximum cash flow. Once a deal is closed, your agents can easily set up new custom invoices using the easy-to-use editable templates included with the system. They can set the terms and schedule the invoices to recur monthly, bi-weekly, or over any period they choose. 

The suite also enables payments to be taken directly over the phone thanks to complete integration with Authorize.Net and the Paya network. Your agents can accept any major credit card, and even ACH and eCheck payment. That makes it easier to secure fast payment on upfront purchases or technician calls and to chase down delinquent accounts before they become problematic. 

 

CRMDialer’s full complement of sales and productivity tools also improves everything from your outbound marketing, to your email communications, schedule, customer support, and more. It’s an organization-wide game-changer that will streamline almost all areas of your solar call center’s operations. For more information,  schedule a free demonstration, or start your free trial today.