Objection #2
“We’re Planning to Move Soon”
If a potential customer is thinking about moving in the next few years, selling them on going solar can be challenging. Homeowners may feel that:
- It isn’t worth upgrading their property before they move
- They don’t want to make what they consider to be a long-term investment
- Coordinating, financing, and transferring the ownership of an installation is too much of a hassle
Thankfully, even homeowners only planning to stay at a property for a short period of time can still reap many benefits from going solar. Be sure to emphasize these points when you hear the objection:
“We’re only planning on being at this house for a few (5-7) years, so I don't think solar will be worth the investment.”
When your payments are zero or a fixed low price, whose house do you think will sell faster?
Lily Valdez co-founder of Women United by Solar
Solution #1
Homes with Solar Sell Faster and For More Money
Added savings and home value
“I always start with easing their concerns. If the customer is thinking that in 5-7 years they’ll be left with a large loan, that can be a big concern. But what you’re actually doing by going solar is saving monthly and adding value to your home (especially in California).”
💡 Lily Valdez, co-founder of Women United by Solar
A hidden benefit: lower total cost of ownership
“If you don’t have solar, you may be at a disadvantage because people are looking at the total cost of the home. They are looking at mortgage and other monthly payments, and when your payments are zero or a fixed low price, whose house do you think will sell faster?”
💡 Lily Valdez, co-founder of Women United by Solar
Of course, many homeowners won’t just take your word for it, so come with facts to back up these claims. Lily usually points to two trusted sources:
- A study from Zillow that shows solar adds more than 4% to a home’s sale price.
- Research from Berkeley Labs that indicates home buyers are willing to pay a premium of almost $4 per watt of solar capacity installed on a home— which is more than $15,000 on an average install.
Solution #2
Solar Provides Fast ROI
Explain that 5-7 years is actually a long time
“If you told me that you were going to move out within 12 months, then this would not work for you. But since you’ll be living in the house for 5-to-7 years, then you can really benefit from solar.” 🪄 James Ramos, Founder of Solar YOUniversity
Lean on return on investment
“This is my favorite objection in the world. Because, at the end of the day, it’s just math… The value of your solar system is based on what utility rates are, and the more expensive those rates are the faster your ROI is. For the homeowners that I work with, it only takes 5-to-7 years to have the whole system paid off given how much money they’re paying to the utility.” ☀️ “Solar Joe” Mousakheel, CRO of The Solar Academy
Solution #3
Consider a PPA if Available
No money out-of-pocket
“The fact is, when purchasing solar, money is leaving your bank account. For those cases where people can’t make their money back in 5-to-7 years, a PPA is probably best: You don’t put any money down and you’re not trying to recoup funds — you just focus on savings every month.”
📚 Jake Hess, founder of The Solar Academy
Click here to learn more about the pros and cons of PPAs, and other solar financing methods.
In Sales Mode
In Sales Mode you can accurately determine the payback time for potential solar systems and present that data to a customer in clear, easy to understand terms.