Solar panel “door knockers” are the worst. Well, they were the worst – until now. We have a new loser swimming in the solar sales cesspool – the solar door hanger.
Someone is going around to the homes of people who have recently contracted to install solar panels and posting these door hangers. Presumably, they are getting the addresses through permit searches on building department websites. It looks like they are trying to poach customers by luring homeowners with one year of free power.
Free Solar Power
We all know nothing is free. This slimy scammer is selling fear. They want buyers to think they could have received a better deal. The concept here is to have someone back out of a binding contract so they can swoop in and offer them something better.
The Danger symbol and red color makes this look official, like a “red tag” that might be issued by a building authority to stop work. After all, you would have a permit application pending or issued, so one might jump to the thought that it is an official warning.
Does this really work? I’m quite certain our customers are far smarter than this.
If it weren’t so irritating, it would be funny. What does “because of your roof design” have to do with your eligibility to receive free power? That doesn’t even make sense!
Between door knockers, social media ads, and robocalls, the Free Solar Power sales pitch is really getting tired.
Solar Sales are Shady
For an industry that relies on the sun, solar sales has become one of the shadiest forms of sales in the nation. It gives the industry a bad name, and sales have suffered in Florida this year, in part due to these disgusting sales tactics. Many solar companies have gone bankrupt or closed up shop, and many of them used aggressive or misleading sales tactics.
Consumers desperately need transparency in every phase of the solar sales process. The main areas where people are left in the dark include the following.
- Performance claims. The amount of solar energy that a system will produce can be manipulated in popular energy modeling software be changing assumptions. Adjusting shading, orientation, and other loss factors can inflate production figures. And speaking of inflation, outlandish energy cost inflation percentages can easily skew financial investment returns.
- Financing. Selling a low low payment is one of the sleazy car sales tactics borrowed by solar salespeople. What consumers need to know is that traditional solar financing is packed with fees and risks that most buyers fail to realize. That’s not to say that long-term, low interest, low payment solar loans don’t have their place in the market. For some consumers the risks may be acceptable and mitigated. For others, it is absolutely devastating to get into a loan they don’t understand.
- Location. Many solar salespeople claim their company is local. Well, the salesperson might live in your neighborhood, or they might have a sales office in town, but the largest solar contractors come from out of town, and their records of service after the sale are abysmal. Even something as simple as a failed building inspection could add months to your project timeline. We see it over and over again.
It’s not just small desperate contractors perpetrating these tactics. Even the biggest companies like ADT Solar, which left the solar panel business, used door knockers to generate leads for their independent sales reps. Whether it was sanctioned or not, it was widespread and must have been known.
How To Handle Door Knockers and Door Hangers
The best thing to do is ignore them. You can call your gatehouse if you live in a gated community, but these people are relentless.
I will admit, I have had conversations with these people who knock on my door. It’s quite hilarious because I already have solar panels, and it is obvious – you can see them from the front of my house. They don’t even look up as they approach. They start their pitch about free solar or government programs or state rebates or whatever nonsense they want to spew. After a while, I politely let them down, knowing that I had wasted some of their precious time.
But I don’t recommend that for you. I’m gathering intelligence (although I feel a little less smart sometimes after hearing these people out). If people entertain the door knockers, it will just embolden them. And if people call the number on the door hangers, it just lets these people know that their advertisement is getting seen.
One day the well will run dry and these people will quit. I look forward to that day.
