California Solar Systems
In 2011, California Solar Systems partnered with Clean Power Finance to become one of the fastest growing solar installers in California.
Challenge
California Solar Systems is a leading solar installer operating in the Northern and Southern California markets. They specialize in the engineering, design and installation of PV solar projects for residential and commercial customers. Their hands-on approach to customer service and commitment to quality work with fast installation times set them apart in their markets.
In 2009 and 2010, California Solar Systems was installing a solid base of approximately 150 residential projects per year in all-cash deals. While their sales team maintained a steady flow of deals, not being able to provide finance options to customers limited their revenue growth and market share. California Solar Systems President Barry Wardak explains, “We were sick of losing deals to competitors who could offer a PPA or lease.”
Realizing the potential revenue gains of being able to offer finance options to homeowners, California Solar Systems was looking for a partner with a scalable finance program that would allow them to get deals through as quickly as possible. It was important to them to find a single-source finance provider that would allow them to offer flexible options to homeowners.
Action
After piloting a program with another finance provider and considering several options, California Solar Systems selected Clean Power Finance because we offered the following key benefits:
- Non-exclusive agreement
- Choice of equipment
- Faster payment than anyone in the industry
- Low, fixed fees
We immediately started developing an implementation plan that would get the program off the ground as quickly as possible. They started using our CPF Tools sales, system design and quoting software platform in March 2011. The following month they completed the finance verification process, which includes business evaluation and inspection of past work.
California Solar Systems was assigned a Customer Success Manager who trained their sales representatives on best practices for selling residential solar financing as well as how to use our CPF Tools platform to design systems and create customized proposals. Their sales team quickly caught on to our training on how to use “solar as a service” to win more customers. This in-person training program was held at two different California Solar Systems locations for eight sales representatives.
Wardak stresses the importance of our personalized customer support model:
“The training and support has been crucial to us in utilizing the CPF tool to its optimum potential. Our customer success manager gives us the attention we need to understand changes with the system and finance products in a timely fashion. This allows us to offer more accurate proposals to homeowners and save them money.”
Equally important to the implementation process, was the partnership between California Solar System’s operations team with Clean Power Finance’s asset management department. Once the sales team had closed a deal, operations and asset management worked together to process the necessary paperwork while adhering to fund and governmental guidelines. We assigned a dedicated asset management representative to California Solar System’s account who trained their operations staff and developed procedures to speed up deal processing.
Results
After California Solar Systems partnered with Clean Power Finance, they significantly grew their customer base and increased revenue. California Solar System’s President Barry Wardak explains:
“After a few months of working with Clean Power Finance, our business has tripled. That growth is solely based on financing.”
Some of the key achievements California Solar Systems accomplished selling with Clean Power Finance include:
- Tripled residential revenue in less than a year
- Went from having no finance deals to over 90% of sales from financed deals in a matter of months
- Increased ranking in the list of top California Solar Installers (CSI) from below #30 before offering financing to #12 in October 2011, making them one of the fastest growing solar installers in California
- Reduced project completion time by 35% between May and August due to improved deal processing procedures
California Solar Systems already had an experienced team and strong business model, but partnering with Clean Power Finance has allowed them to compete on a new level. Together we were able to achieve scalable growth in a remarkably short period.
To learn more about California Solar Systems, please visit their website.