CASE STUDY · COMMERCIAL SOLAR INSTALLER · 5 MIN READ

Simcott Renewables: Why Darren Ford Wants a Steady Pace of Commercial Leads, Not a Flood

with our team at the interview

8 to 10 weeks

with our team at the interview

leads in the week of the interview

2 or 3

leads in the week of the interview

good opportunities from care homes

12 to 15

good opportunities from care homes

of field one leasehold lead turned out to own

18 acres

of field one leasehold lead turned out to own

10:19

Who Simcott Renewables are

Simcott Renewables helps commercial businesses reduce their carbon emissions, and their energy bills in the process. Darren Ford is its carbon reduction director and runs several businesses, solar being one of them, so he is approached by marketers all the time. Our team stood out, he says, because it did not want "this constant upfront feed scenario that everybody else wants", and it was realistic about what to expect.

Why the right pace beats a flood of leads

After onboarding, the flow started at about one a week and was two or three in the week of the interview. Darren is clear that more is not better:

“commercial leads are a lot more time intensive than residential leads so to service them properly you have to make sure you give them time and and space”

Ten a week, he says, would work for a fortnight, and then the follow-ups would stop. His point is that "we're both going to make more money if we close the leads and we're not just busy fools". When you browse leads, take on only as many as you can follow up properly.

The leasehold lead that was worth more

One lead shows why the first conversation matters more than the first design:

1. 1

   A design for the wrong building

   "I did the design against the postcode that was delivered got to speak to him it's the wrong building"

   Darren had designed against the postcode he was given. It was not the building the owner meant, and Darren says that has happened before.

2. 2

   That building was leasehold

   "I don't actually want it on that building because it's a lease hold"

   The owner did not want solar on a building he did not own.

3. 3

   But he owned more

   "I've got six other that we do own and I've got an 18 acre field"

   A lead that looked like a dead end became a conversation about several roofs and a possible ground mount.

Confirm the exact building and who owns it before you spend time on a design. Our commercial solar survey checklist covers that, and if a field comes into it, the commercial solar planning guide covers the permissions.

Care homes: why they use so much energy

A care home campaign our team ran for Simcott produced around 12 to 15 good opportunities, including a bundle of four care homes from a group that owns about 30, and an autism care site that might suit a solar farm. Darren explains the appeal: people are in the buildings 24 hours a day, heating, lighting, cooking, cleaning and running medical equipment.

“they are very very high energy users”

Occupied buildings like care homes bring insurers' fire safety expectations into the design; our guide to RC62 solar fire safety covers what they look for.

Paying when the appointment happens

Darren says the quality comes from the work done before a lead reaches him, including chasing the appointments and checking they are booked. He pays only when the meeting takes place:

“if they don't turn up I don't pay and if they do turn up then we then we pay”

He is frank about the price too: "it's not cheap but it's very good". You only pay for appointments that are actually attended, and any that aren't viable we replace. Our guide to commercial solar lead costs explains how prices are set.

The full interview is in the video above. TNW Marketing's own write-up of Darren Ford's interview is on tnwmarketing.com. More installers talk about their leads in our case studies and on the reviews page.

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