Who is Sun Up Zero Down?

Sun Up Zero Down is a solar energy company for residential and commercial properties in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, with over 50 years of combined industry experience. The company has a sales department and call center, and sales director Denise Provinzano works closely with owner Joe Carew on strategic initiatives. “It’s a team effort,” Denise said. “Everyone here works hard to drive growth and create the best experience possible for our customers.

Why did you start using Hatch?

The team at Sun Up Zero Down was using lead aggregators combined with a dialer to reach those leads. “But the texting feature within the dialer was archaic and not user-friendly,” said Denise. Having come from a company that was using Hach, Denise suggested it right away. “We used Hatch at my last company so I knew the value. Not just of automated outreach, but of having standardized processes for the team.”

And when the team learned that Hatch now had an AI feature, they were excited. “We especially liked the idea of the AI taking pressure off of our employees,” she said.

“We especially liked the idea of the AI taking pressure off of our employees.”

How do you use Hatch?

Sun Up Zero Down has their CRM and lead sources connected to Hatch. These include Zoho, Solar Reviews, Lead Genesis, Energy Bill Cruncher, Clean Energy Experts, and more.

This allows them to create outreach campaigns for each of the touchpoints across the customer journey:

• Speed to Lead (reaching out to new leads)
• Sales Follow-Up (following up on recent estimates)
• Nurture (re-engaging aged leads)
• Appointment Confirmations

Their Hatch AI bots then handle the responses to those campaigns. The bots are fully customizable and have three main components.

The first is the Persona, which determines their tone, personality, and conversational style:

The second is Interactions, which is the script of questions you want the bot to ask:

The third is the Business Profile, which the bot will use to answer off-script questions from customers.

When contacts respond to Sun Up Zero Down’s automated outreach messages, the bots are the “first responders.” They do all the rinse-and-repeat questions to qualify the lead and collect the information needed for the appointment, and then hand the lead off to the call center rep to set the appointment.

Denise actually prefers this over having the bot set the appointment. “There are specific reps for different areas and services, so it’s better to have a human to choose who the appointment is with,” she said.

This leaves her human reps responsible only for taking the conversations through the finish line, as well as monitoring and refining the bots as needed.

Here’s a sample from a real conversation between one of their Hatch bots and a lead:

What benefits have you seen with Hatch?

No more missed opportunities

The first benefit Denise mentioned is that of not losing opportunities. “Our campaigns go out, but when a lead replies, we can’t always get to them right away, whether because we’re not in the office or there are too many responses coming in at once. This is not a problem anymore with our bots.”

Denise shares that she had 10 appointments set the week prior that would not have been set had there not been a bot there to handle the initial response.

“So we like that it keeps the conversation going. And then by the time the lead gets to one of my reps, all they have to do is schedule. It’s a seamless transition.”

“Our campaigns go out, but when a lead replies, we can’t always get to them right away... This is not a problem anymore with our bots.”

Excellent customer experience

Denise explains that the bots offer a human-equivalent experience. “I've talked to so many people, they don't even realize they're talking to a bot, which is really nice.” In addition, because the bots respond immediately and ask the right questions, they keep the homeowner engaged and the conversations are faster.

Denise also shared that they handle off-script conversations well. “There was even a customer who informed us of a death in the family, and our bot was so sympathetic. He extended his condolences and told her we were here for her and everything.”

Visibility

As a Director of Sales, Denise likes the visibility that Hatch gives her. She can see calls, messages, emails, and reply times by rep, as well as campaign performance. “I get a bird’s eye view into what my team is doing, and whether they’re following up on their leads, which is really helpful as a manager. Hatch is definitely an asset. I couldn't imagine running a sales team without it.”

"Hatch is definitely an asset. I couldn't imagine running a sales team without it.”

Improved efficiency

By streamlining communication, Hatch allows Denise’s team to maintain their level of service without having to hire on more reps. “It also gives my reps time back in their day to be able to broaden the scope of their role,” she adds.

“Once you get it set, the AIs really do all the work for you. It gathers the email address, the phone number, confirming that the customer is the homeowner. Like, these are all things we need to know. And it just takes the burden off of my call center so then they don’t have to ask the same questions over and over again, and all they really have to do is share dates and time.”

Reduced no-shows

In addition to speed to lead, Sun Up Zero Down is using Hatch for appointment confirmation campaigns and canceled appointment rescheduling campaigns. And this, Denise says, has increased appointment show rates by 15%.

“Since solar is a ‘want’ and not a ‘need,’ we tend to have a longer sales cycle and we get people canceling or not showing up for appointments, so these campaigns have been huge for us.”

What has been your AI experience with Hatch?

Denise sought out Hatch AI because she knows the necessity of this type of technology. “AI is taking over, it's here and a lot of people are utilizing it. So wherever you can automate the sales process, you should be.”

She encourages businesses to adopt Hatch AI, even if, as a new technology, it may mean a rocky or slow start. In fact, good AI takes time to develop the right foundation, but once you have it built, it can continue growing over time.

“Getting our bot set up had its glitches and kinks, but once it was good to go, it’s been smooth sailing and I can speak volumes for it. These bots grow in their positions just like a regular employee does. It's a great tool, and I can't imagine not having it.”

Finally, she recommends Hatch because of the positive experience with both the platform and the team. “I tell people that if they’re looking for a communication platform, they’ve got to use Hatch because it's user-friendly, it's convenient, it's automated,” she said.

"The people that we worked with in Hatch were amazing and helpful, and I just think that they did a great job. And you don't always get that with companies. So it was just a good process. I mean, we've had a couple kinks, but it worked out and it worked out for the best.”

“I tell people that if they’re looking for a communication platform, they’ve got to use Hatch because it's user-friendly, it's convenient, it's automated.”