Better Earth Achieves a 73% Close Rate with the Help of Snoball's Referrals Module
Written by: Snoball Editorial Team
Last Updated: Oct 1, 2023
COMPANY SUMMARY
Number of employees: 50-200
Industry focus: Solar energy
Founded: 2019
The Challenge
Making referrals an integrated part of the company's sales operations
Better Earth has always valued referrals. In fact, top sales representatives have always made it part of their plan to reach out to customers and ask for referrals. However, like many other sales-oriented organizations, Better Earth struggled to find a referral program that kept a steady inflow of new leads without a high level of buy-in from sales reps.
"What I've found is that what top performers do unbelievably well is... ask for referrals. That's very hard to replicate, especially at scale, especially when you're a company of our size...[Snoball] made it easy to automatically request referrals from all our sales people."
Better Earth worried that they might miss out on untapped potential by not soliciting referrals from all satisfied customers. While the company tried to implement simple referral programs that relied on follow-ups via text or email, they had a hard time finding something that really impacted their total sales.
Even high-performing employees struggled to find the time to seek out referrals amidst the demands of making sales, following up with customers, and managing deals. Better Earth knew it needed a solution that would elevate the entire sales department.
The Solution
An automated referral process with the ability to scale
A renewed hope was born when Better Earth was introduced to Snoball's (formerly known as Best Company for Business) new Referrals Module. Better Earth was one of the first companies selected to test the Referrals Module.
Because the company had already witnessed many wins while using Snoball's review generation and reputation marketing tools, Better Earth was more than excited to try out the Referrals Module.
The Referrals Module would help Better Earth in several ways:
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Make it easy for all reps to get referrals without the manual follow-up
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Track referrals and payouts all in one place
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Automate the referral process by linking with a CRM system
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Drive sales growth when paired with reviews and reputation marketing
Jeremy Nicholson
VP of Sales @ Better Earth
We're huge advocates of [Snoball] in general. [Snoball] has helped us with other areas of our business like reputation management and lead generation as well. We were super excited to be chosen to take part of this because we see it as only like a win-win scenario.
Referral programs are a well-established marketing strategy. Snoball has refined and optimized this strategy, streamlining the process and implementing innovative tactics to enhance its efficacy.
The Results
Lowered customer acquisition costs, magnified sales rep performance, optimized referral algorithm, and improved customer journey
Better Earth was blown away by the remarkable outcomes achieved in just a few months of implementing the new Referrals Module. With seamless synchronization of their CRM, the solar company could effortlessly cherry-pick the customer lists for uploading, after which Snoball took the reins.
As a result of the Referrals Module, Better Earth began reaping the rewards of multiple closed deals. Moreover, the company stumbled upon unforeseen benefits such as an enhanced customer experience and a wealth of referral data to refine its outreach strategy.
Key Metrics
KEY OUTCOMES FOR Better Earth
Lowered customer acquisition costs
Magnified sales rep success
Optimized referral algorithm
Elevated customer experience
Lowered customer acquisition costs
Using the Referrals Module, Better Earth created a new stream of educated sales prospects. In fact, 73 percent of the referrals that scheduled an appointment ended up signing a solar sales agreement.
The CAC using the new Referrals Module turned out to be a lot lower than what Better Earth was spending to acquire new customers on other marketing platforms. Better Earth had control over the CAC by managing how much each payout was and when the payout occurred for each new referral or sale.
Magnified sales rep success
Implementing a scalable referral program has made it easier for all sales representatives to improve their numbers. Using the referrals dashboard, leaders can easily see the top performers and encourage sales reps to provide a better experience.
An optimized referral algorithm
Snoball's team tweaked and optimized the messaging and handled all follow-up for Better Earth. Better Earth was able to sit back while Snoball's team worked to optimize the timing and messaging of referral requests.
Elevated customer experience
One unexpected benefit of the Referrals Module was opening up communication channels with customers who had already received service. Typically after the sale, communication between the company and the customer dwindles.
However, messages to the customers asking for referrals sparked important conversations that allowed team members to jump in and resolve concerns. Now many of these customers will come away with an improved experience and share that experience online in a review and eventually to their family and friends as a referral.
"And so we got to take the bad taste out of that particular customer's mouth relatively quickly and fix things before it became, you know, a bigger problem."
Who is Better Earth?
A solar and renewable energy company
Better Earth is a solar company with a mission to provide an incredible and unforgettable customer experience, take care of its team, and build a strong culture. In 2020, Better Earth acquired Regal Electric, a solar installation company based in California, which allowed them to control the entire solar process from start to finish.
The company has experienced rapid growth and now operates in California, Arizona, and Florida, with a goal to expand into other solar-friendly states and eventually worldwide. Better Earth plans to expand into sustainable product offerings for residential and commercial customers.
