The renewable energy market has an image problem. Many people drop out because they think it is too expensive and complex. Selling products like heat pumps and solar panels is often a custom job. Wijnand Wieles of Saman Group makes an effort to make renewable energy accessible to everyone. And that is not just about prices, but also about clear information and "smooth" sales processes. In Salesdock, Wijnand found a companion for his green mission.

Last year, during his sabbatical, Wijnand came up with the idea of renting out heat pumps. "Heat pumps seem like an unfeasible investment for many people," Wijnand explains, "while they are ideally suited to make households more sustainable. Through rentin, it is also accessible to people with less savings." He developed his idea and came into contact with Saman Groep, a well-known player in the field of renewable energy. There was an instant click, soon he joined Saman Group to realize his idea. Within a few months his responsibilities grew, resulting in a role as manager of marketing & sales for all propositions. His goal remains the same: "to make sustainability accessible to everyone.

According to Wijnand, making renewable energy accessible is not limited to price. "Of course renewable energy has to be affordable to get as many people as possible on board, but making the information accessible is just as important." The pack of paper with all kinds of technical details that people received as a quote when considering a heat pump was an eyesore to him. "A proposal should tell a story. The reader should understand it immediately and get excited," Wijnand states. He contacted Salesdock and presented his ambitions and plans. Mark Hekkelman, co-founder and CEO of Salesdock, remembers the first conversation with Wijnand well: "Saman Group came in with the idea of turning a 'technical product' into a marketing story. The buying process had to become a real customer journey." Immediately from the first talks on, Salesdock appeared to share Wijnand's vision. For several times Mark, Nick and Suzanne traveled from Enschede to the Zeeland offices of Saman Groep. Nick immersed himself in the technical aspects of the commercial processes and Suzanne threw herself into designing a proposal with the right story. "The challenge is to use smart calculation models to turn limited data into good advice on a nice and easily accepted proposal," Wijnand explains. The parties got to work together. At the time of writing (October '22), proposals for the rental of heat pumps, solar panels and central heating boilers have been in use for two months. Customers now receive a digital proposal with clear and appealing information. "Customers are responding positively," says Wijnand, "the conversion rate is great." Wijnand also notices an increase in measurability of data, so he continues to see new opportunities to improve the process. "Our consultants are also enthusiastic. It makes their work easier and more fun." Mark: "Salesdock has been active for years in making selling fun and easy: the sales journey. In this collaboration, two worlds met: the sales journey and the customer journey." The cooperation has been excellent, according to Wijnand: "Salesdock is a real hands-on club. They understand the subject's matter because of their experience in energy. Moreover, they know how salespeople work. They are open to new ideas and bring ideas themselves. There is input from both sides. It's a nice synergy." Mark endorses Wijnand's words, "Salesdock is helping Saman Group by digitizing traditional markets, which are often still dominated by technical installation companies that don't always speak the customer's language, and putting them in a user-friendly and beautiful package. Conversely, thanks to the input from Saman Group, we have been able to further develop our platform." The collaboration began with developing a really nice customer journey for Saman Groep's rental propositions. Mark looks forward to the continued collaboration: "Saman Group is a great example of a new type of customer within Salesdock: a party that sells and installs itself. We have developed something unique and beautiful together." Both parties like the cooperation so much that it will be further expanded in 2023. Mark: "The goal is to develop a very nice leadfunnel tool for consumers and put all the steps in the sales process, including after-sales, in one place: the SalesCRM." Step by step, sales of all products, both rentals and sales, will be enabled from Salesdock. Wijnand also sees a bright future: "With Salesdock, we are taking important steps to make sustainability accessible to everyone. And that is what we are all about."