Each week we gain more perspective on commercial integration by profiling industry pros.

This week we talk with Borrego Solar‘s VP of sales, Ned DeWitt.

How did you become involved in commercial integration?
I have always had a fascination with solar energy and it has always seemed crazy to me that as a society we have not made better choices about how to generate electricity. I got into commercial integration in the solar industry to see if I could make a difference, to see if I could help create a sustainable, renewable energy industry.

What is something special you bring to your position?
When I first got into sales, I spent a lot of time talking about what I thought was special or valuable about the product I was trying to sell. Before long, I realized that what I thought was interesting or valuable was irrelevant. What matters is what is valuable to our customers.  As soon as I figured that out, my style changed. I started asking a lot questions and doing my best to listen to the answers.  Asking questions and really listening instead of just planning what you are going to say next is a lot harder than most people think. It runs against most people’s natural instinct, but it is a critical skill to develop.

Is there a particular book that has inspired the way you approach business?
In 2002, I read a book called Natural Capitalism. The basic idea of the book is that it’s not just a feel-good notion that we should turn our businesses and economies away from unsustainable, polluting practices, but it’s an inevitable fact that our businesses will turn away from them because there are fortunes to be made in the process.

The book foretells of vast new industries based on sustainable business practices that are employed because green, sustainable practices are ultimately more efficient and more profitable. The book helped me gain the courage needed to join the fledgling solar industry eight years ago. As it turns out, the authors were on to something because as predicted in the book, the solar industry has been on an annual growth curve of about 40-50 percent a year over the last decade.

What business practices can integrators learn from other industries?
Communication. Communication. Communication. It comes up every time we do a customer survey and every time I talk with our customers.  They want to know what’s going on with their installation. They want updates and they have questions. I don’t know which industry embodies communication the best, but wherever you see companies communicating often and well with their customers, you should take note and try to copy them.

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