If you’ve just partnered with UrbanVolt – or you’re thinking about it – here’s something worth knowing early: the solution is strong, the numbers work, but clients will still push back. Not because they’re not interested, but because a fully-funded solar PPA is different enough from what they’re used to that it raises questions. Some of those questions come out as objections that can be handled by improving the client’s understanding.
Here’s how to handle the ones that come up most often.
“I’d rather own the system”
Fair enough – ownership makes sense for some businesses. If a client has the capital, is comfortable managing the system themselves, and doesn’t mind waiting nine to eleven years to see a net financial return, CAPEX is a legitimate route.
But most of the time, when a client says this, they haven’t thought through what ownership actually involves. The upfront cost is just the starting point. After that, it’s on them to maintain the system, deal with any repairs, and manage performance over time. If something goes wrong in year three, that’s their problem – not the installer’s.
UrbanVolt’s solar PPA flips all of that. No capital outlay, no maintenance headaches, savings from the first month of production. The money they would have spent on panels can stay in the business.
And if ownership is genuinely important to them, it’s still on the table. UrbanVolt’s contract allows the client to take ownership of the system at any point during the agreement, or at the end of it. They just don’t have to front the cost on day one.
“It sounds too good to be true”
This one’s worth taking seriously rather than brushing off. When someone says it, they’re telling you they don’t yet understand how the model works, and that’s a gap you need to close before anything else happens.
The explanation is simple enough. UrbanVolt puts up all the capital, installs the system on the client’s roof, and keeps ownership of it. The client agrees to buy the electricity they consume at a rate below what they’d pay the grid, for the duration of the contract. UrbanVolt makes its return over that period. That’s the whole deal.
What makes it credible – and this is the part that resonates – is that UrbanVolt has every commercial reason to install a good system and keep it running well. They only get paid for what the client consumes. A system that underperforms costs UrbanVolt money, not the client. We always look for win-win solutions.
If a client still looks sceptical, move to case studies. There are PDFs on the Partner Portal and videos on the website. These tend to do more work than any amount of explaining.
“What if we move or sell the building?”
This one causes more deals to stall than it should, because the reality is far more flexible than people assume.
If a client sells the building, the agreement can simply transfer to the new owner – what’s called a novation. The existing client walks away clean, with no ongoing liability, as long as the incoming party meets the credit threshold. In practice, UrbanVolt will agree to a novation unless there’s a clear credit concern. Most of the time it goes through without drama.
If the client is moving rather than selling, the contract can be written to match the length of their lease from the start. There’s no standard term imposed on everyone – it usually runs anywhere from 10 to 25 years and can be tailored to the specific situation.
It’s also worth pointing out that a solar installation tends to improve the building’s EPC rating, which makes it more attractive to buyers and prospective tenants. For a client who’s selling, it’s an argument for a higher selling price.
Bring this up early. Don’t wait for it to surface as a last-minute objection.
“What if the system underperforms?”
It’s not the client’s risk. Full stop.
Under UrbanVolt’s pay-as-you-consume model, the client pays only for the electricity they actually use. No minimum take, no penalty if generation drops. If the system has a bad month, UrbanVolt takes that on the chin. They own the system, and they’re on the hook for making it work.
The monitoring setup reinforces this. UrbanVolt watches the system remotely around the clock, with rapid response times if something needs attention. The client also has full visibility through the app and portal – generation, consumption, carbon savings, all in real time. There’s nothing hidden.
“We already have a competitive grid rate”
Don’t argue with it. They probably do have a decent rate, but this isn’t the whole story.
Solar as a Service isn’t a replacement for their grid supply. It’s a reduction in how much of it they need. UrbanVolt targets savings of more than 30% against the grid rate for the energy the solar system covers, fixed for the full contract term. For a site with meaningful electricity consumption, that translates to a significant annual saving – one that grows over time as grid prices rise.
And that’s the more interesting question to put to the client: what does their grid rate look like at next renewal? UK electricity prices have risen at over 6% per annum on average over the last 15 years. A competitive rate today doesn’t protect them from what’s coming. A fixed solar rate does, and the gap between what they pay for solar and what they pay for grid power only widens as time goes on.
One last thing
The brokers who close the most solar deals aren’t necessarily the ones with the slickest pitch. They’re the ones who know the product well enough to have a straight conversation, including about the parts that are less straightforward, like termination provisions or what happens at the end of the term.
Clients can tell when someone actually understands what they’re selling. It builds trust faster than any case study.
If you’re unsure how to handle a specific conversation, your UrbanVolt account manager can step in. The team has plenty of experience across the C&I market and is there to support you throughout the sales process, not just hand over a portal login and wish you luck.
Interested in partnering with UrbanVolt? Take a look at our partner page, or contact us to talk through the process.