California Energy Group helps homeowners in Southern California live a healthier, more efficient lifestyle with upgrades such as solar, water treatment, plumbing, and HVAC systems. Most of their business comes from face-to-face sales, but they didn’t know how sales reps positioned their product, making it hard to scale.

The challenges

“In today’s fast-paced sales environment, it’s hard to know what the reps are saying if you’re not there,” said Jamal Hailey, co-founder and CEO of California Efficiency Group.

About 90% of California Efficiency Group’s sales come from door-to-door interactions. Sales reps are often on their own, and leadership had no way of knowing how effective the reps were—or even whether they were following the required compliance standards. 

“It was hard to have KPIs in place because we didn’t know if the reps were hitting them,” Jamal said. “If you’re not with them in the field, it’s hard to scale up. Having your best salesperson go with every single rep just isn’t possible.” 

True accountability with Rilla

Once California Efficiency Group started using Rilla, everything became much clearer. Leadership now knows exactly what the reps say to customers—and how customers respond.

“In sales, accountability is the biggest thing,” Jamal explained. “With Rilla on our side, we’re able to hold our reps to the highest standards while also holding them accountable.” By reviewing each interaction, Jamal could provide guidance and small tweaks to make a rep’s sales pitches more effective. “It’s like having a coach at every single interaction,” he added.

Rilla’s daily emails also make it possible for Jamal to see which reps actively seek to improve their skills. “We reward anyone who’s able to provide good constructive criticism on why they closed the sale or what they could do better in the future. Without Rilla, that wouldn’t be possible,” Jamal said.

“With Rilla at our back, we’re able to make sure the reps are hitting the right pain points, make sure the clients are agreeing to the right terms, and that we’re doing fine when it comes to compliance. We can make sure that all the t’s are crossed and all the i’s are dotted,” Jamal explained.

The results

Since adopting Rilla, California Efficiency Group has achieved more sales at higher values. “On the first day we got Rilla, one of our reps closed a deal for $35,000. He just studied the pitch and understood the right tonalities behind it,” Jamal added.

During their first month with Rilla, the sales reps had an assignment to study the top two closes each day. “As a company, we sat down and listened to calls,” Jamal explained. “People took the feedback and went out there and closed deals. And obviously, the more deals that close, the more money we make.”

“If you’re thinking of increasing your sales and getting better productivity from your salespeople, Rilla is going to improve your overall productivity and your KPIs,” Jamal said.

Rilla has helped all the sales reps at California Efficiency Group become more effective—and faster—sellers, cutting the time it takes for new reps to make their first sale. Jamal noted, “Before Rilla, it would take a rep about 30 days to make their first sale. Now, it takes about 18 days, which is huge for us. It’s because we’re able to equip them the right way and make sure they’re being compliant.”

“How bad do you want to win? If your answer is ‘I want to win really bad,’ then you need Rilla because you can’t improve productivity without tracking it,” Jamal said.

Rilla has become a part of the culture at California Efficiency Group. “At this point, I can’t envision life without Rilla,” Jamal said. “We’re more profitable and we’re equipping our people the right way. It’s a win-win for everyone.”