An influential leader is not merely defined by financial or popularity milestones but by the transformative impact they bring to their domain and beyond.
Rich Feola, the visionary behind Solar Exclusive, exemplifies this very definition of an influential leader. By seamlessly blending strategic acumen, foresight, and an unwavering commitment to excellence, Rich has established Solar Exclusive as one of the leading marketing agencies in the solar space.
Fittingly, Rich Feola features on the Cover of Exeleon Magazine’s Influential Business Leaders to Follow in 2024 issue. Herein, we delve into his leadership philosophy, the rise of Solar Exclusive, and his journey as a leader.
Early Lessons
At the age of only 6, Rich had already developed a keen understanding of what it meant to be an entrepreneur. He recalls, “My dad was teaching me how to do some manual labor outside in our yard, because we had a large property and there was a lot of upkeep.”
He distinctly remembers telling his dad, “I won’t need to learn this, I’m going to just pay people money to do this for me.”
Little did he know that this early inclination towards delegation and focusing on strengths would become the cornerstone of his entrepreneurial success. Today, as the architect behind a 9-figure advertising agency, Rich emphasizes the art of delegation and focusing on his own unique strengths.
Solar Exclusive’s Meteoric Rise
Since being established in 2017, Solar Exclusive has positioned itself as an industry leader by delivering over two million leaders across 286 markets.
Navigating the intricacies of the solar industry, Solar Exclusive became the top advertising agency in its niche. The team’s strategic investment in ad campaigns across platforms such as Google, Facebook, and YouTube have been a key driver in reaching viable leads. Rich’s emphasis on compiling data rapidly to target higher-quality candidates showcases the company’s commitment to staying ahead in this competitive market.
Talking about the success of his company, Rich mentions “It’s been amazing to see how we’ve become the top advertising agency in solar, while so many others have come and gone, or don’t seem to make an imprint in the industry.”
Reflecting further, Rich acknowledges the fortuitous timing of entering the solar industry during a period of substantial growth. However, he attributes the company’s sustained success to providing something special to clients, maintaining a cutting-edge team, and embracing a dynamic approach informed by firsthand industry insights.
Exclusive Leads in an Evolving Landscape
Talking about the exclusive nature of lead generation services offered by Solar Exclusive, Rich shares that new laws and regulations are being passed that are forcing companies to only offer exclusive leads.
However, Solar Exclusive’s seven years’ experience in providing exclusive leads has already positioned the company as an undisputed market leader. “The new regulation as of 2024 will not impact us, because we’ve been doing things this way since our very inception,” he points out.
This foresight and commitment to providing exclusive leads have been a key driver in the company’s consistent growth over the years.
Multiple Hats, One Goal
As the Founder, CEO, and Chief Marketing Officer of Solar Exclusive, Rich Feola plays a multifaceted role in the company.
In a role that spans leadership, strategy, and marketing, he has found a delicate balance. “I oversee our C-suite team and make sure they have everything they need to lead every aspect of the business.” He is also actively involved in overseeing all marketing contents and planning vision for new initiatives.
Despite being the Founder and CEO, Rich operates as the CMO of the company. He explains, “Being a marketing company I always need to make sure I am being the best marketer I can be, both for our clients, and for our own company.”
Rich also runs a coaching program, wherein he teaches advertising agencies on how to reach 7 figures per month in revenue. His program emphasizes the importance of building a robust sales team for scaling marketing agencies.
He explains, “I always say that probably the biggest mistake marketing agencies make is that they don’t focus on building a robust sales team. Most agencies have one or two salespeople, or the founder does all the sales themselves.”
“You will never be able to grow to 9 figures without realizing that you are a sales organization first, and just happen to offer digital marketing services second,” he continues.
High-Value Leads
A pivotal element of Solar Exclusive’s strategy involves consolidating operations into a single account, managing ads on Facebook, Google, and YouTube. This streamlined approach, operational for the past six years, speaks volumes about the company’s reliability. Rich Feola emphasizes the importance of timely payments, recognizing their significant value for platforms like Google, enabling Solar Exclusive to scale up progressively.
The technical prowess of the Solar Exclusive team is evident as their ads consistently rank as the most viewed on Google and YouTube for the past three years. With a market share of 26%, double that of their closest competitor, Solar Exclusive’s ability to maintain a similar cost per lead even with a hypothetical quadrupling of spending underscores their dominance in the market.
Moreover, another standout offering from the company is the utilization of a dedicated call center, provided free of charge to clients during their trial period. This call center empowers partner companies to schedule appointments with exclusive leads.
Vision Ahead
Rich envisions Solar Exclusive as a one-stop shop for solar lead campaigns in any market and with any target demographic across the country. This vision is a testament to his commitment to continuous growth, marked not only by dominance in the solar market but by venturing into adjacent fields.
The team’s focus on launching other marketing companies in roofing, pest control, security, and debt consolidation showcases the expansive vision of Rich Feola.
Moreover, he is excited to help large solar organizations build their own marketing divisions that bring in effective results.
“We are planning in 2024 to announce that we will begin sourcing, hiring, and training digital marketing experts and placing them into solar businesses so they can be independent, because we will have established their own department in-house for them,” he concludes saying.
Read Digital Version of the Issue.
Visit Solar Exclusive Website.
Contact Rich Feola on LinkedIn.
