The Ultimate Guide to Door-to-Door Solar Sales Commissions

Average Commissions for sales reps selling solar door-to-door:

Rookies (1st year) – $35,000
Intermediates (2nd year) – 67,000
Veterans (3rd+ years) – $118,000

Commissions are based on the size of the Kilowattage system you sell. The higher the Kilowattage, the more commission you make. The average commission per solar system sold is $1,350 – $4,000.

Here are some tips for increasing your commissions selling solar door-to-door:

Sell to homeowners in high-kilowatt-use states. California, Texas, and Florida are the top three states in the country for solar energy production.
Increase the Kilowattage of the systems you sell. Solar reps can increase the Kilowattage by 7-10% to still make it a “no-brainer” for their customers.
Sell more systems. The more systems you sell, the more commission you make.

Selling solar door-to-door can be a great way to make a lot of money. However, it is important to note that it is a challenging job that requires a lot of hard work and dedication. If you are up for the challenge, then selling solar door-to-door could be a great opportunity for you.

How much could you make if you were to sell solar door-to-door?

Like any sales job, it all depends on how well you can influence others and help them purchase a product from you.

Door-to-door solar sales, however, is different than other types of sales jobs; it is a two-part sales job and often involves two different people: Solar Setters and Solar Closers. However, it is possible to do both jobs! In this case, we would call them “Solar Self-Gens.”

Door-to-Door Solar Setters:

Generally, when you start knocking on doors to sell solar panels, the solar company will train you as a “Solar Setter.”

Solar setter’s main objective is to “set up” appointments for the solar closers.

For a solar setter to set up appointments, they need to do a couple of things:

Introduce themselves and the company they are working for
Let the prospect know they could use solar panels to help them lower their energy bill.
Ask for and take a picture of the prospect’s energy bill.
Send the image of the energy bill to their solar closer.
Repeat

After a solar setter sends the picture of the solar bill to their closer, they move on to the next house and hope that the more immediate can sell the customer they “set up.”

The more the solar setter can set up appointments for the solar closers, the more chances they have of earning sales commissions.

When a solar closer closes a deal (and the solar panels get installed), the sales commission gets split in half.

The solar setter takes 50% of the commission, and the solar closer takes 50%.

Door-to-Door Solar Closers

Every door-to-door solar closer aims to close as many solar leads as possible.

Closing a solar deal can be challenging and ultimately comes down to the closer and how much sales experience they have.

For solar sales closer to close a deal, they have to:

Collect the energy bill from the sales setter.
Look at the Kilowattage of energy that the prospect uses on average each month.
Calculate how many solar panels the prospect will need concerning monthly kilowattage use.
Create a canvas of what the solar panels will look like on the prospective roof. (Can be ground or any other location in sunlight)
Meet with the prospect and explain how the solar panels would look act and the potential financial savings for the prospect.
If the prospect agrees, the closer pre-qualifies the prospect for a solar panel loan.
The closer will set up the loan agreements if the prospect qualifies for the loan.
Schedule the installation date. (Usually at least 30 days in the future)
Keep in contact with the prospect turned customer while the solar company gets state/city permits for the solar panels.

You can probably understand why solar companies start rookies as “setters” and then move them to closers.

Because commissions are split 50/50 among setters and closers, solar sales closers are incentivized to sell a solar system at the highest value per kilowatt they can.

Confused by all this? Look at what goes into a single solar deal.

Door-to-Door Solar Self-Gen(erator)

It’s pretty self-explanatory, but the goal of a door-to-door solar self-gen is to accomplish both the purposes of a solar setter and a solar closer.

Because this is much harder to do, solar self-gens get paid ALL OF THE COMMISSION.

There are no two persons to split the commission checks with, so the sales manager gets to take all the commission from a sale.

Commissions on a Single Solar Deal

Door-to-door solar sales commission is based on the size of Kilowattage you sell.

The higher the Kilowattage you can sell, the more commission you make on that deal.

Different locations have different average kilowattage use. The highest kilowattage-use states include California, Texas, and Florida (hot states).

However, the average kilowattage system in America is right around 3.0-4.0

The sales commission for each Kilowattage sold can be anywhere from $450 – $1000, depending on the solar company you sell for.

Therefore, the average commission per solar system sold is $1,350 – $4,000. With this being an average, we have seen single solar deals commissions as high as $36,000!

What makes a high kilowattage deal?

Kilowattage depends on how much energy the customer uses on/inside of their home. However, solar reps can increase the Kilowattage to increase their commissions. On average, solar reps will only increase the Kilowattage by 7-10% to still make it a “no-brainer” for their customers, saving money and getting a good commission on each solar deal.

Commissions on multiple Solar Deals

Generally, in all door-to-door solar sales, the more sales a sales rep can make, the more commission they get on each of their sales.

However, when selling solar door-to-door, the same is different. It does not matter how many solar accounts you sell; your commission percentage will always stay the same.
This is why it is super important to understand how the solar company does its commission rates before signing on with that company.

Conclusions

In conclusion, selling solar door-to-door can be extremely financially beneficial. Door-to-door solar sales are only for some but for those hungry for success, sales experience, and jumpstarting their future. It is also helpful for those looking to do it to understand the commissions of door-to-door solar sales and what goes into them. If you want to learn more about solar sales, check out our other articles!

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Note: Content is intended to help guide decision making and sale education but not ultimately decide for individuals.

Door-to-Door Commissions