revnu
Get started
YC-backed$3M raisedAs seen in Forbes

How to get more customers for a solar company

Where homeowners and local business owners decide on solar, and how an installer earns the quote before the knockers do.

Find homeowners in [towns you install in] who want solar and batteries, and commercial owners with [kind of building] roofs, for my local installation company.

Trusted by teams at

tandemhelixdbremedycaserostracsparkleshoplitedeep interactionsminicorslashyborg

How to get more customers for a solar company

Start with a referral program aimed at past customers, because neighbors who see panels on a roof ask the owner first. Then make your Google Business Profile and reviews strong enough to win the map when someone searches after a high summer bill. Run tight search ads on intent terms like "solar installer near me" in towns you actually permit in. Finally, publish city and utility pages that explain local net metering, rebates and permitting, so searchers and AI answers find you instead of a lead seller.

Ask AI about this guideChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AI
  1. 01

    Fix your Google Business Profile

    List only the towns and counties you actually permit and install in as your service area. Upload photos of finished installs with the town in the caption, plus your crew and your trucks. Add your contractor license number and battery and panel brands to the description. Ask every customer from the last year for a review and reply to each one by name. You make these edits; Revnu drafts profile posts you paste in.

  2. 02

    Build a referral program past customers use

    Pull every past customer from your CRM or JobNimbus and send them a short note with a referral reward and a simple way to pass along your number. Time a second ask for the first month they see a tiny summer bill, when they are happiest. Give them a yard sign during install and leave it up for a while after. Check your state's rules on referral payments before you set the reward. This step is yours; Revnu doesn't do it.

  3. 03

    Sign up a few trade partners

    List 20 roofers, electricians and HVAC shops in your area and call the owners. Offer a referral arrangement both ways and explain how you handle roof penetrations and warranties so they aren't nervous sending you jobs. Keep the list short and send them work too, because the trades that get leads from you keep sending them back. Revnu finds the partners and writes to them; the meetings are yours.

  4. 04

    Run search ads on high-intent terms

    Start with terms like "solar installer near me", "solar panels [town]" and "solar battery installation" on Google and Microsoft. Add negatives for "free solar", "DIY", "jobs" and "lease buyout" if you don't do those. Send clicks to a page for that town with real install photos and a short form that asks for a bill upload. Call every form back quickly, because the shopper is filling out other forms too. Revnu runs these ads and asks before it spends.

  5. 05

    Publish city and utility pages

    Write one page per utility you serve explaining net metering or net billing, interconnection timing steps and any local rebates in plain words. Add pages for your main towns with real installs and permitting notes for that jurisdiction. Answer the questions people ask on sales calls, like roof age, HOA approval and what happens in a power outage. These pages rank for local searches and get pulled into AI answers when someone asks about solar in their area. Revnu writes and publishes these pages.

  6. 06

    Keep your claims clean

    Never say "free solar" or promise a bill of zero, because regulators and state attorneys general go after those claims. Be precise about which incentives apply and tell people to confirm tax credits with their own tax preparer. Follow do-not-call and texting consent rules for every phone and SMS follow-up. If your state requires a consumer disclosure guide, like California's, hand it over with every contract. Add your rules to Never Say in Settings > Memory and Revnu follows them.

Who buys from a solar installer

Homeowners pay, usually as a couple deciding together at the kitchen table, often after a lender or financing partner approves them. On commercial jobs the owner of the building or business signs, with an accountant weighing in on depreciation and tax treatment.

  • Homeowners with high summer or winter bills

    They care about the monthly payment versus the utility bill and whether the math holds up. A painful bill, a utility rate increase notice or a neighbor's install triggers the search.

  • Homeowners replacing or recently replacing a roof

    They want to avoid paying to pull panels off a worn roof later. Roof work is the moment they will listen, so roofers are a natural source of these customers.

  • Owners adding an EV, heat pump or battery

    A new electric car or an all-electric remodel pushes usage up and makes them rethink their load. They want someone who can size solar and storage together and handle the panel upgrade.

  • Small commercial building owners and farms

    Owners of warehouses, auto shops, wineries and dairies care about demand charges, depreciation and payback on the books. They move when their accountant flags a tax year where the deduction helps.

  • Homeowners who got burned or quoted badly before

    They had a pushy door knocker or a lease they regret and want a second opinion. Plain pricing, a local office and a real warranty matter more to them than the lowest number.

Where to find them

Google Business Profile and the local map pack
Homeowners searching "solar company near me" often pick from the map and read the newest reviews first. Photos of real installs in named towns separate you from out-of-state sales outfits.
Nextdoor and town Facebook groups
People ask "who did your solar?" in these groups constantly, and a past customer's answer carries more weight than any ad. Make it easy for happy customers to name you there.
Local roofers, electricians and HVAC contractors
They are standing in the house when a roof, panel upgrade or heat pump comes up. A two-way referral deal with a few trusted trades feeds you customers who are already mid-project.
EnergySage and similar quote marketplaces
Shoppers there are comparing installers side by side and are further along than a cold lead. Expect to compete on price and response speed, so answer fast with a clean proposal.
Home and garden shows, county fairs and farmers markets
A booth with a real panel, a battery and a bill-comparison sheet starts the conversation in person. Rural and farm customers in particular trust a face they met at the fair.
Real estate agents and home inspectors
New buyers want to know about the existing solar system or how to add one, and agents get those questions first. Offer to walk owned and leased systems through transfers so agents call you.

What to say

Your actual bill, not a brochure

Send me a photo of your [utility] bill and I'll show you what a system on your roof in [town] would cover, with the payment next to it.

Local installer, not a sales crew

We've installed [number] systems in [county] with our own crews, and the person who designs yours is the person you call if something goes wrong.

Roof timing

If your roof is due in the next few years, let's look at it now so you aren't paying to pull panels off and put them back on later.

Second opinion

Already have a quote? Send it over and I'll tell you plainly whether the system size and price make sense for your [home size] and usage.

Which channels fit

  • Past-customer referralsStrong fitPanels are visible from the street, so every install is a sign in the neighborhood and the owner gets asked about it. Revnu doesn't do this one; it's yours.
  • Google Business Profile and reviewsStrong fitHomeowners vetting installers read reviews hard because they have heard horror stories, and the map is where that vetting starts. You run the profile; Revnu drafts posts you paste in.
  • Google and Microsoft search adsStrong fitSomeone typing "solar installer [town]" is ready for a quote, and you can limit spend to the towns where you hold permits. Revnu runs these ads and asks before it spends.
  • Local SEO pages by city and utilityStrong fitNet metering, interconnection rules and rebates differ by utility, so pages that explain your local utility answer the exact question people search. Revnu writes and publishes these pages.
  • Door-to-door canvassingSometimesIt can work in a dense neighborhood near a recent install, but many towns require solicitor permits and homeowners are wary of solar knockers. Revnu doesn't do this one; it's yours.
  • Bought shared leadsSometimesShared leads go to several installers at once and many are cold, so use them only if you can call back fast and want volume. Revnu doesn't buy lead lists or shared leads.
  • Cold email to homeownersWeak fitYou can't build a clean homeowner list legally or usefully, and solar spam has trained people to delete on sight, so save email for commercial owners. Revnu doesn't do this: it only finds businesses.

Advertising

Solar company advertising that pays for itself

Put your ad money where the homeowner is already looking for an installer. Search ads on Google and Microsoft for "solar installer [town]" and "solar and battery quote" catch people ready for a design. Geofence tightly to towns where you hold permits, since a lead an hour past your crews is a lead you will lose or regret. Skip broad display and pricey video unless you have a big brand budget, because they mostly build awareness for the cheapest competitor. Be careful with ad copy: "free" and "no cost" claims draw complaints and can get ads rejected. One concrete example: an installer serving three suburbs runs one campaign per suburb, each pointing to a page with installs from that suburb and a form that asks for a bill photo. The town name in the headline and photos of nearby roofs make the ad feel local.

Lead generation

Lead generation for solar companies

The best solar leads come from people who already trust someone you worked for. Referrals from past customers, roofers and electricians close at a far better rate than anything bought, so build those first. Shared leads from lead sellers can fill a calendar, but the same homeowner gets several calls at once and many never asked for solar at all. If you buy them, call within minutes and track which ones actually turn into site visits. For commercial work, list business owners with big flat roofs or high daytime usage, like cold storage, auto body shops and wineries, and reach the owner directly by email or LinkedIn with a note about demand charges. One concrete example: after each install, send the customer a card to give neighbors who ask, with a referral code tied to their address so you can thank them.

How customers decide

Residential deals usually need both spouses at the table, a site visit or satellite design, and financing approval before anyone signs. Things slow down when the customer collects three or four quotes and stalls on comparing them. You speed it up by sending a clear proposal from Aurora or OpenSolar the same day, explaining the utility interconnection steps up front, and being reachable when the second spouse has questions.

One prompt, worked through

We're a family-owned solar and battery installer in Fresno County with our own crews. Get more homeowners in Clovis and Sanger asking for quotes, and find a few farms and packing houses that would put solar on their sheds.
  1. 1Revnu reads your website and works out who buys: homeowners in Clovis and Sanger with high summer bills, and farm and packing house owners with big roofs.
  2. 2It runs Google and Microsoft search ads on terms like "solar installer Clovis", and writes pages on your utility's net billing and local permitting that can rank on Google and get cited by ChatGPT and Perplexity.
  3. 3For the farms and packing houses, it finds the companies and the owner at each, writes to them by email and LinkedIn in your voice, and your first sequence waits for your yes.
  4. 4Every morning it reports on Slack or iMessage what moved, like new quote requests and replies from farm owners.

Frequently asked questions

Should I buy solar leads or generate my own?

Bought leads are often shared with several installers, so you are racing others to the phone and competing on price. Your own leads from referrals, search and your Google profile cost more effort up front but come in warmer. Many installers use bought leads only to fill gaps while they build referrals.

Is door-to-door still worth it for a solar company?

It can work right after an install, knocking a few nearby homes with the owner's permission to mention them. Check whether your town requires a solicitor permit first. Large cold canvassing crews have hurt solar's reputation, so a local, low-pressure approach does better.

How do I compete with big national solar companies?

Lean on what they can't offer: your own crews, a local office and the person who designed the system answering the phone later. Show installs in named nearby towns and reviews from neighbors. Many homeowners prefer local once they've heard about long service waits from national brands.

What can I say about tax credits and incentives in my ads?

Name only incentives that actually apply in your area and describe them accurately. Avoid promising a specific tax outcome and tell customers to confirm with their tax preparer. Incentives change, so review your ads and pages whenever federal, state or utility programs shift.

When is the best season to market solar?

Interest rises when bills spike, which in hot areas means early summer and in cold areas the heating months. Utility rate increase notices and net metering changes also bring a wave of searches. Build pages and referrals in the slow months so they are working when the bills arrive.

What does it cost?

Plans start at $99 a month, and Revnu starts on what you typed as soon as you sign up. Cancel any time in Settings.

Does anything run before I sign up?

No. Nothing is checked or generated on this page. Revnu does the work inside your account, where it can read your website, keep what it finds and carry on from there.

Where do I learn how Revnu works?

The docs at revnu.com/docs/get-started walk through your first day, and revnu.com/docs/what-revnu-can-do lists everything it can do.

Last updated October 15, 2026

Hand it to Revnu

Find homeowners in [towns you install in] who want solar and batteries, and commercial owners with [kind of building] roofs, for my local installation company.

Keep going

Every business type →