Is Selling Solar Panels A Good Job

Companies Use The Oldest Technique In The Book Churn And Burn

Solar Companies Salespeople Are Free Help because they dont care if you come in or go. What I have described in this article shines a spotlight on one thing more than any other. Solar sales is a very stressful way to make a living but not for the solar companies. The system they use is known in the car industry as Churn and Burn. They know when they make you think you have a job you will push very hard in the beginning. They also know after somebody does get a good commission check, they might not show up for a while. But the thing they know better than anything is you will burnout!

In the beginning, they are looking for salespeople who are homeowners with a line of friends and family. Even if you dont own a house your friends and family want to support you in your new job, so they are easy appointments to land. They send in their best to close the deal and give you half of the commission. These companies take advantage of every single situation you have from the beginning.

After they wash out you, your friends, and family they let you fade away like a sunset. So you know what it costs them to replace you, nothing, Next! At the end of the day, Solar Companies Salespeople Are Free Help!

There Is A Huge Potential For Job Growth

Clean energy is building a new workforce in the United States. Renewable energy sectors arent backing down anytime soon. The industry has a wide range of well-paying jobs for workers of all backgrounds. According to the 2018 National Solar Jobs Census released by The Solar Foundation the United States has 242,353 solar workers. In the past 10 years, the solar workforce has grown by 159 percent adding around 150,0000 jobs.

How Solar Sales Works

My description above may sound embellished, and perhaps a bit cynical. But its largely true. There are relatively few truly professional salespeople out there in our industry. There is too much low-hanging fruit, and not enough people to pick them. That leads to an influx of peddlers who chase the lowest hanging fruit, looking out for themselves first, their clients second.

To be clear, the industry needs to generate sales leads and find people who are genuinely interested in solar panels. And a professional salesperson who provides real value to clients deserves to be handsomely rewarded. No industry succeeds without sales and marketing, and dedicated people in this field should make a good living. With so many myths and misconceptions plaguing the industry, consumers need sales advocates to steer them in the right direction.

Now there is nothing wrong with financing solar panels. After all, solar panels can cost as much as a car, and most people finance automobile purchases. Not everyone has that kind of cash sitting around, although if you do you will surely make out better on the investment. The key is having a true sales professional who has your best interest in mind. You need someone who will advise you on your options and be truthful to you about the best value depending on your particular circumstance. You need someone who will advise you, teach you, educate you, and most importantly, listen to you.

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Help Solar Sell Itself

Your solar sales team already has its work cut out for it. After all, solar energy is an idea whose time has come. Its great for the environment, it helps your customers save money, and for those who opt for solar leases or PPAs, the up-front investment can be quite minimal. As if those reasons werent incentive enough, going solar also allows homeowners in some states to impress their neighbors while gaining property value and avoiding an increase to their tax burdens. Whats not to love?

Still, people get set in their ways, and even though solar energys value proposition is undeniable, your sales team will find that many prospective solar adopters will need a bit of extra persuasion before signing on the proverbial dotted line.

With that in mind, here are five solar closing techniques that will help your solar sales team close deals more effectively and maximize your marketing ROI.

Growth Of Solar Power In The United States

Because of a growing interest in renewable energy and the increasingly competitive prices of alternative energy sources, solar power has received a lot of attention over the past several years. However, solar power generation itself is not new it has been used for more than half a century, mostly on a small scale or for specialized purposes, such as generating electricity for spacecraft and satellites or for use in remote areas. Large scale solar generation was mostly developed in the 1970s and 1980s, and is considered a clean energy because of its lack of emissions. Continued growth is expected because solar power has many environmental benefits and is decreasing in price, which will allow it to become increasingly competitive with fossil fuels.

The relatively steep cost of solar power compared with traditional sources of electricity generation is caused by the high cost of manufacturing and installing solar panels. However, the cost of solar power has been trending downward as technology has improved and manufacturers have learned how to improve production efficiency. In addition, as solar power generation becomes more widespread, the cost of installing solar-generation capacity will continue to fall. And as the price of fossil fuels increases, solar power will become more cost effective relative to traditional sources of energy.

Map 1. Available solar power energy in the United States

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Pros And Cons Of Working In The Solar Industry

As with any industry, working in solar comes with its own unique benefits and challenges. Overall, solar being a young and growing industry presents both advantages and disadvantages. It can be exciting, but it also requires patience and adaptability.

Getting A Job In The Solar Industry: What You Need To Know

Job creation serves as one of the most frequently touted benefits of solar energy. You hear it all over the news: in presidential campaigns, senate bills, from conservationists and clean energy advocates alike. Heck, even conservative Texas governor Greg Abbott recently told Texans that solar can create jobs and add to the states energy security.¹ But what does this really look like? What are the jobs being created?

To start, lets take a look at the numbers. According to the 2020 National Solar Jobs Census published by the Solar Energy Industries Association , Interstate Renewable Energy Council and The Solar Foundation, the U.S. solar industry employed 231,474 workers in 2020. It grew more diverse, with workforce shares at all-time highs across most demographic measures of diversity . Of this workforce, over 10% are unionized, a figure above the national average and comparable with similar construction trades.

Wages within solar companies are on par with or higher than wages for U.S. workers in similar occupations. Whats more, while the solar industry is on a trajectory to reach 400,000 solar jobs by 2030, employment is projected to exceed 900,000 workers by 2035 if were working to meet the 100% clean electricity goal set by President Biden.²

So if youre entering the workforce, or thinking about how to shift toward a career in sustainable energy, lets walk through what getting a job in the solar industry might entail.

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Why You Should Join Eze

Eze is a B2B Marketplace that connects telecommunication and global electronic wholesalers allowing them to trade devices in wholesale quantities with real-time market data. Our aim is to formalize the fragmented and inefficient second-hand electronics market that had an estimated beachhead of $17 billion in 2016 which grew 50% from 2015.

Buyers and sellers use our platform to submit buy and sell requests. Eze automatically connects the two parties with compatible bids and executes the trade. The platform gives businesses real-time market prices and eliminates transaction risk by acting as an intermediary with a secure payment system.

Should I Still Get Solar Panels

Energy companies do not have to start making payments under the SEG scheme until January 2020, but one company Octopus Energy has already launched two tariffs. The first pays a fixed rate of 5.5p/kWh and the other a variable rate.

Solar panels installed now will be eligible for the scheme and consumers can sign up to suppliers as and when they offer tariffs, or wait until 2020. One benefit of installing now might be to avoid an increase in tax from October this year VAT on solar panels and batteries will rise from 5% to 20%.

Natalie Hitchins, head of home products and services at Which?, expects solar installations will slow this year, but says that people invest in them for a number of reasons and often it wont be about making the money back quickly, instead seeing the environmental impact as the most important thing. Anyone hoping to make money under the smart export guarantee should think carefully. We dont know what rates or contract terms will be offered and rates might vary widely between energy companies, she says.

Anthony Kyriakides, head of renewables at the Energy Saving Trust , agrees there is significant uncertainty. How will people search for different tariffs and compare offers? he says. It is understandable that many homeowners will hold off until things are clearer.

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Your Electricity Costs Are Already Low

According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, 96% of homeowners have installed solar, or are considering doing so, to save money on utility bills.

This makes perfect sense. Many American households spend hundreds of dollars every month on their power bills and solar panels are often the most effective way to slash that amount. Financial modeling by SolarReviews shows 25-year bill savings in the amount of $62,803 for solar panels installed in San Francisco in 2021, for instance.

However, some homeowners dont spend very much on electricity. This could be because of one or more of the following factors:

• You have a small home
• You have a small household size
• Your home and appliances are energy efficient
• You enjoy low electric rates from your local utility

If thats you, and you pay $50 or less a month for electricity, then installing solar probably isnt worth the time and effort.

Find out how much a solar system would cost for your specific home

Solar Sales Consultant Job Description Template

We are looking to for a passionate solar sales consultant to join our growing solar installation company. As a solar sales consultant, you will have the first contact with our customers, providing them with information about our products and the benefits of going solar. Your duties will include analyzing the needs of the customer, calculating resources, preparing quotes, demonstrating our products, and providing after-sales support. You may also be required to visit customer sites and consult on larger installations.

To ensure success as a solar sales consultant, you should have excellent interpersonal skills, a passion for solar energy, and a solid background in sales. Ultimately, a top-class Solar Sales Representative builds a rapport with customers and provides them with tailor-made solar solutions.

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You Get To Work In An Industry That Is Helping Combat Climate Change

The solar industry is creating a more prosperous future for generations to come. The average residential solar system offsets about 100,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide in 20 years the equivalent of driving a car for 100,000 miles. Working in the solar helps you leave work everyday feeling fulfilled knowing you are creating a world run on clean, renewable energy. The threat of climate change has increased significantly over the last few decades leaving us to take immediate action. Solar helps fight climate change by providing an alternative energy solution that is both clean and affordable.

Trends In Gender Diversity Outreach

The news is not all bad when it comes to gender diversity in the solar profession. As mentioned earlier, there are, in fact, a significant number of solar businesses and organizations working hard to bridge the gender gap. Below are a few tactics being used to bring more women into STEM jobs generally, and solar jobs in particular:

Companies are making greater efforts to put out the word that they want more women in their workforces. And that includes both in the office and on the work site.

A recent study by the National Assessment of Educational Progress found that in a national assessment of eighth-grade level technology and engineering skills, girls on average outperformed boys. Despite these findings, it is believed that girls may be internalizing messaging from the culture that they do not have what it takes to succeed in STEM professions. The answer, therefore, is to fight these societal messages, stopping their influence before it starts.

Companies are learning that they can attract more women into their workforces by making working conditions more flexible through such things as flex-time work hours and generous maternity leave benefits.

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Tips To Landing Your Dream Job In Solar

Its difficult enough finding the perfect solar job, but then you have to land it. Here are several tips to help women in getting hired in the solar industry:

Know the Language

Dont know what an inverter is? How about photovoltaics or net metering? You dont have to know everything about how solar systems work to land an entry-level job. But the more you know, the better your chances.

Occupations In Solar Power

The solar power industry employs a wide range of occupations in a number of major industry segments: research and development, manufacturing of solar power materials, construction of solar power plants, operation of solar power plants, and solar power installation and maintenance. Sales occupations are also integral to the solar power products industry.

Following are descriptions of the most common jobs in the solar power industry for each occupation, job duties are listed, along with the credentials needed for the occupation, including education, training, certification, or licensure. Certification demonstrates competency in a skill or set of skills, typically through work experience, training, the passage of an examination, or some combination of the three. Licensing is done by individual states, and typically requires the passage of an examination in addition to fulfillment of eligibility requirements, such as a minimum level of education, work experience, training, or the completion of an internship, residency, or apprenticeship.

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Advice To Aspiring Solar Sales Reps

An important component of my job is learning and understanding how to sell my product, rooftop solar. Self-help, motivational books on how to sell have had a strong influence on my career. Some good ones Ive read are Napoleon Hills Think and Grow Rich and Dale Carnegies How to Win Friends and Influence People. Regarding specific college coursework, math and marketing classes would be particularly useful for a career in sales.

Some things you wont learn in the classroom but are extremely necessary in my field: a good positive mindset good hygiene and having a go-getter attitude. Lastly, I would encourage college students to start building relationships with their professors, finding mentors that you can trust will help throughout your college and professional careers.

Matt Samet

Suitable for people who like to start and carry out projects.

Suitable for people who value achievements and are results-oriented.

It is not too difficult to get into this career. Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required to get started.

Very high salary .

Cons

Not suitable for people who like to work with designs.

Long working hours .

Top Careers For Women In Solar

Working in solar involves a lot more than simply putting panels on roofs. The solar industry employs professionals with skills in sales and distribution, manufacturing of solar power materials, construction and operation of solar plants, research and development, software development, as well as installation and maintenance of solar panels and other equipment. Heres a small sample of the types of jobs that can be found in solar:

Estimated job growth statistics are for 2018-2028 Statistics are for job titles generally. Not specific to the solar industry.

If you are interested in something where you are not on the roof, there are roles ranging from sales and marketing through every aspect of business. There are a lot of women doing software design or electrical engineering. Its a case of working out what you want to be because for every standard business role there are people in solar.

Deborah Knuckey

Women Leading the Solar Charge

Along with our two experts, there are many more women leading the way in solar. Whether through traditional business routes or nonprofit, advocacy avenues, these women are finding success in their clean energy careers:

• Prior to coming to the CA Solar & Storage Association, Del Chiaro was a leading voice within several major California clean energy policy initiatives. She has authored several clean energy reports and has been quoted widely in the media including MSNBC, NPR and the New York Times.

  Bernadette Del Chiaro

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