I created Solar Coach to help train the industry.
Solar got complex fast. Training didn't keep pace. This is my attempt at helping to close that gap.
Growth came fast.
Some costs came with it.
Hire, ramp, burn out, replace. Companies pay in recruiting and lost production. Reps pay in income that never gets a chance to compound.
Signed deals that never reach install. The company eats the cost of the sale. The rep loses the commission and the hours that earned it.
People who felt misled once the details showed up. That follows the company as brand damage and the rep as referrals that never come.
Somewhere along the way these became the cost of doing business. They don't have to be.
Solar is good.
It could be a lot better.
Solar has delivered real value to a lot of homeowners, and it matters more every year as energy prices climb. That part works.
And the industry has absorbed a lot to keep it working. Supply chain disruption. Batteries entering the offering. Policy changes, tariffs, rate structures rewritten more than once. Leaders have had real fires to fight, and most of the attention went there. That's fair.
But we moved fast and didn't pivot enough in one place. A new rep still comes out of training without what they need to succeed. That's the one thing nobody was forced to change, and the one thing everybody could.
Trust, value, and clarity.
Trust
Being transparent and forthcoming, including on the hard questions. Customers who trust the rep and the company are the ones who stay signed and get installed.
Value
Real discovery, then a solution built around what this customer actually needs — explained well enough that they understand the value themselves, instead of taking the rep's word for it.
Clarity
Concise, understandable messaging, and a clear picture of what happens next. Reps who don't understand deeply oversimplify, avoid, or solar vomit — and the customer freezes.
Understanding and sales skill.
You need both.
Sells, but low pull-through
- Rep
- Signs plenty, loses a chunk before install. Income swings.
- Company
- Cancellations eat the margin the sale was supposed to earn.
- Customer
- Feels misled once the details show up.
Sells, installs, and gets referred
- Rep
- High close rate, high pull-through, high income.
- Company
- P&L growth and a brand people trust.
- Customer
- Happy with the outcome. Sends referrals.
Low sales, and high turnover
- Rep
- Doesn't make money. Hops companies, then leaves the industry.
- Company
- Burns through leads and ramp cost with nothing to show.
- Customer
- Left with a poor impression of solar.
Knows it, but sells less of it
- Rep
- Signs fewer customers. Income lags the effort.
- Company
- Under-produces against the leads it paid for.
- Customer
- Buried in detail. Stalls, or never decides.
Only one of those four is good for everybody at once. Solar Coach exists to close the understanding half of it.
Every one of those cost a rep hours of lead generation and consultation before it was ever signed. A deal that dies before install isn't a statistic. It's their time and their paycheck.
Fool's gold and real gold.
One gets you more contracts. The other gets you more installs. Only one of those pays.
Understanding is the edge.
The first three concepts are free. No signup, no card.
Companies $25/month — every rep gets 30% off
Solar Coach is an educational and training tool for sales reps, not a customer-facing sales tool. Lessons, scenarios, and dollar figures are illustrative and for training only; reps are responsible for verifying against each customer's actual utility, rate plan, financing, and equipment. Results vary by market, utility, rate plan, financing, and company. Not legal, tax, financial, engineering, or installation advice.