Your best shot at winning a sale is with a well-developed solar sales proposal. It’s a symbol of legitimacy, a demonstration of technical skill, and it helps the home or business owner feel at ease with the largest investment they’ll make in their home or business. Even if you create your proposals in sophisticated solar proposal tools, you need to know what to include.
In the current competitive renewables landscape, particularly in markets with high levels of solar installation like California, a prospect won’t be convinced with a plain vanilla quote sheet. A well-crafted solar sales proposal will differentiate your company from the competition and help close sales. Here is exactly what to include.
1. Executive Summary & Company Overview
Start your proposal with an executive summary focusing on your customer’s pain point and your solution. Then, follow with a company profile explaining your licensing, experience, and coverage area.
Californians, be sure to mention your solar installation license (C-46 or C-10). Customers want to know they are dealing with a legitimate contractor, especially after several big solar installation scam stories. Partnership with a solar proposal software. An association with a best solar proposal company likePTO Edge can support your business.
2. System Design & Site Assessment Details
System design and site assessment are where the solar sales proposal is effective. It includes:
- A roof or ground-mount design layout generated from solar design software
- Number, brand, and model of panels and efficiencies
- Type of inverter – string, microinverter, power optimiser
- Shade reports and estimated annual production (kWh)
- Battery storage is included
Solar software companies such as Aurora Solar, Solargraf and OpenSolar create 3D renderings and shade reports that clients can clearly and easily comprehend.
| Pro Tip: Always include solar plan sets (engineered drawings that can be submitted for permit) or state that they will be provided if a contract is signed. This demonstrates that the project is ready to go and removes a potential sales blocker. |
3. Energy Production & Savings Analysis
- Numbers close deals. Your solar sales proposal should include annual savings. Show the customer their:
- Current annual utility spend
- Anticipated solar energy production and offset
- 25-year total savings estimate
- Return on investment (6-10 years in California)
- Net metering credits and utility rates
These estimates will be automatically calculated by the best solar proposal software, such as PTO Edge. It uses data from the customer’s utility bill or manual entry, eliminating manual errors and building trust.
4. Pricing, Financing & Incentives
Be transparent. Establish the total system cost; then itemize all the offsets, beginning with the U.S. Federal Investment Tax Credit (30%), followed by any state or incentive rebates (including any solar panel California rebates, such as NEM 3.0 policies and SGIP battery rebates).
Provide various financing options: cash, solar loan, PPA or lease. The best solar proposal software will allow you to switch payment options on the fly during a sales presentation, a great live demonstration.
5. Timeline, Warranty & Next Steps
Close the sales proposal. Provide the customer with an installation schedule from contract to PTO (Permission to Operate). If you are using PTOEdge to manage the utility interconnection process, point out that it expedites the PTO process, the need for repeated contact with utilities, and provides an exact date when the system will be activated. This is an important feature as queues for processing interconnections are lengthening in California and the U.S.
Also include:
- Warranties: (panels: 25 years; inverters: 10-25 years)
- Labor (minimum 10 years)
- Production guarantee is offered
- Easy to understand call to action and e-signature option
| Pro-tip: The best way to write a solar sales proposal is by using a combination of tools from different solar software companies. |
Frequently Asked Questions
A solar sales proposal is a detailed, tailored document submitted to a prospective solar customer detailing system design, expected production, system cost, applicable incentives and complete system installation.
Each solar sales proposal should include:
(1) an overview of the business and licensing details,
(2) a detailed system design with expected production
(3) a clear cost-benefit analysis detailing the payback period and 25 year cost savings,
(4) incentive information, including the 30% federal incentive tax credit (ITC) and state rebate and net metering credits.
(5) post installation schedule including PTO (Permission to Operate).
Solargraf has rapid proposal tools for residential dealers. OpenSolar is best in class for smaller installers as it is free. Scoop Solar offers project management with proposal support.
They feature 3D system design, automatic savings calculations, CRM integration, e-signature technology, and real-time financing calculations.
The best choice will depend on whether you are a large or small company, how many proposals you need to generate, and whether you need to automatically generate solar plan sets or have tools to support your utility interconnection process.
California requires that the solar installation contractor company be licensed as a C-46 Solar Contractor or C-10 Electrical Contractor. These are both issued by the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB). The individual sales representative does not need to have a solar installation license but the company must be licensed.
The CSLB C-46 license is specific to solar panels and photovoltaic systems. The C-10 license covers all electrical such as solar. Licenses are required to bid on jobs exceeding $500. Unlicensed solar companies can face fines, project shut-downs and are liable for refunds to customers in accordance with California Business and Professions Code Section 7028.
Solar plan sets are stamped and require engineered drawings to get permits from the AHJ. These sets usually contain the site, electrical single-line diagram, roof, and structural design A complete plan set is typically not included in the sales proposal, but effective solar sales proposals include a statement that the plan sets will be ready for use for permitting purposes once the contract is signed..
The complete workflow:
(1) Solar sales proposal is presented and signed,
(2) plan sets are developed by a licensed solar design company or in-house design engineering group, (3) permit application is submitted to the AH
(4) Installation proceeds if permit is approved
(5) The utility interconnection application is filed
(6) The utility issues Permission to Operate (PTO).
PTOEdge speeds up the Permission to Operate (PTO) process with an automated utility interconnection application. The process includes real-time application status updates, and faster post-sale project completion.
Using PTOEdge and including it in the solar sales proposal, solar companies can offer customers a more efficient, transparent flow from contract to operational, money-producing solar system.
Post-sale interconnection waiting time is a leading customer complaint in the solar industry. PTOEdge solves this problem by:
(1) uploading interconnection applications directly to utility portals, removing errors in manual data entry that result in application rejection.
(2) providing real-time status updates so sales teams can keep their customers in the loop.
(3) reviewing documents and content to ensure there are no deficiencies before submission, and eliminate the back-and-forth with the utility.
(4) estimating PTO dates based on queue length for the particular utility.
PG&E, SCE and SDG&E have some of the longest interconnection queues for solar installers in California. PTOEdge is integrated with all of the major California investor-owned utilities (IOUs) and supports the California Interconnection Application forms required by the CPUC.