In June of 2022 I received a phone call from a long-time friend asking me to look at a new solar company that was doing things differently than any other in the industry. Although I knew very little about solar, I agreed to do this for her. That one phone call led me to becoming part of the most innovative solar company in the history of the industry. Allow me to introduce you to REACH solar.
The author of this article and creator of Home Based Solar Sales, Dale Guiducci, is an Independent REACH Solar Representative
Although I learned about this new solar business model in mid-2022, REACH Solar had not yet been born. KC Call, a long time and highly successful direct sales industry professional, had brought the idea to a traditional door-knocking solar dealer. That company hesitantly gave it a try. Within 6 months, this new division was out producing the experienced door knockers. And that company’s name became far better known than ever before.
The problem was that melding this new business model into an existing company that had an old-school mentality and desperately held onto it, was akin to fitting a square peg into a round hole. There were problems that eventually led to a dissolution of the relationship. The company got greedy and took away some of the promises made to KC and the rest of us that had joined forces with him.
How REACH Solar was Born
However, that wasn’t the end of this new solar business model. In fact, the experience with the previous company became the proof of concept. It had worked and in a very big way! Even with the difficulties of working within a traditional solar dealer. KC Call teamed up with long-time friend and fellow direct sales industry professional, Mike Fedick. They brought the results they had achieved to investors and solar industry icons and within a few months developed the basis for a new company called REACH Solar. REACH Solar started selling solar in the fall of 2023 but the official launch of the company was held in June 2024 in Chandler, AZ.
We Offer Only the Best for the Homeowner
Many solar dealers only work with one solar installation company. When it comes to customer satisfaction in the solar industry, the solar installation company is everything. Once a system is sold and the contract is signed, tthe solar installation company steps in. For a solar dealer and salesperson, it's like handing over your child to a daycare center. How will they treat your homeowner? Will they install this system on time? How can you monitor the progress? Do they communicate with you regarding the stages of the project?
Therefore, REACH Solar does not work with large, national companies that may do a good job in one part of the country, but fail to meet expectations in another. Instead, we have vetted out the very best regional solar companies around the country. These are companies that typically have an A or A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and 4.6 stars or better out of 5 on Google Reviews. The regional installer is tasked with a high level of communication to the customer and to us at REACH. And, we expect the installation times to be as short as possible.
What’s Wrong with the Traditional Solar Sales Model
What is it about the traditional solar business that created an opportunity to introduce a better way to sell solar? To share that, first requires an explanation of the traditional solar sales model.
For the most part, although there are exceptions, solar installation companies do not sell to homeowners. They instead use other companies called dealers. It’s like the car business. Ford makes cars but they ship them off to dealers to market and sell the cars. Solar dealers hire young, energetic appointment setters that knock on doors in neighborhoods to get leads. They pass those leads to the sales professionals who make the sale in the customers’ home. Some solar sales pros knock on doors themselves. In some cases, solar dealers do buy leads and so do salespeople.
Door-Knocking for Solar Sales
In the traditional solar model, only those dedicated to solar on a full-time basis and have the capacity to walk neighborhoods for hours can participate in solar sales. And it’s very expensive to acquire customers in this way. Paying for marketing and buying leads is also very costly. Door to door is no longer the best way to sell solar.
Referral Based Marketing
Instead of knocking on doors to find interested homeowners, REACH Solar uses a warm market referral approach. When a new Field Rep comes aboard that doesn't have solar sales experience, they are called a Setter. Their job is to engage homeowners that they know and do the same thing doorknockers do, interest homeowners in finding out how much they can save by going solar. Using this approach, Setters can call homeowners all over the country. Also, there is an inherent trust and credibility between the Setter and the homeowner because they already know each other. The percentage of homeowners that agree to look at solar is far higher than those homeowners contacted by walking neighborhoods. And these homeowners are more likely to install a solar system after learning how beneficial it is to do so.
By using this approach, REACH Solar has driven down the cost for customer acquisition and can pass the savings on to the homeowner. By doing so, we can sell at a lower price than the competition and create more referrals for our salespeople.
Traditional In-Home Sales
By only doing in-home sales, salespeople that work for traditional solar dealers have a limited market to work with. Some companies ship their doorknockers to other counties and sometimes other states to generate business. This practice also limits the number of people that can be involved in solar sales. Further, homeowners these days are less likely to be excited about inviting a stranger into their home. Even when companies are providing leads to their salespeople, they might need to drive 30 to 50 miles from home for a sales appointment. In many cases the homeowner isn’t there and they’ve wasted time and gas.
Remote Solar Sales
With REACH Solar, Setters and Sales Reps, use online meeting tools like Zoom to meet with homeowners. Since the pandemic, consumers are very comfortable with the concept of meeting online. This gives the salesperson the ability to sell anywhere within 35+ states and US territories. Homeowners don’t have to feel uncomfortable about letting a salesperson into their home and if the homeowner doesn’t attend a meeting, the salesperson hasn’t driven an hour or more for nothing. And “no shows” happen very infrequently because the homeowner has a relationship with the person who set the appointment. REACH Solar has Setters and Sales Reps not only working from home in nearly all 50 states, but they have top producers that live outside the US. The number of sales presentations that can be made via Zoom is far more than via in-home presentations because there is literally no travel time involved. By working remotely people can develop a lucrative solar career.
A Short Video Demonstrating What We're Doing for Homeowners Here at REACH Solar
The Red Line Commission Model
Another major opportunity to make the industry better is based on the way that solar companies and dealers pay their salespeople. It’s called the red line. In the red line commission model, solar installation companies and solar dealers set their profit margin in a price per watt. For example, if an 8kW solar system is sold that equates to 8,000 watts. The combined profit between installer and dealer may be set at $2.60 per watt. Therefore, the lowest cost that the salesperson can sell that system is $20,800 (8,000 watts x $2.60/watt). But by selling that system at $20,800, the salesperson makes no commission on the sale. They must price it higher to get paid.
This limits how competitive the salesperson can be. It also leaves open the possibility that the salesperson will price it far higher than they should to try and score a big commission. This commission model has proven to in some cases be unfair to the salesperson and in others, unfair to the homeowner.
The Revenue Share Commission Model
REACH Solar has created a commission model that is designed to drive down the price of solar systems for the homeowner and still pay the salesperson a fair commission. Using the example above, depending on the state an 8kW system could have a base cost of $2.00 per watt. This $2.00 pays the hard costs of the solar system installation such as equipment, labor, permits, etc. The profit to REACH Solar is a percentage (versus a fixed dollar amount) of what the system is sold for above the baseline price per watt. If the salesperson needs to price it lower for the homeowner to make the sale, REACH and everyone in the deal participates in giving up profit or commission to make it work.
Building a Solar Business Versus Having a Solar Sales Job
The typical path for someone in the solar industry is to come into a company as an appointment setter and prove themselves worthy to get trained to be a salesperson. Then they typically need to prove they are a top producer or because they are well-liked by management, they are allowed to start building a team. It could take years for someone to get to this point.
They would be responsible for training their new setters and salespeople so that they can now get overrides on the sales these people make. However, those overrides come out of the commissions their salespeople earn. In many cases, the salespeople learn that they can get a lower red line at another company and therefore make more money, and they leave. It’s a revolving door that has plagued the industry for decades. This leaves the person trying to build a team to earn overrides the task of constantly training new people and never really getting ahead. This is what the typical solar sales job looks like.
Build a Team from Day One
Because REACH Solar has a top-down training model, someone can start building a team on their first day with the company because they are not responsible for training their team. We call someone that is building a team, a Builder. They get paid a bonus on every sale that the new team member is responsible for producing as either a Setter or a Sales Rep. Builders with REACH Solar can also start earning overrides immediately. In fact, someone can be a Setter as well as a Builder. Setters who are also building a team can earn commissions on sales they helped produce by producing leads, bonuses on people they brought into the business who help produce sales, and overrides all sales produced by their team.
If someone has experience in team building, they can simply be a Builder only. They never need to set an appointment or sell a solar system and they will get overrides on every sale someone they brought into the company is responsible for as either a Setter or a Sales Rep. They can also earn overrides on their entire teams sales.
Of course, some people want to sell solar. A Setter can start selling as a Sales Rep once they have produced a significant number of leads that turn into sales. They can now earn full commissions on their own sales, plus bonuses and overrides on sales their Setters and Sales Reps make if they also decide to build a team.
A Part-Time Solar Opportunity
Someone can simply be a Setter and find homeowners that want to save money on their electric bill. Or be a Builder and show people the opportunity with REACH Solar, or both. They never need to go through training to learn how to sell solar. They can do what they already know, marketing and/or team building. This can be a full-time venture, but it also can be a part-time solar business. Think of the real estate agents, mortgage professionals, roofers, pool contractors, and all the other professionals that encounter homeowners daily. They might not want to leave their full-time business or job. But they may see the opportunity to build a solar business by finding interested homeowners and/or building a team. And let’s not forget about the stay-at-home parent. Maybe while the kids are at school, or the baby’s napping, they can make a few phone calls and find homeowners interested in solar or people interested in a solar business, or both.
What if someone wants to sell solar and develop for themselves a steady stream of leads? They could talk to these types of professionals all over the country that would love to get paid for providing homeowner leads.
REACH Solar Compensation
REACH Solar has the most innovative compensation plan in the solar industry. Perhaps the most attractive aspect of this plan is that it allows anyone, whether they have solar sales experience or not, to build a solar business. By doing so, they can develop over time a lucrative residual income based on the sales their organization generates on a monthly and annual basis.
For details on the REACH Solar compensation plan, watch our Detailed Business Overview Video conducted by clicking the link below.
Company Culture and Chemistry
You might think that it’s difficult to develop company culture and chemistry because everyone at REACH Solar is working remotely. That could be true, but the leaders of the company have developed daily Zoom Meetings that everyone can attend to be inspired, motivated, and educated. Once someone is comfortable with online meetings, it’s very easy to get to know others in the company. And they will find that REACH Solar has one of the best company cultures in the industry. Everyone is welcome. We are a very diverse and inclusive company with people from all backgrounds. It’s a very positive and fun environment.
Are You Interested in Learning More About REACH Solar?
Visit Solar Sales from Home
You will be able to see our detailed business overview and then schedule a Zoom meeting with me, Dale Guiducci.