Qualify a solar lead before you book by asking if they own the home, what the power bill runs, what shape the roof is in, how much shade hits it, and whether credit fits the financing you sell. Book the ones who clear the rules you set, and skip a bad number, a renter, or a house outside the area you install in.
I sold over 250 residential deals as a rep before I ran ads. I wanted those answers before I got in the truck. A bad lead still costs you a drive and an evening with a homeowner who was never going to buy.
What should you ask before you book a solar lead?
Ask if they own the home, what the electric bill runs in a normal month, whether the roof can take panels, what shades the roof, and, if you finance, whether credit is in range for the loans you sell. A company working with us can set those five: power bill, roof, shade, credit and homeownership. That list is on our FAQ.
The form already carries a name, email, phone, address, an average power bill and whether they own the home. Shade and credit are not on that form. Ask them on the call unless you want them asked earlier.
Keep the call short. Say who you are, why you're calling, and ask one easy question. Answer what they asked. Offer two times a closer can keep, then get off the phone. The closer sells the system in the house. If this call turns into a price pitch, the yes at the end is usually soft. Who should be dialing is in should you hire a solar appointment setter.
Do they own the home?
Ask it straight. Do you own the house? A renter can't sign for panels on a roof they don't own.
Homeownership is self-reported, so a renter gets through now and then, more often on a form that took two taps. If the call makes it clear they rent, mark the lead disqualified and don't book.
If they own it and someone else has to be there to decide, book the hour when both can be home. Ask that before the time goes on the calendar.
Is the power bill worth the drive?
Ask what the bill runs in a normal month. A rough number is enough. You set the floor for your market and the way you sell. We don't publish one bill size for every company. A bill that works on one utility's rates can be a poor sit somewhere else.
Don't require the utility bill before you book. Plenty of homeowners will talk before they send one. The closer reads the real bill at the table. The amount they give you on the phone is there so you don't drive to a bill that can't support the offer.
If they won't guess, use the rule you wrote down. On a small budget, an owner who states a real bill is a booking. Waiting on a PDF that never arrives is how a Thursday stays empty.
Some of them ask you to text a price and skip the visit. Get a normal month's bill first, not the one big summer bill they remember. A price with no bill attached won't match the house. Book the time and do the price at the table.
What should you ask about the roof and the shade?
Ask whether the roof leaks or has to be replaced before anyone can mount panels, and what covers it in the afternoon. A tree, or the house next door.
A roof that has to be replaced first is a roofing conversation. If they're doing it this season, wait until the new roof is on, or send them to a roofer and stop.
If a tree covers the part of the roof where the panels would go, and your rule says you don't sit that, don't book it. Shade on one corner can still be a sit. Tell them the closer will look from the yard. Write the rule in one sentence the caller can read, and include the zip codes you install in. A good roof outside that area is still a no.
When do you ask a solar lead about credit?
Ask when the sale depends on financing, and ask for the range your lender uses. Some teams ask on the booking call. Some wait for the appointment, because a credit question in the first minute ends calls that would have become sits.
If your written rule says you won't run an appointment under a certain range, and they say they're under it, don't book. If you have no written cutoff, don't invent one on the phone. We don't publish one score for every client. Credit is on the same list as the bill and the roof, and the cutoff is yours.
Ask if they're paying cash or financing before you ask for a range. A cash buyer doesn't need the credit question. When your rule doesn't require an answer before the drive, write "wouldn't discuss credit" on the appointment and let the closer ask at the table.
What can wait until the closer is in the house?
The panel layout, the loan menu, the production estimate and the full utility PDF can wait. So can the price. Ownership, a stated bill and a roof answer are enough to put a time on the calendar.
Ask on the first call, while the form is still why they picked up. By a later attempt you're qualifying someone who half remembers the form. How fast that first call has to go is in solar speed to lead.
If they want a quote by email before they'll pick a time, send the open times and the questions you still need. Don't build a proposal for a house you haven't filtered.
When should you disqualify the lead instead?
Mark it disqualified, and don't book, when the number is bad, they rent, or the address is outside the area you install in. We don't sell leads one at a time, so there is no per-lead credit to hand back. The lead doesn't become an appointment.
Stop when they say no, or when they ask you to stop calling and texting.
Someone who won't answer every question is not an automatic no. On a small budget, keep the rules loose and book everyone who qualifies. An owner with a stated bill and a roof that can take panels is a booking even if they won't talk credit yet, unless your rule says credit comes before the drive. Note the gap so the closer isn't surprised.
A strong bill outside your zip codes is still a no. Stretching the map to fill Thursday doesn't make that house one you can install.
Do cheap solar leads need tighter rules?
It depends on the form.
On our campaigns, instant-form leads run $3 or $4, and about 5% of them pick up. The form took two taps, so a loose rule there puts soft sits on the board. A calculator lead already typed a bill to see a panel count. The call confirms ownership, bill and roof, then adds shade and credit. A new calculator campaign usually runs $18 to $25 a lead. Those are past results from our own ads. Another market will land somewhere else. I compare the two in Facebook ads for solar companies.
Tighter rules won't make a lead answer the phone. They stop a drive to someone who answered and was never going to buy. If people answer and almost nobody books, listen to a few calls before you change the ad. The usual miss is a script that starts selling, or a rule that blocks anyone who hasn't emailed the bill.
How does Solarfunnels qualify a lead?
Homeowners answer a few questions on the calculator first: do they own the home, what's the power bill, how's the roof. Summer, our virtual assistant, calls and texts within minutes. She books the ones who meet the rules you set. A bad number, a renter, or someone outside your area is marked disqualified, and she doesn't book them.
You pay one flat monthly fee, set by your ad budget, month to month, with no setup fee. Ad spend is separate. It starts at about $1,000 a month, you pay the platforms, and we don't mark it up. The details are on our pricing page. We don't guarantee how many leads will qualify. Your market and the rules you set move that.
If the calendar is full of renters and roofs that need replacing, book a quick call. We'll look at the questions on the form and the ones on the call.