How to Qualify Commercial Solar Leads

The five-point qualification checklist

• Ownership: does the business own the property, or have landlord permission and a long enough lease?
• Energy spend: is annual electricity spend high enough to justify a commercial system?
• Site suitability: roof type, condition, orientation, shading, or available land for ground-mount.
• Decision-maker: is the contact the owner, MD, FD or facilities lead who can sign off?
• Timeline and funding: are they planning to act in the next few months, via cash, finance or PPA?

Qualified solar leads: what the label should mean when you buy

"Qualified" has no fixed meaning in solar lead generation. To one supplier it means the form was filled in and the phone number works; to another it means every point on the checklist above was confirmed with the decision-maker. When you buy qualified solar leads, ask which of the five checks were made, by whom (a person on the phone or a web form), and whether the answers come with the lead.

A high quality solar lead is one that is likely to reach a site survey with the person who signs off the spend. In practice that means the five checks were done before it reached you, it is exclusive to you, and there is a clear rule for what happens if it turns out not to match what you were sold.

• Ask for a sample write-up so you can see exactly what "qualified" includes.
• Ask whether qualification was done by phone, by form, or both.
• Ask what share of their booked appointments go ahead, and how they measure it.
• Ask what is replaced or refunded, and how quickly.

Questions to ask on the first call

• Do you own the building, and how long do you plan to stay?
• Roughly what do you spend on electricity each year?
• What type of roof do you have, and when was it last replaced?
• Who else would be involved in approving the project?
• What would make this project a priority this year?

Red flags that waste survey time

• Short-term tenants with no landlord buy-in.
• Contacts who cannot name who signs off spending.
• Roofs that need replacing before panels can go on.
• "Just getting prices" with no timeline.

How TNW Marketing qualifies leads for you

Every commercial prospect TNW Marketing books is checked for ownership, energy spend, roof suitability and buying intent before it reaches your calendar. You only pay for appointments that are actually attended, and any that aren't viable we replace.

Rather not make these calls yourself? Our appointment setting for commercial solar installers checks ownership, energy spend, roof suitability and buying intent on the phone before a survey is booked into your diary. Buying solar installer leads from someone else? Ask which of these five checks they make before a lead reaches you, and get the answer in writing. Our comparison of commercial solar leads from 15 UK suppliers shows what each says it checks, our page on alternatives to Lead Pronto sets one well-known supplier against ten others, and our explainer on how solar leads are priced covers pricing models, exclusivity and no-show terms. Qualifying only works if you reach the lead quickly: see how to follow up solar leads and cut no-shows.

Frequently asked questions