20 tasks, each one witnessed by the sources that watched the job — and behind every one, a prompt you can use tonight.
You usually split time between office work and customer visits. Mornings often mean running site assessments with Trimble SketchUp Pro or AutoCAD to check roof angles, shading, and measurements. Afternoons are customer meetings, quoting with Microsoft Excel and Word, and entering leads or updates into Salesforce.
Evenings or slow days go to paperwork: finalizing proposals in Adobe Acrobat, preparing presentations in PowerPoint, and coordinating with installers or finance teams via Google Workspace or Outlook. Expect travel, some weekend appointments, and regular team check-ins to hit sales targets.
Start with Salesforce and Microsoft Excel — Salesforce for tracking leads and pipeline, Excel for cost estimates and simple payback calculations. Learn Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat to build and finalize proposals and contracts.
Next, pick up Trimble SketchUp Pro or Autodesk AutoCAD for site layout and basic design drawings. Basic familiarity with PowerPoint, Outlook, and Google Workspace is expected because teams use them for presentations and scheduling.
You use Excel to add equipment cost (panels, inverter, racking), labor hours, permitting fees, and any extra materials. Typical line items: cost per watt for panels, inverter cost, racking, electrical work, and labor rate per hour. Always include a contingency (often 5–10%).
Also calculate customer-facing numbers: system size in kilowatts (kW), estimated annual production (kWh) from your site assessment tool, and simple payback or cash flow under expected electricity rates and incentives. Record assumptions in the proposal.
Use concrete examples: name the federal tax credit percentage (e.g., ITC at the current rate), any state rebate programs, and local utility incentives. Show how each reduces the upfront cost and which require application or proof of installation.
Prepare the numbers in Word/Excel and give the customer a PDF summary via Acrobat. If a program needs documentation, list what the customer must sign or supply and the typical timeline for reimbursement or tax filing.
Yes. Rooftop solar sales combines technical site assessment and finance work with selling. You must learn to use design tools (SketchUp, AutoCAD), estimate costs, and explain electricity market details and energy efficiency rather than just persuading strangers.
You also work with cross-functional teams: designers, permitting, and installation crews. Contracts and proposals are technical documents, so accuracy matters; mistakes create real installation or warranty problems, not just a lost sale.
You can use AI for drafting proposal text, summarizing incentives, and suggesting email copy, but always verify numbers yourself. Never let AI replace your site assessment done in SketchUp or AutoCAD, or your Excel cost calculations.
Treat AI output as a first draft. Cross-check equipment specs, production estimates, and financial figures against vendor datasheets, Salesforce records, and government program pages before you send anything to customers.
The key skill is clear, accurate communication: explaining technical details (system size, production in kWh, payback) in plain terms so a customer can decide. Bring a real example: a past proposal or a mock-up using Excel and a site sketch from SketchUp or AutoCAD.
Show your process: how you assessed the roof, calculated costs, listed incentives, and followed up in Salesforce. If you don’t have solar experience, present a sample quote and a short one-page proposal created in Word and converted to PDF with Acrobat.