Solar installation & service sales manager job description
A solar sales manager hires and coaches the reps who sell rooftop solar and batteries to homeowners and small businesses, joins them on visits, and steps in on the larger contracts. The manager sets each rep's targets, checks designs before they're sold, and keeps sales promises in line with what the crews can build.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, electrical contractors · BLS, May 2025
Lead and drive the solar panel sales team by setting ambitious sales targets and providing strategic mentorship to ensure exceptional service delivery and revenue growth. Serve as the key negotiator for solar system contracts, directly contributing to the company's expansion and customer satisfaction.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Set and monitor sales targets, ensuring alignment with company goals.
Mentor and guide sales representatives through training, performance reviews, and ongoing support.
Negotiate solar system contracts with commercial and residential customers.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless installation and service processes.
Develop and implement sales strategies to penetrate target markets and increase market share.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review daily sales performance and adjust tactics as needed.
Conduct one-on-one coaching sessions with sales representatives.
Engage with prospective customers to assess their solar energy needs.
Oversee contract negotiations and finalize agreements.
Collaborate with operations and service teams to coordinate installation schedules.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Achieve a monthly sales revenue target of $150,000.
Maintain a contract negotiation success rate of at least 85%.
Increase new sales leads by a minimum of 15% quarter over quarter.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or related field.
5+ years of experience in sales, preferably in the home services or renewable energy industry.
Strong leadership and team mentoring skills.
Excellent negotiation, communication, and interpersonal skills.
Proficiency in CRM software and basic data analysis.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in the solar panel installation and service sector or similar home services industries.
Proven track record of exceeding sales targets and driving business growth.
Familiarity with renewable energy regulations and market trends.
Background in managing a geographically dispersed sales team.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to travel frequently to various client locations.
Occasional lifting of sales materials or product literature up to 20 lbs.
Must be able to work in a variety of office and field environments.
Extended periods of sitting or standing during client meetings and presentations.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard work hours typically Monday through Friday, with occasional evenings and weekends during peak seasons.
Regular travel required, up to 25% of the time.
On-call availability during major project launches or urgent client escalations.
Collaborative office culture with a mix of in-office and remote work options.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $80,000 - $100,000 USD per year, commensurate with experience.
Commission structure based on sales performance.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
401k plan with company match.
Additional fringe benefits such as paid time off and professional development opportunities.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We foster a dynamic, inclusive, and growth-oriented work environment that champions innovation and customer success.
Our team is dedicated to empowering each other through continuous learning, open communication, and shared victories.
We celebrate proactive problem-solving and a hands-on approach in helping our customers achieve sustainable energy solutions.
Join a team where your contributions drive both personal and company success.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
Every sales manager coaches and sets targets. In solar, the manager also checks roof designs, sells against rival bids, and answers for promises the crews must keep.
Buyers are told to compare bids
The FTC's guide to home solar tells homeowners to get detailed bids from several companies before they buy, lease or sign a power purchase agreement. Expect your reps to sit across from buyers holding other quotes. Coach them to lay out panels, inverter, battery, warranties and payment line by line so the buyer can compare, and to never knock a rival's bid without facts. Source: FTC, Solar power for your home.
Solar has its own sales credential
NABCEP's PV Technical Sales board certification covers qualifying prospects, site analysis, performance analysis and the financial incentives of PV systems. It's optional, but it gives you a ready training outline and a goal for senior reps. Check NABCEP's current eligibility rules before you offer to pay for it. Source: NABCEP, Board certifications.
Lock the design before the signature
A proposal drawn from satellite images can change once a surveyor sees the roof, the attic and the main electrical panel. Each change after signing costs trust and invites a cancel. Set a rule that reps confirm roof condition, shade and the panel photo before signing, or that any later change comes to you before the customer hears it.
Count installs, not signatures
A signed contract is a promise, not revenue. Track each rep's deals through the cancellation period, site survey and install. Look hard at any rep whose deals fall away more often than the team's, and start by asking what was said at the table about timing, savings or the roof.
Business buyers bring more people
A small business deal may need the owner, a partner, the accountant and sometimes the landlord to agree. The manager usually runs these deals: more site visits, a written proposal the accountant can review, and a longer wait. Keep reps out of tax advice and send those questions to the buyer's own tax adviser.
How much solar installation & service sales managers make
Sales managers who work for electrical contractors earned a median of $127,250 a year ($61.18 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $148,270 median for sales managers in all industries. About 1,460 of the 637,080 sales managers in that survey work for electrical contractors.
Pay is often a base salary with an override on the team's installed sales. The template's range covers the base only, before commission.
Electrical contractors
$127,250$127,250 median Middle half $82,630–$193,690 10th–90th $63,450–$234,100
All industries
$148,270$148,270 median Middle half $100,360–$207,340 10th–90th $73,170–$290,540
$0k$50k$100k$150k$200k$250k$300k$350k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Electrical contractors
$63,450
$82,630
$127,250
$193,690
$234,100
All industries
$73,170
$100,360
$148,270
$207,340
$290,540
BLS doesn’t publish pay for solar installers on their own. These figures cover electrical and wiring contractors, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Coaching from ride-alongs, not just from CRM reports
Reading a solar design: roof planes, shade, system size and production
Negotiating with buyers who hold competing bids
Building a weekly sales forecast operations can plan crews around
Holding reps to honest timeline and savings promises
Teach these on the job
Your lenders' products and approval steps
Your design and proposal software
Each utility's sell-back rules in your markets
Typical permit and hookup timelines in each market
The commercial deal structures your company offers
The manager spends the day in the CRM, the proposal software and the lender portals, with a dashboard of each rep's appointments, signed deals and cancellations. List the CRM and proposal software in the ad.
Solar installation & service sales manager interview questions
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Stopping misrepresentation
A top rep's customers keep saying they were promised a tax credit that their tax preparers say they can't claim. What do you do?
A strong answer: Investigates with customers and recordings, corrects it with each customer in writing, disciplines or removes the rep, retrains the team to send tax questions to a tax professional, and adds welcome-call checks.
Behavioral · Developing reps
Tell me about a rep you developed into a top performer whose cancellations stayed low.
A strong answer: Names the skill, such as reading utility bills or explaining financing, practiced it with the rep and tracked both sales and cancellations.
These targets come from the template. Reset them from your average contract size, team size and season.
Achieve a monthly sales revenue target of $150,000
Add up contract value signed each month, then report it a second time after cancellations and survey changes come out, because that is the revenue the crews will actually build.
Maintain a contract negotiation success rate of at least 85%
Of the deals the manager negotiates or steps in to save, count the share that end in a signed contract, and note how much came off the price to get there.
How much driving and carrying does a solar sales manager do?
Expect regular driving across the territory for ride-alongs and business meetings, long sits at kitchen tables, standing at home shows, and carrying a presentation kit or sample panel case up to 20 pounds. Those are the tasks behind the template's travel and lifting lines. Note in the ad how many nights a month are spent away from home, if any.
How much does a solar installation & service sales manager make?
Sales managers who work for electrical contractors earned a median of $127,250 a year ($61.18 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $82,630 and $193,690 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
Should a solar sales team knock doors or work only marketing leads?
Many teams do both. Door knocking tends to work in dense neighborhoods with good roofs and a recent install nearby to point to. Marketing leads cost more but arrive warmer. Decide how much of each rep's week goes to each, track close rates separately, and check your towns' rules on door-to-door selling first.
How soon should a new solar rep run appointments alone?
Not until they've shadowed enough appointments to explain a design, a payment option and the install timeline without notes, and have joined at least one site survey with an installer. Set a short checklist, watch them run one appointment while you stay quiet, and sign them off when they pass it.
How should a solar sales manager split leads between reps?
Start with drive time, so no rep crosses the territory for one visit. Then look at how each rep closes on each kind of lead, since some do better with referrals and others with paid leads. Write the rules down and apply them the same way every week, so reps trust the split.
