Rooftop solar installers waste a large share of site surveys on enquiries that could never convert — tenants without roof rights, heavily shaded roofs, electricity bills too small to justify a system, and buyers whose expectations were set by an unrealistic advertisement. Five qualifying questions asked automatically at first contact remove most of them before a van leaves the yard.
Key takeaways
- A site survey costs fuel, an engineer's day and an opportunity — far more than it appears on paper.
- Five questions filter most of the waste: ownership, bill size, roof type, shading, timeline.
- Ownership is the single highest-value filter. A tenant cannot install rooftop solar.
- Solar has a long consideration cycle, so structured follow-up matters more than in most trades.
- Setting subsidy and payback expectations honestly at first contact prevents wasted surveys later.
What a wasted site survey really costs
Installers habitually undercount this. A survey consumes:
- Fuel and vehicle time across the city
- An engineer's half-day, at loaded cost
- Scheduling and coordination overhead
- Follow-up effort on a proposal that will never close
- The opportunity cost — the real customer who could not be surveyed that day
wasted surveys per month
× (direct cost + engineer half-day + opportunity cost)
= monthly waste
For an installer running 30 surveys a month with 45% unqualified, the annual figure is substantial — and every rupee of it is recoverable with five questions.
The five questions
1. Do you own the property? (Highest value filter)
"Quick check — do you own the house, or are you renting?"
A tenant cannot install rooftop solar without the owner's consent, and rarely obtains it. This single question eliminates a meaningful share of enquiries in under ten seconds.
For apartments, the follow-up matters: "Is this an independent house or a flat in a society?" A flat requires a society resolution, which is a completely different and much longer sales process — worth pursuing, but not with a same-week individual survey.
2. What is your monthly electricity bill?
"Roughly what's your monthly electricity bill?"
This sizes the system and the economics in one answer. Below a certain bill, payback stretches beyond what most households will accept, and it is kinder to say so immediately than after a survey.
3. What kind of roof?
"Is the roof concrete, metal sheet, or tiled? And roughly how much open area is available?"
Roof type determines mounting structure and cost. Available area determines feasible capacity. A customer wanting 5kW on a roof that fits 2kW needs that conversation now, not after the engineer arrives.
4. Any shading?
"Are there tall buildings, trees or water tanks that shade the roof during the day?"
Shading is the most common reason a technically feasible site produces disappointing output. Identifying it early either disqualifies the site or sets honest expectations.
5. When are you looking to install?
"Are you planning to install within a month, in 2–3 months, or still researching?"
Solar has a long consideration cycle. Someone six months out is a genuine lead — but for a nurture sequence, not a Tuesday survey.
What this looks like in practice
8:12pm — "Hi! Thanks for your interest in Suryodaya Solar. Five quick questions and I can tell you whether solar makes sense for your home. First — do you own the property or rent it?"
8:13pm — "own it, independent house"
8:13pm — "Great. Roughly what's your monthly electricity bill?"
8:14pm — "around 4500"
8:14pm — "That's a good fit. Roof — concrete, metal sheet or tiled?"
8:15pm — "concrete, terrace is free"
8:15pm — "Any trees or tall buildings shading it during the day?"
8:16pm — "no, it's open"
8:16pm — "Ideal. Last one — looking to install within a month, 2–3 months, or researching?"
8:17pm — "next month if possible"
8:17pm — "You're a strong candidate. Our engineer can survey Thursday 11am or Saturday 10am — takes about 40 minutes, and you'll get an exact system size and payback estimate. Which works?"
Five questions, five minutes, at 8pm on a Sunday. The engineer's Thursday is now spent on a qualified rooftop instead of a rented flat.
Handle subsidy expectations early and honestly
Subsidy is the most common source of misaligned expectations in Indian residential solar. Prospects arrive with figures from advertisements, WhatsApp forwards and neighbours, and those figures are often wrong or out of date.
Build this into first contact:
- Explain that subsidy eligibility depends on the current scheme, system size, category and state — and that rules change
- Never quote a specific subsidy amount as a guarantee
- Point to official scheme information rather than restating figures that may be stale
- Give an honest indicative payback range rather than a best case
[Verify current subsidy scheme details against the official government portal before publishing any figures.]
This costs you a few enquiries at the top. It saves far more in surveys, proposals and reputation at the bottom.
The long-cycle follow-up
Solar is not an impulse purchase. Between first enquiry and installation there is often a spouse to consult, a comparison across three vendors, a loan to arrange and a season to wait out.
The installers who win are the ones still present when the decision is finally made — and presence is a sequencing problem, not a persistence problem:
| When | Message |
|---|---|
| Day 2 after survey | Proposal with system size, generation estimate and payback |
| Day 5 | A nearby completed installation with actual generation figures |
| Day 12 | Answers to the three objections everyone raises — monsoon output, maintenance, panel lifespan |
| Day 25 | Financing or EMI options |
| Day 45 | Gentle status check |
| Quarterly after | Genuinely useful updates only |
Most installers send the proposal and stop. That is why the customer signs with whoever messaged them in month three.
Frequently asked questions
How do I qualify solar leads before a site visit?
Ask five questions at first contact: property ownership, monthly electricity bill, roof type and available area, shading, and installation timeline. Ownership alone eliminates a large share of enquiries, since tenants cannot install rooftop solar without the owner's consent.
What is the biggest waste in solar sales?
Site surveys on properties that were never viable — rented homes, heavily shaded roofs, and bills too small to justify a system. Each consumes fuel, an engineer's half-day and a slot a qualified customer could have used, all of which is preventable with pre-qualification.
Can tenants install rooftop solar?
Generally not without the property owner's written consent, which is rarely granted for a long-lived fixed installation. Asking about ownership at first contact is therefore the single most valuable qualifying question for a rooftop solar installer.
How should I handle subsidy questions from prospects?
Explain that eligibility and amounts depend on the current scheme, system size and state, and point prospects to official scheme information rather than quoting figures that may be outdated. Setting accurate expectations early prevents surveys and proposals that collapse once real numbers appear.
How long is the typical solar sales cycle?
Longer than most trades, because it involves household consultation, multi-vendor comparison and often financing. Structured follow-up over weeks and months matters more than in impulse-driven categories, and the installer still visible at decision time usually wins the order.
Send the van only where it pays
fizaki qualifies every solar enquiry on WhatsApp within seconds — ownership, bill, roof, shading, timeline — and books surveys only for viable rooftops.
Related reading: AI lead qualification and the 7 places local businesses lose customers.
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