The short answer
Follow up with a solar lead at least eight times across three weeks, then move to a monthly touch for up to a year. Most companies stop after two attempts, while a large share of contacts happen on the fourth attempt or later, which means the leads they already paid for are being abandoned just before they would have answered.
- 01Eight active attempts, then monthly. Two is the industry norm and it is far too few.
- 02Vary channel and time of day, or eight attempts is really two.
- 03After attempt four, change what you are asking for.
- 04Stop immediately on request. Otherwise there is no fixed end, only a slower cadence.
This is one of the few questions in sales with a straightforwardly evidenced answer, and the answer is more than you are currently doing.
Where do most solar companies stop?
Two attempts. A call on the day, a call the next day, then the lead moves to a status nobody looks at again. What makes this expensive is that you already paid for the lead, whether in ad spend, vendor fees or the years of reputation that produced the referral.
- 2Typical attempts before giving up
- 8+Attempts a reached lead often needs
- 21xQualification lift from a fast first attempt
Note that the first and last figures are in tension. Speed matters enormously and persistence matters enormously, and they are usually discussed separately. Getting there first and then quitting on attempt two wastes the advantage you just paid for.
Why are so many attempts needed?
- People are working. Your leads have jobs and are not sitting by the phone waiting for installers.
- Unknown numbers get ignored. A large share of calls are screened by default, and the second and third attempts are where recognition starts.
- Solar is postponed, not rejected. Attempt one catches them mid-thought; attempt six catches them after the bill arrived.
- They contacted several installers. Yours may be the fourth call and they have stopped answering all of them.
What should eight attempts look like?
| Attempt | When | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Within 5 minutes | Call, no voicemail |
| 2 | 30 minutes | Call with voicemail, then text |
| 3 | Day 2, different time | Call |
| 4 | Day 3 | Email with something useful |
| 5 | Day 5 | Text, one question |
| 6 | Day 7 | Call with voicemail |
| 7 | Day 14 | Text asking if the timing is wrong |
| 8 | Day 28 | Email closing the active sequence |
What changes after attempt four
The early attempts assume they missed you. The later ones should assume something has changed, and the ask changes with it.
- 01
Attempts 1 to 3: assume a missed connection
Straightforward, warm, referencing their enquiry. You are simply trying to catch them.
- 02
Attempts 4 to 6: bring something with you
A relevant install nearby, an answer to a common worry, a local incentive note. Each touch justifies itself even if they never reply.
- 03
Attempt 7: offer the exit
Ask whether the timing is wrong and say you will stop chasing if so. The highest-response message in most sequences, because it is easy to answer honestly.
- 04
Attempt 8: close the active loop, open the slow one
Say plainly you will stop the calls, leave a direct number, and move them to the monthly nurture. See solar lead nurturing.
When should you actually stop?
- 01They ask you to. Immediately, permanently, across every channel.
- 02They disqualify. Renting with no landlord interest, a roof that cannot take a system, outside your service area.
- 03They bought elsewhere and installed. Move them to a review-and-referral path instead, not to nothing.
- 04Twelve months of no engagement at all. Not on attempt eight, on month twelve.
Everything else stays in the system on a monthly rhythm. The database of people who wanted solar and did not buy from you is one of the most valuable assets a solar company owns, and most owners have never once messaged it. See how to reactivate old solar leads.
What persistence is worth, in money
It is worth putting a number on this, because the case for eight attempts is usually made as a moral point about effort when it is really an arithmetic one.
| Stops at 2 attempts | Runs to 8 attempts | |
|---|---|---|
| Leads | 100 | 100 |
| Contact rate | 31% | 58% |
| Appointments sat | 9 | 17 |
| Jobs closed at 28% | 2.5 | 4.8 |
| Cost per closed job | $6,000 | $3,125 |
Same leads, same spend, same sales team. The only difference is that the second column did not stop on Tuesday. Nothing else available to a solar company halves cost per job for free.
The full cadence, written out
The solar sales follow-up sequenceStop reading, start booking
Volt builds and runs the system this article describes: the site, the follow-up, the inbox and the review funnel, for $297 a month.
No contracts. Cancel anytime.
Common questions
- Is eight follow-ups too aggressive?
- Not when they are short, varied and about the enquiry the person made. Aggression comes from tone and repetition, not from count. One-line texts and a genuinely useful email do not read as pressure.
- Should I leave a voicemail every time?
- No. Skip it on the first attempt, because a missed call from a local number is returned more often than a voicemail is played. Use voicemails on attempts two and six, and keep them under twenty seconds.
- What is the best time to call a solar lead?
- Vary it deliberately: morning, lunchtime, late afternoon and early evening. Early evening reaches people who work and is the slot most installers never try.
