How Smart Solar Companies Use Data to Generate Solar Leads

(Updated. Originally published Oct. 25, 2022.)

As more states adopt legislation to shift to renewable energy, the solar industry is positioned for a surge. How can solar companies get a fair slice of the market, especially in commercial real estate? We compare conventional sales lead generation tactics to today’s smart data-driven sales prospecting tools.

Are you a solar panel manufacturer, installer, or service provider looking for exclusive leads? Skip the reading and set up a demo with a Biscred team member. See how smart solar companies are using Biscred to generate exclusive opportunities to sell, install and service solar energy in the commercial real estate sector. 

Want to learn more about solar opportunities in the US? Read on.

California Leads the Country in Solar

With California leading the country in total solar units installed (43,244 solar MW installed, or 27.76% of the state’s electricity, as of the end of Q3 2023, according to SEIA) and in solar jobs (more than 78,000 people employed in solar energy), it’s an understatement to say that competition for commercial sales leads in the state is fierce. Add to that the CEC’s mandate for all new CRE construction to include solar and storage as of Jan. 1, 2023, and you can see how California is preparing for a whole new kind of Gold Rush. The race to convert buildings to solar energy is on.

According to SEIA research, the solar industry is a 50-state market, meaning there are opportunities to expand solar energy in all 50 states.

Rounding out the top 10 states in solar PV energy production (based on megawatt hours) as of Q4 2023 (SEIA/Wood Mackenzie) are:

1. California 43,244 MW

2. Texas 20,028

3. Florida 12,877

4. North Carolina 8,648

5. Arizona 6,731

6. Nevada 6,299

7. Georgia 5,485

8. New York 4,937

9. Virginia 4,703

10. New Jersey 4,696

Year over year, New York entered the top 10 states for solar, nudging off Massachusetts, which still continues to grow.

With states shifting to renewable energy and crafting mandates similar to California’s Title 24, more companies are getting into the solar business by manufacturing solar panels, installing and developing solar power, and servicing the solar industry.

How is your state's solar installation going? Below are links to SEIA's latest state data on solar installation and power, updated quarterly. 

• Alabama

• Alaska

• Arizona

• Arkansas

• California

• Colorado

• Connecticut

• Delaware

• Florida

• Georgia

• Hawaii

• Idaho

• Illinois

• Indiana

• Iowa

• Kansas

• Kentucky

• Louisiana

• Maine

• Maryland

• Massachusetts

• Michigan

• Minnesota

• Mississippi

• Missouri

• Montana

• Nebraska

• Nevada

• New Hampshire

• New Jersey

• New Mexico

• New York

• North Carolina

• North Dakota

• Ohio

• Oklahoma

• Oregon

• Pennsylvania

• Rhode Island

• South Carolina

• South Dakota

• Tennessee

• Texas

• Utah

• Vermont

• Virginia

• Washington

• Washington DC

• West Virginia

• Wisconsin

• Wyoming

How to Generate Leads for Solar Sales

The conventional method for generating leads starts with a list. You buy a list of commercial property owners and open a fire hose of marketing messaging directed at them, hitting them through print collateral, billboards, cold calling and email. It’s a time-consuming, hit-or-miss method that many outside sales teams have mastered. Vendors in the CRE business connect with commercial property owners by:

• Purchasing lead lists

• Attending expos, conferences, and industry events

• Attracting leads through websites, social media and paid advertising

• Advertising through print and digital commercial real estate publications

• Networking via word-of-mouth and CRE relationships

• Joining CRE organizations

Smarter Solar Lead-Generator for CRE Companies

Sales teams typically have to find contact information for possible prospects using tools and research methods that offer spotty coverage of the CRE industry.

Biscred is a prospecting platform that makes CRE-specific data accessible and more efficient for sales teams in industries such as proptech, insurance, architecture, design, engineering, services, material providers and all industries looking to work with CRE. The platform merges “people-level data” with industry-specific information, such as industry classification, asset class and job function.

Biscred General Manager Benjamin Hertz said these elements are crucial for navigating CRE and finding the right point of contact while avoiding the hassle of verifying inaccurate or outdated information from multiple outlets.

"There are a ton of tools out there, but so few of them actually think about the salesperson, their workflow and the insane amount of time they have to spend to use a prospecting tool effectively,” Hertz said. “Biscred is designed by the salesperson, for the salesperson.

Hertz said that a platform like Biscred is a game-changer because while many sales professionals are experts in their products, they may not have the CRE knowledge or connections they need to connect to a wide range of industry professionals.

“We wanted to build this platform to help with all manner of CRE sales and to make sales teams across every industry that touches CRE more efficient,” Hertz said. “Sales teams need to gain the knowledge needed about owners, operators and developers in their specific niche. And what we’re doing is helping them find these valuable companies and contacts.”

Should You Buy Solar Lead Lists?

In highly competitive markets where hundreds of solar manufacturers, installers and service providers are popping up, do you want to buy a potentially stale and inaccurate lead list, add it to your CRM and slug through the contacts?

California alone has more than 3.1 million commercial real estate properties, and as they convert to renewable energy sources, solar leads the way. By the end of 2022, California had nearly 2,000 solar companies, serving both residential and commercial customers. Do you have time to let your competitors get ahead of you?

Lead lists have their value, but hot solar markets need accurate targeted data, which is what the Biscred platform does.

Find solar business leads using data

Biscred’s data intelligence tool delivers prospects to your solar energy business based on the parameters you set. Want only industrial properties in a rural area? No problem. Looking for retail properties in a growing suburb? We’ve got that too.

Tailor your search to find commercial properties

Filter your results by state, city, or region.

Further, filter your solar prospects by asset type:

• Apartment buildings

• Mixed-use properties

• Commercial office buildings

• Travel and hospitality

• Industrial

• Entertainment and recreation

• Governmental

• Retail

Additionally, you can limit your searches by contact seniority such as executive, senior-Level, mid-level, junior-level or job classification including, president, manager, analyst, and 35 more options.

After seeing how narrowly you can target your searches, let us ask you the question: Should you buy leads, or should you use a sales enablement tool built to deliver qualified commercial real estate prospects?

Photo 52311785 | Joe Sohm | Dreamstime.com