How to answer a solar equipment enquiry from a homeowner who found you online

A homeowner who typed "solar for my house" into a search box is really asking two things. Will it work on my roof, and will it cut my bill? Your first reply should answer neither. Ask about the roof and the bill in plain words, so that your next message is about their house and not about a brochure. Keep it short.

Why not just send the price list?

Because the price depends on the house, and the homeowner knows it. A price list with no questions tells the homeowner you will quote the same to everyone. A homeowner who has also written to other suppliers is likely to answer the reply that shows interest in their roof.

Also, solar for a home is a purchase with many small worries: shade, the roof's strength, the building's rules, the electricity bill, whether it pays back. A first reply that asks about those tells the homeowner you know the worries.

The three things to ask

Ask these in the first reply, and no more than these:

1. Roof. Is it your own house, and what is the roof made of? Flat concrete, sheet, or tile?
2. Electricity bill. What is your usual bill, or the units used in a month? A photo of a recent bill is the easiest way.
3. Place. Which area or town is the house in?

Everything else can wait for the second round. Too many questions in the first reply and the homeowner stops answering. When they have answered the three, ask these:

• Does shade fall on the roof in the afternoon, from a tree or a taller building?
• Which way does the main roof face?
• Is the connection single-phase or three-phase, as printed on the bill?
• Who else in the family decides, and would they like to be on the visit?

The last one matters. A visit where the person who pays is absent is a visit repeated.

A reply you can send by hand

If you answer from a phone, this works as written. Change the wording to your own voice and keep it short.

Hello Mr/Ms ___, thank you for writing to us about rooftop solar. To tell you something useful about your house and not something general, may I ask three things? 1) Is it your own house, and is the roof concrete, sheet or tile? 2) Could you send a photo of a recent electricity bill? 3) Which area is it in? Once I have these I can tell you what size to look at for your house and what the next step would be. I am ___, and you can call me on ___.

Notice what is missing: no price, no offer, no list of products and no "limited period". The reply asks, then promises one useful thing.

What to do with the answers

Read the bill first. It tells you roughly how much electricity the house uses, which is the starting point for sizing. Then the roof tells you whether a simple installation is possible and what mounting is needed. Together they let you give an honest range or say what a visit must check.

If the person sends only part of the information, reply once more, asking only for what is missing. If they do not reply after two attempts, leave a last short note saying you are available when they are ready, and move on. Do not keep chasing.

For example: an enquiry from Mysuru

Imagine, as an invented case, a homeowner in Mysuru who fills a form on a supplier's website. The supplier's first reply was a PDF with five kit sizes and prices, sent within the hour. The homeowner never replied. When the supplier phoned a week later, the homeowner said the prices looked high for a house like theirs, but the form had never asked what the house was.

The supplier had answered the form before understanding the house. The first reply became the three-question message above. The next enquiry came from a house with a sheet roof and a small bill. It got a different answer: a smaller kit, a note about the roof mounting and an offer to visit. That homeowner replied the same evening. The visit, though, showed the sheet roof was too weak for the mounting first proposed, so the quote went up by about ₹8,000 (an invented figure) for a stronger frame. The homeowner took a week to agree, but had been told why.

When not to push a sale

Some enquiries should end politely. A tenant who cannot touch the roof, a house under deep shade all day, or a flat in a building that will not give permission are not buyers yet. Say so honestly, and keep the contact in case things change. Honesty here is also good selling, because the homeowner may mention you to neighbours later.

Schemes, subsidies and permissions for rooftop solar differ by state and utility and change often. If the homeowner asks, say you will check the current position and give them the right place to confirm it, rather than answering from memory.

Keep a note of every enquiry

Write each enquiry in a sheet: date, name, area, roof, bill, what you replied, next step and the date you will act on it. The same two-minute filter described in qualifying a directory enquiry fits here.

Save the reply in your phone's notes, fill in your own name and number, and send it to the next enquiry as it arrives. Our lead response and follow-up page covers the service side, and the trade is on our solar and renewable energy equipment page. If you would like a reply routine the whole team can follow, tell us what you need.