How Sunder Energy Scaled Solar Sales to 70,000 Accounts
- Scale Through Crisis: Sunder Energy reached 70,000 accounts by adapting sales strategies during the pandemic.
- Software Solutions: Enzy software streamlines onboarding and gamifies the sales experience for large teams.
- Industry Stability: Partnering with solvent regional installers protects both the customer and the sales representative.
You knock on a door, pitch a solar system, and close the deal. Six months later, the installer goes bankrupt, leaving the homeowner with a massive loan and no panels. This scenario plagues the solar industry. How do you build a resilient solar sales organization that protects customers and scales nationwide?
On The D2D Podcast, host Sam Taggart sat down with Eric Nielsen, President of Sunder Energy. They discussed how Sunder navigated market crashes, scaled to tens of thousands of accounts, and built software to manage massive sales teams. You can learn more about building resilient teams through our door-to-door sales training.
Why Sunder Energy Transitioned to Solar Sales
Sunder Energy moved into solar to disrupt toxic industry practices and build a sustainable sales model. Eric Nielsen saw an opportunity to treat representatives better and eliminate restrictive non-competes.
Learning from the GM Program
Nielsen started knocking doors in 2008 as an undergraduate student. He worked for Apex and Pinnacle before attending graduate school. After a brief corporate internship, he returned to the door-to-door world at Vivint.
Nielsen realized the business needed a year-round program after a conversation at a Klondike event. Rich Goates told him that whoever figured out a consistent year-round model would succeed. Nielsen worked with John Taylor and Eli Robertson to create the GM program at Vivint.
They built it up to 35 offices. This experience taught him how to source local talent outside the Intermountain West. He learned how to interview 30 people efficiently and train them quickly.
Breaking Toxic Industry Habits
Nielsen eventually transitioned to Legacy Power. He worked in a corporate role for four years. When that ended, he felt conflicted about staying in the space.
Instead, he decided to start a disruptive company. He wanted to treat representatives with respect. The name "Sunder" means to break apart. He wanted to break apart monopolies and the carbon industry.
He hated the practice of keeping a representative's pipeline if they left the company. He built his new business on core values to prevent these issues.
How Sunder Energy Scaled During COVID
Sunder Energy scaled during the pandemic by quickly adapting their sales approach when traditional methods halted. They leaned on regional installation partners and pushed through the initial shutdown to achieve massive growth.
The March Shutdown
Sunder Energy started in late fall 2019. Nielsen built the company with scale in mind. He established six core values based on the company name acronym.
During the first six months, recruiting went well. They partnered with Freedom Forever for installations. The team put their heads down and worked hard.
In March 2020, the pandemic hit. The world stopped completely. Sales came to a halt for the first week.
Reaching Massive Volume
The company had very little back-office support. They relied on a small group of W2 employees. Despite this, they adapted their sales methods quickly.
By May, the team closed a thousand accounts a month. They pushed through sleepless nights and massive workloads. The small experiment grew into a massive operation.
Over their first four years, they secured 70,000 solid accounts. Nielsen credits his team for pulling the company out of the initial pandemic chaos. They never looked back after that initial explosion in volume.
What Causes Solar Installer Insolvency
Solar installers face insolvency when they accept uncomfortably low margins to secure high volume from sales organizations. When interest rates rise, these thin margins collapse, taking the installer down with them.
The Impact of Rising Rates
Sales organizations often demand the lowest possible redline from installers. Installers accept these deals to gain volume. When market conditions change, that volume cannot save them from insolvency.
Interest rates dictate the health of the solar market. When rates go up, the cost of financing a system increases. Installers with tight margins cannot absorb these changes.
A year ago, the industry had seven or eight national installers. Now, only two remain. This massive consolidation hurts customers and sales representatives alike.
Pivoting to Regional Partners
Sunder Energy changed its model to solve this problem. They spent 14 months finding solvent EPC and finance partners. They shifted toward a regional installation strategy.
Nielsen advises sales representatives to accept slightly lower commissions to keep their partners healthy. A five or ten-cent difference in pay ensures the installation company survives. A healthy partner guarantees the customer actually receives their panels.
Should Solar Reps Sell Financed Systems
Solar representatives should sell financed systems only when they clearly explain dealer fees and match the loan type to the homeowner's long-term plans. The shift toward third-party owned systems also helps weed out bad actors.
Explaining Dealer Fees
Many customers only care about the monthly payment. They ignore the massive dealer fees attached to low-interest loans. Representatives must evaluate the homeowner's long-term plans.
If a family plans to move in two years, a high-interest loan with no dealer fee makes sense. If they plan to keep the house for decades, paying the dealer fee upfront saves money.
Dealer fees do not go to the sales representative. They buy down the interest rate for the investors backing the loan. This works exactly like paying points on a traditional mortgage.
The Shift to Third-Party Ownership
The Inflation Reduction Act pushed the market toward third-party owned systems. Companies like Sunrun, GoodLeap, and Everbright now dominate the space. The customer does not own the system in these deals.
Because the finance company owns the equipment, they enforce strict compliance. They require welcome calls and photo validation. This structure naturally weeds out bad actors who try to game the system.
How Enzy Software Improves Sales Onboarding
Enzy software improves onboarding by allowing new hires to submit documents directly from their phones during a conversation. It also provides leaders with clean data to gamify the sales experience and recognize top performers.
Frictionless Document Collection
Carrie Jenkins originally built the tool for free to help Sunder Energy. The software team became a massive part of the company. They built leaderboards, incentives, and a knocking app.
Traditional onboarding takes days and requires heavy paperwork. With Enzy, a manager simply sends a link to the new hire. The representative takes a picture of their license and uploads it immediately.
Sam Taggart experienced this firsthand. He onboarded during a casual conversation in Nielsen's office. He uploaded his documents from his phone in seconds.
Managing Clean Data
Managers need accurate data to motivate their teams. Without good software, leaders spend hours pulling reports and sending individual texts. Enzy automates this process entirely.
The software identifies which representatives had a birthday or a record sales week. The manager can send a personalized bulk message from their phone. When representatives reply, the manager can engage in a one-on-one conversation.
How to Scale a Solar Sales Team
- Establish core values early to guide your hiring decisions and maintain your culture during rapid expansion.
- Source local talent outside of your immediate area to tap into fresh markets and build dedicated regional teams.
- Partner with solvent installers who maintain healthy margins rather than chasing the lowest possible redline.
- Implement clean data systems immediately to track performance and integrate with gamification software.
- Educate your customers on the realities of dealer fees and loan terms to build long-term trust.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a third-party owned solar system?
A third-party owned solar system means a finance company owns the solar equipment on the home. The homeowner pays for the power produced rather than buying the panels. Eric Nielsen noted this model increases compliance because the finance company holds long-term risk on the installation.
How many accounts did Sunder Energy close early on?
Sunder Energy closed exactly 70,000 solid accounts during their first four years in business. Despite a massive shutdown in March 2020, the company adapted quickly. By May of that same year, their sales representatives were successfully closing a thousand new solar accounts every single month.
Do dealer fees go to the sales representative?
No, solar dealer fees do not go into the pockets of the sales representative or the finance company. These fees buy down the interest rate for the original investors backing the loans. This structure functions similarly to paying points upfront on a traditional home mortgage.
Can you sell solar without a CRM?
You can start without a CRM, but it will severely limit your future growth. Running a sales team on basic spreadsheets creates messy data. Eric Nielsen recommends implementing a cheap CRM early so you can integrate advanced software to track leaderboards and automate your onboarding.
Will utility rates continue to rise?
Yes, utility rates will continue to rise due to inflation and increased grid demand. Power companies face higher salary requirements and expensive infrastructure upgrades. This constant increase in traditional energy costs makes solar power an increasingly attractive option for smart homeowners looking to save money.
Conclusion
Scaling a solar business requires ethical sales practices and solvent installation partners. By focusing on clean data and transparent financing, you protect your customers and your pipeline. You must build a culture that respects the homeowner and the regional installer.
