Solar rooftop subsidy lead calling: book more site surveys

Why solar leads go cold so fast

Since the government rooftop solar scheme was launched, installers have seen a flood of enquiries from Facebook ads, local WhatsApp groups and walk-ins. Many of these people are comparing three or four installers at once. The one who calls first, answers clearly and fixes a survey date usually gets the job.

The problem is volume and timing. Enquiries come at 9 pm after a family discussion about the electricity bill. Your two sales staff are on rooftops all day. By the time someone calls back the next afternoon, the homeowner has already booked another installer's survey. Research on lead response found that calling within five minutes made qualifying a lead far more likely than calling after thirty minutes; see why the first five minutes matter.

What to say about the subsidy, and what not to

This is where installers get into trouble. Subsidy amounts, eligibility and steps are set by the government and can change. If your caller quotes a number and the homeowner later finds a different figure, you lose trust and possibly the customer.

• Say: "This is the government rooftop solar scheme, PM Surya Ghar. The current subsidy amount is on the official portal, pmsuryaghar.gov.in. Our surveyor will walk you through it for your roof."
• Do not say: a rupee figure, "guaranteed" subsidy, "free" solar, or a payback period, on the first call.
• Do say: that a registered vendor and DISCOM approval are part of the process, and that your team helps with the paperwork if that is true for your business.

Write these limits into the AI employee's instructions. It will stick to them on every call, which is more than you can say for a tired telecaller at the end of a long day.

The qualifying questions that save surveyor trips

A wasted survey costs fuel, half a day and a surveyor's patience. Five questions on the first call filter most of them out:

1. Do you own the house, and is the roof yours to use? (Rented flats and shared terraces need extra permission.)
2. Is it an RCC roof, sheet roof or something else, and roughly how much shade-free space is there?
3. What is your average monthly electricity bill? (This tells your team the likely system size.)
4. Is the connection in your name with the local DISCOM?
5. When would you like the site survey, and who should be home?

In Hindi the bill question might sound like: "Aapka mahine ka bijli bill lagbhag kitna aata hai?" (Roughly how much is your monthly electricity bill?) In Telugu: "Nelaki current bill entha vastundi sumaaru?" The AI employee understands answers like "two to three thousand, summer lo ekkuva" (more in summer) and writes down a number range.

A night-time enquiry, start to finish

A homeowner in Vijayawada fills your Meta lead form at 7:20 pm. Within seconds of the lead arriving, since that is inside the calling hours you have set, the AI employee calls.

• It greets them in Telugu, says it is the AI assistant for your company and asks if now is a good time.
• It asks the five questions, one at a time, and answers simple ones like "how long does installation take?" from your instructions.
• When asked about subsidy, it gives the portal line, nothing more.
• It offers two survey slots and books Saturday 10 am.
• Your team sees: owner yes, RCC roof, bill around ₹3,000, connection in father's name, survey Saturday 10 am, marked Hot.

If a lead comes in after your calling hours end, it waits and is called first thing the next morning. Either way, nobody waits for a salesperson to get off a roof. The setup takes minutes; see instant lead calling setup.

Telecaller or AI employee for solar leads

A first call usually lasts two to three minutes. For example, 500 enquiries a month at about two and a half minutes each is 1,250 minutes, or about ₹9,975 of talk time before GST. Compare that with a salary using the telecaller vs AI cost tool.

The reminder call that saves the survey

A booked survey is not a done survey. Families forget, the person who knows where the meter is goes to office, or the terrace key is with the landlord. A short call the evening before fixes most of this.

In Telugu: "Repu udayam 10 gantalaki maa surveyor mee intiki vastaru. Terrace ki velladaniki evaru untaru?" (Our surveyor will come to your house tomorrow at 10 am. Who will be there to take him to the terrace?) If the homeowner wants to move the slot, the AI employee offers another one. Your surveyor's day is planned around confirmed visits, not hopeful ones. For more on this kind of call, see our guide to reducing no-shows.

Where solar leads come from, and how each behaves

• Meta lead ads: high volume, many curious browsers. Speed matters most here, and qualifying questions do the filtering.
• Website enquiry form: fewer leads, but people who searched for you. Call within seconds and book directly.
• Google Sheets from events or society camps: warm leads who met your team. Upload as a list and call the same week.
• Old enquiries in your records: cheap to call and often ready now. Call politely, once, and remove anyone who says no.

Where your team takes over

The AI employee books the survey. Your surveyor measures, checks the structure and explains the system size. Your sales person handles the quote, financing questions and the scheme paperwork. Hand over on the call if a homeowner asks for a detailed quote, has a commercial or housing-society roof, or wants to negotiate price. These need a person.

One more use: homeowners who enquired months ago and never booked. A polite reactivation call often finds that the family has now decided. Upload them as a list and the AI employee calls each one with the same questions.

Watch for one thing in the first week: the questions homeowners ask that your brief does not answer. Common ones are about battery backup, roof leakage and what happens in the rainy season. Add a one-line answer for each to the instructions, or tell the AI employee to say the surveyor will cover it.