CASE STUDY · SOLAR INSTALLER · 4 MIN READ

Carbon Energy Savings: Why a Residential Solar Installer Measures Cost per Fitted Install

domestic solar, not commercial

Residential

domestic solar, not commercial

leads in the test and the next order

50, then 100

leads in the test and the next order

cost per fit, in his words

About £2,100

cost per fit, in his words

where Carbon is based

Glasgow

where Carbon is based

4:29

Who Carbon Energy Savings are

Scott is "one of the operations directors at Carbon Energy". The company is "based in Scotland sitting in sunny Glasgow just now. But we have got experience all over the UK so we are venturing down south of the border very soon."

It used to work under another company's banner: "We were writing about 70% of their business." On its own since April, "the turnover projection we've got now from a standing start really of April is about 10 million pounds", with the aim of doubling that in the next 12 months.

This was a residential campaign. Solar Surveys UK's own service is commercial solar site appointments, so read this page for the lessons, not as a description of what we offer installers today.

Cost per fit, not cost per sale

Carbon tracks two numbers: cost per sale, and cost per solid sale, meaning a job that is actually fitted. The gap between them is cancellations:

“There's quite a lot of cancellations, so you can have your good KPIs and your good reps are converting at a one in three or one in four sales rate conversion wise. But actually it's less than that.”

On the first test, Scott's figure was this: "So the cost per fit came down to about 2,100 pounds, which is fantastic for us." The lesson carries over to commercial work: judge a lead source by the installs it leads to, not only by the meetings or sales on paper. Our guide to commercial solar lead costs sets out how commercial appointments are priced.

Why Carbon runs its own checks before a visit

Carbon prefers raw leads to booked appointments, so its own team decides what goes in the reps' diaries:

“we actually like buying raw leads effectively. It just means that our contact center still has a degree of control and we know what's going into the guys' diaries.”

Every lead goes through "the rigorous, first call with us, then a quality assurance call, then a QC check" before an appointment is set. Scott says appointments booked by others have not converted as well into fitted jobs because they skip those steps.

Commercial leads on Solar Surveys UK come with that qualifying already done, and our commercial solar survey checklist covers what to confirm yourself on site. You only pay for appointments that are actually attended, and any that aren't viable we replace.

Knowing where the leads come from

Carbon buys leads from several sources, so it needs to know how each one is made, or it pays twice for the same homeowner. Scott valued that we were open about it: "so we don't feel like we're in the dark in terms of how you're generating those leads". The leads came from adverts our team ran; our solar advertising guide covers running your own.

His spend on leads gives that weight: "for a company your size and a company our size it's seven figures a year." Did the service meet expectations? "Exceeded. Exceeded. Absolutely."

What next

“I think you have the ability to become our main partner.”

Scott summed up the relationship as "open flexible you guys listen to what we want and you're delivering", and when asked whether he would recommend us: "Hundred percent. Absolutely." Domestic installers also need the consumer protection side in place; our guide to PAS 2030, TrustMark and RECC covers it.

The full interview is in the video above. TNW Marketing's own write-up of Scott's interview is on tnwmarketing.com. More installers talk about their leads in our case studies and on the reviews page.

Carbon Energy Savings case study: FAQ