WhatsApp CRM · Solar Companies
The lead isn't gone. The quotation went out and nobody proposed the next step
Written for how solar companies actually work
Rooftop installers of roughly three to fifteen people selling to homes and small businesses — usually an owner answering WhatsApp between site visits and supplier calls, or a shared sales number where "someone will follow up" has no fixed owner.
Bill photo to site visit can happen in days. Quotation to decision commonly runs for several weeks and can stretch to months if a bank or leasing decision is involved. Space check-ins in days to a couple of weeks, never same-day and never open-ended: a soft one a few days after the quotation, a fuller one a week later, then a clear "shall I keep this open?"
Enquiry volume here follows tariff news rather than the calendar — coverage of a tariff change produces a short, sharp burst of bill photos within days. Households also message right after opening a bill that felt high. Site visits and installation slow through the monsoon, which stretches the whole journey further.
A normal day in your inbox
- Sending a photo of my bill — can you check if solar works for this?
- What's the total cost for a system?
- Net metering or net accounting — which is better?
- Can it be done on a bank loan? Is there leasing?
- Can you send someone once to look at the house and give a quotation?
- Got the quotation, thanks. Let me think about it and get back to you.
- Another company quoted a bit less — what's included in your price?
Where the deals leak
- Bill photo
- Roof and sizing questions
- Site visit booked
- Site visit done
- Quotation sent
- Follow-up
- Won or lost
Straight after the quotation PDF goes out — and it starts earlier, at "an engineer will contact you", which is a promise rather than a date.
Nothing schedules the company's next move. The customer's natural next step is to gather two to four more quotations, and that whole stretch happens without a word from the seller.
A board that matches your job
Put a deal value on each card. With few leads in flight and each one large, the board is a picture of what is actually at stake this month, not a task list.
Stage 1
Bill received
A bill photo has landed. Roof material, direction and shading are still unknown.
Stage 2
Site visit booked
A date, a time and a named engineer exist, not a callback promise.
Stage 3
Quotation sent
The PDF has gone out with a stated date for your next message written into the same reply.
Stage 4
Comparing
They are looking at other quotations or waiting on a bank. Alive, not lost.
Stage 5
Won or lost
Installed, or closed with a reason. A lost lead with a reason is worth more than one that just scrolled away.
Tags worth having
- Residential
- Commercial rooftop
- Tile roof
- Asbestos roof
- Concrete roof
- Leasing enquiry
- Awaiting bank
- Referred by customer
Set it up once
Everything below happens inside WhatsApp Web, on the number you already use. No API, no new inbox.
Add InboxCRM to Chrome- 1
Turn the bill photo into two questions, not a price
A quick reply that thanks them and asks for a roof photo plus the direction reads as more competent than a number guessed off one image. Add the roof material question as a second saved reply.
- 2
Book the site visit inside the chat, on the spot
Offer two dated slots and put the agreed one in the appointment centre with the engineer's name. This is the single step that currently falls through the gap between the chat and whoever keeps the calendar.
- 3
Give the quotation a dated next touch
Say in the same message when you will check back, then set a follow-up rule on the Quotation sent stage so it actually happens. Weeks of silence from your side is what loses a warm lead to a company that stayed present.
- 4
Make the referral ask a stage, not a hope
Panels on a roof are visible to every neighbour. Move a completed job to Won, then schedule a check-in a few weeks after commissioning that asks how it is running and whether anyone nearby has asked about it.
The messages that stall a sale
“Let me think about it and I'll tell you.”
Usually means
They are about to gather, or already have, quotations from other companies, and will pick whoever stays present without being pushy.What works
Do not accept open-ended silence. Name a specific point at which you will check back, then keep to it. Neither abandoning them nor chasing every second day works.“Another company quoted less.”
Usually means
They cannot compare like for like, because panel brand, inverter brand, mounting and warranty terms differ. So they compare the one number they can see.What works
Ask what panel brand and warranty that quotation carries, and go through yours line by line. Discounting on the spot teaches them to ask for a discount every time.“Can it be done on a bank loan? Is there leasing?”
Usually means
The deal value is large enough that financing, not the system, is often the real blocker.What works
Say which banks or leasing partners you have worked with before, and be clear that approval and terms come from them directly. Do not estimate figures, and never ask for account details in the chat.“Net metering or net accounting — which is better?”
Usually means
They have heard different and possibly outdated things from neighbours and want one straight answer.What works
Explain that the scheme rules are set by CEB or LECO and do change, and point them to confirm the current version. Quoting old terms as settled fact is how a company loses credibility later.
Quick replies to save first
Copy these, swap the details in [brackets], and save them as quick replies so you stop retyping them.
Bill photo received
Thanks, the bill has come through. Before I can give you a system size properly, can you send a photo of the roof and tell me which direction it faces?
Price asked straight away
The price moves with the system size, so I can't give you an accurate figure without seeing the actual roof. Shall we book a site visit and get you a proper quotation?
Booking the site visit
Does [day] at [time] work for a site visit? I'll send you the engineer's name and number for that slot, and a reminder on the morning.
Quotation sent, next touch named
Quotation sent. The panel brand, inverter brand and warranty terms are listed separately in it. Ask me anything that isn't clear — and I'll check back with you in [3 days] either way.
Free tools that help here: WhatsApp Link Generator, WhatsApp Business Message Templates.
The parts of InboxCRM you'll use most
Pipeline board with deal values
Few leads, each one large. Stages with values show what is actually at stake and which cards have stopped moving.
Scheduled messages and appointments
The site visit becomes a dated appointment with a morning-of reminder, instead of "an engineer will contact you".
Follow-up rules
A rule on Quotation sent fires after the days you set, so the comparison window is not silence from your side.
Quick replies with documents
Roof and direction questions, and the quotation PDF itself, go out without retyping between site visits.
Questions from solar companies
Does InboxCRM size a system or estimate savings?
No. It does not calculate system sizing, estimate savings or payback, advise on financing, or replace the site visit and engineering assessment. It also does not generate leads. Its job is narrower: making sure a warm, already-quoted conversation does not go cold from neglect during the weeks a customer spends comparing.
Our sales number is shared between two people. Does that work?
That is exactly where leads go missing, because "someone will follow up" has no owner. Putting every enquiry on one board with stages makes the unowned card visible: anyone opening WhatsApp Web can see which quotations were sent four days ago with nothing scheduled after them.
Should I use automation for a purchase this size?
Sparingly. Follow-up rules that remind you, and scheduled appointment reminders, fit well. Bulk campaigns and AI-written quotations do not — this trade's whole problem is trust in a single large decision, and automated-sounding messages read as impersonal exactly where the customer wants to feel individually looked after.
Will a scheduled site visit reminder send if my laptop is off?
No. Scheduled and automated sends need Chrome running with a WhatsApp Web tab open at the time they are due, because the extension sends through your own session. For a morning reminder, pick a time the office machine is realistically on, and check the schedule list for anything marked missed.