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SolarCity

Acquired by Tesla

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Industry Leader But Not The Best Place To Pursue Your Sales Career - Field Energy Consultant SolarCity Employee Review

2.0
13 Mar 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Solar City is the undisputed leader in the clean energy industry and the upper management is extremely competent. They're well funded, have developed excellent partnerships, and have streamlined the mass residential solar installation process. I wouldn't be surprised if Solar City totally eliminated all of the competition within the next ten years- maybe sooner.

Cons

As a Field Energy Consultant most (if not all) of your leads will be self-generated. The majority of a new reps business comes from Home Depot. This entails standing in Home Depot for hours, cold calling on customers who walk by. Many customers have already been approached by reps and will try to walk by as fast as possible to avoid you. Occasionally, you will set an appointment. Some of these appointments will cancel, some will meet with you, and every now and then you'll close one. Afterwards, you'll be asked by your manager to get referrals from existing clients, knock on doors, and try to sell as many family members/friends as possible. The turnover rate for this position is enormous. The quota is difficult to achieve. You'll have three months to ramp- and if not, off with your head. The majority of successful reps come from a previous role as inside sales rep with Solar City. They already have a referral base that's enough to supplement their business and in effect- hit quota. The base is minimal (35K). You'll be forced to drop price because of competition or other various reasons. I did many deals for about 100 bucks in commission. Expect to make about 4 to 6k a month.

Explore other reviews about SolarCity

5.0
21 Oct 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good pay and no supervision working at the different Home Depots

Cons

Having to make numbers and sales

4.0
22 Mar 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Just to quantify my review a bit, I am within the top 10% of inside sales reps within our 12,000 person company. It is a great place to work and people doing well ARE able to make good money here. The executive team ALWAYS has a platform for reps to help make SolarCity a better place every quarter. They involve the top 20 reps each quarter in various ways to help their peers through an interactive group called Team Elite. Executives, VP's, Directors, and Managers are always willing to help and go to bat when there are issues with things that need to be fixed. The direction of the company is consistent and although the company is large, decision makers work as hard as possible to steer the big ship quickly when necessary.

Cons

Knee jerk reactions with decision making at a director level create issues from time to time. Culture has had its ups and downs due to HUGE growth last year and subsequent high attrition rates.

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