Example Career: Solar Sales Representatives and Assessors

Career Description

Contact new or existing customers to determine their solar equipment needs, suggest systems or equipment, or estimate costs.

What Job Titles Solar Sales Representatives and Assessors Might Have

• Energy Consultant
• Solar Sales Representative
• Solar Consultant
• Sales Associate

What Solar Sales Representatives and Assessors Do

• Prepare proposals, quotes, contracts, or presentations for potential solar customers.
• Select solar energy products, systems, or services for customers based on electrical energy requirements, site conditions, price, or other factors.
• Provide customers with information, such as quotes, orders, sales, shipping, warranties, credit, funding options, incentives, or tax rebates.
• Gather information from prospective customers to identify their solar energy needs.
• Provide technical information about solar power, solar systems, equipment, and services to potential customers or dealers.
• Calculate potential solar resources or solar array production for a particular site considering issues such as climate, shading, and roof orientation.
• Generate solar energy customer leads to develop new accounts.
• Take quote requests or orders from dealers or customers.
• Assess sites to determine suitability for solar equipment, using equipment such as tape measures, compasses, and computer software.
• Prepare or review detailed design drawings, specifications, or lists related to solar installations.
• Develop marketing or strategic plans for sales territories.
• Create customized energy management packages to satisfy customer needs.
• Demonstrate use of solar and related equipment to customers or dealers.

What Solar Sales Representatives and Assessors Should Be Good At

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
• Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
• Far Vision - The ability to see details at a distance.

What Solar Sales Representatives and Assessors Should Be Interested In

• Enterprising - Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
• Conventional - Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
• Realistic - Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

What Solar Sales Representatives and Assessors Need to Learn

• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.