1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
What is a Solar Sales Consultant?
Solar sales consultants work for solar equipment companies, primarily acting as salespeople. Their chief duties are to educate customers about solar-powered equipment, as well as the benefits that come with switching to renewable energy.
Of course, the main goal of a solar sales consultant is to close sales with clients. But before they can do that, they must perform various duties like contacting potential clients, preparing quotes, answering queries, calculating resources, and performing demonstrations of solar equipment. Usually, they also visit client sites to help clients decide what type of equipment they need.
When hiring for this role, many employers look for candidates with a bachelor's degree in business, finance, or other related fields. More than that, they also prefer candidates with previous experience in sales, ideally selling the same kind of products. Aspiring solar sales consultants must also have a deep understanding of solar power, renewable energy, and the equipment they are trying to sell.
A solar sales consultant makes about $79,000 a year. They may also make more with commissions and other performance-based incentives.
What Does a Solar Sales Consultant Do
Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers to businesses, government agencies, and other organizations. They contact customers, explain product features, answer any questions that their customers may have, and negotiate prices.
How To Become a Solar Sales Consultant
Educational requirements vary, depending on the type of product sold. If the products are not scientific or technical, a high school diploma is generally enough for entry into the occupation. If the products are scientific or technical, sales representatives typically need at least a bachelor's degree.
Solar Sales Consultant Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of account executive you might progress to a role such as marketing manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title marketing vice president.
Solar Sales Consultant
Marketing Vice President
10 Years
Senior Sales Manager
7 Years
National Account Manager
8 Years
Sales And Marketing Manager
6 Years
Sales And Marketing Vice President
11 Years
Regional Accounts Manager
8 Years
Average Salary for a Solar Sales Consultant
Solar Sales Consultants in America make an average salary of $84,739 per year or $41 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $140,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $51,000 per year.
Average Solar Sales Consultant Salary
$84,739 Yearly$40.74 hourly
What Am I Worth?
Roles and Types of Solar Sales Consultant
There are several types of solar sales consultant, including:
Consultant
Role:
Consultants are essential to businesses that want to improve their performance. Typically, consultants advise these businesses in many areas such as operations, profitability, management, and even structure.
Consultants have their work cut out for them because their advice can stretch over so many different areas. You may need some expertise in management, strategy, human resources, finance, and IT (just to name a few fields).
In addition to having all of this knowledge, consultants typically work long hours, we're talking an average of 56 hours a week, but many work even beyond that, to around 70-80 hours. Spending that many hours at the office, you'll probably end up with some good friends, at least.
- Average Salary: $78,912
- Degree: Bachelor's Degree
Sales Consultant
Role:
A sales consultant is responsible for meeting with existing and new clients in a sales approach. Your goal as a sales consultant is to effectively sell products. Well, in a way.
The clients you meet with will come to you with certain problems concerning their business, your job is to figure out how to sell those products or services in a way that increases the company's sales as a whole.
To become a sales consultant, you'll want to earn a bachelor's degree. Generally speaking, an advanced degree will help you in the long run, especially when it comes to meeting sales goals. And everyone knows that more sales means more money.
- Average Salary: $60,135
- Degree: Bachelor's Degree
Outside Sales Consultant
Role:
Outside sales consultants conduct sales out in the field via face-to-face interactions with potential and existing customers. An outside consultant often travels within sales territory to meet prospects and customers and conduct calls and physical meetings with new and existing customers. They educate customers on how goods and services can benefit them financially and professionally and sell the products or services to people within their given territory. An outside sales consultant will have to work closely with the marketing department to help build the brand.
A high level of comfort in initiating conversations and a well-developed social presence is important for an outside sales consultant. Apart from this, you need a social and positive personality. In addition to these qualities, the consultant needs the ability to solve problems and must be a self-starter since not every day is the same and the work setting differs. The educational requirement for an outside sales consultant is a bachelor's degree in marketing, business, economics, or any equivalent education. An outside sales consultant earns between $31,000 to $90,000 a year.
- Average Salary: $76,601
- Degree: Bachelor's Degree
States With The Most Solar Sales Consultant Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active solar sales consultant jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where solar sales consultants earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Average Salary: Job Openings:
Number Of Solar Sales Consultant Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 7,725 | $93,838 |
| 2 | Florida | 4,525 | $78,926 |
| 3 | Texas | 4,113 | $80,367 |
| 4 | Pennsylvania | 3,807 | $88,196 |
| 5 | New York | 3,433 | $96,746 |
| 6 | New Jersey | 2,950 | $85,513 |
| 7 | Illinois | 2,861 | $69,711 |
| 8 | Ohio | 2,851 | $87,964 |
| 9 | Massachusetts | 2,382 | $85,495 |
| 10 | North Carolina | 2,203 | $76,404 |
| 11 | Georgia | 2,006 | $75,297 |
| 12 | Virginia | 1,799 | $80,889 |
| 13 | Maryland | 1,325 | $79,014 |
| 14 | Arizona | 1,324 | $84,888 |
| 15 | Minnesota | 1,293 | $60,433 |
| 16 | Tennessee | 1,244 | $73,012 |
| 17 | Alabama | 1,226 | $77,472 |
| 18 | Michigan | 1,213 | $76,467 |
| 19 | Washington | 1,212 | $75,506 |
| 20 | Indiana | 1,210 | $70,896 |
| 21 | Wisconsin | 1,185 | $68,436 |
| 22 | Missouri | 1,109 | $69,577 |
| 23 | Oregon | 1,088 | $87,839 |
| 24 | Connecticut | 1,003 | $78,650 |
| 25 | Colorado | 985 | $79,440 |
| 26 | South Carolina | 897 | $56,714 |
| 27 | Oklahoma | 805 | $73,696 |
| 28 | Utah | 782 | $79,216 |
| 29 | Kentucky | 741 | $83,361 |
| 30 | Kansas | 607 | $66,325 |
| 31 | Iowa | 562 | $64,522 |
| 32 | Louisiana | 546 | $58,856 |
| 33 | Mississippi | 542 | $78,051 |
| 34 | Nevada | 513 | $86,908 |
| 35 | Arkansas | 482 | $72,219 |
| 36 | Nebraska | 474 | $65,518 |
| 37 | Rhode Island | 433 | $80,206 |
| 38 | New Hampshire | 383 | $71,033 |
| 39 | Idaho | 375 | $71,620 |
| 40 | New Mexico | 333 | $84,070 |
| 41 | Montana | 317 | $45,681 |
| 42 | South Dakota | 283 | $45,338 |
| 43 | Maine | 256 | $64,467 |
| 44 | West Virginia | 251 | $89,751 |
| 45 | Delaware | 245 | $81,203 |
| 46 | Vermont | 177 | $69,323 |
| 47 | North Dakota | 148 | $59,908 |
| 48 | Hawaii | 136 | $48,426 |
| 49 | Wyoming | 101 | $60,998 |
| 50 | Alaska | 98 | $75,854 |
Top Colleges for Solar Sales Consultants
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-State Tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
4. Maine Maritime Academy
Castine, ME • Private
In-State Tuition
$13,478
Enrollment
979
5. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
6. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$7,309
Enrollment
9,142
7. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$9,808
Enrollment
13,990
8. Villanova University
Villanova, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$53,308
Enrollment
6,819
9. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$7,488
Enrollment
30,018
10. Bentley University
Waltham, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$49,880
Enrollment
4,177
Top Skills For a Solar Sales Consultant
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 35.3% of solar sales consultants listed renewable energy on their resume, but soft skills such as customer-service skills and interpersonal skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Solar Sales Consultant Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Solar Sales Consultant templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Solar Sales Consultant resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Solar Sales Consultant diversity
Solar Sales Consultant Gender Distribution
Male
87%
Female
14%
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among solar sales consultants, 13.5% of them are women, while 86.5% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among solar sales consultants is White, which makes up 73.0% of all solar sales consultants.
- The most common foreign language among solar sales consultants is Spanish at 76.5%.
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Best States For a Solar Sales Consultant
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a solar sales consultant. The best states for people in this position are New York, California, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Solar sales consultants make the most in New York with an average salary of $96,746. Whereas in California and West Virginia, they would average $93,838 and $89,751, respectively. While solar sales consultants would only make an average of $88,196 in Pennsylvania, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Pennsylvania
Total Solar Sales Consultant Jobs: 3,807
Highest 10% Earn:
$160,000
Location Quotient:
1.4
$88,196
Avg. Salary
2. New York
Total Solar Sales Consultant Jobs: 3,433
Highest 10% Earn:
$174,000
Location Quotient:
1.14
$96,746
Avg. Salary
3. Ohio
Total Solar Sales Consultant Jobs: 2,851
Highest 10% Earn:
$162,000
Location Quotient:
1.19
$87,964
Avg. Salary
How Do Solar Sales Consultants Rate Their Jobs?
Top Solar Sales Consultant Employers
Most Common Employers For Solar Sales Consultant
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vivint Solar | $114,397 | $55.00 | 8 |
| 2 | Crius Energy | $100,186 | $48.17 | 2 |
| 3 | Verengo Solar | $81,203 | $39.04 | 22 |
| 4 | Momentum Solar | $79,464 | $38.20 | 35 |
| 5 | V3 Electric | $78,937 | $37.95 | 3 |
| 6 | Direct Energy | $78,023 | $37.51 | 4 |
| 7 | Mercury Systems | $75,791 | $36.44 | 3 |
| 8 | Solar.com | $74,988 | $36.05 | 10 |
| 9 | American Direct | $74,037 | $35.59 | 12 |
| 10 | EcoMark Solar | $73,091 | $35.14 | 3 |