When should I hire my first install crew vs subbing?

Most solar installers should sub the install crew until they have 30–50 closed installs per year of consistent visibility. Below that volume, the carry cost of an in-house crew (full-time labor + benefits + truck + tools) exceeds the per-install savings vs subbing. Above 50 installs/year, an in-house crew typically saves $1,500–$3,000 per install in labor cost AND improves quality consistency.

What's the right ratio of sales reps to install volume?

A well-supported solar sales rep should close 4–10 installs per month on warm leads (from mailed solar quotes, neighbor follow-up, retargeting). That's 48–120 installs/year per rep. Rep economics: $50K–$80K base + 2–4% of install revenue commission. Cost per closed install via in-house rep: $1,500–$3,500. Compare to broker leads at $1,500–$3,000 CAC — in-house reps usually win when paired with self-generated lead flow.

How do I expand to a second region?

State-line expansion in solar is heavier than in other trades because licensing + financing + AHJ relationships are state-specific. Path: (1) Get licensing in the new state, (2) Sign installer agreement updates with manufacturers + financing partners, (3) Add the new state to your Solar Launch service area, (4) Either hire a local install lead OR sub local install crews until volume justifies hiring. Most multi-state operators have 2–3 in-house crews per major market.

Should I keep buying broker leads as I scale?

As self-generated CAC drops with scale (from $500 to $250–$350 once you have brand recognition + neighbor follow-up density), broker leads become less attractive on the margin. Most scaled installers shift from 40–60% broker leads in year 1–2 to under 20% broker leads by year 4. The exception: rapid geographic expansion where you need immediate lead flow before self-gen channels mature in the new market.

What's the path from $1M to $10M revenue?

Typical scaling milestones: $1M (year 1, single owner-operator with sub crew), $3M (year 2, in-house crew + 1 sales rep), $6M (year 3, 2 in-house crews + 3 sales reps + ops manager), $10M+ (year 4-5, 4+ crews + 6+ reps + ops team + regional expansion). The biggest gating factor is gross margin discipline — many installers grow revenue while compressing margin and end up worse off.

How to Scale a Solar Business in 2026

Scaling a solar business has a counterintuitive trap: revenue is easy to grow, gross margin is easy to lose. Plenty of $5M-$10M solar installers run worse net economics than their $1M selves did, because every "scale up" decision (more reps, more crews, more broker leads, more regions) compresses margin if not done in the right order.

This guide lays out the right sequence — and the wrong sequences to avoid.

The revenue ladder

$1M (year 1) — solo + sub crew

30–40 installs at $25K average ticket. Owner runs sales, project management, and finish work. Install crew is subbed. Customer acquisition: mailed solar quotes + manufacturer co-op marketing. Net pre-tax: $80K–$180K.

$3M (year 2) — first hires

110–140 installs. Add: one full-time sales rep, one full-time install lead (or first dedicated in-house crew of 3), one part-time admin. Owner shifts from sales to operations. Customer acquisition mix: 70% mailed quotes, 20% broker fill, 10% referrals. Net pre-tax: $250K–$500K.

$6M (year 3) — first management layer

250–300 installs. Add: 2nd in-house install crew, 2–3 more sales reps, ops manager, project coordinator. Owner shifts to growth + finance. Customer acquisition mix: 60% mailed quotes + neighbor follow-up, 25% broker, 15% referrals. Net pre-tax: $600K–$1.2M.

$10M+ (year 4-5) — multi-market

400+ installs across 2 markets. Add: market manager for second region, additional install crews per market, sales manager, marketing manager, finance lead. Net pre-tax (well-run): $1.5M–$3M. Net pre-tax (poorly scaled with broker leads dominating): can dip to $400K–$800K despite higher revenue.

The sub-to-in-house install crew decision

When to bring install in-house

Sub crews when: Annual install volume under 50/year. Geographic concentration too small to keep a crew busy 5 days/week. Workflow variability (you're testing different install methods or system sizes).

In-house crews when: Sustained 50+/year visibility. Quality control issues from sub crews affecting NPS or warranty claims. Specialty installs (commercial, complex residential) where sub crews lack experience.

The in-house crew math: A 3-person crew costs $250K–$350K/year fully loaded. They install 80–120 systems/year. Per-install crew cost: $2,500–$3,500. Sub crews at $4,000–$6,000/install. Break-even at ~50 installs/year; profitable above that.

Sales rep economics at scale

The single biggest scaling lever in solar is hiring sales reps and giving them warm lead flow:

Rep close rate on warm leads: 25–40% (vs 8–15% on cold leads).
Rep target installs/month: 4–10. Above 10/month, lead conversion suffers; below 4/month, rep economics don't pencil.
Rep compensation: $50K–$80K base + 2–4% of install revenue. Total comp for a 6-install/month rep: $80K–$160K/year.
Cost per closed install via in-house rep: $1,500–$3,500 (rep cost ÷ closed installs).
Lead source must be reliable: Reps without warm lead flow churn out. Mailed solar quotes + neighbor follow-up + retargeting feed reps consistently.

The broker-lead trap at scale

Broker leads have a hidden cost at scale: they teach your sales reps to sell against price. Reps who close mostly on broker leads optimize for the lowest-bid game, and that habit carries over to self-generated leads too, compressing your overall pricing power.

The discipline: keep broker leads below 25% of total lead volume. Above that threshold, the per-install gross margin starts compressing across your entire pipeline, not just on the broker-sourced deals.

Geographic expansion

Solar state-line expansion is harder than most trades because of licensing, financing, AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) relationships, and state-specific incentives. Path that works:

Validate the new market via Solar Launch campaigns first. 1,000-postcard test campaign in target state costs $1,000 and surfaces real demand signal before you invest in licensing.
Get the new state license + financing updates. 2–4 months work.
Sub crews in the new market for the first 6 months. Build relationships with 2–3 local install crews.
Hire a local market manager once you hit 15+ installs/month. Local relationships matter for AHJ approvals + crew quality.
Bring crews in-house once volume sustains. Same threshold as year-1 in your original market: 50+ installs/year.

Common scaling mistakes

Hiring sales reps before lead flow is reliable. Rep economics collapse if they can't hit 4+ installs/month. Build the lead engine first.
Bringing install crews in-house too early. $250K+/year crew cost on 30 installs/year = $8K+ per install crew cost. Sub it until volume sustains.
Letting broker leads dominate the mix. Above 25% of pipeline, broker leads compress overall pricing power and rep performance.
Expanding geography before mastering the home market. Many solar operators expand to a second state at $2M revenue and lose money in both markets for 18 months. Wait until home market is at $4M+ with consistent gross margin.

Scale on owned acquisition, not broker leads.

Solar Launch lets you scale customer acquisition without trapping yourself in the broker-lead margin compression cycle. Type in neighborhoods street-by-street, render each home with solar, mail at $1/quote.

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