Commercial Solar Lead Generation: 8 Ways To Find New Leads

By 2035, UK commercial solar capacity could be 3.6 times higher than it was in 2024. Commercial battery storage capacity could grow 16.6-fold over the same period. Ireland’s solar market is growing rapidly too.

For solar installers, the opportunity is huge. The challenge is turning this rapid growth into a steady flow of high-quality commercial solar leads.

In this article, discover the eight main sources of industry leads, the pros and cons of each approach, and why many commercial solar customers now want commercial battery storage included in their projects.

8 sources of commercial solar leads

There are eight main approaches to successful solar lead generation in the UK.

Many of the more established commercial solar installers and solar EPCs use multiple routes to improve both their level of market penetration and overall lead quality.

1. Start with customers and commercial relationships

Existing customers are the source of many of the very best commercial solar leads.

Word-of-mouth is still powerful in B2B sales. Your customer knows who you are and appreciates the quality of your products and services. Over time, you build on key relationships with the facilities manager, the finance contact, and the people who get things done in a company.

Often, new leads come from within the same business, or different branches of the business. A multi-site business may want the same system at three more locations. A landlord may ask what could work for them across the whole of their commercial property portfolio.

For your sales reps, there are few more appointments likely to turn into paying customers.

Top tips

• Keep in touch after the install and do a good job with service and maintenance work.
• Ask whether the customer has other sites, landlords, or new projects coming up.
• If the customer installs new machinery, refrigeration, heat pumps or EV chargers, ask whether it now needs more solar or battery storage.

2. Creating your own referral network

A strong commercial referral network can bring you a steady flow of new leads.

For example:

• A commercial roofer may hear that a warehouse needs a new roof. This could be a good time to talk about adding solar panels.
• An electrical contractor may know that a business is planning a switchboard upgrade. The company may decide to include solar in the wider electrical work.
• An energy broker may work with a client that wants to lower its electricity costs. This can lead to a conversation about using commercial solar to buy less power from the grid.
• A managing agent may know which buildings have high energy bills and which owners are willing to invest. They may be able to introduce you to suitable businesses.

Other useful contacts include M&E consultants, commercial property advisers, facilities-management companies, and EV charging installers.

The main lesson is simple. Build relationships with people who often hear about suitable commercial projects before you do.

Top tips

• Meet useful contacts at trade events, local business groups, supplier events, and on jobs.
• Send work to people you trust and recommend them to your customers.
• Agree a referral fee when one of their introductions becomes a paid project.

3. Buy in and create lists for outbound marketing

Installers working out how to generate leads for commercial solar sales should target businesses that have the greatest need for solar. Good places to start include warehouses, manufacturers, hotels, care homes, farms, cold stores, fleet depots, and multi-site groups.

Think about why solar may matter to each type of business. Then build your message around that reason. For example:

• A warehouse may have a large roof and high daytime electricity use.
• A hotel may use electricity from breakfast until long after dark.
• A cold store may run heavy refrigeration all day.
• A depot may need more power for new EV chargers.

Create an ideal customer profile for your business. This describes the type of company most likely to need, fund, and approve a commercial solar project.

It could cover:

• The sector and type of building
• The likely roof size and condition
• Electricity use and operating hours
• Whether the business owns or rents the site
• The number of sites it runs
• Plans for expansion, new machinery, or EV charging
• The people who may take part in the decision

You can then buy or build a list of companies that match this profile.

Sellers of commercial business databases let you build a prospect list by sector, location, turnover, company size, and job title. Many list brokers phone businesses and check their details every year.

The information may still contain mistakes. However, you should find fewer dead phone numbers and out-of-date contacts than you would if you built the whole list from scratch.

That should not stop you from creating your own list though.

Look through commercial property databases, sector directories, business parks, industrial estates, planning applications, company websites, and satellite images to find suitable buildings so you can pitch the benefits of solar before it becomes a live project that other installers are competing for.

There are three main ways to make contact with prospects:

The key to successful direct marketing is not to send the client a dense technical and financial manual. It’s to provoke enough interest to start a conversation and build up your knowledge bank about each business.

Cold email

Start by mentioning something about the company, building, or sector that gives you a reason to write that isn’t about cheaper electricity. For example:

“We help cold stores use large roof areas to cut the cost of daytime refrigeration. I noticed that your business has two large sites in Yorkshire. Would it be useful to check whether either site could support a commercial solar project?”

Keep the email short and easy enough to reply to. The more they have to think about why, the easier it is to put off replying.

Ask for commitment through one simple next step, like:

• A short call
• Getting the name of the person who looks after the buildings
• Permission to send a useful case study
• A recent electricity bill for a first check

Follow up three days later if the person doesn’t reply. Maybe send one last one over another four or so days later.

Don’t take a lack of response as a lack of interest. Like all other purchases, especially capex purchases, these things run in cycles. Email the prospect regularly so your business stays top of mind and known in the future when the time has come to look seriously at a commercial solar project.

But make sure with each new email you add something useful, ask a new question, or try another person in the business.

Telephone prospecting

The phone is still a powerful tool for lead generation, despite what you might read on LinkedIn. The trick is getting past the gatekeeper and identifying the contact you want to speak to.

Ask everyone you speak to:

• Who looks after the company’s buildings and energy use?
• Does the business own or rent the site?
• Has it considered commercial solar before?
• Are any roof works, EV chargers, extensions, or other site changes planned?
• Who else would take part in the decision?

You may need several calls to reach the right person. When you finally have that information, make a note of it so future calls and emails get through to the decision maker or senior influencer.

When you get them on the phone, ask about the building, how the business uses electricity, and any plans that could make solar useful.

Agree on one clear next step before ending the call. This could be sending a case study, speaking to another decision-maker, checking an electricity bill, or booking a longer meeting.

Postal direct marketing

Post can help you reach property owners and senior managers who may ignore emails.

Keep it simple. A one-page letter, one useful case study, and one clear next step are often enough.

Make the letter about that type of business or building. For example, you could offer:

• A first check of the building’s solar potential
• A review of an electricity bill
• A case study from a similar project
• A short call about roof works, EV charging, or plans to grow the site

Send the letter to a named person when you can. Follow it with a call or email while they may still remember your company name.

Do not send a thick brochure about every service you offer. Give the person one clear reason to speak to you.

The aim is not to explain every technical and financial detail. It is to create enough interest to start a conversation and find out whether the business may have a good commercial solar project.

Follow the direct marketing rules

The rules depend on how you contact people and what type of business they work for.

You can usually send marketing emails to limited companies and other corporate bodies without asking for permission first under PECR.

Your email must:

• Say who your business is
• Include a working way to opt out

The rules are stricter for sole traders and some partnerships. You will usually need their permission unless the soft opt-in rule applies.

Before making sales calls, check each number against:

• The Telephone Preference Service
• The Corporate Telephone Preference Service
• Your own do-not-call list

Tell the person who you are, don’t hide your number, and stop calling if they ask you to.

PECR does not cover marketing by post. However, data-protection rules may still apply if you use someone’s name or other personal details.

You are still responsible when you buy a database from someone else. Check with your supplier how they gathered and collated the information and whether you can legally use it for your planned campaigns.

Top tips

• Research each business and give the recipient a genuine reason to respond.
• Use each channel for a clear purpose rather than repeating the same sales pitch.
• Combine email, telephone prospecting, and post so that each contact supports the next.

4. Use LinkedIn to find the right people

Use LinkedIn to find the people involved in making commercial solar decisions and learn more about the companies you plan to approach.

Search by company, sector, location, and job title. Useful contacts may include the:

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Save target companies, find decision-makers and follow changes inside those businesses with LinkedIn Sales Navigator.

Instead of contacting someone out of the blue, look for something happening in their business that gives you a good reason to get in touch. For example, the company may have announced:

• A new warehouse, hotel, factory, or care home
• An extension or refurbishment
• New EV chargers
• New machinery or production lines
• A target to cut carbon emissions
• A new facilities, finance, or sustainability director
• A large energy-saving project

For example, if you see that a factory is adding a new production line, you could say: “I saw you’re adding a new production line at your site. That could change how much electricity you use. Have you looked at whether the extra demand changes the case for on-site solar?”

But don’t send a full sales pitch as soon as someone accepts your connection request. Start with something the business has actually published. This makes your message more relevant and gives the person a clear reason to reply.

Share useful content and stay visible

Use LinkedIn to show prospects that you know commercial solar and are busy working on real projects.

Share things such as:

• Photos and short stories from completed commercial solar projects
• Case studies from warehouses, hotels, factories, or other businesses
• Answers to common questions about costs, roofs, and electricity use
• Simple guides to solar-only and solar-plus-battery projects
• Lessons from grid limits, leases, tariffs, and difficult roofs
• Advice on what information you need before creating a commercial solar proposal

This can also help your calls, emails, adverts, and letters work better.

A prospect may ignore a message from a company they have never heard of. But if they have already seen your name, one of your projects, or some useful advice on LinkedIn, they may be more likely to respond.

They may also visit your company page after receiving an email or voicemail. If they find useful commercial solar content there, it gives them another reason to trust you and get in touch

Targeted advertising campaigns

You can run paid adverts on LinkedIn and choose who sees them based on:

• Company
• Industry
• Job title
• Job function
• Level of seniority

This helps you show your adverts to people who may be involved in buying commercial solar, such as facilities managers, estates managers, finance directors, operations directors, and business owners.

Don’t put everyone into one large campaign. Create smaller groups based on the type of business and buyer you want to reach.

For example, you could run one campaign for facilities managers at warehouses and another for finance directors at hotel groups. You can then show each group an advert about something that matters to them.

A warehouse facilities manager may be interested in whether a large roof and high daytime electricity use make solar worthwhile. A finance director may care more about savings, project cost, and payback.

You can also use LinkedIn Matched Audiences to show adverts to people at chosen companies. You can also show adverts again to people who have already visited your website.

Send people to a page that matches the advert, rather than your general homepage. Give them an easy next step, such as a bill check, site review, case study, or first savings estimate.

Keep your targeting focused on commercial buyers. Don’t spend money reaching homeowners or people who are unlikely to buy commercial solar.

Finally, judge the campaign by the quality of the leads it brings in, not just the number of clicks or views. Three strong commercial leads may be worth much more than 50 website visits.

Top tips

• Follow target companies and look for news that gives you a good reason to contact them.
• Connect with several people in the business instead of relying on one person.
• Share useful commercial solar examples and advice rather than a stream of adverts.

5. Create content for the problems commercial buyers search for and sectors they operate in

Businesses usually start thinking about commercial solar because something within their company has changed or is about to change. Create content that answers the questions they are likely to ask at that moment.

For a solar installer, topics you might want to target include:

Write about the problems and changes that make a business start thinking about solar in the first place. Be there to provide genuine solutions for your potential customer and not your own business. That’s because, whether the client realises it or not, what they want and what you want may already be in great alignment.

Another successful approach is creating sector-specific landing pages that relate solar to a particular line of business, like:

Content marketing, even in the age of AI, brings in leads that are close to converting to sales. The key for your solar installation business is to create useful content around the problems your best customers already have, in language they understand.

Top tips

• Create pages for the sectors and business problems you understand best.
• Use real sites, figures, questions, and project limits where you can.
• Offer an easy first step, such as a bill check, site review, or savings estimate.

6. Use paid search to reach businesses already looking

Content marketing uses SEO optimisation to help your pages appear high in Google and AI Overviews. Another option is paid search, which lets you put your business in front of companies already looking for commercial solar.

A Google Ads Search campaign lets you choose the searches, locations, and pages you want to target. Your advert should closely match what the person searched for. When they click it, send them to a landing page that answers that same question or need.

Build each campaign or advert group around one clear need. For example:

• Install solar on a certain type of building
• Target keywords: Group searches such as “warehouse solar panels”, “solar panels for factories”, and “solar for hotels”
• Landing page content: how solar works on warehouses, factories, or hotels, including roof space, electricity use, likely savings, and relevant case studies
• Find a way to pay for the project
• Target keywords: Group searches such as “commercial solar finance”, “business solar PPA”, and “commercial solar funding”
• Landing page content: the main ways to fund commercial solar, how each works, and which types of business they may suit
• Add solar to other energy equipment
• Target keywords: Group searches such as “commercial battery storage”, “solar plus battery”, and “solar and EV charging”
• Landing page content: how solar can work with battery storage or EV charging, when combining them makes sense, and what extra value they may add
• Find an installer in a certain area
• Target keywords: Group searches such as “commercial solar installer in Manchester” or “commercial solar installer in Yorkshire”
• Landing page content: where you work, the types of commercial solar projects you handle, and how the business can arrange a first site check

Be careful with broad keywords such as “solar panels”. Many people searching for them may not be looking for commercial solar, so you could spend a lot of money on the wrong clicks.

Use negative keywords such as “home”, “domestic”, “residential”, and “DIY” to stop your adverts appearing for people who are unlikely to become commercial customers.

Also, only target areas where you actually work. This helps you make better use of your advertising budget.

Top tips

• Use commercial, sector, and location terms instead of broad solar keywords.
• Block searches from homeowners and other people who do not fit your market.
• Check search terms and lead quality every week, not just clicks.

7. Buy leads from a lead-generation company

Solar lead generation companies each have their own approach with some sending you pre-qualified contact details, a booked call with a time, or a site visit with someone involved in the decision.

A shared lead may be sent to several installers. This can turn the sale into a race to make contact first and compete on price.

An exclusive lead should only be sent to you. But that does not always mean it is a good lead.

Before choosing a solar lead generation agency, agree exactly what it means by a qualified commercial solar lead.

Ask whether the provider has checked:

• Whether the business owns the building or can get the landlord’s approval
• Whether the roof is likely to suit solar
• How much electricity the business uses or spends
• Whether the contact is involved in the decision
• Why the business is looking at solar now
• When it may want the project to start
• Whether it will provide electricity bills and site details
• Whether the lead has also been sent to another installer

This matters because cheap commercial solar leads for sale can quickly become expensive. You still have to pay for calls, follow-ups, travel, surveys, and design work.

Before you buy, agree what happens if the details are wrong, the business is outside your area, or the lead does not meet the rules you agreed. Check the refund or replacement terms too.

If possible, ask for the provider’s notes or a recording of its first call. This helps your salesperson understand what the prospect has already said and what they have already been told.

Bought leads can help fill gaps in your sales pipeline. But judge them by how many turn into good sales opportunities, surveys, proposals, and signed projects, not just by how little each lead costs.

Top tips

• Put the lead checks, refund rules, and replacement terms in writing.
• Ask whether each lead is shared, exclusive, booked, or confirmed.
• Judge the service by surveys, proposals, and signed projects, not by the number of names you receive.

8. Look for tenders, frameworks, and industry opportunities

Some large commercial solar and public-sector projects are advertised through tenders, supplier frameworks, and industry networks. They can take more work to win, but the projects may also be much larger.

Find tenders and framework opportunities

Look for work through:

• Contracts Finder
• Find a Tender
• Supplier frameworks
• Local authorities
• Universities
• NHS bodies
• Housing providers
• Main contractors

Contracts Finder lists many government and public-sector contracts worth more than £12,000, including VAT, in England and for some UK-wide organisations.

Find a Tender lists larger UK public contracts, usually worth more than £139,688.

Some supplier frameworks cover a lot of work. For example, one UK public-sector framework for 2025 to 2029 includes solar PV and battery storage projects worth up to £96 million. Another includes up to £60 million of work for solar and battery systems.

You may also find subcontracting work through larger building contractors, roofing companies, electrical contractors, and facilities-management companies. Contracts Finder includes supply-chain work as well as contracts offered directly by public bodies.

Keep a tender pack ready so you don’t have to collect everything again for each bid. Include things such as your accreditations, insurance documents, health and safety policies, financial records, case studies, customer references, staff qualifications, and battery or software details where needed.

Use industry events to find opportunities

Industry events can help you meet commercial energy users, property owners, developers, installers, suppliers, and advisers.

For example, Solar & Storage Live UK says its 2026 event will have more than 20,000 visitors and over 500 exhibitors.

Don’t try to sell to everyone you meet.

Choose the companies and people you most want to speak to before the event. Try to arrange some meetings in advance, then follow up soon afterwards while they still remember you.

Top tips

• Set up alerts on Contracts Finder and Find a Tender for solar, battery, roofing, and low-carbon work.
• Keep your tender documents ready so you do not have to rebuild the pack for every bid.
• Choose events and frameworks that match the sectors and project sizes you want.

Should you buy commercial solar leads or build your own pipeline?

Most installers use both to drive sales forward but each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Bought leads are faster, but give you less control

You might buy commercial solar leads when you start a new sales team, move into a new area, or have room for more work.

They can put meetings in the diary much faster than building an SEO campaign or referral network.

But you have less control. The lead provider decides how it contacts the prospect, what questions it asks, what counts as a qualified lead, and whether it also sells the lead to your competitors.

You also have to keep paying. Leads from an agency or paid campaigns on Google or LinkedIn stop when you stop spending money.

Your own lead sources take longer to build

Referrals, business contacts, search traffic, case studies, and outbound sales systems all take time to build. But you choose which businesses to target, what message to use, what questions to ask, and how to follow up.

Over time, this can make solar lead generation in the UK more steady and reduce how much you depend on outside providers.

Whichever approach you use, don’t judge it by the number of enquiries or cost per lead alone.

Look at how many leads turn into good sales opportunities, site surveys, proposals, and signed projects. Ten strong opportunities may be worth much more than 50 weak leads that waste your sales team’s time.

Improve lead generation by adding batteries to solar projects and why you should choose GridVolt

Just over half of the 300 UK small businesses surveyed by EDF had considered using battery storage with solar. Nearly one in four planned to install a battery within the next six months.

For installers, this creates a chance to offer both commercial solar and commercial battery storage when the site is a good fit.

Choose GridVolt as your energy management software partner. We don’t sell batteries, so you can keep using the battery brands and suppliers you already work with. If it would be helpful to you, we can also introduce you to wholesalers and installers we trust.

Why choose GridVolt?

GridVolt’s Energy Manager helps your clients get more from their solar, battery, EV chargers, and other energy equipment. It works with compatible equipment from leading brands and decides when the site should store, use, or manage electricity to keep energy costs as low as possible.

It uses the customer’s real electricity use, solar generation, tariff rates, and weather forecasts. Energy Manager looks ahead 48 hours, updates its forecasts 96 times a day, and changes its plan every 15 minutes as things change.

This can help the site use more of its own solar, buy electricity at better times, and get more value from its battery without the customer having to manage it by hand.

Suitable clients in Great Britain can also earn money from wholesale energy markets through GridTrade. It is available for suitable sites in Great Britain with a compatible battery and half-hourly settled meter.

Our free installer-only GridVolt simulator can also help you sell the project.

Use it to compare solar-only and solar-plus-battery options and show how battery optimisation and battery trading could change the savings and payback.

You can change the figures during a client meeting. Buyers can enter their own site data, tariffs, and project costs and see how each change affects the result.

This means the figures they take back to the board are numbers they have tested themselves, rather than numbers simply given to them by a salesperson.

Fill in the form on the right or get in touch via our contact page for free access to the simulator, and ask us how we can brand it with your name and brand.