Most solar sales software adds friction to a job that already has enough of it
If you have ever knocked doors or managed reps who do, you know the job itself is already hard.
What usually makes it harder is everything wrapped around it.
Most solar sales software is designed from the top down. Dashboards for managers. Reports for executives. Admin tools for operations. Reps are expected to work inside those systems even though very little of it is built around how they actually sell.
The result is friction everywhere that matters.
The rep workflow is simple but rarely supported
At the rep level, the flow is not complicated.
Knock a door.
Set an appointment.
Appointment hits the team schedule.
Deal gets closed.
Commission should be visible immediately.
That is the entire loop.
Yet in practice, this flow gets split across multiple tools. One app for knocking. Another system for scheduling. A separate CRM for deals. A spreadsheet or payroll system for commissions. Stats and leaderboards live somewhere else entirely or don’t exist at all.
The rep is expected to trust that everything will reconcile later.
Most of the time, it doesn’t.
Why reps stop trusting the system
When commissions are delayed, unclear, or disputed, trust erodes quickly.
Reps want to know:
- Was the appointment logged correctly
- Did the deal get marked as closed
- What is my commission on this job
- When does it count as earned
When those answers require asking a manager or waiting on ops, the software is not serving the rep. It is serving the company at the rep’s expense.
Over time, this creates a strange dynamic where reps sell, but do not fully trust the system that tracks their work.
Door to door needs immediate feedback
Door to door sales is real time.
Reps knock, set and move on. They need immediate confirmation that their work counted. They need stats they can see. They need commissions they can understand the moment a deal closes.
When everything is delayed or hidden behind admin tools, motivation drops. Disputes increase. Good reps leave.
The issue is not that the data exists. It is that the rep is the last person to see it.
Building around the rep instead of the org chart
The approach we took internally started from a different place.
What if the rep experience was the center of the system instead of an afterthought.
One place to knock doors.
One place to set appointments.
Appointments automatically show up on the team schedule.
Deals flow through without re entry.
Commissions update immediately when a deal closes.
Stats for doors knocked and sets closed are visible without asking anyone.
No stitching tools together. No waiting for reconciliation. No wondering if the numbers are right.
From the rep’s perspective, it is simple. Sign in and sell.
Installers should not be another problem for reps
Reps should not have to think about installer sourcing, handoffs, or coordination.
Once a deal is closed, it should move forward without the rep needing to chase it. That means having installer relationships already in place and a clean handoff once the sale is made.
Each deal goes to a regional installer that knows the market and can execute. The rep sells. The system handles the rest.
The goal is not to turn reps into operations managers. It is to let them focus on selling while still having full visibility into what they earned.
Tradeoffs still exist
This kind of system is not about offering every feature imaginable.
It prioritizes clarity over complexity. It favors one clean workflow over a collection of tools. That means fewer knobs to turn and less customization at the edges.
For reps and teams that value immediate feedback, transparency, and speed, that tradeoff is worth it.
What this became
Over time, this rep first system solidified into a platform called SunShip.
Not as a reaction to existing software, but as a response to how solar reps actually work. Knock, set, close, get paid, repeat.
When reps can see their appointments, deals, stats, and commissions in one place, trust goes up. Disputes go down. Selling becomes the focus again.
The software does not try to impress. It tries to stay out of the way so reps can sign in, run with it, and sell.