Build a list of projects you can serve
Commercial solar lead generation starts with accounts whose sites, energy needs and buying process fit the project types you deliver. A list of finance directors is not yet a list of solar opportunities. Connect a relevant business problem to an accessible assessment and decision process.
Choose one segment and territory first: for example, facilities of a particular type within your operating area. State your minimum practical project scope, supported ownership or funding arrangements, and delivery limits. Those boundaries should come from your team’s capability, not a generic industry revenue filter.
Keep residential and commercial opportunities on different routes. A facilities project may involve operations, property ownership, finance and procurement. A homeowner sales script will miss those dependencies.
Research the account without inventing the project
Public information can help identify the organization, locations, business activity and relevant roles. It cannot establish the current electricity bill, roof suitability, funding approval or intention to buy. Mark those fields unknown until the customer or an appropriate assessment confirms them.
EPRA’s 2026 annual report puts Kenyan captive solar capacity at approximately 373 MW in June 2026, up about 24% from June 2025. That is a reason to investigate relevant accounts, not evidence that a named company needs your offer or has an approved project. Sector capacity should not be turned into a made-up prospect savings estimate.
| Field | Initial evidence | What to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Site and service area | Public location or existing relationship | Correct site and installation coverage |
| Possible energy need | Business activity; customer-stated issue if available | Actual objective and consumption information |
| Access and authority | Known organizational roles | Property access and who can authorize work |
| Buying process | Known procurement route, if published | Budget owner, evaluation and approvals |
| Timing | A real relevant trigger, if evidenced | Customer priority and feasible assessment date |
Map the people needed for the next decision
The first contact may understand the problem without owning the budget. Ask who evaluates the technical case, who controls the property and who signs off on the commercial arrangement. Record roles and responsibilities instead of treating every additional stakeholder as friction to automate away.
For a leased commercial site, property approval can be a separate conversation from the tenant’s energy requirement. For a multi-site business, a local manager may help with information while a central team sets procurement rules. Route the meeting around that actual decision structure.
A useful first meeting may be a requirements conversation rather than a full sales pitch. Its outcome is agreement on what information is needed, who supplies it and whether an assessment should proceed.
Make outreach about a verifiable next step
Example for a suitable account: “We help commercial sites assess a route from their stated energy problem to an appropriate solar project review. Are you the person who coordinates energy projects for [site], or is there someone else we should speak with?” Use it only where it accurately describes your service.
If you have a genuine relevant trigger, mention it plainly and keep its source. Do not write “your bills are too high” or “you can save 40%” because the company appears on a list. Ask what the business is trying to achieve and offer an appropriate discovery step.
Before offering times, establish enough scope to avoid a meeting your team cannot serve. If a prospect is gathering information for next year, record that stage and the agreed follow-up date rather than forcing a meeting into this week’s quota.
Adapt the brief by market and project
For a Kenyan commercial project, clarify the operating site, decision access, consumption information and the actual energy problem. Ask which costs and reliability concerns matter to the customer; do not infer them from national tariff or outage averages.
For a US project, record the territory, utility, site ownership and the procurement or funding route the buyer wants evaluated. Current incentive, interconnection and financing assumptions belong with qualified specialists and the actual project assessment.
East Africa is not one identical market, and the US is not one identical utility territory. Keep the brief reusable while changing the service, assessment and commercial assumptions for the specific location.
Measure progression through a long buying cycle
Track researched accounts, suitable conversations, meetings held, accepted assessments, proposals and completed projects. Record the time and cost invested in each stage. A hundred messages sent says little about the quality of the resulting opportunities.
Illustrative example: ten accounts respond, four agree to a meeting and two have a confirmed approval path and assessment next step. Report those counts and the eight other accounts’ status. Do not call all ten “sales-qualified” simply because they replied.
The account worksheet below makes unknowns and the next action visible. Use Rainlight’s B2B pipeline review to examine the route from relevant outreach to a held conversation and a documented sales handoff.