When it comes to solar sales, door-knocking is still the most widely used—and effective—strategy out there. And no one has mastered it quite like Michael O’Donnell, aka M.O.D. He’s widely recognized as the top rooftop solar salesperson in the world, with multiple Golden Door Awards and a track record that speaks for itself.

Since releasing his book, Mike has continued to lead the industry. He currently serves as Vice President of Sales and Marketing at SunSolar Solutions, Arizona’s largest solar sales and installation company, and remains a major force in the field. He’s also a popular keynote speaker, podcast guest, and mentor within the solar sales community.

If you’re serious about mastering door-to-door solar sales, I highly recommend his book No Matter Watt!: The Recipe to a 7-Figure Income in Sales. His strategies are high-impact and have proven effective nationwide—even though some companies still view door-knocking as aggressive or outdated. Like any sales method, success comes down to how it’s done. When approached with professionalism and purpose, it works—and Mike is living proof.

As Mike often says, “Even a poor knocker can book 3 appointments from 100 knocks a day. With a 30% close rate, that’s 1 sale—or roughly a $3,500 to $7,000 commission. A good knocker can book 7 out of 100 and close 3 to 4.”

The formula is simple: it’s math. And when done consistently, it delivers.

Door-knocking becomes even more effective in teams, especially during a blitz—multiple reps canvassing the same neighborhood together. It boosts morale, increases coverage, and enhances safety. I recommend using tools like RepCard or SalesRabbit to maintain speed-to-lead, track rep performance, and ensure accountability across your team.
Just like the traditional setter-closer model, door knockers can work in separate roles or—as Mike outlines in his book—take the full-cycle approach by setting and closing their own deals. This not only increases trust with the customer, it often improves close rates dramatically.

All of this brings us to a crucial shift in mindset. There are two primary philosophies in solar sales: hard selling and soft selling. I’ve worked with clients on both sides, and there’s no one-size-fits-all method. It comes down to your company’s values—and how you bring those values to life through your culture and your customer experience.

While I highly encourage picking up a copy of Mike’s book, I also had the opportunity to sit down with him directly to hear his take on how the industry has evolved since No Matter Watt! was published in January 2023—and what he’s seeing now in the field.

Anna: How has door knocking evolved in the solar industry? Is it still effective?

Mike: Absolutely—100%. Despite all the new digital strategies out there, door knocking is still the most cost-effective and reliable way to introduce someone to solar. There’s no overhead. No ad spend. Just effort. You’re showing up at their doorstep with nothing but your knowledge and willingness to have a real conversation. And if you’re good at it, you can literally turn nothing into something valuable.

I run an Indeed service that connects me with about 15 people a week who are out there looking for job opportunities or side hustles, and I walk them through the reality of this path. I tell them, “Look—if you can knock on 100 doors in a day, you’ll have about 30 actual conversations.” Not all of them are warm; most are cold intros. But of those 30, you’ll usually get 1 to 3 people who are willing to take a real look at solar.

And here’s the important part—that math has been consistent for years. It hasn’t changed. It’s like gravity in this business. People think things have evolved so much with digital tools, but door knocking still works because it cuts through the noise. You’re face-to-face, breaking through skepticism in real time.

Digital marketing might get leads, sure—but a lot of those leads ghost you. They fill out a form and don’t pick up the phone. But when you’re standing at the door, you’ve got their attention. You’re shifting someone from “not thinking about solar” to “maybe I should take a look.” And that shift—from unaware to aware—is the hardest and most valuable part of the sale. That’s what door knocking accomplishes.

Anna: That seems like a grind. How do you stay motivated through the rejections?

Mike: Rejection is part of the game—you’ve got to expect it, embrace it, and push through it. When you’re out there knocking on doors, you might get 30 straight “no’s” or have a few slammed doors in your face. Most people quit right there—that’s the breaking point. But here’s the truth: if you keep going, you’ll find the three people who say, “Tell me more,” and one of those will likely become a customer. And that one “yes”? That could be a $5,000 to $10,000 commission.

That’s where mindset matters. I tell new reps all the time—every “no” is paying you. You just haven’t seen the deposit yet. Mike puts it perfectly: “Take a hundred dollars out of one pocket and put it into the other—you’re getting paid $100 for every no.” That eventual yes is just collecting interest on all the rejection you pushed through.

The hard part isn’t the knocking—it’s the emotional side. Humans are wired to avoid rejection. But in this business, you have to separate from it. It’s not personal. It’s not your pitch, your tone, or your shirt. Most of the time, it’s about them—their mood, their stress, their timing. You might catch someone right after a bad phone call or a surprise bill. That “no” isn’t about you.

Once you truly internalize that—that most rejections are automatic, not thoughtful—you stop seeing them as failures. You start seeing them as steps. Movement. Progress. Every door that doesn’t open gets you closer to the one that does.

That’s how I’ve done this for years. That’s how people hit six- and seven-figure incomes in solar. Not by avoiding rejection—but by walking right through it.

Q: What separates the top performers from the rest?

Mike: 80% of people make 20% of the money. It’s the 20% who do the work, stay consistent, and improve their skills that make the other 80%. I’ve signed up hundreds of salespeople, and only a few truly push through the learning curve. Top closers set two-thirds of their own appointments. That confidence, that hustle—that’s what gets you to the top of the leaderboard.

Q: How does SunSolar Solutions help reps succeed?

Mike: We built the Ferrari—and all our reps have to do is drive it. What I mean by that is we’ve taken care of everything that slows most salespeople down. Our reps don’t have to design proposals, manage installs, chase paperwork, or handle engineering—they just sell. That level of focus is a game-changer. It’s one of the main reasons I’ve been able to consistently sell 200 systems a year. I’m not distracted by the backend chaos that plagues most orgs.

We’ve systematized everything. From the first appointment to post-install follow-up, there’s a streamlined process. We’re obsessive about audits. A third of most reps’ time in this industry is spent just double-checking their commissions—wondering if they got paid correctly, chasing down errors, or trying to understand the fine print. I’ve never had to do that here. Not once. I trust the system because it’s transparent, and it works.

And then there’s training. We don’t just hand you a script and wish you luck—we’re training every single day. Morning calls, roleplay, closing tactics, objection handling, and technical knowledge—we cover it all. We also bring in new reps through our M.O.D. Academy and guide them from zero to confident contributors. That consistency is key. You stay sharp, and you stay supported.

A lot of companies say they support their team. We actually do. If you want to run fast, you need a pit crew that moves faster. SunSolar Solutions gives reps a true launchpad—all the horsepower, all the systems, and all the support. Your only job is to show up and close.

Anna: The industry’s been through a lot post-COVID. What does the landscape look like now?

Mike: In one word? Shifted. The gold rush is over. From 2015 to 2020, solar was booming. Low interest rates, high incentives, and simple pitches made it easy—almost too easy—to close deals. You could knock on a door, show someone how their $200 utility bill could be swapped out for a $180 solar payment, and boom—you had a customer. That era’s gone.

Now, interest rates have jumped, and consumer confidence has taken a nosedive. People are more skeptical. They’re holding onto their wallets. That simple “bill swap” pitch doesn’t land anymore because, in many cases, the solar payment looks nearly identical to the utility bill—or worse, it’s higher. And when people are choosing between essentials like groceries, gas, and rent, you better believe they’re going to scrutinize every dollar. That’s why sales have dropped across the board.

You’re seeing the effects industry-wide. Major players—Sunrun, SunPower, Titan, and Sunnova—all took hits. Layoffs, equity losses, restructures. The easy wins dried up, and a lot of companies weren’t prepared for a more educated, more cautious customer base.

Why? Because too many reps were trained to sell hype instead of value. They didn’t learn how to actually sell solar—they learned how to pitch a dream. And in doing that, some of them crossed ethical lines. They misled customers. They overpromised. Some flat-out lied. And now the industry is paying the price for that.

The good news? There’s still a massive opportunity—but only for the ones who know how to do it right. The future belongs to the reps who can communicate real value, who can educate, and who can earn trust. Solar is still an incredible product, but the days of lazy sales tactics and inflated promises are over. You have to lead with integrity, with math, and with transparency—or you won’t last.

Anna: What’s your take on transparency in solar sales?

Mike: It’s everything. Transparency isn’t just a best practice—it’s non-negotiable. If you’re not leading with truth in this industry, you’re part of the problem. And unfortunately, too many reps still are. One of the most common lies I see? Telling customers their solar system will cover 100% of their electricity bill without explaining offset, interconnection fees, or seasonal production differences. Another big one? Saying they’ll “get a check in the mail” for the tax credit. That’s just not how it works. Unless a customer has a tax liability and withholdings to match, that credit doesn’t show up as cash. It’s a reduction in taxes paid—not a rebate.

That’s fraud, plain and simple. And it doesn’t just hurt the customer—it hurts the entire industry. It’s the reason people are skeptical. It’s why you’re seeing more lawsuits, more cancellations, and more distrust. It creates a ripple effect where even the good reps have to dig themselves out of a hole someone else made.

At SunSolar, we teach our reps to educate, not manipulate. We walk people through the real math. We explain how offset works, what NEM (Net Energy Metering) means, and what the long-term savings look like. We don’t leave details to chance or hope they won’t ask questions. Because solar is powerful enough on its own. It doesn’t need to be dressed up in lies. When presented properly, it sells itself—not because it’s flashy, but because it’s smart, sustainable, and financially sound.

Here’s a big red flag I see all the time: when reps remove the tax credit from the customer’s monthly payment calculation, essentially showing them a lower number that only applies if they apply the credit. But if the customer forgets, doesn’t qualify, or doesn’t act in time, their payment jumps up—and no one told them. That’s not honest. That’s bait and switch.

We’re in this to build trust and long-term relationships. Because the best kind of sale isn’t the one where you trick someone into signing. It’s the one where they call you back to do their friend’s house next. That only happens when you lead with integrity.

Anna: What do you think is the biggest threat to solar right now?

Mike: Honestly? It’s not the economy, not even policy changes—it’s the lack of real leadership and meaningful training in the industry. We’ve got too many “solar bros” out there—guys who can pitch fast and close hard but can’t back it up. They’re selling systems they don’t understand, making promises their installers can’t keep, and walking away before the customer even knows what went wrong. That’s a recipe for disaster.

I’ve seen it firsthand: customers left with leaky roofs because the install wasn’t done right. Homeowners are confused about how net metering works or shocked when their electric bill doesn’t disappear like they were told. And the worst part? The salesperson is nowhere to be found when the dust settles. That kind of behavior erodes the trust we’ve spent years trying to build in this industry.

We’re heading into what I call Solar Gold Rush 2.0—but it’s different this time. The first gold rush was about who could move the fastest. This one? It’s about who can build the longest-lasting foundation. And that takes leadership—real leadership. Not just charisma or social media hype. You have to care about what happens after the contract is signed. You have to care that your customer is still happy a year, five years, or ten years later.

You can’t fake your way through this version of solar. The days of just being slick, showing up in a polo, flashing a proposal, and vanishing with a commission check—they’re over. That won’t survive the next phase of this industry.

This time around, the winners will be those who train their teams well, set proper expectations, and own the result from pitch to install and beyond. We don’t just sell systems—we build relationships. We solve problems. And we show up when it matters most. That’s what leadership in solar looks like today—and without it, we’re not going to earn the trust we need to truly scale this movement.

Anna: Why is closing in the first meeting so important in solar sales?

Mike: Because that first meeting is your best—and often only—real window of opportunity. When someone agrees to sit down with you, they’re in an open, decision-making mindset. They’re listening, evaluating, and seriously considering a change. That moment of clarity is rare, and if you don’t help them take action right then, odds are they never will. The iron cools fast.

Our job isn’t to pressure people—it’s to help them help themselves. We’re not selling snake oil. The math is clear. The savings are real. The value is there. But people are human. If they don’t sign, they go back to life—distractions, doubts, Google rabbit holes, and opinions from people who don’t have the full picture. And fear sets in: fear of commitment, fear of making a mistake. Even when the deal makes perfect sense, that hesitation kills momentum.

But if they do sign? Now they’re committed. They have time to call their accountant, run the numbers again, and do their due diligence—and they will, because now they have a reason to. Commitment activates clarity. It’s not about rushing someone—it’s about guiding them through the fog of indecision and helping them take a step toward something better. If you wait, they won’t. If they move forward, they win.

Anna: What’s your strategy to get the homeowner to sign that day?

Mike: It’s simple—I let them know this is their one shot with me. I tell the homeowner, “My job is to share this information with as many people as possible—and I’m not coming back.” And that’s not a tactic; it’s the truth. I’m not in the business of chasing. If they want to sit on it, that’s fine—they can call the office, and someone else will come out. But it won’t be me.

What I’m offering isn’t just a solar proposal—it’s a moment of momentum. If they sign today, they’ll have my number in their phone, and I’ll be there to answer any questions they have along the way. If they wait, they lose that personal connection, and someone else takes it from there.

I’m not here to pressure anyone—I’m here to provide clarity. Solar already makes sense—the math works. What I do is help people take action while the opportunity is in front of them. Because most people who say “I’ll think about it” never circle back. If they want to move forward with someone who’s already done the homework and understands their needs, the best time to start is right now.

Anna: How is SunSolar handling the rising cancellation rates and declining sit rates affecting the industry?

Mike: It’s a major issue across the board—and it’s not just with online leads. Even with door knocking, we’re seeing more no-shows and cancellations than ever before. People agree to appointments at the door, seem genuinely interested, and then go dark. The sit rate that used to be around 70% has dropped to 30–40% for a lot of teams, even with solid outreach.

And the cancellations? A lot of them are happening because of permit poaching. Competitors are pulling public data, seeing a homeowner is going solar, and calling them to say, “We can beat that deal.” It creates doubt. It makes people question whether they made the right decision—even when the deal was strong and the process was already moving.

At SunSolar, we counter that with clear math, real expectations, and education from the start. Whether it’s an online lead or a door knock, we take the time to show them the full picture—how the system works, what they’ll save, and what the next steps are.

That’s why our sit rates are higher and cancellations are lower than most reported in the industry—because we focus on helping customers make informed decisions they feel confident about. When the math makes sense and the message is clear, people stick with it.

Anna: Any final thoughts for someone thinking about getting into door-to-door solar sales?

Mike: If you’re thinking about stepping into door-to-door solar sales, here’s what you need to understand: this job isn’t about convincing people that solar is good. Solar is good. The savings are real. The product is powerful. The value proposition is solid. What you’re really doing is helping someone take action today—because that’s the hard part. It’s not the information; it’s the decision.

When you knock on someone’s door, you’re catching them off guard. They weren’t planning to talk about energy bills or tax credits—they were probably just doing the dishes. Your job is to guide them through that moment of interruption, help them see the opportunity, and give them a reason to say “yes” now instead of later. Because here’s the truth: if they wait, they lose the rep, they lose the offer, and they lose momentum. And you don’t get a second chance to create urgency. We’re not just opening doors—we’re building them, hanging them, and closing them in one shot.

That’s why we train our reps to find the golden Easter egg—that one person out of a hundred who’s not just polite or curious, but ready. And you don’t find them by luck—you find them by knocking. Consistently. Professionally. Skillfully. The opportunity is out there, but you have to do the work to uncover it.

I like to explain it like this: imagine you go to a dance, and your job is to ask 30 people to dance. Twenty-seven of them say no—maybe even rudely. Most people would quit right there. They’d say, “I’m not a dancer,” and sit down for the rest of the night. But what if you pushed through those no’s? What if three people said yes—and one of them turned out to be the best partner in the room? That’s sales. It’s not about rejection. It’s about persistence. It’s about understanding that the “no” is just the hallway to the “yes.”

And once you realize that—once you detach from the rejection and focus on the process—you’ll unlock a career that can change your life. We’ve seen people go from unemployed to making six figures within a year. But it starts with showing up, asking to dance, and being ready when someone says yes.

You don’t have to be the flashiest or the most polished. You just have to care, be coachable, and keep knocking.

Installation & Growth Topics

Q: You’re now expanding into new markets like NV, TX, and FL—what’s your approach?

Mike: Expansion isn’t just about planting a flag in a new market—it’s about doing it the right way, with the right people. We’re very intentional about how we grow. We don’t just look for volume; we look for values. In Tampa, for instance, we scaled quickly not because we threw money at it, but because we partnered with people who shared our commitment to ethics, training, and customer service. That made all the difference.

A lot of companies enter new states and immediately chase the lowest redline, thinking that’s what wins deals. But what we’ve found—and proven—is that customers don’t care as much about saving a nickel if it comes at the cost of quality or trust. Now, let’s be clear—you can’t be overpriced. If you’re more than a nickel off from the competition, yes, you’ll lose deals. People are still price-sensitive. But if you’re within range and offer a better experience—clean install, solid warranty, and full transparency—they’ll choose trust every time.

We train every day through our M.O.D. Academy (Mastery of Door-to-Door). It’s not just for rookies—we’ve got veterans on those calls sharpening their skills, learning from the field, and staying ahead of market shifts. That daily discipline keeps us aligned and consistent across regions.

When we enter a new market, we build real partnerships—not just loose affiliations with sales orgs. We make sure that everyone flying the SunSolar Solutions flag is dialed in on our standards. That means full transparency with customers, proper expectations set at the kitchen table, and most importantly—we back the install. It’s our name on the truck, our warranty on the roof, and our team that answers the phone when a customer needs support.

There’s a lot of trust that comes from seeing a SunSolar truck roll up in your driveway. It means the company that sold you the system is the same one installing it—and standing behind it. That’s rare in this industry. We’re building our own installation teams on the ground in every new market before we scale up the sales force, so there’s no gap in accountability. It’s seamless installation, clear commissions, and an ethical business model that values doing things the right way.

We’re not interested in working with reps who want to cut corners, lie to customers, or make a quick buck. Those guys can take that somewhere else. We’re building for longevity—with people who see the value in integrity, consistency, and earning customer trust every step of the way.

Anna: A lot of companies are downsizing or collapsing—why is SunSolar expanding while others are not?

Mike: Simple—we built the business the right way from day one. While others were chasing volume at any cost, we focused on sustainable growth. That means being selective with who we hire, who we partner with, and how we serve customers. We didn’t try to scale with flashy marketing and loose processes—we scaled with structure, ethics, and results.

Most companies are now paying the price for bad habits picked up during the solar boom. They got addicted to easy closes, low interest rates, and flimsy promises. But when the economy shifted—when interest rates rose and customer expectations got sharper—they didn’t have the foundation to hold up. That’s why they’re shrinking, laying off, or disappearing.

We’re growing because we’re looking at opportunity markets—places like Nevada, Florida, and Texas—where demand is high, utility costs are rising, and people are actively looking for better options. But instead of just showing up and selling, we build it the right way: install teams on the ground first, then sales teams trained to set the right expectations. That’s how you grow with quality, not chaos.

And let’s be real—homeowners are tired of solar horror stories. They want a trustworthy company. So when a SunSolar truck pulls up, they know they’re getting what was promised. Seamless install, real support, and a company that’s actually accountable.

We’re not expanding just to say we did. We’re expanding where there’s real opportunity—and we’re building lasting value while everyone else is chasing band-aid fixes. That’s the difference.