Case study · 120-day engagement
A Sacramento solar installer was running $19,400 a month on Google Ads. The leads volume looked decent. The set rate (the percentage of leads who agreed to a consultation appointment) was abysmal at 14%. Solar is a long-cycle, big-ticket category where customers research for 6 to 14 weeks before buying. The previous agency was treating leads like they were buying tomorrow.
The challenge
Solar customer journeys are long. The average customer hits 4 to 7 different sites, runs the math on 2 to 3 different systems, talks to 1 to 2 friends or family with solar, then sets a consultation. The previous agency was bidding on bottom-funnel keywords like "buy solar Sacramento" expecting fast conversions, when the actual research-stage queries that lead to eventual sales are things like "is solar worth it California" or "how much does solar save in Sacramento."
Audit findings:
The plan
Built a calculator that takes monthly utility bill, roof orientation, and Sacramento zip code, then returns: estimated system size, upfront cost, monthly payment with financing, payback period, 25-year savings. The calculator is gated only after the user sees their initial result, so they get value before being asked for an email.
The calculator captures behavioral signals (time on result page, did they adjust inputs, did they tap "show financing options"). Leads above a threshold go straight to the sales team. Leads below get a nurture sequence.
New campaign targeting financing-aware queries. Different ad copy ("Own your home? Probably qualify for $0-down solar in Sacramento") and a different landing page that leads with the financing option, not the equipment.
Replaced the "request a callback" form with a real calendar embed showing actual sales-team availability for the next 14 days. Set rate climbed from 14% to 31% within two weeks.
5-email sequence over 21 days: "Sacramento solar economics in 2026," "What incentives expire this year," "Three things our installers wish customers knew before buying," "Customer ROI stories from Folsom and Roseville," and a final "ready when you are" with a calendar link. About 23% of nurtured leads eventually book.
AI tools we used
We do not pretend the work happens by hand. Three of our internal tools are the reason this engagement moved as fast as it did. Each of them replaces what used to be days of human time.
Computes system sizing, financing, and payback from utility bill + roof input in under 5 seconds. Captures behavioral signals during use, used for intent scoring.
Scores each calculator user on a 0-100 scale based on behavior. Routes high-intent leads to immediate sales team contact, low-intent to nurture sequence.
Produces ad headlines tuned for different stages of the solar buyer journey. Tested 24 variants in the first month.
The execution
| Week | What we shipped | What moved |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1-3 | ROI calculator designed, built, tested, deployed | First calculator-driven consult in week 4 |
| Week 3 | Intent scoring deployed, behavioral signals captured | Sales team gets routed leads instead of all leads |
| Week 4 | Financing keyword campaign + new landing page live | CTR on financing keywords climbing to 6.8% |
| Week 5 | Calendar handoff replaces phone-callback | Set rate jumps 14% → 31% |
| Week 6-8 | 5-email nurture sequence built and deployed | 23% of nurtured leads eventually book |
| Week 12 | Mid-engagement review | Set rate stable at 39%, ROAS 4.7× |
| Week 16 | Quarterly check-in, retainer continues | Run rate at 2x consults at same spend |
The numbers
The 2× lift in qualified consultations came from:
Solar is a research-heavy category. The previous agency had been treating it like an emergency service. We built tools and flows that match how customers actually buy solar, and the same ad budget started producing twice the consultations and four times the revenue.
I knew my set rate was the problem. Three agencies told me my leads were bad. The calculator changed everything. I get fewer leads now. Half of them book consults. That is the math I needed.
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