Solar sales vs. pest control sales: a long sale or a short one
Short answer: These are the two ends of door-to-door sales. Solar is a large sale that takes weeks or months to complete and pays in a few big payments. Pest control is a small recurring service sold in one conversation, with many sales in a week and part of the pay held to the end of the season. New reps usually learn faster in pest control. Reps who already sell well, and who can wait for the money, usually move toward solar.
| Solar sales | Pest control sales | |
|---|---|---|
| What you sell | A rooftop solar system, bought, financed, leased or under a power purchase agreement | A recurring pest service agreement that starts with a first treatment |
| Size of the sale | One of the largest purchases a homeowner makes | A modest service bill, paid per visit or per month |
| The conversation | A door conversation, then an appointment about bills, the roof and financing | A few minutes at the door, closed on the spot |
| Sales per week | A few, for a rep doing well | Several per day in season, for a rep doing well |
| Roles | Often a setter who books and a closer who sells | One rep does the whole sale |
| When commission releases | At project milestones such as permit, install or utility approval | After the first treatment is done and paid for, with part held back until the season ends |
| What goes wrong after the sale | Credit, roof condition, permits, utility approval, and the customer changing their mind during the wait | Customers who cancel before or soon after the first treatment |
| Training | Product, utility rates, financing and proposal software, on top of the door | A script, a few objections and repetition, usually in a group before the season |
| Season | Year-round in sunny states; slower winters elsewhere | Spring and summer, when insects are active |
| Rules to know | City permits; solar sales registration or disclosure rules in some states; the federal credit for homeowner-bought systems ended for spending after 2025 | City permits; some states require the company to register sales staff (Florida and Georgia do) |
Choose solar sales if
- You have sold at the door before, or you are starting as a setter
- You can pay your bills for a month or more before the first commission
- You like numbers and a consultative conversation
- You live in, or will move to, a market where solar sells
Choose pest control sales if
- This is your first sales job
- You want many repetitions and fast feedback
- You want a summer program with housing and a team
- You are a student with a summer to give
Moving between the two
The common path runs from pest control to solar. A summer of pest control teaches the approach, the first objection and the habit of working a full day. Solar companies recruit those reps because the hardest part to teach is already done.
Moving the other way happens too, usually for cash flow. A solar rep whose deals are stuck waiting on permits can go weeks without a check, and a pest season pays on work finished the same week.
Apply for both on one application Pick every industry you would consider. Free for reps.
Questions
Should a beginner start in solar or pest control?
Pest control, in most cases. The sale is short, so you get hundreds of real conversations in your first month and find out quickly whether you can do the work. If you want to start in solar anyway, start as a setter: you book appointments and learn the product from the closers.
Does solar pay more than pest control?
Per sale, by a wide margin. Per year it depends on the rep. A solar rep is paid on a few completed projects, and some of them never complete. A pest control rep is paid on many small accounts over one season. Ask each company what a middle-of-the-pack rep was paid last year, and when.
Can I do a pest control summer and sell solar the rest of the year?
Some reps do. Read both rep agreements before you plan on it: a pest control program may hold back-end pay until you finish the season, and either agreement may limit selling for another company.
Read next
- Door-to-door solar sales jobs and the solar sales FAQ
- Door-to-door pest control sales jobs and the pest control sales FAQ
- Which Door-to-Door Sales Industry Is Best?
- Setter vs. Closer in Door-to-Door Sales
- What Is a Summer Sales Program?
- How Door-to-Door Sales Pay Works
Terms used on this page
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