Upsell Battery Storage on Solar Quotes: Scripts

Battery storage used to be an afterthought, a line at the bottom of the quote. This guide gives you a process: qualify early, compare options side by side, answer six objections with scripts, and follow up. Every script uses bracketed fields. Fill them from the homeowner’s own bill and tariff, not from the example figures.

Last updated: November 2026.

Why Battery Attachment Rate Is Worth Tracking

Attachment rate is the share of solar projects that include a battery. Wood Mackenzie reported that the US residential rate quadrupled, from 6% in Q1 2020 to 25% in Q1 2024, and forecast that it would stay above 25% for most of the period to 2028 (Wood Mackenzie, 21 June 2024). Its analysts credit state storage incentives, demand for backup power, falling battery prices and solar incentive rate reform.

Installers differ widely. Sunrun reported a storage attachment rate of 69% in Q1 2025, up from 50% a year earlier (Sunrun, 7 May 2025), and 74% in Q2 2026, up from 70% (Sunrun, 5 August 2026). Those are shares of Sunrun’s own customer additions, so they are not directly comparable with the national figure. Wood Mackenzie’s Q1 2024 figure is the latest national attachment rate this page cites.

Track your own rate by rep and by month. A rep who quotes batteries on half their jobs and one who quotes them on one in ten are running different sales processes. For the wider set of sales metrics, see the solar sales KPIs guide and the storage attachment rate comparison.

How to Qualify Homeowners for Storage Before the Pitch

Check three signals on every lead before you mention a battery.

Signal 1: Rate structure. Pull the last 12 months of bills and the tariff name. Look for time-of-use rates, demand charges or a low export rate. A battery stores cheap or surplus power and uses it when power costs more, so the wider the gap, the stronger the case. In the UK, for example, Octopus Flux has a cheap import window from 02:00 to 05:00 and a peak window from 16:00 to 19:00 (Octopus Energy). Read the rates for the customer’s own tariff, because they change.

Signal 2: Outage history. Ask: “How many power cuts did you have last year, and what did they cost you?” One outage is enough to open the backup conversation.

Signal 3: Electrification plans. Ask whether they plan to buy an EV or a heat pump. More electric load shifts more consumption into the evening, which is when solar is not generating.

Use your solar design tools to show these cases visually: the battery charging at noon and discharging at 6 PM. For battery sizing, see the residential battery sizing guide.

The Six Objections, With Scripts

Homeowners reject batteries for six predictable reasons: price, payback, backup expectations, a partner who is not in the room, existing net metering and “I need to think about it”. The table gives the response in one line. The scripts below it show how to say it. Figures in square brackets come from the customer’s own quote and bill.

“The battery is too expensive.”

Move from total cost to monthly cost, next to what they already pay.

“With the battery, the monthly payment is [amount] instead of [amount]. Your current bill is [amount]. Here is what the battery changes in your bill each month: [amount].”

For a cash buyer, show the annual bill saving the model gives and the years it takes to repay the battery at that saving. Use the modeled number, not a rule of thumb.

“The payback is too long.”

Be straight about what the number includes. “The model shows the battery saving [amount] a year on your tariff. That repays the extra cost in [years] on today’s rates. If rates rise, it is faster. If they fall, slower. The battery also gives you backup, which a payback figure does not count.”

If the customer is in California, check the current incentive step before you quote a rebate. The Self-Generation Incentive Program publishes an incentive step tracker for each budget category at selfgenca.com. Do not quote a rebate figure from memory.

“I want whole-home backup.”

Start with what they want to keep running. “Which circuits matter most in an outage? Here is what [essential circuits] needs and the battery size that covers it for [hours]. Here is what the whole house needs and what that costs.” Let them choose between the two priced options. Pricing both options lets the homeowner choose with the cost in front of them.

“I need to talk to my partner.”

“Of course. Let me send the side-by-side page now, and can we book [day] at [time] when you are both home? I will bring the numbers on one page.” Never leave without a dated follow-up. A “maybe” without a calendar entry has no next step.

“I already have net metering.”

Show their own tariff. “Today you export at [export rate] per kWh and buy back at [import rate]. A battery lets you keep the midday power and use it in the evening instead.” Check which scheme the customer is on first. In California, the net billing tariff replaced NEM 2.0 for interconnection applications from 15 April 2023 and is expected to incentivize solar and battery storage (CPUC). Palmetto’s explainer says the avoided-cost rate paid for exports is on average 75% lower than the average retail rate of over 30 cents per kWh in 2023 (Palmetto). If the customer is on a flat tariff with full retail credit for exports, the rate-gap argument is weak, so lead with backup and future electrification.

“I just want to think about it.”

Isolate the objection. “Is it the battery, the company or the price?” Then answer that one thing. If it is the battery, offer a smaller option. If it is price, show finance. If it is the company, offer a local reference you can actually introduce. For more word-for-word rebuttals, see the price objection handling guide, and for the questions that come before the quote, see consultative selling for solar.

Proposal Layout: Solar Only vs Solar Plus Storage

Show three columns on one page: the current bill, solar only and solar plus storage. Use the homeowner’s real numbers. Lead with hours of backup and the bill difference, not with kWh and kW.

The table below uses made-up inputs to show the layout and the arithmetic. It is not market data.

Arithmetic: 1,312 - 420 = 892 and 612 - 180 = 432. 2,840 x 25 = 71,000; 892 x 25 = 22,300; 432 x 25 = 10,800. Saving after system cost: 71,000 - 22,300 - 18,500 = 30,200 for solar only, and 71,000 - 10,800 - 28,500 = 31,700 for solar plus storage. The battery adds USD 1,500 over 25 years in this example, before finance cost, tariff changes and battery degradation. If your real numbers give a result that thin, say so and sell the backup, not the saving.

SurgePV’s proposal software prepares a branded proposal from the reviewed design and financial assumptions, and its storage design page describes how battery sizing fits into the design-to-proposal workflow. Check the exact battery modes and tariff handling in a guided demo.

A Five-Touch Follow-Up Sequence

Each touch should add something the homeowner did not have. These are templates. Replace every bracket with a fact you can stand behind.

1. Same day, text: the side-by-side page as an image. “Hi [name], here is the comparison we discussed. The battery changes your bill by [amount] a month on your current tariff.”
2. Within 24 hours, call: address the objection they raised. Ask “Does [N] hours of backup cover the circuits you care about most?” rather than “Did you think about it?”
3. Around day 3, email: updated data you can verify, such as a change to their tariff or to the incentive. Re-run the model and attach the new page.
4. Around day 7, voice note: short, about their one concern. “I re-checked your question on payback. Here is the updated number.”
5. Day 10 to 14, call: a deadline only if it is real, such as an installation slot or a quote expiry date. Do not invent urgency.

Reply to new enquiries the same day, and log each touch in your CRM so nothing is skipped.

Sales Manager Notes: Commission and Coaching

Use your own commission plan. The example below is a made-up plan to show the arithmetic.

Commission example. A rep sells 12 deals a month at USD 20,000 with no battery. At 5% commission, each deal pays USD 1,000, so USD 12,000 a month. Add a USD 10,000 battery to 6 of the 12 deals. Those 6 deals are USD 30,000 each and pay USD 1,500 each, so 6 x 1,500 = USD 9,000. The other 6 still pay 6 x 1,000 = USD 6,000. The monthly total is USD 15,000, which is USD 3,000 more. Revenue rises by 6 x 10,000 = USD 60,000.

Tier example. Some installers pay a higher rate at a higher attach rate, for instance 5% up to 30% attachment, 6% above 30% up to 50%, and 7% above 50%. On a USD 30,000 system, 6% pays USD 1,800 and 5% pays USD 1,500, a gap of USD 300. This is an example structure, not an industry standard. Set tiers against your margin on batteries.

Coaching. Run a weekly role-play. One rep plays the homeowner with one objection, the other has 90 seconds to answer. Rotate the objection each week.

Dashboard. Track battery attach rate by rep, average deal value with and without storage, time from battery mention to signed proposal, and follow-up completion for storage leads.

Closing Checklist

• Qualify every lead on rate structure, outage history and electrification plans.
• Show a solar-only and a solar-plus-storage option side by side, using their bill.
• Answer each objection with their numbers, and say what the figure leaves out.
• Book a dated next step before you leave.
• Track attach rate by rep and review it weekly.

Sources

• Wood Mackenzie, The state of US distributed solar-plus-storage, 21 June 2024
• Sunrun, first quarter 2025 results, 7 May 2025
• Sunrun, second quarter 2026 results, 5 August 2026
• CPUC, NEM revisit
• Palmetto, California NEM 3.0
• Octopus Energy, Octopus Flux
• Self-Generation Incentive Program, program data

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I sell battery storage to homeowners?

Start with the homeowner’s utility bill and tariff. Show what the gap between peak and off-peak rates, or the export rate, costs them. Put a solar-only option and a solar-plus-storage option side by side on one page, then answer objections with their own numbers and book the next step before you leave.

What is a good battery storage attachment rate?

Wood Mackenzie reported a US residential attachment rate of 25% in Q1 2024, up from 6% in Q1 2020 (published 21 June 2024). Sunrun reported 74% in Q2 2026 (5 August 2026). The two are measured differently: Wood Mackenzie counts the share of solar projects installed with batteries across the US, and Sunrun counts its own customer additions with storage. Compare your team with your own market and your own past results.

Does NEM 3.0 make battery storage mandatory?

No. California’s net billing tariff applies to interconnection applications from 15 April 2023 (CPUC). Palmetto’s explainer says the avoided-cost rate paid for exports averages 75% below the average retail rate of over 30 cents per kWh in 2023. That gap is why batteries are easier to justify, but the customer still chooses.

How much commission do solar sales reps make on batteries?

It depends on your plan, so use your own structure. For example, at 5% commission on a USD 10,000 battery the rep earns USD 500 more on that deal. Some installers add higher commission rates at higher attach-rate tiers; set the tiers against your own margins.

What is the best follow-up cadence for battery storage leads?

Use a short sequence of touches that each add something new: the side-by-side comparison the same day, a call that answers the objection raised, an email with updated rate data, a short voice note on their specific concern, and a final call with a deadline you can honour. Adjust the spacing to your sales cycle.