The CRM Graveyard: Why Old Solar Enquiries Deserve Another Conversation

Start with the records, not the messaging software

My focus is helping solar installers revisit suitable old enquiries through AI-assisted SMS conversations.

But before choosing a message or building an automation, there's a less glamorous question:

What's actually in the database?

A thousand contacts can look impressive. The number tells you very little if the records are duplicated, the source is unclear or half the homeowners have already installed.

Before contacting anyone, establish:

• • Where their details came from and whether marketing contact is permitted.
• • Whether they have already bought, declined or asked not to be contacted.
• • Whether they're still relevant to the installer's service area and offer.
• • What the previous conversation actually involved.

For marketing texts to homeowners, a previous enquiry alone isn't permission. You need appropriate consent or a valid soft opt-in, including the required opportunities to opt out.

If those foundations aren't there, pause and sort them out first.

Remember where the conversation stopped

Someone who received a detailed quote is in a different position from someone who submitted a form and never spoke to you.

And "try me later in the year" deserves a different response from an unexplained silence.

The records won't always tell you why someone paused. But using the context you do have can stop your follow-up feeling like a stranger has found their number.

That means identifying the business clearly, referring accurately to the earlier enquiry and asking something relevant.

Make replying easy

The first message doesn't need to repeat every benefit of solar.

It needs to help someone understand why you're contacting them and feel comfortable answering.

An opening might be:

"Hi Dave, it's Phil from [Company]. You asked us about solar a while back. Is it still something you're considering, or have your plans changed? Either way, no problem."

Any marketing message also needs an appropriate, simple way to opt out.

The useful part isn't a magic word count. It's that Dave can answer without agreeing to a survey or explaining six months of silence.

Still interested. Maybe later. Already installed. No thanks.

Those are all useful answers.

"Either way, no problem" only means something if you honour it.

Don't confuse a reply with a result

A reply is the start of finding out.

It might uncover renewed interest. It might correct an outdated record. It might tell you to leave someone alone.

That's why I favour a small, carefully checked test before making predictions about an entire database.

Look at the quality of the replies. Establish whether interested homeowners meet the agreed criteria. Check whether surveys actually take place and whether the installer can manage the handover.

A couple of bookings from an early test aren't a licence to multiply the results across every contact in the CRM.

The test should help you decide whether to continue, change the approach or stop.

Where AI fits

AI can help organise replies and keep conversations timely, with human oversight and clear boundaries.

It still needs accurate information, an approach the installer has approved and a clear route to a person when the conversation needs one.

The homeowner is dealing with the installer's business. Every message carries that business's reputation.

A clever workflow is little comfort if it confidently says the wrong thing.

What would make this worthwhile?

My offer is performance-based: an agreed fee when a qualified survey actually takes place.

What counts as qualified needs agreeing before anything starts. The installer also needs capacity to attend surveys and look after the homeowners who express interest.

It won't suit every business or every database.

Some installers need more new enquiries. Some need better handling of the enquiries arriving today. Others may have suitable older conversations worth revisiting.

The useful first step is finding out which situation you're in.

Give the quiet enquiries an honest look

You don't need to declare your database a goldmine.

Start by reviewing a manageable group of unconverted enquiries. Check their source, history, relevance and contact permissions.

You may find records to close, information to correct and conversations that could appropriately restart.

The aim is to let homeowners tell you whether solar is still on their list.

Some enquiries belong in the graveyard.

Others may simply have been waiting for a better moment.