Training is "fire-hose" style. Then you are thrown into the mix. Lots of conflicting information about what is and is not current/acceptable policy. It's a fast moving company, unfortunately that tends to lead to more than a little "Ready, Fire, Aim" in execution.
High burn-out rate. High expectations of accountability (8PM teleconference six nights per week for some managers). Need to be available to manager~12/7. The immediacy of the job often has reps going months without an actual day off.
VERY numbers based sales organization. Heavy on SFDC reports and Excel spreadsheets. No traditional "Sales Management" used; no coaching. More telling than listening. More lecturing than teaching. More reactive than proactive. (This MAY not be the case company-wide, but was seen prevalently in the Bay Area)
Even with a field team (FEAs) generating "qualified" leads at The Home Depot, Best Buy, mall kiosks, fairs, etc, the distribution of those leads is entirely subjective. Leads are almost always sent to the FECs who have been there the longest, leaving newer rep to scramble. The only alternative is for FECs to spend 20 - 30 hours each week at retail location to insure that the leads coming in go to them.
Virtually no marketing presence. There are a lot of mis-conceptions about how SolarCity approaches renewable energy, but no concerted effort to get the information to the marketplace. For the FEAs and FECs this puts them in a constant uphill battle.
Although sales contests and incentives abound, they are often complex, convoluted and hard to understand the metrics to achieve success.
* Recommended to friends under the right circumstances
** Six month Business outlook: Good. Outlook on Improvements to above: Poor
*** Avoid the residential side if your expertise is Business-To-Business
