Solmentum review: Job Hunter SCAM 19

I am a former Solar Advisor. I lasted for 6 weeks, made 3 sales. The company is not a scam or a pyramid, to me a pyramid is the same as MLM. Basically, soliciting homeowners (home sales) is probably the most difficult job that exists, in my opinion. It takes a special person to go through that. As far as the whole $500 taking 4 weeks to hit your account, that's just generally how a payroll schedule works. I would say that more often than not, it would be 3 weeks, but it's not unheard of. Management has high expectations of you and they let you know it. I think the people who think they were scammed are just weak and can't face the fact that they ultimately made excuse after excuse. I quit because I couldn't see myself dealing with the revolving door as a GM/Trainer. That's not to say that I would have made it that far anyways. I accept the fact that I could have tried harder. Michael Abramovich was our VP. The guy is legit. He is probably the best salesperson I have ever met. Period. He is inspirational and a straight-shooter. For those that say they manipulate the employees...again I say that you didn't have the gall to commit. I'm partially playing devil's advocate because overall, I didn't have a good experience. However, I do not blame anyone but myself. It's actually pretty amazing how difficult it is to "sell" solar (in most cases, save people money and/or offer an alternative to the upfront costs of owning solar). If the Solar Advisor is lying to the potential customers to get a sale, then that's on the SA, not Solmentum. I guess they've just changed their name to Gen110. It's been a year since I was a SA and I would say that I'm neutral. It's a young company and yes, it models itself after College Works Painting, which is a sales "internship" for students.
All I'm saying, is that there are definitely extremes within the posts/replies. I'm just trying to have a fair assessment. If you fail at something, take responsibility. Just like if you succeed at something, give credit to those that deserve it. And to the person who signed as Michael A...really?

Solmentum has changed their company name to Gen110.

I'm not sure what they mean by scam, but I am a former solar advisor.

Let's put it this way: if you are applying to all these entry level jobs and getting rejected, why would such a company that claims to have such high standards for its employees want to hire you?

Solmentum loves to tell people that they are very picky, etc. But the truth is, it's a revolving door. They are constantly hiring, and the only people they don't hire are the ones who can't be manipulated by them.

I don't know if things have changed, but back when I was there, you didn't get your $500 payable after 2 weeks until your 4th week. That's shady to me. I have never had a company pay me that late, especially for something that is a flat rate amount that doesn't have to be calculated based on hours.

It's very hard to close the deals because there are a lot of factors involved: the shading around the prospect's house, their roof's compatibility with solar, competitors charging less, your territory (no matter what the managers tell you, they are lying if they say territory doesn't matter).

You don't become a full time employee until you have closed 3 deals. Those 3 deals are very hard to close. Some people were in training for over 1 month and still haven't had 3 deals go through yet. They eventually quitted.

You will work 12+ hours a day, most of those hours walking around pestering homeowners to get solar, and you will probably only make $500 for 1 or more months of work since you don't get paid anything beyond the $500 unless you close 3 deals.

So basically, Solmentum gets cheap labor for a couple of months, and you get to wear yourself out mentally (from the manipulation management puts you through and all the door slams and people hating you because you are a solicitor) and physically (from all the hours you put in doing canvassing, even in the rain, and late nights trying to close deals). Your self confidence will go down because management uses intimidation techniques to manipulate you while expecting you to project confidence to the customers. It's a very stressful job with very little upside to be worth the stress.

Most people left within 4 weeks. By about 2 months in, pretty much all the advisors I worked with had already left.

Solmentum loves to tell people how happy their employees are. It's a lie. None of the advisors I knew were happy because they were stressed out about paying the bills.

They always dangle the VP thing in front of advisors to get them to work. But once you make VP, according to the CEO "you'll be eating dirt for a while". So wait, I'll be eating dirt when I start so I can prove myself to get to manager level, where I'll sacrifice part of my income to train new advisors, so I can get to the VP level...where I'll be eating more dirt? Where's the carrot? It's all sticks!

About the training that's supposed to be so great: it's a very inefficient way to learn. You wanna know Solmentum's sales secrets? Read "Influence" by Cialdini and the Negotiation book by Roger Dawson. Go try out those techniques and get yourself a better salary, or even better, start your own business. Solmentum doesn't teach you everything you need to learn about sales, because if they did, you'd figure out how they were manipulating you to work for peanuts.

Verdict: it's not worth it man. Try getting a software sales job if your heart is really set on sales. You'd make a LOT more money and don't have to be associated with what a lot of people deem scammers.

In fact, you'd make more if you got a minimum wage job and just learned sales techniques through books and practicing them on your own. Yeah, Solmentum pays you THAT LITTLE.

I don't know if the word scam is accurate, but I was a previous solar advisor. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE WORK AS A SOLAR ADVISOR THERE. Here's why:

1. Shady pay practice. You are supposed to get $500 (back when I was there) payable after two weeks of work. HOWEVER, that payment doesn't hit your account until the 4th week. I have never had any company pay me this late, especially since they didn't have to calculate anything--it was a flat rate payment.

2. Management uses intimidation tactics on employees to control them. They always dangle the VP carrot in front of employees, but when you first become VP "you'll be eating dirt for a while" (this phrase came straight from the CEO's mouth). So this is how it works: you take ALL THE RISK as a solar advisor, in hopes of making it to GM, where you'll have to sacrifice part of your income while training new advisors, so that you can become VP, where you'll still be eating dirt. Where's the carrot? It's all sticks!

3. YOU WILL MAKE MORE MONEY WORKING A MINIMUM WAGE JOB THAN AS A SOLAR ADVISOR.

4. Management loves to tell recruits that people love it there because of the culture. THIS IS A COMPLETE LIE. None of the advisors I knew liked working there because they were worried about paying the bills since they weren't making any money.

5. You will spend the bulk of your day soliciting people, even in the rain, and people will hate you because they associate you with scammers.

6. Your self esteem will go down because you are a solicitor, and management uses intimidation techniques to keep you in line.

7. Solmentum doesn't teach you all you need to know about sales, because if they did, you'd know that they were using manipulation techniques on you. If you want good sales training without having to be a solicitor, walking around in the rain and cold, and being treated like a kindergartener by Solmentum, then just get "Influence" by Cialdini and the Power Negotiation book by Roger Dawson. Learn those techniques, and practice them in your daily life to get a raise, get a job, open your own business, and simply to GET AHEAD.

8. Even if you are desperate for a job, just take a retail job or even a restaurant job and then learn sales through reading sales books and PRACTICING THOSE TECHNIQUES EVERYDAY. You will make more this way and not have to damage your health (due to the looooong hours and stress) and reputation from working for Solmentum.

9. If a customer cancels on you, you have to pay back 3 TIMES the money you make from the sale. So you end up losing money sometimes if you work for Solmentum. I've seen this happen to a few people. It's very disheartening.

Scamsalot - The fact that you worked for a solar sales company and did not make a single sale somewhat discredits you as an expert as to how the product and the company work.

I am imagining, though, that the reason you did not sell one system (while working for a solar sales firm) is because you did not do the research required to understand the product and its benefits. You clearly do not believe in the product, the Solar PPA (something tells me you don't know what PPA stands for - Google it!), which is now one of, if not the most popular way for homeowners to go solar in California. Other companies, such as Solar City, now offer a competing Solar PPA product.

Neither SunRun, nor Solmentum, preys on unwitting consumers. I have worked for Solmentum for 5 months and I have made a number of sales. My customers are hardly fools; they include a partner at a big 3 accounting firm, a nuclear physicist, a mechanical engineer, a judge and an investment banker, to name a few.

You should really do more research before you take a job so you know what you are getting in to and that you can understand the product you are selling. In order to sell a product (something you were not able to do) it is imperative that you know how the product works.

I worked for Solmentum around the beginning of 2010, spent countless hours listening to the few at the top rave about their product and teach it's new employees the art of being a sleazy salesman. I worked hard enough to see a couple potential sales meetings in person (those being with the potential customers and with my supervisor).
This company preys on simple-minded individuals who are interested in altruistic endeavors. In our training we are taught to dismiss any questions about the actual cost of the program and stick to a script which mainly consists of "we can talk about prices when the time comes".
Thankfully the potential customers I was in meetings with were intelligent enough to run the numbers (the few numbers the Solmentum will give us) to find they would lose a significant amount of money by using SunRun (Solmentum's partner who actually supplies the product).
My supervisor practically berated the potential customers to a point that felt like intellectual bullying (if there was something intellectual about his argument). After proving to my supervisor that the offering was not economically beneficial my supervisor went on the defensive claiming to the customers face that he was not smart enough to understand how the system works and provided no evidence to back up the claims of saving money. Afterwards I went back to the family of my final potential sale, reinforced their concerns and told them to stay away from Solmentum's sneaky business practices at all cost.
Interestingly the company can only prosper if it signs on people using large amounts of electricity, people who tend to have the money to install their own solar systems for a fraction of the overall cost of the Solmentum offering.
Glad my leads never resulted in a sale, I would feel horrible for forcing someone who only sought to help the environment into a contract that would lose them money and perhaps their faith in clean energy.

I am greatly saddened this company's main interest is not the customer, nor the environment but their own wallet and will disguise the truth in any way possible to make a profit. Solmentum is doing a great disservice to the clean energy movement.

Right on Advocats - I hope you have some success bringing down this SCAM

This is a terrible company that treats their employees poorly. I am filing a number of complaints with the state of California and the federal government. As far as payment is concerned--that's another big issue with Solmentum. They use and abuse their employees and do not pay them what they are legally and contractually bound to pay. They crossed the wrong family when they messed with mine. I also plan to put together a memo and deliver it to all of their customers about their practices. They hire people without experience and their senior level management is a joke.

AWFUL COMPANY

Anyone who has or is currently working for Solmentum and wants a real pay check in the Solar Industry. Contact me at ARealsolarJob@gmail.com. Your responses will be held with confidence. This company is truly laughable I know this because I worked there.

"Jason Brown is going down."-The Labor Board

Here is the low-down on Solmentum. Are they a legit company? Yes. Does it have a Pyramid structure? To some degree. Does the company have a "high" attrition rate? Yes, but business speaking, attrition is when you have a gradual reduction in work force without firing of personnel, as when workers resign and are not replaced. In Solmentum's case, they are interviewing new candidates almost every business day to replace the employees who are on their way out. Basically a perpetual revolving door. Like many other run-of-the-mill sales companies, throw it on the wall and if it sticks, welcome to the team!

Who makes a good fit for Solmentum? The ideal candidate is a recent college graduate. A college grad who has little to no monthly bills, lives with the family, and can expend 140+ hours “minimum” till they see their first training/commission check after 4-6 weeks. That $1, 000 dollar check is payable after you received some training and placed three “approved deals.” Depending on your talent and skill to learn quickly, your first two deals will come by way of your General Manager. BTW, they do not compensate you for miles or gas during your first 4-6 weeks. Bottom-line, if you have money saved to stretch out for 4-6 weeks without making one cent, then successfully selling reduced electricity as a Solar Advisor “might” be for you. If you are not fresh out of college and mom and dad are not supporting you, the risk is entirely on you. Not that you may not have the ability to learn and become successful with Solmentum, but walking around, rain or shine, knocking on doors, and working long days/evenings will become discouraging. Especially after you are spending your personal income on gas and food while not making a penny.

The founders, director(s), and GM's have put a lot of thought into the company sales approach. It is effective and will yield results for the specific candidate. If you want the complete truth about a companies vision and integrity, simply research the company founder(s) and the companies they helped establish. Do some research on College Works Painting (CWP). Jason Brown, Solmentum President, helped build this company. Solmentum is a snap shot of CWP. They cornered the same pool for candidate selection and are structurally setup the same. Although Solmentum and CWP share similar company structure, Solmentum is more polished with the potential to make real money for hard work.

If you have a passion for renewable energy and the personality with unwavering work ethic as a marketer, Solmentum's training protocol is both effective and will help you sharpen your professional skills. Being promoted to General Manager is possible, but that is predicated upon what you do with the training and amount of dedication committed to surpassing the sales quota. Likewise, if you are set on entering solar sales as a career path, Solmentum could be a great start for a rising sales professional. That said, the potential to make money is there, especially once you enter the GM role or VP of Sales. As a footnote, Solmentum (Santa Clara) has four GM's and they happen to be the most senior with Solmentum, (1.0-1.5 yrs). Till today, no other Solar Advisor has climbed the ranks as a GM.

In conclusion, sales is not an easy career path, what you put in is what you get out. In particular, Solar Sales is not a walk in the park. If you are up for a challenge, don't mind constant rejection, and experiencing deals not always panning out, this could be the right opportunity. With B2C sales, the above listed scenarios happen on a daily basis. Be prepared to expect those outcomes on your first day, but if you can truck through those challenges, Solmentum maybe a good fit. BTW, after all said and done, Solemtum's; Solar Advisor's are really seeking out the “small percentage” of residents who have some form of curiosity with going solar. The majority of homeowners that will listen to you at the door are already interested in going solar for various reason(s). Basically homeowners who are on the fence to go solar. It's your job to use inner and outer influences to get the owner over the fence. You will not encounter many homeowners who are clueless to solar and allow you to persuade them by using Solmentum's sales psychology to sign a 20 year contract.

I interviewed with Solmentum. I think they are a solid company, great potential, but poor compensation structure. The commission is great, but, the risk is on the candidate almost entirely (with a laughable base). Their is a difference between keeping a sales force "hungry" (good), and "starving" (not good, dissatisfaction / turnover).

Its a "hitting the pavement" position with targetted leads. Thats not for everyone. If your good, you will probably make a lot of money. But, like I said, its mostly commission. If you are good at "hunting" or hitting the pavement, you may want to look into other B2B sales positions (as this is B2C) or software if you have a background. You will make much more money.

I worked here, this company is good at one thing and one thing only. That is cheating young and the desperate out of time, money, and confidence. If the deal does not go through it is your fault! If you do not put in tons of hours, you are not motivated and are "not hungry enough" according to the director of sales. In my years and years of working for many outfits, this is by far the most horrible experience of my life. I pray to God that no one experiences working for this company. FYI my younger cousin made more money working at In-N-Out burger in less than a month compared to what I made in 1.5 months. Tell me something is not wrong with this picture. By the way that's only the tip of the iceberg!

I will only comment that I am trying to research Solmentum because my kid works there now and has only received one small check and yet goes on cold calls all day long... I have tried to find a phone # to call and unsuccessfully in any of their four listed sites... I have to question their tactics...

I had an interview scheduled for Saturday...the guy didnt even show up, the doors were locked. I read this before, I just wanted the interview experience. You don't even want to work with these guys, I saw them on my first interview, not the most intellectual crowd.

Solmentum does not pay their employees. It's a pyramid scheme. They manipulate their employees the same way they do their customers. It's only a matter of time before this operation gets shut down. There is a lot of angry people that are eager to take back the money that was stolen from them.

I hate when people comment on things that they know nothing about. It just makes them sound stupid in the end. I wanted to comment due to the fact that I have been through the interview process as recently as within the last week or so. After reading what ScamHunter wrote she obviously knows nothing about what she talks about and I will prove it. Some people just have too much time on their hands. If ScamHunter put as much effort into complaining as she did finding a job then maybe she would have one already instead of ruining opportunities for other people.

I will say that my interview and the process went a little bit different then ScamHunter's but not by much. First of all ScamHunter said that Solmentum said they were looking for Sales Managers. Then when she went to the interview they said they were only hiring sales reps. Maybe you haven’t been through many interviews or applied many places, lots of companies do that. Why do you think that on Monster, Careerbuilder, Indeed, and wherever? The same companies are always hiring Managers. They like to keep a talent pool, then bring people in and say we don’t have manager positions open but you can start entry level and we might have something available later. I've interviewed with several Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 companies and it’s a common business practice. Especially with the way the economy is now, they know people need work and need the money.

I don’t know if you are not that familiar with the internet or how to use it but before I went on my interview I thoroughly researched the company. I checked the BBB, forums, Face book, blogs, company websites, newspaper articles, and found plenty of info. It wasn’t that hard, not sure why you had so much trouble. I even found a blog that was written by one of the co-founders. You say there is no newspaper articles only paid advertisements. Google Santa Cruz Good Times and Solmentum and they have a great article written June, 22, 2010 entitled Solmentum gathers momentum. You question any reputable company websites and their claims at the states 3rd largest solar provider. Look under their partner’s website www.Sunrun.com, which Solmentum says on their website that they are partnered with. At the top of SunRuns site click on Why SunRun, then click on Best Solar Installers, then they'll list all the states SunRun does business and under California, what do you know there's Solmentum. Click on it and it talks about them being the 3rd largest provider in California.

You also state that when you looked up their offices there was multiple companies listed. First of all when a company moves out of a location it doesn’t magically erase any information left behind on the internet about them. If I move out of my house and somebody else moves in and a couple of years later I look up the address, it would probably show the new person living there and my name attached to that address as well. That's just common sense logic which I see you’re having a hard time grasping. Also here is another reason, I finished some training at a solar company near me called Renova Solar in Palm Desert, CA go ahead and look them up. They own the whole building in which they are located, inside they have multiple suites leased out to different companies, albeit in related fields. That’s one way to reduce overhead, a sensible business move. Which again makes me think you have no knowledge of business at all.

So I basically have proven everything you've said to be a fallacy. All I did was Google Solementum, Sunrun, and did some reading. If I was you ScamHunter007 I would scratch off Private Investigator off your list of possible jobs, also anybody looking for somebody to hunt scams as you apparently suck at both of those.

For the record I do not work for Solmentum, not yet anyways. I'll hopefully know soon. Even if I don’t get the position I would still feel the same way. I just like to put unintelligent people in their place. Plus I love to debate.

Wow, clearly you don't know what you're talking about. If you know anything about the Solar industry, you will find out that there is nothing like Solmentum out there and therefore no "reputable" Solar company will know about them or their strategy. They're leaders in a growing industry.

Furthermore, you clearly did not understand that they are the "largest creators of residential solar customers in California" and not the largest provider. You may have missed the point that they partner with SunRun who is very reputable and backed by pretty prestigious investors.

I don't work for the company, nor do I have a stake in it. I'm just an informed person who is somewhat educated in the Solar arena and urge you to get your facts straight before posting a complaint like this. You're ruining it for the people that actually have the skills to make a difference in this world.

I’m truly sorry you got the wrong impression of our company. I’ve been an employee here for about 8 months and was promoted to the position of General Manager through the same training program all of our new hires go through. My team and I are personally responsible for putting up dozens of solar systems across the San Francisco Bay Area, and are very proud of the hard work that we put in to achieve that. As someone who’s been an environmentalist and advocate for renewable energy for all of my adult life, I was thrilled to find a company where I can actually make an impact and be a part of the widespread adoption of solar energy in the U.S. I am grateful every day that I came across this opportunity for a meaningful career in renewable energy that offers both personal and professional growth.

As Solmentum’s Director of Recruiting, I really appreciate your feedback and have made a few changes to ensure clarity during our phone calls and 1st interviews. We would never intentionally manipulate our message and I sincerely apologize that your experience with our company was sub-par. I could easily have come to a similar conclusion in your shoes.

Over the past 20 months, we have worked in full "stealth mode" and sell exclusively for our partner SunRun. Having helped over 1, 000 people go solar, we are coming out of stealth mode soon (so stay tuned!). I’m happy to chat further, so please feel free to give me a call so we can fully understand your experience- we are an organization of constant improvement.