The Essence of AI Adoption in Solar Sales

When AI Enters the Sales Floor

Hanwha Japan has announced an AI-powered web support tool designed to streamline the proposal process for residential solar power systems. The news might seem like just another industry-specific AI tool hitting the market. However, from a management perspective, it offers much deeper insights.

This tool targets the “proposal process”—tasks like creating estimates and generating materials for customer presentations. These tasks have traditionally relied heavily on the experience and intuition of veteran salespeople. They are a breeding ground for siloed knowledge and a barrier to scaling operations.

From my own experience automating client sales processes with AI, I can say that AI adoption for proposal tasks is one of the areas with the highest return on investment. It’s not uncommon to see a 1.5x or more increase in productivity per salesperson with a tool costing just a few tens of thousands of yen per month (roughly $300-$700 USD).

The Gap Between Large and Small Companies: “Organizational Environment”

Recently, BCG released a survey on AI usage in the workplace. It found that daily AI usage among general employees has reached 74%. However, a significant gap of 13.8 percentage points exists between large companies (66%) and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) (53%).

The cause of this gap lies in the “organizational environment.” Large companies have dedicated departments to promote AI adoption and IT teams to help select and implement tools. In SMEs, the business owner often has to find the tools, implement them, and even teach employees how to use them.

Industry-specific tools like Hanwha Japan’s are actually easier for SMEs to adopt. Unlike general-purpose AI tools (like ChatGPT or Claude), they are customized to fit specific workflows. This reduces the common post-implementation problem of “not knowing what to use it for.”

“Task Coverage Rate” Matters More Than “AI Usage Rate”

What’s noteworthy in the BCG survey isn’t the 74% usage rate itself, but the scope of tasks where AI is used “daily.” Is it being used for light tasks like drafting emails or summarizing meeting minutes, or for core tasks like creating proposals and analyzing data?

In my experience, even with high AI usage rates, many companies only cover “information gathering and text creation.” Real impact comes when AI becomes embedded in the core sales workflow, automating tasks like generating quotes and proposals.

Hanwha Japan’s tool targets exactly these “core tasks.” Because it’s specialized for solar power proposals, it can automatically generate optimal plans based on customer attributes and installation conditions. Achieving this level of accuracy with general-purpose AI is difficult.

The Reality of Implementation Costs and ROI

The cost is a key concern. While Hanwha Japan hasn’t disclosed specific pricing, similar industry-specific AI tools typically range from ¥50,000 to ¥200,000 per month (approx. $350 to $1,400 USD). Initial setup costs, including data integration and internal rule adjustments, can add several hundred thousand yen (a few thousand USD).

However, assuming a salesperson’s hourly wage is ¥3,000 (approx. $21 USD), saving 20 hours of work per month would cover the cost. If proposal creation time can be halved, the investment pays off easily.

My advice to clients is to start with a free trial or demo, testing the tool with actual business data. The key to success is being able to concretely estimate “which tasks can be reduced by how much” before implementation.

Organizational Environment Determines AI Success

The usage rate gap between large companies and SMEs isn’t a tool problem; it’s a problem of “organizational culture accepting AI.” Even if an AI tool is implemented, the investment is wasted if the team decides “it’s okay not to use it.”

What management should do isn’t to position AI tools as a “means of efficiency” and mandate their use. Instead, they should create a system that visualizes the difference in task time with and without AI, allowing the team to experience the benefits firsthand.

Like Hanwha Japan’s tool, AI specialized for specific tasks easily creates a “you’re losing out if you don’t use it” situation. If proposal creation time is halved, salespeople will start using it on their own. Practical benefits on the ground, not top-down mandates, drive AI adoption.

Summary: Start AI Adoption by Asking “What to Automate”

The news about using AI to streamline solar power proposals might seem like a niche industry story. However, its essence points to a solution for a challenge many companies face: “How to scale siloed sales processes with AI.”

The gap in AI adoption rates between large companies and SMEs stems from differences in organizational environments. SMEs, in particular, should leverage industry-specific AI tools to maximize results with limited resources.

What management needs to decide isn’t “whether to adopt AI,” but “which tasks to delegate to AI.” Estimate the cost-benefit ratio and proceed with implementation based on practical benefits on the ground. That is the shortest path to building a competitive advantage through AI.