How a Columbus Solar Company Found Three Interested Property Owners
Business development manager, C&I solar installer · Columbus, Ohio · August 19, 2026
What they knew
A commercial solar installer focused on 100 kW to 800 kW projects had grown entirely on referrals: chamber events, lunch and learns, and partner introductions from CPAs, roofers, and energy auditors. They wanted to open Columbus without a single relationship there. Outbound meant Google Maps, a company website's leadership page, and LinkedIn, one building at a time, and the phone number on the website was almost never the decision maker's.
What they asked
Which commercial buildings around Columbus have flat roofs over 10,000 square feet with minimal HVAC, sit in our target utility's territory, and who is the owner we should call?
What MAIA did
Screened every commercial parcel around Columbus
Building footprints and imagery pulled every commercial building over 10,000 square feet, then scored each roof for flatness and HVAC clutter. ESG signals on the owner ranked the top 100.
Mapped the utility territory
The top candidates were matched to the target utility's service area, so the two co-op providers in the region could be excluded before outreach started.
Resolved the owner and the call
Contact enrichment returned a name, direct phone, and email for each candidate, with a LinkedIn profile where one existed, replacing the website-and-Google-Maps routine.
What came back
- 2,800 parcels screened down to the top 100 candidates by roof score and ESG signal
- 3 interested buyers from roughly 40 owners reached in three weeks, each asking for a quote and an electric bill
- 622 of 678 buildings mapped to the target utility so co-op accounts could be dropped before anyone dialed
What they did next
The team took the three interested buyers into their quote process and tightened the targeting rule for the next run: mid-size, owner-occupied manufacturers, where the person who answers can make the decision, over national-scale warehouses whose numbers route to a corporate switchboard. Columbus became the template for opening the next market: screen every roof first, then call the short list.
I used to go on Google Maps, find a building, then dig through the company website or LinkedIn for a name. That takes forever. With MAIA I click enrich and it's there.
