As the summer fades from memory and the days grow shorter, your customers’ time spent inside the house rises. With that, so do increasing opportunities for the residential service electrician. But that’s only for those who are properly prepared. As many of you undoubtedly realize, there’s a seasonal factor to our business, and it’s important to stay one step ahead of it.
I’ve mentioned before the importance of a properly stocked truck, and I’ll emphasize it again. If your customer has to wait for you to go to the supply house and purchase supplies, many of your opportunities will be lost.
Look back to last fall if you need a reminder about the items that have been big sellers in the past. Timers, lighting controls, floodlights, and LEDs are among the many items that become more popular with an earlier setting sun and less natural light. Stock a selection of these devices on every truck, and bundle packages together to make it easier for your customers to sign off on the system upgrades.
Additionally, stay in tune with the latest offerings from the manufacturers, and take the time to visit the trade shows so that you’re keeping up with the trends.
As your customers start to spend more time indoors, their concern for safety and interest in life safety devices should also increase. Smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, arc
fault breakers, and ground fault circuit interrupters are more important than ever. Linking cell phones via downloadable apps to dimmers or smoke detectors is a huge opportunity, and it is simpler than ever to start taking advantage of this growing arena. Once your customers see the ease of managing their homes through their smart phones, they may just keep coming back to you for additional products and services. Be sure that you’re the one introducing them to this new technology, and you’ll likely ensure repeat business.
Nevertheless, stocking all this great equipment on the truck doesn’t get the task accomplished unless it is presented properly. Are you still holding those training meetings once or twice a week, or did you postpone them when you got swamped over the past few months? It’s easy to make excuses when we’re busy, but could you have been more profitable and offered a better service to your clients if you had been better prepared?
Take the time to establish and research the topic and make it worth everyone’s while to attend these training sessions. Educate your electricians, and they’ll be your best promoters. However, don’t expect them to sell a product they don’t fully understand. There is an abundance of product information available from the manufacturers — whether it’s online or in print.
Taking the time to put the device in your electrician’s hands — and giving him or her the knowledge to use it — will pay back in the long run by reducing callbacks and increasing your employee’s confidence to offer the product. To break the ice with a new product, it’s never a bad idea to offer an incentive or spiff to get it moving. As with all new products, it’s important to keep an eye on callbacks or returns, and be careful early on to determine if it’s a flaw in the product or a training issue with your electricians. If it’s the latter, bring it back to the meeting, and get all the questions answered.
Staying ahead of the seasons and having your people trained to offer the right product at the right time can prevent your business from slipping into slow times and help keep you profitable all year long.
Murdy grew up in the electrical industry and holds a degree in electrical engineering. He has been in the residential electrical service industry for 30 years and has been a business owner for more than 25 years. He independently owns and operates the Mister Sparky electric franchise serving western Long Island, N.Y. He can be reached at [email protected].
