7 Ways to Ignite Electrical Sales for Your Home Services Business

Give top-quality customer service to boost reviews, earn repeat business

• Make customer service a priority to gain new electrical leads and close more deals.

• Use real-time customer data to show sales managers where their team excels, and where to improve.

Studies show 90 percent of Americans consider customer service when deciding to do business with a company, and 89 percent are more likely to become a repeat customer after a positive experience. In addition, 73 percent of businesses that provide above-average customer experiences report better financial performance than their competitors. 

To help techs make better sales presentations to customers in the field, Mel Carr Electric in New York switched from another mobile software provider to ServiceTitan two years ago. The move helped to improve the customer experience and close more electrical sales, says company president Rob Carr.

Carr says ServiceTitan electrical contractor software also provides:

• Accurate, real-time business performance data.

• Better display of sales options for the customer.

• More capabilities without hiring more people.

• The ability to record customer service phone calls.

• Real-time updates from the field.

• Text updates sent to the customer from the app.

• An intuitive pricebook that can be updated remotely.

“It’s so user-friendly. So intuitive. (The software) just knows your next step,” Carr says. “It took care of things we never even realized we needed.”

Companies can also automate customer satisfaction pulse checks to encourage happy customers to leave online reviews. Positive reviews strengthen reputation and online authority, both of which are crucial for attracting new customers and should be part of every electrical contracting business plan.

“We went from under 100 reviews across all social media pages and now we're up to nearly 400, just by integrating our social media accounts with ServiceTitan,” says Mike Losoya III, integration manager with Mike's Plumbing and Electric in McAllen, Texas.

Dispatch superstar sales associates or techs for profit

• Potential high-value jobs require skilled communicators.

• Integrated property data and other software features inform techs about untapped opportunities.

Are you tracking which sales manager or service tech produces the highest average tickets and generates the most leads on your electrical services team?  More than likely, your leaders are skilled communicators and knowledgeable electricians, and customers simply like doing business with them. 

“People buy from people they like,” says Weldon Long, New York Times best-selling author, entrepreneur and HVAC business owner. 

“People also buy from people who like them,” Long explains. “We spend so much time getting our homeowners to like us, we forget they want us to like them. It’s one of the most misunderstood concepts in sales.”

With ServiceTitan’s Technician Scorecard, you can easily track who’s winning the sales game and dispatch the right person to the right job. ServiceTitan's integrated property data also alerts your electrical sales team to job estimates involving repeat customers, immediately displaying previous work history, prior service calls, photos of problems and solutions, and tech's notes on any future needs. 

Knowing when a customer needs an upgrade saves time and increases productivity for your electrical services company. Plus, customers appreciate it when you remember them.

Maximize software tools on site

• Show value of good-better-and-best electrical products and present immediate digital estimates.

• Offer electrical service contracts to every customer.

In the electrical industry, providing good service means more than simply restoring electric supply to a customer’s home. They depend on you to not only fix their immediate problem, but also to spot any potential issues with their electrical systems.

Inspect the entire mechanical system, then utilize software tools to easily present detailed good-better-and-best options to help homeowners make confident buying decisions.

ServiceTitan’s Pricebook Pro, built with industry input, provides photos and prices for thousands of electrical goods and includes upgrades and recommendations. When presented this way, customers are more likely to appreciate the value of the “best” option.

Prioritize repairs to show your company’s honesty. If your technician finds 10 problems, customers should know what's urgent, what can wait, and what’s optional. When you help to educate customers, you’re likely to receive repeat business and referrals on social media.

Service agreements also increase the value of your calls and ensure steady business. Contracted customers are less likely to switch to another service and will call you first when lightning strikes. 

Utilize ServiceTitan’s electrical services agreement template to get started, and easily streamline service calls, billing and contract renewals.

Price accurately to accelerate electrical sales

• ServiceTitan's Pricebook Pro goes where your techs go.

• Sales associates and techs price jobs accurately in the field and build bigger work orders.

Help your electrical customers avoid sticker shock with upfront pricing for every job clearly defined in your ServiceTitan pricebook. With a simple tap on their mobile tablet, service techs can show pricing right on the spot, with simple electrical repairs costing about $280 on average, whereas larger electrical jobs may cost thousands of dollars.

Whether you’re working with a distributor, such as American Electronic Components  or Consolidated Electrical Distributors (CED), or a manufacturer’s representative from Eaton, a global leader in the electrical industry, an accurate and up-to-date pricebook gives your electrical sales team and service techs a leg up on the competition.

ServiceTitan's Pricebook Pro delivers universal changes to every sales associate, sales engineer, and your technical sales folks, in real time. The pricebook eliminates math mistakes, instantly updates changes in material costs, and creates a digital estimate for the job within minutes. 

Providing faster estimates sooner than the competition increases sales and makes it easier to add upgrades on the fly.

Follow up on estimates and boost electrical sales with software automation

• Seize unrealized electrical sales with automated follow-up.

• Use customer data to target automated direct mail.

Unsold estimates once required time-consuming phone follow-ups. Fuller Electric in Washington state began using ServiceTitan’s marketing software, Marketing Pro, to automate follow-up calls a few months ago, and saw an immediate boost in revenue.

“We get a quicker yes or no,” from Marketing Pro’s automated calls, “which has been huge for us,” says Operations Manager Anthony Moore. “We’ve had an extra $40,000 worth of revenue, which is a lot more than we paid for it. We’ve definitely gotten our value out of that."

ServiceTitan's electrician marketing software also helps you reach new customers who may be overwhelmed by email and social media, and simply want to find the “best electrician near me” with good reviews.

Direct mail automation targets the right customers with the right message at the right time, using data from your own customer relation management software. 

“Instead of the old batch-and-blast, send 5,000 postcards to a ZIP code, and hope you get some results out of it, use that database you have to market specifically to the right people," says Sam Yarborough, Director of Partnerships at PFL, a marketing technology company based in Montana.

Prioritize training for sales associates and techs

• Transform "lights-flickering" calls into bigger tickets without using high-pressure sales tactics.

• Attract top candidates to your job postings with training and opportunity.

Some electrical techs love selling electric or explaining electrical service options to customers, while others prefer hanging out with a new panel box. 

Motivating the reluctant ones to sell electrical supplies and services can be a challenge, but Master Electrician Chris Crew, President of The Blue Collar Success Group, overcomes technician reluctance with training.

“You give me the most technical technician, and I will teach them how to outsell the best salesperson,” he says. 

Crew uses ServiceTitan’s Pricebook Pro to train techs to present good-better-and-best options by building drop-down menus for every task, with the benefits of each clearly displayed on their mobile tablet. 

A surge protector, for instance, adds up to 25% life to any motor-driven appliance, Crew says. This add-on option pops up on the service tech’s tablet each time they click on a task in the pricebook that involves anything with a motor. 

He also uses ServiceTitan’s job alerts to understand trends. For example, he reviews digital invoices for key indicators, such as the time spent from when a tech arrives on site to the time they enter the first item on the estimate. 

“That’s what I call ‘selling time.’ If I’ve got an electrician that shows up, and 10 minutes later, they’re adding items, they’ve done zero relationship-building with that client,” Crew explains. 

ServiceTitan also helps your company attract top candidates searching for full-time electrical sales jobs or an inside sales representative role by providing the right digital tools and training to help them succeed.

The more you empower your team to succeed, the more success they’re likely to achieve, says Eddie McFarlane, Vice President of Learning and Development at Haller Enterprises, a multi-trade service company in Pennsylvania. 

Potential new recruits see your happy, successful employees almost like a magnet, pulling them in to find out more about your company.

“People are attracted to people like them. So, remove hurdles and create beautiful, beautiful runways,” McFarlane says.

Share your knowledge and years of experience

• Give customers maintenance tips and advice.

• Target marketing to the right audience.

A company that focuses on customer education, and not just making electrical sales pitches, earns customer loyalty.

Many customers don't know that loose outlets can spark a fire. Help customers proactively care for their electrical systems with educational content posted on your website. Providing tips and tutorials online builds your brand's authority and trustworthiness and encourages customers to call you when a raccoon tangles with the electrical supply to their hot tub.

From start to finish, ServiceTitan’s software supports your electrical services company and improves your relationship with customers. It keeps your marketing goals at the forefront, so you can track return on investment and pursue greater opportunities.