How to Run a Successful Electrical Business

1. Update your business plan

Review and update your business plan at least once a year to stay on top of any changes within the electrical industry or your customer base that may affect your business.

Don’t worry about rewriting your whole business plan. Just focus on a few key areas, including:

• Services – Have you been receiving work requests for services you don’t offer? Or are there any services on your list that you never perform? Look for opportunities to add, remove, or change any of your current electrical services to better meet your customers’ needs.
• Market analysis – Are there any new competitors in your service area? Are you still targeting the right potential customers, or has the demographic in your service area changed? 
• Pricing strategy – Is how you price your services still profitable? If the rising costs of supplies, tools, and gas are cutting into your profits, adjust your pricing strategy.
• Marketing strategy – What strategies have generated the most leads for your business? Update your marketing strategy accordingly and include any new business ideas to get more electrical job leads.
• Financial planning – How much profit do you expect to earn this year? Do you need to fix or replace any of your electrical equipment? Update your budget to include your sales forest, expenses, and marketing costs.

READ MORE: 315 electrical company names that’ll impress (and win) new customers

2. Join the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA)

Getting your NECA Gold Seal shows potential customers that you’re committed to quality and safety on the job.

To help you provide better customer service and make the right business decisions, your NECA membership comes with a ton of benefits, including:

• Member discounts on services and products like Budget, Dell, Office Depot, and more.
• Safety training and resources to help you maintain a safe work environment.
• Education and training that includes online management courses, business insight, and technical resources.
• Labor relations to help build and maintain positive employee relations through good management practices.
• Networking opportunities to connect with and learn from other electrical industry professionals.

To join, find your local NECA chapter and submit an application.

3. Advertise your electrical services

Use these marketing tips for electricians to promote your business and get new leads:

• Create an electrician website that includes your service area, the services you offer,  and an easy way for customers to request work or book services
• Use local SEO to help potential customers find your business on Google
• Advertise your electrical business to clients in your service area with Google’s Local Services Ads
• Pay for electrical job leads on lead generation websites
• Build a customer referral program to find new leads through happy customers

READ MORE: 15 Brilliant customer referral program ideas (with examples)

Pro Tip: Use Google Analytics to see which marketing strategies are working the best and track how new leads are finding your business.

4. Keep your pricing competitive and profitable

How you price your electrical services has a direct impact on your business’s cash flow. If your prices are too low, you won’t have enough money to invest back into your business.

Learn how to price your electrical services for profit, then review your pricing strategy annually to factor in the rising cost of materials.  

Just make sure to communicate the price increase with your customers before raising your prices—one to three months is our recommendation.

Speed up your estimating process

The faster you quote a prospective client, the better your chances are of winning their business. Here are three ways to speed up your quoting process:

1. Use an estimate template to send out estimates fast. Simply fill in your customer’s information and job details to create a professional-looking estimate in just a few clicks.
2. Make it easy for customers to view and approve quotes from anywhere by sending them over email. Or, use a self-serve customer portal like client hub.

Send quote follow-up emails to remind customers to approve their quotes.

5. Focus on customer service

Build customer loyalty and get positive online reviews by offering exceptional customer service.

Using electrician contractor software like Jobber can help you create a better customer experience, before, during, and after the job is done. Here’s how:

Give clients a self-serve portal 

Let clients request work, approve quotes, confirm appointments, and pay invoices on their own time.

6. Invoice customers and get paid faster

Invoicing is no business owner’s favorite task. But putting it off or not dealing with unpaid invoices can hurt your cash flow—which can force you to take a pay cut and limit how much you can reinvest in your business.

Using an electrical invoice template will help you send professional invoices quickly and easily. Simply fill in the information specific to the job, like your client details, electrical services provided, and cost for those services. Then send it off to your customer for payment.

Then, keep track of who has paid and who hasn’t. In Jobber, you can track invoices to see which invoices are outstanding and what jobs you still have to invoice for.

7. Hire the best electrical contractors to grow your business

If you’re struggling to keep up with quotes, falling behind on paperwork, or are in need of an electrical contractor with a specific skill set—it’s time to hire a qualified electrician.

Here’s how to find the best electrical contractors to grow your business:

• Write a descriptive electrician job description that includes a job title, list of responsibilities, list of required skills and experience, and any licensing requirements.
• Advertise your job posting through online job boards (like Indeed or Monster) or your business’s social media pages.
• Schedule interviews and ask electrician interview questions that cover your candidate’s skills, experience, and values to hire the right electrician for your team.

READ MORE: Hire employees like an expert with Nick Huber’s top tips

8. Stay up to date with electrical industry trends

Keeping up with industry trends like pricing, marketing, safety, and licensing, will help you beat the competition and win more electrical jobs.

Online electrical contractor resources and electrician blogs can offer a variety of tips and tricks on how to run a successful electrical business.

You can also network with other electrical professionals and business owners to get inspired by their successes and learn from their failures.