ElectricalBossPro Blog — Generator & Maintenance Plans

Offering the Maintenance Plan at the Generator Install

There is no better moment to sell a generator maintenance plan than the day the customer buys the generator. They have just made a big decision about backup power. They are thinking about the unit, how long it will last and what happens if it does not start when they need it. A yearly visit from the company that installed it is an easy yes at that moment, and a much harder sell a year later.

The Install Is Where Plans Begin

A book of plans, as described in Building Recurring Revenue Between Installs With Electrical Maintenance Plans, grows one customer at a time. For generator plans, most of those customers come from your own installs. If every install leaves with a plan attached, the book grows every time you put a generator in the ground.

ElectricalBossPro makes that easy because the install estimate, the job, the generator record and the plan all live on the same customer and property.

Put the Plan on the Install Estimate

Estimates in ElectricalBossPro are built from your service list. A generator install estimate might include the generator install itself, a transfer switch, a whole-house surge protector and the yearly maintenance plan as its own line. The customer sees the plan right next to the install, with its price, before they approve.

Some shops include it as an optional line the customer can approve or leave off. Some build an estimate template for “Generator install with yearly care” so the office does not forget to add it. Either way, the plan is part of the conversation from the start, not an afterthought on a follow-up call.

The Generator Record Starts on the Estimate

Equipment details can be filled in on the estimate and carry onto the job. When the install estimate includes the generator's brand, model, kW and fuel, those details are on the job the moment the customer approves. The tech fills in the serial number and location on install day, and the generator is saved on the house.

The transfer switch or generator interlock goes on the house the same way. By the time the first maintenance visit comes due, the full backup setup is on record, ready to show on the job card. More on those records in Generator Records on the House: Brand, Model, Serial, kW and Fuel in One Place.

The First Visit Comes Due a Year Later

Once the plan is on the property with a minimum of 365 days between visits, the first visit comes due on its own on the Waiting List. Nobody has to set a reminder for next year. Whoever is in the office then will see the pin on the map, put it on a van, and the customer gets reminders by text and email if they chose them.

Many shops like the first plan visit to happen around the one-year mark from the install, so the customer sees the plan working right when they would start wondering about it.

How to Talk About It

Selling the plan at install does not need a hard pitch. A few plain points usually do it:

• “We come out once a year to check the generator and the transfer switch.”
• “You get a written report after each visit.”
• “We remind you by text before we come, and it goes on your card on file.”
• “You already have us. You do not have to find someone when it matters.”

Keep the promises to what your team actually does every visit. If the plan includes a safety inspection with the printed report, say so. If it does not, do not imply it.

Card on File From the Install

Most install customers pay by card. That is the natural moment to keep the card on file for the plan. When the first yearly visit is completed, the card can be charged when the tech taps Complete, with the invoice in the customer app. Customers can update the card in the customer app any time before then.

If the customer would rather sign up later, point them to the customer app, where they can sign up for the plan themselves.

Make It a Habit

The shops that build big plan books do one simple thing: they offer the plan on every install, every time. It is on the estimate template, the office mentions it when they schedule the install, and the tech mentions it on install day.

Not every customer will say yes. But every customer will hear the offer, and the ones who say yes will see your van every year for as long as they own the generator. For how the plan runs after the install, visit the ElectricalBossPro generator maintenance software page.