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Dec. 12, 2024

Ep 18 - Power Moves: Mastering Generator Service Strategies with Travis Terrebonne

Ep 18 - Power Moves: Mastering Generator Service Strategies with Travis Terrebonne
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Million Dollar Electrician - Sale to Scale For Home Service Pros
Ep 18 - Power Moves: Mastering Generator Service Strategies with Travis Terrebonne
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Unlock the secrets to a thriving generator service business with our latest episode, where we promise you'll learn how to sustain success by prioritizing maintenance contracts over sheer installation numbers. We journey through the unique landscape of the generator market, explaining why specialized service and rapid response are more lucrative than the traditional models seen in HVAC and plumbing. By keeping a manageable customer base and charging a premium for service contracts, your business can not only ensure quality but also cleverly capitalize during emergencies.

Join us as we delve into the inspiring brand story of Gen Gators Power Systems, a company born from the trials of Hurricane Ida. Experience the transition from oil and gas sales to championing the residential generator market, crafting a brand deeply rooted in Gulf Coast culture. Through personal tales of resilience, including navigating a 48-day power outage and the destruction of a business facility, we explore the importance of expertise and commitment to community service in times of crisis. You'll be inspired by stories of perseverance, responsibility, and the critical role of standby generators in community resilience.

Finally, we reveal effective strategies for business success, highlighting the transformative power of self-awareness and the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS). Featuring insights from industry leaders like Nick from NV Electrical, discover how embracing a 'Blue Ocean Strategy' and fostering relationships with regulatory bodies can propel your business forward. We also discuss the essentials of technician training and upselling, ensuring superior service and customer satisfaction. Don't miss our engaging discussions on disaster response strategies and the alpha, a-player mentality that drives excellence.

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Chapters

00:00 - Generator Industry Maintenance Contracts

13:36 - Building a Generator Business Brand

21:58 - Strategies for Business Success

34:12 - Technician Training and Upselling Strategies

46:56 - Effective Disaster Response Strategies

01:01:38 - Alpha Movers

Transcript
WEBVTT

00:00:00.119 --> 00:00:02.047
Really, man, just let's go.

00:00:02.107 --> 00:00:02.689
Just nerd out.

00:00:02.689 --> 00:00:11.064
It would be a pretty good instrument to take my point of view on electricians that choose not to do it versus.

00:00:11.064 --> 00:00:46.804
You know, there are days when we market our business against whole home service companies HVAC, plumbing, electric and I'll tell you, the differentiating factor, I believe, when selling generators is the maintenance, the service and the rapid level of response, because you do not know what you're made of as a generator company until you hit a widespread, elongated outage.

00:00:46.804 --> 00:00:47.911
I'll turn my calendar right here.

00:00:47.911 --> 00:00:58.344
That whiteboard was from our session this morning with my leadership team Because if you pay attention to the HVAC industry, their membership model is fading really fast because it was a lead magnet.

00:00:58.344 --> 00:01:06.876
It was a lead magnet to get a sales technician into the home to upsell a coil, a thermostat, a cleaning.

00:01:08.820 --> 00:01:16.489
What I saw in the generator place is I'm not going to devalue my maintenance contract, I'm going to make this the center point of my business.

00:01:16.489 --> 00:01:18.483
Agreed, I'm going to do that by.

00:01:18.483 --> 00:01:31.715
There's this I'm going to say because we're on a podcast, this appendage measuring contest in the generator space of how many installs did you do this year and how many maintenance contracts do you have?

00:01:31.715 --> 00:01:34.328
Well, I'm looking at my board and check this out.

00:01:34.328 --> 00:01:45.072
So I know a lot of generator companies that have between 1,000 and 5,000 service contracts that they charge three to 350 bucks for.

00:01:45.072 --> 00:01:48.275
Well, that's 350K of ARR.

00:01:48.275 --> 00:01:54.533
I have one third of the amount of contracts, but I charge $1,000 a year.

00:01:56.421 --> 00:02:14.551
What I do is I provide a tremendous amount of value in my membership, which I'll be glad to share with anybody value in my membership which I'll be glad to share with anybody and when a widespread outage hits, I have a few hundred customers in an area to worry about, versus 6,000.

00:02:14.551 --> 00:02:23.623
And, honestly, what that allows me to do is pick up the failed service agreements from every one of my competitors when a widespread outage hits.

00:02:23.623 --> 00:02:38.393
So I have capacity to grow, whereas a lot of other people trying to grow in volume, they don't have capacity to succeed in providing emergent response and they don't have capacity to grow.

00:02:38.393 --> 00:02:43.590
I know service companies out there right now that have 5,000 service contracts.

00:02:43.590 --> 00:02:45.253
They have five technicians.

00:02:46.001 --> 00:02:56.854
There's no possible way Explain that Even at a 2% failure rate which is across the board for every electromechanical equipment or device in the world, 2% is going to fail.

00:02:56.854 --> 00:03:06.313
2% of 5,000 generators is way too much for you to tackle with five service techs with no electricity and everybody's out of power.

00:03:06.313 --> 00:03:14.241
I want to be able to take my install teams, our processes, they're cross-trained and we immediately pause installs.

00:03:14.241 --> 00:03:23.526
We deploy those assets into our triage unit and we go start vulturing up maintenance contracts from everybody charging a cheap price.

00:03:24.347 --> 00:03:28.814
So can I just say I fucking love this guy Like right off the bat.

00:03:29.099 --> 00:03:30.485
First F-bomb of the podcast.

00:03:30.485 --> 00:03:30.866
Here we go.

00:03:30.866 --> 00:03:34.062
I'm sorry, my bad Travis.

00:03:34.141 --> 00:03:37.510
the thing is, is what you're saying almost feels like a breath of fresh air.

00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:41.048
Because, the reason why I feel like it's such a fresh breath there is.

00:03:41.048 --> 00:04:00.252
I actually started an HVAC as well and I started with those multi-trade companies where the only reason they did generators was to support the HVAC in the plumbing, where it was like, well, we have a slow season, let's do generators during those things, and hey, we can have our plumbers do the gas line and we'll even have the HVAC guys do the sizing.

00:04:00.252 --> 00:04:02.703
But then the concern comes down to.

00:04:02.703 --> 00:04:07.949
It's like if you're not a specialist, there's no justification.

00:04:07.949 --> 00:04:18.973
The customer has to choose and invest more with you than it is for a big box operation Like I agree you should charge a premium for your service because it needs multiple visits.

00:04:19.379 --> 00:04:33.951
There are so many specialty components to check, but even your ability of preventing their downtime any specialty components to check, but even your ability of preventing their downtime, like I know I could be a parts changer and it'll take me three days and $3,000 in material to fix this generator.

00:04:33.951 --> 00:04:44.783
Or I could be a specialist, know what I'm looking for be able to identify the exact critical component, have it stocked and be able to properly get this done and then be able to transmit to my next customer and sell a maintenance agreement.

00:04:44.783 --> 00:04:47.869
At the same time, tell me where you lose yeah.

00:04:48.690 --> 00:04:54.370
I'm going to hopefully share some things in here from that perspective that will change the game.

00:04:54.370 --> 00:05:03.293
I hope to give some secrets to somebody out there trying to build value in a maintenance plan without increasing man hours or operating costs.

00:05:03.293 --> 00:05:07.963
I'll give you an example, Part of one of the things we're rolling out and training right now.

00:05:07.963 --> 00:05:10.906
Two things I'm sure you guys heard of CompanyCam by now.

00:05:10.906 --> 00:05:18.634
If you're not using CompanyCam, get with the program because I'm going to give you some key features on how to add value.

00:05:18.634 --> 00:05:28.584
So we do maintenance trips okay, and we'll beat around the bush and get trickle-down effect on install maintenance.

00:05:28.584 --> 00:05:29.346
But this is my heart.

00:05:29.346 --> 00:05:30.288
I started this business.

00:05:30.288 --> 00:05:32.454
I'm a diesel mechanic by trade.

00:05:33.802 --> 00:05:39.552
I'm not a licensed electrician I worked on 2,000 KW generators before I ever touched to 20 KW.

00:05:39.552 --> 00:05:47.233
So the idea is I had to learn to become a home service professional.

00:05:47.233 --> 00:05:51.471
I was already a generator professional, but I was not a home service.

00:05:51.471 --> 00:06:00.495
So as we built up our maintenance contract, maintenance program, membership ours is set up in three ways.

00:06:00.495 --> 00:06:01.923
We do it like the hurricanes.

00:06:01.923 --> 00:06:05.511
Our category one plan is our one time a year visit.

00:06:05.511 --> 00:06:08.706
You have an option to pay up front or pay by the month.

00:06:08.706 --> 00:06:14.824
I like the monthly payment because it amortizes your reoccurring revenue.

00:06:14.824 --> 00:06:19.137
I don't need to be rich in January and poor in December.

00:06:19.137 --> 00:06:38.629
I would rather have a consistent amount of turn my ARR into MRR because monthly reoccurring revenue allows my business to be more even keel than we operate off of two, three, 400K of cash coming in the door at the beginning of the year or maybe more, and then having to make a business.

00:06:39.291 --> 00:06:40.721
Absolutely what our generator business.

00:06:40.721 --> 00:06:52.773
Honestly, we should all be striving to a point where our recurring revenue covers our operating expenses throughout the year and all of your new sales and installations.

00:06:52.773 --> 00:06:54.764
So I like to look at it as an 80-20.

00:06:54.764 --> 00:06:58.886
80% of my revenue is going to come from new sales, upsells, repairs and installations.

00:06:58.886 --> 00:07:03.365
20% is going to come from maintenance and I use that 80-20 rule everywhere.

00:07:03.365 --> 00:07:08.071
I'm going to spend 80% of my effort selling new product and selling the maintenance contract.

00:07:08.071 --> 00:07:13.165
I'm going to spend 20% of my effort on selling the maintenance contract because it sells itself.

00:07:13.987 --> 00:07:19.141
So the one plan is 45 bucks a month, our entry level.

00:07:19.141 --> 00:07:22.007
We do not touch you for less than 500 bucks a year.

00:07:22.007 --> 00:07:24.071
I'm not even interested in it.

00:07:24.071 --> 00:07:25.394
I've done the time study.

00:07:25.394 --> 00:07:28.485
I won't roll a truck for less than 320 bucks.

00:07:28.485 --> 00:07:34.541
Our technicians in our L10 meetings they have a KPI to meet.

00:07:34.541 --> 00:07:36.529
They have an average ticket KPI.

00:07:36.529 --> 00:07:43.204
Our maintenance guys even though a customer would pay their maintenance membership in January, they choose to pay one price.

00:07:43.204 --> 00:07:51.175
Well, even if they're on a three-visit plan, then they have an average ticket of about $330 every time they roll that truck.

00:07:51.175 --> 00:08:00.624
And when we get their KPI numbers, their average ticket has to be above $350, because that means somewhere somehow you upsold something.

00:08:00.624 --> 00:08:06.211
So then we rolled a Category 2, $65 a month, sold something.

00:08:06.211 --> 00:08:19.170
Then we roll to category two 65 a month, $729 a year, two visits we go to category three.

00:08:19.189 --> 00:08:21.860
we go major, minor winterization slash, cosmetic Interesting.

00:08:21.860 --> 00:08:23.504
What do you include in your winterization system?

00:08:23.504 --> 00:08:24.505
Is that the cold weather protection system?

00:08:24.505 --> 00:08:25.206
Or you're also doing the oil?

00:08:25.206 --> 00:08:26.149
What exactly are you doing?

00:08:26.168 --> 00:08:26.488
to enhance it.

00:08:26.488 --> 00:08:28.132
Winter kills batteries right.

00:08:28.312 --> 00:08:30.100
So, we're going to test the charger.

00:08:30.100 --> 00:08:35.692
We're going to test the battery, even though it was functional on the last test.

00:08:35.692 --> 00:08:41.260
We're going to test these things and typically for us, you have to know when your outage season is.

00:08:41.260 --> 00:08:45.269
Our outage season runs from July to November 1.

00:08:45.269 --> 00:08:50.893
So when I go into a winterization it's actually a post-outage follow-up visit.

00:08:50.893 --> 00:08:53.741
So I will share the document with you guys.

00:08:54.003 --> 00:08:55.687
But here's where I was going in the beginning.

00:08:55.687 --> 00:08:56.831
This is the coolest thing.

00:08:56.831 --> 00:09:00.385
How do I add value to the service contract without adding man hours?

00:09:00.385 --> 00:09:01.788
My guy is already there.

00:09:02.288 --> 00:09:05.936
Well, we're now doing FLIR camera inspections.

00:09:05.936 --> 00:09:11.407
You can buy a $300 forward-facing infrared camera adapter.

00:09:11.407 --> 00:09:12.369
Go on Amazon.

00:09:12.369 --> 00:09:13.311
It's 300 bucks.

00:09:13.311 --> 00:09:15.321
Assign one to every technician.

00:09:15.321 --> 00:09:26.052
Then we will not give them to the technician until we've built a video SOP, a written transcribed SOP, and we conduct our foundational Friday training.

00:09:26.259 --> 00:09:29.770
Every Friday morning at 7 am we do training.

00:09:29.770 --> 00:09:37.433
It's either I'm doing the training, one of my leaders are doing the training, or we bring in an outside company to train on something.

00:09:37.433 --> 00:09:39.485
We had a 8-1-1 dig.

00:09:39.485 --> 00:09:43.806
Come out and do a class with our guys last Friday, but we did the flare camera.

00:09:43.806 --> 00:09:48.546
Do a class with our guys last Friday, but we did the FLIR camera.

00:09:48.546 --> 00:09:54.684
What my guys needed and what electricians need from their CEO and leader is I did a survey with my technicians Does everybody know what a FLIR camera is?

00:09:54.684 --> 00:09:57.294
Everybody answered unequivocally yes, I understand.

00:09:57.294 --> 00:10:00.384
Do you understand how it could add value to the homeowner?

00:10:00.384 --> 00:10:01.947
About 50%.

00:10:01.947 --> 00:10:08.061
Do you understand the language on how to sell a FLIR camera service as added value?

00:10:08.061 --> 00:10:09.724
90% said no.

00:10:09.724 --> 00:10:22.712
The language is it is a predictive heat sensing tool to prevent downtime due to failures, not what it is, what it does, bingo.

00:10:23.139 --> 00:10:24.582
What it does and how to sell it.

00:10:24.582 --> 00:10:30.453
So you plug it into their tablet, the in-home consultants using it on the sales guide.

00:10:30.453 --> 00:10:34.250
How beneficial would it be to me to film their existing panel?

00:10:34.250 --> 00:10:38.652
If there is a loose lug on THHN it's going to show up hot.

00:10:38.652 --> 00:10:41.508
I can follow the entire gas line.

00:10:41.508 --> 00:10:43.567
I can follow the entire conduit.

00:10:43.567 --> 00:10:46.288
I can go to the generator in a stopped position.

00:10:46.288 --> 00:10:47.350
I can film.

00:10:47.350 --> 00:10:51.869
It is going to get all the connections for me and I'm going to have that logged into company cam.

00:10:51.869 --> 00:11:02.504
It's going to save into their profile and when I test run the generator I'm going to flare the generator, the lines and the transfer switch in a running methodology Physically open the control board.

00:11:02.565 --> 00:11:02.986
Check it out.

00:11:11.182 --> 00:11:12.085
Check your t3s absolutely impressive.

00:11:12.125 --> 00:11:14.672
All right, not only it's also going to catch a differentiation in v-twin cylinder temperature.

00:11:14.672 --> 00:11:15.153
How valuable is that?

00:11:15.153 --> 00:11:16.878
Okay, now we're in the diesel mechanic mode here guys, I have to.

00:11:16.878 --> 00:11:20.966
I have to call a time out because I need to properly introduce our guest here.

00:11:20.966 --> 00:11:24.965
He clearly is right here with us here to provide value.

00:11:24.965 --> 00:11:26.503
Travis, you're on the right podcast.

00:11:26.503 --> 00:11:27.625
That's all we do here.

00:11:27.625 --> 00:11:32.648
So, to our guests, our listeners, our viewers, please welcome Travis Terabond.

00:11:32.648 --> 00:11:33.188
Did I say that?

00:11:33.188 --> 00:11:33.811
Right, travis?

00:11:33.811 --> 00:11:34.340
I want to make sure.

00:11:34.360 --> 00:11:35.121
I got your name right.

00:11:35.121 --> 00:11:36.085
Thank you very much.

00:11:36.085 --> 00:11:39.941
Travis has been doing big things with generators specifically.

00:11:39.941 --> 00:11:43.447
If you're watching, you can see behind him Kohler generators.

00:11:43.447 --> 00:11:46.412
I have a feeling we're going to get into that, but is it just?

00:11:46.412 --> 00:11:48.153
You've been at it two years now, travis.

00:11:48.153 --> 00:11:49.322
Is that right with GenGators?

00:11:49.501 --> 00:11:51.206
I've been in the blue collar space 20 years.

00:11:51.206 --> 00:11:53.211
I'm a first diesel shop in 2004.

00:11:53.211 --> 00:12:06.192
But I was recently asked for a trailing 12 financials and I just graduated to the point where GenGators Power Systems LLC can provide 12 months trailing financials.

00:12:06.192 --> 00:12:21.157
So we at the end of this year will make our first full year where we exited completely the diesel engine industry and are 80 percent resi, 20 percent light commercial standby and prime power only.

00:12:21.799 --> 00:12:25.190
Congratulations, and there's some big reasons, as you guys could tell.

00:12:25.190 --> 00:12:37.224
I mean, travis doesn't speak like someone with just a year of experience in service, in generators or even in electrical, and you're going to see more of these insights for someone who's quickly grown to what?

00:12:37.224 --> 00:12:39.230
5 million in sales Is that?

00:12:39.270 --> 00:12:40.654
right Almost the past 5 million.

00:12:40.654 --> 00:12:45.037
If December goes like I think it's going to, be Amazing, amazing stuff.

00:12:45.057 --> 00:12:45.317
I know.

00:12:45.317 --> 00:12:50.577
The first time Travis and I connected, it turned into a two-hour phone call.

00:12:50.577 --> 00:12:53.065
I thought we were going to become pen pals in the whole night.

00:12:53.065 --> 00:12:55.169
It was too much so we had to stop.

00:12:55.169 --> 00:13:10.192
We knew we had to do a podcast and that brings you guys up to speed with what it is we're doing here today, which is pulling the curtain back on some of the industry's leading principles, foundations for your generator service and stuff that you guys could take action on.

00:13:10.192 --> 00:13:17.870
And, of course, at the end of this you're going to be a far better electrician, a better generator and install and maintenance technician.

00:13:17.870 --> 00:13:26.190
But as well, I have a feeling Travis will also share some key insights and even contact info to be able to connect with him in the various ways.

00:13:26.190 --> 00:13:29.427
So thank you guys for letting me do my segue.

00:13:29.427 --> 00:13:30.871
Travis, welcome.

00:13:30.871 --> 00:13:33.681
And this is just getting fired up.

00:13:35.163 --> 00:13:35.403
Yeah.

00:13:35.464 --> 00:13:36.206
I love it.

00:13:36.206 --> 00:13:48.884
I don't know how you guys want to do it, but I'll kind of start with our brand story and how we got here, love it and so the name of the company our generator company is Gen Gators Power Systems.

00:13:48.884 --> 00:14:11.932
I come from oil and gas business to business sales where for 20 plus years if you noticed in the industry having a professional stigma around your company name, like infinity Power Products or Legacy Power Systems or Industrial Power Systems, that was what really substantiated your brand.

00:14:11.932 --> 00:14:12.994
We were professionals.

00:14:12.994 --> 00:14:23.788
But what I noticed when I started dabbling into Resi is people want a brand story that sticks and resonates, that is fun and energetic and exciting.

00:14:23.788 --> 00:14:44.212
And so I laid in bed one night, maybe 20 nights, trying to think of my branding, how I was going to go to market, and I saw a lot of people in their generator business title have like something standby power or backup power or it's technically called a home standby generator or alternative energy.

00:14:44.212 --> 00:14:46.908
No one's typing any of that stuff into Google.

00:14:46.908 --> 00:14:48.346
They're typing in generator.

00:14:48.346 --> 00:14:52.528
I don't care where you're at In 50 states, you know what provides power.

00:14:52.528 --> 00:14:54.620
When the utility does, you know it's a generator.

00:14:54.620 --> 00:15:07.323
It definitely had to be GEN involved and I love Alligator really speaks to not only Louisiana but the Gulf Coast, which was my footprint, speaks to not only Louisiana but the Gulf Coast, which was my footprint.

00:15:07.323 --> 00:15:18.580
I really want to grow the business to follow what I call the SEC states, sec football states Texas, louisiana, mississippi, alabama because those states' power outages mirror the same reason why I'm out of power.

00:15:18.580 --> 00:15:21.504
I have a close friend that runs a generator company in Maine.

00:15:21.504 --> 00:15:23.629
He's about to enter his best season.

00:15:23.629 --> 00:15:26.293
We're about to enter our slower season.

00:15:26.293 --> 00:15:32.793
So Jen Gators was about tangible asset in branding, and so I jumped in.

00:15:32.793 --> 00:15:35.144
The brand built the core values of the brand.

00:15:35.144 --> 00:15:39.784
Our core values are grip, growth, responsibility, impact and professionalism.

00:15:39.784 --> 00:15:44.360
I challenge everybody who thinks core values are stupid.

00:15:44.360 --> 00:15:56.432
I think you're stupid if you think that the word stupid's in the Bible, so don't call me some kind of narcissist, but I believe you have to use core values that really embody your brand and who you are as a business.

00:15:57.019 --> 00:16:00.591
We got started on the heels or aftermath of Hurricane Ida.

00:16:00.591 --> 00:16:03.330
Hurricane Ida swept through the Gulf Coast in 2021.

00:16:03.330 --> 00:16:06.922
We had a 48-day power outage in that area.

00:16:06.922 --> 00:16:13.442
Well, let me tell you what a 48-day power outage does from adverse perspective that you wouldn't normally think.

00:16:13.442 --> 00:16:16.990
It brings people back to simple form of life.

00:16:17.211 --> 00:16:27.014
However, what I did notice is that people who had standby generators were able to get out and help the community rebuild immediately.

00:16:27.014 --> 00:16:30.625
Their food was cold, their frozen food was frozen.

00:16:30.625 --> 00:16:34.734
Their house had running water, had hot water, had electricity.

00:16:34.734 --> 00:16:36.643
Home base was good.

00:16:36.643 --> 00:16:38.326
Let's go out and help the community.

00:16:38.326 --> 00:16:41.373
When home base is off you can't help.

00:16:41.373 --> 00:16:42.822
You got to get your house done.

00:16:42.822 --> 00:16:44.926
You got to get your home, your family, taken care of.

00:16:44.926 --> 00:16:50.315
So my family, because I had a standby generator, was not servicing them at the time.

00:16:50.315 --> 00:16:52.245
We got out and helped the community rebuild.

00:16:52.245 --> 00:16:57.404
All of my kids, my wife, my extended family, I had 17 family members living in my house.

00:16:57.404 --> 00:17:09.788
I had my 48 KW old liquid cool Generac 3600 RPM screaming demon even broke the fan pulley and I ran it for two days with a sprinkler and a box fan on the radiator.

00:17:09.788 --> 00:17:10.930
So like it made it.

00:17:10.930 --> 00:17:16.652
However, I was awoken to an entirely new way of life.

00:17:16.652 --> 00:17:18.156
We got out 48 hours.

00:17:18.156 --> 00:17:19.660
We're helping our community rebuild.

00:17:19.660 --> 00:17:24.825
We're handing out food from the Salvation Army, literally cutting trees out of people's homes.

00:17:25.184 --> 00:17:26.846
You couldn't even get a car on the road.

00:17:26.846 --> 00:17:39.777
There was no cell service and about three days in we get cell service and my brother and I are on a Polaris Ranger trying to make it to our shop because the road was impassable by car.

00:17:39.777 --> 00:17:45.132
We made it to our facility and it was demolished.

00:17:45.132 --> 00:17:45.940
My inventory was out in the parking lot.

00:17:45.940 --> 00:17:48.469
I mean, I have a picture that I'll never get rid of.

00:17:48.469 --> 00:17:55.368
I was standing behind my brother and his hands are on his head and his words were my God, what are we going to do?

00:17:55.368 --> 00:17:58.087
And my brother's been my right hand man since day one.

00:17:58.087 --> 00:18:02.768
My younger brother, I don't know, but God's got a plan.

00:18:03.960 --> 00:18:06.950
I don't know what it is going to be yet, but we'll figure it out.

00:18:06.950 --> 00:18:08.204
We head back home.

00:18:08.204 --> 00:18:16.692
We get about 300 foot up in the air on top of this overpass and you know how, when you get off a plane, your phone starts going ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping.

00:18:16.692 --> 00:18:18.968
All the notifications start coming in at one time.

00:18:18.968 --> 00:18:24.451
Well, we had just got cell service and my phone started going absolutely nuts.

00:18:24.451 --> 00:18:37.529
Well, because I was five mile famous in the diesel power business, my DMs on social media to help with broken generics and home generators, and the police station and the fire station.

00:18:37.529 --> 00:18:39.500
People were texting me, messaging me.

00:18:39.500 --> 00:18:40.983
We know you got mechanics.

00:18:40.983 --> 00:18:42.166
Can you please help?

00:18:42.166 --> 00:18:45.854
Yes, sure, so my technicians are evacuated.

00:18:45.854 --> 00:18:47.663
They called me boss man.

00:18:47.663 --> 00:18:48.905
I saw my house.

00:18:48.905 --> 00:18:49.607
It's demolished.

00:18:49.607 --> 00:18:51.192
Do I have a job to come back to?

00:18:51.192 --> 00:18:55.367
Yes, but we're going to be working on generators for a long time.

00:18:55.367 --> 00:18:56.551
Come on back.

00:18:58.141 --> 00:19:01.811
I remember the first day that I condemned a 20 KW Generac.

00:19:01.811 --> 00:19:03.316
It was trash.

00:19:03.316 --> 00:19:06.769
I bought the unit from the homeowner who was in a bind for money.

00:19:06.769 --> 00:19:08.363
I gave them 500 bucks cash.

00:19:08.363 --> 00:19:11.990
They had no money, no bank, 48 days, no power, no internet.

00:19:11.990 --> 00:19:14.626
I gave the elderly couple 500 bucks.

00:19:14.626 --> 00:19:16.796
I said I'm going to buy this generator from them.

00:19:16.796 --> 00:19:18.280
Use the 500 bucks wisely.

00:19:18.280 --> 00:19:20.144
I'm going to rig up your portable.

00:19:20.144 --> 00:19:20.885
You'll be fine.

00:19:21.906 --> 00:19:29.108
I took the broken Generac, brought it to my house, put it in my garage and that's how we trained our technicians on that one unit.

00:19:29.108 --> 00:19:39.231
So that generator is a $5 million broken Generac essentially, and I at that point immediately went to work.

00:19:39.231 --> 00:19:43.445
Now I need to become the best home service professional in the business.

00:19:43.445 --> 00:19:56.750
I went to the HVAC industry, I went to YouTube, I started watching Ken Goodrich, tommy Mello, all of the people in the business who have built Fortune 500 or 100 type companies in the home service space.

00:19:56.750 --> 00:19:57.792
I got it.

00:19:57.792 --> 00:20:04.459
I had phone calls with guys like you, with private equity groups, and I built a rob and duplicate business plan.

00:20:04.459 --> 00:20:06.843
I stole everything that works for everybody.

00:20:07.384 --> 00:20:20.665
And then I took my ability to strategize and looked at all of the low-hanging fruit in the industry where we could really add value, and I built a company based on the strengths and weaknesses of an industry.

00:20:20.665 --> 00:20:23.932
Guys, that is absolutely only 20 years old.

00:20:23.932 --> 00:20:30.444
In 2005, you couldn't fit a 20kW Generac in the bed of a half-ton pickup truck, nor could you afford it.

00:20:30.444 --> 00:20:33.209
Katrina hit in 2005.

00:20:33.209 --> 00:20:37.082
Generacs built in 2001,.

00:20:37.082 --> 00:20:38.365
Two, three, four and five dude.

00:20:38.365 --> 00:20:40.750
Those things lasted the battle boxes.

00:20:40.750 --> 00:20:42.982
They lasted like freaking 15 years, the rectangular units.

00:20:43.002 --> 00:20:43.664
You couldn't kill them.

00:20:43.664 --> 00:20:45.409
You could not kill those things.

00:20:45.409 --> 00:20:46.711
I had a tree fall on one of them once.

00:20:46.711 --> 00:20:47.252
It still ran.

00:20:47.519 --> 00:20:48.345
It was dumb as hell.

00:20:48.345 --> 00:20:52.682
It had a rocker switch on it with a couple of lights and you just turned it on and off, couldn't kill it.

00:20:52.682 --> 00:20:55.288
Everything built in the States, unbelievable.

00:20:55.288 --> 00:21:14.564
But I don't care what mechanical, electrical or trades industry you get in if it's tractors, if it's automotive, if it's tractors, if it's automotive, if it's HVAC or electrical can you go back and tell me the date on when the industry went from its infancy stages and catapulted to where it's are now With generators?

00:21:14.564 --> 00:21:16.749
I can tell you the exact time.

00:21:16.749 --> 00:21:23.607
So we're building a business all of us who are doing generators around an industry that is 20 years old.

00:21:23.607 --> 00:21:27.335
That is the largest opportunity for tradesmen.

00:21:27.859 --> 00:21:32.451
If you tell me name one name who is the Superman of HVAC in the entire country?

00:21:32.451 --> 00:21:34.423
Most of us could come up with a name.

00:21:34.423 --> 00:21:37.952
Who is the Superman of garage doors in the entire country?

00:21:37.952 --> 00:21:41.248
We could come up with a name Electrical, hvac and plumbing.

00:21:41.248 --> 00:21:43.079
Who's the best generator guy in the country?

00:21:43.079 --> 00:21:47.147
Who's the authority on power generation in a residential space in the country?

00:21:47.147 --> 00:21:52.683
I saw it as a blank on a piece of page and I'm going to put my name in that box.

00:21:52.683 --> 00:21:58.305
So I'm going to begin to build authority through all of the social channels and change the game.

00:21:58.685 --> 00:21:59.207
And here we are.

00:21:59.207 --> 00:22:00.871
Can we go deeper on something here?

00:22:00.871 --> 00:22:03.224
Because you said something really important.

00:22:03.224 --> 00:22:18.727
You went through all the best service material you could find from all the biggest names who are putting their stuff out there every day, much like we do today Not saying that we're one of the greats, I wouldn't do that to my own name but we're putting stuff out there every day.

00:22:18.727 --> 00:22:20.811
How did you consume it, travis?

00:22:20.811 --> 00:22:21.840
What worked for you?

00:22:21.840 --> 00:22:29.445
Because clearly you present as someone who's been in business for yourself doing Gengators for 10 years.

00:22:29.445 --> 00:22:32.528
Plus, you seem to have all the strategies figured out.

00:22:32.528 --> 00:22:35.069
You've got this confidence, this air about you.

00:22:35.069 --> 00:22:41.233
So what was it that was in your cornflakes or whatever you have them for breakfast while you're consuming this material?

00:22:41.233 --> 00:22:47.982
Or what was your strategy for even consuming and then mirroring what you liked about what you consumed?

00:22:49.526 --> 00:22:50.106
Three things.

00:22:50.106 --> 00:22:57.676
One thing is, when you do things the wrong way for a long enough time, you develop a really good strategy of what does not work.

00:22:57.676 --> 00:23:06.902
And as business owners, our number one asset that we bring to our team in the marketplace is a deep, profound sense of self-awareness.

00:23:06.902 --> 00:23:18.412
You have to know what you suck at, you have to know what you're great at and you have to be able to hire for your weaknesses, find ways to obtain content.

00:23:18.412 --> 00:23:22.365
So this is the methodology that I feel like works for me.

00:23:22.365 --> 00:23:26.594
A lot of people know we run our company on EOS.

00:23:27.099 --> 00:23:32.573
I took in EOS and when women read books like Gone with the Wind back in the day, they cry.

00:23:32.573 --> 00:23:50.226
When I read Rocket Fuel as a 16-year business owner, I literally cried on the pages of the book because I realized that I'm a high visionary, low integrator, which means I have the greatest ideas but I have no ability to execute on them.

00:23:50.226 --> 00:23:52.150
So I had to bring.

00:23:52.150 --> 00:23:58.288
But a high visionary cannot just partner with any high integrator.

00:23:58.288 --> 00:24:00.071
I had to find a unicorn.

00:24:00.071 --> 00:24:05.692
I had to find somebody who can speak my visionary language and then apply it.

00:24:05.692 --> 00:24:12.874
So I read Rocket Fuel and I realized that if you want to go fast, go alone.

00:24:12.874 --> 00:24:14.887
If you want to go far, go together.

00:24:14.887 --> 00:24:23.628
So I found an integrator who tested high in visionary who, when I said we're going to do this, didn't think are you absolutely nuts?

00:24:23.628 --> 00:24:26.046
He said I see the vision, I'll build the system, keep doing what you're doing.

00:24:26.046 --> 00:24:26.386
Going to do this?

00:24:26.386 --> 00:24:26.667
Didn't think.

00:24:26.667 --> 00:24:27.150
Are you absolutely nuts?

00:24:27.150 --> 00:24:28.894
He said I see the vision, I'll build the system, keep doing what you're doing.

00:24:28.894 --> 00:24:29.477
I got this.

00:24:30.760 --> 00:24:31.746
It sounds like a familiar joke.

00:24:32.820 --> 00:24:37.590
I literally was going to say it's a running joke is that Clay and I together make one functional human being.

00:24:37.590 --> 00:24:43.321
Absolutely, we complement each other's strengths and we support each other's weaknesses 100%.

00:24:44.265 --> 00:24:50.286
So the next thing was I'm going to mention a couple of people who are influential on how I found the content.

00:24:50.286 --> 00:24:57.048
If you're in sales or you want to be good in sales, you don't have to go buy a $50,000 program.

00:24:57.048 --> 00:25:03.869
Watch everything that Alex Harmozy has ever put on the market and you will become a sales professional.

00:25:03.869 --> 00:25:11.491
Read the books, watch the YouTube videos Actually, don't watch Monday night football, watch Monday night sales.

00:25:11.491 --> 00:25:12.441
That's what you need to watch.

00:25:12.441 --> 00:25:17.441
And then you need to watch Thursday night sales and Friday night sales and Saturday sales.

00:25:17.441 --> 00:25:20.124
If you suck at sales, it's on the internet.

00:25:20.124 --> 00:25:30.076
And Hormozy's underlying tone is I will give you all of the secrets for free, because 99% of people are too fucking lazy to do the work.

00:25:30.076 --> 00:25:32.527
Well, I'm not that guy.

00:25:32.527 --> 00:25:35.608
So I realized give it away.

00:25:35.608 --> 00:25:39.150
So that means how do you translate that to maintenance and repair?

00:25:39.150 --> 00:25:42.970
Add value, add value, add value, add value, add value.

00:25:42.970 --> 00:25:46.529
Price for your cost, not for what the market says.

00:25:46.529 --> 00:25:50.750
You should price at Price based on your cogs and your desired margin.

00:25:51.090 --> 00:25:54.684
So I took in Hormozy, who led me to every other podcast under the sun.

00:25:54.684 --> 00:25:56.068
But this was the book.

00:25:56.068 --> 00:26:06.130
If anybody wants to write it down, I'm not going to give you 50 book recommendations of buy back your time and good to great and all of these things Do a fucking cold plunge at 2 o'clock in the morning, 2 o'clock in the afternoon.

00:26:06.130 --> 00:26:07.173
I'm not telling you all that.

00:26:07.173 --> 00:26:11.290
What I'm going to tell you is read Blue Ocean Strategy.

00:26:11.290 --> 00:26:23.720
Blue Ocean Strategy is a book that will explain to you that, especially if you're entering into a market that you have little knowledge of, everyone is typically in a red ocean.

00:26:23.720 --> 00:26:28.972
They are carving each other up, racing to the bottom, like a mother flipping freight train.

00:26:31.381 --> 00:26:33.267
I want to do totally different.

00:26:33.267 --> 00:26:36.911
So give an example who are the regulatory?

00:26:36.911 --> 00:26:51.894
Are compliance agencies that can handcuff an electrician or electrical shop Permitting the electrical company authority having jurisdiction gas company.

00:26:51.894 --> 00:26:58.492
Okay, so what I did was I just became best friends with every one of them right out of the gate.

00:26:58.492 --> 00:27:05.642
I host the gas company, all of the gas companies, in my office to give them a class on generators.

00:27:05.642 --> 00:27:12.464
Because take this quote with you and apply it to anywhere in your business life Never assume they know you.

00:27:12.464 --> 00:27:17.663
Always assume people do not know what you know and you will be very fruitful in relationships.

00:27:17.663 --> 00:27:28.874
So I became best friends with the authority having jurisdictions, said hey, everybody that gets a generator should have a mother freaking permit and should do it like a professional.

00:27:28.874 --> 00:27:32.069
And all the other generator guys are like what are you doing?

00:27:32.069 --> 00:27:42.651
Well, I'm trying to set a standard so that all of the chucks in a truck can get the hell out of the way, so that the people who are taking this seriously I'm not going to have regulatory tell me what to do.

00:27:42.651 --> 00:27:49.771
I'm going to help build the regulation so that we follow a unified standard in every county or parish.

00:27:50.113 --> 00:27:52.323
That's an example of a blue ocean strategy.

00:27:52.323 --> 00:27:54.448
Don't run from regulatory.

00:27:54.448 --> 00:27:56.412
Run to regulatory.

00:27:56.412 --> 00:27:58.461
Show them that you want to do it right.

00:27:58.461 --> 00:28:04.053
Show them, invite them into your business, explain a gold standard on how you do things.

00:28:04.460 --> 00:28:10.623
Train your people, speak the language and if you develop a blue ocean in your market, you can't fail.

00:28:10.623 --> 00:28:12.066
You literally can't fail.

00:28:12.066 --> 00:28:16.962
And then you know that kind of snowballed into taking in the content.

00:28:16.962 --> 00:28:27.849
And I got in a private jet with a private equity guy blessed opportunity who said I'm not interested in buying your company, but I'm really interested in you.

00:28:27.849 --> 00:28:41.127
But what I'm going to give you is I'm going to give you a playbook that if you build your company by this exact model, you're going to build generational wealth for the rest of your life and your family's life.

00:28:41.127 --> 00:28:45.204
You will command an extremely high multiple when you choose to exit.

00:28:45.204 --> 00:29:02.826
If you choose to exit and everyone in the market will be attracted to your business, you will be the industry authority and, however you choose to exit, it'll be tailor-made, and I have followed that plan to the T to get to where we are now.

00:29:03.560 --> 00:29:06.123
Super, super interesting and I love that you.

00:29:06.123 --> 00:29:09.150
You ended there too and took a pause because you deserve one.

00:29:09.150 --> 00:29:25.045
But that's also stuff like if there's any mystique that anyone's hearing right now, I'm going to go back to your first actual referral here and say that's also stuff that Hormozy gives away and sells the implementation on, as I think he's currently owns about 29 companies doing billions a year.

00:29:25.045 --> 00:29:30.083
It's incredible that you brought this stuff up, and I love the blue ocean strategy too.

00:29:30.083 --> 00:29:37.445
Is it something that we've also followed, having recognized that this industry really didn't have any help for electricians?

00:29:37.445 --> 00:29:44.729
It seems synonymous, and I'm not sure if you recognize this Travis, but there's this constant conversation happening, at least prior to us.

00:29:44.729 --> 00:29:48.642
That was like well, why are electricians the redheaded step children of service?

00:29:48.642 --> 00:29:54.684
Everyone wants to help an HVAC guy and a plumber, but no one seemed to want to speak to an electrician.

00:29:54.684 --> 00:30:03.567
And Joe, you know from doing big three coaching, consulting stuff before, when the electrician asked a question in a group class, all the other trades split.

00:30:04.407 --> 00:30:08.153
Yeah, it was one of those frustrating situations where I came to understand.

00:30:08.153 --> 00:30:16.749
When I first started in the industry, I worked for the big three organization the HVAC, the plumbing, electric and I truly thought that there was something wrong with me.

00:30:16.749 --> 00:30:20.730
Because at the time, if I sell a panel change, it's a nice job.

00:30:20.730 --> 00:30:21.595
You know what I mean.

00:30:21.595 --> 00:30:23.138
Good job for me, congratulations.

00:30:23.138 --> 00:30:24.001
Like if I sell a panel change, it's a.

00:30:24.001 --> 00:30:24.403
It's a nice job.

00:30:24.403 --> 00:30:25.026
You know what I mean like.

00:30:25.026 --> 00:30:25.729
Good job for me, congratulations.

00:30:25.749 --> 00:30:27.896
But when you compare it to I just cut in a whole home reducting.

00:30:27.936 --> 00:30:31.348
Every week they were coming in with 25 000, 20 000 plus.

00:30:31.348 --> 00:30:42.444
And here I am with my lowly five thousand dollar ticket thinking I'm making it, and through the constant comparison we as electricians considered that we were less because we weren't keeping up with those numbers.

00:30:42.444 --> 00:30:54.770
But then when you actually look at the margins and the benefits that come from working with the electricians and the exclusivity that comes with it, we're actually one of the most profitable trades and yet the most neglected at the same time.

00:30:54.770 --> 00:31:07.449
So when we got into the industry to start coaching, it was my insistence to want to work with electricians, because I don't want a place where people go to and they feel like no one wants to work with us.

00:31:07.449 --> 00:31:08.672
I want to be like.

00:31:08.672 --> 00:31:11.430
I specifically want to work with you because I am you.

00:31:11.430 --> 00:31:14.625
I and I are both licensed electricians to try to help other electricians.

00:31:14.625 --> 00:31:23.771
So the fact that you're here showing and being so willing to share this information and knowledge, I think it's a phenomenal asset and I'm really grateful for you.

00:31:24.921 --> 00:31:30.424
Yeah, look, I have a really unique perspective on that, I think, because I've talked about it and I haven't really heard a lot.

00:31:30.424 --> 00:31:32.061
But you know, think about.

00:31:32.061 --> 00:31:37.102
So this is agnostic of industry when I look at.

00:31:37.102 --> 00:31:42.453
I'm certified in the federal court as a metallurgy expert and a failure analysis expert.

00:31:42.453 --> 00:31:52.710
Through my diesel engine years I was able to get those certifications and I've testified on federal court on what causes a rotating equipment failure analysis.

00:31:52.710 --> 00:31:55.824
Little things that electricians could and should know like.

00:31:55.824 --> 00:32:07.367
The number one killer of an internal combustion engine across the board is an airborne abrasive, which means something in the air that's going to get past the air filter and go in the cylinder wall and score it up.

00:32:07.628 --> 00:32:08.711
Ash sand salt.

00:32:09.112 --> 00:32:10.340
Absolutely so.

00:32:10.340 --> 00:32:20.644
When I think about that, I analyze why are HVAC repair guys average tickets so high and why are plumbers in that same ballpark?

00:32:20.644 --> 00:32:27.194
It's because the number one failure is rotating equipment and hydraulics.

00:32:27.194 --> 00:32:28.986
Plumbing is just hydraulics.

00:32:28.986 --> 00:32:38.127
Well, electricians typically don't get the high ticket repairs because there is no rotating equipment or hydraulics.

00:32:38.127 --> 00:32:44.272
When you connect a wire and you lug it down correctly and you conduit it correctly, it's not going to fail.

00:32:44.272 --> 00:32:52.233
So the repetitive calls happen on electricians doing follow-up work from other bad electricians.

00:32:52.980 --> 00:33:05.180
So by adding generators in, you just added rotating equipment and hydraulics which are going to increase your ability to have higher repair tickets.

00:33:05.180 --> 00:33:09.730
Yeah, you're not going to get a $20,000 duct job and things like that.

00:33:09.730 --> 00:33:10.673
I get it.

00:33:10.673 --> 00:33:32.384
However, that's why there's 10 to 1 HVAC shops versus electricians and even generator guys and plumbers Because I hate to say it but I mean a monkey could run an HVAC shop right now off of YouTube because there are 500 people giving the HVAC playbook coaches, all of this other stuff.

00:33:32.384 --> 00:33:49.830
But figuring out the why on electricians don't compete with HVAC guys on repair tickets and the what in what you could do to get there, I think there's going to be some great perspective here, but it's lack of rotating equipment and lack of present hydraulics.

00:33:49.830 --> 00:33:52.118
Those are things that cause problems.

00:33:52.118 --> 00:33:57.163
When a stream runs through a mountain and becomes a river, it's because it's hydraulics.

00:33:57.163 --> 00:34:01.613
Hydraulics cut, they move, they penetrate, they wear down.

00:34:01.613 --> 00:34:09.530
Rotating equipment is using lubricity and bearings which are designed to break down and fail In the electrical.

00:34:09.530 --> 00:34:10.733
There's not a whole lot of that.

00:34:11.360 --> 00:34:12.001
Really good insights.

00:34:12.001 --> 00:34:16.572
It seems like a great time to insert a win of the week Travis.

00:34:16.572 --> 00:34:26.463
We always like to do that and share, because it's one thing to share and spread the good word here and the message that we have, but ultimately, if there's no proof I mean there's already.

00:34:26.463 --> 00:34:30.050
Like you said, 99% won't do a damn thing about this podcast either.

00:34:30.050 --> 00:34:34.389
They'll just listen right, and I hope that you guys hear that and that inspires you.

00:34:34.389 --> 00:34:36.047
But here's some more inspiration.

00:34:36.047 --> 00:34:38.306
So a Nick V NV Electrical.

00:34:38.306 --> 00:34:41.282
Just last week big generator wins here.

00:34:41.282 --> 00:34:59.985
So they said big day for us at Envy Electrical sold a 19K generator and panel with a maintenance membership, a 13.7K generator package, two portable inlets, surge protectors for 4K, and my guy just called and said he had a $900 platinum sale with another membership.

00:34:59.985 --> 00:35:02.130
And it's not even lunchtime, 9.26 AM.

00:35:02.130 --> 00:35:07.027
Congratulations to you, nick, and you are certainly the envy at Envy Electrical today.

00:35:07.027 --> 00:35:08.871
Brother, well done Really good stuff.

00:35:08.940 --> 00:35:09.481
I love it.

00:35:09.481 --> 00:35:10.585
So proud of him and Fernando.

00:35:10.585 --> 00:35:11.349
They're amazing guys.

00:35:12.159 --> 00:35:16.992
One of the big things about this is I know you've used the word upsell, travis For us.

00:35:16.992 --> 00:35:21.849
We actually try to avoid that word quite often and it's actually for the tax.

00:35:21.849 --> 00:35:23.592
We can all agree what it is.

00:35:23.592 --> 00:35:26.047
We can all agree it has a place in our business.

00:35:26.047 --> 00:35:33.849
Cashflow is the blood, as you said, and responsibly distributing cashflow through MRR, arr and making decisions on that.

00:35:33.849 --> 00:35:37.362
You need upsells in order to increase the blood flow.

00:35:37.362 --> 00:35:39.146
That's basic logic, right?

00:35:39.146 --> 00:35:41.231
But what about this is?

00:35:41.231 --> 00:35:43.083
I just want to speak to the service side.

00:35:43.083 --> 00:35:54.751
What about this is, for you guys and in your opinion, just an elevation of service that customers are choosing over than the trucks and the tank top terries that you mentioned as well Travis.

00:35:56.900 --> 00:35:57.802
Yeah, really good question.

00:35:57.802 --> 00:35:58.503
We actually.

00:35:58.503 --> 00:36:03.673
If I was to give a win of the week, it would be exactly what you just said about upsells.

00:36:03.673 --> 00:36:09.353
I use upsell because that's kind of like electrician bro code.

00:36:09.353 --> 00:36:10.525
I could say that around you.

00:36:10.525 --> 00:36:17.681
I wouldn't say it in my training class or I wouldn't say it, but I think upsells start One.

00:36:17.880 --> 00:36:24.934
We ask our technicians every single week and our admin staff of about 30 employees, everybody.

00:36:24.934 --> 00:36:38.507
Do you believe in your heart that we are the absolute best in our industry in terms of service sales, repair, installation and maintenance?

00:36:38.507 --> 00:36:42.635
Do you believe anyone is even close to us in terms of quality?

00:36:42.635 --> 00:36:52.652
When everybody believes it, then we are doing a disservice by not offering our full menu of services to our client.

00:36:52.652 --> 00:36:55.326
We are doing the client a disservice.

00:36:55.326 --> 00:37:07.449
That would be like me saying I'm going to give you the opportunity to go sit on the court to see LeBron James or Michael Jordan play their last game and you decide to sit in the nosebleed section.

00:37:07.449 --> 00:37:09.728
I'm offering you the best there is.

00:37:10.519 --> 00:37:11.786
So what's the objection?

00:37:11.786 --> 00:37:14.166
Is the objection affordability and price?

00:37:14.166 --> 00:37:30.186
Amazing, we've got great payment plans, but the correct upsell is to be done, in my opinion, once our approaches, once our in-home consultant sells the client on the new generator system.

00:37:30.186 --> 00:37:34.054
Our tech becomes the sales guy after that.

00:37:34.054 --> 00:37:38.126
Homeowners do not want to hear from a sales guy.

00:37:38.126 --> 00:37:40.606
No one wants to talk to sales people.

00:37:40.606 --> 00:38:02.704
But when they ask a technician, the guy who's got calluses on his hands, who works on these things every day, who has seen the good, the bad, the ugly, and you train that technician with a great set of soft skills, an immense deep product knowledge and a belief in your brand that it's the best in the business.

00:38:02.704 --> 00:38:08.119
Upselling happens by accident, because you just stumble into it by saying.

00:38:08.119 --> 00:38:17.327
So our guys, when they finish a service and I'm talking situation as homeowner present because we do a lot of homeowner- not present service.

00:38:18.601 --> 00:38:22.811
There's the laminated maintenance membership flyer all three categories of maintenance.

00:38:22.811 --> 00:38:27.010
This is not the right one, but on the backside here's what we have.

00:38:27.010 --> 00:38:28.445
We have four quadrants.

00:38:28.445 --> 00:38:31.146
I wish I had one, but I'm in the back of the warehouse.

00:38:31.146 --> 00:38:32.751
Here's our upsells.

00:38:33.500 --> 00:38:36.188
Micro Air makes an amazing soft start.

00:38:36.188 --> 00:38:41.831
It actually reduces operating and starting amperage of your HVAC by 77%.

00:38:41.831 --> 00:38:44.547
It's $379.

00:38:44.547 --> 00:38:47.320
Hour and a half of labor to install it.

00:38:47.320 --> 00:38:48.603
It's got a picture.

00:38:48.603 --> 00:38:53.193
It's got the sales language and benefits and a price installed.

00:38:53.193 --> 00:38:55.804
We have our monitoring OmniMetrics.

00:38:55.804 --> 00:38:57.668
We use brand agnostic monitoring.

00:38:57.668 --> 00:39:04.150
It has a picture, the three bullet point, sales language, a price of that install.

00:39:04.150 --> 00:39:05.313
Hour and a half labor.

00:39:06.159 --> 00:39:14.375
Up here we have surge protectors lifetime warranty for the electronics in your home if your house gets struck by lightning.

00:39:14.375 --> 00:39:16.884
$300 to install one on the ATS.

00:39:16.884 --> 00:39:21.452
$300 to install one on the generator for your $1,500 controller.

00:39:21.452 --> 00:39:22.855
That will not be covered under warranty.

00:39:22.855 --> 00:39:25.164
Plus, we have extended warranty.

00:39:25.164 --> 00:39:38.034
If I'm doing my job as a technician, I take these four products, I package them up, notice I put 1.5 hours of labor in each box.

00:39:38.034 --> 00:39:49.009
If they buy all of these and a maintenance plan together, scan the QR code, I can finance it zero for 60 and knock off the 30 minutes off of each one.

00:39:49.009 --> 00:39:55.532
So I'm going to knock off two hours of labor for getting our Cat5 plan, which is all of our upsell opportunity.

00:39:55.532 --> 00:40:02.646
That is built in client retention and you are protecting and preserving the life of that generator.

00:40:02.646 --> 00:40:10.115
So by year three your $1,000 maintenance plan is going to cost you about $330 a year.

00:40:10.115 --> 00:40:14.590
So you're at 75% GP on your maintenance plans after year two.

00:40:14.590 --> 00:40:17.427
That's how you upsell in our industry.

00:40:18.880 --> 00:40:21.501
I'm just beaming over here because the things that you're mentioning, I'm like, all right, I'm listening to it.

00:40:21.501 --> 00:40:21.981
So you have the micro, the hard start.

00:40:21.981 --> 00:40:23.539
I'm like okay over here, because the things that you're mentioning, I'm like, all right, I'm listening to it.

00:40:23.539 --> 00:40:24.885
So you have the micro, the hard start.

00:40:24.885 --> 00:40:27.148
I'm like, okay, equivalent to the KVAR systems.

00:40:27.148 --> 00:40:31.202
And then you got the electronics protection systems Now additionally.

00:40:31.202 --> 00:40:32.126
Now I know where you are.

00:40:32.126 --> 00:40:35.648
You're in the Southern area, so the cold starts are not ideally in your area.

00:40:35.648 --> 00:40:46.628
Additionally, on top of that, what are your thoughts on the mobile monitoring with monitoring, because I'm sure, if I can pick and dig here a little bit, you were a former Generac guy at one point, right, so I was similar as well.

00:40:46.628 --> 00:40:49.847
Remember the whole situation with the mobile links and what was going on there.

00:40:49.847 --> 00:40:53.681
Ideally, switching over to the info hubs has been a better opportunity.

00:40:53.681 --> 00:40:56.471
Do you have a particular monitoring service that you prefer?

00:40:57.659 --> 00:41:01.327
So that depends on your dealership.

00:41:01.327 --> 00:41:06.340
Most Generac shops, if you pay attention, are that they're Generac shops.

00:41:06.340 --> 00:41:09.525
We're a generator service company, bingo.

00:41:09.525 --> 00:41:14.554
I will service and put any business on a membership.

00:41:14.554 --> 00:41:17.322
Our Cat 3 plan.

00:41:17.322 --> 00:41:20.909
You never pay, call out ever.

00:41:20.909 --> 00:41:22.733
No labor charges ever.

00:41:22.733 --> 00:41:26.922
But that's exclusive to our Kohler customers.

00:41:26.922 --> 00:41:27.943
You still get priority service.

00:41:27.943 --> 00:41:35.175
But I cannot provide free things to people who chose to buy a Generac with another dealer.

00:41:35.175 --> 00:41:46.724
I'll adopt you on a maintenance plan and I'll give you all of the perks, but I can't give you anything for free, so we reserve that of the perks, but I can't give you anything for free, so we reserve that.

00:41:46.744 --> 00:41:49.992
But to speak directly to your point, in terms of monitoring, this is how we sell monitoring.

00:41:49.992 --> 00:41:54.708
I will know something's wrong with your generator before you do and I will dispatch myself.

00:41:54.708 --> 00:41:57.041
I will let you know that we're coming out.

00:41:57.041 --> 00:42:02.034
When you walk in our front lobby we have four 70-inch digital screens.

00:42:02.034 --> 00:42:05.621
One of them our map dots, are green everywhere.

00:42:05.621 --> 00:42:11.353
If anybody sees one turn red, we jump on it like a fly on crap.

00:42:11.353 --> 00:42:15.963
We use OmniMetrics because it's brand agnostic.

00:42:15.963 --> 00:42:19.891
Based out of Atlanta, georgia, very easy installation.

00:42:19.891 --> 00:42:20.713
I'm a Kohler guy.

00:42:20.713 --> 00:42:27.971
Kohler's about to launch their new energy management pro OmniMetrics has been the only LTE cell service.

00:42:27.971 --> 00:42:29.385
Generac eventually got it.

00:42:29.385 --> 00:42:36.144
But if you are a company who services Generac Cummins, briggs, kohler how are you going to keep up with all of those screens?

00:42:36.748 --> 00:42:39.684
One so-called so we've been.

00:42:39.684 --> 00:42:54.068
I told Kohler straight up I love you guys, I think you have the best product on the market, but I can't subscribe to where you are with monitoring because it's Wi-Fi only and I don't have Wi-Fi technicians.

00:42:54.068 --> 00:43:04.860
I'm not sending generator guys into people's home to install range extenders and get in their IP address and walk with work boots on their carpet to set up their internet.

00:43:04.860 --> 00:43:05.762
I'm not doing that.

00:43:05.762 --> 00:43:17.351
I need a centralized, agnostic system that will tell me air filter dirty due to air restriction, battery low did not exercise all of the above.

00:43:17.693 --> 00:43:19.282
I can remote start the unit.

00:43:19.282 --> 00:43:24.893
I can play offense with my service techs every day rather than coming in and playing defense.

00:43:24.893 --> 00:43:41.496
If you don't have monitoring as a service company, you will play defense for the rest of your career and you will upset more people because you cannot forecast and strategize picking up broken units because they're going to happen.

00:43:41.496 --> 00:43:46.405
And so with monitoring, in my opinion it is built in client retention.

00:43:46.405 --> 00:43:56.405
It's me communicating, we explain to our customers, we're going to have a relationship with you and we're going to have a relationship with your generator and that is irreplaceable.

00:43:56.405 --> 00:44:02.567
It's priceless If my technicians know that piece of equipment more than they know the homeowner.

00:44:02.887 --> 00:44:08.434
And monitoring provides that and for anyone that's new to this, can I just make sure that it's clear?

00:44:08.434 --> 00:44:14.190
You've dedicated panels for TVs, I think you said, to just monitoring these greens.

00:44:14.190 --> 00:44:16.702
What does it mean when it comes off green?

00:44:16.702 --> 00:44:17.505
What's happening?

00:44:18.507 --> 00:44:20.371
So it's the same thing like a Generac.

00:44:20.371 --> 00:44:23.601
Essentially, you have a red light means no operation, no start.

00:44:23.601 --> 00:44:25.784
Yellow light is a maintenance light.

00:44:25.784 --> 00:44:27.344
So it's the same thing.

00:44:27.344 --> 00:44:30.148
One of our screens is monitoring.

00:44:30.148 --> 00:44:31.949
The other screen is our sales goals.

00:44:31.949 --> 00:44:37.514
The other screen is pictures of our completed installs that flash because we have a legitimate showroom.

00:44:37.514 --> 00:44:41.557
The one screen that has monitoring they're green dots.

00:44:41.557 --> 00:44:45.943
If they're yellow, our service coordinator has the same screen at her computer.

00:44:45.943 --> 00:44:49.670
She pulls it up, figures out.

00:44:49.670 --> 00:44:51.833
It might say air filter clog.

00:44:51.833 --> 00:44:59.682
We don't actually know that the air filter is dirty, but it's got high air inlet restriction when it exercised.

00:44:59.682 --> 00:45:03.389
So it's dispatching based on could run.

00:45:03.389 --> 00:45:04.291
But it's in.

00:45:04.431 --> 00:45:08.472
It's in yellow slash orange so it's like running the same thing on two cylinders.

00:45:08.472 --> 00:45:09.317
You drop a cylinder.

00:45:09.317 --> 00:45:11.043
It could still run, but it's not gonna be.

00:45:11.063 --> 00:45:20.387
Yeah, all right, I get it not gonna be efficient if it's red and they're a cat three member, someone immediately dispatches.

00:45:20.387 --> 00:45:23.771
Even if it's in the middle of a hurricane season.

00:45:23.771 --> 00:45:30.487
My CSRs can reset a controller, they can change a battery.

00:45:30.487 --> 00:45:34.786
My freaking janitor here is going to dispatch.

00:45:34.786 --> 00:45:40.565
If it's a Category 3 member that's on red, we're going that day.

00:45:40.565 --> 00:45:42.190
I don't care if it's got to be me, I'm going that day.

00:45:42.190 --> 00:45:43.539
I don't care if it's got to be me, I'm going that day.

00:45:43.539 --> 00:45:55.211
If it's orange, our service coordinator gets it, looks at the call board, puts the material and ticket in the technician's bin and schedules the job accordingly.

00:45:56.940 --> 00:46:12.086
Speaking of going on red, early on, when we first started talking and hit that great red record button, you mentioned how, in that busy season when the outages are expected, that's when you'll really see what your company is made of.

00:46:12.086 --> 00:46:17.152
How have you guys strategized to meet the demand when everyone's lights go out?

00:46:20.119 --> 00:46:24.061
using every single tool in our arsenal, exactly what we just said.

00:46:24.061 --> 00:46:33.835
I'll give you an example If you don't have a hurricane or a extended outage plan, you're going to fail.

00:46:33.835 --> 00:46:35.748
We are in hurricane.

00:46:35.748 --> 00:46:39.364
I've been in hurricane season alley my whole life.

00:46:39.364 --> 00:46:46.318
So hurricane preparedness and planning was here before generators were here, before service companies was here.

00:46:46.318 --> 00:46:49.143
So we just basically took that model.

00:46:49.143 --> 00:46:56.286
I put one of my managers in charge of emergency preparedness planning and then we built a system.

00:46:56.967 --> 00:47:02.903
The one thing that we're not going to do is new installs during the time of a storm.

00:47:02.903 --> 00:47:06.969
Now you have to let people know who are in line.

00:47:06.969 --> 00:47:07.976
We've had this happen.

00:47:07.976 --> 00:47:11.804
We call our next week's installs On Friday.

00:47:11.804 --> 00:47:14.936
Lead installer calls his list for the next week.

00:47:14.936 --> 00:47:17.384
Hey, I'm going to be here on Wednesday at 6 am.

00:47:17.384 --> 00:47:18.726
Here's what you can expect.

00:47:18.726 --> 00:47:21.297
Here's about when we're going to reconnect power da-da-da-da, and we had a storm hit.

00:47:21.297 --> 00:47:24.561
Here's about when we're going to reconnect power da-da-da-da, and we had a storm hit.

00:47:24.561 --> 00:47:26.322
Naturally, we install two to three units a day.

00:47:26.322 --> 00:47:35.891
Naturally, those 15 customers are pissed that their generator didn't get put in, but we prepare them for that up front.

00:47:39.275 --> 00:47:40.579
Hey, listen, we're in the middle of hurricane season.

00:47:40.579 --> 00:47:41.943
I can promise you, here's what's going to happen.

00:47:41.943 --> 00:47:43.286
Here's how we respond.

00:47:43.286 --> 00:47:45.519
Hurricane hits and we lose power.

00:47:45.519 --> 00:47:51.619
Every single one of our employees moves into our level one response, which is triage.

00:47:51.619 --> 00:48:03.289
We are going to respond from an ambulatory perspective to administer immediate life-saving measures to that generator, home and family.

00:48:03.289 --> 00:48:08.139
So when I say this is our triage unit, we're going to get you going.

00:48:08.139 --> 00:48:20.378
We might have to bypass an oil pressure switch with a paper clip, but we're going to get you power and we're going to come back and repair it right, but our triage staff turns it from our.

00:48:20.798 --> 00:48:23.521
We have six service techs, but we have staff turns it from our.

00:48:23.521 --> 00:48:25.764
We have six service techs, but we have 10 guys on the install crew.

00:48:25.764 --> 00:48:28.967
We'd immediately deploy 16 technicians.

00:48:28.967 --> 00:48:53.327
Everybody who doesn't have a truck uses their own truck and we pay the mileage and all this hazard and all this other stuff and we just start answering the call, because 90% of resi-gen failures can be repaired, typically on a do-not-start DNS by someone with little to no experience, if they've been trained correctly on how to respond.

00:48:54.554 --> 00:49:01.403
Once level two gets here, it means 50% of our area has been utility power restored.

00:49:01.403 --> 00:49:20.237
We deploy our lead install team when we get to level three, which means 70% of the location's power has been restored, install team number two goes back to the schedule and when we get to level four, which is almost back to normal, our third install team goes back to doing installs.

00:49:20.237 --> 00:49:28.085
So if you don't have a plan and you think I've got installers and I've got maintenance techs, no, you don't.

00:49:28.085 --> 00:49:34.967
If you have a book of business that's maintenance contract driven, you will find out what you're made of.

00:49:34.967 --> 00:49:42.186
If you don't immediately become repair guys and you try to continue doing installs, it's just not going to work for you.

00:49:43.215 --> 00:49:57.099
I love that plan that you put into place, because I can physically see it as it drops down and how you justify it to your customer as a value add, because the logic being is, let's say, this customer is mad that you're not going to be there.

00:49:57.099 --> 00:49:59.775
I can almost imagine being like well, let me explain it this way.

00:49:59.775 --> 00:50:06.411
Let's say that you were someone who previously purchased a generator from us and for some reason it didn't work.

00:50:06.411 --> 00:50:13.126
Wouldn't you prefer the company stop what they're doing, to take care of your family before trying to take someone else's money?

00:50:13.335 --> 00:50:14.679
These people already paid me.

00:50:14.679 --> 00:50:21.099
You just gave me a deposit or signed the contract I got to fix the guys who went all in Quite.

00:50:21.099 --> 00:50:27.250
Frankly, data says that most generator buyers shopped the market for a minimum of 90 days.

00:50:27.250 --> 00:50:32.820
Well, the people who said I want to buy a generator, I got on the internet.

00:50:32.820 --> 00:50:35.043
You guys came up first in Google.

00:50:35.043 --> 00:50:36.364
You showed up first.

00:50:36.605 --> 00:50:46.702
Your in-home consultation was absolutely amazing and I did not shop price and your $18,000 ticket, which is our average ticket on air cooled, is higher than everybody else.

00:50:46.702 --> 00:50:51.820
But because you have your shit together when it comes to service, I went with you and you wrote a check.

00:50:51.820 --> 00:51:07.726
The guy who's pissed off because his generator is not installed during hurricane season he's been dicking around for 90 days and probably has bids from everybody under the sun and didn't get called back from everybody under the sun, and then now he wants you to stop and put his in.

00:51:07.726 --> 00:51:10.635
No, no, this guy went with me first.

00:51:10.635 --> 00:51:12.159
He's already my member.

00:51:12.159 --> 00:51:20.164
I have to service him and, whether or not you choose to believe it now, mr Smith, you should want me to hold this standard for you as well.

00:51:20.847 --> 00:51:21.268
I love that.

00:51:21.268 --> 00:51:30.117
It's almost similar to our first class pass option, because I'm in New York, so the thing is is where you were mentioning how they have the opposite slow seasons.

00:51:30.117 --> 00:51:35.978
Our slow season was once the snow hits, where we're having after Thanksgiving, christmas, january.

00:51:35.978 --> 00:51:48.581
So what we did is we established what's known as a first class pass, where you would have an in-house club membership and if you had an outage, we only serviced our club members first and would only take care of you after you've done it.

00:51:48.581 --> 00:51:50.864
So I love that you and I are running a parallel play.

00:51:51.483 --> 00:51:52.684
I want to draw another parallel.

00:51:53.284 --> 00:51:56.407
We take care of category three members first bar none.

00:51:56.407 --> 00:52:02.411
We take care of category two, second, category one members, third and then new customers.

00:52:06.255 --> 00:52:06.496
It's awesome.

00:52:06.496 --> 00:52:19.518
You's another parallel here and it comes from the last interview we did with guillermo as well, with his lighting system for leads and having his entire office staff, that whole team, trained to when the different lights showed like a level one, two and three.

00:52:19.518 --> 00:52:22.443
What activities do we focus on now?

00:52:22.443 --> 00:52:45.007
And the parallel really here is I'm going to back it up and say that, joe, what you have and what we share in the first class pass and Travis, with your hurricane analogy and the level one, two, three and Guillermo, these are all people taking proactive measures to be prepared for the situation so that we don't be reactive and get punched in the face.

00:52:46.750 --> 00:52:47.210
Absolutely.

00:52:47.210 --> 00:52:53.387
And then everybody in the business has a set of skills.

00:52:53.387 --> 00:52:56.204
I love Liam Neeson, the movie Taken.

00:52:56.204 --> 00:53:11.291
My particular set of skills in the business is education, edification, building value and edifying the technician and edifying the industry.

00:53:11.291 --> 00:53:13.983
So I'm a mass comm guy.

00:53:14.576 --> 00:53:19.768
When we hit storm, widespread outage, dude, I go to every TV station.

00:53:19.768 --> 00:53:21.802
You can go back to my Facebook page.

00:53:21.802 --> 00:53:28.896
If you go back to my personal page and you go back to the beginning of October when Hurricane Francine hit us this year, we were on a seven-day outage.

00:53:28.896 --> 00:53:46.278
Then I went live every morning and every night and hosted Facebook lives, which are webinars, and answered questions, explained what your oil service should be like, explained what you should be doing on an extended outage.

00:53:46.278 --> 00:53:50.307
I took the phone with me on every service call that I went to.

00:53:50.307 --> 00:54:00.358
I gave the knowledge and gave the game away from Pete For me, so much so that we're not even the biggest generator company in our town.

00:54:00.358 --> 00:54:08.269
They came to me and said you kicked our ass for the storm.

00:54:08.269 --> 00:54:17.182
And in that conversation, when we just started shooting the breeze I love to have conversations with my adversary, keep your enemies closer, right.

00:54:17.182 --> 00:54:24.206
So I'm having a conversation with them and he said man, how many service contracts did you pick up during the storm?

00:54:24.206 --> 00:54:25.637
I said about 200.

00:54:25.637 --> 00:54:28.585
He said where did you think they all came from?

00:54:28.585 --> 00:54:29.806
I said from you.

00:54:29.806 --> 00:54:32.559
How do you not know that?

00:54:32.559 --> 00:54:41.925
I took all of those customers from my number one competitor because they turned the phone off and went and hide in a bunker.

00:54:41.925 --> 00:54:43.829
And we said, oh no, no, no.

00:54:43.829 --> 00:54:47.806
We sell these generators all year to perform.

00:54:47.806 --> 00:54:50.135
Right now, super Bowl season.

00:54:50.135 --> 00:54:52.664
We got to mirror that product.

00:54:52.664 --> 00:54:54.382
We got to show up right now.

00:54:54.382 --> 00:54:56.663
So that's even in a hiring process.

00:54:57.054 --> 00:55:11.240
If you're a person that wants to evacuate for every tropical storm and category one hurricane, you are not going to work here Because we show up when the storm comes, we don't leave like that's just.

00:55:11.240 --> 00:55:12.324
I'm not going to put you and your family in a bind.

00:55:12.324 --> 00:55:25.306
Okay, if we're going to take a direct hit from a category five, I mean I'd love for you to stay and help out, but take care of your family, but get your ass back to work immediately after the storm passes, because this is our Super Bowl, bro.

00:55:25.306 --> 00:55:29.215
We can't just be dicking around saying we'll return your call on Monday.

00:55:29.215 --> 00:55:47.405
And all of the 5,000 service contract guys, I'm going to pick them apart, one hurricane at a time and I'm going to get a couple contracts, a couple contracts and a couple contracts, and I'm never going to lose them, because all of my tools are client retention tools.

00:55:47.405 --> 00:55:53.766
So I think you have to be able to perform during an outage, or you are not a generator company.

00:55:53.766 --> 00:55:56.980
You just happen to be a service company who installs generators.

00:55:58.125 --> 00:56:07.851
You've shared some massive insights and, yeah, I gave you a round of applause there, too silently, to avoid flagging the podcast with it, but I want to respect your time, travis.

00:56:07.851 --> 00:56:09.577
We're five minutes over the hour.

00:56:09.577 --> 00:56:19.085
You are just the third person we've had on this podcast that is not themselves an electrician, but that does not mean there is any lack of value here today.

00:56:19.085 --> 00:56:28.182
If there were anything else open mic, travis, that you feel electricians should hear, know or otherwise, follow in your footsteps.

00:56:28.182 --> 00:56:30.494
Is there one more message that you'd want to give them?

00:56:31.757 --> 00:56:32.740
Yeah, I'll tell you a couple of things.

00:56:32.740 --> 00:57:06.536
So people, CEOs out there, people who are sales leaders, people who maybe don't necessarily have an electrical license, you can build and run and operate a successful electrical company or a successful generator company, because typically your competitor or your adversary or the other guys in the industry are typically those blue collar Joes who are a master licensed electrician, and what's easy for me is super hard for those guys.

00:57:06.536 --> 00:57:27.079
So it's very hard for a 35 year licensed master electrician to hire a visionary to add new ideas and bring in somebody from a mass comm or a brand ambassador or a community engagement specialist to get out there and keep the momentum going.

00:57:27.079 --> 00:57:41.661
If you're a CEO type of person or you're a sales guy, give up a piece of the pie, Go get in bed with a 40-year master electrician and absolutely annihilate the market together.

00:57:42.583 --> 00:57:50.806
Secondly, I would say, if you want to be in the generator space, we have another coaching company much like Service Loop.

00:57:50.806 --> 00:57:57.501
I hope to do some work with you guys about how to differentiate yourself as a generator company.

00:57:57.501 --> 00:58:01.465
I market against home service companies most of the day.

00:58:01.465 --> 00:58:04.608
However, you can do both.

00:58:04.608 --> 00:58:12.708
You can do multiple lines and you can be a generator guru within the confines of that organization.

00:58:12.708 --> 00:58:23.260
And lastly, I want to say this you guys have a lot of electricians that actually watch the show, not owners just electricians, most or both, honestly.

00:58:23.601 --> 00:58:28.539
Yeah, there's a good blue color crowd here too, and so, yeah, man, speak to electricians.

00:58:29.302 --> 00:58:31.269
So I want to talk to the technicians who may be.

00:58:31.269 --> 00:58:37.936
I'm a top dog technician at a company and I want to start my own business one day or, whatever the case may be, maybe I want to buy this one.

00:58:37.936 --> 00:58:45.043
I'm a diesel mechanic, I've been an auto mechanic, I've been a heavy equipment mechanic, I've done some electrical work.

00:58:45.043 --> 00:58:53.992
I've done air conditioning work, power generation, contracting, carpentry, literally instrumentation, everything, electronics, everything.

00:58:53.992 --> 00:59:10.023
Generator technician to me is the upper echelon of blue collar tradesmen in the world, and I'll tell you why.

00:59:10.023 --> 00:59:11.510
You've got to be a good mechanic, a good electrician.

00:59:11.510 --> 00:59:17.784
You got to be a plumber, an electrician, a concrete guy, a landscaper, a gutter guy.

00:59:17.784 --> 00:59:27.119
You've got to be able to do all of these things plus have soft skills, because here's the thing no one wants to buy what you're selling.

00:59:28.322 --> 00:59:34.041
If the country would get their shit together and have a better power grid, no one would have to have a generator.

00:59:34.041 --> 00:59:51.427
If you can build, edify, train, compensate and build out the best true generator technicians in the industry, or become that, there's no trade that offers as much opportunity as a generator technician.

00:59:51.427 --> 00:59:57.106
In my opinion, because of how well-rounded you have to be, we should have our own freaking license.

00:59:57.106 --> 01:00:05.398
Okay, I'm mad at the electricians and plumbers because they get their licensing, but as a generator guy electricians and plumbers because they get their licensing.

01:00:05.398 --> 01:00:12.822
But as a generator guy, if you're a legitimate generator guy, like we say here, 2kw to 2000, there's no tradesman that can hold a candle to you because of everything that you're capable of doing.

01:00:12.822 --> 01:00:23.550
So if you want to become the highest paid blue collar tradesman in the industry, focus on generators for a little while.

01:00:23.550 --> 01:00:32.186
Figure out what it's going to take to get at the top of the food chain and generators, and I think you will build differentiation like no other.

01:00:33.815 --> 01:00:36.903
Great insights and some shots fired at electricians.

01:00:36.903 --> 01:00:37.865
Just a little bit.

01:00:37.865 --> 01:00:42.643
What could you expect from having the gen guy on our chat here on this podcast?

01:00:42.643 --> 01:00:43.947
Thank you so much, travis.

01:00:43.947 --> 01:00:45.255
All the best to you.

01:00:45.255 --> 01:00:48.987
You don't need much motivation from us to keep going and keep doing what you're doing.

01:00:48.987 --> 01:00:53.485
I know that your vision is set high and we just expect big things from you now, brother.

01:00:53.485 --> 01:00:57.106
So, just like you said, we look forward to collaborating in other ways.

01:00:57.106 --> 01:01:00.356
I think we'll have to have another podcast in the future.

01:01:00.356 --> 01:01:03.983
If you want to check out, travis, I believe you guys have a podcast as well.

01:01:03.983 --> 01:01:08.750
Would you tell us a bit about how others could find you and listen to your content?

01:01:09.135 --> 01:01:11.139
First and foremost, gengatorscom.

01:01:11.139 --> 01:01:13.085
G-e-n-g-a-t-o-r-z.

01:01:13.085 --> 01:01:19.518
If you misspell it, I bought all the domains around it, so it'll take you to my page Gen Gators University on YouTube.

01:01:19.518 --> 01:01:22.219
On YouTube, we have an entire YouTube channel.

01:01:22.219 --> 01:01:28.222
Genxmmgcom is our coaching generator affiliate.

01:01:28.222 --> 01:01:32.385
Don't take coaching on generators from someone who's never installed a generator caveat.

01:01:32.385 --> 01:01:37.389
And then Travis Terabone you can find me on any social media and my stuff is pretty well laid out.

01:01:37.389 --> 01:01:51.880
Prime Mover Podcast the engine inside of a generator is considered the prime, the prime mover, and I believe if you lead on or operate an organization, you are also the prime mover.

01:01:51.880 --> 01:01:59.987
So we only have people who are alpha a player prime movers on the show to talk a little bit about life, business, fitness, finance and faith, and it's a pretty cool podcast.

01:02:01.315 --> 01:02:03.880
Love it, thank you so much for sharing.

01:02:04.501 --> 01:02:05.742
Yeah, we'd love that.

01:02:05.742 --> 01:02:08.929
We'd love to go deep and explain why electricians are the best trade.

01:02:09.128 --> 01:02:09.389
I'm down.

01:02:12.615 --> 01:02:14.222
I'm going to preface our part two now.

01:02:14.222 --> 01:02:17.364
I want to do an hour with you guys on generator lead.

01:02:17.364 --> 01:02:23.818
Jen, I could do a whole segment on how to generate generator leads.

01:02:23.818 --> 01:02:26.239
Pun intended, I love that Well.

01:02:26.260 --> 01:02:28.721
Thanks so much, Travis, and thanks guys, I appreciate it.