S3 EP47 From Lowest Bidder to Most Trusted Electrician

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Most electricians start a business thinking they're finally free...

Then they keep pricing like employees.

Keep chasing the cheapest jobs.

Keep solving electrical problems instead of homeowner problems.

Keep hoping more leads will fix everything.

Repeat every week until burnout shows up riding shotgun in your service van.

Meanwhile…

We've coached hundreds of electrical business owners.

And most of them follow almost the exact same pattern.

Like an episode of Scooby-Doo.

Same mindset.

Different electrician.

Because great electrical businesses don't feel like winning price wars...

They feel like serving homeowners with confidence.

But behind the scenes?

The best businesses are built more like a repeatable operating system than a heroic hustle.

In this video, I break down the exact mindset shift that helps electricians:

• stop competing on price and start competing on value
• build confidence presenting multiple homeowner options
• transition from technician thinking to owner thinking
• create a business that doesn't depend on them being on every call
• build toward more profit, more freedom, and more schedule control

Inside, we'll show you:

• Why Alex intentionally became the low bidder—and why that belief nearly held his business back
• The simple mindset shift that changed how he looks at residential service
• Why most electricians stop offering options... and why that's broken
• How thinking like an employee quietly limits your business growth
• The conversation that changed Alex's vision for his company
• Why getting off the tools starts long before you hire another electrician
• The difference between fixing electrical problems and serving homeowners
• Why chasing the cheapest price is rubbish if your goal is building a real business
• How one vision for a $1.5M–$2M company started with changing the way one electrician thought

Also…

There's an honest conversation about leaving new construction to build something of his own.

A surprisingly vulnerable admission about intentionally being the low bidder.

A discussion about getting off the phone and off the tools—not just making more money.

And one vision for the future that completely changes the direction of the conversation.

If you're new here, binge the channel.

If you're building an electrical service business, steal the framework.

If you want to scale to $1M+ with less chaos…

Watch the Million Dollar Plan below.

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And if you want to see our Million Dollar Plan — how we help Electric Service Business Owners build $1M+ companies without becoming a slave to the truck, the phone, or the chaos…

Watch here:

• The Service Transformer™: The 4 Stages of a Million Dollar Electrical Business

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Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Just realizing I was going nowhere fast, like super booked with installs, and then trying to squeeze estimates before or after the installs, getting home at like 7, 8, 9 p.m. a couple weeks in a row, doing estimates or whatever it may be, and also having to get home and pull permits and schedule inspections and then not being very profitable with it. Not having like a ton of money left over, like, yes, still comfortable for like my personal life, but like I couldn't see that happening for months and months and years and years. I just hit a point where I just wasn't okay with that. And I'm like, okay, well, if I want things to change or look differently, I have to start doing different things and I have to change.

SPEAKER_02 0:37

Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to the Million Dollar Electrician Podcast, where we help home service pros like you supercharge your business and spark up those sales.

SPEAKER_00 0:49

I'm Joseph Lucani, and together with my co-host Clay New Meyer, we're here to share the secrets that have helped electricians sell over a million dollars in a single service band.

SPEAKER_01 0:57

Now it's time for sales. It's time for scale. It's time to become a million-dollar electrician.

SPEAKER_02 1:10

Hello, hello, hello. Welcome back to another great episode of the Million Dollar Electrician. We're here again, as uh uh always with me my esteemed partner Joseph, the sales bot Lucani. We're gonna dive into some strategy tonight. We have another great guest. I think Joe and Alex were already talking a bit behind the scenes about uh some recent jobs, some troubleshooting, some stuff going on. So we're gonna learn lots tonight, but we have a great interview. Alex Wilkins, Silver Lining Electric, who's just getting started on his journey, 10 months in, on track to do about a quarter mil this year, Alex. Already seeing a ticket rise, though, about $2,000, and just joined us in the uh night school cohort, uh, our fourth one. And Alex has been one of the most enthusiastic, most engaged, most questions asked already in the few sessions we've had. So nothing but compliments to you, Alex, and welcome to the show. How are you doing today, Alex?

SPEAKER_03 2:04

I'm doing great.

SPEAKER_02 2:05

How are you guys? Pumped to have you with us today. Super fantastic. This is your first business, right? But not your first experience in service. Yeah, exactly. What is your experience in service? And is that all you've done, or is there more to it in the background for you?

SPEAKER_03 2:20

So I started out in new construction for about four or five years, and then the last four years have been service. So I've been on both sides of it. When I was in new construction, it was like multifamily, commercial, you know, new homes, and then made the made the jump to service years later.

SPEAKER_00 2:41

Any preference?

SPEAKER_03 2:42

Oh, service for sure. My guy. What made you change? Being an employee at the time, I even try to tell all my old new construction buddies about it. It's just the income, it's a lot better. I mean, it's more of what you make from it, you know, if you're on the service and sales side, um, and how much you're willing to apply and just grow and change because it's not as cookie-cutter as new construction. It's not showing 38 hours, swing your hammer, throwing some staples in some boxes, drill a thousand holes in this apartment complex.

SPEAKER_04 3:14

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 3:14

Um, and and and I realize quickly, like, you get capped out so fast on that side of things because you're doing just that. You're doing the same exact, you know, robotic stuff every day that anybody else could learn within six months. And so, service is more about like the relationships and um the relationships you build and your communication and your personal development, and then you actually get paid in proportion, you know, for the most part, to how much you grow.

SPEAKER_02 3:43

I've seen guys get stuck in that and literally spend years of their apprenticeship just trimming. Unfair because the margins are so low for that provider, they don't want to put anyone else on it. We got a guy that just that's what he knows, so that's what he does to make money off it. Just awful when that happens. I think service is better rounded for electricians to learn and grow from as well. I actually I think it's hand in hand, it's good to know how it all goes together first. In fact, I'd argue you kind of need to understand a rough and before you can really serve at the highest level. What are your thoughts on that, Joe?

SPEAKER_00 4:15

So I agree 100% there. And uh, when I was first coming up, that's actually what was taught to me. Where we started a new construction when I first got into it. And I feel like the understanding of how the house is supposed to work allows you to almost have like a 3D sonar effect when you walk into a home. Like I know where these wires should go, I know how this should be wired. So when something's not working, I could troubleshoot reverse based on what I've experienced with. But if I've never seen the walls open, it could be just a black hole behind it. I have no idea what's behind it. So I completely agree that new construction should be at least a start from a theoretical standpoint.

SPEAKER_02 4:51

Yeah, yeah, for sure. So, Alex, one of the things that brings you here is you earned our win of the week, I think like right away, as soon as we started the cohort. So you were one of the first people in night school. So we gave you our quick wins academy, bunch of stuff. Plus, as you mentioned, you have service experience. So it looks like what I have in my win book here is uh you've been averaging 20, 25k a month, but you had 40,000 sold in three weeks. Is that right? Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_03 5:17

What changed for you? Like the couple weeks leading up into starting the night school program, I was just like flooding myself with like all you guys' free content, whether it's Apple Podcasts, whether it's whether it's YouTube, uh, because I finally just hit that point of like I'm tired of being the lowest bidder. Like, I have sales experience, like I know a good chunk of the stuff that they're teaching. Like, maybe I won't close as many jobs, but I can probably be a lot more profitable if I if I sell even close to what I was used to sell at when I was at other companies. Um, because we had quotas of minimum 70k a month for you to keep your position. And so, and so I would average like you know 90 to 100k a month over there, and I'm like, man, okay, I I've sold jobs at crazy amounts, you know, due to big company overhead and all that stuff. I can come in at least a little bit less than that, but still be double where I'm at now. And so you guys started talking about you were talking about options a lot, and I'm like, man, where in the world? Why did I stop doing options? Like, I used to go out, like I knew I was gonna be the lowest, so I would just go out and throw the lowest number out and know I was gonna get it. And uh 90, 80, 90 percent of the time I would, but it was just exhausting. Um, it doesn't allow you to take time with your clients either. Um, on the install side as well, because you're just like, man, I gotta get this this this this low amount, whatever it is, because I got a bunch of other work to do. So you know, you're not gonna take the time to pick up every little wire stripping and uh you know do the walkthrough with them afterwards. And so just I realize that selling more at a premium is not just for the benefit of you, but also so you can spend more time with the right people. And so a lot of the free content you guys were saying sparked a lot of stuff up. I know you guys teach six options, but I hadn't learned from you yet, so I went back to what I learned, which is three options in the meantime, and yeah, within those three weeks, uh sold 40,000 in revenue and was like, all right, like this is just like the tipping point. Like I'm gonna reach out and and and get the full the full deal here.

SPEAKER_00 7:27

Yeah, it's an eye-opening experience, right? I know it's funny how you're saying, like, I don't have the time to pick up the trimmings or bomb with a customer. Is that where the stereotype from electricians come from? Or like we don't clean after our job sites, but when you're doing the lowest number, margins, man, you gotta get in and out. You think that where it started from? Maybe.

SPEAKER_03 7:44

Yeah, maybe.

SPEAKER_02 7:46

So you said something important I want to dig into. But guys, if you're listening, you're catching the beginning of this. You can see why we wanted to have a podcast with Alex. There's huge underlying story here, and I think honestly, Joe, I don't want to jinx anything. I'd knock on wood if it didn't make a bunch of noise in the mic here, but I think Alex has a great future ahead of him, and I think there's a ton that we get to work on today, but also in and just continue to support Alex here. But Alex, you said something really important, which is why didn't I keep offering options? And this is massive. A lot of people, even with experience, when they go into business, they just stop doing what they've done in the past that already worked for them. And sometimes, even when we're in business, Joe, we were talking about this yesterday, right? Uh, sometimes old clients reach out or you hear from different people that used to do a certain thing a certain way, and they step away from it, they start to hallucinate in their sales game, they don't role play, things fall off. Next thing you know, they just don't do the thing and they come back asking the same questions. Why does this happen to us? Alex, why do you think that happened to you, brother? Why do you think you went away from something you had already proven before? I have a theory whenever you're done.

SPEAKER_03 8:59

I think I went away from it because I think there were two reasons. The first reason is that I went out into business with the intention of being a low bidder. I don't know, you just didn't really that that kind of sold itself, the the low number. Like you did you didn't need to sit there and spend you know 60 to 90 minutes with them if you you know if you're gonna have the lowest number. You didn't need to have a process, you didn't need to, you know, you just didn't need that because the low number sold itself. You didn't really need to focus on building a relationship or anything like that. And then the second thing was uh just not feeling like you had like this huge company branding behind you like you did. Like I didn't go out, you know, and have my van wrapped and have uh I don't have any, you know, no employees, no office, no uniform. And so maybe that's a I feel like that's another underlying reason why I didn't stick with a lot of that stuff is because I didn't feel like I could keep that like same image. Joe, what were you gonna add to that?

SPEAKER_00 10:00

What I was thinking is it's the same thing that comes up on a regular basis, but the thing he said that immediately gave it away was I'm closing 90 to 100% of the jobs. It's the concept of training for the slow season. All we actually see it all the time, where someone will have something, and let's say it's a hard, hard January, so like we're gonna train, and you train and then train and you train. But then summer comes, spring comes, the project comes in, tax money comes back in, and you don't need to do the process to still close jobs. So you get looser and looser and looser with it from June to September. And then when the cold comes in October, November, December, the work dries up, and everyone is now competing for the same work. But because you fell off process, it's harder to just jump back into it because now you have to relearn something on the fly. So I get it. If you were closing everything, you didn't need to do what you were doing because you walked away every call, had a job. And since you were making so much on it anyway compared to what you previously were doing, the meat was already there. It's like I walk in, I get the job, I make my money, I leave. Why should I do any more than that? But as things tighten up and as you realize I need more revenue and I need to expand, that's why we actually go and start sticking to the process because it gives a consistent experience across the board.

SPEAKER_02 11:14

Yeah, that's a good take. Alex, do you fear rejection?

SPEAKER_03 11:17

I feel like everyone does a little bit coming from the service background, you get kind of used to it, but now going back into like you know, like closing half the calls, like we talked about two times, three times, 0.5. I would say I could feel it a little bit more now. Actually, I felt it this week. All right, late on us this week. Tell us about it. Um just starting to present, you know, with our simple service rate and multiple options and driving that platinum option, like you know, driving it as high as you can. I would say, yeah, I feel it a little bit more now for sure.

SPEAKER_02 11:50

Tell me about your journey with wanting to be acknowledged, wanting to be seen. Is that something you've thought about before for yourself? Meaning, usually the fear of rejection is I almost look at it like a slider. And some people actually do have it quite low, and we've seen people like that succeed incredibly high in very shorts of time, uh short amounts of time, because they just such a high bias to action, nothing gets in the way, and they just see the logic side of this, which is oh, I offer more because I serve higher, and it is a better service than anyone, and therefore my price is my price, and that's all there is to it. Some people literally go out of that, but for the rest of us, we're somewhere in the mid to high range of fear of rejection, at least at first, until you get many reps. And and so there's a couple little things that you said, that's why I'm digging in because you mentioned, well, I don't have the wrap yet, I don't have my polo yet, I don't have my uniforms, etc. So the reason that reflection exists is because I don't want to come pretending to be something I'm not, so I'm just digging around that. So when I ask, like um, how important it's been for you to be acknowledged and approved, it's just kind of an opposite of fear of rejection. Is that a trend you've noticed with yourself personally?

SPEAKER_03 13:06

I would say I would want to be perceived as like how I perceive myself basically, like genuine. I don't know, I want to I'd be I'd want to be perceived as genuine, like if I'm you know describing like the value we offer, the quality we offer, like just the customer, the higher level of customer service. I would say that with where I'm at now is like I want to start to carry myself now. How I would, you know, if we're doing one, two, three mil, whatever a year, and have all the branding and all that. And so right now it's kind of like voting for your identity at this time. Um every time you go out, yeah, exactly. Like, you know, every time you do carry yourself that way and do take the extra time and all the things, like I would say the struggle is like having that now, that identity now, before it actually looks like that to other people.

SPEAKER_02 13:57

Yeah, I love that you said that. Voting for yourself is such a great way to put it because I'll go deeper while we're on this anyway. It's there's a transcendent experience within that phrase that you just said, which is we actually get stuck between our ears. And this is something you'll keep hearing in the night school, is like the market's between your ears. It's the same reason you lowered your price and didn't give options because you felt it was more valuable to just reduce the price and be in and out quick based on the things you said, just based on what you said, that's what I hear. And it's literally the first things you read if you actually went into our old school price tool and the PDF on it, is like, let me guess how you're priced, right? And it's that exact situation. So we see this so often. But this transcendence that happens in voting on yourself, even in graduating um the last cohort last night, Pat Myers is one of the OGs in there. He actually won the most the MVE award, uh, got an award for most valuable electrician. Guys doing great things, kind of stuck though on the bench around two mil, two and a half mil. And all of a sudden, last night he came and he was like, Man, something something happened in the last two weeks. I gotta tell you guys. He's like, You know how you said we need permission more than we need a plan? Well, I've been really thinking, and last week when you brought Connor and Nathan Miles in, you guys know them from the podcast as well. They came and did a guest teach down. And so it's funny how we bring other people and we start to see a reflection of ourselves. But Pat finally gave himself permission, he finally voted on himself, and he was like, Why am I doing this? Why am I managing the warehouse? We got money in the bank. I just was holding us back. He's like, in the last week, I've hired three guys for the field and a warehouse person and hired the marketing agency to take off the marketing. And he's like, We're we're just full steam ahead. So I bring this up because a direct reflection psychologically of what you're talking about, Alex. It's just like I had to give myself permission, I had to vote on myself to go and increase my price and offer more value. It's the craziest thing, but it keeps on happening. So A, congratulations. B, doesn't it make so much sense? Because just moments ago, you were like, Man, I've done 90, 100k months. I had to do over 70k a month, but for some reason you gave yourself permission to be under that in your own business and just fly under the radar with a lower price. Now that you look back at this, what's making you just giver for this? Then what changed? What was it? What was the catalyst that made you say, you know what? No more.

SPEAKER_03 16:27

I would say the catalyst is like kind of what I was saying earlier, just realizing I was going nowhere fast, like being super booked with installs, and then trying to squeeze estimates before or after the installs, getting home, like a couple weeks in a row of like just getting home at like 7, 8, 9 p.m., doing estimates or whatever it may be, and also having to get home and pull permits and schedule inspections and and then not being like very profitable with it, like not having like a ton of money left over, like yes, still comfortable for like my personal life, but like it's like I just I couldn't see that happening for months and months and years and years. I just hit a point where I just wasn't okay with that, and I'm like, okay, well, if I want things to change or look differently, I have to start doing different things, and I have to change. So, yeah, that's that's where I would say the decision came.

SPEAKER_02 17:23

Love that. Heard a Jim Rowan quote in there. If you will change, everything will change for you. Amazing, awesome stuff. So you've done service for a few years. It sounds like you learned some really good stuff with your last employer. What do you think are some of the biggest takeaways? And you know what? While we're at it, like, what were your biggest challenges in learning service the first time?

SPEAKER_03 17:42

Okay, I'll do the challenge. So, one of the biggest challenges was switching from a construction to a service mindset. Like in construction, I was a roper roughing. So I was like, well, I mean, we we would fly through apartment complexes. I mean, like, I would we would do two units a day each, like individually, and it was just all about like speed, speed, speed. And it's a new construction site, so you're just like destroying stuff, hammering stuff, like you just you know, it doesn't matter about scraping the floor. Who cares if your ladder scrapes the wall? It's it's plywood, there's no sheetrock up. And so, and so coming over to service was like okay, like it was a lot more about like finishing touches and doing things nice, doing things nicely, and now I'm actually interact uh interacting with the person who's gonna be living here. I have no clue who's living in the apartment complex I just wired up in four hours. Like, someone's gonna be there a year from now when they fill this place up. I have no clue that is. So now interacting with the the user or the homeowner, that was like bigger challenges, but I've always like had like a like and love for people. So it was it wasn't like something I wasn't willing to to grow in as far as like connecting with people, build taking the time to build the trust and take care of their home and stuff. So I know that's a big hurdle for a lot of new construction guys. And then some of the big takeaways from there, I would say just yeah, working there helped me help me just be more comfortable with being uncomfortable because every homeowner is different. You know, you might talk to some. I started out in the Bay Area with them, the California Bay Area, and then move more towards the Roseville area to their other branch. But like there's a lot of like tech giants out there, there's a lot of multimillionaires, like you know, there's a lot of personalities, and um, and then there's your hoarder houses, and like there's yeah, just getting comfortable being uncomfortable with people and different situations, different environments every day. That was a uh a big takeaway, and then getting more comfortable having tough conversations with people or having uncomfortable conversations, you know, because you're talking about like people investing good chunks of their money, some some people going into their savings, pulling out of their retirement, doing a home equity line of credit. And so, like, those are not super easy, comfortable conversations to have if you don't, you know, do it a lot. And so that was some things I was definitely grateful for over there. Great answers.

SPEAKER_02 20:09

Uh, just quick, guys, I got a little uh pop quiz for you. Let's say all three are 1970s. You could go to a trailer park and do a trailer, and um middle of the run, family home, or a mansion. Which do you choose for a service call?

SPEAKER_00 20:24

Is it for both of us or is it just rally? Who wants it first? I can take it. It doesn't matter the house, it matters who's living in it. Oh, not choosing. Yeah, well, let me explain. I can give you an exact logical reason why. I have gone to trailer parks. It look like it's the worst home in the world. I've gone to beat down rotten houses before with holes in the roof and holes in the floor, and they've bought platinum packages. I've gone to make mansions where you need a gatekeeper to just roll onto the estate, let alone actually see the work, and had them haggle over a thousand dollar job. It doesn't matter the house, it matters who's inside of it and what matters to them.

SPEAKER_02 21:06

Okay. Alex, if you had to choose one, you can't say what Joe said, you gotta pick.

SPEAKER_03 21:11

I would say the middle. I mean, I've had some great success in in manufactured homes for sure, which is always a surprise, even till this day. With the middle homes, usually it's families in those homes. Um good answer. They they take a lot of like care. A lot of the for a lot of them, it's their forever home. Um, or they they at least plan on raising their children there before they ever move, so they're invested into the property. Sometimes they're brand new homes, but usually they're like 20, they they usually middle class families buy in like that 20 to 30, 40 year old range of homes.

SPEAKER_00 21:47

You know, I love the fact that you were able to go right to the meat of it and say they have families. You go to a home where they have children and they care about their children and they want to invest in their education, that's someone who wants to make sure that better life. Over the dining room table so the kids can have better homework. You know what I mean? Like if you know that they're gonna be there, they're interested in the investment. Yeah, investing in your family.

unknown 22:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:11

Joe, I don't know if you picked up on this with Alex, but he's asked a couple times about generators in the classes already. Oh, have I noticed. Have I noticed? Alex, what's with the interest in generators?

SPEAKER_03 22:21

So I've only ever installed a couple as an employer. I mean, as an employee. Um, so I'm not super familiar with the technical or the sales side, what that would look like. I did almost close on two platinums, I was very close, but I there was just, yeah, there's a couple gaps. Those those are the only two I've ever bid on was like a week ago. I like the idea of like, I think I I mean I got the idea from you guys for sure, um, because it's like a niche, which my last boss, not the the big company I worked with, I worked for a smaller service company for about six months or so before going out on my own. He would always talk about like a niche or specialty, and um, and then I would hear it in other places, even like you know, you just have to have something you specialize in. And I'd really like the idea of generators because from my own personal experience and from other guys, they just don't want to get into it. Like most electricians don't want anything to do with it, it feels too new, too different. And then just looking around, there's not a lot of people like there's companies that that might offer it if you bring it up because they want to sell something, but like there's far and few, especially in my area, and it's probably in most places where people, you know, there's just not a lot of competition.

SPEAKER_02 23:29

Hey you guys, if this episode sparks something for you, imagine stacking that every single week. That's how businesses stop flickering and start running steady. If you subscribe to the show or leave a review if you're on audio, and if you're driving down the road, please pull over when it's safe because I've got something you're not gonna want to skip. For every person that subscribes and or leaves a review and fills out the form below, letting us know that you did that thing. We're gonna draw one monthly subscriber for our open circuit lifetime membership worth $1,500. And that's not all. Every six months, we're actually gonna draw another subscriber for our $5,000 scholarship, which you can use for any of our electric service packages to get your business and your service rocking better than ever. Come on, guys, let's brighten this thing up. Is it gonna be you? Back to the show. Before the call, you guys were talking a bit strategy. You were going into something. Alex, are you into working on something live? Yeah, bring it up.

SPEAKER_03 24:28

Oh, yeah. So I jumped on the opportunity class yesterday with Joe. The boot camp. Yep, or boot camp. Yep. Um, jumped on there and was like, whoo, this is a flood of information. I know I need to go try something on my next call, or else I'm gonna forget. And the but I know the best way to learn is in action. And so I'm like, I know it's gonna probably suck or not come out right, but I'm just gonna go try it.

SPEAKER_02 24:56

Um I'm cheering in the background. If you're only listening, I my hands are in the air because that's what gets results. That's what gets wins. Sorry, continue.

SPEAKER_03 25:06

And so I told Joe in the call yesterday, uh, I was asking about the the two-call close thing because I never did that. I was always taught, like, present now, estimate now, now, close now, now, now, now. I went out basically for a panel estimate, and she didn't have the other spouse, she didn't have her spouse there. And so I basically asked the question. It was like, you know, just so we're on the same page. Um, you know, you guys weren't planning on coming to a conclusion uh today while I'm here, right? And she's like, Oh, yeah, no, you know, we gotta get other estimates. I gotta talk to my my husband. Immediately, I was like, okay, I don't care how this goes, this is a win. It came out, you know, and like I found out what I need to find out. But long story short, I tried to I did book a second call for today, which is the next day, which was not ideal. But there the one good thing about it is I'll be the last estimate. The second thing that's not good is that I couldn't get uh the date for when her husband would be home. I was like, so you know, just so it's easiest for all of us to go over everything, you know, what uh what's the best time for the three of us to get back together, go over it? And then uh she was like, Oh, he'll be home, you know, tomorrow, you know, but he'll be on the plane, it'll be late. I was like, okay, we can do something for next week. Um, you know, what day next week works for you? And she's like, uh, it's all right, like, you know, we can just do it tomorrow. Like, she was really insistent on that. And I was like, okay, just put it in the calendar for the next day. So I'm going there today.

SPEAKER_00 26:32

Awesome. I'm gonna jump in on this.

SPEAKER_02 26:34

Yeah, praise, praise for me. That's all I was gonna say. So continue, please.

SPEAKER_00 26:37

Oh, so pretty much the struggle that you were going into is that you knew or now know what the next likely outcome is gonna be, right? Where you're like, I need both spouses, this is gonna be a large ticket, there's gonna be a lot of information I need to communicate, there's a lot of value I have to build. And if I do it to one person and they don't buy immediately, you have to hope that they're gonna do your presentation just as well as you do with being able to answer all the questions and still hope he says yes. Then you'd still have to come back and do a second presentation and or figure out whatever details need to be done. Now, I know you were saying, I can I'd love to come back, let's make him included, but that's what would have benefited you. We need to explain it in a way where she sees that doing it your way is substantially easier and with less risk to her. So the question that we'd start with usually is, and you did it right, like do we're not bringing a conclusion today? Perfect, you got that. Like, wonderful, that's perfect, it works wonderful for me. You know, I'm going back to the shop, I'm gonna design a range of solutions, we'll come back when everyone's available. When's the best time for the three of us to get together? That's the first thing we go into. We explain you want to have everyone together. It's like a subtle, like, when's the best time for the three of us to be to get together? Now, she may have said, Oh, he's busy, he's doing this. You know, I give you credit because there's gonna be a lot of information I'm gonna be communicating. And the fact you'd want to take it all upon yourself to not only understand this and break it down and memorize what we got to do and then explain it to your husband, like kudos for you for being able to get that done. But can I ask you a question? And then usually this is the question part now. I would love to find a way to make this easier for you. So, why don't we do this? Do you feel like your husband's opinion is gonna be important at all when we actually come to understanding what we're gonna be getting done and why? So you see what we did here. We said, Do you think your husband's opinion would be important? Not do you think you need to see the numbers, do you need to see do you think it's gonna help with the decision making? Do you think his opinion would be important? Now, as a married person, the logical answer is you're either gonna say absolutely, or you're gonna lie and say, Nope, I'm the guy, I don't have to do anything. If that second option happens, say, wow, it's amazing you got that kind of autonomy. So she's not even gonna care about what the numbers are. Because what's the objection you expect? Well, I can make all the decisions, but of course they have the purse, they're they're the one with the credit card. I can't do anything with that. I still have to run past them for the numbers. So you know it's gonna come. So the first is if his opinion is important and she still says no, then when she says I have to talk to your husband, talk to the husband, you say, I actually agree with you. That's actually why I wanted him here in the first place. So why don't we do this? Why don't we take the burden of you explaining this and having to memorize all and trying to break down these options and said, Why don't we just get them on the phone? Or I'd even be happy to come back and meet again. Or if she then comes by and says, Well, obviously, I'm gonna have to know about the numbers. Well, I agree. That's actually why I asked, because I figured it would actually be irresponsible to do all these things with not including the numbers. Well, don't think it'd be important that he understands what he'd be paying for. So we're setting ourselves up to handle the second objection. But the reason why it's so effective is because she sees how she benefits from this, not oh well, Alex wants both of us here so he can close us. It's no, Alex wants both of us here so that I don't have to memorize memorize all this and then communicate it to my spouse. You see the different direction that we're taking, but at the same time building the objection handle when she's inevitably going to give it. What are your thoughts on this, man?

SPEAKER_03 30:07

Correct me if I'm wrong. It's like not just not just asking or saying what what, but why? Like, you know, why is it important? Um, and and just being able to communicate that in a way where she, you know, she understands, like to where, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:25

And there's actually one more subtlety you can add to it. Because there's someone out there who's listening to this who's like, yeah, no, you're still not gonna get that guy. She's gonna be the one, she's gonna say she's gonna do everything, and then you're gonna get tossed out on the side, right? Even if that does happen, you're gonna be in a position where you can actually serve them at a higher level by even offering to come back at the same time. So let's say you know this guy's in the background, there's some electrician saying, like, this is not gonna work, you're not gonna get the person, they're not gonna agree with this. Fine, let's entertain that thought. This person then comes back, and now this customer you're working with is insistent that you come and that she is going to present the information to her spouse. Wonderful. I'm so I really appreciate you trying to make my job easier. I don't have to come back, I don't have to explain anything. Thank you for that. The thing is, is that I want to make sure I put a ton of time and effort and love into what I designed for you. I just want to make sure it's gonna be represented properly. Can you please present it to me? That way, if you make any mistakes or need to be corrected, I can correct you on it. That way, when he hears it, you know he's getting the right information. The amount of like deer in the headlight looks I would get when that question would be answered, because they've never thought how will I explain this? It's well, he'll send me the email and I'll read the email and I'll tell him what it's gonna cost, and they'll say yes or no. But when you actually think, like, you have to explain this, can I hear how it would be explained just so I'm sure I'm not it's not being oversold or undersold. Would that be okay? So there's multiple different tiers of levels you can get based on the specific objection. And if she can't present it, which how was the likelihood that that's gonna happen? Then you can say, Well, that's why I want to make your job easier. I'm not trying to push you. In fact, if you don't want to buy from me, there's absolutely no pressure. I'm even willing to come back when you have all your all your quotes at all. And if I'm not clearly the best fit, I'll throw mine out the window and I'll stay and help you figure out who else is best. I just want to make sure that you don't have to worry about taking all this on yourself without any support. Is it wrong of me to want to do that for you?

SPEAKER_02 32:22

No. There we go. No, yeah, there's such a huge challenge here. I'm gonna back up to the absolute basics, just because that's the advocacy I have now with the night school side that we do is I try to boil this down to like what can I fit in such a small curriculum that obviously your boot camp is is like a hundred times more content almost. Here's where electricians get stuck. And Joe, you we've talked about these basics, but it's been a while. It's an endurance race. So, Alex, how long were you on the call at this point that you met this objection and gave up after swing one?

SPEAKER_03 32:58

Let's say 45 minutes.

SPEAKER_02 33:01

45 minutes. So it's the highest stake part, it's the longest endured part. And the last thing we want to do now is that fear of rejection doesn't go away as you're there, it actually grows with us. Last thing we want to do is be argumentative with our client, right? And so that was why the easy fold, and that's what I kind of heard in your voice when you're like that. So I just booked it. There's nothing wrong with that, it's exactly what we'd expect, and you're still operating at an intermediate level by going to the two call close, but at this level, your next pull away is oh, but I'm not the person that gives up after one swing. And the way I kind of look at this is when I look from the end backwards, if I already acknowledge that I'm not giving up after one swing. In fact, I like baseball, I want to do three swings, so I'm always gonna take it to the third order of consequences when we get into these little moments of disagreement or rather navigation, moments of navigation. Is that better to place it that way? It's a fair thing come from a pilot. And so for me, I'm like, well, what's harder? If I come back and he's not here, then I'm gonna have to navigate trying to get her to phone him so I could present to them both. And to me, that's not the ending that I want to choose. I'll do it, but I'd rather sit here in the uncomfortable a little longer and try to avoid that because that's more uncomfortable. But you only think this way if you first acknowledge that I don't give up after I'm not an easy fold. Does that make sense? To me, that's kind of how I frame it. So I'm like, shit, okay, I have to go three times. Do I want my fight later when it's really hard, or do I want my fight now when it's easy? Fight's the wrong word. What are your thoughts on that, Joe, from like an oversimplified perspective?

SPEAKER_00 34:45

I like that. And it's actually the way we handle objections because the goal is almost like jeet kundo, which is the style of no styles. I'm going to take what you have and I'm going to redirect the motion back to you. So if someone were to just as an example, hey, can you email it over? Catch. I'm holding a weighted ball. In fact, let me explain that. I feel that the way we're doing is a better exercise is imagine you're holding a 10-pound medicine ball. You can hold it for as long as you want, but the longer you hold it, the heavier it gets. The same is with objection handling. The more you have to talk and try to explain yourself, the more depleted you get while they're resting, recovering, and ready for the rebuttal. So the moment you get the objection, I'm holding the ball. Can you email this over to me? Have it email over to you. Which of these do you want me to email? So the concept is going back and forth with them, and that's how you survive the endurance race. You make them think harder than you do while you're recovering.

SPEAKER_02 35:41

What are your thoughts on this, Alex? Do you find that that there's an actionable step even in just a mindset shift of I'm not going to fold on the first that I'll go two levels deeper still?

SPEAKER_03 35:52

Yeah, definitely. I mean, I like to think that like the dialogue or the mind or the skill set will follow the mindset. So like having the mindset like first always helps me, like, because it tells you not just what to say, but why you're saying what you're saying, like where you want to get to. So if you know you want to get to, you know, you'll know the right questions to ask. Um, you'll know where to, you know, where to guide things. And so I feel like that definitely helps just thinking, like, okay, I'm not gonna fold um on the one. So even if you know an ejection comes up and I don't know exactly what to say, I just know for a fact I'm not gonna fold on that first one. And then that's where, you know, in the moment you just gotta go with your best at that point, and then you know, if it goes good, good. If it doesn't, great, because you can reflect on it, coach on it, and you know, hit it better the next time. But yeah, I think that definitely helps with the mindset.

SPEAKER_02 36:47

Sounds like the right attitude, Joe. I'm with you, man.

SPEAKER_00 36:50

You know, actually cool, you actually line up with the box. Like, hey, I gotta find more mic.

SPEAKER_02 36:55

I want to make sure we all heard that.

SPEAKER_00 36:56

That was just you know, there's something else that's happening as well. And Alex, I want, I assume you've experienced it, but I'm gonna ask it that way we can at least go through the cadence of it. Let's say you're in this situation where you know you're coming back and you know you're gonna meet with one spouse, and what's the objection you're expecting for? One spouse. Right. But the objection is I've got to talk to my spouse. Can you email it over? I can't do it, right? So now, not only did you meet the first time, but you're gonna be spending time designing a presentation for someone you suspect is not going to buy. What does that do for your morale? First and foremost, before we even go deeper with it, if you're designing a presentation for someone you don't think is gonna buy, how is that gonna make you feel?

SPEAKER_03 37:38

I feel like naturally it'll make you want to like speed through or not be as you know detailed or whatever it may be.

SPEAKER_00 37:45

Okay, that is the beginning of the rope of a self-fulfilling prophecy. You yourself have gone there. You said, wow, or internally, like, wow, this person's giving a lot of resistance. I'm guaranteeing they're gonna give me the husband spouse objection, and I'm gonna still have to email it over. It's like, well, why am I even coming back here? So as a result, you just said you're more likely to speed through it. But because you come back and speed through it, less value is built. Because less value is built, they don't immediately convert. And then you end up at the same objection that you were worried about, except you were actually in part the one who caused it. The second thing is imagine you're now setting aside from your family, because maybe you're saying, I don't want to be home at 8, 9, 10 o'clock. Imagine you're now need to design this presentation after working a full day. Your wife or your kids are in the background, but you're at the dining room table working on options for someone you know isn't gonna buy. Is that gonna mess with your head at all? No, and you're skipping dinner with your kids in order to present to someone who's just gonna ask you to break it down for sure. Okay, and that also feeds the self-fulfilling prophecy because you're going in saying, My energy's down, I don't think this is gonna go right, I'm gonna speed through it. I may not have the same resolve to go and close, and as a result, she doesn't buy, and then you end up exactly where you thought you were. But again, your emotions and your style brought you there. Does that make sense? Yep. Awesome. What are your thoughts, Nicola?

SPEAKER_02 39:13

Yeah, no, I love it. And I'm reminded of early on when you said, and this is my first like stake in the ground, this is it, gold mining, here's the gold, get your pants out. Can't say it enough. You know, double underline bold and exclamation mark was like, here's how we can rephrase this so that it's for her. And to me, there's two types of objection handles there's I need to memorize this and then hope the situation is perfect fit for what I've memorized, or I understand the framework, and I've just practiced speaking to this in the many ways from those specific situations, that it's just a three-step dance. And that's what I really hear here. And I think it's that framework. And what Alex said is important too, is like I go out, I just do my best with what I have, and maybe I I just waff at it and swing and miss, and it's nothing, right? Whiff at it rather. Um, and that's great too, because you still have a result and you still have something to practice. And again, you get the edge if you actually go back and review what happened in practice. If you guys aren't doing that, which most guys aren't. That's the difference. Those are my thoughts, Joe. I just think of that framework because that uh what's the martial art?

SPEAKER_00 40:24

You say it, you've said it often it's Jeet Kundo, it's Bruce Lee's style. It pretty much he developed a style that incorporated all styles and therefore was no style.

SPEAKER_02 40:32

Yep. Take what works, block what doesn't, make it your own. Thousand percent. We encourage that with our process, Alex, as you learn more and more about this, too. But if you learn these few steps to really pivoting when someone puts their energy against yours and find the way to get on their side and use their energy, is really what Joe is suggesting to then ask the question and guide them to the next spot. That's all it is. I love this image in my mind of the there's a line between us, they've taken a stance on their side, they're staring at us, we're staring at them, and we can't get resolved from that place. That is just a complete stalemate. You're done until you acknowledge where they're at. I like to add an end in there so they really buy in that I'm on the same team. Hey, I totally get that that's more than you were thinking. And if I only called for this, I'd probably feel the same way. But let me show you some other things and remind you of what we found and what you said earlier. Now, are those things still important to you, or should we just completely scratch those all together? That's a full example of we're opposed, I got beside them by acknowledging and added something. So now we're looking the same way, right? And then just ask them a question to see if we're still on the right path or not. You'll learn that framework, Alex, and this will just become second nature, and then you'll just go, okay, I'm at one, I'll hit two, I'm gonna hit three. Can I bring up one more example, Joe? I think you're gonna like this.

SPEAKER_04 41:58

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:58

I have to catch my breath first. I got winded in that one. I was talking too much. Okay. Um, I'm not gonna use the name, but one of our respected guests, and he has come up on this episode, he was particularly proud of this advance recently. It's something he's been focused on. And Joe, I think you worked on it with him too. And so we had a guy who's been kind of whiffing three or four calls in, and he literally gave him the objection at decision time on like three or four call close. He said, You know what? I gotta mow my lawn. The law, the lawn's getting tall, I gotta go. It needs it's calling me. And so this individual took a stance and said, Well, hang on a sec, right? I understand that the law needs to be done, and I totally get that from someone that appreciates a clean yard, too. But is there something I'm missing here? Did I do something wrong? Because it feels like we're in the middle of a conversation and you want this, but I'm getting kind of mixed signals about what you want. Is there something wrong with the generator or whatever, whatever it was? And so he stayed the level deeper. And the guy said, Well, to be honest, it's the price. I don't know what I can afford. And to our client, he was like, Yes, he brought this back to class and was like, I'm super pumped. I went the next level. Here we are. And this is a guy that crushes, by the way. Like, this is good stuff.

SPEAKER_03 43:17

I heard this one.

SPEAKER_02 43:19

You heard it already? Yeah, maybe I use this example anyway. So it's important to recognize because I use Joe as the straw man, and I'm like, Do you think Joe would have stopped there? And he goes, Well, no, what do you think Joe would do? And so we talked about it as a third party, so it wasn't me interrupting, right? And ultimately I said, Well, you know, Joe would probably divide the hats and say, you know what, we're kind of at a standstill here. I need to call attention to something. Sounds like you don't know what you can afford, and I'm worried about that because I'm your electrician, but we've also built a friendship here. So is this really something where you don't Know what you can afford, or is it that you see what I've offered and it's not that? And then I think Joe would literally this is my guess. You tell me, Joe. I think you would literally separate and go into friend mode if he didn't know what he's a pensioner, and you would offer to not be an electrician and to help him get clear on his finances with no attachment to selling anything, just so that he could be clear. And if you're not a fit for it, at least you might be able to help him get a generator still. Am I right in that assumption? Or where would you take them?

SPEAKER_00 44:29

Yeah, actually, right. So the direction I would go in addition is let's say he truly doesn't know because that's a genuine possibility. There are some people who think it's gonna be a $2,000 installation and they got $1,500 in the bank saying, I'll come up with it, and then you show up as a $15,000 installation, and they're like, whoa, what do we do here? So offering financing is a great way of actually exploring what someone could afford. So if he if he's saying, like, I truly don't know what I'm gonna afford, like, okay, so if you don't know, there's actually something we have specifically for your situation. What we do is we actually have something called a soft pull, where we actually have a phenomenal uh uh payment option company that we work with where that allows you to actually inquire how much you could get without any effect to your credit score or anything negatively affecting you. No points are hit, nothing at all. And then at least you'll understand where you're at. And you don't have to do anything today with it, but then the question of what can I afford is no longer there. So you can at least go that direction if you feel comfortable, or if you feel like this is just not gonna be the right fit, we could discuss a different level of solution. How would you like to proceed with this?

SPEAKER_02 45:35

Yeah, ton of fun. Alex, we've got to rope you back in here. I'm sorry, I went on a tangent. Um, you're the honored guest. We're having so much fun with you. Let's do some rapid questions. You ready for this? Just give your best, quickest answer you can, whatever comes to mind. If you were to go and give yourself advice three years ago, even five years ago, what advice would you give yourself knowing what you know now?

SPEAKER_03 46:00

Dig your well before you're thirsty. Love it. I love that one. Some people are like, it takes that hunger or getting to a certain point to want to have to push through and you know, expand themselves. But I would probably tell myself, like, don't wait until it gets to that point. Like, just keep pushing, anyways. Um, and you know, it's just like a lot of success principles, like, success is a journey, not you know, a destination. And so I would have just told myself to start that journey earlier before things maybe got tougher, or you're put in a position where you have to start, you know, making more money, doubling your income, whatever it is. Next question.

SPEAKER_02 46:36

If one of those friends you talked about who are in construction did take the job, what's the top three things that you would make sure they grasp right away to be successful?

SPEAKER_03 46:44

Embrace the discomfort. If they have the well, this depends on the system of the company, but if they have a system, copy it to a T. Because that's I mean, I had 100k my first month out of training with that company, and it wasn't even an electrical specific. I never had a sales training before that. So anybody getting into it, if you have a good system, copy and paste it. So that's what I'm really excited about doing here. Embrace the discomfort, copy the training to a T. And the probably the hugest one is learn from someone who's already doing what you want to do. Like when I have ride-alongs with the top sales guys, I have my notepad. I was like pestering them with questions in between every call. I was like writing down what they were saying, I was like watching their not just what they're saying during calls, but like their non-verbals and their tone and their body language, like watching all of that. Because I mean, you can say, you know, you can spit out a bunch of words, but uh, I think they said like 7% of the way we communicate is verbal, 50% is is body language, and then like 30% is um, I forget what it is, but it's such a small number that's like verbal. So looking at you know, people who are where you want to be, and you know, copying that as well.

SPEAKER_02 47:56

I think they say 70% non-verbal, actually. It's only 30% what you say, just a slight numbers weren't quite there, but just to help you out there. What's one thing that you've overcomp overcomplicated or electricians overcomplicate in service?

SPEAKER_03 48:11

We're very like formula-minded, math-minded. Um, and so just not treating like that's why like I really like to focus on mindset and then dialogue, because if you're just super super focused on what you're saying and what they're saying, and not really why you're saying it, you can't take ownership of it, and you start to treat people like numbers and transactions and not people.

SPEAKER_00 48:34

I'm right there already, man. You know, something else that you mentioned was you say to yourself, like, hey, what do we also teach with construction? It's like, do you what do you think about like physical appearance? You know, because I remember being on sites and you could have a construction vest, a backwards hat, a cutoff shirt, and skull in your mouth. You know, like can you pull that off in a customer's house? You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 48:54

Not quite. In no way. Not quite. Biggest mistake you've made so far as a business owner.

SPEAKER_03 49:00

Undervaluing my time and efforts.

SPEAKER_02 49:05

Coffee or energy drink or no caffeine?

SPEAKER_03 49:07

Coffee in the morning and at night, energy drink throughout the day.

SPEAKER_00 49:10

Oh I was terrified you were gonna be a no-coffee guy, and I'm like, I can't can't trust that.

SPEAKER_03 49:17

I'm sorry. Like it's too weird. No way. Favorite tool you own? Uh I don't know if it's nipics or nipex. I think that's a debate, but nipex, uh, strippers. The oh yeah. Nice. Yeah, no.

SPEAKER_02 49:29

Uh, are you a book reader? Yes. Read books? What's one book you think every electrician should read if you're in business or service?

SPEAKER_03 49:37

Most of my books are like not geared towards electricians, they're like people, but um how to win friends and influence people. Oh, I think you're really good books.

SPEAKER_02 49:46

Good choice, yeah. Dale Carnegie, love it. Okay, man. Uh, last one, where are you going? Uh, what do you want this business to become? What do you see in the future, Alex? Enlighten us, brother.

SPEAKER_03 49:58

Yeah, I'd like to be off the phone and off the tools in the next three to six months. I'd like to be off the sales in the next six to nine months. Um, maybe six to twelve. Um, I know that's gonna be a big one to to jump over. Um, yeah, I'd like to be basically just off the managing and everything within like 12 to 18 months and be doing at least one and a half to two mil by then. Honestly, I think even more is possible with just the training and the system that you guys have. Honestly. There we go.

SPEAKER_02 50:31

Well, we've seen it many times. It's been on the podcast, we're seeing it out there right now. There's never been a more exciting time for us because we've officially been doing this now for three and a half years, going on four years. And so some of these guys that we helped in the beginning are really showing their uh their uh medals out there and all the great success they're having and different deals going down and stuff. So super exciting, Alex. We've seen it. I believe you have this. I think you can do that. I really do. Yeah, so CSR, then an installer, then a sales tech, and then building a little management team around it. Sounds great, man. Looking forward to seeing you become the next million dollar electrician. Anything else you wanted to say on this podcast while you have the attention of uh all the electricians out there?

SPEAKER_03 51:16

Find who has the results, find who has the systems, and and and just run with it and trust it and believe that it works. If it's we're talking electricians, then that's that's these guys because I've I've learned from the HVAC and plumbing guys and the you know the general business people, uh business coaching out there that has nothing to do with construction or your industry. So find people that you know are doing exactly what you want to do and and make them some of your best friends and learn from them and run with them.

SPEAKER_02 51:49

Amazing. Thanks for the plug. That was uh unpaid. That's Alex's true true thoughts, feelings, and journey from this podcast. Joe, anything from you to finish us off today?

SPEAKER_00 51:58

I can say one thing because we didn't get to touch on it. I am so excited to help you become a generator specialist. It is one of the most profitable niches you can get into. It serves a huge group of people, and it's very, very underutilized by the trade. So the fact you want to get in and scratch that itch, and I cannot wait to make you that guy.

SPEAKER_02 52:15

Thank you. Awesome. Thanks, Alex. Uh it's great setting some goals with you and working through some stuff. I guess we'll have to invite you back on in six, nine months, see how you're doing, man. Yep, no pressure, no pressure. We only told the world what you're gonna do. Just means you'll probably do it, brother. Thanks so much. And see you guys out there next week on another episode of the Million Dollar Electrician.

SPEAKER_00 52:33

Be blessed, guys.