Make the most of the opportunities

My message to electrical contractors is to make the most of the opportunities that present themselves. There’s never been a better time to be aggressive. There’s no easier sell than an upsell. That’s a lesson we all need to learn and apply in our businesses.

In 2003, Clipsal* recognised the electrical industry was missing out on 150,000 opportunities within the consumer market each year - the number of new home starts in Australia. A lack of strategic marketing to this sector made us realise that other industries were taking greater share of the home builder’s discretionary spend.

From our market research, we discovered electrical accessories ranked very low on a list of consumer priorities, with much of their budget being allocated to other things. Focus groups told us that people had no idea so much electrical innovation was available to them. “If only we knew what was available beforehand,” was a common lament.

From that feedback, we devised strategies to engage with home builders in our own premises using software that could scan house plans and spec the entire home over a two-hour session with them, including builder’s pricing. We soon found that we could upsell clients by as much as 300% above what they previously intended to spend. Emergency lighting, home networking and premium switch-plates became essential for them.

We’ve even noticed some of our contractor customers modelling their businesses on the same concept. By upselling, they’re discovering greater margins can be achieved within that consultation.

We meet hundreds of contractors and we always encourage them to upsell. You cannot make good margins on entry-level products alone. Although you may not have the resources of a showroom, manufacturers can assist in many ways with the upsell. It all starts with a suggestion and enthusiastic discussion over a sample or brochure.

Upselling might just be a case of taking a customer from a basic white GPO up to a Saturn GPO. You’re not chasing the work, because you’re already there spending the same amount of time on the job as you would on a basic installation. The customer has called you to provide a solution. It can be basic or enhanced - it’s up to you to upsell it. I say this because I’m a sparkie myself, as is our General Manager of Sales and Commercial. We know and understand contractors because that’s who we are too.

Innovative products create upselling opportunities. We’re fanatical about it and we invest $20 million annually into R&D, challenging ourselves to put you in a position to offer customers something new and different - switches that look like glass, data cabinets that look good in offices or home automation that operates over the internet.

Offering green solutions is our industry’s best attack against the GFC. Green Star and NABERS energy ratings have opened up many opportunities. We encourage domestic contractors to make energy auditing part of their service offering. Help clients identify areas of energy wastage and then offer the solutions to fix them - sensors, timers, energy-efficient lighting - the products and resources are all there for you to implement.

The ultimate domestic upsell is home automation. At the recent CEDIA show, we had 1000+ visitors to our C-Bus display. Even if you’re not 100% comfortable with the technology, partner with an integrator who is and work together to the share the mains wiring and the automation.

Each year, 1000 Australian contractors from apprentices to contractors in their 40s undertake C-Bus courses. Many are encountering jobs that require C-Bus. We find that, regardless of age, all contractors are able to get up to speed with the technology quickly. Once they get a taste, many enrol in more courses.

* Damien Cummins was appointed Executive General Manager, Clipsal Australia in 2009, after commencing with Clipsal in 2003 as General Manager, Clipsal Datacomms. In 2007, Cummins was appointed General Manager, Installations, Systems and Control, Pacific Zone.