How to get more electrical work

Electrical work comes from at least six kinds of customer, which is good news if you spread your effort:

• Homeowners: faults, extra outlets, lighting, panel upgrades and rewires in older homes.
• Property managers and landlords: repairs and tenant calls across many units.
• Commercial clients: stores, offices, restaurants and small landlords who need maintenance and tenant improvements.
• Newer work: EV chargers, solar and battery hookups, and standby generators.
• Other trades: general contractors, remodelers and HVAC companies who need an electrician they can rely on.
• Repeat customers and their referrals.

Ask every new customer how they found you and record the job value. After a few months you'll know which channel pays.

Start with your Google Business Profile. It's free, and it's what shows in Maps and the local results when someone searches for a electrician nearby. Google says businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search results, and that there's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.

1. 1If customers don't visit your premises, set it up as a service-area business. Google says a service-area business should have one profile for its central office with a designated service area, and can't list a virtual office unless it's staffed during business hours.
2. 2Use your real business name. Google says adding unnecessary information to your business name isn't permitted and could get your profile suspended.
3. 3List each service you want more of, such as panel upgrades, EV chargers and lighting.
4. 4Add photos of tidy panels, finished kitchens and charger installs.
5. 5Ask for a review after every good job. Our guide on getting more Google reviews is written for plumbers, but the rules and the review link work the same way for electricians.

Google also sells Local Services Ads, where electricians pay for leads such as calls and messages rather than clicks, and can earn a Google Verified badge. Google warns that if you regularly fail to answer calls or respond to messages, your ad ranking may be affected. Google is also moving Local Services Ads into Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals, starting in August 2026 for home service advertisers, and says you still only pay for valid leads. Read our guide to Local Services Ads and missed calls before you switch them on.

Yes, because customers and property managers check it. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says most states require electricians to pass a test and be licensed, and the rules on who needs which license, and what a contractor license covers, vary by state and sometimes by city. Check with your own state licensing board before you advertise a service.

The FTC tells homeowners to check with their state or county government to confirm a contractor's license and ask for proof of insurance. Make that easy for them, and you'll stand out from the electricians who don't:

• Put your license number on your website, quotes, invoices, truck and Google Business Profile.
• Keep a certificate of general liability insurance ready to email, plus proof of workers' comp if you have employees.
• Mention that you pull permits where they're needed. A homeowner choosing between two quotes will often pick the one that sounds licensed and inspected.

Property managers and commercial clients give you a steady flow of small jobs, which smooths out the months when homeowner work is slow. To win it:

1. 1Contact local property management companies and ask who handles maintenance vendors and what they need on file, usually your license, insurance certificate and a W-9.
2. 2Offer a simple service: a clear response time, photos of the problem, a written quote for the fix and an invoice the same day.
3. 3Visit restaurants, stores and offices near your base and leave a card with the person who calls when a breaker trips.
4. 4Look at public work too. The SBA says government agencies are required to use SAM.gov to advertise all contracts over $25,000. State, county and school district contracts are posted on their own procurement sites.

Our guide on what to charge as an electrician covers hourly rates and job pricing to quote against.

It can be, but don't sell it on a federal tax credit that has ended. The IRS says the home EV charger credit was 30% of the cost up to $1,000 per item, for property placed in service from January 1, 2023 to June 30, 2026. Chargers installed after that date don't qualify.

Solar is in the same position. The IRS says the Residential Clean Energy Credit is not available for any property placed in service after December 31, 2025.

That doesn't kill the work. Homeowners with an electric car still need a charger, and many need a panel or service upgrade first. What changes is the pitch:

• Sell on convenience and safety: a properly installed, permitted charger instead of an extension cord.
• Check your state, city and electric utility for their own rebates before you mention any, because these vary and change.
• Tell past customers who've bought an electric car that you install chargers, and quote the panel work clearly.

Paid electrical leads can fill a quiet week, but you're often one of several pros chasing the same job. Here's what each platform says about its own pricing:

Measure the cost of each job you win. For example, $500 of lead fees that wins five jobs means each job cost $100 to win. Whether that's worth it depends on what those jobs are worth to you.

Marketing for electricians doesn't need to be clever. It needs to be consistent:

• A simple website with a page for each service you want more of, the areas you cover, your license number and real photos.
• The same business name and phone number on your website, truck, invoices and Google profile.
• A short note to past customers once or twice a year, for example about chargers, generators or panel upgrades in older homes.
• Relationships with general contractors, remodelers, plumbers and HVAC companies. Heat pump and furnace swaps often need an electrician, and our guide on how to get HVAC leads shows where that work comes from.

Within minutes if you can. A customer with no power or a breaker that keeps tripping calls the next electrician if you don't answer. In the same CallRail survey, 78% of US consumers said they had abandoned a business after an unanswered call, and only 42% said they leave a voicemail.

The cost of a missed lead is the job's value times the chance it would have booked. For example, missing three calls a week that book half the time, at $350 a job, is $525 a week, or $27,300 a year. Use our missed call calculator with your own figures, and read what missed calls cost a contractor for the full sum.

Then follow up properly:

1. 1Call back missed callers within the hour where you can.
2. 2Send written quotes the same day.
3. 3Chase quotes after two or three days with a short, friendly text.
4. 4Tell property managers exactly when you'll attend, and stick to it.

Ringzel is an AI receptionist for electricians and other small businesses. You keep your number and forward the calls you can't take. It answers every call 24/7 in your business name, tells the caller it's automated and asks your questions, such as the address, what's happened and whether the power is out.

After every call you get the recording, the transcript, a summary and a check report. On the Professional and Premium plans it can book jobs into your calendar and transfer calls to you or your team.

Plans cost $99, $179 or $299 a month, as shown on our pricing page. There's a 14-day free trial with no card needed.