Standby generator leads: Qualify before the next outage
The outage is the ad campaign
Nobody wakes up on a sunny Tuesday wanting a standby generator. They want one on the second night of an outage, with the refrigerator warming and the sump pit filling. That is when they call you, and the next electrician on the list.
The outages are getting longer. According to the EIA, U.S. electricity customers averaged 11 hours of interruptions in 2024, nearly twice the average of the prior decade, and major events such as hurricanes caused 80% of those hours. South Carolina customers averaged nearly 53 hours. Every one of those hours is demand you did not pay for. The demand is free. The 72 hours after it arrives are where electricians win or lose it.
Most of the burst is not a buyer yet
Generac's 2024 annual report puts home standby penetration at only about 6.5% of its addressable market, which it defines as single-family, detached, owner-occupied homes valued over $175K. The market is wide open, and the definition of a real buyer is narrow.
The post-outage call list includes renters who cannot authorize an install, homeowners with no gas service and no room for a propane tank, people who want a portable unit by Friday, and condo owners whose association will say no. Mixed in are the homeowners who will sign for a whole-home system. A desk that books a survey for everyone sends an estimator to a rental. A desk that quotes a price to everyone loses the real buyers to whoever sounded more careful.
Five questions that qualify a standby lead
Generator qualification fits in five questions, and each answer either disqualifies the lead or changes the scope of the survey. The general scoping questions every electrical intake should ask are covered in our post on intake calls and job size. These five are specific to standby work.
Question | Why it matters | What the answer changes |
|---|---|---|
Do you own the home? | Renters and many condo owners cannot approve the install | No: Thank them and log the lead as non-owner |
Natural gas or propane, and where is the meter or tank? | Fuel decides the unit and the gas work | No gas service: The survey covers propane tank placement |
Has the gas meter or line ever been upsized? | A standby unit adds load the meter may not carry | Unknown: Flag a meter check with the utility before the quote |
Where is the main panel, and what is its amperage? | Transfer switch type and size depend on it | Older or 100-amp panel: The survey includes a load calculation |
Is there an HOA, or a known permit issue? | Placement and setback rules can stall the job | HOA present: Capture the approval process and timeline |
Write the answers into the job record, not into a free-text note. The estimator should know the fuel, the panel, and the association rules before they pull into the driveway.
Book the site survey, not a price
The first question on most generator calls is how much. The honest answer depends on the unit size, the fuel run, the transfer switch, the permit, and the pad, none of which the person on the phone can see. A number quoted on the phone becomes the number the homeowner holds you to, or the number that makes them hang up and call a dealer who is willing to guess lower.
The better script names what drives the cost, explains that the survey measures all of it, and offers a dated slot. The goal of the call is a survey on the calendar with the five answers attached.
The portable generator question is a safety moment
Some callers only want to know whether they can run a portable generator through the dryer outlet tonight. Treat that call seriously. According to the CPSC, portable generators were associated with 800 of the 931 non-fire carbon monoxide deaths linked to engine-driven tools from 1999 through 2012. Backfeeding a house through an outlet also endangers the line workers restoring power on the utility side.
The desk should never coach a homeowner through an improvised hookup. It should say plainly that a generator runs outdoors and away from windows, and that a house connection needs a transfer switch or interlock installed by an electrician. Then it offers to book that work. A caller who gets a straight safety answer at 9 PM during an outage remembers who gave it.
Speed wins the burst
The qualified homeowner calls three dealers. The one who answers, asks five sharp questions, and puts a survey on the calendar during the call usually gets the install. Run it on your own numbers. As one illustration, if an outage week brings 120 inquiries, a quarter of them qualify, and your desk reaches half of those before a competitor does, you book 15 surveys. Reach all of them first and the same storm books 30.
Two moves help. First, before storm season, call and text the people who asked about generators last year and never bought, while the estimators have open days. Second, make sure the inbound line can absorb the spike. A traditional answering service takes a message, which is a callback you will not make in time. An AI agent such as Revin answers every call at once, asks your five questions, books the survey into ServiceTitan during the call, and transfers anything unusual to your team with the details attached. Your CSRs work the hottest surveys instead of the voicemail pile.
The next outage is already on a forecast somewhere. Write the five questions down before it arrives.
Do I need a permit for a standby generator?
In most places, yes. A standby generator usually involves electrical work, a transfer switch, and often a gas connection, and each of those typically falls under local permit and inspection rules. Requirements vary by city and county, and homeowner associations can add their own placement rules. A licensed electrician confirms what applies during the site survey and normally pulls the permits as part of the installation.
Is my gas meter big enough for a generator?
Sometimes, but it is not safe to assume. A standby generator adds a large gas load on top of the appliances already on the meter, such as the water heater, range, and dryer. Whether the existing meter and line can carry it depends on the meter rating, the size and length of the gas line, and the generator's demand. The installer checks this during the site survey, and the utility sometimes has to upgrade the meter.
What size generator do I need for my house?
It depends on what you want running during an outage. Some homeowners want the whole house powered, including central air and electric cooking. Others only need essential circuits such as the refrigerator, sump pump, lights, and well pump. The right size comes from a load calculation that looks at the panel and the major appliances. That is why most installers size the unit during a site survey rather than over the phone.
How long does a generator installation take?
The work on site is usually the short part of the timeline. The longer part is everything around it: The site survey, permits and inspections, any gas meter change by the utility, homeowner association approval, and equipment availability. After a major outage, demand spikes and every one of those steps slows down, so homeowners who plan before storm season are usually installed sooner than those who call during it.
How should electricians qualify generator leads?
Ask five questions on the first call: Whether the caller owns the home, which fuel is available, whether the gas meter or line has spare capacity, where the main panel is and what its amperage is, and whether a homeowner association or permit rule affects placement. The answers tell you whether to book a site survey and what the estimator must check. Record them in the job so nobody asks twice.
About Revin
Answer every generator lead in the burst
Revin answers generator inquiries around the clock, asks your qualification questions, and books the site survey into ServiceTitan during the call.
