From Installer to Trusted Adviser: The Smart Home Opportunity for Electrical Contractors

The role of the contractor is evolving, and with good reason. Whereas in the past, people wanted more information, today there’s too much – and no one knows what’s right or wrong.

But while information isn’t as valuable today as it once was, knowledge is – and there lies the opportunity for electrical contractors. By establishing yourself as that ‘trusted adviser’, you position yourself as the person customers turn to when they’re making decisions about how their home can function.

Key takeaways for electrical contractors

• Homeowners often need guidance navigating the complexity of smart home technology.
• Asking customers about their smart home strategy can open broader project discussions.
• Focusing on outcomes rather than individual products helps demonstrate value.
• Smart home conversations can lead to additional installation opportunities.
• Wholesalers, suppliers and support services can help contractors build confidence in smart home solutions.

Why is smart home technology creating new opportunities for contractors?

Few emerging product categories offer contractors as much opportunity as smart home technology does right now. Why? Because there’s a whole host of options available, different systems, different platforms – and many people just don’t know where to start.

“There’s a tyranny of choice in smart home technology,” says Simon Richardson, Technology Solutions Manager at SAL National and PIXIE.

“The complexity and the confusion is the main challenge – it stops contractors offering it, it stops homeowners asking about it, and it even stops wholesalers from putting it on the shelves in case they get a question about it.”

The challenge for the smart home sector – the brands selling smart home tech, the wholesalers selling it and the contractors buying and installing it – is to simplify it as much as possible.

Simon says, “At PIXIE, our goal has always been, how do we simplify this for people? It’s the biggest challenge for everybody in that value chain, including us. How do we communicate it simply, and how do we help people understand it simply, and how do we help the wholesaler help the electrician help the homeowner?”

What’s your smart home strategy?

But, first things first – you’ve got to get customers interested. And, because of that confusion – and information overload – it’s important for contractors to start the conversation.

“The question every electrical contractor should be asking a homeowner is, ‘What’s your smart home strategy?’. Whether it’s for a renovation or a new build, the question’s the same,” says Simon.

“It’s also the question wholesalers should be asking contractors too.”

Instead of focusing on individual products, a broad question such as ‘what is your smart home strategy?’ encourages homeowners to think about how they want their homes to function. Do they want automated lighting? Integrated climate control? Automatic blinds? Garage door notifications? Energy management? Better security controls?

Stop selling smart products – start selling smart outcomes

The contractors who start these conversations early are often involved in a much larger portion of the project. Rather than pricing a handful of switches or power points, they are helping shape how the entire home operates.

Many customers have never considered these possibilities. Understanding where their priorities lie creates an opportunity to have a very different conversation – one where you’re positioning yourself as a trusted expert, and not just someone who connects things and makes them work.

And selling that ‘experience’ – rather than individual items – is key.

“The value of integrated lighting is not the switch itself,” says Simon. “It is the convenience of controlling multiple zones, creating scenes, or automating outdoor lighting schedules.”

When the conversation shifts from products to outcomes, the value proposition becomes easier to understand.

A customer who initially asks about lighting may also be interested in climate control, automated blinds, garage door control or energy management. Those opportunities often only emerge when you discuss how the customer wants the home to function rather than focusing on individual products.

Keeping the big picture in mind

Another benefit of talking about big picture strategy is it sets customers’ sights higher. By having a big picture conversation, you can better understand what truly matters for them – and according to Simon, this often changes how projects are scoped and priced.

“When you start talking about smart products, you get to then upgrade to a better light quality. You get to add some extras, maybe motorised blinds or motorised skylights, and you get to introduce more products into the conversation that you, as the electrician, can install.”

In addition, by creating this impression of a smart home journey, you can reposition pricing conversations.

If doing everything right now is not realistic from a cost perspective, start off with what matters most, and build on it later, rather than automatically defaulting to reducing price or finding cheaper options online.

Of course, contractors have to have confidence in smart homes as a topic to sell them – and Simon believes many contractors are unsure about which systems to recommend, how the tech works, or how to explain the benefits to the customer.

“The wholesaler helps the electrician help the homeowner,” says Simon.

Part of PIXIE’s solution is a free smart home design service, which is available for all contractors via your Gemcell stockist. By sharing details of your client’s project, PIXIE will create a smart home design (designed by real people, not AI!) detailing what’s possible and the products to bring it to life. Its hotline service is available for contractors to access for installation and product information too – all helping guide contractors and customers through the smart home process.

Together, with experts from suppliers on hand too, leveraging the available training, support and design assistance, the wholesaler and contractor should be able to work together to create a valuable and enticing proposition.

The future belongs to trusted advisers

As smart home technology becomes more common, homeowners will increasingly expect guidance from the professionals they already trust.

That creates an opportunity for electricians to expand their role beyond installation and become strategic advisers on how homes function.

The contractors who are curious and invested in this are likely to differentiate themselves from competitors, create more value for customers, and unlock new revenue opportunities in a rapidly growing market.

The question is no longer whether smart home technology is moving into the mainstream.

The real question is: are you prepared to lead the conversation?

Frequently asked questions about smart home technology

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