New Live Event: Million Dollar techs
In this live session, we’re showing you the exact compensation math that turns clock-watchers into revenue generators.
We’ll cover:
Why your offer attracts the wrong hires (and how to fix it).
How to replace vague, discretionary bonuses with clear, trackable targets.
How to reward speed without causing callbacks.
When: Thursday, Feb 19 12pm ET | Where: Online | Cost: FREE
Stop guessing. Get the blueprint. 👇
Picture this: Your crew finishes a $4,000 landscape lighting install. It looks great. They pack the truck, clean up the mulch, and drive away.
They also just drove away from $600 in easy, high-margin revenue because nobody bothered to ask the homeowner, "Hey, do you want us to light up that dark pathway while we’re here?"
Your installers see things your sales team misses. The salesperson sold the job from a drawing or a daytime walkthrough. Your installers are the ones standing in the backyard at dusk. They see the dark corners. They see the old outlet that needs replacing. They see the while we're here opportunities.
But most installers keep their mouths shut. Why?
Because to them, an upsell just means more work for the same hourly pay and getting home 30 minutes later.
If you want to capture that revenue, you have to stop viewing your techs as just hands and start viewing them as eyes. And you need to pay them for what they see.
Here is how to incentivize your crew to capture while we're here add-ons without turning them into pushy used-car salesmen.
The Economics of the Open Checkbook
The most profitable revenue in your business isn't the big project you spent $300 in marketing ads to win. It’s the add-on sold while the truck is already in the driveway.
Think about the margins on a while we're here upsell:
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): $0. (You already have the customer).
Travel Cost: $0. (The truck is already parked).
Setup Time: Near zero. (The tools are already out).
As one owner I recently connected with told me, once the crew is on-site and doing good work, the customer’s guard comes down. "The checkbook is open at that point," he said.
The friction to add $500 to a $5,000 job is almost non-existent compared to trying to sell a standalone $500 service call. If the customer trusts your crew, an upsell doesn't feel like a sales pitch, it feels like expert advice.
Make the Incentive Matter
Most business owners get this wrong. They offer a spiff like $5 or $10 for an upsell.
Your top performers are smart. They know that installing three extra path lights involves digging, wiring, and testing. If you offer $10 to do that extra work, they’re going to ignore it and go home.
If you want techs to act like business owners, you have to pay a slice of the profit they just generated.
The Strategy: Offer a flat rate or an aggressive percentage (e.g., 20% of the upsell revenue) directly to the crew.
The Math:
Scenario: Your tech notices a beautiful Japanese Maple in the corner that wasn't on the plan.
The Pitch: "We have extra fixtures on the truck. I can light that tree up for $250."
The Cost: $50 in parts.
The Incentive: You give the tech $50 as a bonus.
The Result: You make $150 in pure profit you would have missed. The tech makes two hours' worth of wages for a 30-minute job.
When the incentive is real, your top techs stop rushing to leave and start looking for ways to add value.
Anti-Sales Training: Service Over Selling
The biggest objection you will hear from your crew is, "I'm not a salesman. I hate pushing people."
That’s a good thing. You don't want them to be pushy. A pushy technician destroys trust faster than a late arrival or callback.
You need to train your team that upselling isn’t selling, it is servicing. It is using their expertise to prevent the customer from having a regret later.
Here are three anti-sales scripts you can give your team today:
The Observation Upsell: “Mr. Jones, we’re almost done, but I noticed the original plan didn't include these steps over here. It’s going to look really dark in that corner compared to the rest of the yard. Did you want us to add a fixture there while we have the wire out?”
The Efficiency Upsell: “I know you mentioned wanting to do the backyard next year. Since we have the trenchers here today, we could run the main line to the back right now. It would save you the $150 trip charge later. Do you want to do that?”
The Visual Upsell: “I have a demo light on the truck. Do you want me to hook it up temporarily so you can see what this wall looks like with a light on it? No pressure, just thought it might look cool.”
The Golden Rule: If the customer hesitates or says no, the tech must drop it immediately. No countering. No pressure. We are guests in their home.
The Red Line: When to Loop in Sales
There is a danger zone here. You don’t want your installer negotiating a $20,000 patio extension or redesigning a complex HVAC zoning system on the fly.
Installers are great at transactional upsells (add a light, replace a capacitor, add a surge protector). They are usually bad at consultative sales.
Set a hard rule for the handoff:
If the upsell takes less than 1 hour and parts are on the truck → Tech handles it.
If the upsell requires a permit, a new contract, or complex design → Tech calls the Sales Rep.
You still have to incentivize the handoff.
If a tech calls the sales rep and says, "The homeowner is asking about a whole-home generator," and that turns into a $12,000 sale, the tech needs a "Lead Gen" bonus.. If they don't get paid for the lead, they will stop passing them along.
How to Keep Track of Bonus Payments
To successfully implement an incentive plan you need a system where the math is transparent and easy to track — for both owners and technicians.
This is where ShareWillow comes in. ShareWillow allows you to build specific incentive structures where these while we're here spiffs are automatically calculated and visible to the employee.
Your Business Command Center
The ShareWillow dashboard gives you a real-time view of incentive performance, it shows you:
Metrics and team incentives you’ve built your plans around like Gross Profit, Revenue, or Callbacks.
Leaderboards to spot top performers and identify who needs coaching, while tracking trends for individual KPI averages.
The ShareWillow Dashboard.
The Mobile App for Employees
The most powerful motivator isn't the paycheck that comes in two weeks, it's the immediate feedback loop.
When a technician can log into their dashboard on the ShareWillow app and see, "I made an extra $150 this week from those three upsells," it gamifies the workday and reinforces the behaviors you’re incentivizing immediately.
ShareWillow’s app for techs.
Want to learn more about how ShareWillow can help? Book a strategy session with our team here:
P.S. We just shipped a new feature on our mobile app enabling techs to login with mobile numbers.
Buying Eyes, Not Just Hands
When you pay strictly hourly, you are paying for hands and a strong back. When you implement a performance-based pay element for upsells, you are paying for eyes and a brain.
Your technicians are the only people in your company who see the finished product through the customer's eyes. They have the highest level of trust with the homeowner.
Don't let them walk past profit. Give them a reason to stop, look, and ask the question.