3/2024 GSC

Introducing: Generator Supercenter of Indianapolis

GSC Connection

Brad and Shelly Bennett, owners of GSC of North and South Indianapolis, celebrated the official Grand opening of their Northern Indy location on February 8th 2024. The recently constructed facility displays a stunning aesthetic, and the Bennetts have quickly established a significant presence within their community. A reception, hosted in the showroom, provided an opportunity for our GSCF team to extend their congratulations and join in the festivities.

We are excited to introduce Ray Bullinger to all of you and your teams. Ray is joining GSCF as our new Field Consultant for Install. Ray has been an employee of Generator Supercenter for over 15 years and has over 4000 installs under his belt. He will be available to help instill GSC best practices across the board for all of your install crews.

Please reach out to Ray at:

832-622-3047

Rbullinger@generatorsupercenter.com

In This Issue:

P1. Indy Grand Opening

P1. Introducing Ray Bullinger

P1. Generac Parts Kit Announcement

P2/3 Franchise Spotlight of the Month

P4. Ace Program Information

P5. Generac Co-op Cheat Sheet

P6. Generac Smart Management Modules

P6. Website Assets

P7/8. NEW ATS Surge Protector

GENERAC

LEVEL 1 PARTS KIT UPDATES

There has been an update on the parts included in the Dealer Level 1 kits. To view the changes please go to Franconnect. Access Portal> Library>

Service Section and Open ‘2024 Level 1 Parts Kits’

Franchise Ops Team Expanding

Franchise Spotlight of the Month: February 2024

Generator Supercenter of San Antonio, Texas

In the inaugural edition of our newsletter's Franchise Spotlight, we turn our attention to Generator Supercenterof San Antonio,Texas.Thismonth,we will dive into the success story of Franchise Owner Mark Perry, who hasbeen steering the San Antonio territory towards success since its official Grand Opening on August 31st, 2022.

Mark Perry's franchise is catering to the needs of San Antonio residents with a strong commitment to excellence. In recognition of their outstanding performance, San Antonio proudly earned Premiere Dealer Status and also received the Generac “Hero Award” for 2023

To provide an in-depth perspective on their journey, we had the pleasure of conducting an interview with Mark Perry. Read on to discover the insights and strategies that have propelled Generator Supercenter of San Antonio to monumental achievements.

Q: Mark, why did you choose to purchase your GSC franchise?

A: In February of 2021 Texas experienced a severe winter storm. The increased heating demand on the power grid created rolling black outs and or sustained outages for many residents in our area. It was at this time I began looking into the residential generator market. We quickly realized that the local market had a need that was not being met by the current whole home generator dealer network and we began researching how to best address this need. We therefore chose to leverage the experience and IP that GSC offered to its franchisees as this would give us the competitive foundation we sought.

Q: What is your background and how has that helped you in running your GSC franchise?

A: My background was in the tech sector, primarily telecommunications, Information security and ERP system implementations. I have held Leadership roles with Symantec, KPMG, EY, Fujitsu America, Optiv, Global Scape and have done some work with startups

I have found my past life experiences to be invaluable in working with and building our GSC franchise. For example, the ability to build a budget, assemble and mentor a team, sales and marketing planning, and the ability to draft and execute business plans

Q: What are some key lessons you learned in the 1st 90 days and in the 1st year of opening?

A: In the first 90 days - Learning the GSCF system and leveraging the associated training was key. The development of workflow processes and managing that workflow via automations with established KPI’s was critical to our initial management of the business. We did this to establish predictability in the outcomes for our Customers. Hiring experienced personnel who had similar core values and work ethicwas also important. Initially, unwelcomesurprises due to our inexperience in the sector occurred with alarming frequency. We quickly learned to reach out to other GSC franchises and to GSCF to ask for guidance, best practices and/ or assistance. Addressing hiring mistakes promptly was also key lesson learned.

In the first year - Once we established workflows we doubled down on automation as a foundation to the predictable execution of our business. Managing Customer lead time expectations due to the overly complex permitting and inspection requirements in our market became a key challenge. We also focused on documented process improvements and organization for all aspects of the business. We have continued to invest in the development of relationships with the municipalities and utilities in our territory to establish open lines of communication. We have made efforts to plan for capital investments and timely inventory procurement initiatives.

Mark Perry and his team at GSC of San Antonio

Q: What fundamental insights would you like to share with your fellow franchises?

A: GSC Franchise Owners start out being all things to all people. Over time we should strive to leverage more of a CEO role structure; That is a ‘leader of leaders’. If we do not change the Owner’s role over time, as the business scales it is quite possible that the owner becomes the bottle neck that stifles growth. We all have to manage our way through this or get stuck on a plateau.

Some examples of what a plateau sounds like may be helpful here:

1. Service manager – “We cannot handle any more work”

2. Accountant - “Sales are growing but profit is stagnant”

3. Sales - “Sales are not growing because the installers cannot do any more and install delays are impacting sales”

In our business I have found the plateaus to be tied to revenue levels, for example:

<$1M – Owner is the business - Owner has hands on all aspects of the business to include all permissions

$2M – Danger zone - Business is built around owner’s skills and availability

$3.5M – Luxury of focus, Owner is no longer just an employee. We found it critical to have consistent communication processes/ system(s) between GM & the owner. Vision, Mission and Core Values/Culture were now the key role of Owner. Fear of loss or of identity and purpose for Owner is not unheard of at this stage.

$5M+ - Leaderof leaders -It was important to ensure that the GM is paid well and incentivized for the long term and that the greater team was holding themselves accountable. A question I ask myself as the Owner includes: Am I prepared for letting others lead the day to day? After all, the Owner must now be a strategic role vs. reactive role. I found that the Owner role is but a position and it is critical to have frequent touch points with the greater team.

2. The owners lack of desire to push through and 3. The Owner.

I have learned to take the time to work on myself, so I can work on my business and take it to the next level. There are really only three things that can extend a plateau or limit the ability to elevate off the plateau: 1. The owner’s willingness to Invest

I believe the critical success factors to achieve this desired profitable ‘greater than $5M’ annual revenue end state include:

• Owner performs in the CEO role and becomes a leadership coach

• Leadership team works together to run the business

• Management through scheduled meetings

• Others fully lead the day-to-day

• CEO (Owner) and GM are leaders of leaders

• Good runway for people to keep advancing

• Leaders build leaders “Are you training your replacement?”

• Vision mission and core values. Culture is a key role of the Owner

• Knowledge sharing is a must within the CEO / leadership group

• Owner lives through “touches” that do not directly involve themselves in the day-to-day

• Leadership team, Owner/ CEO, and GM use a team system for training, running the business, and making decisions.

Q: What do you see as being the Generator Supercenter differentiation?

A: The Customer sales experience and the scale of the greater GSCF business. As compared to our competition, we issue quotes not estimates, our in-depth knowledge of the product and service we deliver, and our service after the sale. Our exclusive focus on whole home generators vs. being just another service line for a HVAC, electrical contractor, or plumbing company.

Q: How have you implemented the GSCF mission statement?

A: By embracing the GSC mission statement in our everyday operations. Small things such as “Hearing your smile” every time an employee speaks to a customer or Partner. To drive mentoring and advancement initiatives for our people. To leverage our personal faith-based belief system in the operation of our business.

Mark has offered to help dig into plateaus and automations deeper with any Franchisee who wants to hear more about what he has implemented. The tools he has built into their every day operations are outstanding. If you would like to reach out to Mark his email is:

Mperry@generatorsupercenter.com

Co-op Guidelines 2024 Cheat Sheet

Below are key changes in the Co-op Generac Guidelines:

• New Brand Guidelines to reflect the Power Move Creative

• Pre-Approval for Power Move Assets

o If dealers are submitting new Pre-Approvals for this year, the creative must be the new brand identity, “It’s a Power Move”.

o Claims with a previously approved Pre-Approval must have the creative starting 6/30/2024

• Reimbursement % Changes 2023 vs. 2024

• To encourage pull-through marketing activities, Generac updated the reimbursement rate for certain marketing activities occurring in 2024. The new reimbursement rates are reflected in the 2024 Co-op Guidelines”

o Marketing Activities with a decreased reimbursement rate is 2024

• Marketing activities not focused on pull-through lead generation

As a reminder, the Co-Op reimbursement payment comes within 60 days after the claim has been moved to Process Payment. This information can be found on page 4 in the 2024 guidelines.

Announcing 3-year base warranty for 50A & 100A Smart Management Modules (SMM)

With the improved performance and reliability of second-generation design, Generac is happy to announce an increase to the products’ standard warranty. Previously, Smart Management Module’s received a standard 1-year limited warranty. We are now updating the product warranty to a standard 3-year limited warranty.

The new warranty terms apply to the NEW, updated second-generation board that is BLUE in color. This color difference applies to both 50A and 100A Smart Management Modules. Refer to announcement for details.

**As a reminder, the warranty period starts from the date of installation. To simplify and expedite any claims should they arise, please include documentation, proof of purchase & date of installation with claim. Please click below to see further details:

http://tinyurl.com/Smart-management-Module

Don’t forget to use your assets

Generator Supercenter offers various resources for our partners, and Generac provides a range of useful tools. It is important to regularly utilize these resources to assist in guiding your franchise. The following provides a concise breakdown of where to access the information you require.

GSC SITES:

THE HUB: THE HUB serves as the central platform for accessing all Marketing and Sales assets. Additionally, the GSC Shop within THE HUB offers a selection of apparel and promotional items. ID badges, Door Hangers, and activation cards are also ordered through this platform. Furthermore, a dedicated section in THE HUB allows you to brand your photos for use in social media posts.

https://hub.generatorsupercenter.com/

FRANCONNECT: Franconnect houses the GSC training portal, support ticketing system, and our comprehensive library. The library is a robust resource containing a vast array of written documents, ranging from Operations manuals to sales scripts. Additionally, essential updates and information are regularly communicated on the home page on the Access portal. Every Owner and GM should be actively logging in to the site.

https://generatorsupercenter.franconnect.net/fc/

GENERAC SITES:

Dealer 360: Dealer 360 is Generac’s digital platform for all Generac Residential Dealers handling sales, service, support, and more for homeowners Within this platform you can schedule training and access information regarding consumer financing, local marketing, and lead management. Dealer 360 has been recently updated. We encourage you to log in and explore the new features.

https://www.generac.com/resources-andtools/existing-dealers-dealer-360

GenService: Generac's GenService site serves as a comprehensive platform for efficiently managing your orders, sold generators, and warranty claims. Active engagement on GenService is crucial to staying abreast of Generac announcements, news, and other pertinent updates, ensuring you remain well-informed and up-to-date on essential information.

https://service.generac.com/SignIn/Login.aspx

Do you have something to share? We would love to add your stories, photos and announcements into the gsc connection!

Please submit stories, photos and announcements to Stephanie Lundy @ Slundy@generatorsupercenter.com