Mastering NFPA 70B: The Key to Building Better Service Agreements

When it comes to electrical maintenance, service agreements are more than just paperwork—they’re a lifeline for your customers’ operations. With NFPA 70B as the backbone, you can structure agreements that not only protect your customers but also keep them coming back for more.

Here’s how you can use NFPA 70B standards to craft service agreements that work for both you and your customers.

1. NFPA 70B: Your Blueprint for Maintenance

The first step to mastering service agreements is understanding NFPA 70B, which lays out best practices for maintaining electrical equipment. It’s not just about compliance—it’s about using the standards as a guide to build service agreements that keep your customers’ systems running smoothly.

To start:

• •
  Understand their assets: NFPA 70B focuses on preventive maintenance, which means knowing the condition and age of the customer’s equipment. Are they due for replacement? What’s their environment like? This should all be factored into your service plan.
• •
  Align with their needs: Use NFPA 70B as a framework to tailor the agreement to each customer, ensuring that it covers their specific operational and budgetary requirements.

By using NFPA 70B as a trusted resource, you’re offering more than just maintenance—you’re delivering peace of mind backed by industry standards.

2. Service Agreements: A Partnership for Longevity

Long-term service agreements should never feel like a “gotcha” moment for your customers. Electrical contractors know the stakes of keeping systems online—especially when NFPA 70B mandates that equipment must be maintained to reduce failure risks. 

This is your opportunity to position your service agreements as partnerships built for the long haul.

The goal is to:

• •
  Build trust: Leverage NFPA 70B to show customers that you’re following recognized standards, not just selling a contract. Your customers will appreciate the transparency.
• •
  Meet their budget: Customers want predictability. Use the NFPA 70B framework to tailor agreements that fit within their financial reality while ensuring safety and performance.

3. Preventive Maintenance Is the Real Money-Saver

NFPA 70B is all about preventive maintenance—spotting issues before they turn into expensive problems. Your service agreements should reflect this, helping customers avoid costly downtime.

Key points to hit:

• •
  Predictability and ROI: Walk your customers through how a service agreement based on NFPA 70B reduces unexpected failures. For example, preventing an electrical failure can save them from a significant business interruption.
• •
  Set up multi-year agreements: Recommend at least three-year agreements, giving them a long-term plan for maintaining their equipment and ensuring peace of mind.

4. Data-Driven Agreements

One of the most powerful aspects of NFPA 70B is its emphasis on regular inspections and data collection. As an electrical contractor, you have a wealth of data from past jobs. Use that information to craft data-driven service agreements that improve reliability and prevent future breakdowns.

• •
  Track asset history: Show your customers that you’re monitoring their systems in real time, giving them confidence that your service agreement is backed by solid data.
• •
  Software solutions: NFPA 70B recommends using tools to track maintenance. The right software can automate scheduling, track asset conditions, and ensure that data doesn’t walk out the door if key personnel leave.

5. The NFPA 70B Advantage: Show Them the Risk

Your service agreements should always include a clear what-if scenario. What happens if your customers choose not to maintain their equipment per NFPA 70B? Here’s the kicker: downtime, safety risks, and compliance issues.

• •
  Sell the risk: Sometimes, the best way to get a customer on board is to highlight the risks of saying “no.” A missed maintenance step could lead to downtime that costs thousands—if not more.
• •
  Highlight business interruption: NFPA 70B lays out the risks of electrical failure. Use this as a tool to show customers how their business could be affected if they don’t stick to a preventive maintenance schedule.

Want More Insights on NFPA 70B?

We’ve just scratched the surface here. Dive deeper into how NFPA 70B can transform the way you structure your service agreements in our recent virtual summit, where we cover everything from compliance to practical strategies for getting customers on board.