How to Grow Your Home Services Business (Even in the Slow Season)

Real talk: Running your own business is exhausting, and not just physically. You wear a kerpillion hats, you’re ultimately responsible for everything, and you care more about your shop’s success than anyone on the planet. Plus, if you’re anything like the hundreds of home services pros I’ve talked to, there’s a tiny, but constant, undercurrent of fear that business could suddenly dry up at any point. Naturally, that fear tends to expand a bit during slow seasons.

What if it were possible to actually grow your HVAC or plumbing business during those months? It is possible (obviously, or this would be a super-short post). Here’s how to keep your business growing—no matter the season.

Hello, Service Agreements

Service agreements have been helping contractors make bundles of cash since the 1950s. Originally, they were invented to help HVAC companies keep their teams busy during the “off-seasons” of spring and fall months- when most people aren’t looking for air conditioner or heating services. There’s lots of options to make these happen: monthly agreements, multi-year agreements, annual memberships, etc. There’s no “right” or “wrong” way to do them… as long as you do them, and you find a plan that works for your business.

Pitch to Seasonal Businesses

Think about businesses in your service area that might be slow during the same season(s) you are, such as hotels or resorts. Put together a “special offer” for system check-ups, preventive maintenance, and/or upgrades, like replacing water heaters or air conditioning units.

Not sure how to start those conversations? Try something like:

We know you want to provide incredible customer service, and there’s nothing worse than having a major system fail when your place is booked up. We can help you avoid that problem by inspecting your units and fixing potential problems now—before they result in customer complaints and one-star reviews in July. Your slow season is the perfect time to knock out preventive maintenance like this, and we’re currently offering a special deal.

Invest in Training

As you know, it’s nearly impossible to work on the business while you’re working in the business—so take advantage of slower seasons to do what you never, ever have time to do otherwise: training and development. After all, “growing” your business doesn’t just mean getting more customers and billing more jobs. It’s also about growing in competency and efficiency so you can really hit the ground running when the phone starts ringing off the hook again. Don’t limit your training program to technical skills; spend some time on soft skills like customer service and sales.

If you don’t have an intentional training program set up, use this year’s slow season to build one—then launch it next year. And if you’re not sure what training you need to do, ask your team what programs would best support them. When employees know you’re invested in their development, they’ll naturally work harder—and happier.

Evaluate and Upgrade Systems and Processes

I know, I know, boooooorrrrrring. But seriously—think about how much faster you can respond to customer needs if you tweak your communication and sales processes. Think about how much faster you’ll get paid if you finally fix your invoice and accounting systems. Think about how much less stress you’ll feel knowing that no one—and nothing—is falling through the cracks. Your slow season is the capital-p perfect time to fine-tune the backend of your business.

Expand Your Services

Guess what? People who need plumbing services also need HVAC services! And vice versa! If you’re really ambitious, expand your services to provide customers with a one-stop-shop for all their home service needs. The slow season is a great time to layer up your service offerings because you’ll have more time to work out any glitches. Obviously, you’ll need to be ready to take this big of a step, and there’s a lot to think about. But if you really want to grow your business, this is the fast-track.

Reach Out to Quiet Customers

As you know, it’s far less expensive and time-consuming to keep current customers than it is to win new ones. During your slow season, take the time to review your customer profiles and put together a list of people who mentioned additional projects they were considering tackling in the future—then call them. Don’t have any of that data? Then instead, pull records for customers with systems that might soon need to be replaced—and call them. Don’t have any of that data, either? Develop a system to make sure you capture and record it in the future- many tools like SkyBoss or ServiceTitan make it easy.

Also, consider sending a note to your entire customer list about a special offer or a new product or service you’ve added. You lose every sale you don’t ask for and you may be surprised by how many people will book a service or maintenance call just because you reminded them your shop exists.

Clean, Service, or Upgrade Your Stuff

Think about your slow season as an opportunity to prepare for your not-so-slow season. Do a thorough inventory of your tools and supplies and stock up as needed. Clean and service your vans and trucks. Replace equipment that’s likely to quit on you when the phone starts ringing again. To make more money in the HVAC or plumbing business, you simply need to complete more jobs. Don’t let tool and equipment malfunctions slow you down.

Assess and Adjust Your Marketing Strategy

If it’s been a minute since you checked your Google My Business profile and/or your website performance via Google Analytics and/or your Google Ads ROI and/or every other line item in your marketing budget, use your slow season to assess and adjust as necessary.

Don’t mishear me: Your slow season isn’t the only time to work on your marketing strategy, but it’s definitely a convenient time to do so. In fact, most home services companies should assess and adjust every eight to twelve weeks.

And also? Most home service company owners absolutely don’t have time to do that. That’s why we partner with dozens of HVAC pros and plumbers all across the country. If you’re tired of trying to manage it all on your own—and feeling worried that you’re basically just lighting money on fire—schedule your free, no-obligation consultation today. Or in your slow season. Or whenever you’re ready to 8x your revenue. Talk soon!