Manage Your HVAC Business During the HVAC Offseason

Working in the HVAC business means dealing with seasonality. You will generally have your slowest times of the year around fall or spring, since the weather changes and people generally stop using their heating or air conditioning at these times. Of course, this doesn’t mean your business should slack off until things pick back up again. Instead, start planning what you want to do during the slow season to maintain a steady flow of income. We've compiled some tips you can use to make the most of these tricky times. Keep the gears turning and the lights on at the office!

Promote and Sell Service and Maintenance Plans

Maintenance and service plans help your business maintain a stable source of income during the slow season. While you can set these up in any way you like, you should try to do it so that annual payments comes in during your slow season. You should also plan to provide the required service in that same timeframe, to keep your techs busy. You can offer incentives to your customers for scheduling in this way to get them to more interested in conforming to your ideal schedule.

Of course, you can push maintenance plans year-round. In fact, this should become a general part of your business. The best times to promote these to your customers is when your tech is already on site doing a job. There they can explain the benefits of something like an annual service plan for your customer. The idea of paying less overall and extending the lifespan of their HVAC equipment will persuade many customers. 

Expand Marketing Efforts

Depending on your company, you may already do some marketing, like radio spots, fliers, or ads on Google search. You might think about pulling back on these during the slow season, but you should in fact do the opposite. Focus more on targeted advertising instead of a broad approach. Promote your service plans and seasonal maintenance check-ups. If you pull out your marketing during this time, then you pretty much throw out any potential new customer remembering you when they need something done.

Offseason Discounts

Another great way to drum up some revenue? Offer offseason discounts for bigger jobs. Installing new HVAC systems will always generate the most income for your business. Offering percentage discounts on these during lean times can get a customer who has teetered on the edge to get an installation done. After all, who doesn’t like to save some extra money? If you have a lot of inventory, this can also move some of it sooner, decreasing the chance that you get stuck with it and lose money when the next latest and greatest model comes out. 

You can also use this as an opportunity to make your customers aware of service and maintenance plans. Once you have a tech doing an installation, they can offer a discount on a service plan. This can help retain a customer for a long time.

Staff Training

Another good move for you to make during slower seasons is to have your techs go back to school or attend classes to learn new skills and catch up on the industry’s newest trends. They can take online classes and training sessions or attend local certification courses. A program like this will usually result in a net positive for both your company and your employees. They will become more knowledgeable in what they do and generally improve their performance.

The ability to manage your HVAC business between the busy and slow seasons will keep your company in good standing. Use these tips to accomplish that and more. If you can grow your customer base in the slow seasons and stay busy, you’ll pave the way for your business to stay successful for years to come!