How to Weather the Slow Times in the HVACR Business

Weathering or surviving the shoulder seasons in the HVACR business is quite the challenge. It can literally take years off your life, cause you to lose hair, and consider quitting the industry. But it’s such a great business to be a part of. So, what do we do? We have to understand the seasonality of heating and air conditioning. There will always be peaks and valleys. If we understand that and prepare for it, we can make the shoulder seasons more tolerable.  So, let’s have a plan…. 

Have a Plan Heading into the Slow Season 

I cannot stress this point enough. You must have a plan going into the shoulder or slow season.  If you’re in the southern climates; your money season is the summer. So, you must really plan for the upcoming mild fall weather.  It’s just the opposite in the northernmost climates. What do you do when winter is over?  Here are a few ideas and strategies that work: 

• Go heavy on your maintenance visits 

• Outbound calling by your customer service reps is a must 

• Look at off-peak season work such as duct systems, duct cleaning, or generators 

• Consider discounting prices if necessary 

• Encourage employees to schedule their vacation days in the fall or spring. 

Let’s take a look at the most important tactic that will keep your heating and air business rolling in the shoulder seasons, maintenance of course.

Maintenance Maintenance Maintenance

We all know the key to success in the residential heating and air industry is maintenance agreements.  They are the most important asset of your company. By having a strong maintenance base, you are insulating your company from the slow times. (Industry KPI tip: You should have 500 plans for every service technician, Here’s the math behind this: ideally each service tech completes four calls each day (2 demand service and 2 maintenance calls, 10 maintenance calls each week times 50 weeks = 500) And we know that is in a perfect world, and our world is definitely not perfect.  It’s something to strive to attain. Every time you perform heating or cooling maintenance, you have an opportunity to strengthen the relationship between you and your customer. You must put your arms around them and do not let them go. Make them feel special, they are part of a club. Come up with a creative name for your agreement, such as, “VIP Protection Plan” or “Comfort Shield Agreement”.  These types of names convey value.  You must explain why maintenance is so important to the homeowner. What’s in it for them?  

• Provides peace of mind that their HVAC system will not break down during extreme temperatures 

• Discounts on service and repairs 

• The equipment will last longer 

• It uses less energy to operate 

• Their home will be more comfortable 

• Maintains factory or aftermarket warranties 

So, what happens when we perform maintenance visits, we find problems that can turn into great opportunities for our companies.  Winter visits may find cracked heat exchangers, and spring checkups often produce leaking condenser or evaporator coils. Remember, maintenance agreements provide opportunities for higher sales and increased loyalty with your customers.  Below is the easiest analogy that a homeowner will understand.  

Using the automobile analogy works great: “You don’t drive your car for 20,000 miles without changing the oil or rotating the tires, do you?”  “Same goes for your HVAC system, you must do regular maintenance in order for it to perform well.” “It’s the most expensive appliance in your home, don’t you want to take care of it?”  Of course, they do, but sometimes you must point it out. 

Outbound Calling 

Outbound calling should be done year-round by your CSRs, but during the slower months, it is critical to your success.  You already have a relationship with your customers, so this is not cold calling.  Explain it in those terms to your customer service representatives.  Let them know outbound calling is so important to keep the business profitable during off-peak weather months. Your field technicians will thank them. (Culture Tip: coach your field employees to build relationships with inside staff and help them both realize the importance of each other) And you know what?  Your customers will be glad you are calling them. Remember it’s in their best interest. What are you calling them for? 

• It’s time to schedule their maintenance visit for existing customers 

• Contact ones that have let the plan expire, or did not sign up for one after a service call or installation 

• Indoor Air Quality (Spring is time for air cleaners and UV lights, Fall can be for humidifiers) 

• Equipment installation offers with $$$ off or Special Financing (Software Tip: No matter what CRM your company is using, just make sure you can pull the proper reports. Example: You should be able to run a report of customers that have systems 10 years and older and have had $500 + in repairs over the last two years) This is just one example. You need the ability to segment your customers into different buckets or categories, so you can provide different offers to them. 

Diversify Your Services or Offerings  

When the weather is not cooperating, we must get creative with our business offerings. Diversifying our services during the spring or fall can make the difference between an average year and a great one!  

Commercial Work  

Recently, our organization hosted a meeting of non-competing contractors, and this was a hot topic of discussion. What do we do to drive revenue during the slow season?  Here’s a quote from Rick Falke, owner of Wally Falke’s Heating & Air Conditioning: “We are strictly a residential company, but we typically take on one or two large commercial jobs during the off seasons.”  “It keeps our crews busy.” Light commercial jobs can be very similar to residential jobs, so keep this in mind when things slow down.  Here’s a thought, many of your current customers own businesses….. 

Ductwork and Duct Cleaning 

The key is keeping your company busy.  New ductwork installation is highly labor intensive, and most of us don’t like to do duct system replacements during the busy seasons.  So, the shoulder seasons are a great time to schedule these. Be honest with your customer. Let them know that installing new ductwork takes time. It’s in their best interest to let you do the work when you have more time and dedicated crews available.  If the duct is in poor shape, maybe you can make some minor modifications and come back later to finish. We know it is not a perfect world, and you sometimes have to bite the bullet and do ductwork replacements in the busy season.  It’s all about keeping your customer happy J! Duct cleaning is another labor-intensive service that is great during the slow times. It provides better airflow, increased system efficiency, and improves indoor air quality.  Most duct cleaning machines have cameras that will show the homeowner how dirty their ductwork is currently.  There is a reason the duct is dirty, there are leaks.  Again, this provides more opportunities for sales that are in your customer’s best interest.  

Improve Your Company Through Training 

The shoulder seasons are the perfect opportunity to train.  When it is slow, let’s not sit around and complain about how slow it is, let’s sharpen our skills.  Training and learning are the keys to growing and improving our businesses.  Role-playing with your service techs, installers, and customer service reps really helps them improve their skills.  (Example:  How to handle a disgruntled customer or how to better listen to a homeowner’s concerns) Cross-training employees is another great way for team members to learn and appreciate other people’s positions within the company.  Training is a must in our industry, and what better time to do it! 

Capitalizing on the Slow Times 

The best way to summarize is to say, “Make the best of it.” Ultimately, we are trying to keep our employees busy and make enough money to break even. Planning goes a long way, be prepared by keeping an eye on the weather. Keep growing your maintenance plans, this is the best medicine for mild weather.  Outbound calling keeps the job boards full, and having diversity in your offerings will give additional revenue when demand service is few and far between. Lastly, training is so beneficial for you and your company.  Remember, all we are trying to do is improve and run a better business.