How to Make Money in the HVAC Slow Season

Recently, an HVAC owner told me, “I wish September didn’t exist.”

When I asked why, he explained that was the time every year when his demand dropped to half.

I explained that often, that is not just the fault of the cooling weather but also a lack of preparation.

The truth is that almost any HVAC contractor can make money during the summer busy season. However, during the shoulder months, most HVAC contractors will start to see a lack of new customer leads, and a drop in their business revenue.

Is this drop in HVAC revenue just a reality of the slow season?
Is it true that during the colder months your HVAC techs will be less busy?

The answer is: it depends.

Many HVAC business owners thrive during the HVAC slow season as long as they plan ahead and know what their customers need.

As an HVAC marketing agency with over 20 years of experience helping HVAC contractors grow, we have learned a lot about how to thrive and make money in the HVAC slow season.

Let’s look at how it can be done.

When is the HVAC Slow Season?

In most parts of North America, the slow season for HVAC contractors is between September and March each year. These are known as the shoulder season, as there is a drop in demand for air conditioning and HVAC unit repairs.

The vast majority of HVAC service happens during the peak season from April to August, when people begin using their HVAC unit for the first time each year. They discover it is not running or performing poorly, and they reach out to get help.

How to Grow an HVAC Business During the Slow Season

The true test of any HVAC company’s success is how well it manages the HVAC slow season, when demand drops. 

It is possible to grow an HVAC business at any time as long as you focus on more than repairs and replacements of an HVAC system.

There is huge opportunity to focus on preventative maintenance, energy efficiency, and reactivating past customers. But to do this, you need an HVAC marketing strategy that works during the slow season.

Step 1: Set Yourself Up During Summer

Before you start thinking about growing in the HVAC slow season, take a look back at how you and your HVAC techs performed during the busy season.

In the heating and air conditioning world, summer is always a mad scramble. A barrage of emergency HVAC service calls, existing customers needing quotes on new systems, and finishing up the left-over maintenance contracts.

If your summer was hot, you need to look at whether you were able to capitalize.

When looking at your revenue, did you make enough money to cover costs during the coming slower months? 

Do you have money set aside for HVAC techs, HVAC marketing, and the CSR team to do outbound calling?

Ideally, you want your summer to set you up to do all you can in the fall and winter. The revenue you make during the Summer season often pays for the winter months.

This might mean working extra hours, taking on emergency after hours or weekend calls, and even spiffing techs for sales and upsells.

Step 2: Think Like an HVAC Customer

Preparation for the winter months in the HVAC industry means changing what you offer to your customers.

Let’s face it: at the end of summer, most homeowners will suffer through a few more hot days before they fork out big bucks to repair or replace their AC system.

If you keep offering HVAC repairs and installs, people will simply tell you they can wait till next year.

You must adapt your HVAC marketing plans, and your offers to match the customer needs of each season.

For example:

In the fall, you can offer to set customers up for winter, saving them time and money on heating service and repair, as well as duct replacement.

In spring, you can begin to talk about allergy season, and upgrading to a smart home HVAC system.

Customers who are considering these types of items will be more open to learning about them when they are not running their AC system 24/7.

Step 3: Take Excellent Care of Your Ideal Customers

Every time a HVAC business owner starts to see a drop in revenue, they assume that they need more HVAC leads.

While any new potential customers are nice to have, they are nowhere near as valuable as taking care of the people who have already bought from you.

Your ideal HVAC customer is the one who trusts you, buys from you, and refers people to you. That is exactly what all your existing customers represent.

If you want your existing HVAC customers to keep buying from you and referring to you, then take better care of them.

Call them once a year before and after summer to check in on how their AC system is running. Ask if they have any concerns or questions. Offer to visit them free of charge for a quick tune up.

These small touch points add huge value for most people, and they cost zero dollars.

Step 4: Become a Maintenance-First HVAC Company

The biggest issue that a lot of HVAC company owners have is that they think only about repairs and installs. These big-ticket HVAC sales are appealing because they look good on the monthly sales sheet.

However, the key to growing in the HVAC slow season is to increase your recurring revenue each month and year.

How do you grow recurring revenue for your HVAC business?

Simple. Instead of being a repair and replace HVAC business, think of yourself as a HVAC maintenance company.

This mindset switch will create a totally different approach to your HVAC business, and how you explain HVAC unit problems to customers.

Step 5: Don’t Wait for Calls, Offer Maintenance

Many HVAC company owners will complain that the phone isn’t ringing.

Yet, they forget that they can also make calls to customers to offer preventative maintenance.

Outbound calls to customers for HVAC maintenance, tune-ups, and invite-backs are crucial if you want to thrive in the winter months.

Most customers do not spend time thinking about HVAC equipment or whether it will run well next year. But if you remind them, and offer a valuable preventive maintenance promotion.

It’s as simple as calling existing customers and saying, “It’s time to schedule maintenance.” 

We have found the best methods for growing your maintenance agreement base are

• Email blasts sharing the importance of regular maintenance
• Outbound calls from your CSR’s
• Use a texting software such as Birdeye to send individual or mass texts
• Direct Mail campaigns with Spring or Fall specials

During the shoulder season, if you start aggressively growing your maintenance base, you can keep your team busy and break even when the temperatures are mild.

When you are in peak season, keep your HVAC technicians available for repairs and new system quotes. Customers will be willing to book their maintenance call at whatever time of year you suggest. So, schedule all HVAC maintenance for the spring or fall whenever possible.

Step 6: Special Offers & Add-On Home Services

The other benefit of existing customers is that they are more open to special offers and add-on services.

Because you already have a relationship with your existing customers, you can take advantage of this trust and offer additional services such as:

• HVAC System Accessories:  (C02 detectors, UV lights, air cleaners, surge protectors)
• Duct cleaning 
• Air quality tests
• New Duct systems: typically low profit in the busy season, but a great offer in Sept-March.
• Savings off a new HVAC system 
• Energy consumption rebates
• New HVAC system rebates 
• Extended warranties
  

During busy, high-demand times, we typically turn many of these types of jobs down or overprice them so we do not get the work.  These upsells and add-ons can become welcomed additions to your job board.

Many HVAC companies expand into related industries to help smooth out the peaks and valleys of heating and air’s seasonality.  

Adding additional services such as plumbing or electrical to your HVAC contracting business is a long-term commitment, but if you are serious about growing a thriving business, this can be an excellent strategy.

Break Even in The HVAC Slow Season

There’s an old saying in the HVAC industry: ”Just break even in the slow months”.

While you may not dominate the market or have record sales during the slow season, simply having steady cash flow doesn’t mean that you’re not succeeding.

Making consistent, recurring revenue during the HVAC slow season is a win for your heating and air conditioning business. 

Remember that only 2% of the general population is actively looking to buy an HVAC system at any given time.  

However, by growing our maintenance agreement book during the shoulder season, we can drive enough revenue to break even with our expenses and overhead and have enough work to keep our staff busy.  

The bottom line is that the HVAC business is year round, not seasonal. But it all comes down to thinking like a customer, and planning ahead with your HVAC slow season marketing.

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Will Merrit
will@myeffectivemedia.com

Effective Media Solutions is an HVAC marketing company with over 20 years of experience in HVAC digital marketing and traditional HVAC advertising. We know how to grow your HVAC business and get the phone to ring. Call us today to see how we can help your HVAC business grow during the slow season and beyond.

“We Speak HVAC!”