How to Grow Your Heating Business When It’s Quiet
Businesses have high and low seasons. You’ll know this all too well as a heating business with the usual winter boom and summer slump.
Sure, you could take the warmer months as an opportunity to go on holiday (and many do, given !) — but the quiet season is bound to last longer than your time away from the business.
So what can you do to benefit your business when the phones are a bit quieter? And how do some heating businesses have packed schedules over the summer, while others fight for work?
In this guide, we’ll answer these questions and give practical tips on how to make the most of when it’s quiet.
How much seasonal variation do heating businesses get?
Here is a neat little graph showing the months in which the most jobs are done by heating and plumbing companies here in the UK:
We calculated this based on the 6000+ companies using our software. While your business may vary, this gives a good idea of the industry average.
KEY TAKEAWAY
October gets 44% more work than April
For most heating businesses, there is a huge difference between seasons.
How is this data is useful?
What this data allows you to do is predict your workloads. Exactly how much more work can you expect going into September from a slow August? How much more time are you going to have going into Spring?
This is incredibly valuable because it lets you plan ahead and make decisions:
> Will you need another engineer or are you just coming out of a busy month?
> Are you going to have enough time to take your next holiday?
Your answers to questions like these will impact how much profit you’re making, how fast your business grows, and how much freedom you can give yourself as a business owner.
What do your slow seasons look like? Calculate your own seasonality:
The data above is an industry average. But what if you do air conditioning as well? Or maybe summer turns into plumbing season…
There are lots of reasons your business might not fit exactly to this trend – so it’s best to calculate your own seasonality. And here’s how:
- First, download this quick spreadsheet we put together.
- Next, enter your data into the cells.
- Get your results in a graph like the one above!
10 Tips to Make The Most of The Slow Season
Whether you’re finding additional work or preparing for a busy winter, there’s always something you can do when the phones are quiet.
1) Make any necessary hires
Hiring the right person can be a lengthy process. If you’re already busy in summer, it’s the perfect time to hire some help before the first cold spell comes.
This gives you time to train them up, get them settled in, and be prepared for when the work piles on.
2) Diversify your work
Most customers only get around to servicing their boiler when it gets cold. But radiator upgrades, new cylinders, loft tanks, boiler replacements, and oil tanks are all jobs that can be done in the summer.
In general, you can take on more of a plumbing focus in these months. Likewise, networking with other less seasonal trades can get you lots of work (particularly if you have a speciality).
3) Think ahead when scheduling jobs
Some jobs are urgent. Others, not so much.
Loyal customers with non-time-sensitive jobs are almost always happy to wait until you have more availability. You could even give them a discount for waiting.
This way, you aren’t overworking yourself in winter or, even worse, turning down jobs because of a full schedule.
⬆ It’s easy to track and manage your schedule in Gas Engineer Software.
4) Take on some filler work
Especially if you’re a newer business owner, there’s every reason to take on some subcontracted work in the summer.
These jobs can help you get by until you generate a comfortable system and find more loyal customers.
5) Offer discounts
Your ultimate goal should be to find loyal, long-term customers. Discounts can be a great way to do this, as are regular service plans.
Discount ideas:
- Offer customers who have several properties in the same area a discounted rate for you to service them all back-to-back.
- Offer discounts for customers willing to move their gas safety check or service date to the summer.
⬆ Discounts can be easily added to your invoices in Gas Engineer Software.
6) Sit down and re-assess your prices
Pricing needs annual reviews. Just with inflation alone, you stand to make less money each year if you don’t raise your prices just a little.
We’re not saying you should bump up your prices every year, but there’s no better time to check you’re making a fair profit.
7) Sort out various admin tasks
Whether that be your old van that keeps breaking down or tools that need replacing – these are all things you don’t want to be doing while you’re slammed with work.
8) Spend some time on marketing
Marketing is incredibly important for a successful business. But not all trades businesses (especially sole traders) have the time to do it.
Fortunately, there are plenty of marketing strategies that work well and can be prepared in advance. We’re talking things like:
- Boiler stickers
- Leaflets
- Flyers
- Business cards
- Van wrapping
- Online ads
- Websites
These can all be designed & printed/set up over summer when there’s a little less going on.
Brush up on marketing for your business with our guide here.
9) Start using software
Job management systems like Gas Engineer Software help you save hours each week.
Use summer to get up and running on a newer and more streamlined system. Then, by the time winter comes around, you’re not scrambling for a solution to all the work.
You’ll save time with paperless certificates you can create and issue on-site, organised customer data and accounts, efficient scheduling, and lots more.
Want to try Gas Engineer Software for free? Start your free trial by signing up here.
10) Spring time review time
Spring, or more specifically April, is when heating jobs start to slow down a bit. This makes spring a natural time for review and reflection, to see what you can do better next busy season.
Looking back at your past year’s work will help you improve inventory management and scheduling, remind you to check up on customers you’ve just recently done work for, and kickstart your plan for the rest of the year.
Breeze through the busiest time of the year with Gas Engineer Software
We know just how much paperwork running a business requires. Our solutions are geared towards minimising the time spent on work you don’t enjoy so you can focus on what you do best.
Gas Engineer Software is dead easy to learn and anyone can start creating quotes and invoices in seconds, issue digital certificates to customers, manage schedules, and much more.
We’ll help you save time where it counts and get the most out of slow summers and wild winters.
Explore Gas Engineer Software in a free trial – no credit card required.