When demand slows, the goal is to create more opportunities from the assets you already have. That requires a coordinated plan across your database, outbound team, offers and sales process.
1. Start With the Database
Your database should become the center of your shoulder-season strategy. Every customer and lead who entered your system during busy season represents a future opportunity.
Build targeted lists that include:
- Past customers due for maintenance
- Homeowners with aging equipment
- Customers who previously declined recommended work
- Leads who requested an estimate but never booked
- Unsold replacement estimates
- Membership customers who have not scheduled service
- Leads generated through Facebook, TikTok or other paid campaigns
Do not treat an unsold lead as lost forever. You paid to generate that contact, and the homeowner had enough interest to request information. A different message, offer or point in time may be enough to restart the conversation.
2. Build a Consistent Outbound Rhythm
Outbound should be a daily activity during shoulder season. At Wilson, we can make up to 200 outbound calls per day to uncover work that would otherwise remain hidden.
Many homeowners already know something is wrong. The system may be making an unusual sound, performing inconsistently or showing signs of age. But because it still works, the customer continues putting off the call.
Your team’s job is to reach that customer at the right time. Give CSRs a clear list, a simple reason for calling and a specific next step.
A basic call structure could include:
- Remind the customer of their relationship with your company
- Reference the service, estimate or recommendation in their record
- Ask whether the issue has changed
- Explain the current appointment availability
- Present the relevant seasonal offer
- Ask directly if they would like to schedule
Track attempts, conversations and booked appointments by list. This will show you which customer segments and messages generate the strongest return.
3. Use Offers to Create Urgency
Shoulder-season promotions should give homeowners a reason to act before peak demand returns. Wilson has historically used BOGO-style equipment offers, including “get an air conditioner free” messaging, because similar promotions are common in the market.
Other offer ideas include:
- Discounted tune-ups
- Equipment replacement specials
- 50% off an air conditioner
- Low-price tune-ups, including a $17 offer
- Maintenance promotions designed to fill future appointments
The offer has to fit your economics and your team’s ability to convert the appointment. An aggressive tune-up price may generate calls, but it only works if technicians can thoroughly inspect the system, communicate what they find and present appropriate options.
Push the offer through channels that already work for your business. This is a good time to increase activity on proven channels, such as Facebook lead ads, email and SMS. It is a risky time to depend on an untested campaign to rescue the month.
4. Plan at Least One Month Ahead
Do not wait for an empty board to begin marketing. At Wilson, we start outbounding for September and October roughly a month in advance.
During peak season, make sure your team is:
- Collecting accurate phone numbers and email addresses
- Recording equipment age and condition
- Documenting declined repairs
- Saving unsold estimates
- Enrolling customers in memberships
- Scheduling future maintenance before completing the current interaction
Think like a dentist’s office. The next appointment should be scheduled before the customer leaves. The more future work you book during summer, the less pressure you will face when inbound demand falls.
5. Get More From Every Lead
Leads become more valuable as demand declines. Your CSRs and technicians should have more time to slow down, ask better questions and present complete options.
Monitor the metrics that reveal whether this is happening:
- Call booking rate
- Technician conversion rate
- Average ticket
- Estimate follow-up rate
- Revenue per lead
- Membership conversion rate
- Marketing cost per booked job
Review these numbers frequently and coach around specific missed opportunities. If technicians are running only three calls per day, each appointment deserves their full attention.
6. Protect the Margin
More revenue will not solve the problem if discounts, labor and marketing costs are uncontrolled. One company mentioned in a recent OAO podcast episode intentionally accepted a revenue decline from $818,000 to $678,000 while improving gross margin from roughly 39% to 40% up to 48%.
During slower periods:
- Reduce unnecessary overtime
- Pause discretionary spending
- Concentrate budget on proven marketing channels
- Review discounts before approving them
- Avoid low-margin work that consumes limited capacity
- Watch labor as a percentage of revenue
- Track gross margin alongside top-line sales
The objective is to fill the board with profitable work. A smaller month with strong conversion and disciplined spending can leave the business in a better position than a record month with weak margins.
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