It’s hard to believe, but Thanksgiving has already come and gone. 2014 has passed in a flash. Now, retailers across the country are enjoying their busiest time of the year, as shoppers eagerly swipe their credit cards for the next several weeks leading up to our next holiday season! For us as contractors, this time of the year means something much different… It can be a bit of a slowdown…Well, for most of us…
Our plumbing friends seem to do well the days immediately following both Thanksgiving and Christmas, but there’s no reason to further discuss that…
First and foremost, before talking about stimulating business during the holidays, it’s important to hash out your emergency and weekend schedules with your employees around those important days.
Instead of instinctively sticking the youngest or most inexperienced team member on those holiday days or evenings, ask if anyone would like to voluntarily work Christmas and New Years. Maybe someone would welcome the additional hours and income during a time when credit card statements balloon?
You could also spread a little extra holiday cheer, by incentivizing someone to take those hours—something beyond what they usually get to work overtime and weekends. Make those holiday hours something that may be desirable, rather than something everyone despises…
With your manpower decided for the holidays, let’s ensure you keep a busy schedule. Here 4 ideas to keep your techs active until well into 2015:
- Schedule those club members. The days surrounding the holidays are the absolute best for scheduling those annual inspections. You have people taking lots of time off to be with family and friends, but truth be told, they spend a lot of time sitting around the house. They’re free to meet with your techs. When your techs are in homes, if you’ve trained them properly, they should find revenue generating opportunities.
- Comb old proposals and invoices. Everyone has them: Missed opportunities. A technician recommended a service or product, but the homeowners elected not to follow through at that time. Find those opportunities, and then have someone in your office reach out to those homeowners. Offer them that product or service at a discount if they schedule within the next week or so. You’d be shocked how much work you could find.
- Run a special. If you’re not going to getting in front of as many homeowners as you usually would, to hit revenue goals means you’re going to have to generate more revenue per call. In other words, you need higher average tickets. To get that bigger ticket, run a special on a certain product or service over the holidays. Offer an incentive for each product or service sold. Train on selling that product or service. You’ll see results!
- Spread some holiday cheer—and advertise it! The holidays are a great time to adopt a charity. Find a charity you’d love to help, and then promise to contribute a certain percentage of revenue or profits to it. Work with that charity to see if they will promote you through their network. You should also promote that you’re working with that charity through your social media outlets. Tell your employees to mention on every service call that X% of their ticket today is going towards helping others. You’ll feel great about helping others, and you’ll find yourself busier than you might suspect!
The holidays are a great time for family and friends. If you employ these four strategies, you might find that the holidays are good for business too! Happy holidays and good luck!