During the summer, many homeowners take time to go on vacation, relax, and generally take a break from many of their obligations that take up their time the rest of the year.  This means that many homeowners also hold off on home projects that need to be done until the fall season.  Contractors that provide remodeling, restoration, and other home services typically experience a slowdown in business during the summer months because of this.

It is important for contractors to anticipate a reduction in business during the summer and have a plan in place to use the down time.  There is likely plenty of administrative work that can be done around the office to get ready for the busy season in the fall.  It is also important to plan financially for the reduced income during the slowest months of the summer so that your business does not experience a financial setback.

The following are tips to help your contractor business stay productive during the slower summer months.  If you want to try and get more projects during your slowest season, you can work with RestorationMaster for lead generation.

Work on Expanding and Securing Projects

If your business is working on less projects during the summer, you can take the time to assess the projects you have booked for the upcoming fall season as well as projects in the pipeline that have not been closed.

Start by evaluating the contracts you have already booked for upcoming projects.  Look to see if there is extra work that can be added such as upgrades and additions that the customer did not originally have as part of the contract.  Reach out to these customers and see if they are interested in including the additional work.  You can also have employees follow up on potential customers that have reached out about a project but have not closed the deal.  This is a great way to make more money for your business during the summer before the actual work begins.

During the summer, your business can also focus on networking to get in touch with new potential customers.  Starting a relationship with potential customers may not lead to a contract right away, but it will put your business at the front of their minds when they do need the help of a contractor.

Build Client Relationships

The schedule of your clients may be more open during the summer as well, which gives you the opportunity to reach out to clients and meet them face-to-face.  Offer an in-person meeting to review an upcoming project or discuss ideas for a new project.  You can also reach out to former clients via a phone call or email to reconnect with them.

Taking the time to reach out to clients, and seeing them in person, if possible, will help strengthen the relationship with your clients, which can lead to more business or referrals from them in the future.

Focus on Other Tasks

For many contractors, the slower summer season presents a great opportunity to take care of other tasks that need to be done.  Start by looking around the office to see if it needs cleaning or reorganizing.  Maybe there is furniture or equipment that needs to be repaired or replaced that you haven’t been able to address yet.  You can also use this time to redesign your company website or review and improve your internal processes to make your business run more efficiently.

Tasks outside the office that can benefit your business during the summer include volunteering at a local charity event or hosting a class or workshop related to your field.  This can help you build connections within your local community and raise awareness of your brand. You can also look for and pursue certifications that are relevant and beneficial to your business.  You may be able to find and apply for industry awards and contests for which your business is eligible.

Network Within Your Industry

When businesses get busy with new projects, it leaves little time to network with other professionals within your industry.  Networking with other professionals is important, especially for contractors as these connections can lead to referrals and help businesses stay up to date on the latest developments in their industry.

You can network within your industry by attending industry events, seminars, and workshops.  Focus on connecting with other businesses that can be potential clients as well as businesses that may be able to help you with a project or refer certain types of projects to you.

Plan Vacation Time

If your contractor business experiences a slow down in the summer, allow time for employees to take a vacation.  Everyone from the owner to the staff can benefit from taking time away from work to relax and decompress.  Small business owners especially should take advantage of this time to take a vacation as they rarely find any time off during busier seasons.  Having time to rest and decompress will help your entire staff come back more relaxed and energized to handle the busy season.

Contractor Lead Generation with RestorationMaster

A slowdown in your projects during the summer should not be a cause for concern, it should be a time to improve your office and operations, build upon professional and client relationships, take time off, and prepare for the upcoming busy season.  Taking care of things that you cannot normally do during your busiest times of the year will help improve your business, so you are better able to handle the coming influx of projects.

If your busy season is approaching and you want to secure more projects for your business, you can work with RestorationMaster.  We are a lead generation service provider that works with disaster restoration contractors to generate quality leads, including water damage leads and mold remediation leads.  Our website restorationmasterfinder.com consists of highly optimized, geo-based micro-sites that draw local search traffic and generate leads through phone calls.  We offer exclusive leads, which means the phone calls we generate go directly to your business and you do not have to compete with other businesses to close the sale.

Call RestorationMaster at (888) 846-1992 to learn more.