A Contractor’s Guide to the Slow Season (2024)

The slow season is usually viewed as alean time of the year for contractors — projects are fewer and further between, staff size may drop, etc. But you can use this extra time to your advantage. This guide will help you make the most of your slow season and prepare you for what’s on the other side ofit.

When is the Slow Season for Contractors?

The slow season varies between trades and locations, but the least busy time of the year for contractors is winter. At the beginning of the cold season (Thanksgiving and Christmas), people are usually busy traveling, preparing to host guests, or spending money on different things. And in the latter part of the season, it’s cold and snowy — not great for roof installs or treetrimming.

Now that Igot that little bit of SEO business out of the way, let’s get into theguide.

Review Processes

The most successful sports teams have great playbooks and processes in place to keep everything running like clockwork. But something we talk about at CompanyCam is how we can’t entirely rely on what got us to where we are to get us to where we want togo.

You’ve got to add in some new plays and refresh the successful ones. That’s why it’s essential to do aperiodic review of your processes.

Standardize Operating Procedures

Efficient, repeatable, and thorough processes save time and cover butts (sounds like someone else we know). That’s why you should dedicate some of your downtime to review yourSOPs.

To start, list out everything an employee needs to do or know on ajob site. Try to get everything out of your head — it can’t be standardized if it’s not on paper. Then think of the things that make up those tasks and how long each one willtake.

Checklists are excellent for organizing your thoughts once you’ve listed them out. Then, build your checklist in CompanyCam to ensure you cover everything you need to do on every job site. Soon, we’re releasing standardized, trade-specific checklist templates to give you ahead start.

Check YourTech

The slow season is prime time to check in on software and subscription services you’re using for your business and research newones.

List out all services you’re using, along with who’s connected to those accounts. If you find inactive users on the platforms, like subcontractors from aone-off job, remove them. In CompanyCam, you can view user activity and upload dates to help determine who is and isn’tactive.

Next, integrate your tech stack to get the most out of each platform you’re using. The more your software talks to each other, the more efficient your operations, sales, and marketing will be. We firmly believe in software integrations, which is why we play nicely with the leading CRMs in the general construction industry.

Offboard Crews

If you hired seasonal help or have to downsize, make sure you have processes in place to offboard and retain your employees.

Schedule reviews and exit interviews with all of your employees. Ask them about their experiences and get their opinions on things like:

• Their views of the work and yourbusiness
• The relationships with co-workers andmanagers
• Their overall impression of the workplace culture

These conversations not only make employees feel valued, but they can also reveal insights into what you’re doing right (or what could use alittle work).

Plus, it’s an excellent opportunity to share your feedback on their performance and discuss whether they’d like to return once business picksup.

Manage Your Marketing

You might think with fewer projects on your plate, you should lighten marketing efforts. But doing that is the same as parking your truck in the garage in December and expecting it to fire right up in March. You need to lay out your marketing—for both the slow season and the rest of the year, so it can run smoothly in the background while you’re busy withwork.

Audit Your Online Presence

First, you should audit your Google My Business listing, social media accounts, andwebsite.

• Google My Business. Make sure all your contact information and service offerings are accurate and optimized so customers can easily findyou.
• Social Media. Ensure your social channels are consistently named and branded (and have fresh content). We’ll get into more on #content below.
• Website. Along with business info, make sure you add photos of recent projects to your website. Better yet, install CompanyCam showcases.

For amore in-depth guide on auditing your online presence, check out this guest blog from our friends at Webrunner Media.

Plan Promos &Offers

Seasonal offers are agreat way to get more jobs during the slow parts of the year and start booking your busyseason.

A great place to start is by offering referral bonuses or % off coupons to your past customers. If they had agreat experience with you the first time, they’re going to hire you again — especially if you sweeten thedeal.

Monopolize Your Market’s blog has afew more slow-season contractor marketing ideas.

Create #Content WithCoCam

CompanyCam users sit on agold mine of ready-to-use content for web and social media. The pictures you take already tell agreat story. All you need to do is fill it in with specifics.

The most popular and engaging content you can make from your photos are before and after home renovation projects — I mean, there are multiple TV channels dedicated to this. We have the aptly named Before and After feature in the app, which has tons of layouts to show the beginning and end photos, along with your company logo. Contractors also like to share project timelines.

We recently released showcases, agame-changer for showing off projects on your website. Contractors who’ve installed showcases on their website have told us they’ve seen increased site visits and have had smoother sales conversations.

Build Relationships

Relationships are crucial to success in both our personal and professional lives. It’s not what, but who… you know the rest. Here are some people on the professional side of things to check in with during thistime:

Past Customers

When projects are fewer and far between, check in with the people who have hired you in the past. Aquick phone call or handwritten letter (who doesn’t love to receive mail that’s not abill or acredit card offer?!) can make apositive impact.

Make sure you have agame plan, though. Outline what you’d like to cover in the communication:

• Ask them how the finished project is working forthem
• Share with them that their completed project is highlighted on yoursite
• Tell them about any new services you’re offering
• Communicate offers for referral or repeat business
• Request they leave an honest review of yourwork

That list is pretty cut and dried, so be sure to add in your personality throughout.

Insurance Agents

Referrals from insurance agents are one of the easiest ways to grow your business sustainably. Leads from agents usually close at higher rates than traditional marketing efforts. But developing these relationships can be challenging if you’re new to thegame.

Above all else, insurance agents value consistent processes, clear communication, and thorough documentation. Since you have already reviewed and updated your SOPs, you should be good to gothere.

For more tips on building referral relationships with agents, check out this whitepaper by Matt Danskin, owner and creator of Restoration Referral System.

Other Contractors

This time of year is also agreat time to network with other construction pros in your area. You’re probably like, ​“What? They’re my competitor, CompanyCam blog author. Every dollar they get is adollar taken fromme.”

Maybe. But if we learned anything from Monsters University, it’s that we all have our unique strengths and weaknesses. And the better we pair these with others, the more we allbenefit.

Instead of thinking, ​“General Contractor Xhas never installed level cabinets in their life.” Think, ​“I’m hella good at cabinet installs and can help them out. GCX has forgotten more about bathroom tiling than I’ll ever learn, so I’ll sub them on thisjob.”

These trusting, reciprocal relationships benefit both of your bottom lines because customers will be happier with the work, making them more likely to refer business toyou.

Prepare to GetBusy

Now that you’ve taken alook under the hood of your processes and marketing — and have built some great relationships — the busy season is probably right around the corner. It’s time to get down tobusiness.

Hire &Train Employees

Whether you reduced staff or have alot of projects ready to go, you’ll need to make aplan to find help — which is easier said than done. Last year, we had Boris Altman of Premier Claims on our podcast to discuss this verytopic.

Luckily, you have already properly offboarded your seasonal crew, and they should be ready to come back to join you. And you refined your SOPs and built them out in CompanyCam Checklists, so you’re ahead of thegame.

But First, Take aBreak

This is as important as any of the things above. You and your crews have been grinding throughout the year, and it’s essential to take time off to celebrate your successes and spend time away from the jobsite.

Burnout is often overlooked for small business owners — especially those in the trades. That’s why it’s important to take some time to recharge, research your interests, and spend some time out in the community.

And, if you’re feeling up to it, consider learning anew skill or volunteering.

Learn Something New

There are tons of free and lower-cost sites where you can learn anew skill. Coursera and LinkedIn Learning have arange of classes on trade-specific topics and soft skills, like leadership and building workplace culture.

If you’re interested in honing your marketing skills, check out Google Digital Garage and Facebook Blueprint. Both offer free classes designed for small business owners.

Give Back To Your Community

The slow season is agreat time to use your talents to give back to your community. Your local Habitat for Humanity could use assistance on projects or donations at their ReStore locations.

Or find acause you’re interested in outside of your day-to-day duties. Volunteering not only feels good, but it’s also agreat way to meet new people in your trade and community.

And there you have it: The incomplete and ever-evolving contractor’s guide to the slow season. Is there something you do in the offseason that’s worked for you? Let us know on social media.

CompanyCam has afew opportunities you can take advantage of during the slow (and busy) seasons to help you earn exclusive gear, early access to new app features, and cold hardcash:

• CompanyCam Closers. Closers is our referral program open to all CoCam users. Send your link out to your friends, and when they sign up, you earnCASH.
• CompanyCam Champions. If you have asignificant following, really love CompanyCam, and are really good at selling it to your network of followers, this program is foryou.

Let’s make this offseason the best one yet, so that the busy season is busier (and more efficient) thanever.