How Can HVAC Business Owners Prepare for the Peak Winter Season?

As NJ HVAC Insurance specialists with decades of experience, we are witness to industry growth. According To IBISWorld, the HVAC business is a $96 billion growth industry adding more revenue, new businesses, and employees in recent year-over-year results. But the revenue and growth come in spurts due to the seasonality aspects of HVAC business operations. Most service businesses, including HVAC operations, have high and low seasons.

HVAC business owners need to make plans in preparation for the busy winter season to keep up with demand. You never want to find yourself immersed in day-to-day business activities only to realize you’re not ready to respond to an influx of new job orders.

You can’t go wrong taking the time to make plans or revisions to help your heating and cooling business effectively respond to current market conditions and project needs for the inevitable peak seasons. The coldest months are just ahead, and, in general, you want to make plans for your business during the slow season. But there are things you can do now and other items to add to your slow season planning session.

Review Your Previous Comparable Period.

Start by reviewing your previous winter weather activities. How many jobs did you book? How many employees did you have on staff, and in what positions? Were you under or overstaffed? Did you have adequate equipment to manage all jobs easily? Did you have enough inventory to avoid expensive last-minute orders? Was your marketing sufficient to bring in the amount of business you expected?

Your answers provide insights and directions for your upcoming winter month operations. Use them to help make marketing plans and decisions for staffing, equipment, and inventory needs.

Get Ready for a Competitive Job Market.

Employers of all sorts are in a dog fight to find workers. To position your business against the trends, make your plans and take your actions as if they have no end in sight. By doing that, you will prepare yourself for the worst while keeping your business initiatives active to manage for the best possible outcomes for your HVAC business this winter.

To be confident your business has the right mix of employees for the winter season, compare your projections for your anticipated business against last winter. If you need to staff up, start recruiting now. Be prepared to be more aggressive and creative to fill your open positions. Consider all your options, including outsourcing work orders, hiring temporary employees, or contracting with third-party recruiters. 

Maintain Adequate Inventory & Equipment Levels. 

Maintaining adequate inventory and equipment is crucial to managing the anticipated number and types of jobs you’ll be performing this winter. These actions will save money, time, and many headaches, including dissatisfied customers who don’t get jobs completed quickly due to low inventory or lack of available equipment. 

Use your slower months to install or refresh your inventory management system so you are sure you can track your inventory and keep it well supplied throughout all the seasons of the year. Knowing you have what is necessary to meet demand and respond to changes in the marketplace gives you an edge when bidding for jobs and removes unnecessary nagging worries. 

Tune Up Your Marketing.

Review how you typically get your business. Did your marketing allow you to meet your projected goals for sales or business volume last winter? Do you need to shake things up to meet your plans? It’s wise to prepare to do at least as much as season and more.

You may need to hire new sales reps to bring in new business, contact your existing customer base for repeat business, or sell annual contracts. You might also consider using and revising current advertising on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to boost specials and promotions.

Both traditional and social media continue to evolve and change in response to new methods and changing consumer habits. What worked well last time may not be as effective this time. Our 5 Tips for Marketing Your HVAC Business post offers insights and suggestions you can use now. And be ready to invest more in your marketing than in previous seasons to keep your business growing.

Budget, Organize and Prioritize Everything You Can.

Stay organized. You benefit from the power of informed decisions when you track inventory, invoices, jobs, work schedules, and more. Maintain a rolling calendar to anticipate your needs for upcoming assignments, bids, and identify methods to increase operational efficiency and productivity.

Disorganization creates chaos that affects your personnel and your clientele. It leads to disappointment and distrust. These are situations you avoid when your clients, business partners, and employees know what you need from them and when. Burnout is a real thing that happens when owners and employees are overwhelmed by an unanticipated volume of work put on the books at one time.

The best method to combat crisis management is to prioritize jobs and tasks, always to work first to complete jobs and tasks that are both urgent and important. Know your limitations. Don’t take too much so that the organizational strain affects your business’s health and yours. Seven days, 80-hour weeks are a prescription for burnout on your employees and you. They are all you’ve got, and you must take diligent care of them and yourself.

Organizing your business includes having actionable plans to respond to unexpected problems. Knowing how to react when you are short-staffed is an example. Anticipate what to do if your business is hit with an increase in new job orders beyond your expectations. Conversely, it’s not the time for ad libbing should you have an unexpected shortfall in your work orders. Whatever the situation, you want to have a contingency plan to put into place to address without feeling panicked because you never thought about such a thing occurring.

Protect Your Business.

At the Dickstein Associates Agency, we believe the best way to earn your trust is through our actions, including providing helpful marketing help as with this post. As our client, you will receive high-efficiency, full-load coverage for your NJ HVAC contractor insurance needs. You’ll benefit from our independent agent status that allows us to use our extensive market contacts to provide you with comprehensive coverage at competitive rates.

About Dickstein Associates Agency

Dickstein Associates Agency has distinguished itself as a leading provider of personal and business insurance in the tri-state area since 1965. We pride ourselves on being advocates for our clients and providing them with quality and affordable coverages. As Trusted Choice™ independent insurance agency, we partner with various national and regional carriers, allowing for flexible coverage for each client’s unique circumstances. For more information on how you can leverage all your insurance to work best for you, and how we can secure the best insurance in the marketplace suited to your specific needs and business objectives, contact us today at (800) 862-6662 or www.dicksteininsurance.com.