While the high temperature forecast here in Richmond, VA today is expected to be near 90 and it might still feel like summer, it’s safe to say now that we’re in October we’re officially in the HVAC industry’s “shoulder season”. The season when the weather will not help drive consumers to make repairs or change-outs. We have an old joke that when it gets really hot or cold we get really smart, unfortunately the opposite is true as well! In reality it’s hard to deny that we’re not a weather driven business, however your ability to stay busy in the shoulder seasons can really have a huge impact on your overall success.
There is no doubt that our industry suffers from a massive shortage of qualified labor and most contractors passionately agree if only they had more help in the busiest times they could do much more work and make more money. That truth is offset by the fact that contractors must keep those same employees busy and on the payroll during the shoulder months. And thus the cruel industry dilemma of having too many people during the shoulder season and not enough during the busy season.
Enter the “maintenance agreement” or whatever catchy phrase your company might market it as. Almost everyone offers them, but very few contractors actually succeed with them. By this I mean achieving enough of them to actually grow the business and make it more successful. The old KPI (Key Performance Indicator) was 1000 agreements for every million in sales. I can count on one hand the number of contractors I’ve met who have reached that figure, and not so surprisingly they are “MEGA” sized and “MEGA” successful. By emphasizing and prioritizing maintenance agreements, not just offering them, you can transform your business and help solve our age-old seasonal labor issue.
How many maintenance agreements does your company have? Are you doing everything you can do grow and keep your maintenance agreement customers? Maintenance agreements are the lifeblood of your business.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me.
Thanks for all you do and as always “Expect More From Us”!
Thanks,
Bruce Martin
Dealer Business Consultant
Value Added Distributors
(757) 469-1205
