The busy months are almost here. The phone will be ringing off the hook. Your inbox and calendar will fill up. It’s every home service business owner’s dream—and nightmare. You could be facing some long days ahead.
It’s time to plan like a Pro! Anticipate the busy season by scheduling projects, ordering materials in advance, coordinating with your team, and setting yourself up for success. That way, you’re not scrambling when the jobs start rolling in.
Learn from last year. Look back before you look forward. How has your business changed since last season? What did you learn? Do you have new employees who need more training? What else can you do better this year?
Check out this recording of the Busy Season Survival Guide: Tools and Tactics for Home Service Businesses webinar with Brooks Pettus, Housecall Pro COO and Brandon Brown, Conquer coach, Superpro and Housecall Pro Ambassador.
It’s also important to streamline your workflows and identify any bottlenecks. Can you automate tasks? How can you simplify communication? As you plan, look for any tools you’re missing that could help you work more efficiently.
In the end, it all comes down to people, processes, and tools that help you succeed. Now, let’s jump into the details.
5 Simple steps to prep for busy season
1. Capture every opportunity.
How do you capture every opportunity? For starters, you need a sound marketing strategy. Consider targeted marketing campaigns to attract new customers. You can promote special offers and discounts on social media channels. Hit up your email list too. Postcards and mailers can also be effective.
Another marketing strategy that is often overlooked is encouraging your customers to leave reviews and tell others about your company. When it comes to home services, 86% of consumers read reviews for local businesses.1 And remember, it’s better to have a lot of quality reviews with feedback than just a few five stars.
Online Booking is another way to capture every opportunity, and it is absolutely free for all Pros using Housecall Pro. Your customers can book your services from any device anytime, day or night—all you need to do is to set up Online Booking from your Housecall Pro account. If you have a website, you can add an online booking bar to your homepage (or better, all website pages). Drive customers to it by including the link in emails and text messages you send out or by adding a QR code to your postcards.
Don’t have a website? Don’t worry! Customers can also book straight from your social media accounts and Google. Online Booking is a great tool for allowing customers to schedule your services without ever picking up the phone.
While Online Booking will reduce the time you and your team spend on the phone, the calls are still coming! Make sure your team is ready. Train your staff on how to handle customer calls quickly and professionally. If you need extra help, try our call answering service, Housecall Pro Assist. Our agents are like an extension of your company. They can answer questions and book jobs 24/7 right in your Housecall Pro account so you can focus on the tasks at hand.
Housecall Pro Assist is especially helpful during busy seasons. It lets you focus on work without worrying about missed calls and enjoy your weekends and nights. We’ll take care of booking jobs for you during weekends and after hours! Whether you’re a small business needing help or a bigger company that just needs extra leverage during a busy season, Housecall Pro Assist is great for both. If you’d like to learn more about our plans, fill out this form.
2. Ensure seamless communication.
One way to make the busy season easier is to use automated communication. Send automated reminders for upcoming appointments, “On my way” texts before heading to a property, and follow-up messages when the job is done. You can even automate review requests! You’re providing excellent service and saving a ton of time.
Invest in tools like Pipeline that help you follow up with leads and see where they are in the process. Make sure you’re not ghosting and losing any potential customers. One of the biggest challenges of the busy season is having too many leads. You need to make sure the team is working efficiently and that you have full visibility into all processes.
Side note: Make sure your contact information on social media and your website is up to date too.
3. Optimize service routes.
Smart dispatching is key when it comes to making the most of your team’s time on those busy days. Use GPS technology to plan efficient service routes and minimize travel time. You can also group appointments in the same geographical area. If you get a cancellation or last-minute addition, you can always adjust schedules in real time.
4. Gain lifelong customers.
From sending estimates and invoices to collecting payments, there’s a lot of admin work during busy season—and the rest of the year! Cut back on those manual, repetitive tasks by simplifying and automating your systems. Use those systems to upsell customers or ensure future jobs.
With Housecall Pro’s Sales Proposal tool, you can create estimates that get converted into jobs faster by presenting your services in a visually appealing format on any device. You can upsell easily by presenting “good, better, best” options with professional visuals to boost job ticket size.
What about making payments easier? With Housecall Pro’s Invoices and Payments features, you can automate sending invoices and processing payments. Plus, your customers can pay on the job site too. For repeat business, add a card on file. Customers will appreciate the speed and convenience you offer. Techs can simply pull up pre-saved customer details and payment information, click, and move on.
Also, make sure your Service Agreements are ready for the busy season so you can offer them to every new customer. Agreements turn one-time visits into recurring revenue. Ensure all service agreements are up-to-date, revise terms and conditions if necessary, and, of course, communicate any changes to existing customers to avoid any surprises. Housecall Pro offers Service Plans, a feature that helps you sell maintenance agreements from the mobile app or email. Your customers can easily renew online, and your business will stay top of mind.
What about your team? Our Payroll solution allows you to automate the payroll process and save valuable time while keeping your team happy with regular paychecks.
5. Get support from experts and a community of like-minded leaders.
Your equipment is ready. You’re planning to save time with a streamlined scheduling process and automated communication. Now it’s time to get motivated and prep your team. We know that entrepreneurship can be a lonely and thankless job, but the truth is—you don’t have to do this alone.
Most successful Pros have a strong support system behind them. You might say, “I have family and friends.” But what we’re talking about is professional support—people who understand the struggles you’re going through as an entrepreneur. This is where education and coaching programs can make a huge difference.
Housecall Pro offers coaching through our Conquer programs. Conquer provides Pros with a powerful playbook and practical ideas for successfully managing the busy season and beyond. As our Conquerors say, your goal is to have a busy season all year around, not just a couple of months a year. Along with expert feedback in one-on-one or group sessions and free webinars, Conquer offers a supportive network to keep you motivated with the support you need.
We hear from Pros a lot. They say things like, “I know how to ‘turn the wrench,’ but I don’t know how to get out of the truck and scale this business. I’m constantly stressed. I’m not paying myself enough for this job. Should I just stop and go work for someone else?”
The stress of the busy season (and running a business!) is real. Handling it with community support makes it so much easier. Pros need a system that will help them break from that daily grind. Running a business requires a different skill set and mindset. Our Conquer program has helped business owners grow their companies by as much as 200% in a year just by setting up systems and automations.
While Conquer helps you tackle the busy season, it also offers advice for your team. For instance, consider offering incentives and bonuses to reward your techs and office staff during the peak months—and let your team know about it! Remember to invest in your company culture. Fostering a positive work environment goes a long way in keeping your staff motivated, even when daily workflows swirl with hurricane force.
Plan like a Pro
The months ahead can be a wild ride. But with Housecall Pro’s powerful tools, you’ll be ready to tackle the season and keep spring and summer in check. Our goal is to empower you to work smarter, not harder. Maximize bookings, boost efficiency, and stay calm through the chaos of the busy season. You’ve got this! And we’ve got you.
