How To Continue Steady Workflow In Quieter Seasons

Like any other industry, the trade industry experiences fluctuations in service demand. It’s important for these trade business owners and sole traders to prepare for the quieter periods, as they can pose difficulties financially while maintaining a steady workflow, which can become challenging.

While that is the case, we can also seek the positives of off-peak periods. With this extra time, you can strategically plan the long-term success of your business, optimise your employees’ skills to develop your service offerings and implement new processes for greater management, such as a trade business management app.

However, finding ways to continue working at a steady rate with a great amount of profit coming in at all times of the year takes priority. At Powered Now, we have helped thousands of tradies improve their processes and operations, setting them up for success.

So, alongside our trade business management software, here are some practical methods to secure your workflow during quieter seasons as a trade business and a few ways to make the most of quieter days if and when they do occur.

Strengthen your existing and future client relationships by:

Seeking feedback on previous work.
Addressing any concerns they may have promptly.
Offering deals and incentives such as ongoing maintenance at reduced prices.
Implement a referral programme for customer loyalty.

Start diversifying your services by:

Exploring opportunities to upskill employees in specific areas of your trade, you can then offer more advanced services at premium prices.
Assess the market for complementary services, adding to your catalogue to remain competitive in your local area.
Advance the business model to cater to more clients’ needs, i.e, by adding plumbing and gas engineering services to your current electrical trade business (you can train your current team or hire new staff).

Enhance your marketing efforts by:

Updating your website by optimising the homepage and service pages with SEO keywords. This should then reach more people searching for a service like yours.
Leverage social media to reach a broader audience. It’s a free tool that can be used to educate or entertain an audience. Remember that this is about raising awareness of your company, so don’t expect too many leads initially.
Consider targeted advertising campaigns across Facebook and other platforms to showcase your professional and reliable offerings to more people.

Streamline your day-to-day operations by:

Implementing a trade business management software to efficiently operate areas of your business such as invoicing, HR, job scheduling, and more.
Evaluate your business processes for improvement. This will allow you to set up a business that operates smoothly.
Organise tasks, timelines, and resources in a concise and productive manner, setting your team up for success.

Always plan ahead by:

Looking into your previous performance as a business and setting attainable future goals.
Develop action plans for each member of your team and the business as a whole. This gives you something to work towards, making everyone more productive in the long term.
Prepare for upcoming opportunities and challenges, specifically seeking ways to prepare financially for quiet periods.

Making The Most Of Your Quieter Periods

Inventory Management

Having some extra time on your hands allows you to organise your operations, including conducting thorough inventory audits.
It will be beneficial as a business to identify the items most used and optimise stock levels accordingly.
Time away from clients provides the opportunity to do admin. This is a great time to negotiate with suppliers and set better terms and timings for the next peak periods.

Training and Development

Your team is your best asset. It’s essential that these employees are trained and skilled in providing the highest quality of service. Off-peak periods are the perfect time to get your staff trained in the latest processes, compliance, equipment, and services.
Encourage your employees to further their career progression by obtaining new certifications, attending workshops, and trying online courses.

Maintenance and Upgrades

If maintenance issues arise at any point, it is in your best interest to address them promptly.
Upgrade your tools and equipment to stay ahead of the latest advancements and industry standards and continuously enhance your service offerings and performance.
In the quieter periods, your team can conduct regular maintenance of your daily equipment, tools, and processes to prevent unforeseen circumstances at key customer service points.

Focus on Financial Health

Businesses always need a review period for their finances and expenses. Use this time to understand your trade company’s financial health and implement ways to improve it.
Create a budget that your staff and business can meet that accommodates these seasonal fluctuations in the future.
Get ahead of the next ‘low-demand’ period and build a reserve fund to cover main expenses - you never know what may happen, so get prepared!

Networking

Attend industry events and join trade associations; meeting new people within your field of work opens up more opportunities in the future.
Engaging with other professionals could result in collaboration on larger projects or being recommended to their clients for specific services you offer outside of their capabilities.
Build a strong professional network for support, and speaking to others who experience similar issues to yours may improve your circumstances or provide you with new ideas.

Quiet seasons in the trade industry are unavoidable in some cases; however, that’s not to say they cannot be valuable to your business, either. While setting your business up for success to overcome these times, having a strong customer base, a diverse service catalogue and implementing operational and marketing processes, it’s also important to have quieter periods that allow you to plan for the future, optimise your finances and train your employees further.

Take the first step towards achieving operational efficiency today with Powered Now. Book your FREE demo here.