Seasonal Planning for Contractors: How to Eliminate Revenue Roller Coasters

Every contractor knows the pattern: frantically busy in peak season, anxiously slow in the off-season. But the best contracting businesses have solved this—they maintain steady revenue year-round.

The Seasonal Trap

March arrives and suddenly your phone won’t stop ringing. Every day is a 12-hour marathon. You turn away work because there simply aren’t enough hours.

Then October hits. The phone goes quiet. Your team sits idle. Cash reserves dwindle. You question every business decision you’ve ever made.

This feast-or-famine cycle isn’t just stressful—it’s devastating to profitability.

The True Cost of Seasonality:

Understanding Your Seasonal Pattern

Before solving seasonality, you need to understand your specific pattern.

Map Your Revenue by Month

Create a chart showing last year’s revenue by month:

In this example (typical for HVAC), 49% of annual revenue comes in just 4 months. That’s extreme volatility.

Identify the Causes

External Factors:

• Weather patterns in your region
• School and holiday schedules
• Construction cycles
• Economic cycles
• Competitor behavior

Internal Factors:

• Service mix (what you offer)
• Marketing consistency
• Sales team efforts
• Pricing strategies
• Capacity constraints

You can’t control the weather. You can control how you respond to it.

The Seven Strategies for Year-Round Revenue

Strategy 1: Counter-Seasonal Services

Add services that peak when your primary services are slow.

HVAC Examples:

• Heating focus in winter (natural)
• Cooling focus in summer (natural)
• Indoor air quality campaigns: spring/fall
• Duct cleaning: fall
• Insulation services: winter
• Commercial refrigeration: year-round

Plumbing Examples:

• Emergency service: year-round
• Repiping campaigns: winter
• Water heater focus: fall/winter
• Sump pumps: spring
• Outdoor plumbing: summer
• Video inspection campaigns: slow season

Electrical Examples:

• Panel upgrades: fall/winter
• Generator sales: spring/fall
• Holiday lighting: fall
• Surge protection: summer
• EV charger installation: year-round
• Smart home services: year-round

Implementation:

1. Identify complementary services that fit your skills
2. Evaluate demand timing vs. your slow periods
3. Assess required training/equipment investment
4. Test market response before full launch
5. Train team and market proactively

Strategy 2: Maintenance Agreement Revenue

Service agreements provide predictable, schedulable revenue.

Why Agreements Smooth Seasonality:

1. Schedulable work: You control when visits happen
2. Predictable revenue: Same amount monthly/annually
3. Relationship retention: Customers stay with you
4. Off-season scheduling: Do maintenance when slow

Seasonal Agreement Strategy:

The Math:

1,000 agreements × $200 average = $200,000 annual revenue

• Spread across 12 months = ~$16,700/month guaranteed
• Plus repair revenue from agreement customers
• Plus retention benefits

Building Off-Season Maintenance:

Schedule heating maintenance in fall (before heating season peaks). Schedule cooling maintenance in spring (before cooling season peaks). This generates revenue in shoulder seasons and reduces peak season pressure.

Strategy 3: Commercial Work

Commercial accounts often have different seasonality than residential.

Commercial Advantages:

• Planned maintenance requirements
• Year-round facility needs
• Budget-driven scheduling (fiscal year)
• Less weather-dependent
• Higher contract values

Breaking into Commercial:

1. Start with small commercial (restaurants, retail)
2. Offer preventive maintenance contracts
3. Build reputation for reliability
4. Network with property managers
5. Expand to larger facilities

Commercial Revenue Timing:

• Many commercial budgets renew in January
• School/education work happens in summer
• Retail push before holiday season
• Property managers plan maintenance year-round

Strategy 4: Off-Season Pricing Strategies

Use pricing to shift demand to slow periods.

Off-Season Incentives:

Important Considerations:

• Don’t discount peak season work
• Protect profit margins even with discounts
• Track whether promotions actually shift behavior
• Make offers time-limited
• Train team to present properly

Strategy 5: Pre-Planned Marketing Campaigns

Most contractors market reactively. They advertise when slow, stop when busy. This is backward.

Proactive Marketing Calendar:

Example: HVAC Calendar

Budget Allocation:

Don’t spend evenly. Weight marketing spend toward:

1. Building pipeline before slow seasons
2. Capturing demand before peak seasons
3. Complementary services during natural slow periods

Strategy 6: Strategic Capacity Management

Match your capacity to demand patterns.

Peak Season Strategies:

• Cross-train office staff for basic support
• Pre-hire seasonal technicians
• Partner with trusted subcontractors
• Extend hours instead of adding heads
• Prioritize profitable work
• Build a “can’t today, will tomorrow” culture

Slow Season Strategies:

• Schedule maintenance agreements
• Conduct team training
• Complete deferred internal projects
• Perform equipment maintenance
• Run retrofit/replacement campaigns
• Offer installation-heavy work

Staffing Considerations:

Recommended: Staff for 80% of peak capacity. Use overtime and carefully vetted subcontractors for the additional 20%.

Strategy 7: Customer Timing Incentives

Help customers choose when they buy.

Schedule Later, Save Money:

“I could come out tomorrow afternoon, but if you can wait until next Tuesday, I can offer you 15% off. The system is safe to run until then—which works better for you?”

Book Now, Guarantee Availability:

“Our spring calendar is filling up fast. If you schedule your AC tune-up today, you lock in this year’s pricing and guaranteed availability. Want me to put you on the schedule?”

Off-Season Installation Benefits:

“Here’s something to consider: installing your new system in October instead of June means you’re not sweating while we work, we have more time to do the job perfectly, and I can offer you better pricing because we’re not as busy. Plus, you’ll have a full season of reliability before the real heat hits.”

Building Your Year-Round Revenue Plan

Step 1: Analyze Current Pattern

• Pull 2-3 years of monthly revenue data
• Identify your specific peak/slow months
• Calculate variance from average month
• Determine root causes of seasonality

Step 2: Set Targets

Define what “smooth” looks like for your business:

Step 3: Select Strategies

Choose 2-3 strategies to implement first:

If slow season is dire: Focus on complementary services and aggressive off-season marketing.

If peak season is overwhelmed: Focus on maintenance agreements and capacity management.

If both are issues: Start with maintenance agreements—they help both.

Step 4: Create Action Plan

For each strategy, define:

• Specific actions required
• Timeline for implementation
• Investment needed
• Success metrics
• Responsible person

Step 5: Execute and Measure

• Track monthly revenue vs. plan
• Review seasonal smoothing progress
• Adjust tactics based on results
• Expand successful strategies
• Abandon what isn’t working

Technology That Helps

Modern software can significantly improve seasonal planning:

CRM/Field Service Management:

• Automated marketing campaigns
• Seasonal reporting
• Agreement management
• Scheduling optimization

Forecasting Tools:

• Revenue prediction
• Capacity planning
• Cash flow projection
• Seasonal trend analysis

Marketing Automation:

• Pre-scheduled campaigns
• Customer segmentation
• Triggered communications
• A/B testing

The Mindset Shift

Solving seasonality requires changing how you think about your business:

From: “It’s slow, what can we do?” To: “It’s January, here’s our plan.”

From: “We’re too busy to think about slow season.” To: “Peak season is when we build slow-season pipeline.”

From: “This is just how the business works.” To: “This is how we’ve let the business work—we can change it.”

The contractors who achieve year-round stability aren’t luckier. They’re more intentional.

Start Planning Now

Wherever you are in the seasonal cycle, you can start planning for stability:

If You’re In Peak Season:

• Sell maintenance agreements on every call
• Book future appointments for slow season work
• Save cash for upcoming slow period
• Hire/train for complementary services

If You’re In Slow Season:

• Run off-season marketing campaigns
• Complete maintenance agreement visits
• Train team on new services
• Plan peak season capacity

If You’re In Transition:

• Analyze what just happened
• Adjust upcoming plans
• Prepare for next phase
• Review metrics and adjust

Ready to break free from seasonal revenue swings? Let’s build your year-round plan →

At The KPS Group, we help contractors build businesses that thrive in every season. Because stress shouldn’t be seasonal—success should be steady.

This guide is part of our commitment to helping contractors build sustainable, profitable businesses. Explore more strategies in our resource library.

Related Reading:

• Building a Maintenance Agreement Program
• Cash Flow Management for Contractors
• Digital Marketing for Contractors