Reviews & marketing · Owners and general managers

What to do in the HVAC slow season: a 6-week plan

Shoulder season shows up every spring and fall, and it still catches shops off guard. You already have most of what you need to fill it: a membership list, past customers and a pile of unsold estimates. This prompt turns those into a six-week plan that keeps techs busy without spending money you’ll need in July.

What to get right

  • Start six to eight weeks out. By the time the phones go quiet, campaigns should already be running.
  • Work the list you have. Unsold estimates from the last 12 months and past customers who aren’t members are usually cheaper to reach than new leads.
  • Use the quiet weeks. Training, ride-alongs, truck restocks and shop cleanup are easier when the board isn’t full.
  • Set a spending limit. Decide the marketing budget up front so a slow week doesn’t turn into panic spending.

The prompt

This is the Plan for the slow season workflow, word for word. Copy it, fill in the [brackets], and paste it into the AI tool your company uses.

Never paste: Employee pay rates or personal info, customer names with addresses or phone numbers, bank or card numbers, financing applications, or anything from a pending legal dispute.
Help me plan for the slow season.
Trade: [HVAC / plumbing / electrical]; Months: [e.g. April-May]
Typical drop in calls: [%]
Assets: [membership list size, unsold estimates from last 12 months, past customers]
Team: [techs, installers, office]
Budget: [marketing $]

Give me a 6-week plan: tune-up/membership campaigns, unsold estimate follow-ups, training, truck and shop maintenance, and how to keep techs busy without overspending. Week-by-week.

Fill it in with the prompt builder → Open the full workflow Owner / GM · saves 1 hr per season

How to use it

  1. Fill in your trade, the slow months and your usual drop in calls.
  2. Count what you have: membership list, unsold estimates, past customers.
  3. Add your team and your marketing budget.
  4. Run the prompt and put each week’s tasks on the calendar with a name next to them.
  5. Review it after the season and keep what worked for next year.

Related workflows

Questions shops ask

When is the HVAC slow season?

Usually the shoulder months in spring and fall, between heating and cooling demand. The exact months depend on your climate, so go by your own call history.

How do I keep techs busy in the slow season?

Tune-up and membership campaigns, unsold estimate follow-ups, training and ride-alongs, and truck and shop maintenance. The prompt builds a week-by-week plan from your numbers.

Do plumbing and electrical shops have a slow season?

Many do, though it’s less tied to the weather than HVAC. The same plan works: work your past-customer list and use the quiet weeks for training.

Weekly email

One new workflow a week for service shop owners and their teams.

HVAC, plumbing, electrical. No hype; unsubscribe whenever.