The slow season doesn’t have to mean slow growth. When jobs are fewer and the calendar’s lighter, you’ve got time to work on your business instead of just in it.
Here’s how to use your off-season to build momentum for when things pick back up.
When is the Slow Season for Contractors?
For most contractors, winter is a quiet time. People are spending on holidays instead of home projects. Weather makes outdoor work tough or impossible. But this natural lull is also your opportunity to start your winter planning, knock out yearly planning, and get ready for spring prep.
1. Review Processes
The best teams don’t just rely on what worked last year. They update the playbook and use this window for system cleanup and SOP updates.
This is the time to look at what slowed you down, where communication broke, and which steps crews repeated or skipped on busy days. A few small changes now make a big difference when you’re juggling multiple jobs in the spring.
Standardize Operating Procedures
Repeatable processes save time and protect your business. Use your downtime to document everything a crew member needs to know on a job site — especially the tasks that tie into project prep, job planning, and avoiding missed steps during rush periods.
Think through each task: What does it include? How long does it take? What gets missed when you’re rushing?
Tools like CompanyCam Checklists make it easy to build SOPs your team can actually follow — and you can see who’s completed what in real time.
Review Your Tech Stack
List out every software subscription you’re paying for. Remove inactive users (like that subcontractor from last summer). See if your tools can talk to each other — integrations save you hours of double entry and help with workload planning and cost review.
In CompanyCam, you can check user activity to see who’s active and who’s not. If you’re paying for seats no one’s using, now’s the time to trim — a small move that matters when you’re looking at overhead costs heading into a new year.
Off-board seasonal crews
If you hired seasonal help or have to downsize, make sure you have processes in place to off-board and retain your employees. Schedule reviews and exit interviews with all of your employees. Ask them about their experiences and get their opinions on things like:
- Their views of the work and your business
- The relationships with co-workers and managers
- Their overall impression of the workplace culture
These conversations pay off when you need reliable people in March and give you a clearer picture of labor planning and future crew training needs. Plus, it’s an excellent opportunity to share your feedback on their performance and discuss whether they’d like to return once business picks up.
Get ahead of the busy season.
Stay productive when jobs slow down by organizing everything in one place. Book a demo to see CompanyCam in action.
2. Manage Your Marketing
You might think with fewer projects on your plate, you should lighten marketing efforts. But doing that is the same as parking your truck in the garage in December and expecting it to fire right up in March. You need to lay out your marketing—for both the slow season and the rest of the year, so it can run smoothly in the background while you’re busy with work.
Audit Your Online Presence
First, you should audit your Google My Business listing, social media accounts, and website.
- Google My Business. Make sure all your contact information and service offerings are accurate and optimized so customers can easily find you.
- Social Media. Ensure your social channels are consistently named and branded (and have fresh content). We’ll get into more on content marketing below.
- Website. Along with business info, make sure you add photos of recent projects to your website. Better yet, install CompanyCam Portfolios.
A quick online audit ties directly into yearly planning and helps you avoid hidden overhead costs from outdated or inaccurate listings. Check out this guide for auditing your online presence for more tips and tricks!
Plan Promos & Offers
Seasonal offers are a great way to get more jobs during the slow parts of the year and start booking your busy season.
A great place to start is by offering referral bonuses or % off coupons to your past customers. If they had a great experience with you the first time, they’re going to hire you again — especially if you sweeten the deal.
Clippable coupon courtesy of Priebe Roofing
Create Content With CompanyCam
CompanyCam users already have the content they need to market their work. The photos you take every day tell the story. You just need to add a few details.
Here’s how to turn those photos into content that helps you win more work:
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Before & After Photos: Show clear transformations using side-by-side layouts. You can add your logo and choose from several designs to match your style.
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Project Timelines: Document each step of the job to give customers a full view of your process. This helps build trust and shows the value of your work over time.
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Portfolios: Add your best projects to your website with just a few clicks. Contractors using Portfolios say it brings more site traffic and leads to better sales conversations.
A CompanyCam Showcase out in the wild.
3. Build Relationships
Relationships are crucial to success in both our personal and professional lives. It’s not what, but who… you know the rest. Here are some people on the professional side of things to check in with during this time:
Past Customers
When projects are fewer and far between, check in with the people who have hired you in the past. A quick phone call or handwritten letter (who doesn’t love to receive mail that’s not a bill or a credit card offer?!) can make a positive impact.
Make sure you have a game plan, though. Outline what you’d like to cover when you communicate with your customers:
- Ask them how the finished project is working for them
- Share with them that their completed project is highlighted on your site
- Tell them about any new services you’re offering
- Communicate offers for referral or repeat business
- Request they leave an honest review of your work
- Grand them guest access to your projects to build trust
- Share updates directly with project collaboration tools
That list is pretty cut and dried, so be sure to add in your personality throughout.
Insurance Agents
Agents care about consistent processes and clear documentation. If you’ve tightened up your SOPs and improved how you track jobs, let them know. A quick check-in with your insurance partners shows them you take their clients seriously and handle claims the right way. When they trust your process, they’re far more likely to send work your direction during storm season or when a homeowner needs repairs handled fast.
Other Contractors
Stay connected with the trades you partner with. When work picks up, you’ll want those relationships dialed in. Most contractors get solid referrals from other pros they trust — plumbers, electricians, roofers, painters, concrete crews, remodelers. Checking in during the slow season builds goodwill and keeps you top of mind when someone else’s customer needs your trade.
4. Prepare to Get Busy
You’ve tightened up your processes, refreshed your marketing, and reconnected with your network. Now it’s time for the busy season prep.
Hire & Train Employees
If you off-boarded your seasonal crew the right way, bringing them back should be easy. And since you’ve already built out your SOPs, training is faster. For new hires, walk them through your checklists, photos, examples of completed work, and the steps you expect on every job. Show them how your tools work, who they report to, and what “done right” looks like in your company. A simple orientation now prevents confusion later.
Update Your Scheduling and Workload Plan
Before the calls start rolling in, look at your upcoming calendar. Identify what weeks historically get slammed, what work you already have booked, and how much your crews can realistically take on. Adjust your workload planning now so you’re not overloading teams or turning away jobs you could have taken with a little prep.
Refresh Your Customer Follow-Up System
Customers often start shopping around before the weather warms up. Make sure your follow-up process is dialed in: clear timelines, fast responses, updated templates, and photos ready to send. Sharp communication early helps you win jobs before the season even starts.
Review Safety and Compliance
Busy seasons often mean more crews, more job sites, and more variables. Use this downtime to review safety procedures, check equipment, update certifications, and run quick refreshers with your team. Strong safety habits protect your crews and reduce costly delays once work ramps up.
5. And Finally, Take a Break!
This is just as important as everything else on this list. You and your crews have been grinding all year. Take time to rest, celebrate your wins, and spend time away from the job site.
Burnout is real — especially for business owners in the trades. A reset should be part of your winter wrap-up so you can enter spring with energy, not exhaustion.
Learn Something New
Pick up a new skill, take a course, or just read something that interests you. A fresh perspective helps when you get back to work. Or, check out our classes and webinars that show you how to use CompanyCam to make your day easier and your jobs run smoother.
Give Back To Your Community
Donate time or materials to a local cause. It’s good for your community and good for your business’s reputation.
Make This Your Best Off-Season Yet
The slow season is what you make of it. Tighten your processes, keep your marketing warm, and give yourself time to recharge. When spring hits, you’ll be ready to take on more winter work carryover jobs, handle seasonal work requests, and turn that momentum into your busiest year yet.
Join the Crew
Running a business in the trades isn’t easy — but you don’t have to go it alone. Our forum is a place for business owners, crews, and pros to share tips, solve tough problems, and learn from each other’s experiences.
Get solid advice, share your wins (and fails), and connect with others who get the grind.
