Put your Christmas downtime to work.
Now’s the time to prepare your business for the Christmas & New Year period.
For many of us, the months leading up to Christmas are a frenzied and busy time. From now until to December, workloads increase as we race to beat shut down dates and push to get projects over the line.
In stark contrast, January is often much quieter as we slowly get back into gear for the new year. However, just because the pace is slow it doesn’t mean your construction business should be too.
There are things we can do over the next few months to put our downtime to work. Here are our top 3 tips.
The upside of downtime.
Take advantage of the quieter month in January by upgrading your systems and processes.
We know changing systems is probably the last thing on your mind right now but please hear us out!
Start your research now and pinpoint the best system for your business. Even though it’s only October, if you do the groundwork now you’ll be ready to press go in the new year when everyone’s workloads are lighter. Believe us – the last thing you want to be doing is implementing a new system just as work picks up again and everyone is flat out!
Plus, when it does pick up again you’ll already have the right project management tools in place to handle the busier periods. While there may never be a ‘right time’ for you to upgrade you can at least help minimise the disruption to your regular operations.
Stay focused on winning more work.
Lead management is always important, but over the next 10 weeks, it’s essential if you want to keep your momentum going over the Christmas period.
We get it. You’re already so busy managing projects that your estimating and sales activity has taken a backseat. However, making a commitment to winning new work is just as vital as doing it.
Make sure you have a system in place to track your sales and standardise your estimating process so you’re targeting your best prospects.
Put a plan in place to focus on potential, future, current and recent estimates and bids. Then be proactive about following-up after submitting each one so you can improve your hit rate.
Spend time developing loyal customers and start thinking about your marketing strategy (if you haven’t already!).
Meet with your Accountant.
Your accountant is not just for tax time.
Now’s the time to sit down together and work out what’s needed to build a healthy sales pipeline and avoid the new year work slump.
Look for ways you can streamline your business and get better profit margins. For example, how can you improve productivity to ensure more jobs finish under budget and ahead of schedule? It usually starts with careful planning and scheduling of work (so if you’re still using Excel spreadsheets for this, it might be time to rethink your approach!).
Finally, put together a plan to manage any potential reductions in cash flow. Look back over the year’s data to identify trends to help start the new year strongly and develop goals for 2021.
Picking up the pace.
Approached positively, the Christmas and New Year period can be a great opportunity for growth. Now’s the time to start preparing for a successful summer and setting your business up for a massive 2021.
Get in touch with our local team on 1300 942 399 or Request a Demo to have an open and honest conversation about how we could help you maintain momentum over the festive season.
