This blog post might seem like a history lesson at first but make sure you read it all the way through because you’ll discover how we connect this weird fact about history to a modern opportunity for service businesses. You can leverage this information to make a lot more money!
A Long Time Ago…
In ancient times, long before we had HVAC systems and insulation, people “holed up” for the winter. Whether it was a cave or a hut or a teepee or log cabin—winter was a time that people hunkered down and focused on survival. They prepared for winter by stocking up on food and firewood, and then they’d wait. For most of history, winter was a difficult time and survival was not always certain.
It’s only been in a relatively short period of history that this type of lifestyle has changed. We now have insulated homes and HVAC systems that keep us warm. But we still have that “hunker down” mentality. It’s a survival mechanism bred from millennia of a survive-through-winter focus.
- It’s dark (which our primitive minds think is scary)
- It’s cold (which many people don’t find very comfortable)
- And even with modern cars, it’s still difficult to drive (in some places of the country, the roads are icy or snowy, you have to brush off the car and maybe you’re not even sure if your car will start)
So, no wonder people still have a survival mentality through winter.
But winter doesn’t last. The seasons change…
Spring Is Here
Now spring is here and things are changing.
For many service companies, the winter can be a busy time of dealing with HVAC calls to ensure that your customers are warm and comfortable during the coldest season. But something happens in the minds of customers in the spring… and it’s exciting for service companies for two reasons!
The first thing that happens is:
people start to emerge from their “caves.” They slowly come out of the darkness into the light. Even though we don’t live lives that are focused on surviving the winter, we still have that mentality hardwired into our DNA. So people emerge from their dark caves of survival (or at least that mindset) and into the light of spring.
They get more sun. They see new growth emerging from the ground. They feel warmer. This brings hope and a sense of expansion. They know that they have the spring, summer, and fall to pursue opportunities and grow and enjoy life.
Service companies benefit because it means that people are now thinking about how they will enjoy their lives, including what they need to do their homes to make it ready for summer—cleaning the ducts, servicing the furnace, getting the air conditioner ready to blast cold air all summer.
The second thing that happens is:
consumers have been holed up for so long (or, at least, they’ve felt that way even though we don’t really live in a society like that anymore) that they want to get out there and do something for themselves… they want to spend money… and the best part is: the malls and stores are (of course) encouraging this by holding spring sales and dragging all of their products outside to display on the sidewalks instead of being inside the store.
And that also is a benefit to service companies because it means that homeowners are being conditioned by the malls to spend money. We don’t have to convince homeowners to spend money; someone else is doing that for us. All service companies need to do is ride the money-spending wave” by providing a great product or service to homeowners and showing them how it’s amazing value and the best time to invest.
Summary
If you are a service company, the spring is an amazing opportunity… and it only gets better as the summer months progress. All you need to do to benefit is help people feel like they are getting out of their caves and finally able to expand and spend to enjoy the spring and summer months.
Of course, I’m only scratching the surface of what the huge opportunity is. There is so much more you can do to benefit from this time. From powerful marketing moves to recruiting—now is the time to grow your business and get everything in place before things really take off in the summer.
3 Warrior Steps
If you want to benefit from spring dollars, here are 3 Warrior steps to take right now…
#1. Revisit the value you provide in all of your products and services and make sure you’re clearly explaining how your products and services BENEFIT customers.
#2. Get your outbound team on the phone and start calling them. Call all of them. Welcome them to spring with an amazing “shake off the cold winter and start enjoying the warm spring” sale that gets them excited.
#3. Join us at our next Service Business Growth event. We’ll share some powerful strategies that can help you grow your business even more, plus we’ll help you build a step-by-step implementation plan so you can put these strategies to work in your business!
