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Slow Demand, Busy Techs

Slow Demand, Busy Techs

Don't let shoulder season slow you down

John Wilson
November 12, 2025

Hello home service operators,

Last week, I hosted a live Q&A with Tyson Chen, founder of Avoca, on how to keep techs busy when demand dips.

I share the main takeaways below, but first some resources…

How to make your home service company stand out from day one
Is Reddit impacting your company’s ability to be discovered online?

Keep Your Board Full in Shoulder Season

Last week, I sat down with Tyson Chen, founder of Avoca, for a live Q&A on how to keep your techs busy when the phones slow down. Shoulder season hits everyone, but the best operators stay booked.

Here are the quick wins you can deploy this week.

1. Reactivation beats new ads

Before you spend another dollar on Google or Meta, mine your CRM.

Start with:

Unsold estimates
Customers you haven’t seen in 12–18 months (HVAC ~9–12, Plumbing ~18, Electric ~36)
Due or overdue memberships

2. Use a simple drip sequence

Text → call → email. Keep it frictionless.

In texts, give customers preset time options they can tap to book.

3. Timing matters

One large shop saw better response when sending texts between 11:00 and 12:00 local time.

Test your send windows and log results.

4. Offers that move the needle

Small incentives still work: seasonal tune-ups, coupons, financing reminders.

Also, test referral nudges after a happy customer review.

5. Membership tune-ups = dependable floor

Call members before they call you.

Schedule maintenance proactively and slot these to build a consistent daily baseline.

6. “Happy call” → next job

If a customer gives you a high rating, ask for a review and book their next visit right away.

For installs, pre-schedule a follow-up 6–12 months out.

7. Capacity-aware outbound

Match outbound jobs to tech skill level.

If a high-value job comes up, it’s okay to overbook, just reposition a low-value job to another slot.

Quick Start Checklist for This Week

Pull three lists: unsold estimates, members due, customers not seen in 12–18 months.
Draft one text with three bookable time slots and a light incentive.
Send texts between 11:00–12:00 and call non-responders.
Give CSRs a 20-second reactivation and tune-up script.
Track responses, bookings, and conversion to revenue.

What to Watch Weekly

Lead → appointment rate
Appointment → job rate
Jobs set by list type
Review velocity after happy calls
No-show and reschedule rates as outbound ramps up

If you want help systemizing your approach — audience building from ServiceTitan, capacity-aware outbound, and guardrails that prevent bad bookings — Avoca is worth a look.

Tyson’s team runs these workflows at scale and can show you what top operators are doing. Learn more, request a walkthrough, or book a short demo.

Want the replay of our session?

Catch the full recording inside the free version of OAO Pro.

We’re actively onboarding into HVAC, Plumbing, and Electrical peer groups:

$0–5M, $5–10M, and $10M+ cohorts
Capped at 8 members for quality and connection
Weekly meetings with KPI benchmarking and deep dives on live issues
NDA-only groups so you can share openly

Interested? Reach out to Jess to grab a spot before your cohort fills.

Make slow demand a thing of the past. It’ll make for a much healthier company.

How do you feel about today's newsletter?

👊 John

Disclosure: Some of the content and links in this newsletter are sponsored or affiliate links, which means we may receive payment or earn a commission if you click through or purchase. However, all opinions expressed are entirely my own.