July is here. Business is slowing down in the service department. The team is catching its breath a bit; appointments are less back-to-back, and the daily pressure is easing up.
That’s when many service managers make a classic mistake: waiting until September to get back into development mode.
Yet summer is one of the best times to prospect for new business and follow up with existing clients. Not in spite of the lull, but because of it.
The Myth: No One Wants to Be Contacted in the Summer
We often hear: “People are on vacation; there’s no point in contacting them.” It’s a deeply held belief, but it doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.
Yes, some customers are on vacation. But others actually drive more in the summer—family trips, travel, weekend getaways. Their vehicles are on the road more, which means their maintenance needs are very real.
And most importantly, the competition is asleep at the wheel. While your competitors wait for the start of the school year, you can quietly and effectively take the lead.
The reality: Summer is the perfect time to clean up your customer base
When business is slower, your team has something valuable: time. And that time can be used very strategically.
Here’s what top-performing service managers do during the summer:
- Identify customers who haven’t returned in 6, 12, or 18 months and plan a targeted follow-up
- Send personalized maintenance reminders to customers whose oil change, inspection, or tire replacement is coming up
- Launch a targeted summer promotion: pre-road trip checkup, comprehensive inspection, or preventive maintenance before the start of the school year
- Reach out to satisfied customers to ask for a referral or a Google review
These aren’t complicated tasks. They’re tasks we always put off because day-to-day operations take up all our time. Summer is the perfect window of opportunity to get them done.
Prospecting doesn’t mean cold calling
For a service department, prospecting doesn’t mean reaching out to strangers. Your greatest asset is your existing customer database—people who already know you, trust your team, and may have needs right now.
Effective summer prospecting means:
- A well-written reminder text message, sent at the right time
- A personalized email with a seasonal offer
- A courteous call from an advisor to a customer you haven’t spoken with in a long time
- A social media post reminding your community that you’re here, available, and ready to welcome them
Simple. Human. Effective.
What Fall Will Thank You For Doing This Summer
Department heads who actively pursue new business in July and August experience a very different start to the school year in September than others do. Their appointment calendars are already full. Their clients know they’re there. And their team hasn’t spent two months in standby mode.
Summer shouldn’t be a break from your growth. It’s an opportunity to get a head start on everyone else.
The question isn’t whether prospecting in the summer works. The question is: Are you going to take advantage of it this year?
Want to implement a customer follow-up strategy this summer?
Automated texts, maintenance reminder campaigns, follow-up sequences for inactive customers: at Drive, we set up simple and effective systems that work for you, even when things are slow.
Because the best time to prepare for the new season is now.
Let’s take 30 minutes to see what might work for your business. Book your free call here.
