With landscape maintenance we had regularly scheduled jobs from week to week. The regular work provided us with a labor pool that we could draw from when needed to finish a large project or to handle an emergency. Planning was easier for us because if we didn’t have any extra work we could have our crews help out with the maintenance. It created a consistent stream of income every month which lessened the stress of having to constantly push sales. Most importantly we had regular customers that we could cross sell other services to throughout the year. We were already doing business together so it was easy for them to have us take care of the work, rather than to go through the process of finding someone else for every job.

I have friends in similar industries who do not have maintenance programs in place. Every month they have to sell hard to keep all their employees working. When they don’t, people get laid off. The sales reps feel the weight of the world on their shoulders as they try to keep everyone busy. Now that’s tough.

So what type of product or service can you apply a continuity program to? It might take some thought, but every business can do it. Rethink your business. It will take some pressure off of everyone, boost profits, and create all sorts of other advantages you may never have thought of.