The holiday season is a lucrative time for businesses across the retail industry, with an increase in orders coming in and production soaring to meet demands. However, professionals in other areas often see a dip in trading over the holidays — this is certainly true for the home improvement industry.

Since it can be difficult to find new leads over the holidays, we've come up with a few solutions to help offset this slow period.

1. Offer seasonal discounts and promotions

The festive period is the perfect time to introduce special sales and promotions for your business. One-off sales of your products and services can bring in new leads even when the rest of your professional colleagues are struggling to find work.

Try offering holiday-centered promotions and deals to customers who book over the winter months. For the home improvement industry, this can include things like winterizing your home, weatherproofing windows and doors, insulation repairs, and even servicing your HVAC units.

2. Contact past clients for new jobs

If you're struggling to drum up any business at all during the holiday season, you can always reach out to past clients in order to reconnect and solidify some new jobs. Communication is an essential part of business success, so keeping in touch with the leads you already have is a great way to find new business from old customers.

You can also introduce a referral scheme during this slow period, wherein past clients can receive a percentage off a future project by referring someone new to you — a win/win scenario for your business.

3. Boost your marketing strategy

Keeping your marketing tools up to date is a job that often falls high on business owners' priority lists but constantly gets put to the side during busy periods. The holiday season is the perfect time to focus on your marketing strategies and advertising.

Redesigning your brand, updating social media accounts, and placing new print and other advertisements are fantastic ways of bringing your business into the new year and preparing for a busy and thriving few months ahead.

4. Reach out to other professionals

When job leads seem to drop, it's always a good idea to talk to other professionals in your line of work and see whether they are experiencing the same kinds of patterns in trade. If you're new to the business, your colleagues may have advice or suggestions about ways in which you can deal with quiet periods — including what clients might be looking for this time of the year or ways you can help your business save money when fewer jobs are coming in.

It is also possible that some of your business colleagues may be inundated with jobs and might not be able to take on as many new clients as you right now. In that case, you just might be able to score a few extra leads from them.

5. Use downtime for additional training

Continued professional development is important for small businesses, so a quiet period is the perfect time to start thinking about the future of your business and any steps you might need to take to reach your goals. This could include green training, technology updates and specialist qualifications, all of which take time and effort.

While a holiday dip in trading might not make your business as much money as you might like, a new skill set or upgraded facilities will set you up for more fruitful leads in the future.

6. Sign up for lead generation programs

If you have reached out to past clients and other pros, and you've completed all necessary training and business updates but still want more work this holiday season, now might be the time to pair up with a lead generation company. Lead generation sites can connect you to new leads who fit your ideal customer profile and are ready to get started now.

If you are serious about growing your business and overcoming any dips in trade, this may be the perfect solution for your business.