How to Increase Your Fall Crack Repair Business

Educating customers on the importance of preservation in the fall helps prevent further pavement deterioration next spring.

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Sunbelt 046 10861280

Fall brings both challenges and opportunities for paving and pavement maintenance contractors. Your customers have stopped thinking about the summer that just ended and are starting to think about the winter that’s coming. One big question is, how can you use that change in mindset to your advantage?

In most areas of the country, the end of the season is an extremely busy time. Contractors are trying to squeeze in every job they can in before winter hits and they can no longer complete work. As the temperatures start to fall, the number of sales you make should rise as business owners need to be repairing cracks before the damaging winter months.

Start with Sales

In the spring, customer purchases tend to be driven by opportunity, while fall purchases can more likely be driven by risk. Sales Tip: Fall sales should more than likely be pitched as preventative; “you need this service to reduce the risk of loss/liability through the coming winter months.”

Your customers should understand that crack sealing is a preventative measure that will waterproof cracks and help protect the pavement from precipitation and the freeze/thaw cycles winter will bring.

Should cracks in the pavement be left untreated before winter, they could turn into potholes through the perils of the winter months. Moisture that worked its way into those cracks saturated the subgrade. When that material freezes, the area expands. This pushes the pavement surface up, weakening it.Then, once temperatures rise in the spring, the frozen material contracts, leaving space under the pavement surface. That weakened surface is now left unsupported. Once traffic hits that spot, the cavity that was created will collapse and you have yourself a shiny new pothole. That spot must now be fully repaired or it will continue to expand.

Not repairing problems in pavement can lead to premature wear of that pavement’s life or worse, catastrophic damage can be done to the integrity of your pavement if water is allowed to continually seep in. The saying goes, “fix the roof now so that you don’t have to fix the house later.” Research shows that spending $1 on maintenance today averts $6 to $14 of cost later. Be an advocate of pavement maintenance to your customer, especially in the fall. Crack sealing and sealcoating are essential to pavement health and far less expensive than new construction once pavement is irreparable. 

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