5 ways to stand out in the roofing industry

By The RIDGEPRO.

Learn how you can get the job by proving your company’s value on every sales call.

How often do your estimators go out to meet with a potential customer and hear: “OK, I need to get a few more estimates and I’ll give you a call.” Suddenly, you’re competing on price – again. Wouldn’t it be ideal if you could nail the job on the first call? Of course, but that requires standing out from the competition and proving your company’s value on every sales call.

Hopeless, you say? Not at all. The experts at Ridgepro have a few tips to help make your company stand out and convince your potential customers to say YES on the initial visit.

1 - Know their fears

The first step to become a customer-centric company is to understand what makes customers tick, or rather, what makes them fearful. Replacing or repairing a roof is a major event in a homeowner’s life. They need to make a costly and disruptive decision in an area most of them know little about. Fear of making a mistake or paying too much are major drivers in their thinking. Be proactive by acknowledging those fears and assure the customer by their countering unspoken objections.

TIP: Early in the sales pitch, offer your list of references without being asked.

2 - Compete on quality over cost

Once you’ve acknowledged the customer’s reasonable anxiety over making such a major purchase, you’ve set the stage for a discussion about quality. Explain how a roofing job well done is the best investment they can make in the future value of their home. Stress the quality of the materials and workmanship your company will provide. Remind them that a job well done is an investment rather than simply a cost to their already strained budget.

TIP: If you offer a warranty, that’s a benefit. Talk about it. 

3 - Safety is a selling tool

One clear way to help distinguish your company from the competition is to stress your safety procedures. Talk about harnesses, lifelines and other fall protection equipment. Remember to say that you conform to OSHA and other relevant safety standards. Don’t forget to mention that you use The RIDGEPRO®, the premium device in steep-slope roofing safety.

TIP: You do use The RIDGEPRO®, right? Check it out at: www.theRIDGEPRO.com

4 - Say what you mean

And mean what you say, particularly when talking about start and finish dates. Nothing makes a homeowner regret a purchase more than a contractor who gives a date and then doesn’t show up for weeks and isn’t returning calls or messages. Of course, you need to mention that weather can get in the way of a promised date, but assure them that your office will keep in touch between contract signing and job start.

TIP: Communication is key to a happy customer.

5 - Happy workers make happy customers

How do your crews behave on the job? Of course they are polite to the customer. Of course they respect the homeowner’s property by covering shrubbery and sweeping up nails in the driveway. Homeowners, however, can pick up on the subtle signs of crews not working as a team or employees who haven’t had a day off in weeks and are just trying to get through the day. Take a hard look at how you let your workers know you appreciate them as people, not just as a way to make a profit. When customers talk to friends about the job your company did, things like worker attentiveness and attitude are sure to come up.

TIP: Communication and appreciation are key to happy workers.

Overall quality and reliability can become your company’s strongest selling points. So strong, that when you “ask for the business” at the conclusion of the sales call, the customer will say: “Where do I sign?”