Diversification Levels Out Seasonality

RCS Influencer Mike Pickel says that diversification helps provide work outside of the traditional busy seasons.

Roofing can be very cyclical, varying with the seasons. Texas was recently ranked as the number one state in the country for hail claims following a three-year study. With our business being located in Texas, we definitely see spikes following a hailstorm. This takes care of the projects and backlogs during hail season, but we know that we need to be able to keep our crews and teams busy year-round.

One of the things we have done recently is established a dedicated repair division. We have one of our Roof Advisers that focuses solely on repairs. We’ve been doing this for a little while and have realized that smaller repairs can often deliver more of a return on the work than a roof replacement.

We’ve been collecting reviews to grow this side of our business. One of the recurring themes we hear in our reviews, is that “they didn’t try to sell me a new roof.” While there are many professional and honest roofing contractors, there are also ones out there who won’t be honest and may tell a homeowner that they need a new roof, when in actuality they may only need a repair. Being honest and upfront matters to customers and your online reviews will reflect that.

We have also put more of a focus on the commercial side of the business. We have attained GAF Master Select status for our commercial side and are building our reputation among the general contractors in our market as a quality, trusted commercial contractor.  We’ve been installing a lot of TPO as well as metal on new commercial construction projects in the Georgetown/Austin, Texas markets as there is a lot of new construction taking place here.

Accessories have been an area that we are focused on as well. We offer the Attic Breeze solar-powered attic ventilation system on our roof replacement jobs and recently ran a promotion that offered the ventilation system at no cost with every replacement.

It’s important to find what you are really good at and excel at it, but it’s important to not miss those other opportunities where you might be able to diversify and walk away with a higher profit margin.  

Mike Pickel is co-founder of Texas Traditions Roofing. See his full bio here.