Investing in the big picture

By Emma Peterson. 

Learn how total cost ownership can help your clients see the value of paying a bit more for quality roofing materials.  

In a recent Read Listen Watch (RLW)®, Karen Edwards sat down with Jason Totin, owner and president of Totin Too in Pennsylvania, and Jason King, a territory sales manager for DaVinci Roofscapes. The duo came to talk about guiding home and building owners through the process of investing in a new roof. This can be daunting for many clients, as it is a large upfront cost and there are many different elements to consider (such as aesthetics, warranty, performance, etc.). As a roofer, you can help your clients understand the choices they are presented with and break down the cost over the entire ownership period. 

This idea of helping clients see the price tag as more than an initial cost is common in many different construction products. Jason K. explained, “Going beyond that initial cost is really important. You want to really help them understand there's other criteria besides initial cost involved in that decision-making process when picking products.” Looking at it from this perspective, of the entire lifespan and lifecycle of the materials, is called total cost ownership. Jason K. shared some examples of what this perspective looks at, saying, “You’re asking questions like how long is this product going to last? How are the aesthetics going to perform over time? Are these products going to hold color over time? How durable are they going to be?” 

Oftentimes, when you look at the total cost ownership of a roof, it actually makes more sense to invest in something with a slightly bigger price tag (like composite) rather than the cheapest option (often traditional asphalt shingles). Jason T. explained, “Composite products, when talking to a customer about the total cost over time, nothing can really touch this stuff. Insects are not going to bore into it. Mold and algae aren't going to grow on it. There's no painting. If it does get dirty, it's easily cleanable by simply power washing it.” Because it is so easy to maintain and naturally has a longer lifespan than asphalt, choosing to invest in a composite roof can actually make the total cost ownership of your roof more affordable. Jason T. broke it down into some numbers, explaining, “It might be $20,000 for an asphalt shingle roof and maybe it's $40,000 for a composite, but when you break that down, the cost of that shingle roof may end up being $90,000 by the time the composite wears out because you’ve had to replace the roof two to three times in the same period of time you’ve had one composite roof.” Helping your clients understand this can help make them feel more confident investing in a new, quality roof. 

Read the transcript, Listen to the episode or Watch the video to learn more about total cost ownership and how you can use it to help your clients make their roofing decisions confidently.