This is a thank you topic & maybe help newbies lurking as well. AD, Larry, & Roofmaster's posts here helped my transition a great deal. If you guys pm me a mailing address I'd like to send a more personal thank you note. Anyways . . .

I've been "storming" for a couple years. In my experience I'd guess 80-90% of the homeowners will bring up "helping them" with the deductible. I can't really blame them. Some companies are brazen enough to put "no deductible" on all their yard signs here. Virtually all of my competition's marketing offers at least $500 off deductible in one form or another and obviously none of them mention the true ramifications of the shell game if anyone actually cared. It amazes me the apathy in which deductibles are handled by the insurance companies. My personal theory is that they'd rather see the repairs done w/o paying the deductible than not done at all and figure that the guys most likely to give away deductibles are least likely to pursue big supplements.

I can't act as if I've never done it. I was trained this way actually. I didn't even know it wasn't legal in the beginning. After I learned the crutch of selling "don't worry I'll make it no cost out of pocket" I was even scared to ask anyone to pay their deductible. I was an estimator and an order taker more than a salesman. I would provide estimates and even handle adjustments w/o a signed contract. I got the customers that were sick of people asking them to sign &/or wouldn't provide an estimate. I got my customer base off of busting my ass and being likable. I had moderate success.

This year I snapped. I wasted a great deal of time and effort on a few choice homeowners with whom I thought I had "locked up" only to find out I simply won the ability to bid the job. I decided it was time to man up and face my fears. I was going to be a salesman or I was gonna go broke trying but I damn sure wasn't going to give away my knowledge/time anymore. The supply of customers was high and if I couldn't make it happen now I never would. I decided that day that I was changing my entire strategy. I no longer did adjustments without a contract. I no longer made deals on deductibles. And estimates would only be done under certain circumstances.

I felt liberated.

I stumbled through my new "pitch" at times in the beginning. I even had one guy get so mad at me for not providing him an estimate(before adjustment & w/o a contract) that he told me to never step foot on his property again(the company he signed with left his roof open in the rain and destroyed all the ceilings in his $250k+ home). I persisted with me goals and I have had a pretty good year so far. It's funny how many homeowners are shocked to find out it's actually illegal to not pay their deductible. A great deal of them actually thank me for being honest about the claims process and I believe this is a big part of building a rapport with them. I might sell less than I would've otherwise but I'll make just as much if not more money off these deals.

Ultimately I just wanna say that if you are worried that you won't be able to sell without giving away deductibles it's all on you. You might have to get better at selling your company or yourself. Hell, you might have to work for a better company with a better reputation. But in the end saying you can't compete if you charge deductibles is bullshit imo. I've gotten them paid in full on $3500 claims and $35,000 claims.

If you really want it then you can do it too.

AWC

Wow. Well said sir.

Thank you,,It is very nice to know that our thoughts and opinions pertaining to deductible munching has not fallen on deaf ears.

It is also nice to know that others lurking and members of this forum really desire to profit from this trade instead of giving their services away for next to nothing.People should understand that when all they do is underbid and eat deductibles its hurting the trade as a whole rather than a local area they are residing or storming.

People should start putting a price on their workmanship and the way they conduct business.Holding yourself and company to a higher level most times gets you the money your worth.Those who underbid and cover deductibles don't put themselves in a higher category of contracting.

When you operate like that your not distancing yourself from the pack.Your just another deductible eating cash back contractor in a pool with other deductible eating cash back contractors and those guys have empty driveways/houses/bank accounts etc. and struggle to survive.

So instead of offering quality that comes at a price all you are offering is a lower cost.And when that happens your being chosen on price alone.Nothing more and hardly less.IMO of course.

It all depends on what type of customer you are approaching and what type of neighborhood you are in. I would not give a door to door roofing salesman even 10 seconds of my time. Who would? Only very few people in classy neighborhoods. Most door to door roofing salesman, or those salesman who lead with "Free Roof" are going to be working customers with very little money. These people even when offered a totally free roof will often still be too lazy to even follow through with it because the inconvenience of picking up a phone and calling their insurance agent is too much for them. There are customers who you can only get by offering a free roof and those you can only get by telling them that it is going to cost even more than their deductible. Being a good salesman is knowing exactly what to say to each customer and knowing their next question before it comes out of their mouth.

Looks like you've done very well AWC, congratulations! Making the transition you have is difficult at best. If you're ever in need of a job in one of the areas we work in, please contact me. And keep up the great work!

Well that's about as nice as you can be(offering potential employment). It's greatly appreciated.

I am happy with what I've done this year. I've made some mistakes but I have learned a great deal. I will be over 600k(hopefully closer to 700k) by the end of the month. I manage every customer, mat'l order, build, supplement & collect every check. I might not sell the most but my jobs are very profitable & I never have trouble getting paid in full.

Considering I didn't know what drip edge was 3 years ago(& I only worked until 7/1 last year due to a fall) I am very happy with my progress.

I'm entertaining the idea of working for a different company next year. I like the owner of my company a great deal. But I am curious to see how things are operated by other companies. I feel like knowing only one way to do this business is shortsighted.

I will definitely think about your offer. I have a family & I'm not gonna travel forever.

Please do, I'm always looking for guys with your capability and more importantly, positive attitude and Customer Service orientation. We do things a little differently. We handle the material orders, crew scheduling and supplements. We have a person dedicated to supplements and they're quite good at it. Best of luck to you, I hope you finish the year strong. We're in Indianapolis, IN, Birmingham, AL and Charleston, SC. There are opportunities for a good Sales Rep at all 3 locations. I'd go further and say I'd like to find a top performer to possibly open a new office if the location fit our business model.

I guess that means my dreams of hiring Authentic Dad have all been for naught!

I've got to get my 2-cents in about the beginning of this forum, the statement about not being a good saleman if you can't get the homeowner to pay their deductibles. I'm going to have to disagree with you........
I have a roofing company in Oklahoma City, we get massive hail storms on a yearly basis and every year when the storm would hit we had every out-of-state roofing company set up shop and every Tom, nose, & Harry own a roofing company. There were no regulations or licensing required. Nothing. You didn't even have to register your company name with the sec. of state!! It was ridiculous and outrageous as to what these companies were offering. Not only were they offering to cover their deductibles but they were putting money in the homeowners pocket!!!!! I've done very well for myself staying honest but I will say it wasn't easy. It took the state a long time but as of 2010, every roofing company that does business here is required to register with the state. To do so, you have to carry comp ins., LL ins., have no liens against you, & pay your damn taxes! It weeded out tons of crooked companies, not all, but most. With that being said, I'm still feeling the repercussions of it. Homeowners have a mind set now of "what are you going to do for me?" It will take a few more years before they understand that is not normal practice for a claim.

"Homeowners have a mind set now of "what are you going to do for me?" It will take a few more years before they understand that is not normal practice for a claim."
SO? That's not your client anyway. That's like trying to sell a Mecedes to a Yugo buyer with a Yugo budget. Move on to the next person. I do.

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As of aug 1 st here in Louisiana if you advertise you will cover a deductible you risk losing your contractors license, no incentives to get homeowners to sign on insurance work allowed.And any job over $1500.00 or over requires home improvement registration on residential which they now require copys of workers comp and liabilty on file plus being registered with the secretary of state.They are cracking down on unlicensed storm chasers who come here and promise the insureds the world,also some local idiots to boot.If an unregistered company writes a quote over $1,500.00 for material and labor, we just send in the quote and they will prosecute them as it is illegal for them to even bid.

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