Agreed with Marshall; you're selling a relationship more than a roof. If the customer doesn't believe in the relationship then you're not doing any roof selling (i.e. they don't believe in the roof over their biggest financial asset).
Additionally, if you ALWAYS take the angle of trying to put up the most bulletproof roof possible then there is a much better chance it will show through & so long as you're honest about it & follow through on your intentions, you won't get burned by a bad project.
That's the end of the "emotional" answer. As for the "practical" answers (which is what I think your ? was more about), in no particular order:
--Understand that you won't be super busy for @ least the first 2 or 3 years. Over time, you'll get repeat business as your name gets out there, you have a customer who moves & wants an inspection on the new house or it's identified as needing a replaced roof or @ least a repair... Realtors who for various reasons want a new roofer on their list of reccomended contractors, insurance adjusters who might put you on their list. Salespeople @ supply houses who get walk in traffic asking who they can reccomend to do a roof. The ways & places you get new customers will start to amaze you. & Then you'll get P.O.'d when someone puts on a roof for a relative of someone you know & you'll wonder why you never even got a call to check it out.
--Use SpellCheck every occasion possible. Yes, it can be petty for someone to base a job on one incorrectly spelled word, but what if that missed job had you working & profiting for a full week's worth of roofing? What if that estimate somehow ended up in the hands of a project manager for some institutional builder who wants a new roofer for reasons unknown?
--Spellcheck part II: I have had 3 customers who did a web search for my co. name & they found postings by me here on Roofing.com. Well reasoned posts certainly help better than crappy organization & bad spelling.
--If you happen to get a call from a local "Better Business Burea" type organization, respond ASAP & try to be as reasonable as possible. In a perfect world your name wouldn't end up in their hands other than for them to ask you for membership, however if they DO call with a complaint, try to resolve it fast. A resolved case always looks better than an unresolved one, for sure.
--Make a checklist for inspections, that way you won't forget to look over a particular area of concern on one house that you normally don't forget. For insurance jobs, I don't look exclusively @ the roof, I also look @ paint, gutters, windows, air conditioners, lawn furniture, bird feeders, BBQ grill covers, dog houses, etc. If a deductible is involved, the customer's maximum exposure is the deductible & EVERYTHING ELSE is up to the insurance co. to pay fair value or total replacement cost for like quality. You might not be getting involved in all of these areas, but you'll look better in your customers eyes if you can give them a copy of this checklist. Be fair, but be firm in what insurance should pay for (a lot of this idea relates to hail, high wind, hurricanes & tornadoes moreso than anything else).
--Constantly drill into your people these two ideas & you'll neve go wrong:
1. Safety FIRST.
2. Never flip a coin; always pick the option that is in the customer's favor. There are no 50-50 situations; tip the balance to the customer in relation to quality.
--The biggest trick is to be consistent. Answer phone calls or Email as fast as you can. Take notes on conversations in an organized fashion & in the same way every time.
Ever heard the joke about "So I goes to the doctor & tells him "Doc, it hurts when I do this."
So the doc says to me, he says "Well, then don't do that."
The problem is, you'll have to find out over time what hurts & what doesn't. Experience is the cruelest & most efficient instructor out there.
--Make a plan & work your plan. The fastest way from point A to point B is to not get side tracked. Learn to delegate... but for me, the hardest part is in who to trust when I DO delegate. After all, it's YOUR name on the line when something goes 'not as planned' & if you're in the mix on everything that happens, you can feel better about making sure things are done right. But that's no way to make forward progress. Good money makers have a great setup under them & think of it like this: can you make money working ONE job @ a time or having 2 or 3 going on @ the same time?
--Organization is the key to success. Don't throw out a single estimate you have ever done. You may want it for a storm that rolls through a certain area & you've already got it measured so you can see if there's a new resident there or maybe they weren't happy with the one who actually got the job. Then again, if you're in this business for a long time, there is a chance that years down line, you'll find yourself driving down this street & recognize the house while noticing it needs help. You never know when you have to justify traveling or vehicle expenses to someone from the tax offices.
--Organization: I made up a 'fill in the blanks' kind of form for doing inspections on roofing projects & can Email it to you (in Excel). I print this out & in the 2/3 of the page left blank, I sketch the roof. On the backside, I print out a map to the house. Then, I enter into a spreadsheet the name, phone #, address info on the customer whether it's a repair or full estimate. That way if I see a hailstorm come through a particular area, I can do a 'find' on the zip code & it will pull info on everyone in this area.
--I always give two business cards to customers; never know where the spare might end up.
--I have a slap hammer / hammer tack & push pins in my truck. I stick business cards up in every possible area where I see other cards (recently did a 43 square with 23 of them @ 16:12 & he got my card @ the bulletin board @ Tractor Supply. Insurance job, so very tasty $$).
--Never take off your game face. I actually enjoy it when people ask me roofer related questions in social settings. Become 'that guy' friends & family turn to for the "Say, do you know anyone who..." kind of questions.
--Keep your truck clean (cab & exterior... hard to do with the bed). Nothing says "Redneck" quite like a grimy, beat up truck that looks like it's been 3 years since a washing. Do your best to not drive a beater or one that has been in an accident.
--Do the best you can to NOT get upside down with any vendors. Personally, when I take deposits I ONLY do it in the name of the supply house. If the parts come to $ 2,750.00, get a check to XYZ Roofing Supply for $ 2,600.00 & pay the rest out of pocket so any leftover stuff could be returned if you don't want to sit on inventory (that wasn't special order)... & YOU get the refund check, not the customer.
--Vendors, Pt. II: I'd rather have to make up the $$ to labor than get stuck on parts AND labor; you never know when you'll get a customer who slow pays or doesn't like something you did on the roof, whether they have unreasonable expectations or not. Also, if the customer isn't able to spend on a deposit, what makes you think they have $$ enough to pay for the whole roof when done?
--Vendors, Pt. III: I don't usually request a parts deposit for material under $ 350.00.
-- Be consistent with your customers. The one time you do something on a handshake or verbal OK is the one time you learn the hard way how some people can be jerks. Get it in writing where humanly possible.
--Understand that ultimately, you're in sales. Sell a positive attitude. Always speak well of the competition, or if it's killing you to not spill the beans, try to go neutral
.
--Even if you have a customer who pays full deductible on an insurance job & asks for nothing in the way of an upgrade, give them some kind of "floormats" bonus (a physical or product upgrade) that will keep 'em smiling. "Floormats" is a little freebie that auto dealers used to keep in reserve. A customer might be spending $ 35K on a vehicle, but they don't really trust or like you unless you give away something "for free".
You should also study & read every trade magazine or website you can; try to pick up new ideas often. Attend mini seminars or product demos if your local supply houses have them sponsored by manufacturers (a good way to get some free vittles, too).
Hopefully all of this will help you a bit here & there. In reality, you could bend a lot of this into good processes for a lot of businesses, not only construction related trades.
_________________
Do it right the 1st time & there won't have to be a 2nd time.
http://RanchHandRoofing.com
Follow us on FaceBook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dripping-Springs-TX/Ranch-Hand-Roofing/280504662093?ref=ts
55°F/13°C 
Loading...
