# Commercial roofing sales ideas



## Shaggy219

Hello. I am new to the forum and looking for some sales advice. Our company is 100% commercial roofing, 100% hail damage, and 100% insurance work. I am looking for advice from successful commercial roofers who fit the criteria that we do. Is there anything you do marketing wise, besides knocking doors? Do you contact local commercial insurance companies? Or commercial real estate agents? If so, what is the best method? Thanks!


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## Grumpy

How can you be 300% something? Are you saying all the work you do is on commercial properties and paid for by the insurance company? 


Oh boy the storm chasers have hit the commercial market. Well my last hope is gone. I was hoping the commercial market would be my last refuge from my dreaded nemesis, the storm chaser... but alas, I was wrong and I no longer have a place to hide from stormers  Makes we want to cry, my beloved career is in the poop chute now. 

Anyone want to buy my business?


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## Pie in the Sky

Im wondering if the Forum should have a sub-catagory for stormchasers????


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## BrandRoof

Shaggy219 said:


> Hello. I am new to the forum and looking for some sales advice. Our company is 100% commercial roofing, 100% hail damage, and 100% insurance work. I am looking for advice from successful commercial roofers who fit the criteria that we do. Is there anything you do marketing wise, besides knocking doors? Do you contact local commercial insurance companies? Or commercial real estate agents? If so, what is the best method? Thanks!


So if Scooby walks up to you and says to you; hey Shaggy...I've got 5,000 squares of TPO re-roof, are you interested? Your telling me you would say RUH ROH....we only do insurance work?


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## BrandRoof

Pie in the Sky said:


> Im wondering if the Forum should have a sub-catagory for stormchasers????


If it did...this forum would probably be more popular than CT.


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## Pie in the Sky

BrandRoof said:


> So if Scooby walks up to you .....


:laughing:


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## Shaggy219

We don't chase storms. We only work in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex.


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## Pie in the Sky

I guess I meant a sub-catagory for storm work....


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## Shaggy219

Wow! What great advice. You guys are definite pros. LMBO. And Grumpy is a complete moron after seeing some other posts. What a great website. LOL. Definitely should not ask advice to people who have no clue.


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## Pie in the Sky

Shag,
I am a Consultant, I have been posting here a few months and I believe some of the roof contractors that post on this website are the best in the business. Definitely some of the most knowledgeable in the business (particularly the one you call an idiot, maybe you used the wrong word). And although you may not follow the same business model as them it really says something about you when you make a comment like that. This website is for contractors who are looking to install a quality product and for those who would like some opinions from other roof contractors. I have seen some of these guys write out LONG messages to help other contractors that they don’t know with no other reason than spreading the practice of proper roof installations. Stick around if you want to learn about commercial roofing, there are some real Pro's here.


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## gary

Shaggy219; Welcome to the forum. I totally concur with your assessment of the way you were welcomed here. Be sure, my experience is similar.

As to your member description, it seems to be misunderstood that character is more important than knowledge, even if it does in fact exist. Being a prejudiced hot headed loud mouth for no reason surely shows poor character, in fact the word idiot does come to mind, as mentioned. 

You did absolutely nothing to receive criticism. Being an insurance focused roofer in Dallas is a no brainer. Like Houston, private joke, Dallas is essentially all (jab #2) insurance work. When people rashly judge others without reason, I call them a bigot, too. Lack of proper manners is just a display of no class.

This is a forum, not a private prison for good businesspeople. Remember, an insult from an idiot is a compliment. Again, welcome aboard.


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## 1985gt

Shaggy some of us were a little confused by your opening post. So basically you only do commercial insurance work. 

You see Storm chasers, "Insurance restoration specialist" and what ever else you want to call them have a bad rap. Mostly because of the fly by nighters who come in and canvas neighborhoods only to do the work (in most cases) and head out of town. Their quality of work in a fair amount of the cases is lack luster to say the least.

The other problem with these types of companies is they work for someone else's pricing. They make up extra profits in the back end with add ons. This does a number of things drives everyone else's prices down, promote crappy quality of work and gives everyone else a bad rap. I will say there are some "Insurance Restoration Specialists" That do good work both on the job and with in the system.

Now we have done some work for insurance companies. We are a 95% low slope roofing company and 80-85% commercial, our experience with insurance companies goes one of two ways, we stay completely out of it give the bid to the building owner, building owner pays us. Or in the case of last time,

The customer called us, long time customer happens to be a farm coop, they have many facilities in different small communities around the area. We are always happy to help them so we stepped in and handled the insurance company. The roof was blown off the elevator, roughly 80' in the area very small area IIRC 10 sq. 3-4 layers of smooth bur mopped down and smooth torched down. Small head house on top of it with multiple penetrations. I worked up an estimate and delivered it to the facilities manager. A few weeks later the insurance adjuster called me. Said my price was way to high and he would email me his estimate. I said fine but my price wasn't going to change. I asked him if he had visited the site he had not wasn't in the state. I said the building was 80' in the air with Morton buildings all the way around it. Access was difficult to say the least. There was a bit more bantering back and forth until the moment I had been waiting for happened. He called back to say the signed proposal should be in an e-mail and they would send the hard copies also. I didn't and was not going to budge on my price. Why? Because I knew how hard the job was going to be, and I will never let someone else dictate mine or the companies pricing. We know what we need to make on a job, not them.

As far as the judgment comment, You both are doing the same, there are some very well informed posters at this site, there are also some who are just here to learn a new trick or two and pick up some knowledge. 

The company I work for has been in business for 30 plus years. With the original owner I started here 12+ years ago working on a crew I've been help up to a higher standard then a lot of other guys because of the fact the owner of the company is my father. I worked 10+ years in the field after about my 5th year I was running crews, now I'm in the office. I put my first shingle on when I was 5 or 6 years old, I've been around this work my whole life I've learned a whole lot, yet I still do not know everything. I do how ever know a great deal about commercial roofing, from single plys to asphalt, metal and others. To insult me and others about our knowledge is disrespectful at best. Grumpy will be the first to tell you if you haven't noticed he doesn't bite his tongue well, he runs his business the way he wants to and from an outside point of view it seems he's doing a great job of it. He also knows a lot about roofing and more about the business side of it. The one thing he does not like though are storm chasers bringing our industry down, that and illegals but they tend to go hand and hand.


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## RalphTheRoofer

The Scooby reference was awesome!!! 
:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


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## Grumpy

Pie in the Sky said:


> Im wondering if the Forum should have a sub-catagory for stormchasers????


Or better yet a header that says "Storm Chasers not welcome!"


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## Grumpy

Shaggy219 said:


> Wow! What great advice. You guys are definite pros. LMBO. And Grumpy is a complete moron after seeing some other posts. What a great website. LOL. Definitely should not ask advice to people who have no clue.


Yep, I call myself a moron at least thrice daily. The posts in reference are no doubt in regards to my strong dislike for insurance scum. However obviously he neglected to read any of my posts discussing logic such as the technical aspects of installing a roof, the theory behind specifying a roof and the mathematics behind running a profitable business. The funny thing is you almost never ever see any storm chasers discussing the installation or specification because most are absolutely clueless.


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## Grumpy

1985gt said:


> Shaggy some of us were a little confused by your opening post. So basically you only do commercial insurance work.
> 
> You see Storm chasers, "Insurance restoration specialist" and what ever else you want to call them have a bad rap. Mostly because of the fly by nighters who come in and canvas neighborhoods only to do the work (in most cases) and head out of town. Their quality of work in a fair amount of the cases is lack luster to say the least.
> 
> The other problem with these types of companies is they work for someone else's pricing. They make up extra profits in the back end with add ons. This does a number of things drives everyone else's prices down, promote crappy quality of work and gives everyone else a bad rap. I will say there are some "Insurance Restoration Specialists" That do good work both on the job and with in the system.
> 
> Now we have done some work for insurance companies. We are a 95% low slope roofing company and 80-85% commercial, our experience with insurance companies goes one of two ways, we stay completely out of it give the bid to the building owner, building owner pays us. Or in the case of last time,
> 
> The customer called us, long time customer happens to be a farm coop, they have many facilities in different small communities around the area. We are always happy to help them so we stepped in and handled the insurance company. The roof was blown off the elevator, roughly 80' in the area very small area IIRC 10 sq. 3-4 layers of smooth bur mopped down and smooth torched down. Small head house on top of it with multiple penetrations. I worked up an estimate and delivered it to the facilities manager. A few weeks later the insurance adjuster called me. Said my price was way to high and he would email me his estimate. I said fine but my price wasn't going to change. I asked him if he had visited the site he had not wasn't in the state. I said the building was 80' in the air with Morton buildings all the way around it. Access was difficult to say the least. There was a bit more bantering back and forth until the moment I had been waiting for happened. He called back to say the signed proposal should be in an e-mail and they would send the hard copies also. I didn't and was not going to budge on my price. Why? Because I knew how hard the job was going to be, and I will never let someone else dictate mine or the companies pricing. We know what we need to make on a job, not them.
> 
> As far as the judgment comment, You both are doing the same, there are some very well informed posters at this site, there are also some who are just here to learn a new trick or two and pick up some knowledge.
> 
> The company I work for has been in business for 30 plus years. With the original owner I started here 12+ years ago working on a crew I've been help up to a higher standard then a lot of other guys because of the fact the owner of the company is my father. I worked 10+ years in the field after about my 5th year I was running crews, now I'm in the office. I put my first shingle on when I was 5 or 6 years old, I've been around this work my whole life I've learned a whole lot, yet I still do not know everything. I do how ever know a great deal about commercial roofing, from single plys to asphalt, metal and others. To insult me and others about our knowledge is disrespectful at best. Grumpy will be the first to tell you if you haven't noticed he doesn't bite his tongue well, he runs his business the way he wants to and from an outside point of view it seems he's doing a great job of it. He also knows a lot about roofing and more about the business side of it. The one thing he does not like though are storm chasers bringing our industry down, that and illegals but they tend to go hand and hand.


Here's my take on it.... http://www.roofingtalk.com/f3/uh-oh-one-those-guys-610/#post4475 Obviously something that's been discussed numerous times in this forum.


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## BrandRoof

Shaggy219 said:


> Wow! What great advice. You guys are definite pros. LMBO. And Grumpy is a complete moron after seeing some other posts. What a great website. LOL. Definitely should not ask advice to people who have no clue.


RUH...ROH......somebody needs a Scooby snack!


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## RoofingLeads

*Roofing Leads*



Shaggy219 said:


> Hello. I am new to the forum and looking for some sales advice. Our company is 100% commercial roofing, 100% hail damage, and 100% insurance work. I am looking for advice from successful commercial roofers who fit the criteria that we do. Is there anything you do marketing wise, besides knocking doors? Do you contact local commercial insurance companies? Or commercial real estate agents? If so, what is the best method? Thanks!


Shaggy, we are a company that provides Roofing Leads from the internet. We produce websites and other internet properties in your local area that get REAL-TIME LIVE Callers to your phone. We only get paid for actual roofing calls.

If I can answer any questions please feel free to ask,

Glenn

YourRoofingLeads.com
281-394-0833


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## General Roofing

*Agreed*





Grumpy said:


> How can you be 300% something? Are you saying all the work you do is on commercial properties and paid for by the insurance company?
> 
> 
> Oh boy the storm chasers have hit the commercial market. Well my last hope is gone. I was hoping the commercial market would be my last refuge from my dreaded nemesis, the storm chaser... but alas, I was wrong and I no longer have a place to hide from stormers  Makes we want to cry, my beloved career is in the poop chute now.
> 
> Anyone want to buy my business?


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## ColoradoRoofer

Does PIE spec TPO???? Just asking because no manufacture has a formula that is 20yrs old. I find it funny all these Pro's as you call them sell, spec, push, and install TPO. Please do some real investigating about the product and read some reports on the extensive studies done by third parties for RCI.

Dustin we will have to have lunch soon with our buddy Juan Luna aka The Rogue Architec.


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## ColoradoRoofer

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


gary said:


> Shaggy219; Welcome to the forum. I totally concur with your assessment of the way you were welcomed here. Be sure, my experience is similar.
> 
> As to your member description, it seems to be misunderstood that character is more important than knowledge, even if it does in fact exist. Being a prejudiced hot headed loud mouth for no reason surely shows poor character, in fact the word idiot does come to mind, as mentioned.
> 
> You did absolutely nothing to receive criticism. Being an insurance focused roofer in Dallas is a no brainer. Like Houston, private joke, Dallas is essentially all (jab #2) insurance work. When people rashly judge others without reason, I call them a bigot, too. Lack of proper manners is just a display of no class.
> 
> This is a forum, not a private prison for good businesspeople. Remember, an insult from an idiot is a compliment. Again, welcome aboard.


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## Grumpy

ColoradoRoofer said:


> Does PIE spec TPO???? Just asking because no manufacture has a formula that is 20yrs old. I find it funny all these Pro's as you call them sell, spec, push, and install TPO. Please do some real investigating about the product and read some reports on the extensive studies done by third parties for RCI.
> 
> Dustin we will have to have lunch soon with our buddy Juan Luna aka The Rogue Architec.


I'll be honest here. If I had my way, all low slope rofos would be PVC. I finally decided I am only going to push PVC at the 2nd half of this year. Before I would propose TPO as a 15 year system and PVC as the 20 year and try to push people to the 20 year. Some would bite some would not. 

People just aren't educated enough on PVC yet in my area. Most still pushing modified. I have no choice but to sometimes install TPO. I hate to say it but I can't walk away from too much work, and know eventually TPO will come back to bite me in the ass, but PVC just costs SO much more money than TPO does  Dollars do matter unfortunately. One day though I won't touch another TPO roll.


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