# How to get sales.



## Mr Sales (Jul 28, 2010)

I am a new to Roofing Sales. I have been doing this for 7 weeks now.
I have sold everything under the sun, but never roofs before this.

I work for a LOCAL, non storm chasing company, with 5 very very good crews, however they have just switched from a general contractor to strictly ROOFING now, so they do not have any other sales people or sales experience. They have always just gone off of referals and done quality enough work where they can just rely on that.

Most everyone on these forums seems to say getting business is the EASIEST thing and keeping their crews happy is the hardest. Well for us its opposite, our crews are happy and great, but we just need more business. We do 3 -4 roofs a week, and we want to do 6 - 9 roofs per week.

What are some other ways I can drum up sales besides what I am currently doing. I have made a web site, business cards, done some advertising, and now I am just Pounding pavement and knocking doors (where I see weather damage)

Anyone know any other creative ways out there?


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## Grumpy (Oct 29, 2008)

Do yourself a favor and work a couple days with the crew. Get to know what they are doing and more importantly WHY, then you can explain this to the customer and will understand that a roof is more than square feet and linear feet. Every job is different.

5 crews? 9 roofs a week? How is that even enough? How many men per crew? What is your average size job? That math aint adding up in my head.

Are you asking how to get leads? 

Where are you located? What roofing company do you work for?


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## Mr Sales (Jul 28, 2010)

*correction*

I guess I did not give enough detail. We have 5 crews working now, but we have another 4 crews that are on standby. When we do not have enough work they also work for other companies doing re-models, and other things. So we can handle 9 a week and I want to get us to that point.

Yes I guess what I am asking is how to drum up business. I am getting frustrated at door knocking because my goal is to get up on 3 roofs a day for inspections. I have 3 canvasers, and 2 full time sales people doing the bidding and such.

Most days I am at 1 or two, and I am just looking at other ways at getting leads, and contracts signed. I have tried google a bit, PPC, and also door hangers and home repair magazines. Any other info or tips is much appreciated. The company is www.Anyweatherroofingexperts.com 

Thanks
Jesse

ps - I have done a bit of work with the crew as well just to gain more understanding. Mostly the tear offs however because I am a great talker and business man but clumsy on a roof so I am learning that measuring is about as far as I like to go. I have been in an office all my life and that is where I shine.


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## Grumpy (Oct 29, 2008)

A roof takes you a week to replace? What size roofs are these?


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## daviddeschaine (May 26, 2010)

Mr Sales said:


> I am a new to Roofing Sales. I have been doing this for 7 weeks now.
> I have sold everything under the sun, but never roofs before this.
> 
> I work for a LOCAL, non storm chasing company, with 5 very very good crews, however they have just switched from a general contractor to strictly ROOFING now, so they do not have any other sales people or sales experience. They have always just gone off of referals and done quality enough work where they can just rely on that.
> ...


*Hello Mr Sales,*

Here is a copy of one of our roofing sales books,
the book is simple, and we have used this same one
to help sell millions of dollars worth of roofing installations.

http://www.roofingbusinessmastermind.com/Free/RoofingSalesBook.pdf

You May Have To Download the latest version of Adobe Reader

http://get.adobe.com/reader/

Talk Soon,

Dave Deschaine

http://www.roofingbusinessmastermind.com/main.html


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## Mr Sales (Jul 28, 2010)

*huh?*

I re-read my post to see where I implied that it takes a week to do a roof and I am not seeing it. The average roof (17-26 square) takes about a days time to tear off and replace. 

I would like to go from doing 4 roofs a week to 9 roofs a week.


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## Grumpy (Oct 29, 2008)

You said in one reply you have access to 9 crews and your goal was to do 9 roofs per week. Therefore I assumed a roof takes you a week to install.


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## RemStar (May 8, 2010)

Using your math Mr.Sales, Your goal should be to booking 45 roofs per week instead of your current 20.
(9 crews... 1 roof per day(avg)) X (5 days in a week) = (45 Roofs req. per week)


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## RemStar (May 8, 2010)

The best way I find to drum up business is by taking advantage of the direct mail system offered by the post office. Run a advertising campaign though the use of unaddressed ad mail and you will increase the number of calls you get for a short time. This also increases peoples awareness of your company name so if the suddenly need a new roof a later on when they open the phone book they recognize your company and are more likely to call. Cost is approx $6000 to send 20,000 pieces of ad mail.(can be less if you design the ad yourself and get printed online.) The last one I did was from Vistaprint.com and the hole promotion cost me $4500.

Another technique would be to take out some advertising on a bus benches in areas that need roof repairs. This will cost you about $250-$400 per bench every month.(depending on your area).


The very most important thing is to make sure you have a large ad in the local phone book. Any money you save by getting a smaller ad in the phonebook will translate directly into lost sales. Now, I dont beleive everyone calls the biggest ad so I take out a half page ad and a couple pages back I have a 1/8 of a page ad. 

I really think that people place to much value on thier internet ads and it does not generate the majority of a roofing contractors buisness. People still turn to the directory if they want to get a contractor. If you were going to hire someone...say a lawyer, would you google lawyer for your area, or open the phone book to find one?


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## RemStar (May 8, 2010)

The best way I find to drum up business is by taking advantage of the direct mail system offered by the post office. Run a advertising campaign though the use of unaddressed ad mail and you will increase the number of calls you get for a short time. This also increases peoples awareness of your company name so if the suddenly need a new roof a later on when they open the phone book they recognize your company and are more likely to call. Cost is approx $6000 to send 20,000 pieces of ad mail.(can be less if you design the ad yourself and get printed online.) The last one I did was from Vistaprint.com and the hole promotion cost me $4500.

Another technique would be to take out some advertising on a bus benches in areas that need roof repairs. This will cost you about $250-$400 per bench every month.(depending on your area).


The very most important thing is to make sure you have a large ad in the local phone book. Any money you save by getting a smaller ad in the phonebook will translate directly into lost sales. Now, I dont beleive everyone calls the biggest ad so I take out a half page ad and a couple pages back I have a 1/8 of a page ad. 

I really think that people place to much value on thier internet ads and it does not generate the majority of a roofing contractors buisness. People still turn to the directory if they want to get a contractor. If you were going to hire someone...say a lawyer, would you google lawyer for your area, or open the phone book to find one?


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## Grumpy (Oct 29, 2008)

I disagree with your comment about the yellow pages, which simply do not work for the majority of contractors. I also could not disagree more with your comment about internet adds as I can get more leads than I know what to do with via various internet strategies and for about 1/3rd the cost per lead of traditional yellow pages or newspaper adds. 

Would I google "lawyer", no I would not. Would I google "chicago construction lawyer"? Yes I damned sure would. I want to know more about the lawyer than what his yellow page add has to offer. When the yellow pages come they immediately go into the trash. Why would anyone use a yellow page book anymore? I don't know.

Furthermore, paid internet strategies aside I am currently getting no less than 3-4 leads each day which cost me nothing and are generated directly through my website(s). That's a cost of $0 per lead.


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## DarrenSlaughter (Jul 16, 2010)

There is no doubt in my mind that YP advertising still works. I watch contractors buy shore houses every year from it. BUT, internet advertising is a much more economical way to promote the business (not taking into consideration the lose of mind share and opportunity by not being represented in the books when people do go to them to buy).


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## RemStar (May 8, 2010)

okay congrats grumpster, not trashing your Internet lead,and good point on the lawyer BUT I have to say the yellow pages IS the most effective ways to advertise. 

You may toss the yellow pages, but that is not the norm. If it didn't work, we wouldn't pay thousands of dollars for it each year. I believe that the majority of people do not search for contractors on the Internet, and if they do they are searching Craig's list for the most part. Do you also order your chinese food of the internet because you dont have the yp?


That being said, I am going to get a website up and running right away, But it just wont be the first place I start when deciding where to spend my marketing budget.


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## RemStar (May 8, 2010)

Just a though,

You live in chicago, Probibly have a 40 page roofing contractors section in your yp, very hard to stand out in that type of advertising.

I am from a city of 100, 000 people where the roofing section of the yellowpages is still only 4 pages long with about a total of 20 contractos, So it much easier for my company to stand out in, because it is a smaller book. (plus I live in canada where 98.5 percent of people dont yet have access to the net) 

Different things work in different areas.


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## TheBrain (Jul 27, 2010)

A contractor where i live just goes door to door to people with poor roofs and asks them if they want a free estimate. He makes over 100k a year subbing out jobs to other roofing companies that are short on work.

The con to this would be it eats up a lot of time for a job that is not a for sure sale. But if you're hurting for sales and got time on your hands anything is worth a shot.

Oh and kijiji is also a good place to throw your add.


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## daviddeschaine (May 26, 2010)

*Marketing Your Business And Talking Directly To Your Customer!*

*Hello Roofers,*

*Secret Marketing Tip!*

Marketing Your Customers - Asking What They Want, And Narrow Your Roofing Market & Customer!

*What works for me, and will work for you!*

Questions, and Answers Built Into Your Marketing Is The Emotional Aspects!

*Interact With You Potential Customers And Ask Questions Like!*

1. What Are Your Biggest Fears With Installation A New Roof?
2. What Is Your Biggest Challenge So Far With Hiring A Roofing Contractor? 
3. What Is The Desired Out Come Of This New Roof Installation And What Do You Want?
4. What Are You Afraid Might Happen During This Process?
5. What Worries You About Installing A New Roof?

Fears, Frustrations, Pains, Problems, and Anxieties! - *Negative Emotions Are Twice As Powerful And Motivating As Positive Emotions For Human Beings!*
They Have To Get Out Of The Pain & Fears, Before They Can Start Looking At The Bigger Picture -Connect On Pain & Connect Where Their Fears Are! - When There Is Anxieties There Is Opportunity - *Then Listen For Specific Words & Phrases & Figure Out What Their Hot Buttons Are!*

*Simple Questions Built Into Your Ads, and Clear Answer In Your Marketing, That No One Has Ever Talked To Them Like This Before!*

Television Is The Best Way To Get Your Message Out Quiclky, and branding your business using a Jingle, A Slogan, Ketch Phrase. This will work and you will need to get your checkbook out, and spend more money in smart marketing, offering solutions to your potential customers.

*My Favorite Method Is Raise Your Prices, and Make More From What You Have, WITHOUT DOING MORE WORK.... ;-)*

You Guys Are Awesome....Great To See Roofing Contractors Working Together!!!

David


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## Mr Sales (Jul 28, 2010)

*9 a week*

Well we are also doing remodels and flipping homes, so we have 5 crews that work directly for us, so I would like to get to an average of 9 per week consistantly. Because we are not strictly a roofing company, the other crews are often times on our other jobs and working for other companies in our networking group as well. Then if we are selling more, I would like to go higher.

I do like the idea of the mailer. I found a great company locally here that is doing adds for us. It is a large door hanger with 5 company adds on each side. It is $600 for 10,000 hangers AND they hang them for you. So its kind of a no brainer. This may be the price he is giving us only since the owner is a good friend of ours but $600 for 10,000 door hangers is pretty amazing. We are also in the yellow pages.

Grumpy, are you currently using google PPC and Analytics?


Thanks for the tips kind people


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## Grumpy (Oct 29, 2008)

RemStar said:


> Just a though,
> 
> You live in chicago, Probibly have a 40 page roofing contractors section in your yp, very hard to stand out in that type of advertising.
> 
> ...


Agreed.


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## Grumpy (Oct 29, 2008)

TheBrain said:


> A contractor where i live just goes door to door to people with poor roofs and asks them if they want a free estimate. He makes over 100k a year subbing out jobs to other roofing companies that are short on work.
> 
> The con to this would be it eats up a lot of time for a job that is not a for sure sale. But if you're hurting for sales and got time on your hands anything is worth a shot.
> 
> Oh and kijiji is also a good place to throw your add.


I've never gotten a response from kijiji as a matter of fact.

Plus there are no such thing as sure sales. However for me door to door aint my style. i did that in high school, was good at it, but hated it.


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## Grumpy (Oct 29, 2008)

Mr Sales said:


> Well we are also doing remodels and flipping homes, so we have 5 crews that work directly for us, so I would like to get to an average of 9 per week consistantly. Because we are not strictly a roofing company, the other crews are often times on our other jobs and working for other companies in our networking group as well. Then if we are selling more, I would like to go higher.
> 
> I do like the idea of the mailer. I found a great company locally here that is doing adds for us. It is a large door hanger with 5 company adds on each side. It is $600 for 10,000 hangers AND they hang them for you. So its kind of a no brainer. This may be the price he is giving us only since the owner is a good friend of ours but $600 for 10,000 door hangers is pretty amazing. We are also in the yellow pages.
> 
> ...


 My adwords is down at the moment for everything but commercial. I get enough leads without it. However it is very effective during the slow times. I do nto use analytics because my server logs are just as good, plus I have a piece of software that sits on my websites which will submit the referring website address when someone requests an estimate so I always know how each person found my site.


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## Mr Sales (Jul 28, 2010)

*Thank Grump*

Grumpy, you have been very helpful so far and I very much appreciate the advice.

However I am curious, analytics asside since that is just tracking, how are you getting 3-4 leads a day from the interned without Pay Per Click. Our web site has similar tracking as your's does it sounds like, and I use analytics as well, but I am curious because it sounds like you have another method. Is it just being high up in the organic search or something else perhaps?

Thanks


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## Grumpy (Oct 29, 2008)

High up in organic searches for many many key words is the key. Content and backlinks is the answer to the question of how to get high organic ranking.


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## PTROOFING (Aug 20, 2010)

In my 11yrs in business, Ive tried everything from billboards, to little league baseball, to internet etc. The yellow pages work 24/7 for those who dont know who to call. I also give every customer who referrs us and we get the job, a $50.00 Visa gift card. And I always send holiday cards to those who we put roofs on that year. I have no high tech sales pitch. Just be honest, ask what they want, and ALWAYS LOOK THEM IN THE EYE WHEN TALKING TO THEM. Be confident but not cocky. Dont talk bad about other companies, just say you are not familiar with thier roofing. As another poster stated, get on the roof with the crew, learn whats going on, find out what products they are installing and research those products online. Always send a computer printed copy of your contract and try to get it mailed the same day. I always call with a verbal the same day and let them know that for thier documents, a copy of contract has been sent. I never pressure anyone to sign today! I tell them if it were me looking for bids, that I too would get 3 bids. BE HONEST, CALM, LOOK THEM IN THE EYE, SEND A PROFESSIONAL CONTRACT (NO SCRIBBLED HAND WRITTEN CONTRACT) YOU CAN CALL THEM IN AN HOUR WITH A VERBAL TO LET THEM KNOW THE COST. Works best for me.


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## Grumpy (Oct 29, 2008)

I will never ever give a ball park and never ever give a verbal because then all they know is the price. New roof = $7,000. However when they get my proposal it can easily be 2 pages with details and the price. 

That's just my policy. If they are in a hurry I can email or fax them, or come back for a follow up visit with proposal in hand.


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## PTROOFING (Aug 20, 2010)

Grumpy said:


> I will never ever give a ball park and never ever give a verbal because then all they know is the price. New roof = $7,000. However when they get my proposal it can easily be 2 pages with details and the price.
> 
> That's just my policy. If they are in a hurry I can email or fax them, or come back for a follow up visit with proposal in hand.


I only call with a verbal AFTER I figure out and print quote, just so the homeowner knows. I always send printed copies to them afterwards, 1 for thier records, and 1 to send back to me to schedule the work. I NEVER, EVER give a ballpark figure when I am measuring.


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