# Direct Mail Commercial Roofing Targets ??



## chrisp87 (Sep 14, 2012)

Hey guys, I am in southern ca so theres a huge commercial roofing market here. I was wondering whats the best plan of attack for targeting these type of jobs. I was thinking direct mail but i am not sure who to target the owners or the property managers ? Please give me your advice Thanks


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## Billy Luttrell (May 3, 2010)

Head of maintenance. They normally are the ones choosing the vendors and contractors.


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## dallasroofing (Nov 12, 2012)

chrisp87 said:


> Hey guys, I am in southern ca so theres a huge commercial roofing market here. I was wondering whats the best plan of attack for targeting these type of jobs. I was thinking direct mail but i am not sure who to target the owners or the property managers ? Please give me your advice Thanks


If the commercial property it managed by a property management company I would say target them

If the office is owned by the owner of the company, I would target them.

The tough thing is going to be figuring out if they are managed by a property management company.


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## chrisp87 (Sep 14, 2012)

Thanks my dad who has been in the business 36 years said he used to go directly into commercial industrial areas and go directly to the buildings and ask to speak to the property mangers and would cold call and solicite them directly. He said he could get jobs but it was much more diffuclt as opposed to going door to door in residential, but even though he didn't get as many jobs there was much more profit when he did land one. I guess it's takes patience


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## 1985gt (Dec 21, 2010)

chrisp87 said:


> Thanks my dad who has been in the business 36 years said he used to go directly into commercial industrial areas and go directly to the buildings and ask to speak to the property mangers and would cold call and solicite them directly. He said he could get jobs but it was much more diffuclt as opposed to going door to door in residential, but even though he didn't get as many jobs there was much more profit when he did land one. I guess it's takes patience



This can still be done, and yes it does take patience. It pays off big time for you when you do land a good customer, who continues to call you for repairs/reroofs.

Focus on the service side of things. Anyone can put a new roof on, but will they be there Saturday or Sunday when they need repairs done.

A lot of the times I find bigger customers do not like to have call multiple sources. So if you can get in your in, until you screw up or they work with someone else say on a reroof. But if you look at it, a few years of repairs will make much more profit then bidding against a bunch of people. Sure even if you get "in" with the customer when it comes time to reroof, they will generally go after other bids. Most maintenance directors have a $ limit, once a project is past that it has to go up for bid. Still doesn't mean your out of the loop yet.


Plus maintenance guys talk to other maintenance guys and so forth, once you get in good it may land you some place else too. 

So yeah no harm in knocking on a few doors. Sure it may slam in your face a few times but keep at it. Remember most of the people you will be dealing with are busy. Keep it to the point and be prepared.


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## buildpinnacle (Apr 18, 2009)

Maintenance business is the highest profit work in the industry. Years ago, when I first started as a salesman making a percentage of gross profits, I found this type of work more than paid my bills. I would cull the industrial areas, ask for the plant manager, and ask him for his worst problem. I made a deal with him that I couldn't fix it, I wouldn't charge him. Once I had access to the roofs, I slowly brought him along on the idea Of letting me develop a maintenance program. This is not something you want to puke on them right out of the gate. Earn your stripes and their trust. Before long, you will be able to show them the benefits of proactive repairs instead of reactive repairs. These guys aim to spend every dime of their budget. If they don't, they generally don't get the same amount the following year. Your dad was a very smart man. There is nothin old fashioned about something that still works. Flyers get thrown away. They don't work in the commercial markets. Word of mouth is how most of this business happens. I used to show up every time it rained to walk the plants to see if/where they were leaking then dispatch crews to fix them. These guys are looking for someone to take their roofing headache away. It just won't happen overnight so be patient.


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