Roof Sales Jobs in Colorado - PDF

							    sales solutions




    Turning leaks into leads


I
       In any sales effort, success begins      tenance to protect their warranties.       to 20 leak calls a week, and generate
    with a steady stream of qualified               So how many leaks does your            eight leads for roof assessments from
    leads. Service and maintenance work         company respond to each week? Im-          those repair jobs, with an average
    can be the most profitable category         agine how your profits will snowball       of $7,500 in recommended repairs
    of work for commercial roofing              if you can follow-up even a fraction       per project, and if you convert 33
    contractors, with margins of up to          of those leaks with a roof condition       percent of those leads into projects,
    50 percent. Many roofing contrac-           assessment and then win the fol-           these leaks could lead to $20,000
    tors are dedicating sales teams to this     low-up on repair and maintenance.          a week in revenue and $10,000 a
    lucrative opportunity. Lead genera-         Immediate, professional follow-up          week in profit. That’s almost $1
    tion typically involves a lot of time,      with the building owner is critical        million in repair work each year.
    effort, and money: driving around           — studies have consistently shown
                                                that proposals for additional repair       Tools for success
                                                are much more likely to be accepted        The formula for success is simple:
                                                and funded when the proposal is            present recommendations for repair
                                                delivered to the client within a few       work clearly, with complete docu-
                                                days of the initial repair. This rate      mentation while the current leak is
                                                drops quickly: proposals presented         fresh in their minds and before the
    By Richard Rast                             more than three weeks after the ini-       next leak occurs. You need a consist-
    RSI Columnist                               tial repair is completed are accepted      ent, efficient approach and savvy
                                                less than one third of the time.           sales tools, with close coordination
                                                                                           between your service technicians
    looking at roofs, cold calling, direct      Impact of timely, professional proposals   and your service sales team about
    mail, yellow pages, and lead-referral       Professional proposals with photos         which roofs merit a return visit.
    services. But one of the best sources       and easy-to-understand descriptions        Presenting those building own-
    of leads for roof repair is your own        of what’s wrong, why it matters, and       ers with an example of the kind of
    service department’s “leak hotline.”        what should be done to fix it win a        professional report you can provide
                                                much higher percentage of the work         them will help you get back on their
    Every leak can be an up-sell                and at much higher margins because         roof for an assessment. Offering
    Contractors respond to dozens of leak       they “educate” the need for a valuable     online access to their roof informa-
    calls each week. Nearly every roof that     service rather than selling at a com-      tion is another perk. Many contrac-
    leaks has other critical maintenance        modity level. Presenting this kind         tors are charging 3 to 8 cents per
    and repair needs. Since properly man-       of proposal quickly and consistently       square foot for these assessments and
    aged roofs last longer and cost less over   is challenging because of the time it      reports. Implementing software tools
    time, you can offer a valuable service      takes to document roof conditions          and best practices geared toward
    by educating building owners about          and put it all together in a profes-       streamlining the assessment and
    the condition of their roofs while mak-     sional format. Typically, contractors      presentation process is one of the
    ing proactive recommendations for re-       reserve this kind of effort for large      wisest investments a company can
    pair and maintenance. Building own-         re-roofing projects. But profit margins    make and will lead to a speedy and
    ers tend to have an “out of site, out of    on repair work are much higher, and        considerable return on investment.
    mind” mentality regarding their roof        with the right approach you can win            In future columns, we’ll dis-
    assets, so until you bring it to their      these projects at a higher volume and      cuss overcoming hurdles and spe-
    attention, they may not even be aware       make it a banner year, even if new         cific tactics that contractors can use
    that they have an extensive problem or      construction and re-roofing projects       to capture this opportunity. RSI
    an opportunity to manage their assets       dry up due to recession. Negotiated
                                                                                            RIchaRd RasT is the president of Roof
    wisely. Many building owners don’t          repair work can generate 50 percent
                                                                                            Express LLC.
    even realize they need routine main-        gross profit or more. If you respond

    RSI/march 2008/www.rsimag.com