How to Sell Roofing to The Modern Client

The 21st century has completely evolved the way a client behaves when considering a major purchase. To increase the success of your company, you need to evolve too. By understanding the modern client and their habits, building an internet presence, and learning smarter team management you’ll adapt and improve your roofing sales process to match this ever-changing industry.

Start Considering What Your Modern Client Really Wants

The “modern buyer” doesn’t even engage with your sales team until they are 57% of the way through their purchasing journey. This means that they have researched your company extensively before even wanting to meet you or one of your reps.

This is a huge shift in buying behavior. The expectations of modern buyers are higher than they have been with the previous generation of consumers. Modern buyers expect a more sophisticated sales process, and 70% of customers agree: knowledgable sales representatives are a major factor in how loyal they are to a company..

They also prefer communicating through technology and want to be reached in more ways than one. Using instant messaging services and email nurturing campaigns is a simple and easy way to show your potential customers that you are personable and can be contacted for their needs and concerns.

Outdated Sales Practices

Modern selling has become all about the buyer, who holds a lot more power than ever before. That means the old way of selling roofing jobs is no longer considerate of modern buying patterns, making them feel outdated, uninformed, and inconsiderate of the client.

So what are the big mistakes companies are making?

• Not understanding the modern buyer’s journey. If you haven’t written out the details of your target buyer, you’re making your job that much harder. Creating a buyer persona with detailed wants and needs will help guide your future decisions.
• Pressuring clients without giving them a chance to research your company on their own. Everyone wants a simple and easy deal to close, but for the potential buyer that needs more convincing, pressuring them into making a choice after just hearing about your service is the quickest way to lose their interest. Instead, contact the patient with digital marketing before your first pitch and give them direction to your online chatting services so they can have any questions answered.
• Only visiting or contacting a client once before the first pitch. There is no rule that says you can’t get in contact through digital marketing, flyers, or emails with a client before knocking on their door. Getting familiar with someone will help make your pitch easier and more effective.
• Not cultivating a strong online presence. Not having a website to advertise your services will leave your company obsolete in this electronic era.

A large component missing from roof sales has been technology and strategic marketing. Are you trying to market your company online but your customer targeting seems to be a bit off? Marketing on billboards is ineffective for a lot of roofing companies, but targeted online marketing will help you get the kind of visibility that generates deals.

First of all, you need a good company website. It’s a guarantee that if you leave a pamphlet or flyer on a doorstep and the buyer is interested in your service, they will look you up online. They will read your customer reviews, they will check out every aspect of your company before reaching out.

Selling used to be more simple. If you showed up to a door, had a great pitch and attitude with an essential service, you would likely close a deal, face to face with that customer. But the modern buyer would rather not have as much physical contact, and prefer to learn about you on the internet.

Clients have the ability to compare prices, read reviews, and check your credibility without even talking to you; that was never considered before. So cater to their wants by providing them information and time to consider what you’re offering.

There is value in the way the roofing industry used to sell, but it’s time to adapt those methods to coincide with the habits of your buyer.

An Improved Way to Sell Roofing

Understanding what your customer wants and needs is half the battle. But you also need to be smart and intentional about who you’re trying to sell to. Rather than wasting time and resources with unqualified buyers, market your services intelligently based on your location and client preferences. Along with location intelligent marketing, having a strong, consistent brand will lead to more customers.

If you’re at a loss of how to reach out to modern buyers, there are 3 methods that are essential for connecting with this audience and making a positive, visible presence online:

• Engage on social media platforms where there is a large audience. Having a Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter account are basic fundamentals for any company nowadays. If you’re not sure how to create a strong internet presence, there are plenty of ways to get started.
• Be a resource. If your company can provide valuable information then it’s a great way to build rapport and encourage researchers to visit your site, causing them to view you as an authority figure in your field.
• Maintain relationships after the contract is completed. Your teams should be thinking about ways to delight and re-engage your customers, since acquiring upsells and cross-selling is much easier than acquiring new business, and modern buyers conduct research among your current customers.

People want to make the best possible decision when it comes to buying a roof. Your job is to give them all the insights and information they need to make a smart decision. But providing information to modern customers starts with marketing on and off line.

The modern roof buyer often comes to the realization that they need a roof grudgingly. They’ve discovered a leak, lost shingles, have experienced damage, or have held off replacing their roof for a while. They might be preparing to sell their home, and are wondering what potential issues could come up during a buyer’s home inspection. They may even be in a stressful situation after a storm hit their house and you want to be the first rep there. Using SalesRabbit Weather ensures that you get alerts for where storms hit, hail size, hail probability, and wind gusts of any U.S. areas. Getting this insider information helps you become the trusted advisor for your customer. After a storm you can call your customers and ask how their roof is holding up and if they’re needing a replacement you’re there to close the deal.

That means you’ve got a responsibility and opportunity to be an informed, compassionate guide through the buying process. Be sure to collect information from all your previous interactions with clients and convert that knowledge and experience into content. This could be web content, video content, or even just an updated sales pitch that covers the major pain points that clients experience.

How to Build an Internet Presence

In order for your prospects to research your company, you need to have an internet presence. Having a solid website, social media, and email outlook will drastically increase your reach to potential clients. If you’re struggling to create a positive online presence, start here:

1. Provide a great user experience. Having an aesthetic website and easy contactability is key to providing your visitors with a great experience.
2. Think mobile first. Most modern customer research is done on their phones so having a scalable website that is attractive and intuitive on a mobile device is key.
3. Make your website 100% secure and virus free for visitors. Nothing looks worse than having a sketchy website. People pay attention to the quality of your website, so you should too.
4. Share valuable information on your blog. Like we said earlier, a roof purchase is intimidating for a lot of buyers. Having a company blog can provide guidance and reassurance to new viewers and build a stronger connection with them. It’s a great way to share company and industry news.
5. Demonstrate your expertise through guest posting. Having a strong blog channel and inviting other powerful names in the industry to guest post gives you more credibility in the eyes of your consumers.
6. Leverage the most effective social media channels. Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are popular social media platforms that companies can promote themselves on. Using these sites provides your company with a more youthful approach.
7. Use email campaigns to reach prospects. Don’t just blast inboxes with ads— share helpful information and guidance, providing value for your customers from the very first interaction.
8. Register in popular business directories. If a customer is looking for all the top roofing companies, you want your name to come up. The only way to do that is to get out there and have visibility in directories and online searches like Angie’s List, Yelp, and Bing Places.
9. Provide Local Ads on Google and Facebook. Targeting your ads to areas that you’re trying to sell gets your foot in the door early and puts your businesses name in their head before you’ve knocked their door.
10. Use Geo Targeted Marketing to contact your ideal customer. Along with local ads, using area specific marketing will help soften an area before sending your reps out. If someone remembers your business from an ad they’re more likely to connect with you faster.

You can also use the internet to target key customer groups like people who are selling or buying a house. A great tool for this specific targeting is our New Mover Leads that gives you the unique opportunity to specifically target new home sellers and buyers. Oftentimes this point of transaction is where roofing deals are bought; that’s why you want to be the first to contact them and offer your services.

Have a Seamless Online and In-Person Presence

You want to be successful online, and you want that success to transition to your in-person interactions. That means you should:

• Creating a consistent image between your online brand and your door presence, so that customers recognize your reps and trucks from your website and videos.
• Spend time listening to your clients wants and needs, and translate that information into helpful content and social media interactions. Make sure your reps are trained on buyer concerns and behavior.
• Be honest and real with the client-- don’t make promises in person or online that aren’t consistent with the other parts of your marketing and sales approach.
• Provide referrals to validate you and your company. Train your teams to behave in such a way that encourages referrals from prospects and customers.

These examples, in conjunction with a strong internet presence, marketing, and team management give you all the tools to be successful in today’s modern world. Remember that, above all, you need to provide your client with information and time to research their options. Customers today are aware of how many roofing companies exist, they see reviews on your company, they want to compare prices and this is something you should encourage. Allowing your customer the time to research your company after being presented with the option is a way to show respect for their knowledge and resources.

Managing Your Team

If you want a better chance at reaching your modern buyer, having a managed and excited sales team is the biggest first step. In the past, team management involved little to no communication or tracking of reps, mostly because technology was not equipped to do so. But that has all changed, and there are countless ways to measure and ensure progress from any sales team. From team messaging apps to actual rep tracking software, it is easier than ever to make sure your team is performing at its very best.

If you’re struggling with managing your sales team, there are plenty of tips from the best in sales that can guide the future success of your team. For example, SalesHacker provides 12 tried and true team management steps directly from leading sales experts that have built companies from 0-$100 million. Even though managing teams is not a one-size-fits-all approach, using key tips like these will help guide you in the right direction as you build the success of your team.

1. Be results oriented. Hire people with the same determination and drive that you want your company to attain. When you hire competitive reps and provide transparent goal expectations, you’ll be oriented to achieve your goals.
2. Identify where you are vs. what you need. Before learning how to manage a sales team, you need to build a solid foundation. Hiring the right people will save you so many steps in the process to having a successful team.
3. Manage group expectations. It’s important to get your team pumped about their jobs and the expectations that come with them, but make sure to address and support the needs of your reps when it comes to their job performance.
4. Hire coachable reps. No team can thrive with know-it-all reps that refuse to take constructive criticism. If you hire coachable reps, your progress and the progress of your overall team will automatically improve.
5. Set high, but realistic goals. Set the bar high, but not too high that it can’t be reached. If you only achieve 70% of a high goal, that’s better than achieving 100% of a mediocre goal.
6. Incentivize your team. Using sales leaderboards or even gift cards and SWAG is a simple and easy way to light a fire under your team to see who can take the top spot.
7. Make learning a priority. Making continuous learning and curiosity cornerstones of your business will allow your team the opportunity to grow and improve on its own.
8. Use the volume vs. value ratio. Your highest value people (most expensive) should be spending time on the lowest volume (but highest importance) activities–like building relationships, securing referrals and partnerships. Your lower value people should focus on higher volume activities, like turning prospects into leads.
9. Avoid a one-size-fits-all approach. There are several different personality types in a workplace. Not every employee responds to things the same way, meaning that no two teams will be the same. It’s important to get to know your individual team members and what type of feedback they respond to best.
10. Hire specialized reps early for long term growth. Similar to all teams being different, all sales reps are not the same. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each individual rep will help you group them into teams that will motivate them to thrive.
11. Be a transparent organization. Transparency means that your peers, managers, everyone, should know how the company is performing. The best sales organizations should know each team member’s goals and progress.
12. Carefully plan and distribute your accounts. Some companies give the best opportunities to their top talent, but think instead of distributing opportunities fairly to motivate and inspire everyone to succeed together as a complete sales unit.

You can also use the internet to target key customer groups like people who are selling or buying a house. A great tool for specific targeting is DataGrid AI. This feature gives you in-depth information on any prospect before you knock on their door using buyer-score modeling. That way you can prioritize which houses to visit based on the information this feature gives you.

Claim Your Success Now

The roofing industry is alive and thriving. People are realizing the importance of having a solid roof above their heads. For those that have come to that realization yet, you’re here to give them all the insights and information they need to become a part of the other millions of Americans installing new roofs.

These are a lot of ideas being thrown at you, but the biggest difference that will set your company apart from its competitors is knowing how the modern buyer behaves and caters to them. If you need help implementing these things into your sales process, schedule a demo with us now.