Overcoming Common Problems….

To Increase Sales and Profits

Scott Siegal BioRoofing contractor for + 25 years. Owned and

operated 4 roofing companies doing all types of roofing work from minor repairs to million dollar projects including historic restoration.

Former President local Roofing Contractor Association Conducted over 250 roofing contractor seminars sponsored by CertainTeed, GAF, NRCA and numerous distributors and local trade associations.

Currently President of Maggio Roofing and Certified Contractors Network with members in the US & Canada.

Most Common Problems

The “Fly by Night” Low Price Competition

• Most Common Complaint• Professional roofer competing

against a non-professional • Only overhead may be their truck• No insurance • Price is cheaper, but disappears or

fails to perform a professional job

Juggling Act• Are you wearing too many hats

within your company?– Salesman– Manager– Project scheduler– Customer service– Revenue collector– Purchasing agent

Peaks & Valleys• Every trade has cycles• Result is too much work,

difficult to get it all done• So little work that can’t

get a job no matter how low the price

Too Little Profit• Working all year only to find that

there’s not enough left on the bottom line to make it worthwhile

Frustrated?

Is all this pressure with the roofing business

worth it?

Low Priced Competition,Juggling Acts, Peaks and Valleys,and not enough profit createStress and lack of peace of mind

Average GAF Residential Roofer

• Average Gross Profit: 23%

• $178.43 is the average cost of a lead

• Average marketing budget is $48,119.42

Reasons For Too Little Profit• Income vs Profit

– Don’t confuse money in your pocket equals profit– Income is the money paid for work performed– Profit is the money the business makes– Goals need to be set for both income and profit (or

you will end up working for a paycheck…maybe)

Contractor Myth # 1• The customers main concern is price

– Consumers only see price as important when value is not shown

– Higher the value, less price is considered

Myth # 2Jobs are sold, not bought

• Most consumers have to find their own contractor (either through the internet or referral)

• Contractor responds by preparing a bid and sending it to owner

• This process is bidding, not selling

Selling • Professional contractors

– Develop prospects from a marketing plan– Cover leads professionally– Make a professional presentation to solve

a problem– Provide reasons for selecting him/her over

others– Provide reasons to act now without high

pressure

Good Selling programs…

Help overcome the 4 most common problems– Overcome low-ball competitor – sales plans

differentiate the professional from the low ball competitor. A sales plan will help to explain the differences between the two, so the owner understands the value and is comfortable paying a higher price

– Overcoming juggling too many balls – The sales ball is the easiest to pass off to another in order to lighten the owner’s load. Hiring salespeople requires development or acquiring an estimating and sales plan, a training program and a plan for lead generation

• Overcoming peaks and valleys– A direct marketing/sales approach is

required to develop leads when there is no business due to seasonality or other reasons

• Overcoming too little profit – A professional sales presentation can

justify a higher price

Good Selling programs…

The “Selling Puzzle”

Presentation

The Power Buying Motive

Proposal

Basic Buying Motives

Leads

Marketing & Lead Management

Inbound Leads vs.

Outbound LeadsLeads

Are You Raising “Lead Babies”

• Do your salespeople generate their own leads?

• Do they wait for you to hand them leads BEFORE they do anything?

I’m A Salesperson…

It’s Not My Job To Generate Leads.

It’s a numbers Game

• Salespeople should be cold calling around existing leads

• Run more appointments!• Leads are the life blood of a roofing

business

Basic Buying Motives

Basic BuyingMotives

• Fear• Gain/Loss• Pride• Imitation

Basic Buying Motive

• Fear/Concern – Motivated out of fear for something (leaks)

• Financial – Buys for either financial gain or to avoid loss. Purchase in the off season for a discount or avoid high season prices

• Self- esteem- Pride in their home (perfect home in the neighborhood whose lawn is perfect, paint is perfect, driveway is sealed)

• Joneses – Keep up with the neighbors

ThePowerBuyingMotive

Power Buying Motive

• This is separate from basic buying motives

• This is the motivation for selecting the specific contractor at a higher price and REJECTING the non-professional

ThePowerBuyingMotive

ConfidenceConfidence

Confidence

• Survey asking consumers why they rejected or purchased projects

• They either lacked confidence in the contractor, so they didn’t buy or they had confidence and they did buy

How to build Confidence

• In you – Think of yourself as a doctor, not a contractor– Ask questions and diagnose the

problem– Dress appropriately – 1st

impressions matter– Vehicle should be clean– Show up on time

Presentation

• In Your Company –– Pictures of jobs– Testimonials– Insurance certificates– Training certificates– Licenses– List of satisfied customers

How to build Confidence

• In the product– Warranties– Knowledge of the product– Why you reject other products– Clean presentable brochures/samples– Computer apps– Convert features into benefits

How to build Confidence

• In your proposal – Use a professional proposal– Silent salesperson– Multi-page

How to build Confidence

Proposal & Price

Proposal

Proposal should be presented to complete buying party

• Four basic styles– Business card – some write the price on the back of a

card– Boiler Plate – form on which the contractor checks off

choices that define the job– One liner – This is a custom proposal for a project that

has been typed and usually consists of one line, usually a feature that doesn’t explain the benefit

– ESP (Effective Sales Proposal) – Designed to provide feature and benefit of the product and service. Anticipates how the owner thinks and what questions he might have so that he has the information needed to make a buying decision

Proposal

What Can CCN Offer• Networking Best Practices• Training Boot Camps

– Sales– Production– Admin

• Proprietary programs– Sales App for Ipad– Video email– Lead generation programs– Much more

Any Questions ???

Scott Siegal

301-891-0999 x 113 Office

scott@contractors.net

Certified Contractors NetWork

800.396.1510

www.contractors.net