5 Tips For Marketing To Real Estate Agents

First, I would like to thank Jessica for requesting this topic!

Real estate agents can be a great source of repeat referral business for the roofing contractor.  How can you tap into this market without wasting time and money?

Before getting into specifics of how to market to agents I would like to give you a couple of cautions to keep in mind.

First, when designing your marketing plan for real estate agents remember that there are about as many (if not more) real estate agents as there are roofing contractors.  This makes it critical for you to spend your time in the right places and with the right agents.  Just like in the roofing industry there are a lot of agents just sitting around without much work.

Second, you have to be prepared to say no to some agent’s requests.  I have had agents ask, after a roof inspection that was bad and was jeopardizing the sale, to just say something to make the potential buyers feel good about the roof.  You may be asked to give estimates of how long a roof will last, and you may find yourself pressured to withhold negative information for the sake of getting the deal done.  Hopefully this will never happen to you, but you should be prepared.

Now on to the marketing part.  Here are Five Tips.

1 – Find out who the busy agents are. This one can be tricky.  Just because an agent spends a bunch of money on ads doesn’t mean they are busy.  How can you find out who the busy agents are?  One of the first things I would do is visit local real estate offices and speak to either the Broker or the Office Manager and ask them who their busiest agents are, they will often be more than happy to tell you who is really producing and also who the up and comers are.  This will give you a good list of targets.

2 – Focus on agents who work with Buyers. Typically it will be the buyer in the transaction that will request a roof inspection and you would like to be the roofing contractor the agent recommends.   However, you should also try to get in with busy listing agents who will recommend that their customers get a roof inspection ahead of time (not all do this) so that they can market the home with a clean roof inspection.  Also, it will often be the listing agent who will make recommendations to the seller as to which contractor to choose to have any requested repairs made.  That said, if I had to choose I would choose the buyers agents to target first.

3 – Meet agents face to face. Take in helpful information to the agent.  Become a resource.  Agents are people too and they usually choose contractors they are comfortable with and feel will be there for them to help them out.  After you have finished step one ask what times are the best to catch the agent in the office and then drop by and introduce yourself and your company.

4 – Don’t be put off by the first rebuttal. Don’t feel bad if you don’t get a warm and fuzzy feeling on your first visit.  Just be cordial and persistent.  Agents will eventually appreciate your persistence and over time will be more inclined to send some work your way.  Establishing familiarity will go a long way for you over time.

5 – Offer to speak at the local Board of Realtors meetings or at local real estate office meetings. Brokers will often invite companies to speak at their weekly meetings as will the local Board of Realtors.  Check with them and ask what sort of roofing related topic they would feel would be beneficial and do a short presentation on the subject (don’t forget to bring bagels and coffee).   Make sure to bring some sort of leave behinds that highlight how an agent can benefit from working with your company.

I hope this information helps.  Face to face marketing with agents is more time consuming but will get you much much farther than would any sort of mailer or flyer.  One other tip, make sure that any agents you do currently work with refer you to other agents in their office.  Their recommendation can go a long way in getting you in with other agents.

Please let me know your experiences in working with agents in the comments section below.

How Much Money Does Each New Customer Cost Your Roofing Company?

In November’s newsletter I wrote an article entitled “5 ways to beat your competition without spending a dime”.  The first item was to show up and be on time for your appointments.  When I wrote that I thought it was so obvious that I almost did not put it in.  But then I had the following experience.

A friend of mine called and told me he needed a new roof on his duplex.  I told him that I knew a great roofer in his area and that I would have them contact him right away.  I called the roofer and told him that my friend was expecting a call from him.  He did call and set up an appointment to check out the roof.  I later contacted my friend to see how things had gone.  He said that the roofer I recommended had called but them never showed up for their appointment and that he ended up getting someone else to do the job.  They did not even show up for a pre-qualified referral lead. Needless to say I was embarrassed and will probably not recommend that roofing contractor again.  But, the experience led me to write this post.

How much money did that roofer waste by not following up on that lead? I am not talking about his potential profit, I am talking about his cost of acquisition for a new customer.  I know that this roofing contractor actively markets his roofing company including yellow pages, a web site, and direct mailing.  That amounts to a lot of money each year to acquire new customers.

Let’s look at how you can figure what each new customer costs you to acquire in terms of marketing dollars.

First - take your total marketing spend for the year.  Add up all that you spend on your yellow pages, web sites, direct mailing, and other marketing.

Second - divide that number by the total number of jobs you closed in that same year.

Here is an example:

Total of all Marketing expenditures for the year
Yellow Pages – $1200 per month = 14,400.00
Web Site – $50.00 per month = $600.00
Direct mailing – $300.00 per month = $3,600.00
Newspaper Ad – $300.00 per month = $3,600.00

Total Marketing spend for the year = $22,200.00

I know that there are some roofing contractors who spend that much just on their yellow page ads!

Now lets figure the total number of customers acquired in that same time period
1.5 re-roofs per week = 78
Total repair jobs = 50

Total customers acquired = 128

Total Marketing Spend = 22,200.00 divided by number of customers 128 = $173.43 per customer.

So in this example it costs $173.43 to acquire a new customer.  If that were the case for the roofer I mentioned above he wasted $173.43 by not showing up in addition to the amount of profit he could have made.

This is an important number for all roofing contractors to know.  This is an important number for all of your employees to know as well.  Every time someone does something that costs you a new customer you just wasted that much money in your marketing expenses.

This is also a good number to know when you are analyzing new marketing opportunities.  You can take the cost of the marketing item and divide it by the total number of customers you expect it to bring and find out if it is a good spend.

Marketing is a major expense for roofing contractors.  Knowing the exact value of a new customer can go a long way to helping you to bring those costs down.

Good Marketing Can Help Your Roofing Company Succeed in This Recession

In Part 1 we identified ways to see which roofing contractors are busy in your market and what your percentage of market share is.

In Part 2 we looked at important questions you should ask based on that information.  Now the question is:  How can you use this information to grow your market share?

What is the number one thing most roofing contractors in your market do to try to gain market share?  Lower Prices.  This is a big mistake.  The other day one roofer told me that when he sees the prices of some of his competition, he thinks they must have to get a loan just to do the job because they have to be losing money.  This seems to be a common feeling.  Is lowering your price the best way to get more work?

Let’s refer to the great marketing company, Jack-In-The-Box, for the answer to that question.  A couple of years ago they had a commercial where a worried assistant runs up to Jack to inform him that he is losing money on every burger they sell.  Jack calmly replies “I have one word for you – Volume”.  It may work for Jack-In-The-Box but it is a terrible strategy for roofing contractors.

How can you grow your market share without lowering your price?  Here are a few ways.

1 - Good marketing makes selling easy easier.  If you have done an effective job of marketing your roofing company and you have built a relationship with your potential customers, through your marketing, they will already have a good idea of the value you bring before you ever step into their home.  This can help remove some of the price barrier ahead of time.

2 - Can you clearly tell your customer in 30 seconds or less why they should do business with you, instead of your competition?  This is not as simple as saying “We have been in business for xx years” or “We have experienced crews”.  These are things your competitors are sure to tell them also.  You need to come up with a statement that will clearly differentiate you from your competitors by saying something that they cannot say.

3 - Talk to your past customers and ask them ‘why they chose you’.  This can give you a good idea of what consumers see as your strengths.  You can then leverage this in your marketing and in your face to face sales.

4 - Do not imitate the marketing you see on television.  Large corporations spend millions of dollars each year to pay for Branding Ads that are designed to do nothing more than drill a brand name into the minds of viewers.  Most roofing companies cannot afford to advertise enough to accomplish this task.  Instead, make sure that your marketing is targeted to a consumer who needs a roof and make sure that your advertising provides useful information that will help a potential customer see why they should use you, before they ever meet you.

These are just a few suggestions that can help you grow your market share.

Please comment below on other methods you have found effective.

Knowing who is busy in your market can make you money

Now that you know who is doing business in your market, how can you put this information to work for you?

Make a list of your competitors (only the ones who are busy) and honestly ask yourself the following questions:

1 - What would be the number one reason potential customers may choose this company over mine?

2 - What would be the number one reason potential customers may choose my company over the competition?

3 - How can I minimize the reasons someone may choose to do business with my competitor and maximize the reasons they choose me?

This examination will also give you a chance to look at what sort of marketing your busy competitors are doing and what is working for them.  How are they catching the attention of customers in your market?  Are they doing things you can imitate?

It is important to see who is really getting roofing jobs in your market before you copy anything another roofer is doing.  There are plenty of Roofing Contractors who spend a lot of money on very visible and expensive marketing and still don’t get the jobs.

Part 3 will discuss practical ways you can grow your market share.

Are Your Competitors Busy?

Do not assume that your competition is slow. I see it every day, one roofing contractor is busy and the roofer down the street can barely afford to keep the lights on.

Do you know where your business stands in relation to your competition?   This is an important part of your marketing strategy.  You need to know who your real competition is and what share of the available work you are getting.  How can you calculate your market share?

1 - One good way is to define your service area and go each month to the local building department and look at how many roofing permits were awarded for the month.

2 - Ask your roofing distributor how many jobs they shipped that month and who they shipped them to.

Compare the number jobs done to the number of jobs you did.  If there were 35 jobs done in your service area and you did 2 of those jobs you can figure out your percentage of the available roofing jobs.

Here is how to figure your percentage of market share:

35 Jobs Total – You did 2 of those jobs

Divide 2 (#of jobs you did) by 35 (total # of jobs)
2 / 35 = 0.057
Take that result and multiply by 100
0.057 x 100 = 5.7%

This is your market share – 5.7%

Now you can look at this and see if that is a reasonable amount for your roofing business.  It would also show that your competitors did 94.3% of the available roofs that month.

This information can help you identify missed opportunities and show who is your real competition. This is essential information for Roofing Contractors to have in this very difficult economic climate.

Part 2 will identify ways you can act on this vital information.

Why Are Your Customers Buying a New Roof?

What really motivates someone to buy a new roof?  I would venture to guess that for many people the news that “you need a new roof” ranks right up there with needing a new set of brakes for the car.  It is a necessary but unexpected expense.  However for others it can be a very exciting prospect.

This is why before you try to sell or market a roof to someone you need to discover why they are buying what they are buying.

For example, let’s say your target market is re-roofing older homes that are in desperate need of a new roof.  Would highlighting the beauty and prestige of a new roof really resonate with these potential clients?  Most likely not.  If they have put off getting a roof this long they very likely view it as an unpleasant but necessary expense.  In  this case you could reach them by highlighting the performance aspects of the roof, how you have done your research so that you will ensure that this is the last time in a long time that they will have to deal with the roof.  You also may make your marketing more value oriented highlighting the money savings you and a new roof can bring.  Financing options and same as cash programs may also be a very good subject to bring up in your ads.

On the other hand, if you are marketing to the remodel client or to those in a subdivision where there is a lot of re-roof activity before the old roofs are really worn out, you would want your marketing and sales approach to take a very different emotional approach.  Here you would focus on the looks, features and prestige of your roofing products and company.  You may want to highlight alternative products that could set their home apart from their neighbors (make the neighbors jealous).

The next time you develop a marketing piece make sure that you look closely at your target maket and really examine what their motivation is for getting a new roof.  This extra effort will dramatically increase the returns you get from  your marketing.

ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE NOW:
1 - Examine your current marketing pieces and make sure that the message matches the market.

2 - Develop new marketing pieces to match markets that your current marketing does not match up with.

Every Penny Counts?

“Yes!  At least it is in MY market!”  This is the enthusiastic answer I get from most roofers when I ask if price is the only thing that matters to their customers and prospects.  I do agree that price is an important  aspect of marketing in this economy.  It is vital to recognize that price is not the only, or even the most important consideration for many homeowners when choosing a roofing contractor.  Before you say “Not in MY market” let me share an interesting experience with you.

This spring I attended the International Roofing Expo in Las Vegas.  Each morning there were a number of seminars that roofers could attend.  I attended one at 7:30 a.m. on marketing for roofers.  After introducing himself the speaker stated that he was convinced that people did not buy roofs based on price.  Now imagine how  a roomful of roofers sounded at 7:30 a.m. in Las Vegas when he said that!  “I got out of bed for this….”  was a common sentiment.

He then went on to ask if anyone in the room had purchased a roof in the last few years before starting to work for  a roofing company.  One woman raised her had and stated that she had purchased a roof just before she went to work at a roofing company.  He asked her ‘What did you look for in a roofer?’  She replied ‘I wanted the lowest price!’  Roars of applause erupted from the roof of sleepy roofers.  ‘O.K.’ he said ‘did you hire the cheapest roofer?’  ‘Well actually no’ she replied.  ‘Why not?’ he asked.  She then went on to relate that she did not really feel comfortable with him and he did not seem to really know his stuff.  He then asked her why she chose the contractor she did.  She said ‘well, he was friendly, clean cut, and he was very knowledgeable.’  ‘He also had a good price’ she added ‘just not the lowest.’

So the speaker made his point.  This woman valued three things higher than price – 1) Friendly  2) Nice Appearance  3) Knowledge – price came in a number 4.  This is important to remember. This shows how meeting the customer face to face and having a professional appearance and marketing tools can really pay off.  Especially in Your market!

Do You Stand Out From Other Roofing Contractors?

I’m not talking about knowing that you are a roofing contractor, or even what type of roofing you specialize in.  I’m talking about knowing what makes you different and better than your competition.  More importantly why should a customer use you instead of the competition?

For example: If you are a small roofing company do you market the fact that your customer can contact you, the owner, easily and that you will be on site each day of the job?

On the other hand, if you are a salesperson for a large roofing contractor do you highlight the training and expertise of your installation crew?

In this market it is essential that you know what makes you different and better than other roofing contractors marketing in your area.  This will help you close more sales and help the customer to stop thinking of roofing as just a commodity.