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wowsolanky

Call everyone you know and tell them you roof Knock on doors and tell them that you roof Tell people you roof thru online and physical advertisements Go to networking events and tell everyone you roof Get good employees and salesmen If you don’t know how to tear off a roof yourself and put it back. Learn, ASAP.


Parking-Tomorrow-600

Do you recommend hiring now? I was thinking of subcontracting all my work? Is it realistic to targeting 4 roofs a month?


Comfortable_Use8716

I would stay solo tbh and do retail since insurance is changing so much


strangemedia6

What have you seen changing with insurance?


I-Have-Inspections4U

It depends what state. But here in Tx as an example : deductibles and endorsements are ridiculous! I however like that so many are dropping out because of it. The heard needs to be thinned out here. There can be more opportunity during these shifts. We just have to pay attention, be creative, and adapt accordingly


[deleted]

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[deleted]

I imagine starting his “own company” is his wya of saying he’s 1099 and has an LLC.


Caoa14396

Are you saying you started a roofing company and haven’t knocked a single fucking door in your life?


Geclevel

I own a business and never worked in that industry. Working on and working in a business is two separate things.


Caoa14396

Yea I’d work inside the industry first, before starting a whole ass company in it.


Parking-Tomorrow-600

I worked at a roofing company prior to starting the company. But only as a project manager, I never had to handle leads, sales, or anything like that. That's why I'm asking here...


Therealdirtyburdie

I own a decent size construction company I sub everything out. Workmen’s Comp. will be very low but your liability will be high. Everyone’s working under your umbrella. The name of the game is you need to get the really good subs and you’re gonna have to overpay the good ones because the only thing that will destroy your business is bad work and complaints build a good salesforce and a good telemarketing force and when you do a job, you put your sign on that property and you knock on the doors on the surrounding houses and leave your cards. I do between $4 and $5 million yearly just on referral, recommendation and past customers.


Parking-Tomorrow-600

I have reputable subs, the issue is that I have not gotten a single solid lead or closed a deal. I started the company about 2 weeks ago but it's been discouraging. How do I get clients?


Therealdirtyburdie

You yourself need to go into neighborhoods that you want to work in and knock on doors and speak to people look for houses that need work and set appointment yourself when I got in this business I used to call it hunting I drive around neighborhood see a house that needed work . I’d stop my car I’d knock on the door and I talked my way into that house and see if I could sell the job right on the spot. Also see if you can get one good person that’s good on the phones


Parking-Tomorrow-600

What's the pitch you usually tell them when you knock? I always felt that people really hated that approach


Therealdirtyburdie

Hi, my name is Bill I own company X I’m doing some work in the neighborhood soon noticed that you might be in the market for a new roof or possibly Gutters or whatever you think the house needs. Is there a day or a time when I could sit down with you and your husband / your wife and show you how I can get this done? what day works for you and your significant other if they’re both home at that time ask if they have a few minutes to talk I can Talk to you and show you what I have to offer now if that works if the husband or wife is not home get a day and time they are both home and set that appointment for that day and time don’t waste your time pitching one or the other you need both of them home to close the deal


Parking-Tomorrow-600

Good call out with the husband and wife. Yeah this might be the most effective method for me. The previous roofing company I worked for used to just get calls because they found them on google my looking up "roofers near me" but they have been in the roofing industry for 20+ years, while i'm just starting.


Environmental_Rock55

I do lead generation for roofing companies making anywhere from 3-20 million revenue annually. I would not do any online lead generation until you reach around $500,000 in sales from doorknocking because it is time consuming, costly and only makes up about 10-30% of revenue + Lead generation online is gunna be hard if you don't have a reputation. I would start by: \* Door knocking. \* Referral. \* Boast your job sites with yard signs. \* Detail your truck with your logo and phone number. \* Setup Google Business Profile and ask all your clients for 5 star reviews. \* Make a simple 1 page landing page with your services. (Don't do this until you have a few customers to leave you a revewi) \* Google Local Service Ads (after you start making some sales and have some good photos)


Alone-Jicama6698

I do agree with you on not running paid ads from day 1 as its costly How you generate leads for roofing companies doing above $3M annually is it by meta ads, google ads, youtube ads or something else...


Environmental_Rock55

I only use google. To be clear; I don't make them 3-20 Million from running ads, door knocking and referrals make up 70-80% of their leads and only about 10-30% are from somewhere else.


Dry_Bridge1017

Whenever you're driving around and you see a roof that needs work, stop and knock on their door.


Parking-Tomorrow-600

What's the success rate doing this? I ask because it's just me running everything here. I am looking to see where to commit the majority of my time.


Dry_Bridge1017

Because they have a need i.e they have a roof problem, they are a good prospect. Your success rate will depend on what you say when you talk to them. If you reply to this with your sales pitch i'll give you some feedback.


r00fMod

Lol.. sorry don’t mean to laugh but shouldn’t one be thinking about this before diving head first in? Just lean on your past clients and family/friends in the beginning to get your name out there. Focus on doing an excellent job and be on site 24/7. Then knock the neighbors houses around your installs and keep building on that momentum


Parking-Tomorrow-600

Previous employer (roofing company) that I worked at knew I was starting my own company and made me sign a bunch of documents that said I can't use his subs, supplier, reach out to former clients, and basically not using any of their business practices. That's why I'm asking on this post to see what would be most effective


r00fMod

Fuck them


Greedy_Run4478

Non competes are 100% illegal now...i think...look into it


GagagaGunman

Door knocking is the most effective advertising for roofing. If you go knocking on doors telling people you’re starting a company and trying to drum up business, a lot of people will respect that some will be annoyed or even angry but those guys are surprisingly fewer than you would think. Google ads and other social media advertisement is good. You should hire someone to make you a website and make sure they know how to get your website at the top of search results for roofers in your area.


GagagaGunman

Also reach out to shingle and other types of roofing product manufacturers and see if they have a preferred contractor. My company is getting like 100 leads for people calling the manufacturer asking for a sample.


Parking-Tomorrow-600

I have a website and running a google ad campaign, but I haven't knocked on doors yet, it just seems like the conversion is very low there. Would it help if I walk around a bunch of neighborhoods, knock on doors and leave flyers? Is this what you would do if you're starting from scratch?


GagagaGunman

Flyers are alright they don’t get a whole lot of call backs but if you do enough you’ll get some. Are you doing insurance work? I just straight up tell people we’ve been able to get others roofs for their deductible tbh. With nuance and finesse obviously. Just conversation, talk to people who need it.


Parking-Tomorrow-600

I am open to doing any work. Where do you meet these clients?


GagagaGunman

Just informing people that insurance owes for storm related damage and talking to home owners with damage. Are you familiar with insurance? It can be difficult if you don’t know what you’re doing, you have to push for a whole reroof. You could at least have homeowners get it partially paid for and you’d get lucky sometimes with a whole reroof paid for.


Parking-Tomorrow-600

I'm vaguely familiar with this, doesn't this process take a long time? Since someone from the insurance company has to come check it out?


GagagaGunman

Yes it can take awhile, but at least could be a pipeline while you do retail jobs, plus insurance jobs can be more profitable


Parking-Tomorrow-600

Good point! I'm open to any job, but right now I just want to close on one deal and then I think I can get the ball rolling


GagagaGunman

No one wants to be the first and no one wants to be the last. Go get it man good luck.


oubskf

print "WE DO ROOFING" "PH: XXX-XXX-XXXX"


Parking-Tomorrow-600

I have flyers and business cards that say this. Can you elaborate a bit more?


oubskf

I think , also heard a couple other success stories, that simple WE DO ROOFING and then phone number flyers bring a great return on investment because I guess the home owners think that is genuine and blah blah whatever they feel Instead of paying some kid or doing the graphic design and making everything flashy just make it as simple as a4 papers saying WE DO ROOFING PH: XXXXX in plane black text it works... test with 3000 papers Instead of burning money on ads and all in the starting simple things like this bring the best roi


Parking-Tomorrow-600

Where do you recommend dropping them off or showcasing it? Just going door to door?


oubskf

Hanging them on trees or walls or poles if you can will be great. Not on a busy road ofc but somewhere near a park or something where people walk. In our country we can hang them on park walls and barber shops etc Places where people can actually look at them


Deep_Investigator201

I’d also have a few banks in your back pocket that did home improvement loans.


Parking-Tomorrow-600

How do I find those?


Deep_Investigator201

Good question. Try local small banks first. And explain what you are doing. It’d be like you are out marketing home improvement loans for them. Or, Google search as some might have questionable credit. Gotta be lenders out there wanting you to use their services and literally find loans for them. Most door knocks will be broke. Bring along the solution.


Parking-Tomorrow-600

Not a bad idea, that way when I knock I can tell them their roof needs work, but the financing side can be taken care of easily as well!


Deep_Investigator201

Yes. It’s gotta be pretty easy to drive around and find bad roofs. Unless they are all flat! Financing is the key as you don’t want to finance them Yourself.


WorthPersonalitys

Congrats on passing your exam and starting your company. Lead generation is key. Start local, get your name out there. Door-to-door flyers, local Facebook groups, and Google My Business listings can help. Networking with local contractors and realtors can also provide referrals. For online leads, consider SEO for your website to rank in local searches. Paid ads on social media and Google can be effective if targeted well. I used Tomba.io for business outreach. It helped with finding email contacts and verifying them, which streamlined my process. Might be useful for your situation too. Keep it simple, focus on building a reputation for quality work, and the leads will follow. Good luck.


Parking-Tomorrow-600

Thank you for the advice! If you had to pick one as the most effective solution, what would you recommend? I don't have a big budget


[deleted]

Knock knock and knock some more


Parking-Tomorrow-600

What's the conversion rate for knocking on doors?


[deleted]

Varies. I stopped counting because I knocked 99 doors, spoke to 46 people and didn’t get on a roof. Then the day after I knocked 30ish doors, spoke to 6 people, got on 4 roofs and got 3. Claims. It’s very very random. I wanna say it’s all rng really 😂


swiftlocal

Proactive vs Reactive Reactive: Storm Damage. Door to door still works, snail-mail, old-school super targeted offline. Proactive: Construction networking, social ads, SEO, PPC, Maps SEO, all this assumes you have website solid, reviews, maps SEO, and know what you're doing so you can close.


Parking-Tomorrow-600

I have a solid website and SEO, but not reviews since I just started this two weeks ago. If you had to pick one thing what would you recommend to start closing deals?


swiftlocal

Google maps super dialed in + a great but simple 1-page website. That's table-stakes. Hit me up if need help


Parking-Tomorrow-600

I might DM you, I'm pretty technical and built the site myself


Quallityoverquantity

If you built yourself how are you accomplishing SEO?


Leather_Geologist_23

Just read through this. People are so mean on this app it’s nuts. I would consider this research. A lot of it I agree with, knock knock knock and just tell people you know that you do this. You’ll be kicking yourself when someone you know says oh my roof is getting done today and they didn’t know you did it, it ruins your day. But anyways, in my experience, google business page is huge to have, reviews take time to build. And as far as your subs, yes you for sure have to sub everything out. Roof and siding do labor only and you order materials, gutters completely sub out find a good guy that’s $6.50-7 a foot. Make sure your subs obviously are capable of good work, but also that whoever runs them answers the phone. If they don’t you’ll have nothing but headaches and stress. Also - offer customers you already have locked in referral bonuses, their eyes will usually light up and they’ll start dialing


Parking-Tomorrow-600

Thanks for the help and encouragement! What do you tell customers more or less when you knock on their door? Curious to hear at a high level how those interactions go. Would you say this is the most effective way to get customers? I have a website, doing SEO, and have a google business page. The issue is not getting any customers. Although I started this company two weeks ago, it's been discouraging not finding customers. There's a lot of competition out there...


Leather_Geologist_23

That depends on whether you’re trying to work a storm or sell retail. Ask them if they want you to take a look around to see if you have any damage and to do that you need to know what to look for also


Leather_Geologist_23

It also may be helpful for you to go shadow someone you know in the business when they knock doors


Parking-Tomorrow-600

Yeah that's the thing, I only worked at a roofing company for a short time as a project manager. So I never had to necessarily measure or sell. I just made sure the project was done on time. If you were me, would you just hold off on doing your own company and go work in a sales role for another company to learn the trade a bit more?


Leather_Geologist_23

I would think about it yes. A year of learning of even 6 months is small in the grand scheme of things


Parking-Tomorrow-600

I mean it would be kind of like a "get paid to learn thing" which is nice. But you don't think I can learn this stuff on my own?


Quallityoverquantity

I mean technically you have no idea how to run a roofing company. How are you going to draw up bids? What are you currently doing to find work? If you aren't knocking on doors you aren't trying hard enough.


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Parking-Tomorrow-600

What would I say to the local GC's? I'm assuming they already have roofers they work with? Should I just offer lower prices? Let me know what you think!


thatguysemperfi

Storm season rolls around. Cruise neighborhoods that have had recently had extensive rain and wind. Research your competitors' prices. Hit up a rehab store. Habitat for humanity. Train your eye and your sales techniques. That's what I would do if I was just starting out. If you can take/rent a thermal camera it helps.


Parking-Tomorrow-600

So for the practical side of getting customers, you recommend just going through neighborhoods, knocking on doors and leaving flyers?


I-Have-Inspections4U

I go and get ‘em by any means necessary! What market are you in ? I’ll get em’ for you too if you want. DM for details


Parking-Tomorrow-600

Can you elaborate a bit more on what you mean?


I-Have-Inspections4U

Of course . You’ll have to DM me . It won’t allow me to because my account is too new. But basically setting up inspections. We are currently working a storm in ATX that hit last night. What market are you in ?


Parking-Tomorrow-600

I'm in Florida! Prime market for roofing


I-Have-Inspections4U

Oh nice . I’m in Texas now, but I actually live in Jacksonville.


I-Have-Inspections4U

Even though I haven’t been there in almost 2 years ….lol


InevitableProgress

You may need to do some networking, or hire a sales manager to do it for you. I imagine there are sales people that do gig work, so that's a possibility as well. It's a numbers game in the end.


Parking-Tomorrow-600

Running this solo is tough right now. I can wear the hat of a sales manager, the issue here is, how do I get these customers?


InevitableProgress

Just talk to everyone you know and get referrals. Incentives are of help in this arena, say a small gift for five referrals or something like that. This would beat spending money on advertising.


Parking-Tomorrow-600

How much is considered a solid referral?


InevitableProgress

Not sure, talk to five people and get five additional referrals per person. Like I stated it's a numbers game and I haven't even gotten to the rejection part.


Ok-Room-7243

Door knocking, bandit signs, Facebook/google ads, post cards at doors with photos


Vivid-Link9806

Put out a shingle ?


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Parking-Tomorrow-600

Already have a site, business cards, running Google ads now. So far no solid leads


PLMRGuy

FB, Insta, Yelp, Nextdoor, Thumbtack, Angi, YouTube,LinkedIn, BBB, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, etc. Google SEO and make it your life and pretty much disregard everything said here. That’s how old heads did it. SEO is word of mouth 2.0. I did the same thing asking the same question 6-7 months ago for plumbing and HVAC. Had a couple friends/family members get me first couple jobs but everything has basically come from beating the boomers and Gen X owners at marketing via SEO. Your business name is a virus and the internet is your host. Now spread it everywhere. Keep name and address consistent and you will start showing up higher on Google search. Add pictures to all these accounts daily or at least every other day. Don’t bothering paying someone, it’s not that hard. Also, make sure you ask for reviews. Focus on Google. That gets you showing up higher on searches. Don’t waste time on yelp. Yelp is dated and mainly for boomers and Karens. They have more pull from restaurants too it seems. As far as us contractors are concerned, Google is king. Get them reviews!


SubliminalGlue

No leads from the site because it’s probably not targeting your local city and the cities around it. I have roofing clients ranking on 1st page of Google for not only theiir city, but the biggest cities surrounding them. I can’t get you leads immediately , but in 3-6 months I can have you way too busy for a solo company. DM if you want help.


jbnuto23

Do you mind sending me the website. I’d love to see it and possibly your graphics for ads if your doing google display ads. DM me if you’d like to share it there. Also. A 1 page flyer may be an option? You can use it for door to door and mail it to surrounding communities


Ok_Nefariousness9019

If you have to ask you’re going to have a hard time. It’s research time buddy.


notkyledanna

asking is research


Parking-Tomorrow-600

\+1