Canvassing for Fun and Profit

ATC1984

With the insurance companies the key to getting your price is having the homeowner sign a contingency agreement for you to do the work for insurance procedes. The reason you do this is so the ins. comp. doesnt just tell the homeowner to go get 3 bids and they will take a look at them.

Where exactimate comes in is when you work with an adjuster. They want to see a line item estimate with a break down of pricing for each item. Essentially your just speaking their language. This will allow you to get paid the maximum amount for the job which will typically be higher by 10-30% than the bids you are currently giving the customers to take to the ins. comp. I know this because I have yet to see a bid higher than what I end up getting paid for an insurance job.

The two programs that are the most popular with insurance are exactimate and integra. Exactimate is the most popular with them and integra seems to be used mostly by allstate. I personally feel that the pricing in exactimate is more up to date with the current market value on materials, labor, etc.

If you are going to have canvassers or sales people doing this kind of work then the key for their success is to say as little as possible before going on the roof to do an inspection. I typically say "hi my name is _____ with ________ how are you doing today? Great! Well I just wanted to stop by and let you know there was a recent storm in the area that may have caused significant damage to your roof and I would like to offer you a free roof inspection. It only takes 10-15 minutes and I will let you know what I find and how I can help you when Im done. How does that sound?"

Sometimes they will have a few questions for you but for the most part if they are going to let you do it they just say go on up. You will want to have some information about your company and what you do to leave with them while you are on the roof. The information I leave with them will practically close the sale for me if they actually read it.

Once you get them to sign... get back on the roof and get measurements and pictures to put your "report" together for the insurance adjuster. I will always put together a report that practically mirrors what the adjuster will put together to submit to the ins. comp. because you never know when they may ask you to send them this info. If they do ask you to do this then they are most likely not even going to come out because they have done inspections in that area and know there is no need if you already have it for them. Ive had adjusters literally just drive by the property and never get out of their car just to make sure my pictures match the house in question.

hope this info helps you out. just pm me if you have any more questions

pcplumber

Thank you very much.

Do you follow storms and how do roofers work in other states without being licensed, or is there some way they get a license? How many contractors are bidding after a storm?

ATC1984

It really depends on the size of the storm on wether or not you want to relocate or open a new office for it. I personally prefer to stay in my area, the midwest. There has been enough storm business in my area to stay more than busy off of it since 2006. Towards the end of last year we were getting pretty thing so we had to drive alittle further on a daily basis to get where the most recent storm was but it really wasnt a problem.

There are typically enough small storms throughout the year within a 50 mile radius of my office. If you are a one man band this could be a problem if you stretch yourself very far between areas you are working. I tend to find to somewhat saturated areas with damage at a time and work them hard. Im in those areas so much people have flagged me down in my truck to ask me who I am and what Im doing because they see me out there so much. In one neighborhood I signed up 3 deals at a garage sale because the HO flagged me down and some of the neighbors asked me to go look at their roofs to! They all had damage and insurance bought all 3!

As far as licensing goes, it really depends on the state you are going in to. The company I currently work for has 3 branches throughout the country working under their own name and a few more working under someone elses name using their license and what not. Im not sure exactly how the latter works but apparently in some states its very difficult to get a license so its better to have an operating agreement with an established company.

ARoofersRealBoss

What about an area that doesn't have alot of storms that cause roof damage? I'm in the south and we don't have hail issues. We do get hurricane weather occassionally and those seasons will be busy but most of the time we just get rain during the spring and afternoon summer storms briefly due to the humidity.

I'd say 99% of the roofs we do are normal wear and tear so to speak and an insurance claim doesn't fit. What would you suggest to do/say when canvassing?

Ed the Roofer

Hi.

We were in the neighborhood and your roof kept waving at me and called me over.

I'm just kidding about your roof of course, but I am sure you are aware how worn out your roof is already, right?

While you are thinking about that for a minute, please read this very helpful consumers guide that we provide as a courtesy to our newly made acquantances. While you are reading through that guide, would you mind if I take a walk around to see if your roof needs to be inspected on top of the roof by a trained professional?

Yup, just as I suspected when I was walking up to your door. Your roof looks pretty aged and ready to start failing soon. Have you already had leak stains showing up at random spots inside your home?

You wouldn't want to wait too long and have your nice decorations and family heirlooms ruined, would you?

Well, then would you like our trained inspector to stop by and provide you with a free inspection and a follow up report?

Great!!!

When would you like to go over his detail photos of the problem areas that he observed?

Would tonight around 5:00 be okay, or would Thursday afternoon be a better time for you?


Ed

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http://www.rightwayroofingcompany.com/ www.rightwayroofingcompany.com
Roof Estimates, Roof Repairs, Roofers, Roof Leak Help, Elgin, Carpentersville, East Dundee, West Dundee, Sleepy Hollow, Algonquin, South Elgin, Huntley, Lake In The Hills, Illinois

ARoofersRealBoss

Ed, I think this is the makings of a beautiful friendship! You're the best already and I don't even know ya yet!

This sales pitch is PERFECT for what I was thinking! It will work for a sales person if the roofer can't be the one doing it too. Sweeeeeet!

Ed the Roofer

Getting back down to reality.....I figured it would work as a method to not force the issue on the home owner immediately, but that option would be available, but you also have that ace up the sleeve to schedule the professional inspector to come out when more convenient.

Another point, make sure to get Written Referrals after every job and make sure you mention the neighbor on Maple Street that you are working on right now.

Ed

__________________
Just Wait A Minute, I Will Be Right Back With A Link For That.
http://www.rightwayroofingcompany.com/ www.rightwayroofingcompany.com
Roof Estimates, Roof Repairs, Roofers, Roof Leak Help, Elgin, Carpentersville, East Dundee, West Dundee, Sleepy Hollow, Algonquin, South Elgin, Huntley, Lake In The Hills, Illinois

ARoofersRealBoss

ha ha... Ed you're a Nut!

I've already started a list of suggestions to work on the next two weeks. I'm thinking I might need to ask for a raise ?

ronbryanroofing

Well boys I had my first opportunity to canvass. I went solo at it today (Saturday) from 11-2 and knocked on all doors on the street we are roofing a house on, and the local side streets. 6 leads with appointments set for M,T and a home show coming on Wednesday. Being the owner I think I have a great advantage but I am very happy with the results.
Tried a few ideas but the best one was to the homeowner in the yards..."Do you know a good roofer? Well you do now, I am Ron and we are doing your neighbors..."

Ed the Roofer

Congratulations!!!!

That is Fan-Fricking Fantastic for a response rate.

How many doors did you actually get the chance to knock on to get so many new leads?

Ed

__________________
Just Wait A Minute, I Will Be Right Back With A Link For That.
http://www.rightwayroofingcompany.com/ www.rightwayroofingcompany.com
Roof Estimates, Roof Repairs, Roofers, Roof Leak Help, Elgin, Carpentersville, East Dundee, West Dundee, Sleepy Hollow, Algonquin, South Elgin, Huntley, Lake In The Hills, Illinois