Impact of Shingle Brand name

user182 · 05-12-2009, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grumpy

I wish I had a 50% closing ratio and I could if I decreased my profit, since I consistantly bid against people near half my price for a shingle roof. However I sometimes think people do not truly track their numbers and are just plucking a gutt feeling number from air when I hear nice even round numbers like 50%. Every sales rep I interview to work for me has a 50% closing ratio, so they claim. I then go on to ask them why they are looking for work if they are such great sales reps. I press hard for where that number came from and often, as I said, it's based on a gutt feeling. The mind has a terrible habit of hazing ones memory.

I’m not basing my numbers on gut feelings. I track everything in MarketSharp.

The 50% close rate is based on sales made to prospects that qualified for a presentation. It does not include leads that came in but never qualified for an appointment.

Quote:

Jack if you are doing storm chasing sales, as I think you are, 50% is low for offering a free roof.

As far as storm chasing goes we really don’t get much storm damage around here unless you include a few blown off shingles. Most people around here don’t replace a roof unless it has worn out over time.

I’ve never sold a job because I had the lowest price.

Last week I sold a job for $14,000 and they had quotes that were $3-4,000 less than mine.

Both of the other companies were well known large companies in the area, probably 10-20 times larger than me. I’ve gone up against them before and their prices were about the same as mine. I think they are lowering their prices out of desperation because of the Michigan economy.

I figured they would have to sell 3-4 jobs to make the same gross profit I am making off of 1 job.

I don’t consider myself to be a great sales person; I know there some out there a lot better than me.

That particular sale I referred to above was sold to a retired automotive engineer that got a lousy roofing job 6 years ago. I spent about 3 hours on my presentation because he had a lot of questions. He was almost ready to sign up with a competitor that came in the day before me but fortunately he waited for me to be the last one in and I closed it.

I have put a lot of effort into developing my sales process.

I try to implement things that I learn from trainers and other contractors. I think some of the changes I made last year hurt me that’s why my close ratio went down to 26%.

For most of my career it has averaged around 38%. My goal is to maintain at least 50%. After I can maintain that for a while I want to set the bar higher.

Grumpy · 05-13-2009, 08:19 AM

If I were 14k, they would have also quotes for 8, guaranteed.

I was thinking the other day of a company I used to work for. They give their guys no less than 6 leads a day, and when they are busy maybe upwards of 12 leads each day. They have 14 estimators. When I was there, they were doing about 10 roofs a day. They obviously have a very low closing ratio, but they are charging top dollar for their work substandard.

That got me to thinking if I went back into my basement, focused on commercial, ran 1 lead a day, and charged a gynormous ammount of money I wouldn't have to do but one job a month to earn a gynormous income. It's not what I want to do with my company but neither is busting my ass to support it.

Funny how this topic got spun all around. But truth be told if they haven't inked your contract I think you are wasting your time doing anything more than casually mentioning the manufacturer or their colors.

As a side note yesterday I got a phone call from an estimate I wrote. The customer wanted to let me know they went with another company, and ofcoarse I asked why. Well this time it was not price, and I lost the job to a reputable company... a company that almost went out of business and lost their buildign and dwindled down to nothing when the father died, but the son has been able to bring the name back after a few years of struggling (Good for him! Most people would have given up for sure.) Anyways I lost the job based on this: He was doing the 5 part GAF roof system with the felt and ridge and blah blah blah. That's it.

We were essentially doing the same in certaitneed, minus the fiberglass felt and adding 30# which I feel to be superior... But this "system" was part of his approach. His whole approach as the customer tells it. I told her we were doing the same thing, she said I should have focused more on it. I said to her I focus on the roofer and what WE are going to do for her. I informed her *again*, as I did in the initial presentation, that anyone can buy the same shingles and they are crap unless installed properly. Therefore I focus on how we are going to install them properly. Oh well win some, lose some. I've toyed around with the idea of promoting the very same thing, the "system" but I'm not ready for that yet. Trying to make commercial our focus anyways, so hopefully in a few ywars it won't matter anymore.

user182 · 05-13-2009, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grumpy

If I were 14k, they would have also quotes for 8, guaranteed.

I was thinking the other day of a company I used to work for. They give their guys no less than 6 leads a day, and when they are busy maybe upwards of 12 leads each day. They have 14 estimators. When I was there, they were doing about 10 roofs a day. They obviously have a very low closing ratio, but they are charging top dollar for their work substandard.

That got me to thinking if I went back into my basement, focused on commercial, ran 1 lead a day, and charged a gynormous ammount of money I wouldn't have to do but one job a month to earn a gynormous income. It's not what I want to do with my company but neither is busting my ass to support it.

Funny how this topic got spun all around. But truth be told if they haven't inked your contract I think you are wasting your time doing anything more than casually mentioning the manufacturer or their colors.

As a side note yesterday I got a phone call from an estimate I wrote. The customer wanted to let me know they went with another company, and ofcoarse I asked why. Well this time it was not price, and I lost the job to a reputable company... a company that almost went out of business and lost their buildign and dwindled down to nothing when the father died, but the son has been able to bring the name back after a few years of struggling (Good for him! Most people would have given up for sure.) Anyways I lost the job based on this: He was doing the 5 part GAF roof system with the felt and ridge and blah blah blah. That's it.

We were essentially doing the same in certaitneed, minus the fiberglass felt and adding 30# which I feel to be superior... But this "system" was part of his approach. His whole approach as the customer tells it. I told her we were doing the same thing, she said I should have focused more on it. I said to her I focus on the roofer and what WE are going to do for her. I informed her *again*, as I did in the initial presentation, that anyone can buy the same shingles and they are crap unless installed properly. Therefore I focus on how we are going to install them properly. Oh well win some, lose some. I've toyed around with the idea of promoting the very same thing, the "system" but I'm not ready for that yet. Trying to make commercial our focus anyways, so hopefully in a few ywars it won't matter anymore.

The customer I referred to also wanted a "system" from OC. He found me through their website that's why I promoted their product. He also wanted OC Fiberglas felt paer etc.

user182 · 05-13-2009, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grumpy

I've been thinking chris at NRG has the right idea. Screw these little jobs take on only jobs with very very large margin, keep the overhead low, do a coupe of jobs a year and make a few hundred K. My quality of life sucks constantly recruiting, hiring, training, and firing sales reps... then busting my ass to support the entire conmpany on my shoulders which should be support by multiple sales reps.

I do very well myself, exactly as you described... but why spend the same ammount of time chasing $8k jobs where I am the highest bidder by far when I can spend the same ammount of time chasing $100k jobs where I am the same ball park as every other bidder.

I should just get a job selling for a commercial roofing company, keep working 60 hour weeks and make a fuggin killing on commissions and not have to worry abotu supporting anyone's family other than my own. If I am selling in the 40% closing rate, but can't find someone to do better than 20%, what's the point?

I know how you feel. I have felt the same way many times.

I no longer have employees, but I did for 14 years.

It was frustrating to work hard to line up jobs for installers that did not even show up for work every day. Plus I always felt obligated to keep them busy and I don’t think they even appreciated it.

I couldn’t find someone to run the crew in a profitable manor so I decided to switch to subcontractors.

Selling to homeowners is tuff you can invest a lot of time and not get rewarded for it. I would prefer to do apartments whenever possible. I don’t do flat roofs.

I keep going after homeowners because I don’t have enough apartment customers. I have had some apartment customers that fed me work for several years only to loose them to a low priced competitor. That’s why I need homeowner jobs, it provides security.

Grumpy · 05-14-2009, 08:04 AM

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