Roofers Marketing 101

On the post called ADVERTISING truck signs were mentioned. Ironically this new pick-up pulled up beside me. OMGosh first I was laughing about the duct tape and then I realized they had no phone number or website. I digitized their logo to protect the innocent.

I posted the photo here http://www.rooferscoffeeshop.com/soapbox/

The easiest sale is a repeat customer. Next is a referral. After that you are bidding against 3-15 other roofers from chuckinthetruck to the national boys. Do the math. My trucks are covered, my yard signs are in, my salesmen knock on doors, we have coffee and donuts on jobsites in the morning with someone to answer questions for anyone walking their dogs or jogging. We put up 4' tall A frames to direct people to job sites. Our website is up and working. www.getdistinctive.com, we have facebook and twitter. We do some radio and are considering television. 6% of our budget is marketing and advertising. Also, my salesman are required to go thru a box of 1000 business cards every 4 months. minimum.

You are doing it right CIAK! Good job :cheer:

One size does not fit all. The Lovely Mrs Ciak is now traveling with me "two are better than one." Our last trip included visiting presidential library's on our route. B) :) :) B) Deep Down In Florida Where The Sun Shines Damn Near Every Day

wywoody Said: I hear bank robbery can be quite lucrative.

I'm not sure as the Banksters now rob the citzenry. Seems maybe the Bank Robbers are now the Bankers?

CIAK Said: No problem Tim. Im an open book. What your seeing is an Older contractor 35yrs+ in the roofing business. I made my mark in the community. Now I am paid living and travel expenses + a very handsome amount. Semi retired and enjoying life without the headaches of running a roofing business. Anyone who is in the trade, installer to owners knows what Im talking about honestly. There is life on the other side. B) :) :) B) Deep Down In Florida Where The Sun Shines Damn Near Every Day

I know what you mean !

But as one who has taveled and hustled to get work and see others away from home for weeks and months at a time to get work..........my life is on THIS SIDE B)

Pretentious? I don't know what I was thinking when I typed that. Well, actually I do. I was right in the middle of spanking one of our competitors and I guess I was feeling a little aggressive.

Sorry about that guys, that was a dumb thing for me to type.

When I'm selling I tend to get in a zone where it's a me vs them kinda thing. I've done ok over the years by establishing a get the bad guy mentality, the guy who's trying to take money out of my pocket by having the audacity to try to sell the same roof I'm trying to sell.

Hey, it works for me but I shouldn 't have carried it over to here.

Btw, I did the very same thing in karate tournaments for years. I'd get myself all worked up by convincing myself that my black belt opponent across the ring was getting ready to try to embarass me in front of my students, hurt me, steal my trophy, steal my wife, steal my car, shoot me in the back. Heck, by the time the ref said "fight," I hated the guy and wanted to kill him. lol

So back to my original thought. If you want people to call you you put your phone number on the sign. If you don't want people to call you don't. I will assume that the roofing truck in question wasn't thinking because it look like he duct taped over something. AND I would never have a sign on my truck without a number because my business is marketing and advertising (and CoffeeShop) and I would have to make fun of myself if I didn't.

For you multi business fellows - magnetic door signs. Order them from my friend Judy she'll get you a deal. Rymanprinting@gmail.com

I hear bank robbery can be quite lucrative.

CIAK, I hear ya. 32 years in for me. In 1997 I decided to put some roofing profits into building and buying car washes, as a hedge. I had 4 over 13 years, sold my last just over a year ago.

I did well in the car wash business but I could never get over the thought that every hour I spent at the car wash, I was losing over $100/hr as that was the difference in what the car washes made and what the roofing made.

I decided to focus on roofing and accumulate retirement money. That said, if I could find a way to make money on the side with guns, I would.

No problem Tim. I'm an open book. What your seeing is an Older contractor 35yrs+ in the roofing business. I made my mark in the community. Now I am paid living and travel expenses + a very handsome amount. Semi retired and enjoying life without the headaches of running a roofing business. Anyone who is in the trade, installer to owners knows what I'm talking about honestly. There is life on the other side. B) :) :) B) Deep Down In Florida Where The Sun Shines Damn Near Every Day

To be fair, roofing is not my main source of income. My new profession pays me handsomely and provides benefits roofing never could.

I don't mean to pry but maybe what you said makes a different point. I know adjusters can make some good money, but they don't make $2 million a year. If your roofing business was putting $2 million a year in your pocket, would you still be adjusting? And wouldn't that $2 million buy all the "benefits" you get from adjusting and leave a lot left over?

It just seems to me that you do the easy stuff first. Good vehicle signage works, it just does. Rarely do we drag one of our Kold King rigs across the country to a customer or to a tradeshow that someone along the way doesn't see the graphics and calls looking for a contractor in their area. Graphics on the back especially works well because that guy behind you at the stoplight has nothing to do to pass the time but read your graphics.

Y'all do whatever works for you, but I just don't get it when some of the same guys who complain periodically that business is slow, are choosing to not take advantage of some of the best and cheapest advertising space there is.

The charge of pretentiousness.. Claiming or demanding a position of distinction or merit, especially when unjustified.. Either shows ignorance meaning of the word or jealousy.

Those are my only 2 choices? Ok, I guess I choose jealousy. :)

I wasn't trying to step on any toes, just trying to point out what some of your potential customers think of your signage. There is a roofing company in Lubbock that does foam - they have just the logo on their trucks. I know what they do because I know who they are, but anyone else who sees their truck will have no clue what business they're in. Maybe they aren't interested in growing, and that's certainly their business.

The logo is a decades long professional stamp also a legal matter.

Yes, I was not aware that some states force you to identify yourself. In Texas we're still semi-free and the concept of forcing a business to have a logo on their truck just seems foreign to me.

Old School Said: Not being pretentious at all. We are required to have identification on the trucks by law.

I did not know that was a law anywhere. Seems like a silly law to me. I mean, half the time I represent our roofing company, the other half Kold King. Would I have to have both logos on my truck?

Old fashioned here. I still have my ph# on my truck signs. It's required here, but only one in any 5 'contrator' looking trucks have signs. :)

Roofguy Said: Im with Vickie on this. Anytime I look at a pickup with just a logo, and its not a national name brand company like AT&T, I see it as pretentious. I see it as some local guy who wants to appear bigger than he is.

If you have no need to promote your company, why put anything on your truck at all? If youre so well recognized, just show up to the job and everyone who matters will know who you are.

Were all playing a game of numbers here. If you have more work than you can handle, rather than turning some away by making it difficult for people to contact you, why not bump your price a little to balance out the work?

The charge of pretentiousness.. Claiming or demanding a position of distinction or merit, especially when unjustified.. Either shows ignorance meaning of the word or jealousy. The logo is a decades long professional stamp also a legal matter. To be fair, roofing is not my main source of income. My new profession pays me handsomely and provides benefits roofing never could. When home, repairs are the mainstay roofing. Bumping prices is the repair business. Huge % profit low overhead and supply cost. B) :) :) B) Deep Down In Florida Where The Sun Shines Damn Near Every Day