By Jeff Guthrie, JobNimbus.

How to meet your deadlines consistently and efficiently so you don’t damage your company’s reputation. 

As many project managers know, meeting deadlines on time is no easy feat. While it’s not unreasonable to request an extension, if you do this too often it could hurt the reputation of your company. You might even lose money from your overall payout depending on the agreed upon terms in the initial contract.

There are many reasons why construction projects often get delayed, including bad weather, problems with employees and other issues. However, there are plenty of ways to ensure that your deadline is met on time. If you’re looking to meet deadlines more consistently, here are five tips to help you do just that:

1 - Create a detailed timeframe with multiple deadlines 

Stay on track and move at a more urgent pace by meeting your sub-deadlines if you’re running behind schedule. By breaking your project down into as many small bite-sized pieces as possible, you can more effectively determine the time frame in which the project as a whole will be completed. This will help you adjust your pace earlier on, rather than trying to rush when the final deadline is approaching. 

2 - Clear line of communication between all parties involved 

Clear communication between everyone involved in the project is essential to completing it on time. You need to make sure that concerns and observations can make it from the lowest level to the highest level in lightning speed, if need be.

Also, your employees should be encouraged to communicate early and often. Smaller-scale issues can be dismissed by lower-level supervisors, and real pressing issues can be moved up the chain of command as quickly as they need to be.

3 - Gather all materials and tools needed 

This almost goes without saying, but it’s all too common for project managers to attempt to order materials as they go, or to put off ordering materials for one section of a project until another is completed.

Unless you have an absolute lock on delivery times, it’s best to get everything you need before you even start. You might end up with a bit more left-over material, but this can be stored for future use, and it’s a lot better than missing your deadline because of a delay in your delivery.

4 - Outsource if possible 

Outsourcing will save you time in many different areas. For example, outsourcing almost every non-labor-related task, such as financing, bookkeeping and permits, is the go-to move for construction companies looking to save time. You can also outsource aspects of the project itself, like the delivery of materials.

By hiring a last-mile company to handle the final leg of your material delivery, you can get access to a much more controlled handle on the delivery. Real-time GPS tracking and up-to-the-minute notifications about your delivery are often provided by last mile delivery companies, so you’d be wise to make use of that.

5 - Make use of tracking software 

Some higher-quality tracking software companies like JobNimbus, for instance, even provide a mobile app that allows you to stay plugged in from anywhere. The improved organization that JobNimbus provides is proven to improve revenue growth and save time on jobs. They even have dedicated construction software for construction companies. 

“Tracking software can help you manage every aspect of a job, from the initial estimate and bids, to communication with the client, a breakdown of individual tasks, reports, invoices and more.” 

– Jeff Guthrie of Phoenix Roofing Contractors 

Never miss a project deadline again 

Delays and other hiccups in the construction process can lead to missed deadlines. If you miss too many deadlines, word might get around and damage your reputation as a construction company. Thankfully, by using the five tips we’ve provided here, you’re guaranteed to run a tighter ship and complete more projects on time.

Learn more about JobNimbus in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit JobNimbus.com. 

Original article source: JobNimbus

By Jeff Guthrie, Phoenix Roofing.

Do you know what it takes to provide your roof with the maximum amount of protection possible?

Most homeowners rely on a standard roof without any additional protective measures. This includes some type of roofing like shingles, spray foam, or metal, and maybe extra insulation beneath the other roofing materials like polyiso or something else that helps improve energy efficiency and prevent moisture intrusion.

But, there are other measures you can take to ensure that your roof is fully protected from not just moisture intrusion, but wind and hail damage, UV rays and other things that might damage it. Applying a roof coating, for instance, would be one of them.

Roof coatings come in a few different types and are usually applied to the exterior of your roof by spraying them on. Roof coatings have a variety of benefits and provide protection in ways that roofs without a coating won’t experience.

So, in case you’re interested in extending the lifespan of your roof, let’s take a look at roof coatings from a contractor’s perspective and see if they are right for you.

What exactly is a roof coating?

A roof coating is like a sealant for the exterior of your roof. Although they work best with roofs that aren’t covered in shingles, there are some types of roof coatings made for use with shingled roofs as well. Roof coatings come in liquid form and are sprayed onto your roof.

Once dry, a properly coated roof will be much more impervious to the common outside elements that roofs face, such as debris, wind, rain, hail, snow, dirt, insects and more. There are four main types of roof coatings. They are acrylic, polyurethane, silicone and a fluid-applied rubber asphaltic membrane system.

Polyurethane coatings were developed for use over foam roofing, but they can now be used over many different types of roof membranes. They have an excellent rating for foot traffic and impact resistance, but need to be applied in two separate coats.

The aromatic coat goes on as a sub-base and the aliphatic coat acts as the top surface. The asphaltic rubber membrane system is sprayed on and forms a membrane that is monolithic and seamless. This type of roof coating is cheap and often used for extending the lifespan of already-existing roofs.

Both acrylic and silicone coatings are known as elastomeric roof coatings. Elastomeric coatings are liquid-applied coatings that cure and form a membrane that is seamless after it’s been applied over the entire area of a roof.

While polyurethane and rubber membrane coatings are generally used for commercial purposes, elastomeric coatings are compatible with many different types of roof membranes, both commercial and residential.

Some of these include asphalt, aged TPO, built-up roofs, SBS/APP cap sheets, PVC, concrete, fiberglass, metal, sprayed foam, most existing elastomeric roof coatings, rigid coverboards, mobile homes and exterior-grade plywood.

The benefits of roof coatings

Roof coatings are beneficial for a number of reasons. First, they are proven to be highly effective at preventing roof leaks as long as they are properly applied. This includes spraying them on evenly with as many coats as necessary and allowing them to cure free of additional precipitation or traffic while doing so.

They are also very easy to clean, requiring only a simple low-power wash about once a year. Another benefit of elastomeric roof coatings is that they will last anywhere from 15-20 years when properly cared for. They can also handle any type of environment you need them to.

Acrylic versus silicone

Acrylic coatings are better suited for those who want minimal maintenance and all-around protection. Constant temperature swings and/or the need for a single coat application mean you’re better off with a silicone elastomeric roof coating, however.

Acrylic coatings are more easily able to affix to a wide variety of roof types and they provide a higher level of protection. They often require multiple coats, though, and take longer to cure than silicone.

Silicone roof coatings cure in less time and only need one coat to work effectively. They also are perfectly suited for all-season roofs, as they handle extreme temp swings with ease. But, silicone coatings require a bit more maintenance and cleaning. Without proper maintenance, they will lose some of their reflectivity.

Polyglass offers the highest-quality roof coatings

“As a contractor with experience in applying elastomeric roof coatings and other types of roof coatings to roofs of all shapes and sizes, I can say with confidence that Polyglass offers by far the best roof coatings on the market. Their elastomeric roof coatings have proven to extend the lives of roofs, leading to fewer roof replacements and less landfill waste, as a result.” - Jeff Guthrie, Phoenix Roofing Contractors.

Not only that, but they also offer superior resistance to UV rays and they resist dirt pick-up as well. Polyglass roof coatings reduce the energy costs of a building by lowering the surface temperature of the roof. They have a high level of tensile strength as well as elongation.

They also resist algal and fungal build-up, even in conditions where humidity is extremely high. Finally, they have a low VOC and are non-flammable. These last two qualities are crucial in presenting a minimal hazard to both the environment and the applicator.

Get your roof the extra protection it needs with Polyglass

Whether you have a residential home or a commercial building in need of additional roof protection, Polyglass is the way to go. The elastomeric roof coatings they offer are the best you’ll find, take it from an experienced contractor. I’ve seen all types of roof coatings applied to roofs of all shapes and sizes, none of them stack up to Polyglass.

Whether you need an acrylic coating, a silicone coating, a fast-drying coating, primers, flashing compounds or accessories, Polyglass has everything you need to protect your roof and improve your energy efficiency as well. 

If you want to extend the lifespan of your roof and make it more impervious to UV rays, you can’t go wrong with an elastomeric roof coating from Polyglass. Trust me.

Learn more about Polyglass in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit polyglass.us.

By Jeff Guthrie, owner of Phoenix Roofing Contractors.

Google Ads is a powerful online advertising tool that reaches millions of online users every day.

While this tool can seem like a simple way to generate leads for your roofing company, there are many mistakes that can actually cost your business its marketing budget with fewer leads than you might’ve hoped for. 

Continue reading to learn more about some of the common mistakes that roofers make in their Google Ads, and how to fix these problems to allow your business to maximize the potential of your marketing efforts. 

1. Only Planning One or Two Ads 

If you only schedule one or two ads and reuse these over and over, then you are limiting the performance potential of your ads, and it’s probably costing you money. This is because a single ad will not provide you with quality information on what your ideal audience responds to, and subsequently will be very limited in the results that it provides your business. 

The best way to get your advertising to work for your business is to determine what ads work best. Your roofing company’s advertising should be treated as an experiment. Test at least three different ads on one narrowed audience. Here are some ideas of factors that can be altered for testing purposes: 

• Changing the headlines will determine what catches the attention of the most users 

• Changing the call-to-action will determine which elicits the greatest response 

• Changing the web page that users are sent to when they click on the link will determine which web page generates the most leads

Be careful to only change one of these at a time, so that you are easily able to see what factors improve the performance of your ad. Just like a science experiment, there should only be one variable factor at a time in your “advertising experiment.”

2. Using Keywords That Are Not Optimized

Keywords make a huge difference in how much traffic, and what kind of traffic, get directed to your website. While it can be tempting to save time and effort by putting in every roofing-related keyword to attract as many users as possible, this will attract users that are not interested in your services. Quality of traffic is more important than quantity. So, trying to attract as many users as possible, rather than specific users interested in the services you offer, will not be effective in generating leads for your business, and is a waste of time and marketing money. 

Instead, determine what audience you are looking to attract through your Google Ads. Then, consider researching keywords that are specific to your business and its ideal audience, or hire someone to do so. This will allow your keywords to target users that are actually interested in your products in services. And this will then generate leads and sales for your business. 

If you’re not sure how to begin researching keywords and don’t want to outsource marketing help, consider using a similar strategy to the one listed in the previous section: treat your keywords as an experiment until you find the ones that are most effective in generating relevant and useful traffic to your website. 

3. Sending Users To A Home Page

Once your ad has successfully attracted the right user, they will then click on the link to your website. If you are paying for pay-per-click advertising through Google Ads, it is crucial that those clicks generate leads and sales for your business so that your marketing budget can be a worthwhile investment. However, those clicks might not turn into a lead if users aren’t sent to a helpful page. 

Many roofing companies send users from their ads to their website’s homepage. This may seem like the simplest choice, but there are many problems that this can cause. First, it allows for distractions. When it comes to online browsing, users’ attention spans are short, and any distractions jeopardize your chances of getting a lead. 

In addition, the homepage of your website can cause overall confusion about where the user can get the information that they came for, especially if your home page does not feature a simplified design or easily accessible contact form. They may lose interest, and you may lose a sale. 

Because of these potential problems, it is crucial that you provide users with the information they’re looking for quickly and easily. Instead of the homepage of your website, consider sending users that click on your ad’s link directly to a page where they can contact your business to get an estimate. You may also consider sending users to a relevant GEO specific page like this Chandler, AZ Roofing page by Phoenix Roofing Contractors. This will simplify and improve the user’s experience, which will improve their overall view of your business. You will also get a useful lead that you can follow up on to provide them with your roofing services. 

Avoid Marketing Mistakes and Excel

In today’s digital age, everyone is competing for the attention of internet users. Google Ads can be a powerful tool in generating leads and sales for your business, but it must be used properly to beat out the competition. Investing time into your marketing to correct the mistakes we’ve mentioned in this article will make a huge difference in the quality of traffic and the number of leads your Google Ads produce.

About the author: Jeff Guthrie is the owner of Phoenix Roofing Contractors, a Prowest Roofing Company based in Phoenix, Arizona. Specializing in both residential and commercial projects, the company offers a wide range of roofing solutions to its clients. 

By Colin Sheehan, RCS Reporter.

Learn how this company’s commitment to customer satisfaction has brought them long-term success in the roofing industry.

Jeff Guthrie of Phoenix Roofing Contractors sat down with Megan Ellsworth, RoofersCoffeeShop® podcast producer and multi-media manager, to discuss Phoenix Roofing’s stand-out roofing services. The two talk over all of what Phoenix provides to their customers as well as the companies hardworking ethics that drive them towards excellence every day.  

Jeff is a project manager and part owner of Phoenix Roofing Contractors, a subsidiary of Prowest Roofing, which has been in business since 2002. They do a lot of residential and commercial roof replacements as well as remodeling, restoration, water mitigation, mold remediation or asbestos, insulation, dry wall and much more. 

“You name it, we’ve pretty much got it covered here,” said Jeff. “It’s enough service in and of itself to be really proud about and to do really good work. But what really stands outside of the norm is our ability to do insurance restoration.”  

Jeff states that the company's ability to marry their services with the knowledge of insurance restoration has been key to their profits, “We did 32 million in revenue last year and 90% of that was insurance restoration. So, we've saved our clients a ton of money and it's because we know the nuance of the insurance restoration process.”  

Jeff and his brother co-own the business and firmly believe in maintaining customer respectability through consistent, respectful service and punctuality. They believe their meticulous care to customers is what has advanced their company towards success. One of the ways they show up for customers is through their self-serviced warranties. 

“Any roofer that tells you they’ve never had a leak is a liar. I mean, we're roofing 50 roofs a week, 52 weeks a year. You can't roof that many roofs in a year and never have a leak. Well, we got some calls, because we had some rain come in the last week, but we service our warranty. Somebody has a leak, we're out there. We're out there the next day. And guess what? If there's interior damage because of the leak on a roof that we installed, the interior damage is covered as well. I'm not talking about an insurance claim, I'm talking under our warranty. If there's flooring that's damaged, guess who's footing the bill for the new flooring? We are. I don't care if it takes out a pool table or a couch, we're paying for it.” 

Listen to the full interview to learn more about Phoenix Roofing Contractor’s above and beyond commitment to customer satisfaction.