The Commercial Roofing Marketing Playbook

A step by step guide on how to enter the Commercial Roofing Business

The Commercial Roofing Marketing Playbook

          Why Commercial Roofing     

As far as why I would look at Commercial roofing you will generally get larger jobs and at times huge jobs that can be extremely profitable and sometimes keep you busy for a year or maybe longer.

Obstacles to enter into the commercial roofing     industry

The big obstacle to getting into the commercial side of the roofing industry is some of the additional costs involved in doing larger commercial jobs. If you are reroofing a 5 story building you will need additional and more expensive equipment to do the job. You will more than likely need more staff to do the job which is more money out of pocket. You will also have to market directly to Commercial Roofing Customers which will probably involve sending out flyers or dropping flyers off to potential customers. You could also employ Digital marketing using SEO, Paid Ads and Social Media to target Commercial businesses

Who are the main customers you want to pursue?

                    Market #1 New Construction

For new construction contractors are obviously the main customer base. As far as how to approach contractors a very effective and inexpensive way to approach would be to cold call them at the job they are currently doing. Meaning if I see a building going up or a home being built I would walk in with a business card and a flyer and introduce myself and see if they are looking for bids on that project or any project they are doing. I would also look to get their contact info most importantly a good email.

      Market #2 Apartment Complexes

My first step in approaching apartment complexes would be to go to Google Maps to check out the roofs in the area and contact buildings that look like they might need a roof. For example, if you look at a flat roof and it has pooling along with the roof looking a bit old they will probably be in the market for a new roof in the near term. The same with shingle roofs and tile roofs as I would look for older looking roofs and with these types of roofs I would look for repairs on the roofs. The more repairs the better.

With the larger Apartment complexes or communities, in order to be considered to just bid on a project you might have to join their vendor portal which are typically not very expensive to join. You will then have to find out who makes the decisions in regards to reroofing the building and contact them to see if you could take a look at the roof and to submit a bid.

 Market #3 Condominiums

Your first step to getting into the Condominiums is to go to Google Maps and look for condos in which the roofs look a bit older, may have had repairs done (especially for tile and shingle roofs) or if they have had pooling if it is a flat roof. Generally, if a condo is going to reroof their building they will have meeting detailing the cost and scope of the work. You will need to get in contact with the person who is handling the project who could be a board member or possibly a Management company. If the condo has a website there is a good chance that an announcement will be on the site in regards to looking for a possible, roof replacement. That information will probably also be on the info board at the condo.  You will then have to contact whoever is making the decisions on the project and try to get a meeting.

Property Managers

Property managers are a bit different you will want to get a list of all of your local property management companies and Real Estate companies in your area.

Step #1 is to design a simple flyer one for Property Management companies and one for real estate companies and at this point it it is time to let the outreach begin. This is going to be a multi touch effort, you will have to send or drop off flyers, send emails make phone calls and even send them gifts. A simple call or email will not make much of an impression. With property managers you will have to be persistent, patient and also give extra attention to the larger offices that specialize in managing larger apartment complexes and larger condominium complexes.

                       How to pitch prospects

I would keep the phone pitch as simple as possible. You are only looking to get in the front door, in other words you are looking to get an appointment to take a look at the roof of the property and to talk to the person who makes the decision or has access to the person who makes the decision to replace the roof. Keep in mind the property owner may not be ready for a new roof at this time but they may be interested in a Maintenance Agreement until they are ready to replace the roof. But the pitch is very simple I would ask to speak to the person who handles the servicing of the roof at the property in question. Once you get that person on the phone I would say “My name is __________ __________  with __________ ____________ and we are doing a project in your area and I am calling to see if I can stop by and do an evaluation and inspection of your roof and give you an estimate as far as the cost of a new roof. If they are in the market for a new roof, there is a good chance you will get an appointment. If they are not in the market at this time I would get more to see if they have had issues with the roof, if the person you are speaking to is the right contact person. I would look to get as much information as possible from the person.

If you have any questions at all on any of the information that I have gone over feel free to call myself (Bill Morocco) at 954-687-2845.