What may stop a roofer from being successful? How to overcome that?
Being a roofer and running your own business may be quite tough at times, especially when you’re trying your best to win a certain niche on the local market of services, do your job the best you can in order to get the customers’ approval and maybe their further support in the form of the new orders and receive enough orders to keep you and your company afloat. And, even if you have a couple of buddies who work for/with you and you’re not doing the contraction part all by yourself, it’s still really difficult to do all of that at the same time. Let alone the fact that you’re supposed to look in the future and figure out the ways to grow your company and increase the profit. That involves a well-thought decision making and pricing, marketing policy planning, quality improvement and diversification of services, etc.
Sometimes roofers find it difficult to recoup the costs of materials, supplies and labor expenses and gain some revenue to keep their company alive and profitable. It gets even harder when a roofer has to think about surviving the winter period, when the amount of job decreases drastically. So, he has to pay respect to that fact while planning the company’s actions. It might seem that a small roofing business has lower chances to win the competition with other companies. That’s why it might not work as great as the owner would like to. And, he starts thinking that he needs to ‘survive’ some time till they get a chance to expand the company. That’s a bit wrong, I’d say. I mean, any businessman should plan in advance and use any opportunity in his favor to grow the company through the progressive development. That’s the way to be able to take more jobs, serve more customers on an ongoing basis. And that leads to gaining more stable and significant revenue.
Learn how to start a roofing business here
However, smaller roofing companies actually have great chances on the market of these services once their owners start conducting more elaborate business activity. Besides, there’s no way a rational businessman will think about expanding the company, which doesn’t seem to work well even at this point of its existence. It’s only right to make the most out of what you already have, pile up some money in the development piggy bank (and not borrow it or save up due to the severe restrictions) and then think about designing the expansion plan. You have to work to be better and operate greater. In the end, great and well-planned operation will increase the profits even without the expansion. That’s the only case the company’s expansion may be called the growth and development. And it is also the only way to get positive results out of that expansion.
That’s why we are going to talk about how the roofers and their companies may become more successful through extensive and intensive development. You just need to distinguish and combine the most useful part of both strategies and embody them in the way you run your roofing company. If you manage to do that, I bet you’ll see the positive changes in a short time. So, I’ll give you a couple of tips regarding this topic. As always, hope that you’ll find them useful. And now, let’s get down to business!
8 tips to make your roofing business more successful
- Introduce new services. Don’t be afraid to make a change. Roofs have to be cleaned from time to time. The shingles might get destroyed due to the weather conditions and physical influence. The roof might leak and deteriorate due to this fact. The algae and moss growth doesn’t only annoy the homeowners, but also decrease the roof’s lifespan. The snow accumulation might cause the leaks and destruction of roofing material. That’s why it has to be removed from the roof as soon as the layer reaches the certain point. Consequently, those things may increase the homeowners’ expenses even if compared with the professional maintenance.
That’s something you need to explain to your potential clients through the promoting activities, as well as to your current customers through the closer communication with them. A wider range of services may keep you more occupied even during the recession time. You’ll even be able to get the snow removal jobs in winter. And that’s the times most movers don’t get any orders at all. Don’t forget about the roof insulation. It’s quite an expensive, but not really costly service when it comes to the materials. But, roof insulation is something that keeps the houses warmer in winters and cooler in summers. And homeowners tend to get their roofs insulated more and more often. So, don’t miss out on the opportunity to let your business benefit from it.
Finally, working with good materials and purchasing new equipment (even if it’s used) to make your activities (like roof installation) easier and more effective is one of the improvement must-haves. - Don’t try to do more than you can. Trying to receive more orders and attract new clients is something a roofer should spare the effort on. However, specialists don’t recommend covering the related services like making the decks or carrying out other construction activities. They advise to concentrate on the jobs you’re able to do the best not to disappoint the clients and not to lose their trust. Maybe, you’ll be able to hire carpenters or other contractors later, within the scope of the development plan. But, don’t make the roofer install a deck. Let each professional do its own job.
It’s also really important not to take upon yourself too many orders at a time. You should have enough time to perform each job qualitatively. Otherwise, you’ll get a great profit one season, but you’ll lose a part of customers, who weren’t satisfied with the results. In short, work to get profits and work on your image. - Learn new things and develop as a roofer. I’ve mentioned the need to introduce new and better services. The need to educate yourself, improve your roofing skills and learn how to provide those new services directly derives from it. Also, you might find the literature on more effective roofing methods, new materials and tools quite helpful. Communicate with other roofers and read professional magazines to keep abreast of times and be aware of different novelties in the industry. Be among the first local companies to introduce them.
- Review your pricing policy to see if it meets the roofing expenses, covers the business activities and leaves you with a good revenue to provide for you and your family, as way as to ensure some development perspectives for your business. You may consult with an accountant to make all necessary calculations and estimates. Or, you may just make your own estimate based on a couple of figures.
The first one is an approximate number of orders you get per year. Calculate the annual expenses on repairing, installing and cleaning one square foot of roof. Don’t forget to include the labor and gas costs and equipment renewal expenses. Include taxes and insurance payments as well. Then, think of the annual revenue rates that would provide for your living and functioning of the company. Divide them between the services you provide and see which prices will be reasonable regarding these data. Don’t operate at a loss, but don’t set the prices above the average local rates.
Think about multifunctioning and cutting the labor expenses. Better equipment will reduce the number of hours your workers spend to do the task, so it might help to do that as well. - Make sure to hire qualified roofers. Encourage your workers to go through the professional training along with you, so that the company is able to provide a wider range of more qualitative services. This will be in your favor, as clients tend to stick to the companies the services of which have impressed them in the past. And, as roofs require different maintenance, repairing and installation treatments during their lifetime, you’ll be able to get more jobs from a single customer.
Don’t keep the works that don’t do the job properly just because you don’t want to leave them unemployed. If they keep on working the way they do, eventually you may appear as an unemployed one. - Cooperate with the independent roofers during the peak times. Find the local providers online and ask them if they’d like to work with you. Mention some benefits. Those could be the constant flow of customers or greater fees, etc. Sometimes individual operators find it hard to find the clients, so they may accept your offer.
Spring is a perfect time to do that, as more and more people experience the winter’s and storms’ side effects on their roofs. It’ the time when the homeowners usually seek the services to get their roofs cleaned and repaired. And it’s the time you might want to take on as many jobs as you can till you have such opportunity. Additional pair of hands won’t harm you at this time. But, temporary cooperation will prevent you from having to pay an extra salary during the recession period. - Work with your clients closely. Don’t hesitate to ask for the referrals and don’t be ashamed to promote your services in a subtle way. Provide a subscription for the roof maintenance services at a lower price than the cost of separate services. You clients will be attracted to the price, and you’ll get a guaranteed source of the profit. You just need to explain the importance of roof maintenance. Persuade your clients that they’ll save more money on roof repair and re-installation if they ensure proper roof maintenance.
Offer seasonal discounts and discounts on the first order. Provide a couple of special offers, like 10% off for a positive referral. Or, 15% off the next order if a client invites his friend as a new customer of your company. Or, make each 5th roof cleaning free.
Mainly, you have to do everything to keep your clients dedicated to your roofing company. And, it’s possible to try to get them into more roofing services you provide. - Concentrate your attention on marketing. You need to think about spreading the word about your roofing business in different ways. Don’t be limited by printed promotion activities. It’s 2016, in the end. People tend to look more at the screens of their phones or laptops than at the banners and ‘junk mail’ leaflets. And, they’ll definitely save their time while looking for a certain service provider online rather than reviewing the yellow pages and other ads in the newspapers.
For instance, most people appear on the job hunting websites while looking for a service. Various providers offer their services and people post the jobs they need to be done there. HireRush.com is a good example of those websites. It provides quite convenient client-provider matching service, local search, as well as direct phone calls from the site. So, you may give it a shot and create your own profile there. You’ll be able to promote your roofing services and receive the messages about new job opportunities in your local area. Create your business profile hereOnce you have proper resources, think about creating a website for your company. Don’t forget about social media profiles too. Keep connected with your current clients by sending them monthly e-mails about your services and roof maintenance tips. Follow the ads of commercial companies who need a certain type of service and offer them a long-term cooperation. Don’t forget to build your marketing strategy around the peculiarities of your business, the services you provide on a regular basis, along with the new offers.
