I give up my top 10 marketing tips from my 30 years as a contractor and from 30 podcast episodes with the top experts in the roofing industry. Learn how to set up a lead machine that converts into sales that are easy. And the best part is they’re free!

• The Top Mistakes that Contractors Make:
  • They don’t show up---Take the opportunity to represent yourself as a professional
  • They don’t return phone calls---Commit to returning every call, every day
  • The rep is not a likable guy---It’s a people business and a good personality is important
  • The rep doesn’t have a uniform---Always look clean and professional
  • There is poor communication---Start with a good contract and a well-written scope of work
  • There are surprise change orders---Be up front about changes and get the customer’s approval
  • The job site is messy---Think about the customer’s experience and let them know what to expect
  
  
• How to get more leads and convert them to sales:
  • Show up—and don’t do stupid stuff!
  • Know your numbers (Check out Episodes 19 and 29 for details!)
  • The who, what, where, and why of your ideal customer
  • Your website: it needs to be good! (Check out Episode 4 for more!)
  • Lead warming
  • Use a CRM program
  • Presentation (Check out Episode 22 for more!)
  • Follow-up and lead nurturing
  • Get more referrals and reviews (Check out Episode 6 for great tips!)
  • Build strategic alliances
  
  

Resources:

www.theroofershow.com: Download my free e-book about identifying your ideal customer!

If you’re a roofing contractor that does any storm restoration or works with insurance companies you’ll want to listen to today’s show. Are managed repair programs a passing trend or a shift in the way business will be done. We’ll cover all sides so you can be sure you are ready to take full advantage of any changes. 

My guest today is Reggie Brock, who has been in this industry in many respects. He represents Mad Sky Managed Repair Program, which is on the cutting edge of our industry. Since so many areas of our country have recently been affected by natural disasters, we can expect that we work will start pouring in. How can we as Roofers stay competitive while also keeping an eye towards shifts in our industry? Reggie will tell us how!

More to learn in this episode:

• The industry of storm repair is changing. Reggie fills us in with how.
• How managed repair programs are marketed.
• How we can fight scammers in our industry.
• Insurance pays for only 35% of the roof repairs.
• There are shifts happening in our industry. Not just trends changing.
• Taking cues from health insurance.
• The 3 moving entities that are working towards a good experience for policyholders.
• How we can manage with labor shortages.

Get in touch with Reggie

http://www.mrpprogram.com/

[email protected]

If you have leads that are falling through the cracks, this is the episode for you. Today I interview Jake Dempsey with the CRM program JobNimbus to learn how this software will simplify your lead funnel from acquisition to getting that coveted 5-star review from your satisfied customers.

It turns out, the answer to your lead problems is streamlining. Jake is going to show us how JobNimbus connects with all of your other applications and software like Google Calendar and Quick Books to make every step of the process easy to manage. Gone are the days where little slips of paper get lost in the shuffle and leads get left by the wayside. Now, each part of the process can be logged and finished in JobNimbus. In the long run, you are going to save money and boost efficiency. Listen to this info-packed episode to find out how.

More in this episode:

• Why CRM software is a must-have for your business.
• Jake shares the history of JobNimbus, and why so many Roofers are trusting the software.
• Don’t waste time on data entry again! JobNimbus makes it easy with automated tasks and emails.
• Understanding Zap Your Integration.
• We run through a demo of a job from leads to sales to completion.
• How you can use JobNimbus to coach and train your salesmen.
• Using streamlined CRM software can boost your customer reviews.
• The Key To CRM? Use It!
• CRMs build scalable, repeatable processes.

Links:

Go to Jobnimbus.com for Demos and a Free Two Week Trial + Tech Support

Jake’s number: (855)964-6287

7 Steps to Getting More Qualified Leads for your Roofing Business.

Most contractors just don’t like to deal with the bookkeeping side of their businesses and end up either hiring someone unqualified or worse. In today’s interview, we talk about focusing on your strengths and working around your weaknesses by outsourcing your bookkeeping.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• The importance of setting up a financial dashboard with Five Key Performance Indicators (Randal covered these in depth back in Episode 3)
• “Five at Five for Five”: cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, profit/loss, and balance sheet
• Sell work, Do work, and Keep score
• SWOT: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
• Examples from “John” and “Michael” and their fictional companies
• The biggest problem for contractors: not wanting to invest in quality office equipment and bookkeeping
• Why roofing contractors’ accounting needs are different from other businesses
• Why you should outsource your bookkeeping
• How the outsourcing of accounting system works with Fast Easy Accounting
• How you know you can trust an outsourced firm for accounting
• “Good, the enemy of great”
• Why job costing is important
• Your board of advisors should include: tax preparer, construction accountant, commercial banker, financial planner, and Dave

Resources:

Find out more about Randal and his business: www.fasteasyaccounting.com

Email to receive Randal’s Five KPI’s installed for FREE on your Quickbooks, or call Sharie directly and say you heard Randal on The Roofer Show: [email protected] or 206-361-3950

Find The Contractor’s Success Map podcast to hear more from Randal

In this week’s episode, Canadian roofing contractor Adam Sand shows us the step by step process he uses to hit it out of the park with Facebook ads. Adam first learned the power of Facebook at his first business that almost landed him in the slammer.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• Adam’s business growth of 125% this year over last year—most of it from Facebook ads!
• How Adam got into the roofing business to help a good friend with his failing business
• The biggest problems specific to running a roofing business in Canada:
  • 4-5 months of winter
  • Planning for optimal profitability based on daylight hours
  • Severe lack of clear safety standards
  • Lack of respect for the roofing trade
  
  
• Customer reviews for Adam’s company: “how clean the job sites are”
• How to get customers to write reviews:
  • Treat them as friends and family
  • Have good people and processes
  • Have work crews that work well together, have fun, and get along
  • Put on “a good roof”
  • Ask pleased customers to write reviews
  • Send emails over the winter to ask about customer experience
  • Respond to every review, whether positive or negative
  
  
• Adam’s clear website with a message and a call to action
• The average time spent on a roofing website? 30 seconds!
• How to increase your value to potential customers
• The power of Facebook ads and why they work so well:
  • They target specific people
  • You can engage with your audience
  • They are less expensive than other advertising formats
  • Facebook is always improving the user experience
  
  
• Adam’s process in using Facebook ads
• The steps to Adam’s Facebook ad blueprint: a game plan, correct pixels, targeted audience, a high-converting ad from Google reviews, your campaign for success, ad level, and trimming the ad for optimization
• “Revenue is for vanity, profit is for sanity, and cash flow is for reality.”

Resources:

www.sargeantsroofing.com

Email Adam: [email protected]

Do you ever feel stressed or out of control when running your growing contracting business? If so, this is the show for you. Today, I interview Diane Gilson about how much that chaos is costing your company. Too many contractors don’t like numbers and usually turn over the bookkeeping and accounting to someone that may be less than qualified--or worse--downright dishonest. Find out how making some minor changes can reap a huge improvement in profits.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• Diane’s business: Info Plus Accounting—23 years strong!
• Diane’s background as a CPA and in management accounting
• How her first clients were in the construction business and needed help with their numbers, job costing, and business systems
• Diane’s programs, articles, profit calculators, spreadsheets, and MORE!
• How to have more financial control
• The Cost of Chaos
• How to calculate what owners should pay themselves
• Opportunities to reduce cost:
• • What 45 minutes wasted each day actually costs you!
  • How to save money on materials
  • Save by not incurring tax penalties
  • Watch out for credit card debt
  
  
• Increasing your income:
• • Do a better job of pricing
  • Manage change orders better
  • Go for a higher gross profit
  
  
• Implement changes to improve your bottom line
• 56 extra benefits to being in control of your numbers!
• Diane can help you be more effective, more profitable, and have a less stressful business!

Resources:

Visit Diane’s website: www.buildyournumbers.com

Email Diane: [email protected] 

If you want to grow your roofing business with more leads and sales, you must understand something. You’re not a roofer - you’re a marketer who sells roofing services. To be a good marketer you have to know your numbers. In today’s podcast I talk with Scott Dennison of Top Ranked Roofer about the numbers that you need to know including cost per lead, revenue per sale, and customer lifetime value.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• Marketing= Buying new customers at a profit (an investment)
• One critical thing—“You’re not a roofer; you’re a marketer who sells roofing services.”
• The “three guys”—Joe, John, and Jack (Be prosperous like Jack!)
• The three critical numbers: the cost per lead, how much revenue is your average sale producing, and your customer lifetime value
• What a delighted customer will do for you
• Why “lead generation” is a misunderstood term
• A case study with Google AdWords and a very low conversion rate
• The most common marketing mistake that roofers make!
• Why Scott’s company offers landing pages and lower cost per click rates
• Problems roofers encounter when looking for a marketing partner:
• • No certification process 
  • The danger of not knowing what you don’t know
  
  
• Key Questions to ask about marketing:
• • What key words do you think we should rank for?
  • How does my site compare to my competitors’?
  • What will you do to increase my backlinks?
  • Who owns my website and domain name?
  • Will my website content be original to me and will I own it?
  
  

Resources:

Becoming Top-Ranked by Scott Dennison

www.toprankedroofer.com/roofing-seo  (Get Scott’s free Website-Ranking Essentials Toolkit!)

There are 2 ways to make more profit on your roofing jobs. First, sell your jobs for more money. The second is to reduce your costs to do the job. Simple isn't it? But if you're like most contractors you already have a full book of business. And you're not getting any more money for that work. Today's podcast is all about production and reviews some new ways to reduce your costs and make more money that you may not have thought of.

Today’s show is a solo episode. There is no easy way to build your business, but there is a way that is EASIER, and that’s to learn from the mistakes of others. We are discussing some mistakes I’ve made and some hard-knock experience I’ve gone through that’s left me banged up. There are some shortcuts I’m telling you that I wish I had known when I started out.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• There are two ways to make more money: sell your work for more money or do the work for less cost (See Episode 22)
• One component of doing the work smarter is to take care of your employees
• Many contractors go out of business when they are booming, simply because they run out of cash
• “Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.”
• Examples of learning the hard way:
• • Writing down the wrong address
  • Leaving a ladder on the job site
  • Misunderstandings due to lack of clear communication with customers
  
  
• How to turn it around:
• • Use checklists and put systems in place
  • Set goals for how you want to do the work
  • • Get in and out with the most profit
    • Have a happy, happy customer that pays his bills and gives 5-star reviews
    • Have customers who refer you to other like-minded customers
    • Spend the least amount of time supervising
    
    
  
  
• The most important part of the job is the Pre-job work:
• • Assemble the job package
  • Meet with the customer
  • Hand the job off to the foreman or job supervisor
  • Communicate clearly to the customer
  • Go over payment terms and job specifics
  
  
• Specific things to accomplish during the job:(See Episode 16)
• Specific things to accomplish during the post-job (See Episode 19)
• How to conduct the job post-mortem
• Don’t forget to ask for a review and referrals
• • Make the review process easy for the customer
  • Send a small thank-you gift to the customer
  • Try to secure one new job in the neighborhood 
  
  

On today’s podcast, I talk with marketing expert David Chism about the most common mistakes contractors make when it comes to their marketing. The Roofer Show is about learning from the mistakes of other contractors so you can avoid the same pitfalls and take the short cuts to growing your contracting business. 

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• David’s background: from a long line of painting contractors, then on to estimating and marketing
• How Brazilian Jujitsu has helped his focus and discipline in business
• Top 7 Mistakes that Contractors Make:
• • Not having a marketing plan or budget
  • Not tracking leads
  • Purchasing a CRM and not using it
  • Not staying in touch with customers and relying only on new leads
  • A lack of consistency in marketing
  • No brand awareness
  • The “try this/try that” marketing approach
  
  
• The “bonus” mistake in throwing money away on paid search and SEO
• Use a professional for ad words
• Mistakes contractors make in using social media:
• • Don’t “dabble” in it
  • If you start, then maintain it
  • Don’t use social media to “sell” your services
  • Use professional, good-looking photos of your company and services
  • Promote community events that you participate in
  • Keep it real and personal
  
  
• “People love to buy, but they hate being sold to.”

Resources:

www.adavidcreation.com

www.salesforce.com

Let’s face it. Contractors suck at sales! But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can learn from today’s interview with Tom Reber of The Contractor Sales Academy. Tom outlines the steps he teaches in The Academy to sell more of your services.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• How Tom focuses on building a winning team
• “It all starts with the sale.”
• Tom’s Marine Corps background and its impact on him today
• Three essentials for building a winning team: accountability, recognition, and fun
• Tom’s construction background: learning from mistakes
• Why Tom rebranded his MotorHard business
• “All progress starts with truth.”
• Clarity and consistency: Why they are necessary in business
• “What I was missing was my target.”
• Owning your crap
• Tom’s group coaching and annual live events at CSA
• The importance of mindset
• How to get rid of your “head trash”
• Success stories: selling more and becoming a better person
• How practice and role play bring success
• Tom’s ebook: getting to the heart of what’s important
• How to NOT be defensive: it comes down to practice, training, and coaching
• Why it’s good to be “uncomfortable”
• 27 questions to ask the homeowner
• Why people buy---either pain or pleasure
• One of Tom’s favorite questions to ask: When the job is done, how will you know you hired the right person?
• From unconsciousness incompetence to unconsciousness competence
• Takeaways for contractors:
  • Remind yourself of the value you bring
  • Make no assumptions
  • Get clarity about what you want and don’t want
  
  

Resources:

www.contractorsalesacademy.com Check out Tom’s resources and find his Youtube channel!

www.tomreber.com