“The Competition” vs. Classic Metal Roofs (Part 2)
May 10, 2017 | By Mike Gonet | Filed under: Articles, Education, General, Metal Roofing, Testimonials
What Should You Expect from a Metal Roofing Contractor During the Sales and Consultation Process?
(If you have not already done so, we suggest you read Part 1 of our “The Competition vs. Classic Metal Roofs” series, here.)
Residential Aluminum Metal Roofing, the Sales Process
The sales/consultation process: How the contractors approach you, the homeowner, is a very important step. This interaction between you and the company representative is an indication of the way the company operates and how it treats its clients.
The process almost always begins with the client calling the metal roofing company or initiating contact through some type of online form via email. Some of the companies still use printed advertising and/or radio and TV ads to entice you to contact them.
Outside vs. Company Sales Force
Most of the competition has a “professional” sales force. When you reach out to them they will set up an appointment to meet with you. Some of the more advanced metal roofing companies use a professional 24/7 call center to field calls, depending on the size and scope of their sales organization.
Their business model is set up to sell you their product on a one-call close. Once they are in the house, they will do everything they can to come out with a sale. That includes multiple price drops to get you to sign a contract that day. So, if you meet with them, do not accept the first price they give you. It is probably not the real price. They will even get on the phone to call their “manager” to see if there is anything else they can do to get you a better deal. It is the old familiar used car salesman’s ploy. Getting a list of referrals to talk to, or roofs you can drive by to see, can be a difficult task from some on these East Coast metal roofing companies. If you insist, you may get 2 or 3 drive-by and 1 or 2 people you can talk to.
What we do not understand is: If these are such a great companies, and I am not saying they are not, then why do they not have hundreds of drive-by and dozens of referrals that a prospective client can talk to before they ask you to purchase their roof?
The Classic Metal Roofs, LLC process is more than a little different. We do not have a 24/7 national call center to field calls. Call the office and you will reach one of our company employees. We do have a customer service extension for information and to set up free estimates. When a client contacts Classic, they are sent all of our referral information upfront before the consultation. There are 2-to-3 dozen real people that the client can talk to before we even meet with you. These client referrals are not people who had a roof installed just last week or a few months ago, either. They are folks that had a roof installed by us a minimum of 2 years ago, with many several years ago.
Facilitating You Doing Your Due Diligence
Also included in our pre-consultation package is a list of hundreds of projects that we have done that you can go out and see. We also include “The Ultimate Guide to Metal Roofing,” which is an educational piece that anyone considering a metal roof should read. (Obtain your copy here.) There is also a design center, where you can upload a picture of your home and put one of our roofs on it so that you can see what your house will look like with one of our roofs installed.
Further included are sample copies of our Factory Warranties, along with our installation warranty. We challenge you to find a better warranty in the roofing industry. We not only install “the best roofs under the sun,” but we also provide you with the best roofing warranty in the roofing industry, bar none.
Once the prospective client has sorted through the provided information, they can contact the consultant that sent them the email and set up a time for a free consultation and quote. Upon setting up a consultation a GPS measurement of the interested party’s roof will be ordered.
The Consultation
Our consultation meeting typically lasts about 90 minutes. We do want to meet with all of the homeowners. We cover a lot of ground and there is always a healthy exchange of information between all parties concerned. When we conclude the consultation, you will have in your hand a written detailed proposal on the Lifetime Aluminum Metal Roof of your choice: aluminum standing seam, aluminum shingle style, or the same in copper or zinc. The price that we quote you is the best price we can offer.
Should a company pressure you to sign a contract without giving you the opportunity to do your due diligence, then you might want to consider another company. (That would also go for any major purchase or home improvement you might make.) Be sure you know who you are doing business with and how they work with their clients. Classic Metal Roofs gives you the information to get that done even before we meet with you.
To wrap this subject up I will quote Warren Buffett: “Time is the friend of the wonderful company, the enemy of the mediocre.” We believe that the deeper you look into Classic’s people and how we do business, the more you will want to become a Classic client. We not only make New England’s best roofs; we make “the best roofs under the sun.”
Part 1 of our “The Competition vs. Classic Metal Roofs” series may be found here.
