By Steve Korn, Business Development Executive
If you are in the commercial roofing industry, outbound telemarketing services need to be in your sales model as the industry has billions of dollars in sales up for grabs each year. Wait, what? Billions of dollars in opportunities? Yes, that’s right…billions of dollars in sales is very exciting. Unfortunately, there is more to the story.
Most industry experts expect growth to continue in the residential market due to the building booms of the 80s and 90s result in more homes with aging roofs that will need to be replaced.
Unfortunately for the commercial side, industry experts see the demand for roofing falling by .6% a year over the next four years. Why?
COVID-19 has taught companies how to live with less space. More retail is moving to online sales, creating a glut of empty or under-utilized commercial properties that won’t be in the market for roofing services under normal conditions.
So, nonetheless, that still leaves a whole lot of squares, estimated at 88.9 million, to be done each year. The question becomes, how do you get as many of those jobs as you want to maximize your production capacity? Sure, some will come to you from the loyal customer relationships you have developed over the years. You know, however, that won’t be enough.
Some of those buildings may now be empty or under-utilized. You need to go after new customers. You need to sell. But before you can sell them, you need to find them.
The case for outbound telemarketing services
So, let’s talk about marketing. As a roofing contractor, you have many options, although maybe not as many as before, with COVID making door knocking and handing out flyers problematic. Ads in local publications, radio and television ads, telemarketing, and digital campaigns such as email campaigns, pay per click, and others are all available.
I know the complaints about leads. I hear them every week from contractors looking for a better way to get qualified leads. They spend thousands on print ads or direct mail and get little if any response.
Email campaigns go unnoticed, or Google ads and pay per click often cost more per qualified lead than they ever calculated. Telemarketing leads are shared with every contractor within a hundred miles. A digital presence is required now, but that is a passive approach that may or may not generate any leads all on its own. The list goes on and on.
Of course, what everyone wants is a meeting set up with the decision-maker of a property with a roof that needs immediate attention and is the size and slope that allows the contractor to offer a competitive solution.
Which marketing method can get you appointments with the right people who own or manage the properties you want to target? Outbound telemarketing services. Which one can qualify the contact as to their role in the process and gather background information on the roof you will be looking at? Outbound telemarketing services. Why? Because, by its very nature, it involves the exchange of information.
Outbound telemarketing to the rescue
There are thousands of firms that offer prospecting and appointment setting services for roofing contractors when it comes to telemarketing. What should you look for? First and foremost, beware of the firms that try to fit you into a pre-set program. These types of campaigns will often result in you receiving (and paying for) leads and appointments that are not in your wheelhouse—many contractors who will work on all slopes and all types of roof surfaces. However, if your emphasis is coating, you surely do not want any leads for steep-sloped buildings. If your company can only compete effectively on jobs greater than 100 squares, why be obligated to pay for a lead for a 40 square roof?
Look for a company that locks in appointments. Just sending you a “lead” that you need to chase down, make contact again, and then (hopefully) set an appointment is asking you to do half the job for them. By the time you get this person back on the phone, they may have found a contractor or decided to spend their money on something else.
You want a company that gives you exclusivity. The lower-priced “pay per lead” programs can afford their lower price point because those leads get resold. Typically, those programs will resell the leads to as many as five or six other contractors, which is just the tip of the iceberg. Many companies buy leads from each other so that you can assume that at least one of those five or six is reselling to another five or six. No wonder contractors get yelled at by prospects who tell them it was either an old request or they were the hundredth guy who called them! Some of those leads can live forever!
In summary, look for the following in your outbound telemarketing services search:
- It would help if you partnered with a quality telemarketing firm with experience in the commercial roofing industry. You don’t want to be training them on how to do their job.
- Make sure they customize your campaign to look for only those types of buildings you want to have as customers. You pay some initial setup fee, but if you don’t, you’ll spend that money and more chasing down poorly qualified leads.
- Most importantly, you need to demand exclusivity. If that is not in their contract, don’t take the bait, despite how attractive their pricing might be.
Quality Contact Solutions is specialized in helping commercial roofers get qualified sales appointments. We acquire targeted lists in zip codes that meet your service area and then make outbound cold calls to generate interest and set a qualified appointment. QCS helps commercial roofing clients with the biggest problem most companies face while growing their businesses—building and maintaining a consistent sales pipeline. The best way to think of our service is as an outsourced service provider for your sales force. We focus on the front end: database building, prospect identification and qualification, qualified lead nurturing, and developing face-to-face sales appointments.
Good luck with the 2021 roofing season.
Steve Korn is Business Development Executive for Quality Contact Solutions. Steve’s experience spans 40 years and includes ownership of his own call center for over 20 years plus experience in B2C telemarketing and in-house B2B call center management. His core strength is in working with small and medium-sized companies in designing and implementing programs for lead generation and appointment setting. Steve can be reached at steve.korn@qualitycontactsolutions.com or 516-656-4198.
