Buy a Roof Online? The Future of Roofing Sales

Now, a homeowner can buy a roof online, click get a quote and click purchase without having to talk to a single soul. And if you're in roofing sales, you might be thinking, oh, my gosh, is my career on the line? Is my livelihood about to get cut off at the knees? What does the future of roofing sales even look like? And if you're an owner running a company and you've got a website, you might be wondering, should I be using those tools? Is it a gimmick or is it real? Is it a threat or is it really going to help me succeed? Well, I'm going to be answering all of those questions and more. And you'll notice in this video a few things. Number one, I'm going to speak as objectively as I possibly can, but I want to air a few things out. One, I'm biased. Why? Because I love a human to human experience and my entire livelihood is providing that experience to homeowners. However, I am already working on ways to adapt with the time. So I'm not really actually concerned about this. But I just want to air out that bias that many people say. Well, Adam's sharing this because he runs a sales training platform that's selling sales training to teams and if teams don't need it, then his business is obsolete. Which in my opinion is not going to be the case because I am going to be adapting with those times and I'm already working on that. The second thing I wanted to get out of the way is that I'm not mentioning any particular product or company names in this video because there's a couple of big players right now and I know that there will be even more in the future. I know people are developing them as we speak. It's not a secret that people want to be able to sell a roof online. So now that we got the biases out of the way, let's get into the meat of this. And I want to break this video into three parts. Number one is the history of roofing sales, meaning how customers found us. Number two, where we are today and what that means for you with your career in roofing sales. And the third thing we're going to do is break down what I believe to be the future or projecting out numerous years as to what homeowners will expect when it comes to roofing sales. So let's rock and roll. All right, first, where did roofing sales begin? Now, there were five ways that people started, like the big ways. I know you could break this into a million But I just want to go like historically in the last few generations, what the world of roofing sales look like now. In the past, the phone book was the place you needed to be listed in the phone book to be a legitimate business. In a legitimate business in the phone book, if they had an ad, a print ad in the phone book, it showed that they were even more established. So for many homeowners, you go to the phone book, you'd see all the companies, you'd assume all the companies with no ad were smaller companies and not well equipped. So you'd usually call a company with the bigger ad. Then as time progressed, word of mouth became even more important, especially in neighborhoods and especially as storm damage. Sales became more common because you were seeing a higher volume of roofs in a neighborhood. Yard signs were going up and people talked. Then the Internet came along and the next thing we needed was a website. If you didn't have a website, your business wasn't legitimate. So that old phone book ad was now replaced with a website. Fast forward Google and all the social media platforms are like, oh man, we need ratings and reviews. So the next big push was we need reviews. So you're not a legit business unless you have a website with reviews, preferably two things you want, which is a lot of reviews and a lot of really good reviews. And that's what would get you business and your credibility then where we are today. So that was the history started again with a phone book and an ad, word of mouth followed by, you need a website, you need reviews, now it's gone one step further. So that was kind of the high level of the past. And I know you could layer in direct mail and SEO and pay per click and all that in the evolution of social media and Facebook ads and YouTube ads and Google, excuse me, I already hit pay per click ads. So all that stuff I get was there. But I just want to bring you again through the high level history. So today where we sit is this new era of expectation, which is the web experience. So you have smarter shoppers than ever before who are tired of the sales gimmicks and homeowners who just want their big question answered, which is, how much is this roof going to cost me? And that's one of, if not the biggest concern that they have. So the web experience means if a homeowner can show up on a website, browse the website, learn what they need to know about that company to now say, huh, are they a company that I want to even consider? And I'll give This, for example, I'm shopping for a sauna for my house, and I was on these websites just, was it just yesterday? And I'm looking to find a couple of brands I was looking for for these kits. And I go on the website and one of them listed everything, and I'm like, they got the model number, they got pricing, all of it. And I was so excited because they just made it easy. Then the next one just says, you know, call us. The next one just doesn't even list what brands they carry or what they offer. So I ignored that one, despite their good reviews. And the reason I'm sharing this as an example is I'm sitting there thinking, what products are available and how much is it? And then from there, now I'm looking to make that commitment. I've reached out to the select spa companies that I may want to work with, and our homeowners and roofing sales are doing the same thing with this web experience. Because most everybody has a website now, and most everybody has at least a couple reviews. They're going one step deeper to say, before I talk to anyone, I just want to get whatever information I can. In the information age that we're in, there's a higher desire and a higher need for that instant gratification where people don't want to have to book an appointment and wait a week till someone comes out and go through the sales thing. They just want answers and they want them now. And they're going to use this to decide who to even put whose hat in the running, so to speak, or in the ring of who they're going to choose from. So in today's time, that web experience is where I see these tools being very, very effective, is it gives a homeowner an option to scratch that metaphorical itch and get you the business. So again, that's where we are today. Now, I want to paint our future cast here, today's times. If a homeowner sees that, and I know many people like, well, I can't give a price. What if there's rotted decking or plywood? What if the homeowner didn't share anything? This is why it's important to have the right disclaimers to say variables beyond our control, or to give a range on your estimate due to variables beyond our control. Your typical range is X to X for a specific quote. You know, get your appointment. Other companies are rolling the dice and just saying that they're going to eat those. Those costs that come up as part of margin. Excuse me into their margin and hope that it comes out in the wash, which I don't really know if that's a great idea. But again, that's not why we're doing this video. So this web experience is giving people what they want and is leading to what I view as the future. So, sales reps, at this point, you don't need to panic. Will some customers buy this roof online without talking to somebody? Yes, they will. Is that going to take a substantial amount of food out of your mouth? Not right now. I'm not worried about it. Now let's talk future. There's three going to be three customer segments. I want you to think of the roofing space as this big globe, okay? We've got new tools and tech out there that will allow for anyone to use technology to enter an address and be like, that's my house and I want a roof on this and then my detached garage. They'll be able to pick their product, select their financing options, fill out the loan app, and then bingo, they just bought a roof without having to talk to a single soul. It's amazing. Now, segment number one is a sliver of those people that say, I want that. They don't want to talk to somebody. And that is the experience that they're looking for. And this segment, I do believe will grow. I do. Why? Because in the generations that are being brought up now, they are having more and more instant gratification than folks of my generation and older where cell phones weren't really a thing till we were older. Right. The people who grew up with a cell phone in their hand are so used to things happening now. And the interpersonal side is kind of a thing of the past. So again, that first segment is the people that will happily buy a roof online. Now the next segment of people is what I'm going to call the hybrid people. So segment one is your online shoppers and your online buyers. They don't need to see anybody. They can make that decision online. Then there's segment two, which is what I'll call the hybrid model. These are the people that will use those tools online to farm out their quote, to get the quote. So they're going to just look at a few companies and say, hey, I got a quote from 1, 2, and 3. And. And they're the value shoppers. When I say value, I don't mean price. Price shoppers are different. Value shoppers is someone who truly understands value. They want to work with a local, reputable company. They also know that the lowest price doesn't necessarily mean what they want. So they're going to use that to say, okay, I had this whole landscape of the Internet to choose roofing companies. These three look the best. And they gave me a number and now I know going into the appointment about how much it'll cost. So I'm going to sit through that sales appointment and figure out who to work with. And then from there, that's the hybrid model, meaning your website owner manager with this tool is going to then hand those very qualified leads to your salespeople who are now going to run out and run the appointment. That homeowner already has some price conditioning because they know what to expect for how much it's going to cost. And then the salesperson is going to do a good job at winning the sale knowing that you're competing now on just a few people. And that's again, segment number two, which is the hybrid shopper. My personal opinion is this is going to be the largest segment for the next foreseeable few years because it is such a big decision to select a contractor to work on your home. There are many homeowners who, despite the fact they can get a quote, they want to talk with someone. They are a little apprehensive. They want to make sure it's legit and it's a lot of money with a lot of disruption on the home. Again, segment number one, online shoppers. Segment number two is the hybrid shoppers. This is the segment that I believe is going to be the fastest growing in the short term. Okay. In camp number three. The third segment is those that refuse this technology. And we see this in the roofing community of roofers saying, I refuse to use that. I won't even offer it to my people. And then we have the homeowners who refuse to use that because what they want is to meet with someone who's going to be working on their home or their castle. And I do believe that that higher net worth people in bigger homes, nicer communities will often be the folks that refuse this or they're going to land in the hybrid model. But I don't believe those folks for the lion's share, the market share, are going to fall into the online system. These are people who are a bit more nervous about who's actually going to come out to their home. They want to be able to again, vet them, meet them, talk to someone before moving forward to make sure that that quality is there, that people are showing up and going to do a good job and take care of their property. So there you have the three segments. And I'll reiterate, segment number one is this probably the smallest sliver right now, which is the online shopper who is happy to buy a roof online without talking to anybody. This segment will grow and in the generations that are coming up younger, the youngest generations, I believe will end up in that segment in the future. Segment number two, I believe to be the fastest growing segment right now, which is the hybrids, the people that will get a quote online and and still want to talk with somebody to finalize it, ask questions and vet the company. And then segment number three is the refusal segment. I refuse to adopt that technology and that my belief will be the shrinking category of people that will then be replaced in lion's share in the hybrid model. And then in the smaller segment going into the I refused it to then, okay, I'll buy a roof online, but I think that amount will be really small. I think the first transition is going to be the people that refuse it that then go into the hybrid model of saying, okay, I'll get a quote, but at least I can still talk to somebody first. So in summary, what does this mean to you as a roofing salesperson? It means that homeowners desire transparency in rapid information. They want to get their questions answered quickly. In your competitive edge as a salesperson or an owner, using one of these tools is to give people that information more quickly. Now in the future we have those three segments that will adjust and, and I do believe that in time that refusal segment entirely will be pretty much squashed and it will be replaced by the two segments of the people who are willing to buy a roof online without talking to anybody and in my opinion, probably a bigger segment of those that want the hybrid model. So there's my views and opinions on the threat of these tools, but truly the threat to us comes at a great service to many, many homeowners. And our opportunity is to adapt with the times and keep a pulse on this hybrid model. So our sales process in the home and online reflects everything we need it to reflect in order to win that business and take what we were doing in person and build it into a digital experience. Now, I'd love to hear from you. What do you think about these tools? Are they a friend of the industry or a foe to the industry? Will you adopt them in your business or will you leave them behind? Have you sold a roof online yet? If so, I'd love to hear from you. I'd love to hear your thoughts about this topic in the comment section below. It'll help spark a rich discussion for all of us to learn and adapt. And again, thank you so much for joining me in this video. I hope it helps you get clear about kind of the future of our industry. And again, share your comments about this Cellar Roof online stuff. It's a very rich topic and I believe probably the most significant changes that we're seeing in the roofing industry to date. Now, that's all for this video. If you and just because our time here is about to wrap up doesn't mean you're in. My time has to. So if you haven't done it yet, hop right here into my free training center. Or if you want to hang with me, jump right into this video. I think you're going to dig it. We'll see you soon.