Why Homeowners DON’T See The Value (and how to sell roofs better)

Have you struggled with homeowners who just don't see the value? Especially when you're competing against a person that's coming in thousands of dollars cheaper, whether it's storm or retail. Well, all of that is about to change because in this video, I'm going to be teaching you how to sell the value the right way. And what I mean by the right way, meaning the homeowner actually sees it, feels it, and chooses you. What you are about to discover are two very powerful sales techniques that will help you sell the value. And in fact, I believe that if you watch this video all the way to the end and apply these concepts, you will never sell the same again. Yes, that is a wickedly powerful claim, and I'm going to back it up in this video. So buckle up and let's get started. Roofing sales is personal development in disguise, and the reward for growth is life changing. I hope my content helps you create a richer life and bank account. Hey, welcome or welcome back. Adam Bensman here, and what I'm about to share with you are things that I wish I knew when I got started in roofing sales. So when we start talking about selling the value, we just need to first get a few pieces of groundwork out of the way. So we're all speaking the same language. Okay, so first, what is value? It's a simple question, isn't it? But if you're like many people, you're struggling to answer that question, like, well, what is value? Well, it's that we're better. It's that we're different. Okay? But the truth is, is that value is completely based on perception. Value is that which the customer sees as benefiting them. So however I can present information, if they don't see it benefiting them, then there's no value. So when someone says, sell the value, sell the value, what they mean is learn how to position your roof or package it up in a way that the homeowner sees it to benefit them. But far too many people fall short in this journey. Now, the other piece of groundwork that we need to lay is that when you sell a roof, what you should be selling is an experience. Now, I know that many people might challenge me on this, but I just want to lay down again a little bit more groundwork. There was a survey done, and by the way, I'm digging for this. I heard this when I was out speaking at one of the Owens Corning events, and I'm trying to find this source, but it was done at a very high level. Okay. My understanding this research was it was within about 60 days of a roof being replaced. The homeowner has no idea what brand of shingles is on their roof. So although selling a roofing system is powerful, and like whatever brand you sell, I don't care who you sell or who you're aligned with, it really doesn't carry that much weight to a homeowner. What they care about is the experience of going through the roof replacement, making sure that their house is protected, grandma's beautiful bird bath isn't damaged, and that the company does a great job so they don't get flat tires, the kids don't get hurt, the dog doesn't step on a nail. Now, if you don't agree with me on this, then I challenge you to think even harder. Because there are two ways you can get married. You can spend $50 and get a courthouse wedding, or spend $50,000 and throw a party. Yeah, big difference. See, experience matters. Now, in a world where all of us are selling a roof, which is a commodity item, you're competing roof versus roof. But your job is to change the packaging of that roof. Think of it like putting it in a gorgeous gift box with satin paper and a beautiful bow tied on top. So as someone perceived the 2Ro being sold, people will see this person selling a boring roof with the so and so name system, and this person is selling the roof inside this gorgeous packaging. That packaging is the value. So that's what we're going to be diving into right now. Now, let's introduce these first two concepts, and then afterwards, we're going to layer it together so you can apply this in the home on the very next sales appointment you run. First concept is what's called a knowledge gap. See, homeowners, just like you and me, think they have all of the answers. In fact, I want to ask you this right now. Have you ever predicted how a movie ends while you're watching it? My guess is the answer is you have. So think back to the last thing you were watching on Netflix or Hulu, and as you're watching it, you're trying to predict what happens in the movie or the TV series. And if you're like most people, you hit pause and you turn to your spouse or significant other or the person you're watching the show with, and you share your predictions. And then what she says and what you say. Now, they're different. But both of you, you dig your heels in because you are right. You are so confident in your prediction, you know exactly how it's going to unfold. So you click play and you keep watching the show, and then boom, something happens that completely spoils your plot. Your prediction is off course, and only at that point when you were proven wrong, you lean in. Those are the shows where you're on the edge of the seat and there's misdirection and every prediction is wr. And you cannot help but on a Saturday binge through 15 episodes of that TV series. Now, this is human nature, humans. When we don't know what happens next, we fill in the blanks. I'm going to give you another analogy. Think back to the last dysfunctional relationship you were in, and hopefully it's not the one you're in right now. Now, chances are you got in a fight with your loved one or partner, boyfriend or girlfriend, maybe even your husband or wife, and you're texting, and then the person stops responding. And what do you do? You start making up all the stories in your head about what they're doing and how things went wrong. But then later on, you find out what you were wrong. You made it all up in your head. See, this is the human phenomenon that if we don't have the answers, we make them up. So what happens now is the answers that your homeowners are coming to the kitchen table with is this. A roof is a roof, is a roof, and whoever sells me a roof, it's all the same thing. What I need to gauge my decision on is the price of that roof and if I like the person or not. It's pretty simple. So you come at this discussion, the homeowner's not going to hear it. You're going through your estimate, I'm guessing, and you're like, well, we're doing this and. And they're not in. Our valleys have ice and water and w metal, and theirs doesn't. And we use these pipe jacks, and they use those pipe jacks, and we use this and they use that. And the homeowner, again, just hears this. This guy is justifying a higher price to me. So to create a knowledge gap, instead of telling homeowners the difference and trying to educate them, we have to ask questions, questions they can't answer. And these questions act just like in the TV series when you're predicting what's going to happen next. It's the thing that you're like, man, I was wrong. So they have to realize it on their own instead of being told they're wrong. For example, Mr. Homeowner, did the other estimate explain what type of ridge Cap they were using, what type of valley installation they were using, whether they were using synthetic underlayment or felt paper, whether they were using ice and water shield in the valleys or w metal or both, Were they removing and replacing the step in roof to wall flashing or reusing it? And as you ask all of these questions, the homeowner's sitting there going, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. Which not only builds a lot of distrust for the other company, but it gets them to create a knowledge gap, as in understanding that they actually don't have all the answers. And this is the first step of getting the homeowner to start seeing the value as we present it. So step number one is to create the knowledge gap by asking questions about the process that the homeowner likely can't answer because the other company was just selling a roof based on price. When you are selling the experience, okay, number two on the list, we have to understand what value is. Value is what the homeowner finds meaningful to them or important to them. Now, where many salespeople go wrong is they think that value is the item on the list, meaning we do, for example, w metal and ice and water shield in the valleys, okay? So in fact, that's not the value, that's the feature. Now, I want to break down three important elements, and if you're a note taker, write these down. Number one is the feature. The feature of the roof could be, again for this example, W metal plus ice and water shield. The benefit of doing both, which is column number two, is, is the fact that there are two layers of protection in that area, okay? Now that's where people likely stop. They say, hey, we do W metal and ice and water shield, which means you have two layers of protection there. But then there's a third thing that's important here, and that, my friend, is the emotional benefit, okay? The emotional benefit or the emotional outcome. So we have the feature, which is what it is, the benefit, which is how it helps the homeowner. And the emotional benefit is why it matters to that homeowner. So instead of it saying you have two layers of protection, the emotional benefit can be. So you'll never, ever, ever have to worry about water coming in through your Valley installations for the entirety of your roof, okay? Now that's the emotional benefit. Basically, rest easy. Here's another example, all right? Let's say that you're trying to sell the difference and you're talking about how you guys prepare the home during the installation so nothing gets damaged or trampled because the homeowner's really resistant. After seeing the crew who was on the neighbor's house from the other company work in a hasty fashion, they see all of the debris coming off. So you say, hey, Mr. Homeowner, we use plywood to protect your windows and your garage door. We're going to tarp the yard. So that would be the feature, right? Putting up plywood and laying a tarp. The benefit is so the job site can get cleaned up, but the emotional benefit is so grandma's precious bird bath doesn't get damaged. Okay, so what we're doing here when we learn to sell the value is to tie every single item on our either estimate or scope of services, or how we serve the homeowner from the feature, the what we do the benefit, how it helps them to then the emotional benefit of why it matters to that person on an emotional level. Selling and experiences, even things down to we provide updates in route so you know exactly when we're going to show up. Right? So you don't have to sit around and wait all day for that contractor who makes a promise and never shows up on time. All of these items from again, pulling the permit, how you prep the house, how you serve the customer, the text and email and communication method throughout the process so they know what's going on, each and every one of these items down to the roof installation when we tie them to the emotional benefit to the homeowner. This, my friend, is selling the value. So in summary, there are two ways we need to focus on selling the value. First, create a knowledge gap by disrupting the narrative, the false narrative that your homeowners have that a roof is a roof is a roof. By asking questions about the other estimates that they cannot answer at this point, they go, oh, wait, maybe I don't know it all. Now I'm truly going to listen. And what we're doing is guiding them to come to that conclusion on their own. And then method number two is going through in detail your process of serving the customer and installing the roof to break down the feature, the what you do, why it benefits them, and then most importantly, the emotional outcome or the emotional benefit to them. And the salespeople that do this the best and link each feature to the emotional outcome are the ones that sell the value because the homeowners feel the value. And when you can get homeowners to feel the value, you will win almost no matter what your price is. Now, I hope this video was helpful and I want to ask you, is this going to change how you sell moving forward? I'm going to guess the answer is yes, and I hope it does, because applying this is going to help you increase your closing rate. And if you don't believe me, jump into this very next video and you're going to see how this concept helped nate sell nearly $1 million in a single month. He shares the story, and you're going to want to see it. So I'll see you in the next.