The Most Common Struggle of Metal Roofing Contractors
Just recently, Isaiah Industries President, Todd Miller, ran a poll on LinkedIn. He asked metal roofing contractors and specifiers to choose the area they struggle with the most in metal roofing. Their options were generating leads, selling jobs, sourcing materials, and installing roofs properly.
Before I reveal the results, which area do you struggle with the most? And which option do you think garnered the most votes?
And here’s what our participants had to say:
Unsurprisingly, Generating Leads sat at 31%, Selling Jobs at 19%, Sourcing Materials at only 6%, and Installing Roofs Properly at a whopping 44%.
After some examination, these results are telling. First, most contractors are confident in their ability to sell to customers. They have a trusted sales process, a skilled salesperson or team, and they get results. They know they can keep their company making money and reaching new customers.
This leads to another crucial result- 31% of the vote went to lead generation. Especially right now, with the remodeling boom of the last few years slowing down, leads are vital to keeping your business afloat, and lead generation can be a fickle skill to develop. Reaching the right prospects when they are ready to buy and receptive to your message is no easy feat and an ongoing struggle for many.
The other important result, one we expected, is installation. Taking up the majority of the vote at 44%, installation proves to be a challenge in several ways. Not only does it make up a significant chunk of every job’s cost, but installs are also your ability to execute on the promises you’ve made. Maybe you’ve touted your expert installers, your attention to detail, your job site cleanliness, or your workmanship warranty. Whatever the case, the installation is when the rubber meets the road for the customer; you simply cannot get it wrong. And metal is complex to install, no doubt. It requires considerable effort and, depending on the roof’s complexity, usually takes longer.
But expert installation also holds significant potential. You can create a reputation for skilled work, beautiful roofs, and satisfied customers. Getting it right the first time cuts down on callbacks, angry reviews, and negative word-of-mouth.
At Isaiah, our goal is to give you the tools you need to install our products competently and beautifully. We’ve created detailed, illustrated instruction manuals that touch on every part of installing each of our metal roofing profiles. And for any challenging details, penetrations, skylights, you name it, we have dedicated technical staff to walk you through our recommended process. So please, reach out and pick our brains on your next installation with our products; we’re happy to help!
Todd Miller has spent his entire career in the metal building products manufacturing industry. He is president of Isaiah Industries, an organization recognized as one of the world’s leading metal roofing manufacturers. Todd is currently Vice President of the MRA (Metal Roofing Association) and a Past Chair of MCA (Metal Construction Association). Through his website, he strives to raise the bar on standards and practices to provide property owners with the best possible products for successful roofing projects.
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