The Ultimate Guide to Cold Calling Scripts for Roofing

What is Cold Calling?

Cold calling is a type of telemarketing where salespersons call potential customers to convince them to book appointments.

It begins with building a database of potential customers who may be willing to book a roofing job. We’re talking about people who have used a complementary service, live within a specific zip code, have been affected by bad weather, or fit a specific profile.

Why Is Cold Calling Important in Roofing?

Cold calls can be used to solicit customers during inclement weather. This means you can generate leads before, during, and after storms, placing you in pole position to out-compete other companies for roofing projects.

Compared to other direct marketing channels, cold calling is very cost-effective. You don’t spend on banners and gasoline but can talk directly to prospects within your coverage area. 

This direct access helps you build valuable relationships, address objections, and get immediate feedback, so you’ll soon know if and when it’s time to pivot and employ other marketing efforts.

Lastly, cold calling is measurable. Performance metrics track the number of calls made, the revenue generated, and the percentage of calls converted into sales.

What Does the Cold Calling Process Look Like?

Turning a stranger into a customer takes grit, guts, and a solid strategy. Assuming you have the first two already in place, follow these tips to build an effective cold strategy that generates job bookings.

1. Research potential leads

Prospects may have received multiple cold calls by the time you contact them and may not have the time to listen to another sales pitch. To hold their attention, you must deliver a pitch tailored to their needs using information from in-depth research.

What are their pressing needs? What sort of language do they connect with? Do they have cultural sensitivities? You can answer these questions by polling current customers or scouring prospects’ social media profiles.

Local authority records and weather reports are also great sources for learning more about prospects. For example, knowing the average age of houses in your service area helps determine whether you promote roofing replacement or repair services.

Other details to focus on when going through those resources include:

• Average income

• Common language

• Weather patterns

• Recent roofing projects

• The area’s storm history

If you’re targeting owners of commercial buildings and large establishments, go a step further and read their About Us page on the company website to identify the key decision-maker. Read press releases and recent news to discover the right questions to ask and the topics to discuss.

Also, drive by the establishment and quickly examine the roof. You can reference your findings during the call.

After researching, build a list of potential leads, divide them into segments using shared needs, and create pitches relevant to those respective needs. This way, the prospects will listen to what you say and possibly agree to an inspection or book an appointment.

2. Set clear goals

How do you know if a cold-calling campaign is succeeding? By comparing the results to set goals. 

Goals provide a reliable success benchmark and determine the metrics used to measure progress.

Some common cold-calling campaign goals include the following.

• Generate qualified leads

• Get prospects to agree to roofing inspections

• Book roofing appointments

Use metrics such as the number of calls made, appointments booked, and revenue generated to measure progress toward set goals. The data insights can help you decide when to tweak your opening line, switch to a different zip code, or pick another time to call.

Record results and responses in a CRM or simple spreadsheet to keep everything organized.

3. Make a strong first impression

Customers typically decide whether to continue the conversation or drop the call within five seconds. They'll continue if the caller has something interesting or relevant to say. Otherwise, they’ll drop the call without hesitating.

There are two ways to make a strong first impression:

• Sparking curiosity by using a pattern interrupt and saying something relevant to their needs.

• Using the right tone to keep the listener interested in the conversation.

To spark curiosity, avoid the generic “X, I’m from Y company. The reason why I called is” opening line. It’s overused. Prospects who have an aversion to salespersons will drop the call, having heard that opening a thousand times, probably even from roofing salespeople who scammed them.

Instead, start your pitch with a pattern interrupt like:

“Is this John? Yes. Uhm…I wonder if you could possibly help me for a moment. We are helping Jane down the road from your house and…”

Or:

“Hey, my name is X. Before you hang up real quick, I was just hoping to tell you why I called. Is that okay?”

This disarms prospects’ objections and relinquishes control of the conversation to them for a brief moment. Plus, mentioning a familiar element, such as name-dropping someone on their street, initiates a connection you can use to sell.

Additionally, sounding confused (only for the opening line) triggers the listener to want to learn what you have to say. Plus, listeners will likely respond affirmatively to your request for help. This gives you explicit permission to present the pitch.

The tone is the pitch, talking pace, inflection, and volume used during communication. Humans, including prospects, naturally use tone to predict callers’ dispositions since it’s impossible to read behavioral cues and facial expressions.

When on a cold call, you want to adopt a natural speaking tone. Sound positive and enthusiastic, but don’t go overboard. Generally, try to match the prospects’ tone to build rapport. Return an upbeat “Hello” with an equally enthusiastic “How are you doing?”

Adopting the right tone and using a pattern interrupt in the opening line builds credibility, allowing you to pass the five-second attention test and proceed to pitch your roofing services.

4. Build rapport

Customers only buy from people they trust. This is especially true for roofing services, which can cost thousands. Therefore, pitching without connecting with the prospect causes an immediate rejection.

Also, customers are naturally wary of roofing salespeople due to the prevalence of roofing scams. Selling a pitch immediately when they pick up the call triggers a defensive response caused by previous experiences, potentially leading to a dropped call.

To build rapport, greet them by name. Then, ask how they’re doing or if you caught them at a bad time.

Then, ask open-ended questions to turn the call into a conversation between two friends, to prevent customers from feeling pressured and putting up a defensive wall. Cold calls are more effective when they sound like dialogues, not monologues.

5. Present your roofing services

After introducing yourself and winning the five-second attention test, the next thing is to pitch your roofing services. The goal is to softly transition the prospect from uninterested to booking an appointment.

Two key things to remember when presenting your roofing services: address prospects’ objections and give them logical and emotional reasons to act immediately.

Offering limited-time discounts for services matching prospects’ needs can encourage them to book an appointment. You can also provide a testimonial from someone they know who acted on the same deal.

Now, let's tackle the toughest aspect of cold calling: quashing objections.

6. Handle objections

Objections are every cold caller's nightmare. It’s one reason for call hesitancy.

Failing to address objections or using the wrong words to counter them results in a rejection.

Experienced cold callers know that objections are commonplace yet present an opportunity to continue the conversation and connect deeper with the customer. The trick is to learn to handle objections effectively.

The first step to handling objections is to prepare to remain mentally confident and unfazed when they arise.

Once mentally prepared, you can use the following tips to handle and resolve the objection:

Practice active listening to unearth what’s not being said

Listen attentively to discover what the prospect means but isn’t saying. For example, a prospect saying, “Your services are too costly,” means “There’s insufficient proof to justify the price you’re quoting.” In this case, you can reply, “I know it may cost a lot. But, just like your neighbor John later discovered, replacing your roof has long-term benefits such as…..”

Investigate further with a question

The best way to quash objections is by asking open-ended questions to find the root cause.

For example, if a roofing prospect complains about the project’s cost, you can ask, “What are your specific concerns about the pricing? I’d love to find a way to help you reduce the cost.” Or if a prospect mentions a bad experience with a roofing company, you can ask, "Can you tell me more about the experience you had with the company and what you'd like to avoid this time?"

Provide social proof

A battle-tested tactic for countering objections is to use the success story of someone who had the same objection but later booked an appointment.

However, for this tactic to work, the testimonial must be from someone close to the prospect—someone in the same neighborhood, city, or county. Giving a testimonial they can verify and connect to makes it more believable.

Overall, the best strategy for handling objections is to go into any call knowing they might arise and prepare a script to counter them. Then, do role plays to practice and be ready to deal with them on live calls.

Pro tip: It's advisable to ask for a new call date when the prospect is in a bad mood or claims to be busy.

7. Close the call

Once the prospect has gone through the cold call sales process and becomes interested in your offer, the next step is to try to close the sale or transition them to the next step. This can involve getting the prospect to agree to an appointment, a roofing inspection, or an insurance paperwork review.

The first step to closing the call is to ask them two probing questions to test their commitment, starting with this one:

Do you feel like this is something you’d consider? 

Once they answer yes, ask: 

Why do you feel like it is, though? 

They’ll respond with a reason and unconsciously self-justify their decision to book an appointment.

After asking the questions, give the prospect a clear next step and thank them for their time. Subtly suggest a clear-cut next action for the prospect.

Additionally, don’t accept vague and indefinite answers like “Maybe call me tomorrow” that create uncertainty and make it harder to follow up. Only close the call after receiving a definite yes or no that tells you exactly where they stand.

If they say you should return, request an exact date and time. If they won’t be at home, settle for a phone call.

8. Follow up on customers

According to Cognism's state of cold calling report, three is the optimal number of cold call attempts needed to have the best chance of connecting with a lead. This means the secret to cold calling success isn’t the first call but the follow-up.

Following up on prospects also builds trust and gives an extra opportunity to address customers’ concerns.

A common mistake cold callers make during follow-up calls is starting with the phrase “follow up” or “checking in.” This disrupts the sales process as the prospect perceives it as you just want to sell them something and get their money. They immediately put up a defensive barrier to protect their pockets.

A more effective approach would be to change the wording of your opening line to “Hey X, it’s Y. I just had time to get back to you.” Then, jump into the conversation with a new idea, offer, or something valuable that can convince the prospect to take action.

Pro tip: Follow up after three to seven days, so you don’t miss out on the potential or bug the prospect.

What Are Some Effective Cold Calling Scripts for Roofing?

Scripts define cold calls. 

They provide useful guidance on progressing the conversation to prevent awkward silences and guide the prospect through the sales funnel. They also help roofing sales reps to anticipate objections and prepare to address them effectively.

Here are some cold call scripts for various roofing sales scenarios.

Script for new roofing installation leads

Here’s a script you can use to sell to new roofing installation leads.

Hey Jim. Would you mind if I took a second to tell you why I’m calling?

(Probable answer, “Sure.”)

I’m part of the sales team at XYZ Roofing Company, and we help homeowners secure their property by installing roofs built to last and withstand storms. We currently have a crew installing a new roof at Sally’s house down the street and wanted to let you know of our Y discount for people in your area. Does that sound fair to you?

Showing vulnerability triggers customers’ natural tendency to help those in need—no one wants to be seen as a bad guy. The next sentence in the above response prepares the customer for what’s to come and encourages them to listen to the rest of the pitch.

The third line explains who you are, what you do, why you’re calling, and the value the customer stands to get at the end of the conversation.

Finally, ending with a question and getting a response is far better than using the pressurized selling approach, which customers hate. 

Script for roofing repair leads

Let’s say you’re repairing roofing in an area after a severe hailstorm. You can use this cold-calling script for roofing repair leads: 

Hi X. I’m in your neighborhood helping homeowners repair damages caused by the storm. I would love to help you do the same. But I would need to inspect your roof for free and reveal some options you could consider. What’s the best time for me to come over?

Mentioning that you’re in their neighborhood shows that you didn’t just randomly select their number from a phone book and decide to call. 

The closing line leads the prospect to pick an exact time. This is better than using “Can I…” or “Do you mind if….”, which may result in a “No.”

Script for follow-up calls

Cold calls don’t always lead to an immediate sale. Sometimes, a follow-up call may be required to convert the prospect for different reasons.

For example, prospects can show initial interest but fail to book an appointment on the first call. They may have insufficient funds, be waiting on the insurance company's assessment report, or the financial decision-maker might be unavailable.

Here’s a script for nailing follow-up calls.

Hey X, it’s Y. I just had time to get back to you. 

You mentioned in your last call that you [repeat what was said in the last call]. Since you’ve taken time to think about it, I’m sure you would love to take advantage of the 10 percent discount we’re offering customers who book an appointment in the next 48 hours.

If you’re ready, our team could come over to begin the repairs. Would you prefer Thursday or Friday?

The opening line shows that you’re not desperate to make the sale. This preserves prospects' trust in the salesperson and the service’s quality.

Lastly, a time-bound offer persuades the prospect to take action. Using an assumptive close encourages them to voice their concerns or book an appointment.

Script for handling specific objections

It’s vital to have a script on hand to counter potential objections. That way, you’ll go into each call fully prepared to settle objections whenever they arise.

Here are some rebuttals to common cold call objections.

“I need some time to consider your offer,” or “Let me consult with my partner, decision maker, etc.”

Here’s a script to answer a prospect who says they need time to consider the offer or consult with their partner.

That’s okay. I completely understand that you would like to consider other options. Now, it’s vital to know that estimates sometimes include hidden costs you might not be aware of, and my goal is to help provide a permanent fix to your roofing issue. 

So, would you prefer I return on Wednesday or Thursday to educate you about available options and answer your questions? What time would you prefer, morning, afternoon, or evening?

“The price is too high.”

Trying to change the customer's mind would be futile. You may sound defensive and put off the customer. 

The best approach is to use a deflective question to shift the attention away from the objection and continue the conversation. Here’s an example:

Interesting. I completely understand. Many homeowners we’ve worked with initially felt the same way. However, before I hang up, mind me asking, what other factors do you consider when picking a roofing company?

This pitch allows the conversation to progress. You can use their response to explain further all they stand to gain by booking an appointment now—prevent future costly repairs, prepare for the storm, enjoy a limited discount, etc.

“What is this in regards to?” Or “Is this a sales call?”

Prospects who ask this question want to confirm if you’re a salesperson. Answering yes may cause them to drop the call, and giving a dishonest answer also leads to distrust.

The best way to approach this is to jump into your value proposition immediately by saying something like:

I’m calling because we’re helping people in your neighborhood prepare for the oncoming storm and thought we could help you too. Is this something you’ll be interested in?

Then, wait for their response. 

Since you’ve not clearly identified yourself as a salesperson, the customer is less likely to drop the call than they initially planned.

“I’m not interested”

The prospect may genuinely be uninterested or use this response to say they don’t have the money at the moment. Your response should take those two things into account.

I'm not trying to sell you anything today. Is this something you would want to do sometime in the future? A week from now? Six months?

If they say yes, schedule a meeting for a future date to continue the conversation and call them as a warm lead.

“My roof is okay” or “The storm wasn’t serious enough to damage my roof”

In most situations, this response means the prospect doesn’t have sufficient funds to cover the repair or installation costs. Hence, your response should incorporate a low-effort offer they can access without paying.

I fully understand. However, have you gone up to check it yourself? Some roof damage can be invisible to the untrained eye. Why don’t I come out there to help you check it out for free?

This refutes the objection without looking like calling the prospect a liar. The inspection offer gives you the chance to convince them in person.

What Are The Most Common Mistakes to Avoid When  Cold Calling?

Cold calling involves some avoidable mistakes that salespeople often make. Here are some of them and how to avoid them.

1. Fear of rejection

The possibility of being insulted by pissed-off customers and the dread of a dropped call discourages roofing companies from cold-calling.

To overcome this fear, detach your personality from the rejection—the fact that a customer says no doesn’t mean you’ve failed. Then, mentally prepare to keep pitching regardless of what happens.

Salespersons who learn to overcome the initial disappointment and motivate themselves to keep calling eventually record appointments. That’s because cold calling is essentially a numbers game—the more calls you make, the greater the chances of getting job bookings.

2. Robotic script delivery

Scripts, although great, are only supposed to serve as a guide. Reading out a script word for word makes you sound like a robot and alienates the prospect from the conversation.

Simply familiarize yourself with basic sales principles and the role of the scripts before the actual call. This will help you think on your feet and approach the call as a conversation.

3. Not listening to the prospect

Focusing on the sale instead of listening to prospects can make them feel disrespected, lowering conversion rates.

Successful salespeople practice active listening. They pay close attention to what the customer says and try to recommend a solution relevant to the customer’s pain point.

4. Failure to follow up

Always follow up on prospects to take advantage of the connection built in the previous call. Following up also increases the chances of a conversion, as the prospect is already warm and close to booking an appointment by this time.

ServiceTitan designed the Field Service App with a special area called the Follow-Up Tab to facilitate follow-ups and ensure they happen smoothly.

The tab displays the status of all unsold estimates—Open, Won, or Dismissed. All open estimates are further subdivided into:

• Not attempted: No one has contacted the customer since the estimate was created.

• Unreachable: Someone tried following up on the estimate, but the prospect was unavailable.

• Contacted: You’ve successfully followed up on the opportunity but have yet to record a sale.

This organized display helps you track the status of all sales opportunities and perform routine follow-ups seamlessly.

How Can You Measure Cold Calling Success?

You need to track the right key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate cold calling campaign success. This reveals potential areas for improvement and helps you make data-backed decisions to boost conversions.

Tracking the right metrics can also help gauge sales teams’ performance, identify high-performing scripts for training new salespeople, and refine your sales approach.

Here are some key performance metrics for tracking the success of your cold calling campaigns:

• Average call duration: Captures the average call length. It reveals customers’ engagement levels and the effectiveness of the sales process.

• Deal closure rate: Shows the percentage of cold calls that result in a successful sale, generating revenue. It's an excellent indicator of the sales team’s effectiveness.

• Appointment setting rate: Measures the number of calls leading to the next step in the sales process, which could be agreeing to a roofing inspection. It gives an idea of salespersons’ ability to engage prospects.

• Call volume reveals the number of calls made within a specific period. It depicts the sales team’s level of activity and effort.

You can track these metrics using ServiceTitan’s Roofing Software, which reveals business performance through various KPIs. It provides reports such as the appointments booked and revenue generated over a defined period, helping you identify when cold calls are positively impacting your bottom line.

Lori Swanson of Guardian Roofing, which has used this feature to triple its revenue, says, “I can't even imagine going back to pre-ServiceTitan because of how archaic it was and not having real-time information. 

“Having to wait until the end of the month to know your metrics is just not scalable. It's really hard to grow that way. You find yourself really reactive.”

How ServiceTitan Enhances Cold Calling for Roofing Contractors

Manually calling 10-100 prospects seems pretty easy. It only takes 2.5 hours to speak with a hundred prospects for 90 seconds each.

However, it’s practically impossible to continue using a manual process once you start calling thousands of prospects, which you must do to achieve a healthy conversion rate. Besides, according to Cognism, the average cold call success rate is 4.82 percent—it takes 5,265 cold call attempts to record 254 successes.

To ensure roofing companies don’t miss out on the benefits inherent in cold calling, we built a solid Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) for managing the entire process.

With the CRM, roofing businesses can save and manage customer details from one central location. It also logs interactions with prospects and records estimates sent out.

This makes it easy for salespersons to collaborate and find vital information to follow up on sales opportunities.

Servicetitan also has a Phones Pro platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to flag calls that never led to a job booking due to technical hitches, objections, insufficient funds, etc. Salespersons can use these insights to follow up on warm leads and attempt to turn them into customers.

Phones Pro also automatically connects calls to job bookings, so you don’t have to manually reclassify phone calls as unanswered, abandoned, or lost. This saves time and lets you accurately predict your campaign’s deal-closure rate.

To close the loop, Phones Pro lets users track call performance using an intuitive dashboard that displays metrics such as hold times, completed calls, total minutes, and missed calls.

This allows you to see your cold call campaign’s performance at a glance and identify exactly when it’s time to change strategy or pause the campaign.

It’s Your Turn Now

Before we close, we must stress that you should treat roofing cold calling scripts as flexible tools, not rigid dialogues. Model your responses and questions to the context of your conversation with the prospect.

Furthermore, remember that cold calling is a numbers game. Therefore, make as many calls as possible. One successful job booking can produce revenue that more than justifies the multiple rejections endured and hours spent.

If you want to generate more results with less effort, invest in roofing software like ServiceTitan to manage and automate the process.

ServiceTitan is a cloud-based software for enhancing operational efficiency. It also increases revenue for home service companies by tracking and following up on sales opportunities. Many roofing companies using the software report a revenue increase of up to 25 percent within one year.