Door-to-Door Roofing Sales: An In-Depth Guide

How Do You Sell a Roof Door-to-Door? 

Door-to-door sales demand a targeted approach to produce results. You must break the ice, connect with the customer, and quash objections. 

Here’s a six-step process to get customers to agree to inspections and book appointments before leaving.

Step 1. Understand Your Target Audience

Repeating generic sales scripts can cause customers to slam the door in your face. That’s because they mistrust you from the outset, having heard the same lines from other roofing sales reps or storm chasers who scammed them.

Additionally, cultural and language differences can prevent a sales pitch from working across various markets. For example, a sales pitch that worked in Georgia will likely be ineffective for a homeowner in California who perceives humor and sales tactics differently.

Consequently, do drive-bys and consult government records to learn more about the residents of each neighborhood before you knock on doors. Focus on details like the average age of their houses, income levels, language, recent weather events, and demographics.

After getting this data, divide the residents into categories such as budget-conscious homeowners, environmentally-conscious customers, etc. Then, create talking points to be used when selling to each category, alongside answers to probable objections like “My roof is okay,” “I already have an insurance company,” or “I don’t need a new roof.”

In addition to writing answers to potential objections, train yourself to listen and observe body language more than you speak. This will allow you to adapt to any situation and come up with unplanned answers on the fly.

Step 2. Craft a Winning Sales Pitch

The challenges with door-to-door sales include navigating awkward silences, handling conversations with strangers, and quashing people’s negative perceptions of door-to-door salespeople. These challenges are easier to overcome when you’re adequately prepared and have a well-crafted sales pitch.

A sales pitch is a short presentation used to sell roofing services. It’s essentially four to five sentences designed to break down the guard customers naturally put up when interacting with salespeople.

Here’s a structure to use in crafting winning and compelling sales pitches.

Introduction/strong opening

Obey basic conversation etiquette by greeting the person.

Next, introduce yourself by referencing elements such as their street’s or neighbor’s name to establish a connection. This makes it seem like you’re genuinely interested in helping them resolve their challenge rather than selling roofing scams.

Here’s an example of a strong opening:

Hi, I’m Ben. I just helped Sandra down the road fix her roof for hailstorm damage to prevent leaks.

Ask a question and listen for the answer

A basic sales principle is to avoid getting a “no” reply at the beginning of the presentation. That’s why it’s best to ask an open-ended question that forces the customer to give an answer that initiates further conversation.

For example, Ben, the salesperson, can move to the next sales process step by asking, “When was the last time you checked your roof for storm damage?”

Now, to the next step.

The offer

Use the potential customer’s response to present a little offer they’re less likely to refuse. The goal is to get a small yes before a big yes to the larger offer.

Going back to Ben, he can give the following response after the customer says they’ve not checked their roof for hail damage yet.

Awesome!

Because we’re in the neighborhood, we offer a free roof inspection for every house. I will inspect for roof damage and use images to describe my findings. Would you mind if we went ahead and performed the free inspection quickly?

The money-making offer

The money-making offer generates a sale and convinces the prospective customer to book an appointment. It should contain a logical and emotional justification for them to act immediately.

Ben can display his findings using the images captured during the inspection. Then, he can present an offer using the following format:

We’re offering a 20 percent discount to every customer who books an appointment today. Is this something you’d like to chat about?

This convinces the customer to disclose their objections. Having prepared beforehand, Ben can quickly quash them using proof points such as local customer testimonials, shingle samples, before and after photos, and tablet presentations.

Talking about tablet presentations, ServiceTitan’s Pricebook Pro software empowers field roofing professionals to create attractive sales presentations.

Because the software integrates with supplier and manufacturer catalogs, users can find clear images to create presentations that close sales. These presentations closely resemble the conventional shopping platforms customers are used to.

This puts the customer in charge of the process and delivers a professional buying experience.

Step 3. Master Door-to-Door Sales Techniques

Sales is like a muscle that grows with adequate exercise. You must learn the right techniques and consistently apply them until they become second nature. This way, you’re prepared for any curveball the prospect may throw at you.

Here are some door-to-door sales techniques to master:

Starting conversations

Learn to use icebreakers to start conversations and encourage prospects to lower their guard before presenting the sales offer.

Ice breakers can include shared interests, compliments about the customer’s house, and references to the weather.

Qualifying leads and identifying the decision makers.

To increase your odds of closing a sale, you should speak directly to someone who needs your services and is responsible for the final decision. That’s why it’s vital to qualify leads early in the sales process and speak to decision-makers.

To identify decision makers, observe the authority dynamics during the sales process. Use body language and visual cues to determine who is leading the conversation.

Then, answer these questions while pitching your services and inspecting the roof:

• Do they need your roofing services?

• Is their roof due for a replacement or repair?

• Based on the area’s average income level, does the prospect have the ability to pay?

If your answers are in the affirmative, that’s a qualified lead.

Closing techniques to secure the sale

Closing a sale is an art that involves guiding the customer to a favorable decision without being overly pushy. There are six techniques for doing that:

• Assumptive close: The salesperson assumes the prospect is ready to sign a contingency agreement or book an appointment based on confidence in the quality of the service being sold. An example is, “Shall we discuss financing options?”

• Taking advantage of an objection: This uses an objection to ask a question the customer would likely answer in the affirmative. An example is, “If I offer a discount, will you sign today?”

• Scarcity close: It involves using an offer with a time limit to close the sale. An example would be promising a percentage discount only for people who sign immediately.

• Tiered close: For this close, the salesperson gives two offers: one attractive and expensive and another less appealing but costing less, with different benefits and prices. The customer will almost certainly pick the highly-priced offer to enjoy all the benefits.

• The scale close: This involves gauging the customer’s interest in the service to determine how to proceed with the sales process. For example, “What is your interest in this offer in the range of 1-10?”

• Referencing testimonials: This uses social proof to close the sale. Here, the roofing salesman defuses an objection by referencing a similar job they just did for a customer in the prospect’s neighborhood.

Step 4. Increase Door-to-Door Success By Using Technology

Door-to-door sales require persistence. Homeowners can show interest on the first visit but will require follow-up and convincing to take action.

Additionally, due to people’s experience with scammers, they put up trust barriers when a salesperson knocks on their door. It takes consecutive visits for them to become familiar with you and trust you to book appointments.

Technology makes it easier to save the details of qualified leads and effectively manage follow-ups. This ensures you don’t lose track or become overwhelmed with the entire process.

Rather than use disconnected tools to record potential leads and perform follow-ups, consider using ServiceTitan’s Customer Experience software.

The software centralizes all customer details, including their names, service history, and descriptions of previous interactions. Salespeople and field techs can use these details to identify the specific homeowners requiring follow-up.

ServiceTitan’s Customer Experience software also has an SMS feature that supports two-way communication. You can use it to send thank-you notes, collect customer sales objections, and schedule follow-up visits and appointments.

This centralized lead and follow-up tracking system streamlines the door-to-door sales process and boosts conversions.

Robert Maier of Laing Roofing believes that using the software empowers the company to provide top-notch service and maintain long-term relationships with customers.

“ServiceTitan is (allowing us) to manage all that stuff in between— the annual inspections, providing recommendations, repairs, and maintenance throughout the year,” Maier said. 

“These are big assets for property managers. To have a half-a-million-dollar roof, and then manage it for 30 years, we want to go back to that same location every year.”

Technology is also useful for tracking the sales performance of field techs and salespersons. 

ServiceTitan’s Field Reporting software provides roofing business owners with valuable employee performance insights, such as the revenue generated and service contracts sold. Even better, the report is accessible from outside the office.

This reveals which pitches work best, which neighborhoods are most fruitful, when to adjust strategy, and which employees require roofing sales training.

Roofing companies like Guardian Roofing, also use this feature to grow their revenue, deliver excellent customer service, and automate key business processes.

“I can't even imagine going back to pre-ServiceTitan because of how archaic it was and not having real-time information,” says Lori Swanson, co-founder of the company. 

“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 reactive.”

Step 5. Implement Best Practices for Door-to-Door Sales

You must learn and implement some best practices to succeed at door-to-door sales. This ensures compliance with industry standards and forms a strong base for other techniques and creative sales ideas.

For starters, develop a consistent, reliable, and repeatable sales process. This involves documenting your winning sales pitches and scripts so everyone can learn from, follow, and build upon them.

After having a documented sales process, use it to train members of your sales team and field techs. Role-play sales scenarios and provide feedback on their performance to encourage continuous development.

Lastly, local door-sales regulations and ethics must be identified and complied with. Also, obtain any permits and certifications required.

Step 6. Measure and Improve Your Door-to-Door Results

You can only improve what you measure. Repeating the same mistakes is inevitable when no system tracks what’s working.

In that light, adopt a culture of continuous measurement and improvement. Use the following metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to judge the sales team’s performance and customers' responses to their pitches:

• Number of door knocks: The number of homeowners the salesperson contacts daily. This measures their productivity and efficiency.

• Close rate: The percentage of deals closed compared to the number of qualified leads salespersons interact with. This metric can be used to identify winning pitches and salespersons.

• Knock-to-deal rate: Captures the number of doors a roofing salesperson knocks on before recording a deal. It’s a valuable data point for predicting the number of houses you must visit to achieve the revenue target for the quarter.

Encourage employees to submit daily sales reports and use the metrics above to refine your sales approach. For example, you can use a salesperson's pitch with a high close rate to refine your pitches and train others.

What Are the Benefits of Door-To-Door Roofing Sales?

Due to the rise of digital advertising, some people believe sales strategies like door-to-door selling are in decline. Based on the available data, that's inaccurate.

At the end of 2023, the door-to-door sales industry in the United States was valued at $65.2 billion. Additionally, door-to-door sales experts like Adam Bensman, the roofing strategist, have used door-to-door to generate revenue and are training others to do the same.

Here are other unique advantages of investing in door-to-door roofing sales:

• Helps establish your brand: Interacting directly with customers and visiting neighborhoods regularly is an excellent way to build brand recognition. Customers will grow familiar with your brand and think of you first whenever there’s a roofing issue.

• Lowers customer acquisition costs: Canvassing for sales by knocking on doors costs nothing. You only pay commissions for conversions or quality leads primed to book an appointment. 

• Allows roofers to inspect the roof: Door-to-door sales lets roofers physically assess the roof before leaving. This way, you don’t have to schedule separate days for inspections and the job itself.

• Supports personalization: Unlike digital ads, door-to-door sales allow you to tailor your sales pitches to each customer's desires, pain points, and context. Such personalization increases the likelihood of the customer booking an appointment.

• Greater messaging impact: With door knocks, you and the customer are engaged in a conversation. No ads or content are trying to steal their attention, giving your messaging a greater opportunity to influence the customer positively.

What Are the Drawbacks of Door-To-Door Roofing Sales?

Door-to-door selling also has its drawbacks, including the following:

• Some areas restrict the use of the strategy: Due to the prevalence of scams, some jurisdictions prohibit door-to-door sales. Others mandate companies to undergo the long process of acquiring certain permits.

• Vulnerable to weather events: Roofing salespeople can’t go out to canvas for sales when it’s raining or during a heavy storm.

• Rejections can affect you mentally: Roofing salespeople sometimes get yelled at, have doors slammed in their faces, or repeatedly hear the word “no.” This can weigh down on them emotionally and mentally.

How Can You Overcome Common Objections in Door-To-Door Roofing Sales?

Dealing with customer objections is a primary aspect of every door knocker’s job. It’s crucial to proactively craft responses to overcome different objections and convince the lead to sign.

Check out some common objections and how to respond to them:

“I can’t afford it,” or “I would prefer to repair it myself”

These objections can mean the customer doesn’t want to book an appointment or would do so if the fee was lower. 

To ensure it’s the latter and avoid wasting time convincing someone whose mind is already made up, ask them, “Would you be willing to sign if money wasn’t a problem?” If the answer is no, probe further to find out why. However, if they answer yes, share examples of your work and customer testimonials—preferably from someone in their area.

Next, give a good-faith offer.

Say something like, “Because you’re willing to sign and I don’t want your roof to get damaged further, I can offer you an X% discount for signing today. Would you love to take advantage of this?”

You can also suggest the lowest tier and pause for their response. They will likely realize what they will miss out on and decide to sign for the higher offer instead. 

“The roof is not too damaged.”

This means the customer needs more education about the situation or distrusts you due to roofing scams. Therefore, the way to overcome this is to educate them about the severity of the problem using pictures you took of the roof. 

But don’t sound pushy. Rather, explain the problem and transfer the responsibility of resolving it to the customer with a question like, “Given the roof's condition, would you be willing to reconsider your decision?”

“I need to get a second bid”

In this case, the customer wants to beat the price but avoids saying so directly.

Rather than go against their decision, demonstrate an understanding of their plight and thank them for their time using this template:

“That’s great. Other roofers may find a way to do it at the amount you suggested. However, we must charge this price to deliver the quality of work we have in mind. Let me know if you still wish to proceed with the project.”

Drop your contact details and follow up with the customer to confirm if they found a cheaper alternative or have changed their mind.

Note that these responses may still not convince customers to sign. Sometimes, the customer gives you the runaround with no intention of signing. Learn to identify such customers, thank them for their time, and move on to the next house.

Additionally, have a list of recurring customer objections and try to work them into the sales presentation to quash them early. This can cause the customer to sign.

Recommended reading: Check out other templates for automating key business operations.

It’s Your Turn Now

Although they take time and grit, door-to-door sales can be a rewarding and reliable revenue source for roofing companies. They can also be an effective way to stand out in an already competitive roofing market and build brand recognition.

As you begin, have the mental fortitude to handle rejection and push on regardless. Additionally, a system should be implemented to track the hours spent canvassing neighborhoods and manage follow-ups to get more results.

With ServiceTitan, you can take door-to-door sales to the next level. Integrate your sales process with other aspects of your business and track its revenue performance.

ServiceTitan is a comprehensive platform for end-to-end management of roofing companies. From customer interactions and marketing, to inventory management and field operations, ServiceTitan is the perfect tool for boosting revenue.