Tap into Your Inner Homeowner

Recently I was reminded of the time I purchased my first home. There was a mix of excitement and pride in ownership. There was also the frightening feeling that I was signing my life away. Like many first-time homeowners, soon after the purchase something went wrong with the house. The sewer line failed. After scraping together all of the money I could for the down payment, I was suddenly looking at a costly, unforeseen repair on a subject I knew almost nothing about.

I thought of that experience as I edited two articles for this issue that offer insights about educating homeowners on reroofing projects. In the first article, Brandon Strawder advises that contractors recognize and acknowledge homeowners’ fears right up front, before moving on to educate them about the roof system and the company — including its safety protocols. “Stating your safety precautions positions your company as a quality organization and immediately differentiates your company from ones that cut corners to offer a lower price,” he notes.

In the second article, Paul Scelsi shares the insights of Katie Riley of Grindstone Roofing in Joliet, Illinois, who offers tips on avoiding roadblocks to a potential sale. “The keys to overcoming objections for me have been being prepared, providing the homeowner with everything they need to know, building a rapport, and showing that as a roofing professional you know what you’re talking about,” Riley says.

Both articles emphasize the importance of the salesperson’s intangible qualities— connecting with the homeowner and inspiring confidence on a personal level.

I’ve covered the construction industry for the past 25 years. I’ve attended a lot of seminars about selling to homeowners and I’ve read a lot of surveys about homeowner preferences. Sometimes data can lure you into a bit of a trap, offering this vision of the elusive “homeowner” as some sort of academic puzzle for contractors to figure out. It’s easy to forget that the vast majority of contractors are homeowners as well. They, too, must know both the joys and the fears that come with owning a home.

The key is that roofing contractors are homeowners with a vast reservoir of specific knowledge about the roof system. They are in the perfect position to help people facing questions about repairing or replacing their roofs.

A little empathy can go a long way. It might be helpful to tap into your own experience as a homeowner to put yourself in another homeowner’s shoes. Think of what advice you might have liked to hear as your younger self, years ago, whenever it was you were faced with your first big home repair.

— Chris King