Door to Door Roofers
While it’s not nearly as popular as it was 30-40 years ago, door to door sales or neighborhood canvassing is still a reality for many small businesses in America. In the Louisville area, it seems to be a popular sales method for pest control companies, who send out college aged employees. But all around the country, door to door sales is one of the most popular strategies for roofers.
How Do You Respond to Door to Door Sales?
In general, especially in the age of social media, homeowners are highly skeptical of door to door sales. In one sense, this skepticism is an overreaction. We are more connected, at least in theory, than we ever have been in human society. If something happens, especially if it’s negative, you can find it on the internet and in your social media feed. Terrible things happen around the country every single day. This is true today and it was true 50 years ago. We’re just more aware of it now.
But, it’s extremely important to be diligent and responsible with the information we have. For example, in the context of door to door sales, have there been real stories of bad actors masquerading themselves as legitimate sales representatives. Yes, sure this happens. But does this mean the majority of people who knock on your door are there to harm you? Absolutely not. The overwhelming majority of door to door salespeople are simply trying to earn a living and connect with new people.
But I get it. Personally, I don’t like door to door sales. Maybe it’s because I’m more of an introvert, at least with strangers. Also, I often perceive door to door sales as pushy. I know that once I open the door, it’s going to take a lot of effort to communicate my lack of interest.
The biggest issue with door to door sales is the inconvenience for the homeowner. When a salesperson shows up unannounced, you could be in the middle of anything. You could be on a zoom call, in the shower, sleeping, or trying to take care of your kids. Inevitably, I’m always trying to get one of my kids down for a nap when a salesperson rings my doorbell.
In the past, I’ve either gotten irritated with canvassers, or I just completely ignore them, pretending like I’m not home.
But as fate would have it, I wrote about empathy last week, and door to door sales has been a recent lesson in empathy for me. Working with a small, local roofing business, I’ve gone from disliking door to door sales to engaging in them. And well, it’s been an eye opening lesson in understanding others.
Why Do Roofers Knock On Doors
At a fundamental level, empathy involves trying to understand others. Why do others believe what they believe and do what they do? As a roofer, I’ve come to understand why people engage in door to door sales.
As I mentioned, a lot of neighborhood canvassers are young people, trying to get their feet wet in the business world and learning to get out of their comfort zone. In the roofing business, we have more specific motivations. At Evergreen Construction & Roofing, we canvas neighborhoods for 2 main reasons.
First, we are a small business. We don’t have the money, staff, or resources to run major marketing campaigns. We need to connect with customers who need new roofs. Door to door sales is a direct way to build these relationships. We are able to identify old roofs and introduce ourselves to potential customers.
Second, as roofers, we canvas neighborhoods where we find storm damage. Obviously, we do this to get more business, but there’s a real educational purpose in this kind of canvassing. If we work with a customer, who has storm damage, and their insurance approves a roof replacement, then we want to make sure their neighbors know they might have the same opportunity.
We go to these neighbors, offering free roof inspections, so we can give them a detailed report on the condition of their roof. From there, we’re able to help homeowners figure out if they should file an insurance claim. We’ve worked with many people, who didn’t even know their roof was damaged. But because we reached out to them, they were able to get a new roof and save thousands of dollars.
The Risks of Doing Business With Door to Door Roofers
As a homeowner, it’s important to be vigilant and understand the risks of giving your business to a roofer who knocks at your door.
First, you’re going to be working with someone you don’t know. They might be personable and convincing, but don’t let these superficial qualities cause you to overlook deeper, more important considerations.
Before you agree to work with any roofer, especially one who comes to your door, make sure you check their references. All it takes is some quick research. Do they have a website? A Google profile? Is their business on Facebook or Nextdoor? By checking these resources, you can tell if a roofing business is legitimate. Are they local? Do they have reviews and recommendations? Are they fully insured to do roofing work. Most people wouldn’t buy a $50 product on Amazon without looking at the reviews and the specifications. You certainly shouldn't hire a roofer for a $10K-$30K job without doing the same.
Checking references for roofers is especially important after a major storm has hit your area. This is by far when shady roofers become the most aggressive. For example, after a tornado hit the Prospect area this past spring, we were out doing inspections for a few customers, and we saw at least 20 roofing companies circling the local neighborhoods. A salesman even came to our customer’s door while we were on the roof doing an inspection.
I’m sure many of these roofing companies are legitimate and do good work. But predatory, illegitimate roofers see big storms as a prime opportunity to deceive and take advantage of homeowners. We recently worked with a homeowner, who got his roof replaced, but before he could verify his new roof system with his insurance company, the roofing company was gone, nowhere to be found.
I’m not saying, you should use these negative examples to dismiss every roofer that comes to your door. Most roofers are trustworthy. Homeowners just need to do their research, and make sure they’re comfortable working with the roofing company they choose. At Evergreen, we try to be as transparent as possible. We put as much information out as we possibly can. You can visit our website here. You can find “Evergreen Construction & Roofing” on Google, Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor, and The Better Business Bureau.
You can find examples and recommendations of our work on all of these platforms.
We’re a small business, so we do partially rely on door to door canvassing for new business. If we come to your door, we present ourselves in a candid, professional, and considerate manner. We do, however, understand that door to door sales can be inconvenient for homeowners. If you’d like to set up an appointment, on your time, for a free roof inspection or estimate, you can always do so at our website.