Having remote, do-it-yourself roof measurement technology at your fingertips gives you some unique advantages… advantages that extend far beyond selling single roof replacement or repair projects.
Being able to quickly and easily create detailed roof reports without traveling to multiple properties and climbing countless roofs, or without waiting for a third-party roof report, can open doors to lucrative new business opportunities, new marketing techniques, and easier ways to communicate your company’s capabilities to property owners!
Let’s take a look at what you can do to make the most of technological innovations in roofing!
1. Neighborhood Prospecting...
With access to satellite images, aerial roof imagery, and remote measurement tools, you can take a look at properties in your service area to find aging or damaged roofs. Today there are services that not only offer satellite images but also aerial views (such as Clearoof™) that are updated frequently and, in most cases, you’re seeing what reflects recent structural conditions.
When you’ve spotted a good prospect, such as a roof displaying wear or sagging, why not put together a quick, custom measurement with the built-in measurement tool in your roofing app? You can also work-up an accurate estimate once you assess how many squares make up the roof. Most likely, you already have a sense of your per-square pricing for labor based on whatever material it is you’ll be replacing. With your roofing software, you can find all kinds of materials in the app’s digital manufacturer’s catalogs. Recommended roof products can then be included and pictured in your estimate.
With the information you’ve gathered you can then create a proposal customized with actual images of the prospect’s home. Your simple proposal can be printed from your home or office, or at a nearby CVS, Walgreens or FedEx Office location. Some contractors even keep wireless printers in their trucks, enabling them to print documents at will. In this way, you can create any number of personalized proposals for roofs in your area that appear to need attention. Drop those proposals in homeowners’ mailboxes. They’ll appreciate the personal touch and how relevant your information is to their particular home. Plus, your prospects will appreciate becoming aware of any roof wear or damage they might not have known about.
Using iRoofing with its new Clearoof™ high-resolution aerial imagery can give contractors a truer sense of actual roof conditions. It’s 4 times clearer than Google Maps’ satellite imagery so Clearoof™ will enable you to get a detailed view of roof issues without traveling to the property to launch your drone or climb on to the roof. Once a homeowner decides to get any needed work underway, you can bet they’ll remember you!
By having a subscription to a roofing application that enables you to do unlimited roof measurements from anywhere at anytime, you can use the app to locate an aerial or satellite view of neighborhood or cul-de-sac where you had noticed aging or damaged roofs. Homes in subdivisions built at more-or-less the same time will experience wear and tear in the same way, over a similar timeframe. So, performing overhead surveys of these neighborhoods, using satellite and aerial data, enables you to see and measure homes which might benefit from roof replacement or repair. You can create proposals for each home exhibiting roof issues and drop those flyers in the prospects mailbox with a friendly message.
2. When the Weather Outside is Frightful... Measure to Your Heart’s Content.
Make the best use of the low-season by warming your toes in front of a crackling fireplace while you knock out satellite, aerial and blueprint roof measurements on your phone or tablet app. Okay, if you can’t get in front of a crackling fireplace your office will do! Winter up north can wreak havoc on rooftops and many homeowners will be contemplating roof repairs as springtime approaches. Look up some of your leads and put together some fresh new roof reports. Each address should only take 5 or 10 minutes to measure. If you use a smart software you can already have a template that will generate an estimate on the spot. If not, just use a price-per-SQ system based on the squares you’ve measured. Imagine being able to send these customers and prospects their new digital roof reports straight from the app with an inviting email message.
So, if you find you have a little time on your hands during the low season, make use of it. Produce a bunch of measurements with your roofing software. Impress old and new leads with personalized, relevant messages and reports. Start the season strong!
Are you driving out to properties to perform roof measurements? Are you climbing ladders and pushing around a measuring wheel? Have you ever felt you were imposing on a client by showing up at their doorstep when they forgot you were coming over? Forget about all that. Just stay cozy by the fireplace (or imaginary fireplace!) sipping your hot cocoa while you create and send out professional roof reports. Then, listen to the phone ring.
3. Get Your Mind into Gutters
Another awesome advantage of unlimited roof measurement, roof estimate and roof visualizing software is that it gives you the potential to expand your services to include gutter jobs, water-proofing, siding, tarp installation and more… iRoofing’s new Android phone app even guides you through creating super professional roof inspection reports. And, with roofing software, you’ll be able to designate needed accessories as you create your roof measurement report. With just the tap of a button your material quantity will instantly be applied and you can create an estimate using the products from just about any manufacturer.
4. Pre- and Post-Storm Event Opportunities
Naturally, roofing contractors experience a windfall of new business due to storm events (no pun intended). While no one likes to see our local communities suffer the hardships that hurricanes, tropical storms, and tornados exact, these destructive events create widespread needs for quick response and remediation by contractors of all kinds. Sometimes meteorologists know of a coming storm well before it hits. That’s the time to prepare your game plan for deploying resources to areas of your community which are most likely to need roofing repairs. In situations like this, a great idea is to reach out to your customer database with email and social media posts. Let everyone know your company stands ready to serve them. With roofing software, you can assure customers that your company can provide immediate input and assistance. Through your access to satellite images (but mainly to frequently updated aerial images thanks to your roofing software application), you can tell if a customer’s home might be prone to hazards like overhanging limbs, dead trees, unsecured objects on the ground or vulnerable structures adjacent to the home.
You can usually decipher the roofing material used on the home and confirm with a customer that you and your distributor can get it right away, if roof repairs or replacement becomes necessary. You might even see things in aerial images of the homeowner’s property that could lead you to recommend precautionary measures to take, such as, securing a metal roof over a carport, installing roof anchors and tie-downs or being prepared to install tarps once the storm passes. Referencing specific attributes of a homeowner’s property will let them know you’ve done your homework, you care for their well being, and you’re preparing for whatever needs they might have. Obviously, such personal care isn’t possible to a broad audience but it certainly can be a positive consideration when it comes to your friends, neighbors, past clients and current prospects who were already considering your services. After severe storms, contractors with the right roofing software also have access to images from the recent past, so they can still take accurate measurements of the roof no matter how badly a storm inflicted its damage.
5. Know When a Project is Worth Your Time
Using roof measurement software allows you to look closely at prospective projects and determine if they’re right for your company. By surveying a property with the satellite or aerial imagery on your app, you can decide if a job is too small or even too big, given your current workload, materials or your overall capabilities.
6. Be the Quickest Draw in the West... East, North, and South!
Another huge advantage of having instant, unlimited access to a roofing software application is your ability to deliver a report FAST. Sometimes this can make the difference between winning a losing abid! With a roofing solution like iRoofing, you’re able to perform a roof measurement remotely and in minutes. With the quick and accurate measurements you create, you can then generate an initial estimate for a client with materials you select from digital catalogs housed in the app. This type of fast, detailed response to a customer who is close to making a purchase decision will help you win the bid and will certainly impress the property owner!
