Hail Damage in Ohio

Do you mean the 7th of June 2009?

JET Said:

twill59 Said: CIAK is a prophet. As much as I disagreed with him, I know he is right. The stormchasers have had their plan in place for years. Where is yours?

I dont think Id give him that much credit......hes just been a part of the scheme for a while now. As far as competing with the pros on this, forget it. Theyve got insurance company adjusters in their pocket and can promise the homeowner a seamless transition from chaos to its fixed. The first thing they do is take the homeowner off the market and get them to sign away their rights to use another company. The car business people do it all the time. Theyll give someone a new car without getting final credit approval. If credit is denied they take their car back. In this case the chaser just keeps stringing the homeowner along and if they bitch they show them the contract they signed. Your best bet is to run some newspaper ads and show that youre a local company who will back up your work and warranty. Also state that you work with insurance companies. Put specific wording in your ad that states, Avoid out-of-town storm chasers, theyll take your money and run. You have to get down and dirty to compete with these slime-balls because they have absolutely no problem taking every job out there.

JET

I'm going to respectfully disagree with you. I don't think you need to "get down and dirty" at all. I think positive advertising will always outdistance negative advertising. For instance, I created some copy that makes the point that I'm local by saying "Howdy Neighbors!. We invite you to use this valuable coupon as a way of saying "THANKS" for working with "LOCALLY OWNED" roofing companies". The message was basically the same but framed in a positive manner.

I also don't agree with your comparison to a car dealer. First, I'd like to say that I think it is a good marketing plan to let someone take a car home with them. I've driven a few home like that myself. I've never felt victimized and always was in control of the situation. I could have said, "No thanks, I'll drive it home after we close on the vehicle.". And, I don't blame the car company for taking back the car if the creditor can't get financed. That's just basic business, isn't it? How can you see a demon in that?

As far as roofing...and "taking a homeowner off the market"....Yes, I do it. So do you. Again, I'll ask...why is this wrong? Do I promise a "seamless transition from chaos until it's fixed"? Yes...not in those exact words. So I ask again...why is this wrong? Am I not providing a valuable service? I'm going to do everything that I can to assist the homeowner through the process. I pull out "complicated" (sample) insurance reports and help them to interpret them. I explain the adjuster process. I offer to meet with the adjuster and to monitor the report. I also follow through and replace the roof in a manner that I would want done for myself.

Where is the conflict?

And finally...personally, I would have absolutely no problem with "taking every job out there."!!! I'm in business. I'm a capitalist. Selling and installing roofs is my business. WHY WOULDN'T I BE TRYING TO GET EVERY JOB OUT THERE?

Jet, there might be some demons chasing storms but you haven't really identified any of them other than vaguely referring to some adjusters being in the hip pocket of the contractors. I'm not saying that they aren't out there...I'm just saying that they haven't affected my business. The key, I guess, is to "take the homeowner off the market" before the crooked adjuster shows up.

soldierboy Said: O.K. This will be the first time that I have to experience this. We have storm chasers that have moved into my area. Now, how does the local roofing contractor get ahead of these guys? We had hail come thru on the 7th of June. I have been out with my wife and my one and only salesman hanging door hangers. These other guys bagged 50 roofs in one day, I am still dead in the water. Does anyone have any advice? This year is bad enough and with the other out of towners coming in and taking all the work itll be a really tough year in our market in Northern Ohio.

Soldierboy

I hate to break the news to you....but you are now a storm chaser LOL!

I've been working in hail areas for the last year. The storm chasers were here en masse and yes, they did land a lot of roofs. I've done okay for myself even though I am a relative novice as a full time roofing business. There is still a ton of business left, so don't despair.

I think the best advice I can offer is something you probably already know: this is a people business. It's not really about door hangers or newspaper advertisements or radio spots. It's personal. You have to make contact with the homeowners and connect to them on their level.

What do they want/need? The basics: safety, security, etc. They want to know that you will be the best person to lead them through an intimidating maze called "filing a claim". Think about it....how many of these ordinary people have ever filed a homeowners claim? Not many. They don't know what to expect. They are worried about 100 things.

So, what service are you really offering them with your door hangers? I'm guessing that your door hangers are geared toward your normal retail sales efforts. They need "insurance specialists" and you are a "quality roofer". Guess which company is getting the most opportunity?

I'm not a "storm chaser" by most interpretations. I happened to be in the residential remodeling business when storms rolled through here. I'm now an "expert" in insurance claims and working within 1 to 25 minutes of my homebase. But...I can guarantee you that if I showed up in your neighborhood tomorrow, I'd be planting one to five signs a day, working alone....with no door-hangers!

As far as the allegations about storm chasers having adjusters in their pockets...I don't believe that its such a big deal. I've run into a very small percentage that had a slight smell of collusion but in my neck of the woods it just doesn't seem like it has been an issue at all. I don't hear any homeowner, contractors or adjusters talking about it. Maybe I'm clueless...but I just haven't seen it.

twill59 Said: CIAK is a prophet. As much as I disagreed with him, I know he is right. The stormchasers have had their plan in place for years. Where is yours?

I don't think I'd give him that much credit......he's just been a "part" of the scheme for a while now. As far as competing with the pro's on this, forget it. They've got insurance company adjusters in their pocket and can promise the homeowner a seamless transition from chaos to "it's fixed". The first thing they do is take the homeowner "off the market" and get them to sign away their rights to use another company. The car business people do it all the time. They'll give someone a new car without getting final credit approval. If credit is denied they take their car back. In this case the chaser just keeps stringing the homeowner along and if they bitch they show them the contract they signed. Your best bet is to run some newspaper ads and show that you're a local company who will back up your work and warranty. Also state that you work with insurance companies. Put specific wording in your ad that states, "Avoid out-of-town storm chasers, they'll take your money and run". You have to get down and dirty to compete with these slime-balls because they have absolutely no problem taking every job out there.

JET

Did I miss a month or two?