How To Get Commercial Roofing Leads

I'm often asked how to get commercial roofing leads. Commercial roofing is a big business, and as such, it can be difficult to get your foot in the door when trying to land new clients. However, with a little know-how and some effort, you can start generating commercial roofing leads that will help you build your business.

Getting commercial roofing leads can be done in two categories, inbound and outbound lead generating. Inbound is when you have advertising and marketing set up in such a way that leads come to you. Outbound is when you and your team go to the customers to get leads. We'll discuss both methods in this article.

Define Your Target Market

The first step to figuring out how to get commercial roofing leads is to pick the type of commercial work you want. There are different types of commercial leads and your company will need to be set up slightly different for each type of lead. For example, if you go after new construction, you have to consider the stages of the project will be drawn out, so it won't be a fast in and out project. You'll have to come back to the job site multiple times.

Getting work from certain types of property managers can have a unique step involved where you have to deal with an HOA board. If you go after government jobs, your company structure might have to follow specific guidelines. New construction will require you to read blueprints. Other commercial projects will require you to understand RFPs and fill out a ton of paperwork.

All of these are possible and you can absolutely set up your company to handle this, it's just helpful to know what you are getting yourself into so you can set your expectations and also bring in the right team to help you accomplish it.

Inbound Commercial Roofing Leads

Examples of inbound leads would be website leads, advertisement like Google Adwords, and commercial lead generators. Let's take a look at each one to learn how to get commercial roofing leads.

Website Leads With SEO

The first method of inbound lead generation is having a high-quality website. Your website is often the first interaction a potential customer will have with your company. As such, it's important to make sure that your site makes a good impression.

But it's not enough to just have a website, you also need to make sure your website can be found on Google. This is done through search engine optimization, or SEO. When someone searches for commercial roofing on Google, you want your website to be one of the first results that comes up.

To do this, you need to make sure your website is optimized for commercial roofing keywords. You also need to have high-quality content that will show potential customers that you know what you're talking about.

You can set up digital ads on social media and Google Adwords that will specifically target the commercial industry and demographics that you want to reach. This is a great way to get in front of potential customers that you may not have otherwise had the chance to reach.

An ad on social media is more for branding so you will want to do something that is memorable and helps you stand out. You could use humor or education and you can relate specifically to your audience.

Advertising on Google or Bing is a more specific ad where the people searching are ready to buy, so you can have a landing page and ad copy that is straight to the point. Speak to the needs of that specific type of customer you want.

Commercial Lead Generators

There are lead generation companies like The Blue Book, Contractor Connections and even Government websites that post jobs. You will find that a lot of these will require you to pay for a subscription, but it will be worth it if you are getting quality leads.

The type of jobs will often be large projects or new construction. But it's worth taking a look at and seeing if you are able to get your foot in the door of that industry.

Cross Marketing With Similar Industry

There are other industries, like an HVAC company, that works with your target audience. You can build a relationship with those individuals and promote each others businesses. This is partly outbound marketing in the beginning but it can turn into inbound as things take off.

It helps if you find a company that is about the same size as you so that the cross marketing is a fair trade. Ask the other company to promote you on their email list our social media and you do the same on yours. The owners of each company or the sales team can also invite each other to meetings to help each other network.

Outbound Commercial Roofing Leads

Getting outbound commercial roofing leads is not as difficult as it may seem. There are a number of methods you can use to get in front of potential customers, including networking groups, associations, and leveraging your social media.

No matter which method you choose, it's important to be prepared and know what you're doing in order to get the most out of your efforts. Have a plan for what you will say and do in each situation. By following these tips, you'll be well on your way to generating quality commercial roofing leads that will help grow your business.

Facility Managers

One of the best ways to get commercial roofing leads is to build relationships with facility managers. These are the people who make the decisions about which roofing company to hire for a project.

You can build relationships with them by attending industry events where they will be in attendance, join an association of managers or by reaching out to them directly. You can also offer them educational materials, such as blog posts or in person training, that will help them learn more about the roofing industry.

Once you have built a relationship with a facility manager, you can then offer to provide a proposal for any upcoming projects they may have. This is a great way to get your foot in the door with potential customers. If you take care of a facility manager, they will give you the chance to replace their roof when that day comes.

Networking

Build connections with other business owners, property managers and general contractors in the commercial building industry. Attend events where they will be in attendance, join an association of business owners or property managers and reach out to them directly.

You can also offer them educational materials, provide a lunch-and-learn or in person training, that will help them learn more about the roofing industry. Look for networking groups on Meet Up, Facebook or places like your local Chamber Of Commerce.

Another great place to network is with companies that are in different industries but work with your target market. So engineers, HVAC, remodeling companies, landscapers and so on.

General Contractors

As a roofing contractor, networking with general contractors is a great way to get leads. General contractors are always looking for qualified roofers to work on their projects. They also have relationships with facility managers and can recommend your company to them.

You can network with general contractors by attending industry events where they will be in attendance, joining an association of contractors, or by reaching out to them directly.

Some contractors will specialize in different types of buildings or projects, so you can look for a specific niche in the market that fits your goals.

Social Media

Linkedin is the social platform with the most focus on the commercial industry. So I recommend you start here. Although, whichever platform you choose, stick with it for a long period of time and be consistent. If you are posting or interacting in a way that isn't producing anything, continue learning and changing up what you do.

There are three ways that you can leverage social media to bring in commercial roofing leads: advertising, branding and engaging.

Advertising on social media is where you create content and or a specific advertisement video and you put money behind it so that the platform shows it to more people.

Branding is the process of staying consistent in your posts, which keeps you top of mind to your potential customers. Post as often as you can, but make sure you are bringing value with your posts. Education, or humor are a great place to start. Use each of the features available to you on the platforms: video, pictures, text, articles, etc.

Engaging is probably the most important part of social media, and that's because it's how you build relationships. You engage with people by liking their posts, commenting on their posts, sharing their posts and sending them messages.

Strategy For How To Get Commercial Roofing Leads

We are here to help if you need to brainstorm ideas or get input on your strategy. Growing your commercial department can be a fun and exciting adventure. So if you need help, don't hesitate to reach out to us today.