As a commercial roofer by trade, you focus on your craft: installing high-quality roofing and materials that effectively shield buildings from the elements. You’ve been successful, but a little more business wouldn’t hurt.
A great way to develop more business is to get more leads. Leads are people whom you’ve come into contact with and you’ve formed a relationship with them. They might be interested in purchasing your services, but they haven’t just yet.
Advancements in technology have produced several tools and methods to help you get leads. In this article, we’ll introduce three tactics you can leverage to get more leads for your commercial roofing business.
Tactic #1: Enhance Your Website And Be Active on Social Media
Since you’ve already got a website, ensure that your Google Business Profile is up to date. A current Google Business Profile gives visitors your contact information and allows them to review your business. It also puts you on Google Maps, making it easier for leads to find you.
Use your website to create content that spotlights your commercial roofing expertise. A common way of doing this is to write a blog.
Here are possible topics you can offer your professional opinion about:
- When to Replace Your Roof.
- Latest Trends in Commercial Roofing Materials.
- Roofing Solutions for Commercial Buildings.
- Innovations in Commercial Roofing Technology.
- Commercial Roofing and Insurance.
- The Role of Insulation and Ventilation in Roof Health.
- Solar Panels and Commercial Roofing.
- Historical Roofing Styles and Materials.
- Common Commercial Roofing Problems and How to Solve Them.
- Commercial Roofing Maintenance.
By offering your professional expertise on various commercial roofing topics, leads will see you as a trusted source of information and might be inclined to recruit your services.
Spice up your articles with a bit of SEO. Do this by finding keywords using Google Ads. Keywords are the words or phrases people google to search the internet. You’ll want to use low-competition keywords (keywords with a score of 29 or below) and a monthly search volume of 100 or above.
Using keywords could bring your article to Google’s search results page when people are looking for information about that particular keyword.
Keep Your Facebook and LinkedIn Business Pages Active and Up To Date
A Facebook Business page is an important tool that gives your business visibility. Many businesses that could be your clients also have Facebook Business Pages. Conduct research by searching for businesses that might need your services.
Lead generation is relationship development, so be outgoing and strike up conversations with potential leads you find by seeking out businesses on Facebook.
LinkedIn is incredibly powerful for popularizing your commercial roofing business. If you’re not on LinkedIn, sign up immediately at www.linkedIn.com. When creating your profile, make sure to include all your professional information, such as your educational background, work experience, and areas of expertise.
After you finish making your LinkedIn profile, create a LinkedIn Business page for your commercial roofing business. Follow these steps to build a lead-generating LinkedIn business page:
- Navigate to the LinkedIn Business page builder.
- Fill in all the necessary information and set your business location.
- Set a picture of your logo as your business’s profile picture. For the background pic, use a professional-looking photo of your brick-and-mortar or a shot of your entire team.
- Invite people from your personal network to follow your LinkedIn business page. LinkedIn initially gives you 100 invites a month; when your follower count hits 500, you’ll get 250 per month.
- Post engaging content blurbs, which are a few sentences about commercial roofing topics every couple of days. Don’t forget to promote freshly published blog articles on your LinkedIn page, too.
Once your LinkedIn business account is complete, use your personal profile to make personal connections with potential leads. Before beginning, ensure the information on your LinkedIn profile is complete. Importantly, portray yourself in a flatteringly professional light with an approachable profile picture.
Potential leads can learn a great deal of information about you as a professional by simply glancing at your LinkedIn profile.
Leverage LinkedIn’s search bar and reach out to potential leads by sending them a message. In your message, include the following:
- Address them by their first name.
- Point out something you and the lead have in common.
- Say you’re always looking to grow your network.
- As a departing salutation, always thank them for their time.
Prioritize connecting with professionals like contractors, commercial real estate agents, and developers. These professionals will likely need your services whenever their projects initiate - next week, next month, in three months, or next year.
If you already have a relationship with a developer who will break ground on a new project next quarter, you have a lead who you can pitch.
Reaching out to leads everyday on LinkedIn will slowly grow your network. Just like your Facebook business profile, it’s important to strike up conversations with your new connections. Aim to meet up with connections in your area for lunch or coffee - make it your treat.
Instagram: The 21st Century’s Billboards and TV Ads
Instagram is a great way to present your work, highlight your skills, and introduce your team to the world. Connecting your Instagram account to your website is a must, as site visitors can jump over to your Instagram and view your most recent work.
Feature the following on your Instagram account:
- Meetings with clients.
- Work in Progress.
- Finished jobs.
- New Tools and Equipment.
- New Employees.
- Company functions like the Holiday Party.
- Client Testimonials (video or text).
If you include people outside of your organization in the photos, ensure that you have their consent. For testimonials (and positive reviews on Google or Facebook), offer clients a small reward to show your gratitude.
This can be a free beverage from your local coffee shop, or a cool piece of branded merch, like a spirit level or tape measure with your logo. Clients will be grateful for small tokens of appreciation. Wherever and whenever they use the branded merch you gave them, people around them will see your logo.
Tactic #2: Run Google and Facebook Ad Campaigns
A highly effective way to make your site visible to web browsers is by running Google and Facebook Ad Campaigns. While you need to pay some money, you don’t need SEO knowledge to run ads.
For Google Ad Campaigns, use your Google Ads Account you signed up for earlier to find keywords. Each keyword is priced differently; you’ll pay a higher price for popular keywords. When people search for the keyword you purchased, your site will appear at the top of the search results page.
Facebook Ad Campaigns are a little different. Instead of paying for keywords, you pay to insert your business page within the feeds of targeted Facebook users. You choose which users you want to target by selecting age, profession, location, hobby, etc.
A good rule of thumb is to select people and businesses from your area. Target the professions we mentioned previously: contractors, commercial real estate brokers, and developers. They will most likely need your services at some point.
Running successful ad campaigns doesn’t require a bank-breaking budget. You can gain visibility for about $500 a month. Facebook and Google will also provide you with analytical reports that detail your campaign performance. Learn insights from these so you can run a more successful future campaign.
Tactic #3: Build an App for Estimate Scheduling and Maintenance Services
Use a no-code app builder like Adalo to create a scheduling app for maintenance, estimates, and compliance checks.
Creating an app with Adalo requires no technical or coding knowledge. You simply use Adalo’s responsive drag-and-drop interface to construct your app. Choose a fitting template from Adalo’s huge database and start building.
Your leads can easily download your app from the Apple iOS and Google Play Stores or directly from your website. The simplicity of booking an estimation with just a few taps will appeal to leads who don’t want to take the time to make a call or write an email.
Adalo lets you send out push notifications when routine gutter cleanings, annual inspections, or other maintenance needs to happen. You can customize how far in advance you want to send your notifications.
Leads will greatly appreciate the reminders. Sometimes, people who are busy forget about an estimation service they made 4 weeks ago. Staying in the forefront of people’s minds can help is a great way to transform leads into clients.
The Goal: Transforming Leads Into Clients
Gathering leads by making new connections and building relationships is a lengthy process. Work on getting leads daily, with your main goal in mind: transforming your leads into paying customers. If you stay persistent, your efforts will pay off.
