You might wonder how ProspectNow, a company that collects real estate data and predicts which properties will go on sale soon, can help residential roofing companies. While it’s true that most ProspectNow members are real estate agents and brokers, other professionals use the database, too, to find and convert leads.
According to HomeAdvisor, the average roof repair in the US costs $947. Of course, the cost to repair a roof depends on many factors, including the property’s location, the roof’s size, what material’s the homeowner prefers, and the extent of the damage.
With so much money available per job, you want to reach out to potential clients before your competitors have an opportunity. ProspectNow has the information that you need to get ahead of other residential roofing companies in your area.
Locate Homeowners in Your Service Area
ProspectNow’s residential database lists more than 110 million residential properties. The platform’s search bar and filters make it easy for you to target specific types of residential real estate in your area.
Perhaps most importantly, the residential database gives you the real contact information of property owners. You don’t have to waste time contacting government offices to get contact details from deeds and other documents. Often, your search results will give you names, phone numbers, and addresses.
In the case that a corporation or other business entity owns a residential property, you can use ProspectNow to find out who really owns the real estate. Instead of trying to contact the corporation—which may not even receive your correspondence depending on what the entity does—you can reach out to someone authorized to make decisions for the organization.
Move Data Into Your CRM Through ProspectNow’s API
Your search could give you a list that includes hundreds or thousands of local properties. ProspectNow’s API Console makes it easy for you to move large amounts of information from the database to your CRM.
If you don’t use a customer relationship management solution, you can still use the API Console to download data as a spreadsheet or other format that you find convenient.
Even if you don’t have much experience using APIs, the console and case examples will offer some clarity that helps you use features like:
- Finding full addresses and owners’ names
- Setting a radius for your search
- Focusing on foreclosures in a specific area
- Identifying properties that have sold over the last 12 months
- Separating single-family and multi-family properties.
With so many options, you can generate lists of the properties and people that interest you. Then, you can load the data to your favorite database, CRM, or spreadsheet application to take a step-by-step approach to nurturing leads.
Identify Homeowners Who Might Need Residential Roofing Services
Most homeowners’ insurance policies cover the cost of roofing repairs and replacements. Note, however, that most insurance companies will try to convince you to choose repairs since it costs them less money. That’s fine in some cases. In other situations, replacing the entire roof gives owners a better long-term solution. (In a moment, you will learn more about how you can use ProspectNow and your expertise to get full-replacement jobs that earn more money.)
Obviously, homes in some places do not need as frequent roof repairs and replacements as those in areas with high wind and heavy storms. Even within a region, some towns might get hit by much harsher weather than nearby communities.
With help from ProspectNow, you can use your local knowledge to identify homeowners who might need residential roofing services.
Target Potential Residential Roofing Customers
Shortly after a weather event that damaged roofs in your service area, use ProspectNow to find sellers who need to get their homes repairs as soon as possible. It’s pretty difficult to sell a house with a defective roof!
You can even tailor your communications to make it more likely for leads to convert into clients. For example, you could send brochures or letters to the people listed in an area hit by a large storm. Your pitch could say something similar to, “The storm on [date] caused a lot of property damage, especially to roofs. Luckily, your homeowner’s insurance should help cover the cost. We have X years of residential roofing experience, so we are confident that we can repair or replace your roof in X days/weeks.”
If you get your communications out quickly—you might even call homeowners to stay ahead of your competitors—you can position yourself as a proactive expert who understands the needs of homeowners who desperately need to repair their properties before selling.
Offer a Free Inspection
Let’s get back to roofing repairs and replacements. Depending on the weather event’s severity, a homeowner’s insurance policy provider might try to save money by automatically approving damaged homes for repairs. In some cases, storms cause so much damage that the insurance companies realize they can save time and money by paying for a replacement.
More often than not, homeowners will need a residential roofing expert to inspect their property and make a recommendation. If a roof suffered enough damage, the owner could qualify for a full replacement.
As a residential roofing expert, you cannot guarantee a full replacement. However, you can offer to perform a free inspection to determine whether someone’s roof needs repairs or a replacement.
Any homeowner trying to sell the property will want a new roof. New roofs increase property values!
Increase Home Values by Updating Roofs
Since new roofing can increase property values and make real estate more appealing to potential buyers, some homeowners listing their properties might want to update their roofs.
Look for older properties that are more likely to have older roofing systems. Updating could make the house look nicer, reduce utility expenses, and attract more buyers.
You should also look for property that has been listed for longer than others. If residential real estate hasn’t gotten acceptable offers, the property might need improvements.
Reach out to the current owner to talk about whether new residential roofing would make the home more appealing to buyers.
Use ProspectNow to Personalize Pitches
ProspectNow will help you find the names of property owners. You might need an even more personalized approach to make them your clients, though.
When you find a property on ProspectNow, you get information about the home’s size and whether it has a garage. Use this data to roughly estimate the cost of replacing roofs on the property. Obviously, this is a very rough estimate. Still, it can get the owner thinking about how this investment could lead to a higher asking price.
Don’t make any promises. A rough estimate based on the property’s features isn’t a done deal. It’s worth the effort, though, if it means you can send an inspector to the property, review the roof, and start a relationship with the owner.
Start Searching Residential Properties With ProspectNow
ProspectNow has been helping professionals learn more about residential properties since 2008. Over the years, we have fine-tuned our database to make it targeted and searchable. When residential roofing contractors search the database, they can narrow their results by factors including the home’s age, size, and location. You can even get the owner’s contact information to send them personalized advertisements.
Believe it or not, ProspectNow’s real-estate-focused databases can help residential roofing companies succeed.
Best of all, you can get started with ProspectNow for free! When you discover how ProspectNow can make your business more successful, choose a membership level that matches your needs and continue reaping the benefits.