Terry Satterthwaite, Inspections Manager at Rapid Roofing, recently reached out to the HOVER team to thank us for creating our platform. We love to share our customers’ success stories so we gladly jumped on a call with Terry to learn how HOVER is bringing value to his organization.
Rapid Roofing is a highly favored residential and commercial exterior contractor in Southeast Michigan. For years, the sales and production team relied on SkyMeasure and EagleView to receive exterior property measurements. Unfortunately, they still spent a lot of time hand measuring properties as SkyMeasure and EagleView can’t deliver measurements for remote properties and houses in densely vegetated areas.
A year ago, Terry decided to give HOVER a try and he was blown away by the impact of the platform. He saw his close rate for residential siding jobs skyrocket from 30% to 75%. Now, Rapid Roofing’s entire sales team is HOVERing every residential lead as part of their two-call close sales cycle.
Taking the Pressure off the Sales Cycle to Differentiate from Competitors
The construction landscape in Southeast Michigan is characterized by high-pressure companies who try their best to win the homeowner’s business during the very first meeting. They often discount their pricing to stimulate the homeowner to sign the deal on the spot. Being a visionary and trusted company, Rapid Roofing realizes that this sales tactic is on the way out.
“The days of providing an initial price and then pretending to cut it by 50% are over. Today’s homeowners, and especially millennials, no longer buy this. They do a lot of online research and know how much their remodeling project is expected to cost before they meet any contractor. Companies that don’t adjust their selling technique to accommodate the informed buyer will soon be the dinosaurs in our industry.”
To distinguish from its competitors, Rapid Roofing takes a very different approach. The company discourages its sales team from immediately providing a quote. Instead of pulling together a quick estimate, sales representatives capture the home with the HOVER app when meeting the homeowner for the first time. “This first meeting is short and to-the-point. As we no longer have to hand measure the house, we avoid wasting homeowners’ time. In doing so, we convey that we respect their time and want the project to cause as little disruption as possible.” The reps then inform the lead that they will return with an interactive 3D model of their home. “I have never met homeowners who are not excited at the prospect of receiving a 3D model of their house that they can use to design their dream home.”
By the time the sales representative returns for the second meeting, the homeowner has typically received multiple quotes from competing contractors. Nevertheless, Rapid Roofing still believes that they are ahead of their competitors. “Time is on our side. We give the homeowner the time and the freedom to figure out what they want their home to look like before signing the contract. We have fun designing the house together and ultimately, this visualization is what sells jobs. The additional value of the 3D model instantly puts us ahead of all other contractors they were previously considering.”
Visualizing Work and Design Outcomes
After adopting HOVER, Terry saw his close rate on siding jobs rapidly increase from 30% to 75%. He now no longer sells siding without using the platform. “HOVER allows me to invite homeowners to shop together rather than shove something down their throat. It’s like going to the ophthalmologist and having to pick a new pair of glasses. The patient tries on different options and decides what option looks best. At one point, homeowners see exactly what they want and then they easily hand over a check.”
The 3D model also helps Terry explain step by step how his team will execute the work. “We just started a foundation division. Of course, it’s not easy to convince homeowners to pay $80,000 for something that they will never see until the project is completed. HOVER has been very powerful to close these deals, as we can use the scaled 3D model to show homeowners where we’ll dig holes on the bottom of their house to install piers. By visualizing our work this way, the homeowner can understand how we’ll lift up their house. It turns the project into something digestible for them.”
Providing Transparency in Measurements and Price
When homeowners wonder why Rapid Roofing’s quotes are higher than some of their competitors, Terry happily shows HOVER’s precise measurements. “By giving them insight into the measurements, we can prove that we have nothing to hide. We might not be the cheapest contractor in town, but we’re definitely the best and most trusted. The combination of the interactive 3D model with these accurate measurements ends up outweighing any cheap price.”
Managing Crews with Ease
Like most big contractors, Rapid Roofing works with multiple subcontractors. Terry argues that many construction companies working with subs experience communication issues which inevitably lead to execution mistakes.
“Lots of contractors still write down rough measurements on a piece of paper and share it with their production and installation teams. Consequently, nobody really knows what’s supposed to happen and everything ends up going wrong. With HOVER, we can ensure that all our crews possess the information they need to successfully complete the job.”
About Rapid Roofing
Rapid Roofing is a residential and commercial exterior contractor in Southeast Michigan. The company was founded by brothers Bill and Mike Beaty, who grew up working in the roofing industry alongside their father. The homegrown company has been in business since 2000 and is especially known for its customer-first service. The many reviews from satisfied customers and an A+ rating by Better Business Bureau are a testament to their commitment to delivering exceptional service and craftsmanship to the homeowner.
