“Life changed after using HOVER,” said Thomas Williams, Co-founder of metro-based All American Exteriors. “Before I even step foot on a customer’s property, I’m able to have a conversation with them wabout their wants and needs on a project, show them what it will look like, and share a round estimate of where the investment is going to land."
Since implementing HOVER into their sales motion, All American Exteriors has grown rapidly. In 2019, the company's sales were $900,000; in 2020, they rose to $1.2 million, and in 2021, they were just under $2 million in remodeling. Thomas believes that HOVER and its impact on the sales process have played a key role in All American’s rising sales.
Thomas Williams co-founded All American Exteriors when his brother Pete Williams reached out to him to start a gutter business. At the time, he was just 18 (his brother was 23), and his only concern was, “Could they make money?” The brothers worked exclusively with new construction builders.
Builders were impressed with the customer service that All American Exteriors provided. The team was there on time as scheduled. Builders asked, “How come I can get you to install gutters on time, but I can’t get my roofer to come and install the roof on time. Can you start installing roofs?” Although Thomas and his brother knew nothing about roofing, they learned. The brothers also started doing siding jobs.
During the 2008 recession, they weathered the tough time by focusing on roof installations and siding after hail storms. By 2017, after great success in the restoration business, the company stopped working on new construction, and focused solely on damage to existing homes.
It was around this same time that All American Exteriors began using HOVER. Thomas signed up for HOVER after learning about it at a James Hardie conference (All American Exteriors has been a Preferred member of the James Hardie Contractor Alliance® Program since 2013). In 2018, All American began using HOVER extensively including their Invite-to-Capture feature and experienced profound changes.
Before HOVER, the team used a tape measure, notepad, and a pen for measurements. They would draw out every house on the notepad and take measurements that weren’t exact. Now, they upload property photos in HOVER and get reliable and accurate measurements, every time.
“The right measurements make our life tremendously easier because it takes the question of whether measurements are accurate or not out of the equation,” Thomas says. By knowing the exterior measurements are accurate, the sales team can confidently quote prices to the penny. And that fee is not going to change because more materials need to be bought for something that was not considered, for example.
Measurement accuracy also improves the bottom line. First off, the team can provide a great quote since only necessary materials are purchased, which leads to lower costs for All American. Also, improved measurement accuracy leads to less waste. There's no more – ‘whoops I ordered too much siding,’ which eats into profits, particularly when selling premium products, and is time-consuming to deal with.
Just how confident is Thomas with HOVER’s measurement accuracy? “If the installer says material is missing, I know it’s their problem and not ours.”
Before HOVER’s Invite-to-Capture feature, Thomas or a member of his team would go out to the home of a potential customer before the sales appointment and take photos. This process was time-consuming and costly. Eliminating this step and having the information before the appointment has been extremely helpful.
“I was defiant, adamant – no way customers would take the photos themselves,” says Thomas. “But customers gave little pushback and took the photos themselves.”
With HOVER, the team talks with the homeowner about their needs and wants before they get to the home. This way, they can ensure the homeowner's budget is within the range of what they propose. While allowing them to one-call close, Thomas and the team use HOVER's Invite-to-Capture feature as a lead qualifier as well. Based on how quickly people take the pictures, they understand if a job is a high-priority project.
When the project manager arrives at the appointment, they can focus on their job. The conversation around the kitchen table has changed and includes more details, options and specifics, including the exact price of James Hardie premium siding products. Before using the Invite-to-Capture feature, the team could not quote and sign a contract upon the initial visit. “With HOVER, I have everything I need and no longer spend hours putting together measurements and printing out a proposal."