Ace Your Pitch at the Door! Canvassing and Door-to-Door Scripts For Roofing Sales

Hey guys, Adam here, the Roof Strategist. Today we’re gonna talk about acing your pitch at the door to start those conversations.

Alright, so what I want you to do in this video is to first table and forget everything that you’ve been taught about knocking doors or canvassing scripts, because chances are, they’re garbage. Now, that’s a big claim to make. And I’ll let you be the judge after you hear me out. 

First, I want to open with a question. What is the number one thing that needs to happen when you knock on a door? Is it to get your pitch in? Is it to introduce yourself? The answer is none of those. It’s to start a conversation. Follow up question… What’s the best way to start a conversation? To ask a question. If you can ask an open-ended question which requires some thinking, you’ll start a conversation much easier than asking a closed-ended question which ends in a “yes” or “no”. 

Chances are some discomfort that you might experience as a salesperson or a new salesperson will inspire you to ask closed-ended questions like “Has anyone been out to take a look at your roof yet?” That’s a closed-ended question because there’s two answers, “yes” or “no”. Which says, “no, we’re good. Thanks.” Boom, doors closed. When you get nervous, oftentimes unconsciously, salespeople will set themselves up for that closed-ended question because it makes rejection easier. So you need to stop that. Okay. 

The other thing you need to do is keep it short and keep it specific to the prospective customer’s stage in the claims process. What I want you to do, if you haven’t done so yet, is watch my video on the four stages of the claims process because if I approach a homeowner who just had a hailstorm happen, and they had one inch-sized hail, they may not know if they had damage yet. They may not know if they need to file a claim or what their options are. My pitch is going to be different than if baseball-sized hail obliterated their siding, put a hole in the grill cover and knocked out the windows of their car. They know that there’s damage there, right? So if I said, “Hey, have you had an inspection yet?” Like an inspection? I can see my house is frickin’ Swiss cheese from the driveway! You don’t need to open with that canned pitch.

Many training programs out there teach a pitch that’s way too long. It’s like. Knock on the door, tell them your name. Tell the name of the company. Tell them how long you’ve been in business and where your office is located. Then offer a free inspection. And the only hook is a free inspection? But you don’t know if that’s what they want! If I have my check in my hand as a homeowner, do I want a free inspection? Heck no. Give me a bid. That’s what the homeowner thinks. Now it’s your job to flip it around. That’s why you’ve got to start that conversation!

I’m gonna give you a few examples. When I knock on the door, they’re going to answer and I’ll say, “Oh, hi there. My name is Adam. I’ve been working with Sally next door on their roof. Now, the reason I’m stopping by is that when I met Sally, her roof was only covered part of the way. We ended up getting it fully covered, and we’ll be repairing it next week. Just wanted to stop by and ask you how the process went with the insurance company?” 

Another open ended question to ask is, “How’s the insurance process been for you?” I also referenced that Sally’s claim was only partially covered, and now we got it fully covered. So asking the open ended questions allows the homeowner to respond. His/her answer will dictate my pitch. That’s why we start with a simple question. 

Here’s another example. We knock, “Oh, hey, we haven’t met yet. My name is Adam. I’m with the Roof Strategist. And we’ve been in the Golden Hills subdivision helping folks who have had their claims denied initially by the insurance company get their claims approved. And I just wanted to stop by and see what the outcome was for your roof?” Boom, it’s open ended. They’re gonna tell you. It doesn’t matter if their claim was denied. That’s the kicker, right? Because if her claim was approved, and she has the check in hand she goes, “Oh, you know, we must have been lucky. We got the paperwork. It’s covered. We’re just looking for a roofer.” Great! Now, I don’t need to tell you what to do. You know what you have to do. Perfect, perfect opportunity to say, “Fantastic. Well, I’m glad you got covered. Do you mind if I take a look, and I might be able to help you out? Or get you on your way?” “Yeah, great.” Now we’re further in the conversation, right? You don’t need to get too far ahead of yourself with the pitch. 

So keep it short and ask an open-ended question. Now to help you along this process to formulate your questions… by referencing the neighborhood, the type of people, the claims process, the neighbor’s name, I have a little bonus piece in my Marketing Battle Pack to help you ace your pitch. It’s three templated pieces to just grab a little swipe bank, as I call it, an idea bank to keep printed out in your truck, and you can look at it and be like, “you know what, I worked this neighborhood today. These houses are on the fringe area. People don’t know if they have damage. I know I’m getting a lot of people that I need to file a claim with. Then I’ve got this neighborhood where I’ve already opened up. I’ve got four customers, they’re all obliterated. So I have a different script for this.” But if you can keep it to, let’s say five sentences or less with an open-ended question that requires thought for them to start a conversation, you’re going to set that hook at the door. 

And where most sales guys go wrong is one of three ways: one, their script takes forever. The homeowner feels sold and talked at, and they’re going to close the door. Number two, it needs to be relevant to them specifically. And number three, it needs to be short and end with that question. All right, if you can ace those elements and set the hook without trying to get the whole, you know, you don’t need to vomit your whole pitch out, you can exercise some restraint. It’s just starting a conversation. 

If you follow this advice, by the way, door knocking starts to suck a whole lot less. Because you don’t think that every door that you knock on you’re trying to sell right away. Reframe your thinking. I’m just here to start a conversation. How would I do it? Right? Start those conversations, the sale will happen naturally. 

So if you haven’t done so, please watch the four stages of the claims process video. It is going to make all this make sense. You’re also welcome to check out my Marketing Battle Pack. There’s a link in the description with everything included including that Ace Your Pitch template, which is a great tool and a great exercise for you to complete, print out, and keep in your truck. You’re going to become such a stronger door knocker, you’re going to hate door knocking a whole lot less. You’re going to start more conversations easier, and the result is making more sales. Alright, so check it out. Once you complete your purchase, it’ll be emailed to you instantly along with a playlist to watch to really help you get through everything. 

Last thing, subscribe to the channel. I make these videos in response to requests from comments from people who bought the Battle Pack and emailed me, and from people who reach out on Facebook. I want to hear from you. Drop the comments below. Subscribe, stay up to date and happy selling. Cheers to making door knocking not suck. We’ll see in the next one.