OBJECTION: “I just want my insurance co. to handle it.”

I just want my insurance company to handle it.

Don’t you hate that objection?

We tend to hear it in one of two places in roofing sales. In fact, we’re either hearing this:

Right at the door, as an “end all” objection

At the kitchen table after we’ve started presenting the contingency agreement. Here, the homeowner is usually getting cold feet, and they don’t really trust you.

So, you end up hearing, “I just want my insurance coming to handle it,” and you may even hear, “We’ll call you after to get an estimate.”

No matter how you hear this objection, it can KILL the deal, and it is very hard to get through — until now. That’s because I’m going to teach you a really simple process to get past this objection, instead of pushing back.

Now, there’s this misconception in roofing sales that we educate people. Of course, we DO educate folks, BUT if we try to do that without their permission:

• We sound like we’re preaching.
• We can come off as pushy.

And no one likes to feel like they’re being preached at or told what to do.

So, I’m going to break all that and more down, sharing a really simple strategy that you can use the very next time you hear this objection at the door or with the contingency agreement.

First, I want to say a quick welcome or welcome back. Adam Bensman, The Roof Strategist, here. Thank you so much for spending your very valuable time with me.

My mission is to help you and your team smash your income goal and give every customer an amazing experience. So, if you like this and you want more, I invite you to join me inside my free training center. There’s training for individual sales reps, new sales reps, season sales reps, owners, managers, and more. ZERO catch. So, hop in there right now and check out what’s inside.

Now, let’s get to it — how to overcome the, “I want my insurance company to handle it now,” objection.

What’s Behind the Insurance Objection in Roofing Sales?

Before we can really overcome this objection, we need to understand WHY the homeowner is saying this. Generally, there are two reasons why:

1. The homeowner is trying to end the appointment: They’re using the insurance objection as an “end all” objection. What they’re really saying here is, “Just get OFF my property. I don’t want to talk anymore!”
2. The homeowner thinks they know how it works: They have a whole narrative in their head, and they’re thinking, Well, my insurance company has my best interest at heart. If they’re going to cover it, they will. And if they cover it, they’re going to do it the right way. So, I’ll just have my insurance out. They’ll say “yes” or “no.” I’m ONLY going to start shopping for contractors and collecting bids after the insurance company pays me. Then, I’m going to review those bids and choose the cheapest one, so I can pocket some money.

That is what most homeowners are thinking when they tell you, “I just want my insurance company to handle it.”

How to Respond to the Insurance Objection in D2D Roofing Sales

When someone thinks they know everything already — and when that someone is a homeowner who “knows” the roofing business — we can respond by saying this:

Well, we know it BETTER.            

This situation is like those internet debates, with keyboard commandos on Facebook or YouTube. One person will say, “This is the way,” and others will chime, debating “No, it’s THIS way” or “No, THAT way is best.” And those folks don’t go anywhere.

So, if you want to learn how to actually facilitate a conversation:

1. We can’t butt heads or start debates about who’s right. After all, everyone thinks they’re right.
2. We can’t preach to them. That will go NOWHERE.
3. We need to create a “knowledge gap.”

What Are Knowledge Gaps in Roofing Sales?

A knowledge gap is what someone doesn’t know, even when they think they know everything. So, if they think that they understand this process, I need to help them recognize that there’s something:

• They don’t see.
• They don’t know.
• That doesn’t make sense.

With that, the homeowner can realize and think, Oh, maybe I DO need help!

That is what we’re going to do in this crazy simple process. We’re going to help and expose their knowledge gap. To do that, we need to:

1. Acknowledge the homeowner.
2. Speak to what they’re thinking, the story they’ve created, and what they believe the process entails.
3. Ask a question.

How to Expose Knowledge Gaps in Roofing Sales (Script)

Now, here’s what we can say to homeowners to expose their knowledge gap(s):

Hey, Mr. Homeowner, listen, I completely understand why you want to keep me at arm’s length.

You don’t know me that well. You don’t need me or another contractor like me to be there. It’s your home and your insurance company.

You want to keep folks at arm’s length, and you want to get your insurance company out.

You’re going to see what they say, and you’re going to grab that check and say, ‘I’m going to shop around, see if I can get some bids from contractors, and maybe keep a little bit of money.

Is that fair?

At this point, they’ll either validate that with, “Yes,” or they’re going to correct you. And the good news is:

1. If they correct you now, you can address their concerns.
2. If they say “Yes,” we can now respond.

And here’s what we can say:

OK, great! I completely understand. And it’s normal thinking.

Now, you can share some facts about your company and information that’s relevant to the homeowner. For example, you can follow up with something like:

Our company has replaced thousands of roofs.

And about 98% of the projects we’ve worked on have required what’s called a “supplement” to the insurance company.

That means items were MISSED, and those missed items would’ve been on the homeowner to pay for IF we didn’t catch them.

Now, this isn’t necessarily ill will. This is because insurance adjusters are not contractors.

So, they tend to miss things. Here are the top three items that they usually miss are:

First, they miss code items. Building codes change and evolve. If insurance adjusters come in from other states, they won’t be familiar with local building codes, and key items can be missed and left out.

Second, they miss manufacturer requirements. If we’re installing Owens Corning shingles, for example, the manufacturer installation requirements state that we must follow certain steps and use certain products. Often, those manufacturer’s guidelines are missed or overlooked.

Third, they miss other items. A simple lack of roofing knowledge can also cause the insurance company to miss things. If they don’t know how a roofing system works, they won’t know what to look for or what’s really needed.

Think about it like a car. Let’s say you needed to replace the transmission. You can’t just pop out the old part and plug in the new one. It doesn’t work like that. Instead:

• • There’s a transmission fluid flush.
  • The transmission has to be detached from the motor.
  • The motor may also have to come out, depending on the vehicle and where the transmission is.

So, there are ALL of these different touchpoints.

Now, if an insurance adjuster says, “We need to replace X, Y, and Z”:

1. 1. They won’t necessarily know that we need to do other steps first, so we can get to X, Y, and Z.
   2. Those other steps can be missed. In fact, from our experience, we know that about 90% to 98% of those projects had items missing.

With that, we can now ask the homeowner this critical question:

How do you know your insurance company will take care of you the right way?

At this moment, when you ask that question:

• You create a knowledge gap for the homeowner.
• The homeowner will likely stutter and say, “Wait a minute!”
• The homeowner will now start to second guess how they’re thinking about this process.

The beautiful part is that however they respond, you now have the green light to:

• Do what you do best.
• Educate that homeowner on the process because you’ve exposed that knowledge gap.

When you do show the homeowner their knowledge gap, you’ll hear something like:

I didn’t know that. I didn’t realize that.

That’s not what I thought.

I didn’t understand that. That’s different than I was expecting.

Now, you have the opportunity to speak and create the NEED for you to be there:

1. You are the extra set of eyes.
2. You provide a thorough approach.
3. You are the storm damage EXPERT who’s there to help repair their homes after hail, wind, or hurricane events.

And that will put you one step closer to getting that deal signed.

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Thanks for joining me, and I look forward to sharing more with you in the next blog.