URGENCY to Close Retail Roofing Sales | Shocking Truth About “Waiting to Do the Roof”

Urgency is one of the most powerful tools to use, especially in retail sales, to get homeowners to take action. This is especially valuable when you hear objections like:

We want to wait to do the roof.

Our roof is fine. I think we can get 1, 2, or 3 more years out of it.

I’m going to teach you a VERY powerful strategy using urgency to overcome these objections and drive sales.

And this isn’t about same-day discounts, disappearing deals, or one-time-only offers — no. Although those can be effective, I’m not a huge fan of them. There’s a time and a place where they work, but that’s not what we’re covering here.

Instead, we’re going to look at urgency is as a fact-based practice to educate homeowners, so they take action NOW.

Because the reality is most homeowners do NOT get excited about writing a check for $15,000 to $25,000 to buy a new roof. They’d much rather purchase a new car, a kitchen remodel, a bath remodel, or take themselves on vacation.

So, I’m going to teach you more on urgency and share a strategy you can use to close your next retail roofing sale.

Welcome or welcome back, by the way. My name is Adam Bensman, The Roof Strategist. And everything I do here (and on my YouTube channel, Instagram, and my podcast on Apple and Spotify) is designed to help you and your team at smash your income goals and give every customer an amazing experience.

And part of the amazing experience for a customer is an education-based experience, so they can make the right decision.

That’s what we’re going to be covering here. But, first, I’d like to invite you to download a FREE copy of my Pitch Like a Pro roofing sales training video library. Just enter your name and email for instant access to more than 260 videos included in the retail roofing sales playlist. All the retail-specific videos cover everything from presenting to closing.

I also have different storm and retail training tracks and materials in the Battle Pack, which is my all-in-one sales training, sales strategy, and sales system that’s being used by thousands in both storm and retail roofing sales.

Now, let’s do jump into urgency.

Why Urgency in Retail Roofing Sales?

Urgency is providing a reason for people to act now. That means we need to explain why taking some action is urgent and how it can prevent bad, expensive things from happening. And we have to find a delicate, tactical way to educate our homeowners about this.

So, here’s what we can do.

I’m going to jump into a bit of role play, so I can show you:

1. Exactly how I would explain things to a homeowner, taking a fact-based approach and using urgency
2. How this strategy works in the real world

Retail Roofing Sales Script & Roleplay: How to Educate & Use Urgency

Here’s what you can say to when you run into objections about waiting to do a roof:

Here’s the deal, Peggy. I understand that your roof is fine and you may want to wait until next year because you’re not having problems with your roof, right now.

But, Peggy, I just want to give you all the facts to help you make a decision that you’re comfortable with — even if it’s not with me and even if it means waiting because but it’s VERY important that you understand what I’m about to share with you.

And bear with me because you’ll see how this all makes sense in a moment.

First, the stock market — on average, it’s performed between 9.5% to about 11.2% annually over the last 50 years. That means that if you invest that money, it’s going to grow it 9.5% to 11% annually.

Well, here’s, what’s not so pleasant. The cost of roofing is currently going up at about 7% to 12% increases every quarter.

That means that the cost of roofing is going up exponentially higher and faster than the stock market itself.

Retail Roofing Sales Script & Roleplay: Best- vs. Worst-Case Scenarios

Now, it’s time to layout the best-case and worst-case scenarios for waiting to do a roof. Here’s what you can say next:

Peggy, here’s why I brought up the stock market and what it means for you.

Let’s assume that your roof costs $15,000 today.

That’s about the average cost of a roof right now for a single-family home in the U.S. And let’s say you wait just one year to do your roof.

If we see that 7% quarterly increase — and, by the way, this is the BEST-case scenario for just materials (and it does not reflect labor or any other rising costs) — a 7% increase every quarter means that your roof is going to cost $19,661 in one year. That’s a difference of $4,661.

Now, the worst-case scenario comes with the 12% rate increases. And the reality is, Peggy, oil goes into shingles, and we see what’s happening with the cost of petroleum. So, with oil costs increasing, freight costs and manufacturing costs are also increasing. And we have supply chain issues.

So, it would not be unreasonable to see rate increases of 12% or more. And if that happens over the next year, what does it mean for your roof?

It means the exact same roof is going to cost $23,602 in one year if you decide to wait. That’s $8,602 extra.

So, if you wish to wait a year, which, of course, you can, you will likely end up spending over $4,000 — almost $5,000 — MORE on the exact same roof simply because you waited longer.

And in the worst case, you could be spending up to $8,000 or $,9000 more by simply waiting a year to do your roof.

Retail Roofing Sales Script & Roleplay: How to Highlight Issues Beyond Cost

After you break down the costs, explain some of the other reasons why it’s a good idea to get the new roof sooner, rather than later. You can do that by saying something like this:

Now, those rising costs are just one thing to think about. We have material availability issues and the potential of a leak inside your home or other failure points.

And what we’d hate to do is Band-Aid those, have you throw even more money at your roof, and then have you pay out of pocket for an even more expensive roof later.

Peggy, you’ve seen what’s happening in our economic climate. Today’s interest rates are only expected to go up a few percentage points this year.

That means that if you decide to do this sooner:

1. 1. You can get your roof.
   2. You can save between $4,000 and $9,000.
   3. AND you can get a lower interest rate.

I’m sharing all of this with you because many of the customers we serve have heard this information and decided they do NOT want to spend more money on the same exact product.

So, they get their roof done now, and they’re protected by not only the labor warranty but also by the manufacturer’s warranty. And they get complete peace of mind that their roof is fully protected.

If anything does happen inside, they’ve got a resource to call and get it taken care of. Plus, they end up saving A LOT of money while locking in a better interest rate than they’d see in the future, if they choose to finance.

End of roleplay.

Retail Roofing Sales: Why a Facts-Based Approach & Urgency Works

Now, I want you to look back at that script and answer these 3 questions:

1. Did you know any of this?
2. Did this mean something to you?
3. If you were the customer and you heard this, would you buy that roof now or would you wait? You’d probably buy now, right?

So, you just learned an incredibly powerful technique on using urgency, real urgency, and not any gimmicky, pushy sales tactics.

This strategy aligns with a value-based, education-based sales approach that allows your homeowner to make a decision that they’re comfortable with.

And with all the facts, this is a true servant’s way of selling (and in my opinion, it’s our ethical responsibility to share the facts with homeowners).

How to Make this Retail Roofing Sales Strategy Work for You

So, here’s what I want you to do next, so you can get most of out of this fact-based approach and the use of urgency in retail roofing sales. Use this information and:

1. Go this roleplaying scenario again. Get familiar with it and tailor it to make it your own.
2. Learn what I said about the average rate of return in the stock market being 9.5% to about 11.2% on average over the last 50 or so years.
3. Remember to compare stock market returns to the increases in roofing costs, which have gone up 7% to 12% per quarter.

And, of course, feel free to double check my math — I have a little cheat code here to remember these numbers, so you may want to do the same thing until you’ve memorized them — and feel free to explore my Retail Roofing Sales Playlist for additional strategies, tips, and training.

Get More Roofing Sales Strategies, Tips & Videos

If you want more help with retail roofing sales, check out my all-in-one sales training, sales strategy, and sales system, the Roofing Sales Success Formula & Complete Sales Strategy. This exclusive program covers everything from presenting to closing. If you have questions, just call or text (303) 222-7133 for more info.

You can also subscribe for the latest roofing sales training videos and/or get a copy of my Pitch Like a Pro roofing sales training video library. It includes every roofing sales video I’ve ever done, organized by category, along with a bunch of tips, tricks, and more. It’s great for new people and seasoned veterans, and it’s updated all the time to help you and your team smash your income goals and give every customer an amazing experience.

And don’t forget to check out my Marketing Battle Pack for instant access to 70+ pieces of my proven, turnkey roofing sales and marketing materials. It’s an entire suite, specially designed for sales teams, managers, and owners, providing:

It’s affordably priced and comes with a 100% money-back guarantee. There’s also a playlist of instructional videos in there, explaining every single thing. So, you can watch the videos, and you’ll know exactly what to do.

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