Roofing Sales OBJECTION: “I’m selling my house soon”

The brush-off objection — We’re selling our house soon. We’re not interested.

How often do you hear this?

Sometimes, you get it on:

1. A retail sale: This can be the case when your estimate’s too high, and they just want the budget option to get the roof done, so they can sell the house.
2. A storm damage claim: Here, a homeowner says, “Hey, I don’t want to mess with this. I’m selling the house soon. It isn’t worth it.”

Either way, all the legwork you just did for that inbound or self-generated lead is lost, flushed down the drain. NO DEAL.

What if you could quickly and easily overcome this objection and close the deal?

Well, that’s exactly what I’ll be teaching you here.

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

And I’ve had the opportunity to help thousands and thousands and thousands of roofing sales reps just like you overcome the same challenges and objections that you’re probably facing right now.

So, if you haven’t done it yet, subscribe to my YouTube channel, so you don’t miss a thing.

And if you need help with objection handling, get your free copy of my Pitch Like a Pro roofing sales training video library sent right to your inbox. It includes more than 300 videos, every video I’ve ever done, organized by category for easy binging. Plus, the largest playlist in there is focused on objection handling. To get instant access to all that right now, simply click on that link.

Now, let’s get to the I’m selling my house soon objection.

Roofing Sales Objection: What Does “I’m Selling Soon” Really Mean?

Now, when someone says, “I’m selling my house soon,” is that the real reason they don’t want to move forward with you? Is the objection really based on the fact they’re moving soon?

NO, it’s not.

The real reason is DEEPER because all objections are a bunch of garbage. The words people say are NOT what they actually mean a lot of the time. Some similar objections are:

I have to talk to my wife.

I have to think about it.

What’s REALLY happening here is that people want you to get out of their house.

So, let’s first digest what this objection — I’m selling my house soon — means.

Now, I have an objection strategy in my program called the Roofing Sales Success Formula. That’s my full sales system, from knock to close, that’s being used for both storm and retail roofing sales by several thousands in every single state in the U.S., from tiny companies to quite a few of the top 100 roofing companies nationwide.

My objection strategy is one of the most raved-about sections of my program, so I want to share the bones of that with you here.

Roofing Sales Objection: The REAL Reason Behind the “Selling Soon” Objection

When it comes to objections in roofing sales, the words we hear are NOT the real reason for the objection we’re given. There’s always something deeper behind it.

So, let’s break down what those deeper factors are.

When you hear an objection, the deeper factor has to do with either:

1. Trust: They don’t trust you yet.
2. Need: They don’t think they need you, or they don’t think they need a new roof.
3. Money: It’s a money issue.

So, the objection, I’m selling my house soon — what does this really mean?

This one’s a bit of gray area, but generally, it’s a need issue.

I’m selling my house soon means they don’t think they need a new roof.

People do NOT buy stuff they don’t need. And, yes, there can be a money concern here, too, because they may be thinking:

Hey, I’m going to be selling my house.

So, why do I really NEED to spend all of this money?

That’s why this really boils down to a need issue more than a money matter. After all, if they really needed to get the roof done to sell the house, they probably would.

Example: Let’s say a home’s septic system is failing. Can the homeowner sell that house with a bum septic system? Probably not. They would need to get that failing septic system replaced. They have NO choice.

So, when the homeowner says, “I’m selling my house soon,” they are really telling you that they do NOT have enough of a need or a reason to get that roof done before listing their home.

That NEED issue is what we want to dial into, so we can identify that key problem and address:

• How this is going to impact them when it comes to selling their home
• What’s going to come up later, down the road
• What the consequences of not taking action are

All that will create the need. Then, later, we’ll address the money issue. For right now, though:

• We don’t want to skip the need and dive right into the money component.
• We want to focus on creating a need for them to get their roof replaced prior to the home sale (as long as it’s legit).

Disclaimer

Now, the roofing sales strategies I teach do give you some power. They put you on the inside track of how people think. So, it’s important that we use this ethically to serve people the right way and not to sell people stuff they don’t need (I hate that).

Salespeople are problem solvers and change-makers, so identify the problem and help facilitate the change. But do NOT do that if there’s no need for it.

When there is a need, however, and the homeowner doesn’t realize it, here are a few effective strategies for highlight that need for the homeowner and overcoming the, “I’m selling my house soon,” objection.

Objection Handling Strategy #1: Have an Inspection That Sells

First, we need to focus on creating the need by doing an inspection that SELLS.

Now, an inspection that sells finds a more compelling reason for someone to take action RIGHT NOW. That reason could be:

• Failing pipe jacks
• A lack of a chimney cricket
• Field shingles as ridge cap
• Neoprene pipe boots that are failing
• Shiners and nail pops
• No drip edge or rake edge (if it’s code)
• No ice and water shield (if it’s code)
• And any other problem areas that homeowners weren’t aware of, like hack repair jobs, mastic smeared all over the roof, or damaged or missing shingles

With all of these things, we can find a way to tell the homeowner:

Look, there’s a bigger problem at hand.

Taking care of this on the retail or storm damage side is going to benefit you.

So, we have to do an inspection that sells.

Objection Handling Strategy #2: Get Them to Own the Problem

After the inspection that sells, next, we need to get the homeowner to tell us what the problem is. In other words, we need to get them to:

1. Own the problem.
2. Tell us about the condition of the roof.

Now, my video, STOP Saying “Your Roof is Damaged” — Do This Instead, covers this fundamental step in-depth, but the point is to get them to describe the damage to us.

That’s how they start to own the problem, and it creates the need for them to take action.

So, we need to do an inspection that sells and get them to own the problem to start creating that need and getting past this objection.

Objection Handling Strategy #3: Educate the Homeowner

Next, we need to educate the homeowner on the situation. Now, after the inspection and getting the homeowner to describe the roof damage, they may still say:

You know what? I don’t want to do the roof because I’m selling the house soon.

What they may not realize, though, is that the roof is the MOST EXPENSIVE maintenance item on a home.

Think of a roof like a car or car tires, except like 20 times more expensive. That’s no secret to many homeowners and homebuyers. They KNOW a roof is the biggest-ticket item on a home — and if there are ANY issues with the roof, it can REALLY throw a curve ball in buyer interest or any deals in progress.

So, let’s take a look at what could come up later for homeowners if they don’t get a new roof (when they need one) before listing their homes. These are all future “pain points” for homeowners (the sellers).

Seller Pain Point #1: Old, damaged roofs can turn buyers off.

The roof is the most expensive maintenance item on a home, and most buyers do NOT want to buy a house with an old roof. After all, they don’t want to have to replace the roof right after buying a house.

And the average Realtor® and home inspector are going to pick up on older, damaged roofs and point them out. So, any issues with a roof aren’t going away, and they will be noticed later when the home’s for sale.

Seller Pain Point #2: Roof issues come up at the last minute.

This is a BIG deal when selling a home because home inspectors point out certain things, like roof damage, to homebuyers.

Why?

Because smart buyers don’t want surprises. They don’t want to buy a house, move in, and have the roof start leaking the first week they live there.

So, roof issues tend to come up at the last minute in the home inspection.

Now, if a storm damage claim was filed at the last minute, and the homeowner pocketed the money but never did the work after filing a claim, they have to disclose that in many states, according to state law (check with your state’s laws to verify if this is a requirement in your area).

In other words, they have to say, “Hey, we had the claim and never did the work.”

And if they didn’t file a claim yet, but damage does show up, again, there’s suddenly a monkey wrench jamming up the deal.

Seller Pain Point #3: The deal can fall apart.

When roof damage comes up in the final inspection, the homebuyer typically says something like this:

WHOA, we are not moving forward unless:

1. 1. The roof is fixed or replaced beforehand (This forces the homeowner, under a serious time crunch, to pay out-of-pocket and make the sale happen).
   2. The purchase price is lowered (This takes equity out of the homeowner’s pocket).
   3. There’s some credit at the end during closing.

All of that can mean that either:

• The seller loses money.
• Deals fall through at the last minute.

So, these are some pretty REAL problems because again:

1. Homebuyers know the roof is the most expensive item on the house.
2. Roof problems come up at the last minute, right before closing.
3. Roof problems can throw a monkey wrench in the deal, costing sellers HUGE amounts of money. That can also impact the Realtor®.

Now, we need to figure out how to educate the homeowner on the outcome and the solution that we have to address their need.

To do that, we need to:

1. Highlight the need by showcasing the impact of those problems on their home sale (These are the problems that they’ve identified but said they don’t want to fix because they’re selling the house).
2. Position our solution as an easy answer.

Here’s how we do that.

Roofing Sales Solution #1: A new roof can generate interest & help the home sell faster.

A new roof can make it easier to sell homes while helping them sell faster. How?

New roofs look good, adding curb appeal. In fact, it’s worth noting that a new roof is about more than the money. It also looks good and makes people happy. People WANT a new roof on their homes.

Plus:

• If homeowners know the roof is the most expensive thing on the house and the home seller says, “Hey, here’s the receipt for the new roof, and here are pictures,” that’s a HUGE value add.
• Sellers can add that info to their listings, making for much HOTTER listings.

Roofing Sales Solution #2: A new roof can make for a smoother transaction.

A home inspection could turn up all sorts of things, but it won’t report roof damage if there’s a new roof in place.

In fact, on the roof side of things, the sale of the house will be smooth because the inspection isn’t going to find any roof problems that could throw a monkey wrench into everything.

Roofing Sales Solution #3: A new roof could come with a transferrable warranty.

Now, this is entirely up to you or the roofing company you work for, but many offer transferable warranties.

By the way, if you’re selling any extended warranties, please read the fine print on the process to transfer those warranties.

Still, if you do offer transferrable warranties, you can explain to homeowners how these warranties can benefit them as future sellers too. How?

They can advertise their new roof and create a hot listing, with pictures, meaning that:

• The home will show better.
• The home will look better and have better curb appeal.

Then, if we include the transferable warranty (which, again, is up to you), that’s a BIG deal. A new roof AND a transferable warranty — that’s a no-brainer! And it could even open up more buyers who are interested in the home because they know they want something turnkey.

Roofing Sales Solution #4: Many folks recover their investment from the sale of their home.

Now, if the new roof costs $20,000, the home sells more quickly, and the homeowner gets $15,000 back, that’s a MUCH better outcome than:

• The deal falling apart.
• Being forced to delay a sale and find a contractor who can squeeze you in.

Recap: How to Overcome the “I’m Selling My House Soon” Objection in Roofing Sales

So, there you have it. When someone tells you they’re not interested because they’re selling their house soon, you now know how to overcome this objection.

And the interesting part is that every objection in roofing sales boils down to an issue with trust, need, or money.

Some other need-based objections that are very similar to this one are:

My roof is fine.

We don’t want to file a claim.

My roof isn’t leaking.

We don’t need to do anything.

With those and similar objections, this same approach works.

To get past the “I’m selling my house soon” and similar roofing sales objections:

1. We need to do an inspection that SELLS: We’re going to find a compelling reason that will get the homeowner to take action.
2. We need to get the homeowner to own the problem: We want the homeowner to describe the damage to us.
3. We need to educate homeowners on the outcome: Once we’ve laid the groundwork, we need the homeowner to really feel the pain and the consequences of what will happen if they decide not to do the roof now.

Those consequences come when it’s time to list the house and deal with homebuyers because:

1. Buyers know that the roof is the MOST expensive maintenance item on a house: Roof problems are a GIANT red flag for homebuyers, even first-time buyers.
2. Roof issues, if ignored now, always come up last-minute later: That means after the deal is accepted and you have your contingencies, the inspection comes up, dropping this on you.
3. The deal gets derailed: That means homeowners (sellers) have to slash the price and sell for less money. It could even affect buyers’ financing options because some lenders won’t write a loan for a home until that work is done.

All of that can end up costing homeowners the deal or a lot of money. On the flip side:

1. A new roof can generate interest, help the home sell faster, and make people happy.
2. A new roof can make for a smoother transaction.
3. A new roof could come with a transferrable warranty (this is up to you).
4. Many folks recover their investment from the sale of their home.

Get More Roofing Sales Strategies, Scripts, Tips & Videos

If you want more on objection handling or any roofing sales topic, you’ll find it in 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 knock to close, with packages for individual roofing sales reps and entire teams. Many roofing sales companies LOVE this program because it’s a consistent process to train everybody on a relatable sales system that WORKS and that’s a lightning-fast way to get results.

If you have questions, just call or text (303) 222-7133 for more info or a private demo.

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.

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