What to Do When a Homeowner Asks for a Quote & Why You Should NEVER Give Estimates

Hey, Adam, here at The Roof Strategist. Today, we’re going to talk about overcoming one of the biggest objections that sales guys are getting in the field.

And that’s a homeowner say, “I want to get other prices before making a decision.”

This used to be a big problem for me when I was new to roofing sales. It stopped being a big problem when I figured out how to overcome it the right way.

The Quote Trap: Why You Do NOT Want to Give Estimates

Let’s look at this example from someone who recently bought my Marketing Battle Pack. He reached out and shared this anecdote with me. It’s a text message exchange he had with a homeowner after following up. Here’s what happened:

Homeowner: Hey, I appreciate your tenacity and persistence. However, I’ve accepted the bid of another contractor. Thanks again.

Roofing sales guy: But, Mr. Homeowner, you didn’t even give me the opportunity to give you my quote. I thought we had a good conversation. Please give me this opportunity.

Homeowner: Thanks. But your method of bidding was just a bit too unorthodox. All my estimates were done apart from the adjuster’s allowance.

The desperation really comes across in that text message (by the way, I really appreciate this sales guy letting me share his story; I did get his permission, but I’m omitting his name here).

When we follow up like that, saying “please give me this opportunity,” it sounds desperate. And it really turns people off, even if you’re doing a good job.

Before you even get to this stage, though, you CAN overcome this objection. Here are three ways you can do it and make more sales.

Overcoming Objection Tip #1: Focus on the Assessment

First, you need to bring the focus on the assessment over the price. I have a video on addressing the assessment over price to Break the Emotional Attachment to Money.

When we’re dealing with an insurance bid from a hailstorm, we don’t want to compete on price because price is not an issue. The way I do it is by saying something like this:

Hey, Mr. or Mrs. Homeowner, I understand you’re looking for an estimate. And the normal person would. After all, that’s what you do. If your car was damaged, right, you’d go you’d get an estimate to replace your bumper and the quarter panel.

But when it comes to your personal property on your home, you ONLY need to worry about one thing — and that’s the assessment of the damage.

The reason for that, Mr. Homeowner, is the estimating software that the insurance company uses. It’s the same software that we use, and it’s called Xactimate. And Xactimate is updated by price per zip code every single month.

So, my job as an insurance restoration expert is to assess the damage to your property. I might look up the roof and say, “okay, there’s 34 square shingles, 600 feet of drip edge, and edge metal or whatever it is.” Then, all I do is enter that information into Xactimate, and it spits out the fair market value.

So, my job is to go to bat for you with your insurance company. I’ll review the estimate that you received and review it against my assessment to get you the proper coverage. And that’s the reason that I don’t provide estimates per se.

Because, believe it or not, there’s more than one way to skin the cat on a roof estimate. What I might do as a contractor to win a job is to underbid. But that money has to come from somewhere. Maybe, it’s reusing some edge metal or going cheaper on pipe boot flashing.

You want to drive home the point that focusing on price could backfire — and that the assessment is really the key to getting the proper coverage.

Overcoming Objection Tip #2: Educate Homeowners

I like to educate homeowners, so they understand that:

1. Going cheap or cutting corners now could mean more expensive repairs later
2. No two damaged roofs are exactly alike, so assessments have to be done on a case-by-case basis

For example, I’ll tell them about pipe boot flashing, explaining that, if you’re going with a cheap neoprene, it might only last 10 years when you’re putting a lifetime shingle on the roof.

Just the cost of one repair on that roof can be $1,000. To go in there, show up, put in a new pipe boot, or remove all the shingles and reflash it. If you’re a do-it-yourself contractor, maybe it’s $200 or $300. But at our company, our minimum repair was $1,000, or it wasn’t worth our time in liability.

So, I want to educate them. I like to say something like:

Bidding your roof against another roof is NOT an apples-to-apples comparison, based on material, installation, the type of roof, what’s getting reused, all-new shingles, and more.

We want to reiterate and emphasize that we are not in the business of giving out quotes.

We’re in the business of helping you, the homeowner, get proper coverage from the insurance company, based on what’s damaged. And that happens on a case-by-case basis.

Overcoming Objection Tip #3: Bring Up the Deductible

At the end of the day, homeowners shouldn’t worry about the price because they’re only going to be paying their deductible for their claim. So, when they’re getting hung upon prices, quotes, and estimates, bring up the deductible. Say:

You shouldn’t care about all that because your insurance deductible is all you should owe.

Let’s say your deductible is $1,000. Whether you choose me or Chuck in a truck who’s quoting you $4,000 less, you’re still going to pay that $1,000 deductible, and the insurance is going to cover the rest.

When homeowners know their out-of-pocket costs won’t change no matter who they go with, they usually stop fixating on quotes.

Recap: How to Overcome the Estimate Objection in Roofing Sales

How homeowners request a quote or present the estimate question dictates how I address it. Regardless, however, these three strategies are extremely effective at overcoming this objection and getting more sales:

1. Position assessment over price. Check out my video on How to Break the Emotional Attachment to Money for more on this.
2. Educate the homeowner. Explain that estimating roofs is not an apples-to-apples process and that there are variances that can change costs by thousands of dollars. Contractors have to make up for it somehow, or they won’t survive. That can mean cutting corners in ways that could cost you later.
3. Focus on the deductible. Their only obligation with an insurance claim is their deductible. No more, no less, unless there’s rotten plywood or elective upgrades. So, by choosing a lower price when they’re going through the insurance claim process, they are actually doing themselves a massive

These tips can help you overcome this very, very common objection about quotes and estimates, helping you more sales.

Want More Roofing Sales Strategies, Tips & Videos?

Subscribe for the latest roofing sales training videos and get your copy of my Pitch Like a Pro roofing sales training video library. It includes every video I’ve ever done, organized by category, along with a bunch of tips, tricks, and more.

Also, check out my Marketing Battle Pack for instant access to more than 70 pieces of my proven roofing sales and marketing materials. 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.