It can be difficult to know who to do business with these days and not just in the roofing, construction, and general contracting world either. Our minds are constantly being flooded with images on television, social media, and not to mention the good ole’ word of mouth. I listened to an audio book that talked about how even one single toothpaste company has 32 different toothpastes to choose from. 32! And that is with one company. Throw in all the other company's and their different products and it becomes a nightmare.
How many of us have found ourselves in the grocery store starring endlessly at the shelves trying to decide between the different brands of jelly? Have you ever shopped for a new recliner or couch? If you ever sit back and just watch people in a furniture store, it can become quite comical watching people play musical chairs trying to find the ‘perfect one’.
Just the other day I decided to pull several different roofing companies’ websites up to compare the similarities and the differences. As someone in the industry, I could differentiate between the sites and the content on them. As another consumer however, I felt frustrated and completely overwhelmed with information. All the sites seemed to be saying the same thing and at the same time not saying anything at all. What I mean by this, is since everyone was claiming to be the best, most trusted, and only roofer or contractor the consumer should hire, this also meant that I left these sites feeling like I didn’t learn anything new. Only that deciding who to hire seemed to be more difficult than ever.
If everyone is claiming to be the best and/or the most trusted, then how on earth do you decide? Do you base your decision on how many years the company has been in business? Maybe so, but perhaps that isn’t always the BEST choice for YOU.
One thing I have come to realize in the line of work I do outside of roofing and general contracting is that, relationships matter. I have been a witness to how powerful a relationship can be whether it causes damage or eases someone’s fears. If someone has been in business for 20 years but has a personality that clashes with yours, perhaps those 20 years of business really won’t matter. Likewise, someone might be new, and it is possible you still won’t see eye to eye.
So, what’s the point of all this? Get to know the people behind the product or service you are needing. If I need my flat tire fixed, I know who to go to because they are personable, easy going, and care about more than making a sale. Same thing goes for anything else I purchase.
Don’t let some pushy salesman/woman push you around. Think of hiring a contractor like speed dating. Ask what you want to know, but most importantly, pay attention to how you feel about them.
How many of us have found ourselves in the grocery store starring endlessly at the shelves trying to decide between the different brands of jelly? Have you ever shopped for a new recliner or couch? If you ever sit back and just watch people in a furniture store, it can become quite comical watching people play musical chairs trying to find the ‘perfect one’.
Just the other day I decided to pull several different roofing companies’ websites up to compare the similarities and the differences. As someone in the industry, I could differentiate between the sites and the content on them. As another consumer however, I felt frustrated and completely overwhelmed with information. All the sites seemed to be saying the same thing and at the same time not saying anything at all. What I mean by this, is since everyone was claiming to be the best, most trusted, and only roofer or contractor the consumer should hire, this also meant that I left these sites feeling like I didn’t learn anything new. Only that deciding who to hire seemed to be more difficult than ever.
If everyone is claiming to be the best and/or the most trusted, then how on earth do you decide? Do you base your decision on how many years the company has been in business? Maybe so, but perhaps that isn’t always the BEST choice for YOU.
One thing I have come to realize in the line of work I do outside of roofing and general contracting is that, relationships matter. I have been a witness to how powerful a relationship can be whether it causes damage or eases someone’s fears. If someone has been in business for 20 years but has a personality that clashes with yours, perhaps those 20 years of business really won’t matter. Likewise, someone might be new, and it is possible you still won’t see eye to eye.
So, what’s the point of all this? Get to know the people behind the product or service you are needing. If I need my flat tire fixed, I know who to go to because they are personable, easy going, and care about more than making a sale. Same thing goes for anything else I purchase.
Don’t let some pushy salesman/woman push you around. Think of hiring a contractor like speed dating. Ask what you want to know, but most importantly, pay attention to how you feel about them.
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