7 Reasons Why a Homeowner Won’t Sign Your Paperwork

Are you or your sales reps finding yourselves doing many property inspections, but the homeowners are getting cold feet when you bust out your paperwork? Check out this guide below on how to get ink to paper when the pressure is on at the kitchen table.

I’m an Account Executive at Albiware. My background is in storm restoration D2D sales. I have sold over $8 Million in roofing, so I know a thing or two about closing deals.

Here are my tips to get that contingency signed and offered to you free of charge because we at Albi want to empower contractors with information and technology to scale their business.

Common Homeowner Statements & How You Can Overcome Them

• “I’m not signing anything after you inspect.”

  • “I agree; you shouldn’t sign anything. This paperwork is simply allowing me to meet your insurance. There is no exchange of money, and it is not a work order for your roof. The hundreds and hundreds of other people we have helped in town signed this same paperwork. After I finish, we can talk about it.”

• “How do I know if there is hail damage?”

  • “Well, I understand why you’d think I’d tell every homeowner they have damage. But the reality is, that would be a huge waste of my time and your time. I don’t submit claims I don’t think have a good chance of getting approved.”

• “I think I should call my agent.”

  • “If you are close with your agent, you absolutely should call them. If I may say one thing, though, it’s that insurance agents’ financial compensation is loosely based on the number of claims put in against the policies they sell. No matter how close you are with them, paying for your roof might not be in their best interest.”

• “I need to think about this.”

  • “This is a big decision. If I didn’t give you all the proper information to make this decision, then I might have done you a disservice. Was there anything that’s holding you back specifically that I can help you clear up?”

    *BE CAREFUL – SOME FOLKS REALLY DO NEED SOME TIME TO THINK, IF YOU PUSH YOU MIGHT BURN THE DEAL FOREVER.

• “But be honest with me, does my roof NEED to be replaced?”

  • “Right, this minute? No. Not next week, and maybe not even next year. When hail damages a roof, it compromises the shingle and will start failing dramatically more quickly than it would have without hail damage. It will likely be too late if you wait until the damage causes the roof to leak. Most insurance companies require a hail loss to be reported within one year of the storm.”

• “I can’t afford my deductible.”

  • “Not to fear. We have options; we can move ACV funds from cosmetically damaged items. You can also get me some of your friends, family, or neighbors for a referral bonus.”

• “I’ve never heard of your company.”

  • “I understand that. I can provide you with some references if you’d like, and I’d like to show you some of our Google/Facebook reviews. Sound good?”

Without inked contracts, your company gets no value from the salespeople in the field. The mistakes laid out above just barely scratch the surface of the many different scenarios you will run into on the prowl for more deals! Best of luck out there and remember that the opportunity is always there for those bold enough to knock!