As a roofing contractor, dealing with price increase notices from manufacturers can be challenging. If you don’t handle them properly, they can take a bite out of your profits.
However, with the right strategy, you can prevent that from happening, and even turn the increase into a selling opportunity!
Here’s a guide to help you navigate these changes effectively:
- Reach Out to Current Suppliers
- Verify the Increase: Often, price increases are announced but may not actually take effect. Confirm with your suppliers whether the increase will truly happen before making any public claims or adjustments.
- Seek Protection for Current Jobs: If the increase is confirmed, ask your suppliers to protect the pricing on jobs you have already sold. Offer to issue purchase orders for these jobs to provide security for the supplier.
- Material Storage Options: Some suppliers might be willing to buy the materials at the current price and store them for you until you need them. This can help avoid the price increase for jobs that are scheduled for the near future.
- Set a Cutoff Date for Future Jobs: Try to negotiate a cutoff date by which you can send purchase orders at the protected price. Use this as a selling feature for prospective homeowners who want to secure the current price but are planning the job for a later date.
If Increase Is Likely
- Adjust Your Pricing Now
- Update Your System: Enter the new pricing into your system immediately. This helps show current clients what to expect and allows you to offer discounts from this number until your supplier’s cutoff date. It also reduces the risk of selling jobs at the old price by mistake.
- Communicate with Past Proposal Recipients: Reach out to all clients with past proposals. Inform them about the new pricing and offer to honor the existing price if they commit before a certain cutoff date.
- Get Your Sales Script Ready
- Develop a Clear Script: Prepare a script for your sales team that clearly communicates the current price and the price after the increase. Ensure they understand and communicate the urgency by clearly providing the cutoff date for honoring the current pricing.
- Provide Supporting Documents: Have letters from manufacturers on hand to support what you are communicating. This adds credibility and helps build trust with your clients.
Implementing these steps will not only help you manage the price increase more effectively but also win more jobs in the process!
If you would like a checklist for successfully managing price increases including past prospect email templates CLICK HERE to access them
