As we wind down another year and enter the fourth quarter of our calendar year — the quarter I will call the “procrastination” quarter for our customers — the question on most every roofing contractor’s mind should be, “How do I close up my outstanding bids before the end of the year?” It’s a frustrating time of the year no doubt, because not only does the customer tend to want to put off completing a reroof or repair job to the next year, but you may find yourself falling into the trap of accepting these stalls and “writing off” the last month or so of your year as well. I cannot tell you how many businesses each year simply give up and allow themselves to believe no business will be done in the final six weeks. In addition, and you may not have ever thought of this in this way, is that we don't simply want to move business from January and February into December for the sake of finishing strong this year. Finishing strong but starting the new year weak makes no sense at all, even in a seasonal industry like roofing.
So, how do you want to finish your year and start fast out of the gates of 2018? My experience on the sales side has shown me that more business can be done in the final weeks of the year than many other periods if the contractor chooses to make this happen. It really all comes down to creating urgency on the part of the customer. That’s simple, however it may not always be easy. In business and in life the things that are easy to do are also easy not to do…therein lies the proverbial rub.