How to Use Metal To Strengthen Your Customer Relationships

By Cass Jacoby 

The demand for metal buildings is at an all-time high — here is how to leverage its popularity to foster better partnerships and increase sales.  

Unless you live under a rock, you know that the metal roofing business is booming at the moment. But what is driving this demand? As contractors and distributors, we are more than aware of the current unpredictability of supply chains and material costs, and justifiably skeptical of metal building being at an all-time high. However, the larger picture reveals that rapid industrialization, new building structures, calls for cost-effective and long-term housing, lower labor costs and greater design flexibility are all driving this boom in metal.  

As a supplier and distributer of metal building products for distributors across the United States, the American Building Components (ABC) team has a firsthand understanding of what today’s consumers are looking for in products and services. Here are a few of their top 10 tips for increasing your metal building sales and using metal to bolster your customer relationships.  

1 - Upgrade Your product selection 

Even simple jobs are becoming more customized nowadays, so you will want to have the right metal building materials in stock. According to ABC, the materials you will want to have in stock are:  

• Stock roof and wall panel lengths. 

• Common trims (gable, ridge, eave, endwall, sidewall) and accessories (post-trim, screws, fasteners). 

• Closures and tape. 

• You’ll also want samples of trim and panels, as allowing your customer to tangibly feel a product’s quality is the best sales tactic. 

ABC recommends ordering extra materials to avoid being one panel short of a wall or roof system and so that you can be prepared for unexpected requests.  

2 - Have complete ordering information  

Extra information never hurts! However, incomplete and incorrect orders can waste customer time and impact your reputation. Always provide completed orders to your suppliers and try to add as much detail as you can about your customer’s project. 

3 - Have the right resources  

Having the right products is just one half of delivering a job well done. Make sure to have product brochures, color charts and display boards available in person and digitally so that you can be ready with any and all information your customers might need to know.  

4 - Ask the right questions  

In order to deliver a job well done you will need to know the best solutions for the job. Try these starter questions: 

• Do you know what materials you need?  

• Do you need help putting together a material list? 

• When do you need the materials? 

• Is this a new build or addition?  

• Do you need a takeoff? If so, do you have a roof or siding plan to share? 

• Are you trying to match another product on the jobsite?  

• Do you have a preferred vendor, or a brand you’d like to get product from?  

• Do you have any architectural plans? (i.e., diagrams of roofing projects are useful if a takeoff is required)  

• Have you installed this product before?  

5 - The need for speed (and why you should be ordering online)  

Metal buildings and pre-engineered structures afford a greater speed of installation. For this reason, you should take advantage of e-commerce for more efficient and accurate ordering. Additionally, the ability to track orders helps you be transparent with your customers and keep them in the loop on potential delays.  

6 - Educate your team 

Having your team know their stuff is a great way to gain the trust of new customers and solidify your relationship with existing ones. Product knowledge training for your staff allows them to recommend solutions that will be most beneficial for their customers’ projects and bottom lines. They’ll see your team go the extra mile. 

Putting it into practice  

Strengthening your metal building material sales and customer relationships is all about understanding what your consumers want and providing it in a fast and cost-effective manner. To do this, you will need more than just offering quality products, you’ll also need the resources, tools and information too.  

Learn about more tips and ways to be a partner and increase your sales by reading the rest of ABC’s tip sheet. 

Learn more about American Building Components in their MetalCoffeeShop® Directory or visit abcmetalroofing.com. 

About Cass  

Cass works as a reporter/writer for RoofersCoffeeShop, AskARoofer and MetalCoffeeShop. When she isn’t writing about roofs, she is putting her Master degree to work writing about movies and dancing with her plants.