Contractor Guide: How to Choose the Right CRM

For many roofers, investing in a customer relationship management (CRM) system seems like a luxury. If you're caught up in the practicalities of laying down a roof, the idea of tracking multiple touches with potential sales leads can seem like a distraction from the actual roofing trade.

But in reality, CRM isn't about distracting your team from the job at hand. It's about freeing them up so they can focus on the tasks they excel at. Knowing how to choose the right CRM is important because it streamlines — and sometimes eliminates — redundant, distracting work, while keeping customers happy and reducing jobsite miscommunication. In short, CRM solutions let you focus on what you're good at, whether that's sales calls or hammering nails.

The good news is that if you're ready to implement CRM in your company, there are a growing number of CRM solutions tailored to the construction trades.

What is a CRM?

Customer relationship management does exactly what it says on the tin. It helps you manage relationships with your customers, from potential lead through contract signing, job production, closeout and warranty service. Good CRM cements a positive customer relationship, turning them into evangelists who will help spread the good word about your company.

It's worth noting that CRM doesn't have to be software. It can be any system you use to track and develop your customer relationships. Modern CRM systems are typically software because that's the easiest and best way to track, store and coordinate with everyone on your team.

CRM streamlines your operations by providing a centralized source for tracking customer interactions. It notifies your sales team when it's time to follow up, or when a lead has gone cold. Good CRM helps you reduce lost leads and saves you from wasting time on tire kickers who aren't actually interested in signing a contract. Once you have a contract in hand, CRM ensures that your customers stay happy throughout the project, making it easy to communicate and to track that communication, whether you're in the office or on the jobsite.

Lastly, CRM boosts your future pipeline by keeping you on your customers' radar. Follow-up questionnaires and requests for reviews and testimonials can turn a happy customer into a source of many future jobs.

Is there a special CRM for contractors?

Roofers have unique needs, and a CRM designed for a shoe manufacturer or car dealership isn't going to cut it. Your business deserves CRM designed for the roofing industry.

For example, there's no shortage of CRMs with lead management, but a roofing CRM should have options like warranty service tracking and the ability to handle change orders requested on the jobsite.

Roofing companies have multiple contact points with customers, from initial sales to field workers and accounts receivable. It's important that your CRM tracks all of these possible connections. If the customer gets conflicting information from the salesperson and the field worker, or if they receive an incorrect draw request, the result is confusion and an unhappy client.

This is why it's important that your CRM integrates with your sales tools as well as your job tracking and invoicing. Mobile access is also vital, since much of the client communication will happen in the field. Your CRM needs to be accessible to the crew lead. If your workers aren't able to record a client communication in the moment, chances are it'll never be recorded at all.

How to choose the right CRM for you

No single CRM is right for every situation. A small startup doesn't have the same needs as an established roofer processing dozens of incoming leads each day. Ideally, CRM software will scale with your growth. There's no point in paying for bells and whistles that you'll never use, and a CRM system that doesn't cover your basic needs is counterproductive.

It's vital that your CRM software integrates with your other systems. If you have to jump between different apps in order to perform simple tasks, suddenly those tasks don't seem so simple. And if that happens, your workers will be tempted to come up with a shortcut, undercutting the whole point of using CRM.

For more advice on how to choose the right CRM solution for you, reach out to people who understand what services roofers need in their software. The pros at QXO can help you find the right CRM for your specific roofing needs today.