Should Roofing Contractors Start Offering Solar Installation To Clients?

The roofing industry is experiencing a burst in growth, with more than 2.3 million roofs to be replaced over the next decade. Even so, a roof replacement typically has a shelf life of 20-50 years, which doesn’t leave much room for repeat customers. That’s why exploring creative pathways to additional revenue is necessary to boost sales and win more jobs, especially for roofing businesses experiencing a slump. Thanks to the recent explosion of rooftop solar installation, it’s the perfect time for roofing contractors to expand into the solar industry, and there’s no better tool to ease the transition than SubcontractorHub.

Though it may not seem obvious, roofing contractors hold an advantage when providing solar installation services. With plenty of expertise in climbing onto rooftops and much of the equipment needed to work on solar installation already on hand safely, roofing contractors are perfectly positioned to begin installing solar panels. Roofing businesses are experts in the very foundations of solar: rooftops. After all, there’s no one more qualified to deduce whether or not a roof is structurally sound enough for a solar installation than a roofer.

Construction businesses don’t need to restructure their entire workforce either. The mechanical components of solar installation can be carried out by trained roofers with experience in positioning equipment on a rooftop and ensuring it is watertight. A roofing business will, however, need to hire extra personnel for electrical component installation. Additionally, companies will require a team dedicated to applying for and following up on solar permits, as they can be complex and arguably the most difficult “new" aspect a business will face when incorporating solar into their core services.

Although incorporating solar installation as a service is not tricky, roofers may hesitate to leap without the assurance that securing a customer base will be possible. Fortunately, multiple avenues to customer acquisition are easy to explore. Roofers can close solar deals within their existing consumer base because each roofing customer has the potential to invest in PV installation as well. Since solar savings are a massive asset to homeowners looking to save on their electricity bills, there’s a growing demand for residential solar buildings that your business can capitalize on throughout previous, ongoing and future roofing projects.

Moreover, roofing businesses can easily explore the possibility of marketing their roof replacement services as an add-on for solar rather than a core product. Homeowners often have no choice but to replace their roof before proceeding with solar installation because solar requires a solid foundation that will last 25+ years of its life span.

How can SubcontractorHub make adding solar easier for roofing businesses? SubcontractorHub’s platform can help roofing businesses streamline sales and project management for both roofing and solar projects. As a platform for roofing, solar and HVAC businesses, we have the software a construction business need to add to their roofing services with solar as a core product. Sign up for our roofing and solar combined plan to access our innovative and easy-to-use AI and self-design tools for roof and solar, stunning branded proposals, project tracking software and more.

With SubcontractorHub, roofing businesses can increase the productivity and efficiency of their sales enablement and project management processes. When adding solar to the list of services a roofing business offers, we help companies achieve their growth goals while expending fewer resources. Our proposal-building software ensures that proposals for both roof replacement and solar can be created in just a few minutes and sent via multiple channels, including our eSign integrations. Once a contract is signed, the job can be managed with ease. Users can assign and track tasks, store documents securely and communicate transparently with customers. Our platform also eases collaboration between team members working from offices in multiple locations.

To sum up, ignoring the complementary nature of solar and roofing services is a missed opportunity. Research shows that products marketed to previous customers result in a much higher conversion rate, and with the solar industry set to grow three times by 2028, your roofing business has endless growth opportunities. All you have to do is grab them.

Become a one-stop shop for solar and roofing the easy way with SubcontractorHub. Contact us today to find out more about our solar + roofing plans!