Good, better, best selling works well with roofing

1f, S ROOFING becomes more of a &l fashion statement, stores are being asked to help homeowners select the color and "look" most suitable for their home.

Meeting face to face with the buyer allows the retailer an opportunity to "sell up." Although it takes mme preparation than moely filling a conmctof's order for roofing materids, it can also be more profitable.

Offering point of sale displays with photos, literature and take-home samples can be a powerful motivator. Consumers often decide they want to trade np from a 25 year warranty to a 4O year wammty or select a more znsthetically pleasing (and costly) archi tectural shingle.

Salespeople nust be well informed about the perfonnance and warranties of the various brands and price categories. Good, better, best merchandising fosters higher ticket sales.

Because it is easy tlo apply, available in many colors, low in cost, fire safe and wind safe, asphalt roofing outsells all other roofing materials. Shingles come in a variety of shapes including angle Dutch lap, square tab strip, square tab soal down, 3 tab hex, T lock and diamond lock.

Understanding how the correct roof can improve the appearance of a home is helpful. A salesperson can use the following principles o guide a consumer's selection:

O A light color roof will make a home appear larger.

O Dark roofs tend to make a home look smaller.

O Less color difference between the roof and the color of the home will make the home appear larger, *tri1s gimplifying its lines and angles.

O The overall colm scheme of the home must be considered in selecting a roofcolor.

Salespeople also must be familiar with Underwriting Laboratory ratings and wind resistance ratings for each brand of shingle sold in the store.

Almost all shingle packages are marked to show the area they will cover. Roofing is calculated in squares with a square covering 100 sq. fr including overlap. The number of roofing squares needed can be delermined by dividing the total number of square feet in the rmf area by 100 and adding 107o for waste.

Story at a Glance

Ways a dealer can use displays, photos and literature for good, better, best merchandising of asphalt roofing ... guidelines for selecting color and shingle pattern ... how to determine number of squares needed.