See the savings through a better window

For obvious reasons, most business owners don’t want you to shop their competitors. But that’s not the case with Mike Farist of Roofsmith Restoration, which specializes in vinyl and wood replacement windows as well as roofs.

“It’s simple,” he says. “We offer a better-quality window at a lower price. And we’re not talking small savings. Our quotes are often 20-40% lower than their estimates for the same or better- quality window. The best thing that can happen is for our customers to shop around. We win on quality and price every time.”

So how can this be?

Exaggerated Discount

“Many ‘window companies’ are actually marketing companies,” Mike explains. “Their strategy is to spend big money advertising exaggerated claims. This gets more leads and more high-pressure sales presentations in homeowners’ kitchens. Then they overcharge the client to finance yet more advertising. You might not realize it, but you’re paying for their advertising.”

Mike says one of the best things savvy consumers can do is to read the fine print.

“If someone is advertising half-price windows, they’re either quoting you a highly exaggerated price or there is some fine print somewhere,” he explains. “To avoid a false advertising claim, companies will bury the true offer in the fine print. A recent customer of ours sent me an ad from a competitor wanting to know how they could offer windows for half price. When I looked at the fine print, it read, ‘Half off installation only.’ So the windows were not half-price, just the installation. We don’t play those games. We offer our best price upfront, based on the quality of the window and the margins we require. We don’t need higher margins to finance a huge advertising budget.”

Offering Something for Nothing

According to Mike, windows and gutters go hand in hand, so offering free gutters is also a popular marketing gimmick. However, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

“We recently saw an ad making this claim and read the fine print. It stated, ‘Limited to 100 feet of gutters.’ Well, that distance won’t even cover the front of most houses. You have to pay for the additional gutters, typically at a marked-up price.”

Roofsmith doesn’t offer something for nothing, but they do offer more, Mike says.

“Most of the big window guys rely on the same manufacturers who offer ‘good,’ ‘better’ and ‘best’ windows. We don’t do that. We offer the ‘best’ window for less than our competitors charge for the ‘good’ window. That means the best construction, best insulation, best energy efficiency, best noise reduction and lowest airflow. So you really do get a better window for less. That’s not a gimmick. It’s a straight-up fact. During our free estimates, we show homeowners the difference in quality of each option and give them the actual price so they can decide. It’s completely transparent.”

Another popular “something for nothing” offer is free financing. “If you see this being advertised, there is typically a hitch,” Mike adds. “It could be a minimum price that exceeds the cost of your project, or it may require a 50% down payment, something many homeowners cannot afford.”

High-Pressure Sales

“These expensive marketing campaigns and exaggerated claims are designed to do one thing: Get a salesperson in your home,” Mike adds.

“Then the real pressure begins. The salespeople in the window industry are notorious for using high-pressure tactics. They lead with a highly exaggerated price, then offer discounts they say are only available if you sign right then. They often blame their supervisor. ‘If I walk out that door, my boss won’t let me give you this deal tomorrow.’ That’s when a lot of unsuspecting homeowners cave in. But it’s not true. Of course, they’ll offer you that price tomorrow. And when that salesperson walks away without a contract, call us. You’ll be surprised by our estimate compared to theirs. On average, we save homeowners 30%.”

Roofsmith Restoration serves all of Northeast Ohio. For a free estimate or roof inspection, visit Roof-Smith.com and complete an easy online estimate form or call 330-882-7257.