Featured Contractor: Andrey from Mid-Atlantic Roofing & Siding Talks ServiceWhale

This week, Andrey Yakimenko, owner and operator of Mid Atlantic Roofing & Siding in Feasterville, PA, gives us some insight on his experience using ServiceWhale as a contractor.

Q: What has your experience been as a roofing contractor throughout your career?

A: I’ve been working in all facets of home improvement for over 22 years. In 1998, I decided to go into business for myself and started Mid Atlantic Roofing & Siding. In addition to myself, we have 8 employees. We are able to handle nearly any exterior home improvement project, but we specialize in roofing and siding installations and repairs throughout the Philadelphia metro area.

Q: How did you hear about ServiceWhale?

A: About a year and a half ago I had a roof repair job in Princeton, and it ended up being for ServiceWhale’s founder, Dmitri. He asked me a few questions about how I get leads for my business, where I advertise, etc. and then explained the concept behind ServiceWhale. The concept seemed very fair to me…I don’t pay any money until I get actual work, not leads. I couldn’t really see a

reason why I wouldn’t at least give it a shot.

Q: So, how do you drive leads and web traffic?

A: I’d say the largest piece of my business is attributed to word of mouth referrals. I’ve tried nearly every home improvement lead generator out there and in my experience, they’re either way too expensive or they send junk leads. There are so many options these days available to contractors that it can honestly be a bit overwhelming.

Q: What is your typical cost to acquire a new customer?

A: It’s usually between $300-$400. When you factor in the time it takes to drive to a customers’ home for an estimate, actually writing up the estimate, fuel costs, and all the other small things that go into closing a job it definitely adds up. Even with lots of my business coming from personal referrals, I still probably only close roughly 3 or 4 out of every 10 estimates, so you can see how easy it is to spend a few hundred dollars to get a new customer.

Q: How is ServiceWhale different from the other lead generators you’ve used in the past?

A: For starters, payment. Most other home improvement lead generators require the contractors to fund an account that they will deduct money from over time as leads come in. ServiceWhale doesn’t require me to pay anything until 30 days after I actually get a job, not a lead. I really love the fact that there aren’t any membership fees or contracts either. The other big differentiator is the quoting process. Like I mentioned, I spend a lot of time and money driving to customers’ homes just to get the information I need in order to give them a quote. ServiceWhale simplifies that process and makes the whole thing so much easier for me and for the customer – they already know what my price is before we ever speak with one another, so when I do communicate with a homeowner on ServiceWhale, I know I have a great chance of closing a deal. ServiceWhale basically gets right to the point and saves everyone a lot of time in the end.

Q: Have you closed any deals via ServiceWhale?

A: So far I’ve closed one deal and have gotten quite a few leads that I’m still working. It was definitely a different experience for me. The customer sent me a few questions about replacing a roof over his porch, which wasn’t really in line with my original quote. He sent me a few pictures so I could get a better idea of what he needed and we ultimately scheduled a time for me to visit his home so I could give him the right price. It was great because I got a qualified lead and didn’t have to pay anything; there was literally no risk involved. There’s no way any of the other lead generators I’ve used in the past would be OK with sending me out to a customers’ house without charging me anything. We ended up agreeing on a final price for the project, which the customer booked through ServiceWhale. An added bonus was that there is a built in service agreement so all of the paperwork was actually handled for me.

All in all, it was a great experience. The bottom line for me, and for any contractor, is that you don’t pay unless you get work. Using ServiceWhale is a total no-brainer.

If you’d like to sign your business up for ServiceWhale, get started here or give us a call at 866-977-3897 to speak with a customer service representative.