Try it Before You Buy It

RCS Influencer Mandy McIntyre says that complimentary samples go a long way when introducing contractors to new products.

Ever walk into Costco and become magically allured by the sweet smell of a free sample? A Bagel Bite never tasted so good, right? Let’s be real, if something is free most of us are going to try it. Even if I just ate, if someone is offering up free food, this gal’s next in line.

So, let’s segue that free sample into roofing…what better way to tantalize contractors then with a free sample of a product? Contractors are always looking for products that reduce labor and increase efficiency. With the current labor shortage, we need to do more with less – do you hear that manufacturers? More. With. Less. Show us what you got and give us a taste!

Some of our favorite products are the direct result of complimentary materials. Just like you wouldn’t purchase a car without taking it for a test drive, most contractors aren’t going to purchase products they’ve never used.  And we get so stuck in the grind, we don’t always know about new products – so please, show us what is out there! 

This is one of the reasons we spend time on RoofersCoffeeShop®. Manufacturers typically offer free samples of their products on the site and like I said before, who doesn’t love free? Don’t just tell us how good the product is or how it will save time, show us. We recently added the new Wil-Mar Pipe Collar to all of our service trucks after trying out some free samples and discovering that we could turn what used to be a two-hour service visit into a 20-minute job.

Free samples aren’t just for trade shows – we’re hungry more than once or twice a year – feed us!

Mandy McIntyre is the Operations Officer at 1st Choice Roofing Company. See her full bio here.