Contractors who are transitioning from vinyl siding to James Hardie® fiber cement siding and trim are often finding success right down to the core of their business models. Many see higher levels of revenue and profitability, and improvements to their brand’s reputation because of the quality of their newly completed projects.
This evolution often involves all parts of their business, from installation to sales to marketing. Transitioning a business model may seem challenging on its face, but James Hardie offers plenty of support to make it easy.
One contractor who converted to James Hardie siding is Precision Windows & Doors LLC, a mid-sized firm based in the Kansas City area. Precision specializes in home exteriors and wanted to increase profitability, while offering their customers greater quality and a higher-end aesthetic than vinyl siding could provide.
Hardie Advantages, Hardie Support
Precision contributes much of their success to their all-in relationship with James Hardie. In 2014, Precision installed two small jobs featuring James Hardie® siding and 32 vinyl jobs. That mix changed as the company adapted their business model and organization. By 2018, Precision did 25 jobs featuring James Hardie siding and only four in vinyl.
Precision’s first step was to have their crew master James Hardie installation techniques. “In our market, James Hardie has an install specialist who met with my crew on a jobsite and answered all our questions and showed us the best tools and techniques to install James Hardie,” Ryan Braun said. “We also visited their facility near Chicago for an onsite training and first-hand look at how the products are made.”
Precision then worked with their James Hardie sales representative to identify local target neighborhoods to increase their sales rate, particularly where local HOAs don’t allow vinyl siding. “They gave us selling pointers that helped our sales team transition to a higher-priced product, such as explaining cost vs. value breakdown. All these actions have really helped us transform the business.”
Braun credits a number of factors for Precision’s successful transition, including adding James Hardie’s ColorPlus® Technology, a pre-finished siding product, to his offerings. He notes, “Our local James Hardie sales representative showed us how James Hardie siding could be more profitable on an individual job level as well as more profitable overall, with the ability to install siding year-round as opposed to not being able to install vinyl when the temperatures turn cold.”
The Proof Is in the Results
“We saw an increase in profitability and an increase in total sales, which is a win-win for us. Hardie is a profitable material to sell; your ticket number is bigger than it would be on a vinyl job,” Braun said.
Braun also shares that their customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive on their work featuring James Hardie® siding. “We’re thrilled to be able to help our customers do what's right for their projects. They may be spending a little more upfront but once the job gets done, homeowners are so happy they made the decision to get a much more aesthetically pleasing product. We couldn’t have made this transition without the support of the James Hardie team.”
As for advice to other companies thinking about shifting their business to James Hardie fiber cement products, Braun recommends seeking out their local James Hardie representative. “You’ll be amazed at how much they can help you get the process going, get through the learning curve and help iron out some of the things that you might not understand about James Hardie products,” he said.
See how to transform your business with the James Hardie Contractor Alliance™ Program by visiting HardieAlliance.com, or if you just want to learn more about the program, contact your local James Hardie Sales Representative by calling 877-336-2339 Ext. 2 or e-mail [email protected]