Navigating the FindARoofer Map - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Stephen Spence from Project Map. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast.

Intro: Hello, everyone. My name is Megan Ellsworth, here at AskARoofer.com. I am so excited today because I'm here with my friend, Steve Spence, from Project Map It. Hi Steve, how are you?

Stephen Spence: Hi, Ms. Megan. I'm great. How are you?

Megan Ellsworth: So good. Let's dive right in and just have you introduce yourself.

Stephen Spence: Yeah, Steve Spence. I'm one of five owners of Project Map It. It's an interactive mapping platform that contractors can leverage in their sales processes and also embed onto their website. And what we're going to go over today is a different type of map that we also have, which we call Membership Maps, which promotes other companies in this scenario.

Megan Ellsworth: Amazing. So, home and building owners are listening to this podcast right now. Can you walk us through how the FindARoofer map works and what sets it apart from other searching tools like, just say Google?

Stephen Spence: Yeah. So the first thing, I'm sharing my screen here, the first thing I'd like to say is, man, we've been together now for, I don't know, three years? It's been a while-

Megan Ellsworth: Mm-hmm.

Stephen Spence: ... right? Okay, it's been a while. Heidi Ellsworth called me a while back and we talked, and I thought she was going to sell me all this stuff and she ended up just really being genuinely interested in our product, which has led us to some really cool collaborations by building maps for RoofersCoffeeShop and AskARoofer. So when we started the map that you're looking at here, everyone, this is a map of all of the contractors that are R-Club members for RoofersCoffeeShop and they get promoted by R-Club and RoofersCoffeeShop on AskARoofer. If a homeowner were to ask a question within that platform, within their web platform, we can leverage this tool that you're seeing in front of you to find a roofer that's near that homeowner and hopefully, that homeowner can connect with that contractor and then that contractor can be a resource to that homeowner and hopefully eventually do work for them and help with whatever services and needs they have. When we started this map, it was only at 40 or 50. It was not 206-

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah.

Stephen Spence: So this map is comprised of 206 contractors throughout the United States, as you can see here and even in Canada, it looks like, where contractors are part of the R-Club membership. So what does this map do and how does it work? If I click on any of these pins, and we can zoom in and out, it's going to have your company's logo, it's going to have how to contact the company. It's going to talk a little bit about that company along with all of the social media outlets that roofing or that contracting company has. But right here also, there's a way where you can dive in deeper to the directory on RoofersCoffeeShop. So I can go in here and really learn about Mr. Roofing, and I can see some really cool videos from the owners and people. I can see what credentials they have. It just gives a plethora of information, what services they provide. So all of this, right, Megan and you know this better than I do because you're a marketing whiz and I'm just a pseudo marketing guy and a pseudo sales guy-

Megan Ellsworth: I don't know about that.

Stephen Spence: ... is, anytime somebody comes to this page to learn more about Mr. Roofing, these backlinks back to over here, the website and all that stuff of Mr. Roofing, it all helps with SEO and it all helps with just getting seen by people throughout the US, but people in your area. So that's in a nutshell what each of these pins can do. You can search by location. So let's say I'm a homeowner. I live in Maryland so I'm going to be biased here, and let's just say I live in Hyattsville, so let's see what happens here. I want to search "Hyattsville, Maryland" and sure enough, look at that, there's a pin there along with some other pins around there. So if I'm trying to find somebody in Hyattsville or in my area to ask questions or maybe to do work for me, I can go and bam, I've got Wagner Roofing Company, I've got their directory here on RoofersCoffeeShop.

I can learn about Wagner Roofing, I can give them a phone call. So the map really is pretty cool in that you can dive down into location. I can click refresh map, it brings me back to the US. But here is pretty cool too, and I noticed I haven't looked at this in a while, Megan, so you ladies and guys have done a really awesome job creating these categories. So now you can start diving into like, "Hey, I'm looking for a coating. I have a commercial property. I'm looking for coatings in the Chicago area," and so immediately I have access to a commercial roofing company. Funny enough, this was not on purpose. Showalter is one of our companies that uses Project Map It.

Megan Ellsworth: Oh-

Stephen Spence: Yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: Perfect.

Stephen Spence: And I know that because Showalter just moved for the last year, they went from residential to strictly commercial and we've been-

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, wow.

Stephen Spence: We've been updating their map to include all of their commercial jobs. So that was totally by happenstance there, but that's how it works-

Megan Ellsworth: Well, it worked out.

Stephen Spence: Yeah, that's how it works. It's pretty cool. So you're just getting more exposure. Obviously, RoofersCoffeeShop has been around for a long time, so this website and the directory is all in RoofersCoffeeShop and also over here in AskARoofer. All of that is playing towards your search engine optimization and can give you a little juice. Under the resources, there is a FindARoofer and sure enough, it brings you right back to where we just were on, on RoofersCoffeeShop.

Megan Ellsworth: Amazing. Yeah, and for all you home and building owners out there, all the roofing companies that are on this map that are R-Club members with RoofersCoffeeShop, you know that they are good people, that they have certifications, they're part of their local associations, they're part of national associations. They're doing their part in their community and they won't leave you high and dry. So I think that's my favorite part about this map, is just the inherent trust that you can put into it and know that you're going to call a quality contractor when you find someone on this map.

Stephen Spence: Correct. You wouldn't be an R-Club member if you weren't vetted well enough by the RoofersCoffeeShop team and the R-Club membership team. You've got credentials, you have good reviews, you have all those things that even a manufacturer requires. Same thing with RoofersCoffeeShop. You do an amazing job vetting all of your people on this map, all 206 of them-

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, yay. Well, Steve, is there anything else that homeowners or building owners can leverage through the FindARoofer map? Maybe compare and contrast roofing contractors? What else can they do?

Stephen Spence: Yeah. You could certainly compare and contrast. Again, you want to be a reputable company that stands out over the other contractors around your area, so how do you be reputable? Just coming to this map and being able to show somebody, or coming to your directory on RoofersCoffeeShop, Go Roof Tune-Up. I can come here as a company, Go Roof Tune-Up. It's really easy for me to be able to leverage even this page in whether it's documentation like, "Hey, this is a pre-appointment email that goes out. Hey, we're on RoofersCoffeeShop, check out our directory. It just shows that we're reputable and that RoofersCoffeeShop is digging us, so you should be digging us." It's that social proof, and your directories with all these different companies on them help provide that social proof to the point where and everybody knows, especially in the residential area, when I say this, is you're always competing against other people.

And a lot of the times, you might be one of three companies at that homeowner's house, but one of those are going to probably be charging a little bit less than what your company's charging. And part of that is because you are doing it the right way the first time, your company is top-notch. Go Roof Tune-Up would not be having a directory page on RoofersCoffeeShop if they didn't use good material, if they weren't vetted properly and had great reviews. So a lot of times, just having something like this and even the map to be able to showcase that you're on this map, this national map, it gives credence and that reputation necessary to help get that homeowner to understand, okay, this company might be 3, $5,000 more, but it's going to be worth it because if I use this company, that's $3,000 less. In five or 10 years, I'm going to have to be paying this company to come fix the mistakes that this company had-

Megan Ellsworth: Exactly.

Stephen Spence: So people will be willing to spend more on you when you have things like this.

Megan Ellsworth: Absolutely.

Stephen Spence: Yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: Well said. Well, Stephen, thank you so much. This has been great. For all you home and building owners out there, you can learn more about Project Map It on their directory on RoofersCoffeeshop.com and you can also go to this map on AskARoofer and RoofersCoffeeShop. So, go check it out. If you have leaks, damage, anything, go to the map and put in your location and see who's around you, because you know they're going to be good if they're on the map. Thanks so much again, Stephen.

Stephen Spence: Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

Outro: Absolutely. All right. Well, everyone, thanks for listening and we'll see you next time on the next AskARoofer minisode. AskARoofer Minisodes are brought to you by AskARoofer.com and RoofersCoffeeShop.com. In each bite-sized episode, we explore everything from basic roof maintenance tips to the latest in roofing technology and sustainability. Whether you're a homeowner, a building owner or just curious about the craft, these minisodes are packed with valuable insights to help you navigate your roofing projects and home or building ownership with confidence. So stay tuned, solve your roofing puzzles and let's stay ahead of the curve with AskARoofer Minisodes. Go to AskARoofer.com to learn more today.