Modern Roofing of NJ

Hey Folks,

First & foremost, my name is Zack Palladino, and I am the owner of Modern Roofing of NJ. Prior to forming this business, I worked for close to 10 years in the exterior home remodeling industry. My background is unique in the sense that I was able to begin my journey with the largest replacement roofing company in the United States. I was in charge of project management, as well as selling anything from windows to roofing, siding, trim, attic insulation, etc. I launched an office in a new territory (Tampa, FL) for the company before eventually outgrowing my role & deciding to move back closer to family.

Once back, I found myself needing a new challenge so I started working with a college friend of mine that owned & operated another roofing company in Eastern, PA. They specialized more specifically on the storm restoration process i.e. identifying storm damage, working with adjusters, coaching homeowners along the process with insurance, & eventually being contracted to do the work. I learned a great deal under his guidance & I was eventually certified through HAAG Engineering on inspecting residential homes for damage. They are the same entity that trains & certifies most of the adjusters that inspect homes for insurance companies. It was a completely different approach & business model, but at the end of the day the goal was the same: Provide a great experience all while insuring that the job was done correctly & will last.

So why I am telling you this & what does it have to do with anything? First, I wanted to establish credibility. In the age of internet message boards, Facebook comments, etc, everyone has an opinion but most people don’t have the actual knowledge or personal experience to back it up. Furthermore, I feel as though the rampant misinformation is more prevalent in the construction industry. I understand many family members or neighbors just want to help, but sometimes it snowballs & people are left more confused. By no means do I feel like I know everything there is to know, however I’ve established a baseline for recognizing what works & what doesn’t. I’ve identified many pitfalls that can arise (more on this in another blog), as well as how to avoid them. That being said, I think it’s important to wake up everyday with an open mind, & learn new things that can be beneficial to others.

The second reason I laid out some of my past experience is illustrate the fact that I’ve been listening to the wants & needs of close to 5000 homeowners. What I discovered is that their end goal is always the same. This isn’t necessarily specific to the remodeling industry either. It translates to almost every transaction people make on a daily basis.

Typically, every person I meet with wants to fulfill (3) things:

1. “Best Possible” Products
2. “Best Possible” Service or Installation.
3. “Best Possible” Price (not always, but usually means Lowest Cost)

By best possible price, I am referring to the solution that solve’s the issues they are currently experiencing while not skimping on cheaper material or labor. In roofing, most people have issues regarding a leak, heat in the attic, chimney leaking, etc that’s why I am there. If the solution is to completely replace the roof with a new product, the customer’s wants fall into the 3 buckets I just outlined.

So what’s the problem? 

Think about it… If one singular roofing company was able to knock on your door & offer you the best products used in the industry, while hiring the best installers available, all while providing extraordinary customer service AND coming in lower than all other bids, they would either:

A.) Monopolize the entire $50+ Billion dollar roofing market

OR

B.) Go out of business pretty quickly.

Logic suggests it’s not possible to properly offer all three. If company A is the lowest bidder on every proposal they submit, they would not be around very long if they were also still using premium products & accounting for a happy & experienced crew. Likewise, if company B was always extremely expensive, & installed low end products or used a subpar crew that lead to complaints, that model wouldn’t last very long either. Yes, a healthier balance can exist but in all three circumstances you have to sacrifice water from one bucket if you want to completely fill the other two.

From my many years of looking over competitor estimates, observing outcomes of installs, talking to other industry experts, & putting myself into the shoes of client’s I meet with (homeowner myself), I decided that Modern Roofing of NJ would never be the “Lowest price” company in order to check the boxes for everything else. This doesn’t mean that as an owner, I should be beating people over the head with job costs, either. (Stay tuned for another blog on making sense of how 3 bids can vary drastically). It just means that I should always be mindful of what products I offer (and know will work successfully), as well as understanding which crews I should use to complete the work & leave a pristine job-site. At the same time, it is very important for every company to know their own worth, but more importantly where they need to be on certain proposals to insure they are still in business in 5 years & can service previous customers. By educating homeowners on what you suggest they use & why, you don’t have to always be the cheapest option.

I truly believe that by designing my business around this concept, it puts every single customer I meet with in a better position in the future & has their needs in mind over mine. By following this approach, the end result typically culminates into a Win-Win situation for all parties involved. And to me that’s a beautiful thing!