Honest Abe vs. Servpro - Let the Battle Begin!

Servpro (pictured below during what looks to be a nuclear meltdown) is a well known brand in the disaster recovery sector. They specialize in fire damage, water damage, mold remediation, storm damage, and cleaning.

According to their website " Since 1967, SERVPRO has been helping individuals realize their dreams of business ownership. Our tried-and-true brand, system and support allow people from diverse educational, vocational and financial backgrounds to take control of their own futures, building a business molded around personal goals and lifestyle. Owning a SERVPRO Franchise is an opportunity to take advantage of our proven track record while being in business for yourself, but never by yourself."

So, do the numbers support this claim? Honest Abe vs. Servpro... Who will emerge victorious?

The Numbers Startup costs for both Honest Abe Roofing and Servpro are relatively low. You will be investing around $141,550 to open your Servpro and $98,000 to open your Honest Abe Roofing.

Royalty fees are the same with both companies - 7% for HAR and 7% for Servpro (their royalty fees to vary from 3% to 10%, but 7% is the average). Potential annual revenues are where the major differences are. Since there is no Item 19 financial performance representation on the Servpro F.D.D. we had to do some digging. According to Credibly ( https://www.credibly.com/incredibly/business-loans-index/industries/servpro/ ), the average Servpro franchise does $550,000 in gross sales annually. Compare that to the $8.1 million that Honest Abe Roofing reports in Item 19 of our F.D.D. and you have a clear winner! Business Differences - Servpro - The bulk of your work will be paid for with insurance proceeds. You will be trained on how to use Xactimate, an insurance estimating software. Your prices will be set by the insurance companies and you will have to wait until "disaster strikes" for your phone to ring.

- Honest Abe Roofing - You will be overseeing the business, finding and retaining subcontractors to do the physical labor, working with your Honest Abe Roofing Marketing Team to make sure the leads are coming in, assembling a winning sales team, building wealth. There is no clear winner in this section. It all comes down to personal preference. With Servpro, a lot of your business' fate is determined by the insurance companies and the weather (or other disaster). With Honest Abe Roofing, you can use advertising to influence your potential customer and sell value. Either business plan is viable, it's up to you to decide if you want to control your own fate, or if you want to hand over your destiny to outside companies that are heavily regulated by the government... The choice is yours!

Marketing

Servpro - They obviously take their marketing seriously; they run national (cable) campaigns on television. They spend a lot of money producing animated commercials which are geared toward branding and building Top of Mind Awareness (TOMA). Their hope is that when you have a disaster, you will think of them first. The only thing that they lack is the ability to run call-to-action campaigns.

Honest Abe Roofing - We also have a very robust marketing plan. We run regional campaigns on social media and work with you to plan your local marketing. Depending on the market you are in we will utilize TV, radio, digital advertising, and anything else that we believe will help bring you leads. We have hundreds of commercials to choose from, most of which include a call to action tag at the end. Our advertising has won regional awards. See below for a compilation of a few examples from the last decade.

The Winner? We may be biased, but Honest Abe wins the advertising battle. While TOMA is important, running well placed calls to action will allow you to increase call volume during downturns in organic need (i.e. winter).

Summary

Servpro fared much better than our last contender, Subway. Although they gave a valiant effort, Honest Abe is the winner of today's battle. The universe for elective roof replacements is substantially larger than that of disaster recovery. Now, if you are "lucky", and you're able to open your Servpro in advance of a major flood or hurricane, you will have a windfall of large amounts of sales. But, do you really want to be the kind of person that sits around hoping for a disaster?

Choosing to become a Servpro Franchisee rather than an Honest Abe Roofing franchisee will have you wishing "it never even happened". [we know that was a low blow, but we couldn't resist]

If you're ready to make the "safe" investment by becoming an Honest Abe Roofing franchisee, then call 866-587-5171 or fill out our contact form here.