How to Sell Steel Siding at the Kitchen Table

Steel siding should not be sold by sitting across the kitchen table and reading a list of benefits from a brochure.

Put the product on the table.

Let the homeowner touch it. Compare it. Turn it sideways. Show the profile. Show the finish. Put colors beside it. Then explain where steel fits among the other siding choices you offer.

That is the presentation.

Gentek's current SteelTek Supreme® Steel Siding lineup gives contractors four profile choices—Double 4" Clapboard, Double 5" Clapboard, 8" Single and 12" Board & Batten—along with a Galvalume® AZ-50 steel substrate and Kynar® PVDF finish.

At Suburban Wholesale & Supply, we want contractors to understand the product, but we also want them to know how to actually present it. This lesson from the Suburban Wholesale Steel & Aluminum Contractor Academy focuses on what should happen once you sit down at the homeowner's kitchen table.

Before You Sit Down: Build the Steel Siding Demo Kit

Do not expect to sell a premium siding system if your entire presentation is a brochure and a price sheet.

Your steel siding presentation kit should be ready before the appointment.

The homeowner should be able to see the choices spread across the table. Premium products become much easier to understand when there is something physical to compare.

Step 1: Do Not Start With Steel

This may sound strange in an article about selling steel siding.

But your first job is not to sell steel.

Your first job is to understand the homeowner.

Before putting samples on the table, ask:

• What do you like about your existing exterior?
• What do you want to change?
• How long do you expect to live in the home?
• How important is maintenance?
• How important is impact resistance?
• Are you interested in seeing several siding options?
• Would you consider investing more if you could see meaningful differences?

Those answers determine how much time you should spend on steel and which parts of the presentation should receive the most attention.

Step 2: Put Three Materials on the Table

Do not begin by hiding every option except steel.

Put representative siding samples next to one another.

Ask the homeowner:

"Before I explain these, what differences do you notice just looking at and handling the samples?"

Let them participate. The presentation becomes more powerful when homeowners discover differences instead of being told what they are supposed to think.

Step 3: Hand Them the Steel

Do not keep the SteelTek Supreme sample on your side of the table.

Hand it to them.

Let them feel the panel and inspect the finish.

Then say:

"This is Gentek SteelTek Supreme. Before we talk about specifications, I want you to actually see and feel what makes this a different siding category."

Give them a few seconds. Do not immediately start talking again.

Step 4: Turn the Steel Sample Sideways

Never demonstrate siding only from the face.

Turn it sideways.

Show the homeowner the formed profile and the 1/2" butt used on SteelTek Supreme's horizontal profiles.

Then explain what the homeowner is seeing:

"Look at the depth of the profile. This is part of what creates the shadow line you see after steel is installed across an entire wall."

You have turned a specification into a design demonstration.

Step 5: Explain What the Panel Actually Is

Now give the homeowner enough technical information to understand what they are holding.

SteelTek Supreme uses heavy-duty Galvalume® AZ-50 steel with a Kynar® PVDF coating system.

Do not spend five minutes explaining metallurgy.

Try:

"The important thing to understand is that this is not paint sprayed over a generic piece of metal. Gentek starts with its Galvalume steel substrate and finishes the exterior with a high-performance Kynar coating system."

Then stop. If the homeowner wants to know more, go deeper. Do not bury a strong physical demonstration under unnecessary technical language.

Step 6: Show the Finish Under the Light

Pick up the SteelTek sample and tilt it toward the light.

Let the homeowner see the low-gloss surface, texture and how light reacts to the finish.

Gentek describes the Kynar PVDF finish as highly weatherable, resistant to scratching and designed to help maintain color while resisting staining and airborne pollutants.

But rather than reading those claims word for word, say:

"Take a look at the finish. This is one of the reasons we want you to see an actual piece of steel instead of selecting siding from a photograph."

Then hand the sample back to the homeowner.

Step 7: Show the Four SteelTek Supreme Profiles

Steel siding should not be presented as though there is only one appearance available.

SteelTek Supreme currently gives contractors four profile choices.

Ask:

"Which profile looks most like the exterior you pictured when you decided to replace your siding?"

Now you have moved from selling steel as a material into selling the homeowner's actual exterior design.

Step 8: Put the Colors on the Table

Do not wait until after the sale to talk about color.

SteelTek Supreme currently includes a palette ranging from lighter traditional choices to saturated colors and darker neutrals.

Current colors include:

The colored boxes above are organizational examples for the article presentation, not exact digital representations of Gentek's siding colors. Final selections should always be made using actual product samples.

Gentek specifically recommends confirming final color selections with physical samples because computer screens can alter how colors appear.

Step 9: Put the Colors Against Something on Their House

Don't ask:

"What color do you like?"

That is too broad.

Instead ask:

• Which colors work with the roof?
• Which colors work with the brick?
• Do we need to coordinate with existing stone?
• Are the windows staying the same color?
• Would you consider changing the front door color?
• Do you want the trim to blend or contrast?

Now you are helping design the exterior instead of asking the homeowner to pick a square from a color chart.

Step 10: Show the Matching Exterior System

Steel siding is not the only color decision on the house.

Gentek's Color Clear Through® program is designed to coordinate siding with compatible soffit, fascia, trim and rainware colors across its vinyl, aluminum and steel product families.

Put those choices into the presentation.

Ask:

"Since we're already changing the siding, do you want me to show you what the complete exterior could look like instead of making each product decision separately?"

That question opens a much larger design conversation.

Step 11: Demonstrate Steel Against Vinyl Without Attacking Vinyl

Put both samples back on the table.

Do not announce that one is good and the other is bad.

Say:

"These are both products we are comfortable offering. I want you to understand what you receive at each investment level."

Then compare appropriate characteristics.

Do not fill this comparison with exaggerated claims. The physical samples and documented manufacturer differences should do most of the work.

Step 12: Show the Warranty—Do Not Just Say "Lifetime"

Premium products deserve a real warranty presentation.

SteelTek Supreme is currently backed by Gentek with a lifetime limited, non-prorated, transferable warranty, along with manufacturer-stated 50-year hail and 35-year chalk and color-change protection.

Have the actual current warranty available.

Say:

"Rather than me simply telling you the warranty is strong, let's look at what Gentek actually puts in writing."

That sentence builds credibility because you are inviting the homeowner to verify the claim.

Step 13: Use a Rendering Before You Give the Steel Price

If possible, show the homeowner their house in the steel siding design before presenting the final upgrade cost.

Gentek offers an exterior visualizer that allows users to compare siding, trim, roofing, doors, windows and color combinations.

Build at least two concepts:

1. A quality base siding option.
2. The SteelTek Supreme exterior they preferred.
3. Optionally, a premium steel design with Board & Batten or additional accents.

Then ask:

"If the price were exactly the same, which version of your house would you choose?"

Now you know what they actually prefer before price becomes the deciding factor.

Step 14: Present the Upgrade Difference

Once the homeowner has selected the design they prefer, show the numbers.

Do not hide the premium.

Explain it.

Then say:

"You've already decided the siding needs to be replaced. The question is whether the additional investment to move into the steel exterior you preferred gives you enough additional value."

Then stop talking.

Step 15: Do Not Talk Through the Price

Salespeople frequently destroy their own presentation at this point.

They give the steel price.

Then they panic.

They immediately start discounting, explaining, apologizing or talking the homeowner out of the premium.

Don't.

Give the homeowner time to evaluate what you have spent the entire appointment demonstrating.

Step 16: Ask Which Option They Prefer

The closing question does not need to be complicated.

"We've looked at three good exterior options. Which one gives you the combination of appearance, construction and investment that feels right for your home?"

Then listen.

If they choose steel, continue into final selections. If they choose another product, you still gave them a professional presentation and allowed them to make the decision.

The Steel Siding Kitchen-Table Presentation in 10 Minutes

Once you practice this process, the core steel demonstration does not need to become a one-hour lecture.

Practice the Demonstration With Your Sales Team

Contractors should not learn this presentation for the first time in a homeowner's house.

Set up a conference table.

Put the samples out.

Have one salesperson play the homeowner and another perform the steel presentation.

Practice:

• The opening discovery questions
• Putting samples in the right order
• Handing the homeowner the steel
• Explaining Galvalume and Kynar without overcomplicating it
• Showing profiles
• Showing colors
• Transitioning into warranty
• Presenting good-better-best pricing
• Asking for the homeowner's preference

The presentation should eventually feel conversational rather than memorized.

What Should Be Left on the Kitchen Table?

When the presentation ends, the homeowner should not be left with only a price.

Leave or provide:

1. The written proposal.
2. The SteelTek Supreme product information.
3. The selected profile.
4. The selected or shortlisted colors.
5. The warranty information.
6. The rendering or project images.
7. Your company information and contact details.

Make it easy for the homeowner to remember exactly what made the steel option different after you leave.

The Biggest Mistake: Selling Steel With Words Instead of Samples

Steel is one of the products contractors should want homeowners to touch.

If your steel presentation consists of:

• It is durable.
• It is low maintenance.
• It has a good warranty.
• It costs more.

You have reduced a premium product to four talking points.

Instead:

1. Put it on the table.
2. Put it in their hands.
3. Turn it sideways.
4. Compare the profile.
5. Show the finish.
6. Build the color combination.
7. Show the complete exterior.
8. Show the warranty.
9. Show the price difference.
10. Let the homeowner decide.

That is how you turn steel siding from an expensive line item into a product the homeowner can actually evaluate.

Build Your Steel Siding Sales Kit With Suburban Wholesale & Supply

Contractors sell premium products more confidently when they have the right samples, literature, product knowledge and presentation process.

Suburban Wholesale & Supply works with professional contractors throughout Davenport, Bettendorf, Moline, Rock Island, the Quad Cities, Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois with steel siding, aluminum siding, vinyl siding, samples, literature, accessories, product education, material ordering and jobsite delivery.

Explore siding and exterior products available through Suburban Wholesale & Supply, or stop into our Davenport showroom to start putting together a steel siding presentation kit for your next kitchen-table appointment.

The goal is not to talk homeowners into steel. The goal is to demonstrate steel well enough that they can understand exactly what they would be purchasing—and then confidently decide whether the upgrade belongs on their home.

Sources & Contractor Resources

• Gentek Building Products — SteelTek Supreme Steel Siding product information, current profiles, colors, construction and warranty resources.
• Gentek Building Products — Siding Product Directory for current steel and aluminum siding specifications.
• Gentek Building Products — SteelTek Supreme product brochure and warranty documentation.
• Gentek Building Products — Gentek Visualizer and Color Clear Through exterior design resources.
• Associated Materials Innovations — Gentek exterior cladding product and technical resources.
• Suburban Wholesale & Supply — contractor siding samples, product education, material support and distribution throughout Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois.