$0 in 30 Days & Flat Broke With a Newborn - Jon’s Struggle to The Top

Most people don't talk about this. Being successful in roofing sales usually comes from the depths of suffering and struggle. And John is a first year sales rep who shared his journey with me. His breaking point came when his fiance discovered that she was pregnant. He was working a factory job, not making enough money and decided to jump into sales. He went from car sales to plumbing and electrician attempt, didn't quite get the job, to home security systems, stumbled his way into roofing in one month. In nothing to show for it, he came home to find his fiance crying, holding their newborn and turning to John and saying, we are officially flat broke. Now fast forward. John made it. But John wanted to come in and do this interview, not to share and brag or boast about his success, but to inspire others because he was inspired by the interviews on this channel. Now, I had the opportunity to meet John at an Owens Corning event in Alabama not long ago. And in fact his company and John himself was trained using my sales system. But this interview, this isn't about sales training. It is about the mindset of going from the darkest places that we experience to a place of success, to a place of prosperity and to a life transformation. Which is exactly what John is going to share with you in this interview. Now let's get started. John, thanks for joining me on the channel, my friend.

Yes, sir, absolutely. Thank you for having me.

Yeah, dude, you were reaching out over Facebook messenger. And as you know, because you watch the channel, I don't bring everybody on. I don't do a lot of these interviews because I'm really selective of the folks that I, that I want to share that there's something valuable for people to take away from. And the first thing that I asked you right when we started, right before we started recording was why did you decide to reach out and initiate this whole thing to begin with?

Sure, yeah, absolutely. And one of the reasons why I reached out was I remember just spamming your content and which one that I really liked was when all, when guys came on there and talked about their personal experience and when you start in this journey of the roofing industry, a lot of times you really don't know which way to go. Like, okay, you've got a ladder, okay, now you got cougar paws and you maybe have a pitch hopper, but what, what do you do now? And, and watching the guys that you interviewed talk about their, their personal stories really, really kind of made me feel a little bit better, if that makes sense, about the struggles that they faced that I wasn't the only one that was facing those struggles and that I. I just wasn't failing at the job.

Yeah, you're not alone. Why I wrote the book. It's funny, I actually haven't even had a copy on my desk. But it's why I wrote my book. It's because so many people did. They've faced these struggles. You know, we look on the Internet, as you probably read in the book, we have this comparison creature within us. Like, man, they're doing great. Why is it not going so great for me? But the truth is that starting in this industry, it's funny, I actually just on my other monitor did a keynote presentation on recruiting. And I said, when you hire people, do you tell folks the ugly truth that everyone experiences and no one talks about? Like, you'll hate your job at first. You're going to face your inner demons, your darkest demons. That there are going to be days that you can't muster up the courage to get out of your truck alone bed. That your motivation is going to dwindle because you haven't tasted success. You'll be tempted to quit. Your family and friends are going to doubt you and tell you to go get a stable job. Your spouse or significant other is going to say, why aren't you bringing home the kind of money they promised you? And no one tells you this up front. It's like, but we all go through it. Bring me back. You shared some of your story with me on Facebook messenger, and I've got my notes up here. But what really captured my attention when you said that your fiance ended up pregnant with. When you were working in a factory and you said, I knew I had to find something that pays well. So let's start there. Talk me through your journey. When you find out that your fiance's pregnant. Where were you working at the time?

Yeah, so I was actually. And a lot of people in my hometown went to work here, so it was kind of like, okay, so you need to make money, right? I didn't do well in college, so I started at. It's called Tippin Motorhomes actually, and it's a motorhome factory. And for. There's. It's not really a bad job, but at this point in time, I'm. I'm 23 years old, right. When my fiance, you know, gave me, gave me the phone call that, that she was, that she was pregnant. And as a, as a guy and soon to be provider, you know, you're kind of. You're kind of freaking out at that moment in Time, you know, I'm barely, you know, at this. We don't live together at this point in time, and I can barely afford to pay for myself. But you add another human being into the mix that's coming, you have to figure out something. And I remember her dad, which is actually a pastor, so that was. That was a conversation to have. And he sat me down and was like, okay, so what's your plans at that moment in time? I had no earthly idea. Was it. Was it go to the military or was it go work night shift somewhere else that. Where you can make more money out? And I remember growing up, my grandmother was in life insurance sales, and I had people tell me, oh, man, well, maybe you should try out sales. So the first thing I did, like everybody else, you get on indeed. And you scroll down through there and you're looking for sales jobs. And then I took a job at a dealership selling cars and actually did pretty well. But the only problem was I hated staying in office all day long, 11 hours, and by this time our son is here, and then my fiance is not happy with me because I'm gone all the time. Even though the money. The money was, you know, better from what it was. But at the same time, do you have to juggle that point of. Do you be at home with your family or do you neglect that and. And go out and try to make more money? Right. And so that after. After being in car sales for about two to three years, it's kind of when I decided to maybe look for something else.

Yeah. And then you ended up. It says that you interviewed at a staffing sales gig for electricians and plumbers, and it sounds like you got excited about that opportunity. Tell me about that.

Yeah. Yeah, man. So I. So after. After I get done bouncing around from dealership to dealership, and at this point in time, I'm absolutely out of money. No money at all. Luckily enough, my fiance graduated nursing school and we were living off her salary. And I remember before, you know, I started before, when I left the car dealerships, I was bouncing around, we had Christmas, and it was. It was very, very, very sad because she bought. She bought like four or five gifts. And that's. That's all the money we had to buy Christmas with. And as a father and a provider, that's not. That's not a great feeling, right? You want to be the man of the household and the man that. That takes charge and all of that. But so I had this. I had this interview at this staff. It was redmont staffing or something like that. And they, they brought us in. Well, it started off with a 60,000, $60,000 a year salary. And then plus, you know, they had a cut. You got, you had your phone bill paid for, they paid for gas. And I remember telling Helen, which is my fiance, about the opportunity that I had. We're all excited. And in my mind I'm like, I got the job. You know, I'm going to make sure I have the job. I'm going to speak well, I'm going to dress well. Well, I get to the hotel that they're, they're interviewing us at, and of course I'm, I'm sizing, I'm watching all the guys. They brought us all in to interview us together, which was kind of, kind of awesome, right? And I'm watching all the guys come in and I look at all of them sizing them up. I'm like, oh man, I got a suit on, I got a tie on. I got this. You know, this is great. This is going to be awesome for my family and for me. Things are finally going to be, get to get better. And then as I'm talking to the guys that I'm interviewing with, one guy mentioned to me that I said, I asked him like, what, where did you, what industry did you come from? Because I come from car sales, right. Thinking that, you know, everybody else was coming from sales too. He's like, oh yeah, man, I come from the roofing industry. And I'm like, okay, so you built roofs? It was like, no, I didn't build them. I'm actually helped homeowners with insurance companies or if they, if it wasn't insurance, we would actually go retail and help them get a new roof. And I said, okay, how do you do that? And he said to me that he would drive around in his truck and just look at roofs and look for old roofs. And I'm like, well, how do you know if a roof's old? Because at this point in time, I'm thinking about a roof. It's just a roof, right? And the one thing that I, I remember him telling me that it was the easiest 10k he's ever made in his life. A month. And then. And that guy actually ended up getting the job. So after that, that's when I went down the spiral of roofing companies that were hiring.

Yeah. So walk me through that. You said that there was another one that a job opportunity, but it was night shift, or almost night shift. It was 3:30 to 9:30. You were selling Security systems. I don't want to skip that. And then let's get into your journey in the roofing world. So you went from car sales, you're searching for a job, you do this group interview, you want this plumbing gig, you think you got it in the bag, it slips away from you. You hear about this roofing opportunity, but you don't quite bite on it yet. What happens?

So I had another interview after I didn't get that one and it was with. I wanted to stay in sales. I absolutely love sales. I love customer service. I love being able to provide a service to a homeowner to make them happy, right? So I knew that I needed something quick. You know, we're low on money, so I've got to find a job. And I had one more interview lined up and it was ADT Security Systems. And at this point in time I'm like, man, you know what I've got, I've got to do something. So I'm going to go talk to him and if everything rolls right, I'm taking the job. So I go and talk to him. It was a very, very nice environment. All the guys were super awesome and. But they mentioned to me that I'd have to work from like 3:30 to 8:30 or maybe even 9 at nighttime. And in my mind I'm thinking, how am I going to do that? You know, Helen, she's a night shift nurse. How would I, how would I be able to. Who's going to watch our child, right? How am I going to go out here and sell security systems and nobody being at home watching our child. So after that, after the interview, I thought about it. I'm like, man, I've got to do it. I'm going to have to go home, tell Helen, look, we've got to find a babysitter immediately. I'm taking this job opportunity. In the meantime, I went to the gym just to clear my mind and I had a really good chest workout. And if you, if you know anything about working out, you always, most of the time you feel better after you work out. And while, while I was lifting, I looked down at my phone and I had a, some ridgeline roof and restoration was calling me and I'm like, I'm like, you know what, man, I just don't even want, you know, I'm tired of interviewing at different places, getting my hopes up, just not being the right job. So I'm just going to stick with the ADT system. And then I get done, I leave the gym, I'm Feeling good. I got a good chest pump. I'm like, I'm going to call, I'm going to call him back. And I, I actually, I, I called him back and it was our, our supplementer that I talked on the phone with. And I was like, hey, yeah, my name's John Eaton. I had a missed call from you guys. And he actually thought he was looking in the CRM to see if, like, if I had like a roofing issue or if I was calling to get my roof checked out. And I told him, I was like, no, I think you got. I put in an application online. I think you guys were reaching out to me. And then we ended up talking for probably a whole hour, just talking to Nathan. And he was like, man, I've got to get you in touch with the general manager here. I think, I think you're what we're looking for. So I need to get you in touch with him immediately. And after that, Justin, which is our manager, he called me and I talked to him and I fell in. Once again, I fell in love with the idea of not having to be in an office, what, what they were offering as a company, what they stand on as a company. And, and I remember, you know, I remember this guy at the, when I was talking to him at the staffing agency, he was leaving because he didn't like what his company, what, what, what they were out to do. Right. And so, okay, I'm kind of, I'm trying to keep this in the back of my mind, but I couldn't help but to love everything that the manager was saying on the phone. So they, they, after that, they set up a meeting for us to meet in person. After that.

Wow. So the rest is history because I can see that you're wearing their clothes.

Oh, man.

And they're OC contractors. You and I got a chance to meet the event in Alabama. So fast forward, you take the job. You said this to me. And I'll tell you, this is actually the sentence that said, I really want to interview John for the channel. And you said to me. A month went by and I came home one evening and heard my fiance crying and went to see what was wrong. And she was holding my son. And she stated that we were absolutely broken. And that was. You said a month in. So I see your joy now, and so many people see the joy, the excitement, that life has changed. We wonder, how do we not get in this industry sooner? But what people don't talk about. And I want to inspire more people to not quit before they hit pay dirt is the start in the challenge. The heartbreak, the frustration, the relentless pursuit when you have nothing. So talk to, Tell me the story. What happened as that month went by up until the breaking point when your fiance was holding your son, crying and saying that you guys were broke.

Yeah. So just like anything else, you know, you go through training and then they get you your equipment. And I was out by myself at this point in time because I told my manager, I was like, you know, listen, I've got to make some money and fast, so I need to be able to go out on my own and knock doors and try to get on roofs. And so this is kind of going on. I'm still trying to figure out everything. And then I come home one evening and usually, you know, she's there to greet me at the door just like any other significant other, Right. How was your day? How is everything going? And this whole time, she's been the backbone of everything because she's been paying for everything, all the bills, all the food. And at that point in time, I'm driving a Mercedes car and she's paying the gas and that she's paying the car payment. I don't like to really talk about it because it's kind of embarrassing to me, but she was holding everything together. And then one day I get done kind of being in the field, kind of being nervous to be in the field, and I come inside and I hear somebody crying and immediately like, oh, my goodness, what's going on? What's wrong? And I walk in there and she's crying, holding my son. And if you know anything about being a father or just being in a relationship, if your significant other is upset about anything, you want to be there to hold them and, and tell them everything's going to be okay. But she was telling me that we were literally, we were literally eating crackers and ramen noodles, right? And it's just, it's. It's heartbreaking to see somebody that you love not get what they deserve. So at that moment, at that very moment when she was holding my son and then she was crying. My soon to be wife, right. I told myself, no more games. I don't care how you feel. You may be anxious, you may be nervous, but you're going to get out the truck, you're going to shut the truck or the car door. At that moment in time, you're going to get out there. And I know one thing, I might not have the best pitch at the door. I might not know the slap formula at the door. But I do know if I. It's a numbers game. So if I could just find that one person who actually needs my service and actually believes in me and what I'm telling them and showing them the documentation, and they can trust me, you know, that. That could be this. That could be that one person that could lead to a sale, right? And after that, you know, when that breaking point happened, I was knocking 50, 60 doors a day until I. Until I got my first sale. And it was. It was a very. It was a very next day. I was actually, you know, in the field with my manager, and he's knocking over here, and then I. I go. I go knock on this side. And he actually goes with me to knock on this door and helps me get the contingency signed. And I'll never forget my very first deal, because that put three grand in my pocket, and I'm like, that's all it took. I'm being shy. I'm being nervous. And all you have to do is be there to provide a service and show that they can trust you, and then I guess you get paid, right? And so after that moment, I never went back to the person that was scared and that was shy because I knew that I had to feed my family, right? So I. Instead of just being good at sales, I put it on my back to be good for my family, right? This is. This is why I got to do it. This is why I got to get up every morning. I may be feeling doubtful coming out the door. I may be feeling anxious, but I have to do this for my family.

Dude, that is a. So such an inspiring story. Because the most rewarding part, when you said, so much for being shy and bashful, to being bold and confident and just that mindset shift, like, you literally flipped a switch, and the very next day, you end up getting your first sale. And there's something about that innate drive having that why. And I hope I know that people watching this are going to feel inspired, because they're in. Usually people find these interviews just like you did when you're kind of in the dumps. People aren't watching these interviews when things are going well. They're watching the interviews when you're like, man, I could use some inspiration. I'm new at this. I'm in the dumps. In fact, just today, I still have to respond. I have a message in my Facebook DMS of someone that had just read my book, and he's like, man, I'm at that point right now, like, doubting why I'm in this. I'm looking for something else. I need to tap into that deeper why. So thank you for paying it forward. And John, you said that you started in April, is that right?

That's correct. Well, after training, I got rolling around April. Yes, sir.

So you got rolling around April and you just crossed. What did you end up selling in the calendar year? Do you know off the top of your head?

Yeah, it's. It's 1,071.1.1.

1.1 in your first year. Which by the way, for folks in your. You're in Alabama, correct?

Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

What's average price per square by you? Do you know off the top of your head?

I do not know off the top of my head.

That's all right. For those that are watching 1.1 million in Alabama, the price per square is lower than northern markets. So you talk to a guy from Minnesota, the price per square is going to be double. So for him to sell 1.1 million, he literally has to sell half the volume of roofs. So the fact that you sold 1.1 million in your very first year in the south with lower price per square with eight months of a season, and that's it. Because you started in, in April, probably less, probably 7 and a half ish months, you know, by the time you actually get going with. From going broke to this. So I want to. I want to ask you two, three, three questions as we wrap things up. Let's start with the first one. How has roofing sales changed your life?

So roofing sales really, really taught me to have the big C word, which to me is courage. It taught me to go out there, face your fears no matter if. And how to. How to, you know, face rejection too. So somebody, somebody tells me no. Now all that does is just. Just make me mad and want to go get more. Right? So that, that's one of the biggest things that. That roof and sales taught me is to not give up. It's out there. But you, you have to be. You have to be the motivator and within yourself. You have to find it from somewhere else and you have to go out there and get it. It's not. It is not coming to you, my friend. You have to be the one to go out there and get it.

It sounds like roofing sales changed you as a person quite a bit. If I stop me if I'm putting words in your mouth.

No financially too. But the biggest thing was, was I take from it is for myself because there's always. There's always money somewhere to be made. But if you can grow individually, you could go make money anywhere. Right. And so that the biggest thing for me was it taught me. Taught me courage to go out there and keep pushing and not to give up on the first rejection. Or you go down a road, down a month later, and you're still getting those. If you. If you keep digging, I guess digging the seed in a form of manner, you'll. You'll find it out there. But you have to be willing to put the work in yourself.

Yeah. Love it. Second question for you. Do you agree with the statement that roofing sales is personal development in disguise?

Absolutely. Yes, sir. Absolutely.

Why is that? Why do you agree so strongly?

Because it's personal development in disguise. Because the whole time this is going on, you have no idea that you're growing into a whole new individual, a more confident individual. You're chasing after things that you can't see that's in front of you at first. Right. And then. And then once you get a taste of it, you're. You're all over it then.

Yeah. Yeah. And my last question as we close this out, John, what advice would you give yourself, knowing what you know now, if you could look back to John getting started, which is the same place that so many people that are watching this right now are, what advice would you give yourself to help fast track your success and save yourself some of the pain and the learning curve that there was?

Just be relentless, man. Be a dog out there. It's, It's. It's tough. It's so tough in the beginning, but once you get a little farther down the road, you'll look back and you'll be like, man, so glad I went through all that because it taught me so much. It helped me grow as an individual.

Yeah. I love it. John, I got to say, thank you a ton for joining me and sharing your story here.

Absolutely, man. Thank you for having me.