Adam Bensman narrates his journey from earning about $19,000 as a massage therapist in 2011 to entering roofing door-to-door sales. He criticizes a common "extraction" sales mindset and promotes a "change maker" mindset (citing Gap Selling by Keenan) where sales adds value by identifying customers' current and desired states, aligning emotional and financial commitments. He promotes resources: an AI clone for coaching and his book "Roofing Sales Survival Guide" (free digital copy via description link or purchasable on Amazon/Audible), and teases a follow-up technique for staying motivated during rejection.
Chapters
Sales is not a dirty word. And this mindset fix will explode your income. Many people fall into roofing sales with no sales experience whatsoever. Just like how I did. It was 2011 and I was a massage therapist making $19,000 a year. Just a little over. I couldn't, I could barely afford my rent, utilities. I lived alone in Madison, Wisconsin at the time. And a family holiday came around and I couldn't afford gas to drive two hours to go visit my family in Northern Illinois. And I was driving in from Madison, Wisconsin and I had to call my mom and ask for 20 bucks. Now it was at that point that my stepdad got on the phone and started telling me, hey, Adam, if you're looking for change, you know you can make six figures selling roofs door to door. And I didn't really know much about what Ron, my stepdad, did because my parents, they divorced later in life and got remarried later in life. So I thought to myself, wow, that sounds terrible. Roofing sounds boring. And door to door, I didn't know people even still did that. So I brushed it off. But I had a four hour commute reconsidered and I ended up in sales. And remember, in my initial sales journey, I still had a little bit of resistance to the idea of sales because I slightly had a toxic mindset. And that mindset came from a lot of these teachings that you see online, which is like how to influence, persuade and manipulate people to get them to do what you want so you can gain from them. In this mindset is one of extraction. How do I locate an innocent victim and use these mind tricks and persuasion techniques to manipulate them into pulling out their wallet and allowing me to access as much of their money as I possibly can for all the things that I want. And sadly, many people approach sales with this greedy mindset. But this mindset shift should change all of that for you and we're going to get into it. Roofing sales is personal development in disguise and the reward for growth is life changing. I hope my content helps you create a richer life and bank account. So let's put an end to this idea that sales is an extraction process, because that's often why people believe sales is a dirty word. You know, I'm in sales and people think, hey, you're just greedy, you're trying to get money from people. And when salespeople like you and me think of sales through this idea that we are extracting from others, it makes us feel dirty and icky and greedy and slimy. And that's not the case. So here's the deal. Well, it's not the case for me, sadly, it's the case for some. There's a book that is really great on sales that I recommend and it's called Gap Selling by a gentleman named Keenan. No last name, just Keenan. K E E N A N Gap Selling and keen. Keenan in the book alludes to salespeople being change makers. Now think of that. When you're in sales, you're a change maker. Your goal is to identify where someone is and help them figure out why they're not super happy with what he calls their current state, where they are right now, and at the same time find out where they want to be, what would make them happier, more fulfilled, more satisfied. And then once we identify this gap, we're able to act as a change maker to facilitate and inspire people to commit to the future state that they want and then take the steps needed by way of being a change maker so they can make this their new reality. And when we approach sales from this change maker mindset, what we're doing is looking at a sales dialogue as a way of adding value to someone's life, helping them get what they want, even if they don't know that they want it yet. And when you approach sales saying, I'm not in a taking or extraction position, I'm in an additive or adding position, I look at everything I do is helping people get more of what they want. And in sales, there are techniques that you'll learn to be an effective communicator. Because for people to make a change, there's a emotional commitment and a financial commitment. These two levels of commitment need to be followed because when someone purchases a roof, they need to emotionally need the roof, they need to understand why they need the roof, and they have to be committed to the outcome of what that new roof will do for them, by way of either preventing them from having to spend a whole bunch of money in the future, having leaks or problems, or choosing the wrong contractor and getting stuck with shoddy workmanship. So all of these emotional benefits are tied to the new roof. And at the same time, they need to rationalize the emotional commitment by way of an exchange of money, because that's. We live in a capitalistic society. If you want something done, you pay for it. And some people might think that that's harsh, but that's true. If you want a new phone, what do you do? Pay for it. You want a new car, what do you do? Pay for it? When you need an oil change, what do you do, you pay for it. When you want to go out to eat to a nice restaurant, what do you do? You pay for it. We pay for things and we pay for the things that we want and need. And we have to again see how that thing adds to our life as opposed to takes from our life. The only thing that we spend money on that takes from our life is taxes. Ask me how I really feel. Anyway, my point is, hey, I'll make this quick. My goal is to help you win big. So now you can get free one on one coaching advice. Free from my brand new AI clone. That's right. You can call, text and even video chat with me. So click the link in the description and check it out. Right now, being a change maker, this mindset shift of identifying where people are, helping them get to where they want to be and helping them get more of what they want and adding value, this changes the entire game. So now when you are out in the field, you're able to say, hey, although I'm getting called names, although I'm getting ridiculed, although maybe even my friends and family or even my significant other isn't comfortable with this idea of sales. And especially I'm in door to door sales. Like it's like the scum of the earth, the bottom of the barrel. You're not. You are doing what you do to add value to people's lives. Not to take, but to give. Okay? So this mindset shift should help change the game for you. And I know that this business is an emotional battlefield. That's why I wrote my book, the Roofing Sales Survival Guide. How to Beat the Odds, Overcome Yourself and Win. And there's two ways I can get it to you. One is for free, and that's by you clicking the link in this description right now. And you'll get a free digital copy. Or two, just jump on Amazon or audible and tune in. I'll talk with you, you'll hear my voice and I'll talk you through this emotional battlefield and mental battlefield that you're going through. But you're not alone. Act as a change maker and you'll make magic happen. Now, if you need some more help on staying motivated, maybe when you're out getting rejected every day, jump into this video. I'm going to give you a very simple technique to use to stay positive no matter what.
