High Failure Rate in Roofing Explained (For Owners + Sales Reps)
Adam Bensman breaks down why two-thirds of roofing sales reps quit or get fired in their first year, and why most roofing companies fold within five years. He argues the industry avoids the hard interpersonal work that actually drives success, and lays out what it takes: mental preparation, door-to-door tactics, handling objections, and solid business fundamentals like cash flow and payroll.
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The failure rate in roofing is shockingly high. 2 out of 3 roofing sales reps will quit or get fired in their very first 12 months. And it's reported the average lifespan of a roofing company is a pathetic five years. And in fact, that number shrinks even lower in certain cities. I was just in conversation with some folks in Oklahoma City and they told me that the average lifespan of a roofing company is just 11 months. Now, I haven't been able to fact check that quite yet, but even if it was remotely true, that's horrifying. So why is it that there is so much turnover? Why don't people survive in this business? There's such a low barrier to entry and anyone can do this, but most people don't succeed. Well, the reasons for that are exactly what I'll be covering in this video to help you understand what the threats are so you can overcome yourself, beat the odds, and truly win big. Now let's get started. Let's dive straight into the core theme of why both salespeople and roofing company owners fail. Whether it's in a year, whether it's in five years. Now, it can be summed up through this fable that I heard when I first started getting into this side of the industry when I working with roofing companies. Now, I don't know if this fable is true or not, but the message behind it is really powerful. So here's how it goes. There was a roofing company that ran a hiring ad that read, Earn $200,000 a year shoveling chicken poop. Now, naturally, applicants came flooding in. Seriously, that's all you got to do is shovel chicken poop. Yeah, it might be a little smelly, but whatever, it's $200,000. So the applicants poured in the doors and the owner, he ran a group interview. So the applicants came in, they were crowded around the big conference room table and the owner said, hey, thank you so much for coming in to learn about this incredible opportunity with our business to earn life changing money. $200,000 a year. Now, I know you read the ad, but I have great news and I want to start off with this great news right now. First, you don't need to shovel chicken poop. All you need to do is go knock doors. And just like that, horror struck the crowd. Everybody got up and scrammed like cockroaches. Now, what's the lesson in this fable? That people would be more willing to endure the disgusting hardship of standing knee deep in chicken poop than they would to face their own inner demons. And that is why so many people in this business fail. It's also the reason that I wrote my book, the Roofing Sales Survival Guide, how to Beat the Odds, Overcome Yourself and Win Big. This book became a number one bestseller on Amazon in the sales category in under 24 hours. And I wrote this book specifically to dive into the mental and emotional aspects of roofing sales that most people don't talk about. Whether you're an owner or a manager, you got lured into this business because of the life changing opportunities, specifically the financial opportunities. But what people don't tell you about is that you're going to face your inner demon every day. You may hate your job, some days that life will be an emotional roller coaster. It'll be like strapping yourself to a roller coaster. Speaking of roller coasters with a faulty switchboard that you don't know if it's going to shoot backwards, shoot forwards, stall upside down, get you motion sick. But at the end of the day, you're going to get off and some people are going to never want to get back on. And the crazy folks like you and I who are stuck in this business will say, wow, that was terrible. Let's try it again. Now, what they don't tell you is that the emotional baggage and trauma that you have in your personal life, whether it's a fight with a spouse or significant other, a sick, disabled or special needs child, a parent or family member or friend that gets cancer and someone dies, that this crippling sadness, misery and depression you're going to have to carry with you to work. Because if you don't, you don't work and you don't make money. And then you have to figure out how to compartmentalize this, Leave it at home and show up to your appointment with a homeowner who's starting off friendly and says, hey, how you doing? You're like, oh, you know what? I'm great. When inside you're dying and you want to do nothing more than go to the pub and drink beer. Or they're going to berate you with calling you names at the door, telling you to get a real job. Then a customer calls upset because the crew left a bottle of pee on the driveway and no one prepares you for this part. And again, that's why I wrote my book. So if you haven't read it yet, grab your copy right now. It's on Audible and Amazon or Kindle and I made it stupid cheap because I believe it'll help you. Because many companies are Using this, by the way, as required reading for their new sales staff, owners, managers, I recommend you get a copy as well. I just talked to an owner who's on his second. Read through the book and requiring it for all new hires. Now, the mental preparation is one thing, but I want to get into the tactical side of why people fail. And it's quite simple. They weren't prepared to succeed. So we have the mental and emotional training and now we have the tactical training. And for salespeople, that tactical training is learning how to again, start conversations at the door, overcome objections, present to homeowners, close deals, manage their time efficiently, collect referrals, understand the technical aspects of roofing. And then for owners of a roofing company, it's problem one on getting started is how do I get started? How do I start doing this business on my own? How do I bring in my first hire? Who should my first hire be? Who should my next hire be? Do I hire my guys? 1099 or W2? How do I manage my cash flow? How do I get insurance? How do I get leads? Where should I spend money on marketing? How do I scale into the next market? And the questions and obstacles are absolutely endless. But what I found to be the common theme of the most successful people is that they surround themselves with other people who've done it before them so they don't have to reinvent the wheel. The stubborn people who feel like they're going to figure it out on their own, in my opinion, are the most ridiculous ones. It's one of the reasons that I founded the Roofing and Solar Reform alliance. To unite great people aligned, who have all taken a pledge, abide by a code of conduct, and participate in mutual non disclosure, so confidentiality throughout so we can collaborate and share together. Like how on this morning's sales training Q and A session, we had sales reps from all over the country, from all different companies supporting each other as we navigate claims that were getting denied homeowners who were delaying insurance, figuring out the best practices for direct mail strategies, how to tackle certain objections, and then on our leadership roundtable, figuring out how to navigate the things that come up. Like the new FLSA law that went into effect March 11, which took that gray area of 1099 and W2 and made it black and white and. And really, you need to be W2 to have employees. We've had companies peel back the curtains and share in intricate detail their internal operations, their pay plans, their marketing processes, including their very robust and intricate plan to figure out the best way to get the lowest rates on workers comp insurance. Now I wouldn't be able to present all this to you and you wouldn't be able to learn all this until you gather this information from other people. And that is the beauty of surrounding yourself with like minded people who are again united around a central vision to help you outsell, outgrow and out compete the rest as we stomp the scum out. So if you'd like to become one of us, use the link in the description right now to learn more or to set up your private tour. But whether or not it's right for you, whether or not we're a good fit to work together, your key takeaway is this. For you to survive and for you to help the people on your team survive, you need to be prepared in two ways. One is your tactical and technical training and two is your mental and emotional training. And if you can accomplish both of those, you'll be wildly successful in this business. But if you fall short in any of them, you my friend, will be just a mere statistic. And I don't want to see that happen. So I'm glad you're here with me today. Now listen, I appreciate you joining me in today's video. Just because our time here is about to wrap up does not mean you're in my time. Time has to. If you haven't yet done it, I want you to get a leg up by jumping inside my free training center right now. There's absolutely no catch and there's a link in the description. If you wish to hang with me here on YouTube, hop right into this next video. I think you're really going to love it. Till next time.
