Q&A: Getting Personal - The Real "Roof Strategist" Adam Bensman

All right. Hey, glad to have you back. This is going to be a video that's unlike other videos I've done here. I'm doing Q and A. I'm answering your questions. We're getting real, we're getting personal. I'm sitting right now in my bedroom. This is the actual chair I sit in every morning, bring my wife coffee, and we sit down and we powwow through video and business ideas while I. While I wake her up with a cup of coffee. And she inspired this video, large in part from an Instagram post that I put up, this one right here. And I don't normally put up personal stuff and it was about, by the way, you can go check it out. Follow me on Instagram oofstrategist to see that post. But it was all about a personal, personal struggle and triumph that I had while mountain biking on a trip and being really ill and having a friend kind of push me through. And I was literally running into the woods to have some stomach issues and then falling asleep in the woods and then having to get up and finish a seven hour, incredibly arduous day two of three mountain bike adventure. So at any rate, if you're new here, this probably isn't the best video or podcast for you to start with. Check out any other one to get a taste. But if you're back, let's jump in again a little behind the scenes on who I am and what's going on. So let's rip the band aid off and get right to it. Question number one. And by the way, I have these written down to reference here. How did you feel about the comment Dimitri made on the Roofing Insights interview? So a couple things. Number one, I didn't feel great about it. It caught me off gu, and frankly, I don't think it was the best thing to say. But there are a couple pieces that I did want to acknowledge publicly. 1. Thank you. Thank you for asking. Thank you for noticing the comments that posted on that video, like defending me. I can't even tell you how good and how humble that made me feel. You know, it's something that I've dealt with my whole life. You can't hide your height, right? So I had been kind of picked fun at, even in the, in my own, you know, when I was in roofing from the company and people that were there, salespeople that were there, even some of the managers, I got picked fun by an email from another person in the industry, by the way, reaching out. For some reason, they found that offensive. I Don't know why people do. And to have people stand up for me when I had dealt with it was like, really heartwarming. There's a gentleman. I'm not going to name names, but there's a gentleman I was on the phone with yesterday who's interested in some programs. And he says, man, I've been wanting to ask you, like, how did you feel about that? Like, it made me angry. I wanted to stand up. So I just wanted to say thank you. Next thing I wanted to acknowledge, I did put a pin post on that video because Demetri did reach out to apologize and which says a lot. You know, we all don't. We've all done things that like, you regret. But when you're on camera, by the way, I'm not defending Demetri. I want to just provide context from a compassionate standpoint. When we're on camera, there's things you can't undo. And there's a high level of vulnerability when being on the Internet. He reached out, he apologized, made some edits. And what wasn't on film was the conversation we had just before that about how I've been getting emails from people all over. Am I to this, you know, women self conscious? Am I in a male dominated industry? Guys and gals who are totally tatted up and they regret it. Neck tattoos, people who aren't proud of their past, people who feel self conscious about their. This not being able to speak English fluently or their weight or their stature, their race. And we talked about how people can either look at that as like their weakness or embody that as their strength. And I embodied the height thing of like, well, how do I just become an even more confident person to make this not be an issue? And it hasn't been for me. Like, I forget about it until adults that I thought that, you know. Anyway, bring it up. So first I just want to say thank you for even asking. That was really an amazing experience for me to just see people standing up. So thank you. Next. What's your life like outside of work? And how do you balance stress? And by the way, because I'm in my house, that was my dog, Luna. How do I balance life? This has been like an ever evolving challenge, right? To balance work, life, stress and the demands that we have. Because in roofing, sales and by the way, what I do on my side really isn't much different in terms of that demand of service and being pulled in lots of directions and a really high expectation to deliver. Right? And how I balance that is by staying grounded. So for me, those avenues are usually fitness, mountain biking, weightlifting and trail running. And I live in the mountains, so I love to just be in nature and disconnect, turn the phone off and just to be present the next just personal development. I chew through books. I love reading about spirituality. I love reading about different philosophies, mindfulness practices, meditation practices. I do a lot of journaling in this same journal. But outside of work, I live a very simple life. I love spending time with my wife. She's my best friend. She's the person that I'm content doing little to nothing with. And even like last weekend we chopped and split and stacked four cords of wood together and it was a blast because we just jammed out music and doing the simple things. I love traveling with her. I love, we love visiting family and we love trying new things, new places and specifically new restaurants and cooking meals. And I'm a routine guy to a fault. She picks fun at me a little bit because I love to go to bed between like 8:30 and 9:30 if I can. And I like to get up early and I stay grounded. So that's my life outside of work. I'm a very simple man. And that's it. So let's jump in. Why do you wear a hat? Funny story that started it all is I began making videos. At this point, we were living in an RV story for another time. But when I came into this side, I sold my wife and I, we sold our house, we sold virtually everything we own. We got a diesel truck and a fifth wheel. We moved into it for a year and traveled the country as the roof strategist started. And I was speaking and visiting with companies and it was great. And I started making some videos and I went for a haircut at like a generic franchise in some ho dunk town in the middle of nowhere. And I get this haircut that the barber literally goes, you're going to need this. And she put the hat back on my head. And that night I got home, I took this off. I'm like, no way. And then I buzzed it. So you've seen the videos with the buzzed hair. Then it went long. And it's because I can find good haircuts and because, you know, living in the mountains, it was just a bit more of a commute to go get it. I didn't value the time. I said, that's an hour or two. I could be investing elsewhere. So for me, in my delusional thought process, I'm like, that's not by the way, I don't actually think it's delusional. I just said, hey, you know, it's easier to wear a hat. So look at this. I mean, I'm due. I finally found a guy locally, and I'll keep up, but most days I'm in a hat of sorts. All right, why don't you drink alcohol? So it's come up in a few. And then people ask, you know, are you, hey, you know, at roofing process and. Or, excuse me, at roofcon. By the way, I'm speaking at both roofing process and Roofcon this year, 2021, they said, Are you gonna be at the VIP party? Yes. I don't drink alcohol. You'll see me with an NA beer or fizzy water. I don't drink because I've made a very conscious effort in my life to focus on the things, the people in the environments that fuel me, the things that give me energy, the things that give me inspiration, and the things that ground me because I'm about optimizing my life in my ability to perform in every area, to be present, to be a great husband, to be a great son, to be a great brother, to be a great friend, to be a great servant to you professionally. And I found that the things that dragged me down, I just needed to cut out the people, everything. And that was alcohol. My wife had suggested, hey, you know, maybe we should see what it's like to go a week without having a drink. I'm like, oh, when was the last time I did that? I have no idea. And what's funny is when this video is going to air. I'm filming this, by the way, on Friday. It airs this Monday. And this is the three year anniversary of quitting drinking. And I can tell you, it was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life. Don't crave it whatsoever. And I feel clear, more focused, sleep better, more energized. I saved a bunch of money, and I didn't see that it contributed to my life in any way. So that's why I don't drink. All right, who else works with you? We have a small and mighty team. As I joke, we're growing. We're experiencing some growing pains, which is just such an incredible opportunity. Three people, ME, on the team. You know, me, my wife Sheena, and John. Sheena handles all of the videos. Podcasts, operations, customer service. She helps come up with the ideas as we sit in these chairs and have coffee together. And she's really the brains behind helping me figure out what the good ideas are and the bad ideas, where to put in our time. Me, when we produce new products and programs, she's proofread and help refine every single piece in the market, literally every piece in the marketing battle pack all 260 something of them. And she just has this eye for quality and she gets people and she gets me and she gets you and what you need. So she handles all that. And then John handles all of our technology. Everything you see online, with the exception again of the videos and the podcast. Sheena handles so our entire web presence and our online strategy center, John handles. So that's our small and mighty team and growing. All right, next, when are you coming to Blank? So I get this. When are you coming to Texas? When are you coming to South Carolina? When are you coming to Kansas? Next? Alright, so I don't know yet, but I will always keep you posted. The three places that you can see me, by the way, Roofing Process, 2021, which by the way is coming up very shortly. So grab your ticket if you haven't. I'll have a booth, booth there, booth 630. I'll be at roofing process as well. And I'm also, if you want like ongoing stuff, you may want to look at the P Pro movement that I recently announced. Enrollment opens on Wednesday. And then if you're watching this after Wednesday, enrollment is open. There's a link in the description, but this was the answer to companies that wanted to work together on an ongoing basis a bit more intimately. It is a group environment, but it's a group of people who are smashing their income goals faster, easier, and surrounded by like minded sales professionals. And that's where I'll be doing live sessions, live mentoring, Q and A like this. Well, it's not about me though. These are questions you have about sales that I'll be answering. Sales leadership sessions as well with a private discussion board for owners and managers. So that'd be a great place. And then as I, as I travel, I will keep you all posted via Instagram, Facebook, the YouTube channel and email. All right, all right. What do I think of the industry? So here's this. This, this may not go well, but I'm gonna. This is my commitment to be real. Not a big fan. I'm not a big fan of the industry at large. It's why I took a break from the industry and I shared that story with that interview with Dimitri. But the industry isn't why I'm in this year, why I'm in this. And I Took a break from the industry because of some bad actors and unethical things and the greed that poisoned it. And when I made the channel, I didn't think that anyone would care or want to hear my approach because I thought it wasn't like bro y and aggressive enough or pushy enough or whatever it was. That that was kind of the thing at that point. And I was so pleasantly surprised. And what's been wild is that the. The channel in this style has been a magnet for just in amazing people reaching out, who are kind hearted, loving people trying to change their lives, who are committed to doing the right thing by customers. And then I began to realize that our industry and the part that I said, you know, I don't really love the industry, it was the squeaky wheel or two that was getting all the grease. And those are the folks that. That made me just really like, put a bad taste in my mouth. And. And they're the silent. The silent majority is you. It's the people who are doing right by others and wanting to learn a truly ethical and compassionate way to connect and of course, win business. And I've been blown away at the response. It's really changed my perspective on it. I do think that of course there's a lot of bad actors, but follow the money anywhere there's money to be made, there's bad actors, there's unethical stuff. But my views of the industry are changing each and every day. And again, it's not the industry and we have to separate the people in the industry. And that's why I've just decided to kind of separate myself, at least mentally, from the industry and say, hey, I'm here to serve the people that want to be served. And if that's you, thank you for being here. Because everything I do in this channel is in response to you, which is actually probably a good way to segue into the next question, which is where the video ideas come from. That's you. It's responding to conversations that are had when I'm out connecting with people, when I'm running trainings, when I'm responding to emails and YouTube comments. It's seeing what's actually going on and finding what you need, because it's not what I. I have so much to share, but that's not about me, it's about you. So the ideas start with you, and then Sheena helps me package them up in a really digestible way and clarify the message and do a million takes to get the video right so you can get as much as you can out of it in the shortest period of time. So thank you for all the suggestions. And by the way, it's probably a good time. If you like this video format, give it a thumbs up. It's the only way I really know the camera doesn't speak back. If you want to see more, more videos like this. So give it a thumbs up. By the way, if you haven't already subscribed, I'd love for you to subscribe and share. Share any videos you find with a friend. It's all free content. The only fee I ask is if you find anything useful, share it with folks, spread the word and pass it on. All right, let's see. Do you make money from YouTube? Not anything worth writing home about. I've balanced. So I didn't do this for making money on YouTube. I just want you to know I YouTube my understanding of the algorithm. They want to see ads on there because of course they make money from ads. So if they don't see ads, they're not going to want to put your videos. And I want to be able to help people. So I've chosen the one ad type that I can like, the group that they allow with the shortest period possible for you to skip it. Because as a YouTube watcher myself, it's just like, I just want to get through and like, get into it. So at any rate, it's the balance I can do. But just know I'm not in it for the YouTube money. And believe me, I could not survive on the money made from YouTube ads. So there's that. All right. Why are you not still roofing? I get this a lot. For some reason, I get it a lot. On, like some Facebook posts and some YouTube comments, people are like, off. This really worked. You'd still be selling roofs. And I listen, I get it. I really do. People that say, if you can't do, teach. And I want to just take a step back. I sold, I helped run teams, I ran teams operations, handled all of our legal stuff, handled all of our marketing, handled all of our management managing of the management team, handled our growth initiatives, handled new office expansion. I've done all of those things. When I burned out and ended up in the hospital thinking I was gonna have a heart attack, trying to juggle offices in multiple states and never being home and getting so busy. I had a truck here and a truck there. Like, I realized that what I was truly the most passionate about was helping my team, helping people use this industry to change their lives. And my ability to make an impact is driven by that. I could go out and start selling roofs and make a bunch of money, but I am not in it for that. I'm in it because I'm following what fuels me and what excites me. Believe it or not, above anything else, it's not seeing sales come in what excites me the most. Of course I get excited when sales come in, just so you know. But I want you to know that it's here. What excites me is the email I get from someone telling me how their life has changed. The money is a byproduct. Smashing your income goals is the result of the personal development in disguise of this industry. Making a bunch of money is the result of improving yourself professionally. Making good money is the result of over and over doing the right thing, alright? Following the right path. And when I hear people talking about changing their lives, getting out of debt, putting their kids through college, going from prison to turning your life around to getting an apartment or truck and putting money in the bank, getting a message that says I've met my wife knocking door to door using your slap formula. True story. This is the stuff that fuels me and my ability to make an impact through this medium, through everything I do the lowest price possible for the programs that I have out. Being able to do YouTube videos that reach thousands of people, being able to provide programs for companies to impact all of their reps. Everything I do is about spreading impact and driving results. And this is a passion project. Okay, I've done a lot of things in the sales world and to me this is what fuels me the most. So that's why I'm not still in it and it is beyond full time. So I don't, I couldn't do both. Which again people say, hey, are you still involved? No, I don't have time and this is my passion. Alright, last three things. Where do you find people to interview? The people you've seen interviewed on the channel are people I've either connected with or people who've reached out, they've responded to share their story and I found it inspiring to share with you. Now I'll tell you. Thank you to you and some comments. I've been challenged and one of them was recently. It was on an interview I did of there was some controversial stuff shared about some deductible kind of help with referrals. I was hesitant to post it. I didn't push back. Someone said you should have pushed back and I just wanted to publicly acknowledge that. I appreciate it. It was actually allowed me an opportunity, self reflection to say, you know what, everyone I interview on the channel, I'm not going to agree with everything that they share and it's not my position to dictate that I am here to bring other people's opinions story to you, to inspire you in some form or fashion. Whether I agree or not doesn't really matter. Now I'm not going to put anything out there that I strongly disagree with, but there's golden nuggets to be had in everyone's story. And to me there's strategy, there's emotion, there's confidence, there's the personal side and all of these different elements. We need to find inspiration. So I bring these people on to give that to you and I do look for your feedback. So if you see things that I can do better in the interview, people you want to see comment, let me know because it'll help me provide even more value to you. All right, hardest part of YouTube what is the hardest part of being on YouTube? Honestly, it's the pressure and feeling that it's never enough. It's this juggle and this balance of putting out videos to value your time and then also finding ways to really pour my heart into this and then dealing with death threats and nasty comments and horrible people and those squeaky wheels really kind of get loud sometimes. So that, that is part of the hardest part. And just this, this I'm my worst self critic, always feeling it's not good enough or it's not enough for others because I really, I want to make sure you would be amazed. I have sometimes spent half a day to shoot a 15 minute video because as you've noticed, I do everything in one take and I shoot and I shoot and it usually doesn't require a half day. But the mission is to give a real, raw, unfiltered feeling. Because when I can get better, I know that you can get better. If I can deliver in a streamlined section and not have to hide behind a camera or an editing process, this provides other people the inspiration to continually refine their craft. I practice what I preach. This is role play for me each and every day. And the hardest part is setting the bar, dealing with the negative stuff that filters the good stuff, and then always wanting to better myself. And then the final question, what's next for you? What's next for me is setting a even higher bar to do better, to do more and to have a higher impact and better results. So everything you'll see. And by the way, that's Partly what is inspiring the Pitch Pro Movement and enrollment opens this Wednesday is to be able to be there to provide that impact. And I'm doing this because I've spotted the holes. Right. First hole, by the way, was providing a platform that was affordable for everybody from an individual rep to a new owner, a young company, to a company that's doing $75 million a year and to provide a path for them to get results really quickly that was attainable. So that mission fulfilled, right? Which again, I guess the step before that was the YouTube channel. All the free material first. That's what feeds the machine, so to speak, is being able to reach a lot of lives and help people get results. And to do that at scale, then the programs and then now it's people want just non stop feedback. How can I continually work with you? And I want to provide that ongoing support. So pretty much everything you see from me is going to be focused on better results, better impact, higher quality, and that's what's next and doing so in the leanest way possible. So if you are someone that does want to make that next step, I can continue to keep my rates as incredibly affordable as possible with a high return, with a money back guarantee. And that's my mission. So thank you for joining me on this video. If you liked it, you like this format, give it a thumbs up, tells me that you dig it and drop a comment if there's anything that you want to see. Maybe in A Part 2. Thanks for being here. I hope you enjoyed this little behind the scenes. We'll see you soon.