Last week we had an absolute blast at the Conklin hands-on roof products training in Kansas City, MO. New people came in from Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Ohio. Sam Hostetler, a master contractor with the Conklin company and our top mentor, was there as well along with Jonathan Keim, the marketing director of Choice Roof Contractor Group.
Storm Chasers Serving the Entire Southeast
The owner of KCI Roofing, a large residential roofing company that did as much as $12 million in annual sales with 25 salespeople before the great recession, found us online last month while researching the best way to enter the commercial roofing industry and within a few days decided to sign up himself and two of his best salespeople to go to this month’s roof systems warranty eligibility training classes.
Although KCI Roofing has been tremendously successful growing in the residential market on their own by establishing a great reputation and highly effective marketing and sales strategies, they wanted our help to accelerate their growth the commercial roofing market while also getting membership benefits like free lead generation, specialized marketing expertise, advanced product knowledge, and compelling sales material.
We got to know the crew very well and are tremendously excited to be partnering up with their company. They are already working on putting a commercial roofing website together with the help of Top Roof Marketing as well as designing vehicle wraps for their fleet. The owner also shared he will be contacting others in the industry who would benefit from working with us.
Commercial Architect, Engineering and Construction Professional in Massachusetts
Maksim Cruz, part owner of a residential and commercial construction, real estate investment and property management company, has a strong background in architectural design and engineering. He saw great value in Conklin’s roof coatings which work as a seamless, renewable roofing system without requiring tear-off of the existing roofing system.
We have been speaking with Maksim since May. Although he loved the coating concept, no one he talked to in his area had heard of liquid applied roofing systems – even though they are extremely popular in other parts of the country. Conversations with local building owners did generate buzz though and Maksim recognized the great potential of being one of the first companies to introduce roof coating systems to the New England states.
A strategic marketing plan is already well underway to reach out to existing customers and new prospects. We’re very pleased to be working with a professional like Maksim in the northeast.
Wind and Solar Energy Consulting Company
Scott Hackney, owner of Bright Spot Wind and Solar, happens to be a personal friend of Jonathan Keim. He drove over 700 miles to be part of this month’s warranty training classes.
The ability to easily extend the life of a commercial roof before installing solar panels on top greatly appealed to him since roofs should often be replaced before installing 20+ year panels, which can add a considerable amount of expense and end up costing a sale. The other big reason he wanted to learn more about the coating systems was the tremendous energy saving benefits provided by turning typical dark roofs into white, highly reflective roofs that can cut down on air conditioning costs by up to 30%.
The solar and wind industry is absolutely perfect for roof coatings and Scott has already partnered with two of our Choice Roof Contractors. He already has a roof coating job sold.
National Account Manager of Spray Foam Systems
Dave Chwalibog of Spray Foam Systems also attended. We’ve been looking forward to meeting him for months and had a great time connecting over the two-day warranty training event and a great steakhouse dinner where we shared the best ways to grow in the commercial roofing market with everyone who attended the Conklin product training event.
Spray Foam Systems is taking advantage of our commercial roofing network in two ways. In addition to getting introduced to all contractors who join our network (as a result of providing a group discount and superior service), the company is focused on making product commissions with us now that they have met Conklin’s team of building product specialists as well as multiple contractors who have successfully used Conklin roofing systems for decades.
We can’t wait to work with Spray Foam Systems’ contractors as Dave and his associates introduce our commercial roofing network and Conklin products to their clients.
New and Experienced Contractors Welcome to Join Us in September
We had a terrific week and are looking forward to bringing in another group of contractors for next month’s hands-on product training. If you would like to come on board, visit the following page to get more information and to register: Commercial Roof Training and Warranty Classes. There are a limited number of spaces available and they sell out quick in the fall season.