Roofing Success
The Roofing Success Podcast is a show created to inspire roofing contractors to achieve optimal success in their roofing businesses. The host, Jim Ahlin, is the co-author of the book, "Internet Marketing For Roofing Contractors, How to TRIPLE Your Sales and Turn Your Roofing Website Into an Online Lead Generation Machine", and Co-Founder of Roofer Marketers, the Digital Marketing Agency for the roofing industry. On each episode, Jim will be sitting down with industry leaders to talk about their processes, the lessons they learned, and how to find success in roofing.
Roofing Success
From a Friend's Couch to Roofing Empire: Dominating Luxury Markets at 26
What happens when a 22-year-old moves to a new city with no contacts, no office, and no safety net… and ends up dominating the most expensive neighborhoods in town within months?
Meet Jordan White, Co-Founder of SeekOne Roofing , who built one of the fastest-growing roofing companies in the country, serving elite markets like Franklin & Brentwood, TN.
Inside this episode:
- How Jordan broke into luxury markets with zero local connections
- The “before & after” systems that keep customers talking long after the build
- Building a faith-forward culture without losing speed or standards
- Scaling fast while keeping your team tight, motivated, and high-performing
If you want to learn how to scale fast and keep your customers and crew raving about you, this episode is your blueprint.
Links:
https://seekoneroof.com
https://www.instagram.com/seekoneroof/
https://www.facebook.com/SeekOneRoofing
https://www.linkedin.com/company/seekone-roofing-company/
https://www.youtube.com/@seekoneconstruction6086
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0:00 – From Couch Surfing to Roofing Success Story
1:35 – Starting SeekOne Roofing at 22 Years Old
4:25 – Lessons from a $100M Roofing Company
6:15 – Customer Communication Systems That Win Jobs
9:20 – Automations & Text Messaging for Roofing Clients
13:25 – Post-Build Loyalty Strategies for Repeat Business
19:45 – Building a Strong Roofing Company Culture
23:30 – Tracking Roofing KPIs to Scale Fast
33:10 – Breaking Into Luxury Roofing Markets
51:35 – Expanding Into New Roofing Markets the Right Way
What happens when a 22-year-old with no local connections, no office and no safety net launches a roofing company from a stranger's couch and ends up dominating high-end neighborhoods within months? In this episode, we're breaking down how Jordan White built Seek One Roofing into one of the most exciting new names in the industry. We dive deep into how customer communication, culture and structure fuel scalable growth without compromising experience. Jordan is the 26-year-old co-founder of Seek One Roofing, a rapidly growing roofing company known for its elite service in affluent markets like Franklin and Brentwood, tennessee. Jordan's systems-driven approach, aggressive leadership and faith-forward culture have allowed SeekOne to scale across multiple markets without losing its edge. What sets Jordan apart is his obsession with the in-between moments the four weeks before the build and the four weeks after, from drop-off gifts to dashboards that track every dollar in delay. Seekone is engineered for consistency, loyalty and world-class execution. If you want to learn how to scale fast while keeping your team tight and your customers talking, this is the blueprint. Let's dive in with Jordan White from SeekOne Roofing.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the Roofing Success Podcast. I'm Jim Alleyne and I'm here to bring you insights from top leaders in the roofing industry to help you grow and scale your roofing business. Jordan White, seek One Roofing. How are you, man, doing well? How are you Doing well? How are you? I'm wonderful, you're one of the up-and-coming roofers in the game, right, one of the young generation. How?
Speaker 2:old are you man, for sure? Well, thanks for having me on first of all, and good morning. Yeah, I'm 26 years old.
Speaker 1:I love it, man. I've had a few guys on that have uh, that that are part of the. I don't know, man. It's the new generation of roofing and I love the. I love the visions that that people have and the way that they're. They're doing things differently, um, with a focus on quality and a focus on customer experience, and um had a conversation with you and, and and really enjoyed it, so wanted to have you on, tell us a little bit about your journey into roofing and starting Seek One.
Speaker 2:Yeah, of course, man. What a journey it's been. Yeah, four years ago I decided to chase a dream and I moved up to Nashville from Atlanta, started Seek One Roofing Company. Had nothing but just a vision and a will to win, came up here, ended up dropping off my stuff and in a storage unit, slept on a guy's couch for the first month, two months, three months, figuring it out. Didn't know a road, didn't know very, very aggressively within that first year.
Speaker 1:Were you doing roofing sales down in Atlanta before this?
Speaker 2:I was. I was at the right place at the right time to be fortunate enough to work for a company in Atlanta that scaled to nine locations within about six years and was able to reach about a hundred million dollars in revenue.
Speaker 1:Nice. So you saw, you got to see the potential firsthand. Is that a good way to put it?
Speaker 2:Yes, sir, yeah, that's exactly what went down. I saw exactly what not to do and what to do, and my partner and I we both came from that business and I think we had a playbook of exactly how to execute from watching extreme growth within a short amount of time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because that is a short. Like how fast did they go to 100?
Speaker 2:million Within about six to seven years. Yeah, yeah, that's moving.
Speaker 1:Within about six to seven years.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, that's a that's a that's moving, so we were able to take you know, a lot of that and integrate that into our own business. But I think more than what we took that was working was what didn't work. How do we? You know, find the gap in the game that they had, solve that and then kind of bulletproof our own operation.
Speaker 1:Well let's start with that that and then kind of bulletproof our own operation. Well, let's start with that. What was the thing that you saw in a company scaling that fast? That didn't work.
Speaker 2:I think the customer experience and customer journey was just dropped and I think that communication is everything in construction Seekorn Roofing Company. We have a couple of different sayings, but one of ours is construction's broken and we're just fixing it. Uh, I don't think that the actual construction side of it is broken. Uh, I think that it's the communication and that's what we're really honed in on. Is, you know, hey, when you're building, you know a hundred roofs a month, you know up to 200 roofs a month, up to 300 roofs a month. How do you maintain that customer experience and journey? Because we all do the same thing.
Speaker 2:You know, a lot of people will say my crews are, you know, elite or craftsmanship's there, and I'm sure it is. And I mean everyone vets their crews and goes through and finds the sweet spot. But I think, in all reality, from the initial inspection all the way to the last nail, you know that's what separates a roofing company nowadays is not so much the actual quality craftsmanship, because I think that that should be there, no matter what Like, why are we on site if we don't have the right people? And I think that so many people focus on, you know, the actual just build and not that, hey, look, you know when that last nail's put in.
Speaker 2:I say that the job starts when the job's done because I think that a lot of people move after that job's done, you know, and they go on to the next and they're not they kind of you know, leave that customer waiting for that check, and you know, hey, just let me know when you get it. And I think that you can really excel in that last. You know, two, three, four weeks post build, where, where you're firing them off. A survey, monkey, that says how was your experience with Seek One? Maybe a survey on how was our project management and our communication, a referral link, a walkthrough? I think that the job starts when the job's done and for most people I think they just go to the next.
Speaker 1:I see that a lot. I see that a lot. It's always onto the next one and, and I think a lot of times from a sales perspective, that's what it is right Like it's. It's, man, let's, let's keep this thing going, let's go to the next thing, let's go to the next thing. Where did the communication break down in the big company and what did you do? Like? You mentioned a few things, but what was the thing that you started with? Like that, with seek one, like okay, this is where we saw the communication breakdown most often. This is what we. This is the first thing we focused on yeah, no for sure.
Speaker 2:I think that roofing is a really spread out, um, you know, from the initial inspection week one, to an adjustment, week two. You know to a scope, week three to a contract, week four. And then I noticed, well, guess what A successful company is going to be about four or five, six weeks out on that schedule. If a company is only one week out, are they really in a high demand in their market? You know to be, you know used, you know for for roofing projects in the community? I don't think so.
Speaker 2:And so for me, when I see that wait a second that customer has already gone through four or five, six weeks just to get to the contract, to hand over and check, pick the shingle color and pursue, you know, the next steps, well, how are you going to communicate with that person from you know the contract to the bill?
Speaker 2:I think it's very crucial to remind them each week, you know. And so for us, you know that's what we noticed was the gap was hey, look, you know the reps, he's going to communicate when, when is the you know adjustment with the insurance carrier, and have you received your first check? And hey, can we do a contract? But I think that there needs to be even more communication after that contract, when someone just you know agreed to do a high ticket deal with you at 30, 40, 50, 000, to let them know each week hey, we've got you, you're on our list, you're a top priority within our company. This is our estimated start date. Is there anything that you need in between for us? You know, like just really filling in that that three, four week period before the build and and then like I said the three, four weeks after the build, when they're waiting on that check, don't just move to the next.
Speaker 2:At SeekOne, we send surveys. At SeekOne we send automated text messages before the build and after the build to maintain that good customer communication and experience. And then also, I think it's not forgetting the little things. I focus here at Sequel and Roofing Company on hey, if we can compound the little things, that we can be great at most things. And so for me it's like hey, look after that build, go do a walk through that customer. Hey, after that build, send them some photos and a little video of their project to showcase their house. Hey, after that build, you know, please go through and figure out. You know a small gift, rather, it's a $20 bottle of wine, whatever it is, how can we fill in? You know what other people are and just doing those little things to compound an amazing.
Speaker 1:Let's start with filling the gaps that your reps leave, because I think that's a big one right there. You know, from signed contract to build, it disappears off their radar a lot of times, right, and so they're not. What have been some of the gaps that you filled? You mentioned a couple of them. What have been the most impactful there?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I really do think that you know, I mean you got to realize that these customers, these clients, they've got families, they've got kids I mean it's right now summer, come on. They've got VBS, they've got camps, They've got sporting events, they've got, you know, trips, you know beach trips, like they're all over the place. And for that sales rep, he's going to remember right, because he's really focused on hey look, I need this build, I need to get paid on this. What is it going to work for me? Well, for us. I think that we've just owned the fact that, hey look, to not have that gap, we need to have a customer person, service person within our office staff that's going to communicate through automations every other day, if not for sure every week. So I think we've just, from home base, said hey look, we're going to control that and make sure that we don't have any. What does that?
Speaker 1:what does that role look like? Is that? Is that a specific role to customer communication? Is it just one of the one of the team in the office? Does the does, does the communication get split up between multiple team members in the office? How does that work for you?
Speaker 2:It does. It goes from department to department all the way. We all use a platform I think a lot of people are familiar with called Podium. We're able to go through and use automations. A lot of these are templates, don't get me wrong, but it's just having that pulse, letting that homeowner hear from you hey, your job has moved from post-contract into supplemental phase. Hey, your job's moved from supplemental phase to, you know, pre-build.
Speaker 2:And a reminder you know your builds next week. Hey, you know, week of the build. You know, just a couple of years, 10 reminders of what to do move your cars before. Hey, we're going to start that project at 630 in the morning. Hey, you're. You know a superintendent. Here's his name, here's his information. So it's just really every week just continuously letting them know that. Hey, look, we're on top of it. And I think the more effort that we put into that, the less questions we get on the back end and, from an accounting standpoint, collections, like when we ask for something these people follow because we've been notifying them the entire process of what our expectations are.
Speaker 1:What have you found? The best ways to communicate have been Are you just doing emails? Are you doing emails, texts, phone calls? What's the communication mix that you guys have found? And I'm sure it's ever evolving, but what are you doing most of the time?
Speaker 2:For sure. I think the email is tough, I think that phone calls are tough, just with where we're located, like Sequin Head headquarters is out of Franklin and Brentwood, which is a very high end area, this market and understanding. You know our audience, you know these are fast paced people. These are very successful people. They don't want the email and they don't want a phone call. So I honestly think that the text messages have been great for us. You know they opt in and then they get notified the entire time. So I really took that from hey look, let's see what the customers want to do with the insurance carrier on the front end when that claims initiated. You know the claims rep says hey look, you know, to notify you throughout this process. Would you like to be email, would you like to have text or would you like to have phone call? So I saw that firsthand over, you know, 10 years of you know the customers always saying text, text. So that's where we just kind of, you know, took that in.
Speaker 2:And implemented it.
Speaker 1:Okay, and then now you've built out these automations, or at least a sequence of communication that gets done in the pre-build process up to the build Boy. That's different on the other side, and that's the loyalty phase. To me, right like when we're talking about the customer journey, that loyalty phase is a missed opportunity a lot of times. So let's talk about that. Three to four weeks, two to four weeks post build of what you're doing. What's that communication cycle like?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah, post-build. Like I said, I mean, we're just simply saying thank you so much for choosing SeekOne. Tell us more about your experience. Here's a link, here's a survey. You know we, at this point in time now we have, you know, a build contract specialist that runs every single contract. We don't want 20, 30 sales guys all over promising and under delivering. So you know we, we have one guy that goes out and he runs contracts all day, every day, sun up, the sun down. So what we do is we take him and we put him to the back end of it and he goes and drops off a bag that just has our Seek One target on it. Our logo says blessed, focused, committed. A coffee cup. You know a little flyer that has a thank you and then also kind of tells who we are at Seek One. You know what we stand for, our vision, our core values, and then a review link. Obviously you know. So I think it's the post-build. You know, hey, your materials have been picked up. Hey, post-build survey. Hey, post-build gift. Hey, post-build walkthrough.
Speaker 2:Like we have seen that not only has this created an amazing opportunity for the brand and for referrals and for references, and just to build a base of cheerleaders, of people that are like hey, I'll talk about seek one, you know, no matter what to anyone. But I also think that it's helped so much and every roofing business I see that just AR, you know, accounts receivables is just from 30 days to 60 days to 90 days. It's drug out and I think that when you do these things and you execute, you got to give to get. I preach that. And when we give what we give, I think that we can get what we need, which is that final check. You know it's an easy layover. They're going here it is. Or hey, look, you know I don't have it, but my adjuster called me it's coming Like we now have flipped the variables to where they're communicating with us on a high level, and that's.
Speaker 1:I didn't think of it from an AR perspective, but that. So what you're saying is you found that there's been, that you have a better collections process because of the amount of communication that you have, is it? Do you think like it's just that they're used to communicating with you? At that point in time They've gotten so much communication that, oh, it's just another contact or just more communication. What do you think is? And if you have measured it, what has the tangible difference been?
Speaker 2:I think it's both. I really do.
Speaker 2:I think when we're communicating on a high level, they reciprocate, they turn that back and they say we're going to communicate, but at the same time I also think that when you update and you just continuously have a portal for them to see where their job's at and what's going on, right, like they, they want to help you because you've helped them.
Speaker 2:Like when they're we, I mean let's step it back for a second. I forgot to say, but when we a client, obviously we're already communicating, like seek one, but we have a custom roadmap, like, let's be creative here and be different than just an automated text message, right, so we give them a tangible roadmap with, like you know, step one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. What does this look like? Right, and in our text messages can actually be tied back to. Hey, you know, when justin gave you the roadmap, when you first, you know, decided to go a sequin roofing company, we're on step three, uh, here's what it is, but also you have that um, so it's just real easy to tie it back to, to that so it starts with this roadmap.
Speaker 1:I love that you're giving them the kind of here. This is these are the expectations that you have along the way. Now we're communicating through that roadmap, through the expectations, and one thing that you mentioned is that even at the end, you're giving them something that talks about the company core values. You know, that makes me think well, why didn't you do that up front, right, like what are you doing there? How are you thinking about that? Before we carry on with the episode, let's give a shout out to one of our sponsors.
Speaker 1:I talk to contractors every day that feel stuck, not because they're not working hard, but because they're missing the structure to grow without chaos or their culture's falling apart, because their team's unclear, unaligned or just burned out and when change hits, they're reacting instead of leading because time and priorities aren't under their control. Day 41 Thrive helps to fix that with proven strategies for growth, culture and leadership that actually work, ready to thrive beyond the storm. Visit the link in the description or visit the Roofing Success Podcast website on the sponsors page to start your journey today. Even at the end, you're giving them something that talks about the company core values. That makes me think, well, why didn't you do that up front? What are you doing there? How are you thinking about that?
Speaker 2:Well, at the end of the day, I think that we always just want to come back when they think we're done. Another step when we sign that claim, they're thinking they're not going to see us till that adjustment. So it's like, wait a second, let's hit them with with some some messages now. Then it's like, after the contract, they think they're not going to hear from about Seek One Roofing Company. So if I give it all to them at the beginning, right, then I don't have enough to be able to consistently, you know, impress them the entire time.
Speaker 2:Like I don't want to give them everything about Seek One and how great we are. I want to show it to you and I think that when we wait to do some of those things on the back, they're like wait a second, this is a faith-based company, Wait a second. Their core values are blessed, focused, committed Like I shouldn't have to sell you on that and I teach and train and develop our team on the fact that, hey, if we execute and we live it out, then guess what? They're just going to have the aha moment at the end when they see all of what we really stand for.
Speaker 1:Got it. I like that. So what when you're, when, when you're kind of providing this context to the company, at the end it's like, oh, that makes sense. They really do. They do this. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's awesome you did about quick.
Speaker 2:You said hey, look go for it.
Speaker 2:Things you know that you saw that missed, and I said client communication within the scalability of that last company that I previously worked with, right, yeah, one other that I just want to touch on real fast is just you know the love and the appreciation for the guys that do it.
Speaker 2:Okay, like when you go from five sales reps, that's where the team dinners are and that's where the you know who run the hip and the meetings are. You know real active and you're really involved, and then you get to 10 reps and then you know that starts to die off a little bit and then you get up to 15 reps and then it's we're too big for this. And then all of a sudden you know you're at 20 reps, 25 reps, and I think that I saw that you just became a person and you know another name on the board and I also think that your jobs became another job on the board and I think that what we've separated ourselves through and the gap that I was able to note and really implement here at SeekOne is client communication. When you scale is very important and to maintain that but also being able to show the appreciation for the people that make it happen.
Speaker 2:You know, I still, to this day, as the owner of this company. As an owner, you know, I have a partner, but I handle the sales, the branding, the marketing, the vision, you know, the energy, and I feel like, when they start to feel you remove yourself and distance yourself, that that culture and that atmosphere and that, following all those steps that we just talked about, starts to, you know, go down a little bit.
Speaker 2:And for me, I think that we're actually the opposite. I think that you know, through, as I told you, I think that we're actually the opposite. I think that you know through, as I told you, we do four massive trips a year. You know, and, and, and we really invest in these people and you know it's like hey, I asked for all of that communication and for that customer experience and journey to be that way, but at the same time, I give it to you.
Speaker 2:We make sure that we don't just give our guys, you know, two shirts and a hat, right, like I want to make sure that my guys have backpacks. That they've got, you know, the gear that they've got. You know, all of us are, are, are in sync and in uniform and look the part, you know, and that we've got, you know, really nice vests and really nice hoodies and really nice jackets and hats, and folders and literature and all of the pieces to equip our guys to be able to be as successful as possible. And we do that like every single other month. It's something new.
Speaker 2:Last week, we passed out all night's Nike backpacks to the entire sales team for them. You know, two weeks before that, three, four weeks before that it was custom polos that we went through. You know, and I think that it's like hey, look, like we want you to look a certain way and we want you to play the part a certain way. We're not going to require you to follow all these steps and processes and systems without giving you and showing you by, you know, having a Monday sales meeting every week, having a Friday sales meeting every week, having our team leader meetings with their teams every Wednesday, having their huddles daily. The structure, I think, is that hey, look. You know, I said it earlier, but too much is given, much is required, and so I think we can require a lot here.
Speaker 1:How are you keeping that connection? Because what are you guys on your third location now, I think, is, if I'm, if I'm not mistaken, how are you? You know, how are you? You know that mistake or or something that could be improved upon, that you saw at the other company where it was just the name on the board, it just another sales rep, and that distance between the leadership and the sales team. You know how, you know you. You talked about some meetings and and the and the, the, this, you know company swag and and different things. But like, how are you staying connected? How are you and Connor staying connected to, you know, to the team?
Speaker 2:Yeah, great question. I think that you know, for us, we're here every day. A lot of times we're the first here and the last to leave, and you know that doesn't go unnoticed. I think one big piece is is that Connor, I both, you know it's a very unique situation. Connor, you know, handles the production, the production, the operations, the books, the finances. He manages the entire office staff and all the departments.
Speaker 2:And guess what? Connor's worked for multiple roofing companies. Connor worked for SRS. Connor's a general contractor. Connor has done every section and part of the job, and so have I, from a sales standpoint, to where, when we say what we need and what we want and we point the finger, we're not saying to go do something to any team member that we don't do ourselves or haven't done. And so I think that we once again can demand a lot, because not only are we really engaged and involved at a high level within the day-to-day and the week-to to week and all the meetings and all the structure, but also, I think there's a lot of respect for the fact that you know if I say that this is what we need to do and how we need to do it, well, guess what I'm doing that too, and so I hear I hear, I hear, high standards for the team.
Speaker 1:Yeah Right, like they have high standards for the team. Yeah Right, for sure they have high standards for the team. How are you tracking those standards? Are you looking at certain KPIs? Are you looking at, like, what're we're? We're getting off track here. You're not meeting the standards of seek one roofing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm really glad you asked that. This is kind of my forte and kind of what fires me up. So, um, you know, I really believe that what doesn't get measured doesn't get moved. So you said, how do we measure that? Well, I'll tell you once again, because I came from this and I saw what needed to be done. This was another variable of what I didn't see and didn't have where I came from, which is, you know, I should be able to know how many customers, what my average ticket is, what my average approval rating is, what my scope amount is with what insurance carrier, what are the upgrades sold on all my jobs. When are all my builds? Where are all my builds in repair? Where are all my builds in the collection stage, you know.
Speaker 2:So I think what we did was we invested in a early stage of seek one into a data it uh individual. So his role, uh alan, is to make sure that we have the right you know platforms to be able to relay all that information and and so at Seek One, we've actually built out a custom platform that is, a you know dashboard for every single department, and so in our office, if you walk in, within 30 seconds, you can tell where every section of this business is, and it's tracked to a penny and down to the minute. And so we have one massive TV that has the production, how many builds, whose builds, what's the average ticket, when are they, where are they located, what crew, what superintendents on that build. And we've got that rolled out for the next 30 days, weather pending. You then go to another TV and it's going to show you all the customers that are in repairs and when those repairs are supposed to take place after the build to be able to collect, and when those repairs are supposed to take place after the build to be able to collect. You know.
Speaker 2:We have another TV that has a leadership you know board of where all the leaders are within the sales, a leader board that shows you know first place, all the way to last. You know where they're at in revenue. We break that down from within the week, within the month, within the quarter and within the year, and so we track all of that. You know who has the you know the largest, you know project, who has, you know, the most projects you know. So we've got everything you could think of.
Speaker 2:Then we have another board that breaks down the teams within the team. So we have team leaders, seek one roofing company, and in that way it's not just, you know, one or two guys and then all the sales reps. So what we've done is we've separated 20 sales reps roughly and we up you know it goes back and forth, seasonality, some ebbs and flows, but that's where we're generally sitting, and so we're able to break that into about four or five team leaders and so we have the you know, where is just their team, you know and revenue and approval. So I, I think that you know to require all of what I asked for and what we want and to set that strong standard. Once again, we're giving it. You know, too much is required and much is given, or too much is given, much is required, and we give them everything they need to be able to be successful and to understand why we're asking for it to be done.
Speaker 2:If for a company that does not track data at that level. Where do they start? Well, I think that you can just start in your CRM. At least make sure that you've got a reporting dashboard that just shows scope, amounts and revenue per rep. You know an AccuInks, jobnimbus, giddyup, whatever it is. I mean, they all have some dashboard. We feel as if that doesn't do what we need to at all, like we want to track every variable possible in every single department, and more so. For us it was like, hey, let's build out a custom platform and being able to go in and see every single section of this business. But I think, just starting with you know, or accepting I think the biggest thing is just acceptance of knowing, hey, look, I need this, my guys need this, let's do something. Rather it's an Excel sheet, rather it's you know, through the CRM, but you've got to give them something I really do?
Speaker 2:I think so.
Speaker 1:Yeah know, through the crm, but god, you gotta give them something. I really do, I think so, yeah, for sure. And then, when do you what? What's the turning point or what's the the? When do you go from okay, we have something, to we, we need everything?
Speaker 2:great question. I think that just depends on when are you really want to put scale to the test? Because when you scale, you've got to have it. Okay, you know to scale it, you got to nail it, and you know to nail it, you've got to have everything you know tracked and measured. And I don't think that people start putting up a hundred thousand, you know, to $250,000 marketing campaigns per month when they're not tracking everything. And if you are, then I think you're really running before you walk. So I think that, to answer your question, when you decide that, hey, this isn't a $2 million, $4 million, $6 million operation, you're trying to go from 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and you're really trying to grow 100%, 200% a year, to be able to grow, you've got it. Now, yeah, what are the most important metrics on that dashboard for you? It's funny you say that so.
Speaker 2:I actually have my own dashboard. It's called Jordan's VIP Staff. I am not a numbers person and I also think that that plays. A part of why we're successful here is that I stay in my lane. I tell our guys in this entire staff that, hey, when you go to a bowling alley, there's 30 lanes but you only get a play in one, and I think that I've kept my bumpers up and I've said, hey, look, I'm going to own my lane and so I have a great team and amazing people here.
Speaker 2:Um, and when, you can put our bookkeeper together and you can put our data analysts together and you can, you know, continue to compound all these numbers, I've been able to say, hey, I don't understand and I don't need to track everything. So for me, can we track? You know certain KPIs that are going to play into me, out in my lane, and so for me, those KPIs a couple of them would be hey, look, what is our current revenue for the year? What is our revenue, you know, for the month? What's our revenue for the week? How many signings, you know, contingencies for the insurance carrier do we have per week, per month, per year, how many approvals and how many builds, and then what's our average ticket? The average ticket really helps because I know right now that we're running. I can look at the TV in front of me and tell you our average scope right now is $26,287. So if I know that we've got this many approvals or this many contingencies, I'm able to do simple math and it really helps me and it honestly keeps me calm.
Speaker 2:You know, when I you know, day to day, week to week, just being able, as a business owner, there's so much stuff that gets done, there's just so much stress and, like right now in Nashville, it's mother nature, like it is literally raining every other day. So because we track all of that, we're able to call a meeting, being able to really understand. Hey look, we signed 300 deals in the last 45 days. We had a storm hit. So our average, our approval rating, sits at 86. So I can take 300 times 86. And then I know our average ticket is 26, 287. So I can say, okay, we're anticipating around $8 million of revenue coming in. And hey, you know our production board. It tells me how many builds we can put into the ground, how many superintendents we have to be able to maintain that experience that we want you know. And so when you can put all that data together, you can really really, really nail it and scale it?
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure, and I think one of the things that you said that's important for people to know is it's what data is most important to you. You're tracking all kinds of data, but you have to have your view of that data. Your production manager has to have their view of the data. Your sales managers, your team leads whoever like they have to have their, their vision of the view of that data. Also, you know Brentwood and Franklin. You'd mentioned more high-end neighborhoods, high-end areas. How did you break into the high-end neighborhoods and win the trust in those markets?
Speaker 1:I know you're enjoying the episode, but let's give a shout out to another one of our sponsors. As a roofing marketing agency owner and coach, I've seen it all Great marketing wasted because no one follows up fast enough. That's why I built Power Up Agents, not just a receptionist. Our AI handles the entire customer journey, from answering the first call to booking the job, to post job surveys and reviews 24 7, inbound, outbound, even multilingual. If you want leads followed up instantly and customers nurtured automatically, visit the link in the description or visit the sponsors page on the Roofing Success Podcast website. Your full AI team is ready. Brentwood and Franklin you'd mentioned more high-end neighborhoods, high-end areas. How did you break into the high-end neighborhoods and win the trust in those markets?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that kind of came back from just in very early stages and I think my partner realized kind of, hey, we'd worked together for two years at that previous company and we had channels to where we could post all of our signings and approvals and what was going on. And you know, I think he saw that, hey, look, I have a strong skillset in being able to go out and win a customer and really make a name within the most challenging and intricate systems in the entire community. So you know, he knew that, hey, I was going to go in and I was going to go out that first year and go sell the largest projects, the 150, 200, 250 squares draped in copper, standing seams, flat locks, all kinds of half round gutter systems. And hey, if we can just execute at a very high level on those first 50 projects, 100 projects, then we can make a name for ourselves and rattle and create a lot of noise within this industry and within this market here.
Speaker 2:And so, to answer your question, man, I went into your Laurel Brook, your Governor's Club, your Annandale, your Hidden River, your Two Rivers, these big time country clubs where all the artists and all the well-known people live, and so it was kind of like a not just you know who did your roof, you know, and if they're working in here then they must be great but also setting the tone and setting that standard of, no, not only are we in here, but, more so, not even making that image and creating that atmosphere for for the customers and for within that neighborhood, but letting the other competitors in this market that had the market share know that, hey, we're here, we're going to make a name and we're moving fast.
Speaker 2:So I think that we gained a lot of respect very fast from all the suppliers, from all the vendors, from all the shingle manufacturers, from all the competitors that, hey look, seek, one can do it and they're going to do it. And it wasn't ever an opportunity of, just like you know, hey look, we can put in a price and we can put in a bid and they may go with the guy who's been a business 30 years, right, like I knew that I was going to be able to set myself apart, coming in here early on and building in this upper echelon of you know, five to ten million dollar homes, and so that's what I think really helped create the brand, create the name and, um, you know, allowed everything to kind of compound from there was just aggressively coming in and working in areas in this market that most people don't work in for for 20 years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what gave you the confidence to do that? Because I mean, that seems like you know that that's what is lacking maybe in some other people in like I don't know if I want to go there yet, right.
Speaker 2:Well, I always tell my guys I say, hey, look, you know the roof size varies, you know it may be steeper, it may be bigger, but the front door is always the same. So for me, you know, and being a young company and being somewhere new and needing to really, really really build up and create that name fast, without having departments, without having an office, without having reviews, without having a website, right, like I had to go in there and knock down those projects to be able, you know, to scale a little bit quicker, because I had to come from the approach that, hey, less is more, right, like I couldn't go out and go sign 40 jobs that were all 30, 40 squares, because we didn't have the manpower, we didn't have the bandwidthpower, we didn't have the bandwidth to be able to support all of that. So for me it was, you know, uh, quality not quantity. I'd rather have 10, you know, six figure plus jobs that would make up a million dollars in revenue. That I would, you know, uh, let's just call it 40, 50, $20,000 jobs.
Speaker 2:And so for me, it was kind of I was forced into that Number one. I like it and you know I'm a fast paced, aggressive sales guy that kind of likes the hey look, I want to come in here and if I'm going to do this I might as well go work with the best of the best and the biggest. But I also think that I was a little bit kind of driven to go do that because it was less writing investments, less material orders, less project managing, you know. But then on the other side was, you know, creating a bigger name faster. So I think it all just kind of was the right recipe out the gate was doing less jobs but doing, you know, more complex.
Speaker 1:All right. And now now, over the years, though from that year one, you know, more complex, all right. And now now, over the years, though from that year one, you know, yet you're moving at more of a scale. How did you approach building your team? Uh, you know, as you've grown there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and back to what I said, you know, a little bit ago. Like you know, I don't I think my team really respects me because I've done every end of this. I'm not telling them to go drop off that client gift or to go, you know, to the build and do this, or you know, to communicate at this high of a level, or to wear this you know uniform, or to you know make sure the truck looks a certain way, uh, without me doing that myself, right? So I think that they kind of followed that hey, look like seek, one roofing company is bad in the building, does the big projects, and so I think they all come in here and have to start somewhere. But I think the goal is hey, look, I want to do what seek one's been able to do by, you know, taking care of these large scale projects. I think they've kind of followed suit in that, because the brand carries that name of complexity nice, nice.
Speaker 1:And then, as you've been scaling the team, what lessons have you learned about hiring the right people?
Speaker 2:Well, I think that's a big note that we took from the previous company of one of the you know. You know to not do was. You know in our book and that playbook was hey look man, they had people that were full time recruiters, that sat in that office, that had our headset on, that were on a Zoom call, hop on one Zoom to tell what the job is and what the company stands for and how they operate and what it looks like. And so for me it's never been a let's hire as many people as we can, throw it at the wall and see what sticks. Let's put them in the field and see if they sink or swim. It's never been that way. Let's tie it back to the community here.
Speaker 2:I understand where I work, right, I understand this market. It's not just some small town and you can have whoever or whatever representing your brand. I have to have elite level, educated, very, very organized individuals. So for us, what have we been able to do? I've taken the approach from some other mentors of mine you know of hey look like we want the athletes right, because I feel like athletes are dedicated, I feel like they're committed, I feel like they buy into the bigger mission and vision or our team player and understand why certain things are taking place.
Speaker 2:So for us, I was actually able to go hire a lot of young guys, you know, that came from either playing high school sports or college sports, and then you know, not even just a sports, but man, I'd say more than half of our team, if not three-fourths, is college educated, from big schools, from the SEC schools, from your Ole Miss to your Alabama, to the University of Georgia, to UT. Like we hire, I think, upper level people, and I think we've been able to do so because of where we're located. So we realized wait a second, these people are here and they're not in the roofing space. If we can go take those people, put them in the roofing space, coach, develop and mold these individuals, then I think that we can go back to that customer experience of realizing where we're located and what these people are owed and that we can really actually do something special and do something different. So at sequin roofing company, all guys are just there.
Speaker 1:these are top-notch people, these are people you want to be around and you want to do business with I was talking about this on a on an rsra call late recently, where you know you, you find your and we think about it in marketing. It's a your buyer avatar, your your customer avatar. It's like man, you have an employee avatar too and it sounds like you've started to define that employee avatar, educated. You know this, that, how have you? What are, what are some of the characteristics of that employee avatar from the sales perspective? Let's start with sales and then maybe we'll also speak to the operation side and production side of things.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So I say this all the time. It's a quote from Nick Saban. You know, mediocre people don't like high achievers and high achievers don't like mediocre people, and I think that's what's taking place at Sequin. I think that when you walk in this office, there's just something different within those customers. You know we don't want to have to tell them that we're faith-based, or you know we don't want to have to tell them our core values, because we want to show them, I want to live them out, and I think that that's what we do here. Like there's just something different in the air in this office. Everyone knows it when they walk in here and I think that you know these guys, when they come and they just from the second week on board, they understand that they're committed right, like we've got their gear, we've got their folders, we've got their agreements, we've got their six-week sequence sales training academy, and what are those expectations? And I want you to initial right now week one all the way to week six, and we're going to sit down each week and we're going to go over that. And so I think that from the day and the moment that they start here, they understand that, hey, this isn't just a, you know, do I? Is this gonna work? You know I might try this.
Speaker 2:You know I was telling, you know, one of our vp of sales the other day I said, look, I said if we give them a little, it's a lot easier for them to give us a little, and when we give them a lot I took this from a guy, tommy Mello. You know he owns a garage doors and I've had many conversations with him and I listened to a podcast a home service expert. You know that he runs, you know, and I've listened to a lot of them. But the other week he actually had an A1 employee on and her role was just simply onboarding and training. She runs a full on training department. She's got six trainers below her. And she said it's now at a point in time, tommy, where they're removing themselves and they're saying the word sorry, and we would have never thought that in a million years. And it's because we're giving them so much that they feel bad raving.
Speaker 2:And I thought about it and I was like, wait a second, in these home service business jobs rather it's 1099, w-2, whatever door-to-door positions, sales I think everyone's mentality is I'm going to come in and try this, I'm going to come in and try this. They've turned that now to where at A1 and from day one, this will be the last time you ever onboard someone and I think that when you can mentally and psychologically get them to understand that, hey, like we're starting this, we're doing this and we're not going to quit, we're not going to back off, like if you just follow and don't give them the month, don't give them the year, simply, week by week. Have that team leader, have that inside director of sales, have that VP of sales sitting down with them every week, two or three times a week. Going over what is it that you've got to do this week? And making it clear I don't think that people leave. Our retention rate at Seek roofing company is absolutely one of the most impressive things that we've got.
Speaker 2:It really is and it works with that ride along. When he gets assigned to a team and he's in the truck, you know, they, that that moment that's some synergy. They're gonna talk what's that guy gonna do? That's starting out. He's gonna ask all the questions that we're talking about. Right, how long have you worked here? What do you really like about super? What do you not like about super? And what do they do? Great, you know.
Speaker 2:And and when my guy is able to look at him and say I've worked here for four years and I don't plan to go anywhere else, that's they need to hear it from our people, not from us, you know. And so I think that when they're in these day-to-day conversations, week to week, month to month within this team, and they get in, you know, they realize, hey look, this place is special, these people are taken care of. When they hear those conversations of, hey look, man, you know I don't know how else to paint the picture for you that this company will do whatever it takes, you know, if you need an advance on a project and it makes sense, we'll do it. If you're tired, goes out and we'll do it. Hey, if you need two months rent, you know to be able to figure it out, to get. We're going to do it. You know like. We're here to serve our people so that they'll serve us and in return we can do something great together and I think it's a partnership here.
Speaker 1:It's not that they work or seek one. I love that mindset. You know you talked about the company that had the recruiter on the phone doing interviews over and over again, do you guys? I feel like there's a recruiting versus hiring mentality. Do you guys have a recruiting or hiring mentality? I know you're enjoying the episode, but let's give a shout out to another one of our sponsors.
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Speaker 1:Do you guys have a recruiting or hiring mentality?
Speaker 2:Man, it's at this point in time it's kind of, you know, who comes here is going to come here because I'm right here, and so at this point we've done such a great job, man, of really just building such a great atmosphere and a strong brand. And you know, we sponsor all the golf courses here and we sponsor a lot of restaurants and we host a lot of trivias. And we know, and I think just and I really, really, you know, want to hone in on this your reviews aren't for your customers, they're for the people that are going to come here and work for for sequel, like I think that we have so many people that didn't even see an ad that were like wait a second. I wanted to join roofing sales because I've heard about how great it is and how successful you can be in a short amount of time. And simply I just looked up on Google the roofing companies near me and when I saw 500 five star reviews not 4.5, 4.7, but five stars I realized, wait a second. This is a place I want to be because they take care of their people and if you're going to take care of your customers at that level, you're going to take care of your people.
Speaker 2:There's no question. So for us, you know to answer the. You know, are we recruiting or are we hiring? We've just taken such great care of the people that are here that they've brought their people. So you know the brand's doing its job, the brand is doing the recruiting. Our customers bring people to us. So I don't know exactly how to answer. Is it recruiting or hiring? I honestly think it's just. Hey, look, we serve our people, our customers and the people inside this wall, these walls, at such a high level that I think that they're coming from every which way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's that. That. That's that recruiting mentality, because to recruit someone, you, you're marketing to them in a way, right, Like you're, you're, you're marketing, you're marketing the brand and and it just like a customer would refer someone, an employee refers someone in, an employee refers like it, it, it, it, it's a. It's a great cycle that can happen if you do the right things for your team. Why did you, why'd you, choose to start expanding out?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I, I honestly we've, just we've, we've, we're dominating this market in middle tennessee, like absolutely crushing it. And you know we've got a a lot of heavy hitters. We've got a lot of guys that sell you know, a million dollars in the first quarter, you know, does that mean he's gonna go sell four million, sell. You know, a million dollars in the first quarter, you know, does that mean he's going to go sell four million? No, but you know he's going to sell 2.75.
Speaker 2:And with that being said, you know I want to offer opportunities to the people that are giving us everything they've got, and it's my mission, it's Connor and I's dream is that we're here to build a platform to be able to shape winners, both personally and professionally, and so I think that we've just created such a winning atmosphere where we've got enough guys sitting on the sidelines ready to go run an operation, and if we don't, they might go do it. And so I was talking to one or two of them the other day. I brought in that you know they're not there right this second, but they're gonna be our guy, and so I just wanted to sit them down and say you are absolutely murdering the game, like you are doing everything we ask for and I can't thank you enough and I owe it to you to let you know and see a little bit of the vision in the future to buy in that, hey, look, if you can stay patient and you can keep serving your people with excellence, I can tell you right now you will be a partner with me and we will go expand. And I think that when they've learned our systems and they've learned our processes and they've learned every area of how we operate and they're not just one dimensional, that's the biggest peaks, cause I see a lot of guys that can go sell to two and a half million dollars worth of roofs, but they're not a leader, they're not going to guide and direct the people the right way.
Speaker 2:And so I think for us, we were able to shift through our team leader program. Hey, if you can prove to me that you can manage five, six, seven, eight guys, that they can run their meetings the right way, that they're on time, that they're doing everything that we ask, that hey, this is a stepping stone to being able to go run a market. And so I think that we've just had that opportunity where I've had some guys like Chase, for example. He's a general manager over in Huntsville and you know, chase, he's everything you could want and it's a combination of being able to develop that individual and, at the same time, being able to grow where we don't feel the burn or an impact of that guy not being in this market.
Speaker 2:So I think it's a dual edge. You know, sword, where it's like, you know you can go, leverage that person and give them more opportunity, you know, and at the same time we don't feel the burn here. Right, and so we've. We've been able to do that and we want to continue to do the green fielding and we want to go, you know, expand to Louisville, kentucky and Knoxville here shortly, and I've got two or three guys on the batter's box sitting here ready to roll.
Speaker 2:I think it just shows career path. In all reality I really do it. You know a lot of guys will come in and they'll sell a lot and they'll be really excited. Then they think they've mastered it and that they know everything you know. And then when you give them that team leader position, and now they feel the bone of keeping up with other people's numbers and you know, having the meetings and okay, wait a second, now I've got lot more responsibility and then being able to go from that team leader to then being a general manager, I think that we've got a clear ladder here. Yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:What do you think has been the single biggest factor in your rapid growth so far?
Speaker 2:I'd say, oh man. I'd say, oh man, um, you know, I I've said that if you can go through a chick-fil-a drive-thru and they can code, develop and build a 16, 17 and 18 year old to serve the people better than we can, we've got a problem. And so I think that I'm gonna to go back to it. Man, that customer experience, that customer journey, right, like when you call Amazon for about 10 years, their opening line was the customer's always right. How can we help Chick-fil-A? It's my pleasure. What else can I get you? Hey, if we can remove the money and we can remove, you know, the, we don't have to do this.
Speaker 2:And realizing that, hey, if we do this, that we might just become great. I think that's what it is. I think that we've realized that, hey, look, if we can do all the little things, then we can be great. And then I also think that, man, we just serve our people, we. Then I also think that, man, we just serve our people. We really do. I think that we serve our people. We bust our tails, we treat every job as if it's the same. I treat the guy who's sold sells $100,000 a month versus the guy that sells a half a million dollars a month. The exact same, and I think that when you can put all that, you can tie all that together.
Speaker 1:I think that it creates. I think it creates something special. I really do Awesome, jordan man. Thanks for your time today.
Speaker 4:This has been another episode of the Roofing Success Podcast. Thank you for tuning into the Roofing Success Podcast. For more valuable content, visit roofingsuccesspodcastcom While there, check out our sponsors for exclusive offers, shop for merchandise and sign up for our newsletter for industry updates and tips. Also join the Roofing Success Facebook group to connect with other professionals and stay updated on the latest trends. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, like, share and leave a comment. Your support helps us continue to bring you top industry insights. The website link is in the description. Thanks for listening.
