Amanda Gay - Tile Training for Top Performance - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Amanda Gay of Brava Roof Tile. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast.

Intro: Welcome to Roofing Road Trips, the podcast that takes you on a thrilling journey across the world of roofing. From fascinating interviews with roofing experts to on-the-road adventures, we'll uncover the stories, innovations and  challenges that shape the rooftops over our heads. So fasten your seat belts and join us as we embark on this exciting Roofing Road Trip. 

Karen Edwards: Hello and  welcome to another episode of Roofing Road Trips from RoofersCoffeeShop. My name is Karen Edwards. In today's episode I get to talk with my friend, Amanda Gay, from Brava Roof Tile. 

Amanda, welcome. Yeah, it's always great to see you. Always great to talk with you and  we are big fans of Brava Roof Tile here at the CoffeeShop, so thanks for being here. 

Amanda Gay: Well, absolutely. Kind of hard not to like Brava. 

Karen Edwards: I know. I know. I love it. We just saw you guys at the Florida Roofing Expo. You were so well-branded and you joined us on the Soundstage for an interview. So I encourage all of you to go to our YouTube channel and check that out and see what's going on with Brava there. 

But let's talk today, we're going to really focus on training and education and whatnot. So before we dive into that, just introduce yourself, tell our listeners who you are, a little bit about your background and  what you do there at Brava. 

Amanda Gay: Absolutely. So my name's Amanda Gay. I am the product and program evangelist or  as I like to say, it's just a really fancy title to say a sales trainer. 

I work with distribution as well as contractors, training them on the selling points of Brava, why Brava's a good fit or the best option and  teaching contractors how to build their business with Brava. 

So I'm traveling typically Monday through Friday, just getting in front of as many contractors as we can to, as I like to call, being Bravatized, getting everybody part of the brand and helping them build to the best of their ability with all the new changes and options that are available for them. 

Karen Edwards: And y'all, this is audio only so you can't see her, but she is sitting in a car right now. Right, Amanda? 

Amanda Gay: Yes. Just got off a flight. 

Karen Edwards: Always on the road. Always on the road. Okay. So Brava Tiles are really seeing a lot of growth, right? So maybe could you just share a little bit about their origin and where you see the growth going? 

Amanda Gay: Well, I mean, as far as the growth and the origin of Brava, we've been around for over 20 years. I'll say that we were a small piece of the puzzle and now we've hit to a point we're the majority of that puzzle. 

The best part that I like to talk about though is it's like, yes, you see Brava everywhere and everyone's like, "It's LinkedIn, it's social media, it's at the events." I will say our marketing team is pretty phenomenal as far as how we market, but it's also the word of mouth. 

Just as for contractors, word of mouth is the best form of marketing and  I definitely feel that we have that grassroots, it still applies to us as a company today. Neighbors telling neighbors, friends telling friends, contractors talking to architects as well as builders. Everybody's just pretty much, once they hear about the product, they want to dive in and learn more. 

So as far as the growth, I mean, that's how I continue to see us growing. I mean, I've been with Brava for a year and a half and  I will tell you, it's not a weekly occurrence, but it's pretty almost there as far as how fast we're still hiring people and trying to add to our team. So not just are we growing in the market, we're growing internally as well, very fast. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah. So for those who may not know, can you just explain what Brava Tiles are? 

Amanda Gay: Yep. So Brava Tile is a synthetic roof tile made to look like a cedar shake, slate or  Spanish barrel tile. We say Brava Tile even though we do have those other options as well as either the shake or the slate, which the shake is honestly our most popular profile that we do offer. 

So especially with the insurance companies not being a big proponent of, excuse me, insuring natural cedar shake, it's still wanting that high aesthetic look of a real cedar shake that we're able to offer that with a Brava. 

Karen Edwards: I was going to mention the sustainability, because you guys are very, for homeowners that that's important to, you deliver. 

Amanda Gay: Correct. So we are made from up to 85% recycled material. There's a lot of different options that are out there as far as synthetics, but having a green option not just for homeowners, but properties and things like that, sustainability is a huge buzzword in our industry. Being able to offer something that is going to... We're not pulling material from the landfills. We're getting it before it gets there. So everything is post-consumer. So we're not adding to those landfills. Our product is not the cradle to grave. We are cradle to cradle 100%, so. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah. I think that's so important. And you said you're evangelist, fancy word for sales trainer. It's nice to see a company that is so committed to education and training that they have somebody dedicated to that full time. And I'd like you to just kind of talk a little bit about the different kinds of training events that you do there at Brava. 

Amanda Gay: Absolutely. So we do just standard one-on-one with the contractor, with their entire sales team as well as their installers. And we'll go to the branch location or the office or  if they don't have this facility to hold that, we can hold it at distribution. So that's one way to get in front of us and get some of that training for sales. 

But then we also do what I like to call our launch events. And our launch events is where we're working with our stocking distributors and inviting all contractors from the entire area to come to there and get that training done. 

So sales training, a lot of people when they're looking at synthetics, they don't realize all the other benefits that are achieved with them. So majority of the contractors I talk to, they're saying, "Yeah, we're selling it, we're quoting it," and then they hear all the benefits that I discuss with them and they're like, "Oh my gosh, I didn't know this. I can go back to this job. I can go back to that job." And then they're closing those jobs, which they would've had originally had they had that information, so. 

Karen Edwards: Wow. Yeah, that's important to understand or to have all the knowledge when you're in sales and  because they're really educating the homeowner. So you're educating the contractor so they can take that information then and educate the homeowner. 

Amanda Gay: Correct. Yeah and  that's the other thing is it's not just do we focus on sales training, we also focus on the hands-on installation training. 

As I tell everybody, we do have our level one certification that is available on our website under the resources tab and  you can see the access training and links or  go directly to the technical support portal there on the website in the top right-hand corner. 

But the thing is, level one training takes you about 30 minutes to do, but it's going to go over the key ways of success when it comes to installing Brava. If you only have one person from the entire company that's done this training, how successful is your install going to be? Right? 

Karen Edwards: Right. 

Amanda Gay: If that person isn't the one leading the crew, that person isn't the one on the ground looking at everything... So I like to tell everybody, if you could talk about it, you can sell it or you can install it, do that level one training. It's only going to be a benefit to you, so. 

Karen Edwards: Right. And 30 minutes, geez, that's nothing. 

Amanda Gay: Yeah. Right? I mean, we do have a record of 11 minutes of somebody who's done it. So I mean, if you want to challenge it, I mean, I would totally welcome it to see. Let's get the 11 minutes and the accuracy. But this is the thing, we are very hands-on when it comes to training, so as much training as we can do as many times as we're needed, that's what we're here for. 

I even tell contractors, "If you're in the home and you're being asked a question you don't know how to answer, we have an entire team behind you that supports you. Pick up the phone and call us and we can actually, we'll help you sell that job, help you talk to that homeowner, why it's the best product, why you're the best contractor for the job." 

Karen Edwards: Yeah. The support is so important because often contractors probably feel like they're out on an island, right? And so having the support of that manufacturer who can answer those questions, provide that training, that's huge. Very. 

Amanda Gay: Yeah. 

Karen Edwards: So I'm curious, you mentioned the launch events where you're at a distributor location maybe and you invite contractors from the area. What does the day look like? Is it an all-day event? Is it a couple of hours? What's happening at the event? 

Amanda Gay: So it is going to be a couple of hours. I tell everybody, typically I like to start them, I tell everyone to show up around 9:30. It lets the morning get taken care of, all the chaos and the firefighting having to happen. Show up at 9:30, get your social out, get a cup of coffee or a water and  then we dive in around 9:45, 10:00. We'll go through a sales training portion, answer all the questions related to that. 

I even like to just kind of dig in a little further as well with contractors. If anybody's already promoting it or they're quoting it, they're talking to homeowners, whether they've sold a job or they've tried to, just saying like, "Hey, what were those rebuttals? What were your selling points that you brought to the conversation?" And saying, "Okay, so at least that we have a baseline of understanding of, okay, we're selling on aesthetics versus all the other benefits." 

And then I really like to dive in deep and ask those contractors that are already selling it, "What is the level of comfort you have now? Can you go back to those homeowners and feel confident that you can close those jobs?" Because that's a big selling point for me, because if there's something I need to dive in further to, that's something I definitely want to do. 

And then from there, we'll break from lunch and  then we will then go into a hands-on training. We do ask that we're bringing installers, not just our sales reps, to those conversations. But the biggest thing is we want everybody to be trained on it. A sales rep should also know how to do installation, so it's going to help them when it comes to the sale process of how it gets installed, they can actually discuss the process with that homeowner. 

But also when it comes to, as you hear me talk about build your business with Brava, that's not just for our contractors. We want to help build every level, from distribution to the contractor to the installer. Everybody has a part of the business and we want to help them elevate their business to that next level. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah. Yeah. I love that attitude and that outlook about it, because everybody is involved in that business and  so by spreading that knowledge and that education throughout the business, then everybody is going to find that success. That's really powerful. I love it. 

Amanda Gay: I came from distribution originally and  I worked the front counter and  that's something that I look at now as a manufacturer going in. When you're talking with distribution, a lot of manufacturers really only focus on their outside sales, but what we don't focus on is the inside, who's working those relationships, we're not looking at the warehouse who's pulling those materials and actually having a full understanding. And that is something that I feel that as Brava we really bring to the table in the conversation is we want everybody trained up. We don't just focus in one area or another. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah. Yeah. That's a good perspective that you bring to the table. Having been there and done it, you know what that person is probably thinking and doing. And by providing that education, you're bringing solutions to the table and making yourself invaluable to that person. I really like that. And we're talking about training, I always think training contractors, but you're right, you have to train distribution as well. 

Amanda Gay: Yep. 

Karen Edwards: Okay. So what kind of feedback have you gotten from folks? You've been doing this about a year and a half and training and educating and  what are people saying? Are they like, "Wow, I never knew, this was great"? Tell me some of that feedback. 

Amanda Gay: The biggest ones that I get is, "I wish I knew those selling points last week." I was like, "Well, let's go back and have a phone call." Or I'll get, "I had no idea. I really like this product." Or, "I've heard synthetics have a bad name. What makes yours any different?" 

And that's the biggest thing is something that I can say, this is a company that, I always been in the business thing, if it's not good business, I didn't want my name on it. I did not want to be associated with it. And actually being here and being a part of Brava, it's finally a company that I can stand behind and willing to put my name on to say, "Hey, I even put it on my own house." 

So it's like being out here and promoting the product and talking about not just the product itself, but our team and  how we handle things is drastically different than anybody else. And hearing the testaments from contractors that are out in the fields, hearing that, their reputation is our reputation and vice versa, they're saying they're getting the best support they've ever had, the communication is there, the service, but also the knowledge and the understanding like how quick we answer the phone, how quickly we return those calls and  the assistance that they're able to get very quickly and there's no delay, so. 

Karen Edwards: So you kind of set yourself apart with that level of customer service, sounds like? 

Amanda Gay: Yes. Absolutely. I mean, without the service level, I mean, everything's going to AI. We even have a resource on our website as well, we call it our Text AI, where you can get a live text message on your phone no matter what time of day or night that it is, ask it any question and you'll get the response. 

But that's just an additional tool, it's not meant to be the only source and  we do pride ourselves in that customer service as far as everything that we do. So from getting a sample all the way down to getting a job quoted and a takeoff, this is what we're here for. 

Karen Edwards: I love it. I love that you're using AI too in a way just to add additional support, because it's really a buzzword right now, but we live in a day and age where we want instant information, right? I mean, I want to buy something online, I want it same-day delivery. It's just that need, we're conditioned for it. So to see you guys step up and to do that for the contractor is fantastic. I love it. 

Amanda Gay: Yes. And all of our training is also in English and in Spanish and  it's accessible, you don't have to go digging for it. I'll definitely say our marketing team is pretty phenomenal. Again, then we look at our website, everybody talks about, "Oh my gosh, this is the easiest website I've ever been to." They don't have to search for anything, it's broken down by section on that resources tab, so. 

Karen Edwards: Make it easy. We all want the easy button. 

Amanda Gay: Exactly. Everybody wants Amazon Prime and everybody wants it easy. 

Karen Edwards: That's right. That's right. The easy button, for sure. Wow. So where does somebody find out about how can they get training? If a contractor's listening to this and they're like, "I want to bring somebody in from Brava just to educate me, educate my team," how do they do that? 

Amanda Gay: Well, there's multiple ways that that can happen. You can call me, text me, email or  addition to that, talk with your local distributor, something that we do there. If you want us to be at your office though, you want it more of an intimate setting with just your team, just let us know. 

Reach out to your TM, reach out to myself. If you are on the West Coast, we also have Naomi. So she's covering out there and I'm covering from Texas up and over on the East Coast. However, we do, if Naomi's busy, I'll fly to her area, if I'm busy, she'll fly to my area. So again, we're a big team, so if you're looking at, you'll also see our information posted on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a huge spot for us. We also share them with RoofersCoffeeShop on the events that we're doing. 

So definitely just pay attention, look at what's going on in your area and  just stay in communication. Relationship is big for us. This is an industry that I will say that I don't ever see that relationship piece leaving. And that's something that we pride ourself in Brava as far as that relationship is we want to be in communication. We don't just want to be the guy that you call when there's a problem. We want to be the person that you call and saying, "Hey, this is a great success story." Or, "Hey, I need help." Or, "What would you do in this scenario?" Or, "Can you go to an HOA meeting with us?" Those are the types of relationships that we look for with our contractors that you can't replace that. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah. Yeah. Because yeah, a challenge, HOAs, you mentioned HOA meetings, that can be a challenge- 

Amanda Gay: Yeah, it can be. 

Karen Edwards: ... because so many neighborhoods, it's like, "This is what we do, that we've always done it this way." And so trying to introduce a new product or a change or a new look, sometimes you have to really work at it. So it's great to see that you're there for that and you're supporting them. 

Amanda Gay: Absolutely. You always hear people say, "Well, we've always done it this way." Well, you know what? We also used to have dial-up internet. We changed it for a reason and  sometimes change is great, but let me tell you why this change is great and what benefits it would bring to your community. 

When you start talking like that and you're able to actually show them it's not a sales fluff and it's not just a pitch that you're seeing, you can actually back it up with documentation and multiple scenarios, it's not just a one-off, so. 

Karen Edwards: Right, right. And in roofing especially, we're seeing severe weather, right? We're seeing crazy storms and fire and all kinds of issues, so we've got to have better roofs because we're protecting our homes, protecting our communities and  Brava Roof Tile really checks the boxes there. 

Amanda Gay: Oh, yes. With our wind uplift, our wind warranty, as well as literally every aspect of our product... I'm going to sneeze. Don't do it. Every aspect of our product, it really withstands all the forces that are coming to it. 

So if you're in a hurricane zone, you don't have to worry about, "If my tile's going to fly off, are they going to get broken?" Being a fastener-only system is a huge benefit. If you're using screws, you're going to get the highest wind warranty, which is 130 mile an hour winds. Are you really worried about a piece of it flying off versus everything else that happens? But the wind uplift speed is over 200 mile an hour winds. 

So even if it's 130 is that warranty, I know that we are fully safe well over 200 mile an hour winds. So I mean, that's a huge testament being able to talk to a homeowner about that. If you look at hail, we are that Class 4. If you are in an area that has a fire, we do have Class A assembly or  we do have a Class A standalone systems. We meet and check every single one of the boxes that are needed for our homeowners. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah. Yeah. And tell me a little bit about availability. Are you nationwide? 

Amanda Gay: We are nationwide. We are stocked. I do not believe that there's a state that we're not stocked in yet. I could be wrong, I'd have to look at the map, because there's so many that get added so frequently. 

But with that, we do have multiple locations that have it stocked on the ground. We do work with all distribution. You can purchase it from any distribution. You do not have to purchase from a stocking, but there are multiple benefits of getting it from a stocking distributor. It's readily available, there's no lead times and  that's a big selling point talking to a homeowner. "I can guarantee you I can have this material delivered to you by the end of this week," versus, "and I can start it in two or three weeks." What does that look like? 

If you're not working with stocking distribution, being able to say, "Well, I can get you this material, but I don't know what that lead time looks like." Homeowners, they're still looking for that instant delivery, they want it taken care of immediately and  that's really where everything starts. 

If they have damage to the rest of their home, can't get anything done until the roof's taken care of, because otherwise it's still going to get destroyed. So it's definitely something. Being able to showcase partnerships that you have with distribution as a contractor, as well as with the manufacturers that you're offering to homeowners, really gives them a peace of mind that they are the best contractor to actually work with, the saying, "This is their lead time, this is their guarantee, this is where I'm at, this is their pricing and they're very knowledgeable." Those are the contractors that we're training to be able to walk into those conversations for a one-table close. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah. Yeah. I love it. It's very transparent, right? Here's all the information, all the details, the performance, it's a no-brainer. Yeah. 

Amanda Gay: Yes, very much so. 

Karen Edwards: I love it. All right. Well, Amanda, this has been a great conversation. Again, I just want to reiterate that the information about the events and training is all on Brava Roof Tile's website as well as RoofersCoffeeShop and  Brava Roof Tile does have a whole directory on RoofersCoffeeShop that has all the information about them and links how to contact them or find their website. So Amanda, thank you so much for being here today. 

Amanda Gay: Absolutely. Thank you for having me. It's definitely always fun to get with you guys. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah, yeah. And thank you, everybody out there, for listening. We hope that you visit Brava Roof Tile, attend one of their events and  we hope to see you on a future episode of Roofing Road Trips. We'll see you next time. Bye-bye. 

Outro: If you've enjoyed the ride, don't forget to hit that subscribe button and join us on every roofing adventure. Make sure to visit rooferscoffeeshop.com to learn more. Thanks for tuning in and  we'll catch you on the next Roofing Road Trip.