The untapped power of service-only reps

By Jesse Sanchez.

A focused service sales strategy could be the secret to long-term roofing growth.

In the ever-evolving commercial roofing industry, a silent shift is taking shape. One that might change how contractors approach growth entirely. In this Roofing Road Trips® podcast, Tracey Donels, founder of Service First Solutions, made a strong case for a strategic move many companies still overlook: hiring salespeople dedicated solely to service and maintenance.

Too often, roofing companies rely on project sales staff to manage service accounts. Tracey argues this strategy falls short, not due to lack of talent, but because of conflicting priorities.

"Eventually it is very important to have those dedicated service salespeople," Tracey said. "And at no fault of our normal business revenue generators, but those folks are busy. And when you think about it, it's two totally different worlds."

Tracey points out that service customers often don’t even know they need help until it’s urgent. “Too many of our customers don’t know they need us,” he said. “They only know of roof leaks and because they only know of roof leaks, that’s the only roof service that a lot of roofing companies do.”

This reactive mindset misses a key opportunity: proposing proactive work that saves clients' money and headaches in the long run. One example? Following up on leak repairs with field recommendations.

Preventive maintenance programs are another high-impact sales tool Tracey champions. With recurring revenue and stronger customer relationships, service departments with focused sales support gain consistency in an otherwise unpredictable market.

"Either one of these things takes people necessarily out of the office to sell," he said. And that is why relying on overloaded project estimators or account managers just doesn’t cut it.

Tracey lays out a vision where proactive, service-focused salespeople drive growth not by chasing the next reroof, but by mining value from relationships that already exist. For companies looking to scale without chasing every new lead, it's a compelling shift in mindset.

Read the transcript or Listen to the podcast to learn more about Tracey’s full strategy for building a self-sustaining service sales machine and why it could be the smartest investment your roofing business makes!