Roofing Podcast Roundup - Oct 3: 3 Moves to Add Profit This Week

Top 3 to Implement This Week:

• Run a five‑minute marketing audit: Kill channels that haven’t produced a job and reallocate to what’s already winning. Average waste uncovered: $132K—publish a kill/reduce/double list today and review in 30 days.

• Install a three‑gate quality control: Independent checks at pre‑install, mid‑install, and final stop callback bleed as you scale. Teams running this sit near 2.3% callbacks—name a QC inspector outside production and make pass/fail gates mandatory.

• Ship Spanish‑language proposals: Serve Hispanic homeowners with bilingual estimates and intake to remove friction and boost trust. Spanish proposals close ~65%—translate your proposal template and capture language preference in your CRM today.

URGENT: Five‑Minute Marketing Audit (Find & Reallocate the Waste)

Why now (≤60 words): “Spray‑and‑pray” marketing burns cash because no one owns kill criteria. A five‑minute snapshot exposes which channels actually produce jobs so you can starve zombies and feed winners this week—no new tech, just discipline. Jennifer Walsh’s framework plus David Chen’s case numbers make it turnkey.

What to do this week (3–7 steps):

1. Pull the last 12 months of spend by channel (LSA, search, Facebook, Nextdoor, Yelp, mailers, radio).

2. For each, list spend, leads, jobs, and revenue—one line per channel.

3. Compute CPA = Spend ÷ Jobs; flag anything above your target.

4. Tag “zombies”: zero jobs in 12 months, CPA beyond tolerance, or <5% of total jobs.

5. Draft the 3‑action plan: kill zombies, reduce weak performers 50% for 60 days, double the top two channels.

6. Reallocate dollars now and calendar a 30‑day review to verify lift.

Proof & payoff: In Chen’s audit, $87K in “zombie” spend (Nextdoor/Yelp/Magazine) was killed and reallocated to Google LSA + direct mail, producing +67% jobs and +61% revenue in 90 days while dropping CPA from $963 to $625. Most contractors identify ~$132K in annual waste with this pass.

Source: Roof Strategist — “5 Minute Marketing Audit Saves Roofers $132K+,” [09:15–22:50], [23:00–46:20]

IMPORTANT: Three‑Gate QC That Makes Callbacks Disappear

Why now (≤60 words): Training alone won’t stop quality drift at scale. Roberto Sanchez reframed it as a system problem: production can’t QC itself. Adding independent pass/fail gates at three points stabilized quality, slashed rework, and turned reviews into a sales edge.

Steps (3–7):

1. Appoint a dedicated QC inspector who reports to the owner/COO (not production).

2. Define Gate 1 (Pre‑Install), Gate 2 (Mid‑Install: underlayment/flashing/vent), Gate 3 (Final). No pass = no proceed.

3. Build photo‑backed checklists inside JobNimbus/CompanyCam (auto‑notify PM on fails).

4. Stop work on fails; remediate; log root cause; review weekly and tie bonuses to quality.

Copy/paste asset (gate skeleton):

Proof & payoff: Premier Roofing cut callbacks from 9.4% → 2.3% in 18 months, remediation spend fell from ~$280K to ~$65K/year, NPS rose 34 → 72, and revenue scaled from $12M to $22M with quality as a differentiator.

Source: Owned and Operated — “Scaling Operations Without Losing Quality,” [08:20–26:45]

IMPORTANT: Bilingual Proposal System (Win Hispanic Homeowners)

Why now (≤60 words): Hispanic homeowners are the fastest‑growing roofing segment in many metros, and English‑only sales processes leave money on the table. Oscar Vasquez showed that offering true bilingual proposals—plus culturally competent sales—dramatically lifts close rates.

Steps (3–7):

1. Inventory every customer‑facing doc (proposals, contracts, warranties, invoices).

2. Hire a professional translator (avoid auto‑translate); build Spanish templates for each doc.

3. Add “Se Habla Español” to site, ads, and trucks; tag language preference in your CRM.

4. Train estimators on when/how to present Spanish materials and who to bring for bilingual appointments.

Proof & payoff: Vasquez reports 65% close rate on Spanish‑language proposals versus 28% when English‑only, with the translation investment (<$2K) returning in the first week via incremental wins. Teams that commit to bilingual operations see multi‑year growth from trust‑based upsells and referrals.

Source: Roofing Insights — “Hispanic Heritage Month: Part 2,” [24:10–28:50], [08:00–18:00]

Quick Wins (Do Before Next Friday)

• De‑risk your pitch with third‑party backing: Add an independent workmanship‑guarantee badge to proposals; say, “Your project is independently protected—at no extra cost.” (Limitless Roofing Show — “Building Trust in Contracting,” Randy Hurtado & John Stewart Hill, [03:22–33:30]).

• Make every ad choose ONE attention lever: Urgency, Savings, Trust/Credibility, or Comfort—rewrite ads so each hits a single lever clearly. (To The Point — Chris Yano Keynote, [14:34–18:24]).

• Lock down data ownership in vendor contracts: Ask, “Who owns our website, leads, and customer data if we part ways?” and require portability language before signing. (RoofersCoffeeShop — “Pantheon 2025,” Karen Edwards, [16:38–17:35]).

• Appoint an “excited champion” for your next tech rollout: Give one motivated PM or foreman ownership of digitizing a single workflow 10–20% of their role. (Hook Better Leads — Elijah Mumm, [36:07–36:53]).

Benchmarks to Screenshot

• Reviews: Reply to 100% of new Google reviews within 24 hours (Owner/GM owns it). (Roofing Success — “Jimmy Fazekas,” [40:12–40:34]).

• Creative hygiene: All live ads mapped to exactly one attention pillar (documented in your creative brief). (To The Point — Chris Yano, [15:58–18:24]).

• Cash discipline: Maintain a 12‑week rolling cash forecast, updated every Monday at 8:00 AM. (Owned and Operated — “The Grind of Growing a Home Service Business,” [35:10–44:50]).

• Vendor control: 100% of new software/marketing agreements include a data‑ownership & portability clause. (RoofersCoffeeShop — “Pantheon 2025,” [16:38–17:35]).

Watchlist — Market Shifts You Can Monetize

• Homeowners are rapidly preferring tech‑enabled experiences—instant booking, on‑site chat, and simple visualizers—while “call us” flows feel dated. Early adopters are already winning the first click and the first appointment.
  

• Try this next: Add a Book Now widget on service pages, post a Tech Integrator job to unify AI/automation, and link a basic visualizer in proposals to simplify color choice. (Roof Strategist — “Top Roofers Are Secretly Hiring This NEW Position,” [01:47–04:30], [06:23–08:43]).

Finish Line Checklist

Five‑Minute Marketing Audit — we’re done when…
▢ 12‑month channel sheet is filled (spend → leads → jobs → revenue).
▢ “Kill/Reduce/Double” plan signed and spend reallocated.
▢ 30‑day review is on calendar with CPA targets visible.

Three‑Gate QC — we’re done when…
▢ Independent QC inspector named and trained.
▢ Gate 1/2/3 checklists live in your app with required photos.
▢ First 5 jobs ran the gates; weekly QC review completed.

Bilingual Proposals — we’re done when…
▢ Spanish templates (proposal/contract/warranty/invoice) finalized.
▢ CRM captures language preference and routes bilingual appointments.
▢ Estimators trained on when/how to present Spanish materials.

One Last Nudge

Pick one play and get exceptional at it before adding another.

Want help implementing? We’ll pick one person who replies in the first 24 hours with a 30 minute advisory session helping to implement one of the items listed above. Just reply with the play you want help with.