The case for dedicated roofing service departments

By Jenny Yu.  

Industry experts explain how service and maintenance departments lay the foundation for scalable roofing businesses. 

In a recent CoatingsTalk™, Megan Ellsworth spoke with Chris Huettig, vice president of technical services at KARNAK, and Tracey Donels, founder of Service First Solutions, to talk about the importance of forming strong service and maintenance departments. 

After 15 years as a contractor, Tracey decided to utilize his experience to provide coaching, training and consulting for commercial roofers. “We help people grow by focusing on operations first and sales second,” Tracey stated. When working with clients, Service First Solutions prioritizes the development of a robust service and maintenance department. “No one can put on a perfect roof. The thing that gets us started in business are those small jobs that can help us build the trust and the relationships with those customers going forward.” 

Chris, with over 30 years of experience in the industry, agreed with Tracey's approach. “If you're putting on new roofs, you're going to have to service your own roof, so you have to be efficient and have a group that's able to handle those,” he said. “A maintenance program builds your company out, balances it out.”  

According to Chris, simply having a service crew isn’t enough. You also have to know how to sell it as part of your business offerings. “When you’re selling maintenance to building owners, it can sound like something they don’t really need,” he said. “If you frame it as more of an asset protection program, it sets a whole new table. It’s more meaningful to a building owner.” 

Tracey echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the importance of clarity when communicating maintenance programs with building owners. “If you’re going to go out there and sell your services, you have to know what you’re going to offer,” he said. Tracey noted that many contractors confuse inspections with true preventive maintenance. “Preventive maintenance actually has some maintenance, whether it’s cleaning the debris, clearing gutters, making some minor repairs.” 

Listen to the podcast or Watch the webinar to learn more about how dedicated maintenance programs create repeat business, reduce costs for building owners and scale your business.