The Roofer Show

Hosted by Dave Sullivan

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517

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Oct 2026

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If you’re a Roofing Contractor looking to grow your business, make more money, and have more free time this is the podcast for you. Your host Dave Sullivan has been a successful roofing contractor for over 30 years and he shares the good, bad, and the ugly of his experience in contracting. Each week Dave interviews the industry’s top experts to pull out their best business tips and strategies that you can use to take your business to the next level. Get the answers to the questions you have to the day to day problems you face in the “real world of construction” from those that have been there and done it. Whether you have a shop of 1 or 100 there’s something here for you.

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October 16, 202636 min

499: $10 Million Roofing Business. Less Than 20 Hours a Week

Review On Apple Podcasts Follow on Socials Get This Episode What if you could build a $10 million roofing business, make good money, and work less than 20 hours a week? Scott Tibay of Rain Stoppers Roofing did just that. But his original goal was to build a $100 million roofing company. So what changed? In this episode of The Roofer Show, Dave Sullivan talks with Scott about building a profitable roofing business, changing priorities, and creating a company that doesn’t depend on the owner being there every day. Scott is a former coaching client and member of The Roofer Mastermind. He shares what he’s learned about growing a roofing company, marketing, building a strong team, and deciding what success really looks like. In This Episode: Why Scott changed his $100 million growth goal. How he built a roofing business that allowed him to work less than 20 hours a week. Why more revenue doesn’t always mean more profit. What roofing contractors should know about private equity. Lessons from rebranding to Rain Stoppers Roofing. How SEO, organic marketing, and branding support business growth. Building a roofing company that can run without the owner. Ready to Build a More Profitable Roofing Business? If you’re working too many hours and wondering where the money is going, Dave’s Roofing Business Health Check can help you identify opportunities to improve your profitability and get your time back. Learn more at https://theroofercoach.com Thanks to Our Sponsors Scott uses both ProLine and SMA Support in his business. ProLine helps roofing contractors manage leads, estimates, sales follow-up, and customer communication. ProLine CRM SMA Support helps roofing contractors with phone answering, lead follow-up, CRM management, and day-to-day operations. SMA Support Remember, it’s not how much you make. It’s how much you keep.

October 10, 202651 min

498: Why More Sales Won’t Fix a Broken Roofing Business

Your roofing company is doing millions in revenue. You're selling jobs, keeping your crews busy, and working harder than ever. So why isn't there more money in the bank? And why can't you take a two-week vacation without worrying about the business? More leads and more sales aren't necessarily the answer. In this episode of The Roofer Show, I sit down with John DeLaurier from ProLine and Chris Diroll from SMA Support to talk about what really makes a roofing business profitable. All three of us have owned roofing companies, and we know firsthand what happens when sales, operations, and financial performance aren't working together. It comes down to three things: Sell Work. Do Work. Keep Score. When one of those legs is weak, the whole business suffers. What You'll Learn Sell Work: Why speed to lead, better proposals, and consistent follow-up can produce more sales without spending more on advertising. Recover Lost Opportunities: How to turn open estimates and neglected prospects into additional revenue. Do Work: Why clear responsibilities, better handoffs, and consistent processes matter as your roofing company grows. Keep Score: The financial numbers every roofing contractor should understand, including close rate, gross profit, job costing, cash flow, and the quick ratio. Protect Your Margins: How I discovered a consistent 5% to 8% material-cost problem through job costing. Avoid the Growth Trap: Why growing from $2 million to $10 million in revenue won't solve a business that isn't profitable today. Get Your Freedom Back: How to build a roofing company that can operate while you take a two-week vacation. The discussion comes back to one important question: What's really holding your roofing business back? Before you hire more people, buy more software, or spend more on marketing, you need to identify the problem, fix it, measure the results, and keep improving. That's how you build a roofing business that's profitable, predictable, and doesn't depend on you for every decision. Not Sure Where Your Roofing Business Is Stuck? That's exactly why I developed my Roofing Business Health Check . We'll look at your sales, operations, financial statements, job costing, and cash flow to identify what's holding your business back. You'll receive a written Roofing Business Health Record and the three priorities I'd focus on over the next 90 days. You can see a sample Health Record and schedule a free 15-minute introductory call here: https://theroofercoach.com/healthcheck Resources Mentioned The Roofer Coach and Roofing Business Health Check ProLine CRM SMA Support The Roofer Show About the Guests John DeLaurier, ProLine John is a former roofing contractor who now works with ProLine, helping roofing companies improve their sales processes, customer follow-up, and CRM reporting. Chris Diroll, SMA Support Chris is a former roofing contractor who now helps roofing businesses improve their operations, accountability, administrative support, and processes so owners can focus on growing their companies. About Dave Sullivan Dave Sullivan spent more than 30 years as a roofing contractor, built and sold a successful eight-figure roofing company, and now helps roofing business owners improve profitability, cash flow, and operations through The Roofer Coach and The Roofer Show. The Roofer Show: Helping roofing contractors grow their businesses, make more money, and have more free time.

September 28, 202637 min

497: More Roofing Jobs, Less Profit? 12 Essentials to Fix It

Stop cutting your roofing prices. On a job with a 30% gross margin, a 10% discount means you need 50% more jobs just to earn the same gross profit. As you look at this year’s results and plan for next year, I walk through 12 essentials for a more profitable roofing business: pricing from your costs, following up with prospects, protecting profit in production, and keeping score. Pick the one or two you need to work on first, then use the free One-Page Business Plan to put your priorities on paper. Free One-Page Business Plan: https://theroofercoach.com/plan SMA Support: https://theroofercoach.com/sma/ ProLine: https://theroofercoach.com/proline/

September 18, 202625 min

496: Why Your Roof Repairs Aren’t as Profitable as You Think

Roof repairs can look very profitable until you add up what they really cost. Dave Sullivan breaks down roof repair pricing, hidden costs, the right customer, repair operations, and the numbers contractors need to track to know if their repairs are actually making money. EPISODE DESCRIPTION Roof repairs look profitable. A $600 repair. A couple hours of labor. Maybe $75 in materials. Looks like easy money, right? Not so fast. What about the cost of the lead, answering the phone, scheduling, drive time, the truck, fuel, insurance, trips to the supply house, documentation, billing, collections and callbacks? There may be a lot more money tied up in that repair than you realize. In this episode, I break down what it really costs to run a roof repair business and why you can’t price repairs based simply on how long your technician spends on the roof. I also share what I learned building a commercial service and maintenance operation that eventually did about $4 million a year. In this episode: Why repairs need to be treated as a separate business The hidden costs contractors often miss Why I won’t give you a magic price for a roof repair How to determine what you need to charge How to identify your ideal repair customer What repair customers are really paying you for Why repairs need their own sales and service process How repair customers can become future reroof customers Why a good production roofer isn’t automatically a good repair technician The numbers you need to track to know if repairs are actually profitable Repairs can be a very profitable part of your roofing business. But don’t do them just to keep everybody busy. Know why you’re doing them. Know what they cost. Charge enough to make a profit. And keep score. Not sure where the profit is going in your roofing business? Start with the Roofing Business Health Check. We’ll look at the whole business through the three things every successful roofing company has to do well: Sell the Work. Do the Work. Keep Score. We’ll identify where you’re making money, where you’re leaking it, and the three things I’d focus on over the next 90 days. SPONSORS ProLine theroofercoach.com/proline Promo code: DAVE50 SMA Support theroofercoach.com/smasupport Further Listening Episode #478, the service/repair truck episode Episode #490, Why Your Roofing Company Has Plenty of Work—but No Money

September 13, 202623 min

495: Where Did the Cash Go? 5 Cash Flow Mistakes That Can Kill a Roofing Business

A roofing company can have plenty of money in the bank and still have a serious cash flow problem. Customer deposits may already be committed to jobs you haven’t produced. Material bills, payroll, subcontractors and taxes are coming due. And if you’re growing, the cash problem can get worse fast. In this episode of The Roofer Show, Dave Sullivan revisits a conversation with credit and collections expert Thea Dudley and breaks down five common cash flow mistakes roofing contractors make. You’ll learn: The difference between cash in the bank and healthy cash flow Why your order-to-cash process matters How slow collections can turn 30-day receivables into 60- or 90-day problems Why billing quickly is critical to cash flow How to protect your receivables and lien rights Why supplier discounts can disappear when cash is tight How growing too fast can create even bigger cash flow problems Why your back office systems have to keep up with sales Having more sales doesn’t automatically solve a cash problem. If your jobs aren’t producing enough gross profit, more volume can actually make the problem worse. Sometimes you have to get above the day-to-day and look at the whole business: What do you have? What do you owe? Who owes you money? And are you actually making money? Roofing Business Health Check: https://theroofercoach.com/health-check/ ProLine: https://theroofercoach.com/proline Promo code: DAVE50 SMA Support: https://theroofercoach.com/smasupport

September 4, 202630 min

494: Your Roofing Company Made Money. Can You Trust the Numbers?

An eight-figure roofing company is busy and completing plenty of work, but the profit is not what the owner expects. Dave Sullivan and construction accounting expert Diane Gilson explain how the timing of income and job costs can distort a roofing company’s monthly profit. DESCRIPTION How can an eight-figure roofing company stay busy, complete plenty of work, and still wonder where the money went? The owner’s accountant recommends cash-basis accounting. Other successful roofing contractors are telling him cash basis is completely wrong for a company his size. So who is right? Possibly both of them. The accounting method used to prepare a company’s tax return may not provide the information an owner needs to manage the business. In this episode, Dave revisits an important conversation with construction accounting expert Diane Gilson. They explain why a roofing company can appear highly profitable one month and lose money the next, even when its pricing and production have not substantially changed. Diane calls this the gross profit roller coaster. ROOFING BUSINESS HEALTH CHECK Are you busy but still wondering where the money is going? The Roofing Business Health Check examines your financials, sales and marketing, operations, leadership, and systems. Dave identifies the real problems and the three things you should fix first. Learn more and talk with Dave: https://theroofercoach.com/health-check/ IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN: The difference between cash and accrual accounting Why tax accounting and management accounting serve different purposes How the timing of customer payments and job costs distorts gross profit Why accrual accounting alone may not completely solve the problem How percentage-of-completion adjustments match income with job costs Why accurate estimates and job costing are essential What roofing owners should ask their accountants How to determine whether your financial statements are telling the truth This is not an accounting class. You do not need to become a bookkeeper or CPA. But as the owner, you need to understand enough to know whether your roofing company is actually making money. ABOUT DIANE GILSON Diane Gilson specializes in construction accounting, job costing, management reporting, and helping contractors understand their numbers. https://buildyournumbers.com/ TRUSTED AND VETTED SPONSORS SMA SUPPORT Get roofing-trained support for lead intake, follow-up, appointment setting, CRM management, rehash, reviews, and administrative work. https://theroofercoach.com/smasupport PROLINE Manage leads, automate follow-up, schedule appointments, send proposals, and see what is happening throughout your sales pipeline. https://theroofercoach.com/proline Use promo code DAVE50. CONNECT WITH DAVE The Roofer Coach: https://theroofercoach.com/ The Roofer Show helps roofing contractors build more profitable businesses, develop dependable systems, understand their numbers, and reclaim their time.

August 30, 202619 min

493: Stop Guessing What’s Wrong With Your Roofing Business

A $4 million roofing contractor is busy and short on cash. He thinks he needs more leads. But once we examine the whole business, the real problems are somewhere else. A roofing contractor calls me and says: Dave, we’re doing $4 million a year. We’re busy, but there’s never enough cash. I think we need more leads. Maybe he does. But what if leads aren’t the problem? What if spending more money on marketing actually makes things worse? In this episode, I walk through a fictional $4 million roofing company using the same whole-business approach behind my new Roofing Business Health Check. We examine all three legs of a healthy roofing business: • Sell Work • Do Work • Keep Score The owner thinks he needs more leads, but we find missed calls, estimates nobody followed up on and old opportunities sitting untouched in the CRM. Then we look at production. Sales promises aren’t making it into the job package, change orders aren’t always collected and completed jobs aren’t being properly job-costed. Finally, we examine the numbers. Gross profit is slipping, overhead is growing and the owner is running a $4 million company without a clear financial scorecard. More leads won’t fix those problems. They could make them worse. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why revenue doesn’t tell you whether your business is healthy How poor follow-up wastes leads you already paid for Why more sales can make a weak production system worse How a seven-point gross profit drop can cost a $4 million company $280,000 Why leadership, ownership and accountability matter How to use the Two-Week Vacation test The three priorities I would give this contractor Why you need to diagnose the real problem before deciding on the solution ROOFING BUSINESS HEALTH CHECK The Roofing Business Health Check is a whole-business examination with me, Dave Sullivan. We’ll look at: Financial Health Sales and Marketing Operations Leadership Systems We’ll spend up to two hours looking at the business. I’ll identify the three things I believe should be addressed first. Within two business days, the contractor will receive a personalized Roofing Business Health Record and written 90-Day Action Plan. Financial statements are strongly recommended, but they are not required. The cost is $495. This isn’t a big program, a long-term commitment or a promise to 10X the business. It’s about finding the real problems, getting the basics right and building a strong foundation to grow on. Go to TheRooferCoach.com , click on Roofing Business Health Check and book a quick 15-minute call with me. There is no obligation. We’ll discuss what is happening in the business, answer any questions and decide whether the Health Check makes sense. LINKS Roofing Business Health Check: https://theroofercoach.com/health-check/ ProLine CRM: https://theroofercoach.com/proline SMA Support: https://theroofercoach.com/smasupport Linked Episodes #489: Is Your Roofing Business Healthy? #490: Why Your Roofing Company Has Plenty of Work But No Money #491: Sell Work with John DeLaurier of ProLine #492: Do Work with Chris Diroll of SMA Support

August 21, 202647 min

492: Why More Roofing Leads Won’t Fix a Broken Sales Process with Chris Diroll

Chris Diroll of SMA Support explains why roofing contractors may not need more leads—they may need better follow-up, clearer processes and someone responsible for consistent implementation. Show Notes: Most roofing contractors believe more leads will solve their sales problems. But what if the real problem is that the leads they already paid for are slipping through the cracks? In this third installment of the Roofing Business Health Check series, Dave Sullivan is joined by Chris Diroll of SMA Support to discuss the missing implementation piece behind a healthy roofing business. Financial statements and CRM dashboards give you the lab work, but they only provide a snapshot. Before you can make an accurate diagnosis and decide what to fix, someone must keep the information accurate, maintain the CRM and make sure the processes are followed consistently. Chris shares how he once believed he needed more leads. Instead, he followed up with approximately 200 open estimates in only 22 minutes—and had two or three signed the following morning. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why more leads may be the wrong prescription Where opportunities leak out of the sales process Why your CRM needs one clearly responsible owner The difference between hiring a VA and installing a managed process Why recruiting, role fit, training and accountability matter How missed calls and inconsistent follow-up waste marketing dollars Why accurate information must be maintained consistently How back-office support can free the owner for higher-value work Why job costing and accurate bookkeeping complete the Health Check The goal is not simply to add more software, employees or leads. It is to diagnose the real constraint, assign ownership and consistently implement the right process. RESOURCES Roofing Business Health Check: https://theroofercoach.com/health-check/ Learn more about SMA Support: https://theroofercoach.com/smasupport Learn more about ProLine: https://theroofercoach.com/proline Episode 490 — Financial Health: https://theroofercoach.com/490 Episode 491 — Sales Health with John DeLaurier: https://theroofercoach.com/491 Schedule a call with Dave: https://davesullivan.as.me/consulting-call Keep an eye out for the upcoming live Roofing Business Health Check webinar with Dave Sullivan, Chris Diroll and John DeLaurier.

August 16, 20261 hr 0 min

491: Your Roofing Closing Rate Is Wrong with John DeLaurier | Roofing Business Health Check

Most roofing contractors believe they know their closing rate. The problem is that they are usually calculating it incorrectly—or relying on gut feeling instead of accurate numbers. In this episode, Dave is joined by former Roofer Show co-host John DeLaurier from ProLine to examine the sales leg of the Roofing Business Health Check. They explain why “we need more leads” is often the wrong diagnosis, what a CRM should actually do for a roofing contractor and which numbers belong on a useful sales dashboard. You’ll learn: Why most contractors don’t know their true closing rate The difference between an inquiry, qualified lead and presented proposal Why open quotes make closing rates misleading How missed calls and slow follow-up waste marketing dollars Why every opportunity needs a clearly documented next step What a properly configured CRM should automate Which sales numbers should appear on the owner’s dashboard Why a low closing rate may indicate bad leads, poor follow-up, weak sales skills or incorrect pricing Why an unusually high closing rate can also signal a problem How average job size, sales cycle and conversion rates help forecast future revenue Why accurate sales numbers are essential to the Roofing Business Health Check The takeaway is simple: You cannot accurately diagnose a sales or marketing problem until you can trust the numbers in your CRM. LINKS AND RESOURCES: Roofing Business Health Check: https://theroofercoach.com/health-check Learn more about ProLine and use code DAVE50: https://theroofercoach.com/proline Learn more about SMA Support: https://theroofercoach.com/smasupport Schedule a strategy call with Dave: https://davesullivan.as.me/consulting-call About The Roofer Show The Roofer Show Podcast helps roofing contractors grow their businesses, make more money, and have more free time. Hosted by Dave Sullivan, The Roofer Coach, the show shares practical advice on roofing sales, marketing, operations, leadership, and financial management.

August 10, 202623 min

490: Why Your Roofing Company Has Plenty of Work—but No Money

How can a roofing company have plenty of work—and still have no money? The phones are ringing, salespeople are selling, crews are busy, and revenue may even be growing. But the owner is putting money into the company, credit-card balances are increasing, and every dollar that comes in seems to disappear. Most contractors assume the answer is more sales. But more sales don’t solve bad math—they multiply it. In this episode, Dave explains why financial health must be the first part of a Roofing Business Health Check and why the financial statements many contractors rely on may be incomplete, outdated, or set up incorrectly. SHOW NOTES In this episode, you’ll learn: Why revenue, money in the bank, and being busy do not prove that a roofing company is profitable The five financial vital signs every roofing contractor should understand Why QuickBooks must be set up specifically for a construction business The difference between the bookkeeper’s job, the CPA’s job, and the owner’s responsibility How to recognize the gross-profit roller coaster Why bad financial information leads to bad estimates and pricing Why selling more work can make a cash problem worse How the Roofing Business Health Check identifies the real problem before prescribing a solution You don’t need to become an accountant. But you do need to understand the scoreboard well enough to know whether your company is winning or losing. Before making decisions about hiring, pricing, marketing, borrowing, or growth, ask two questions: What do the numbers say? And are they telling the truth? RESOURCES Roofing Business Health Check: https://theroofercoach.com/health-check/ Episode 489 — Is Your Roofing Business Healthy? https://theroofercoach.com/489 SPONSORS ProLine CRM helps roofing contractors follow up consistently, manage their sales process, and prevent leads from falling through the cracks. Learn more: https://theroofercoach.com/proline Use code DAVE50. SMA Support provides trained virtual assistants and support teams who can help answer phones, follow up with leads, rehash old opportunities, request reviews, manage the CRM, and keep routine work from falling back onto the owner. Learn more: https://theroofercoach.com/smasupport CONNECT WITH DAVE Learn more about The Roofer Coach: https://theroofercoach.com/ Subscribe to The Roofer Show wherever you listen to podcasts. If the show has helped you build a more profitable roofing business, please leave a review. About The Roofer Show The Roofer Show Podcast helps roofing contractors grow their businesses, make more money, and have more free time. Hosted by Dave Sullivan, The Roofer Coach, the show shares practical advice on roofing sales, marketing, operations, leadership, and financial management.