SPEAKER_00 0:00

Networking is everything. Okay. It's it's everything. Um we don't door knock. Um we're 100% referral based, um, be it either from our referral partners or past customers.

SPEAKER_01 0:17

All right, welcome to another episode of Connections That Matter today. My guest is Paul Foote from Roof Source. Paul, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Thanks. Thanks for having me, and I appreciate being here.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Paul, I knew your wife before I knew you. Uh and through getting wanting to get connected to the neighborhood. So uh she was somebody that I saw at like the little neighborhood networking fairs and stuff. But um, when I've talked to you, she's always been the big networker. Uh give her a shout-out first, and then we'll get into uh to you.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Yeah, so Melissa Foote, uh um step-by-step. Uh sorry, she changed her name. Step-by-step photo organization. Step-by-step tech, but photo step-by-step photo organization. Uh she does uh amazing photo organization work, um, but she also does uh emergency preparedness classes and um buy all our stuff online.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

Very cool. Well, and then I met your son uh at one of our events. Uh he was over at the mercantile taking care of us over there. But uh is everyone in your family an entrepreneur?

SPEAKER_00 1:23

Um, I would say yes, they are all gonna be entrepreneurs. Um my oldest is already um, he's uh the president of the real estate club at Arizona State. Um and he's he'll be a junior this coming year, just finished his sophomore year, um, and is already working towards um, you know, he's gonna get a finance major, but he doesn't want to do anything in finance. He wants to run a company one day and understand the finances. So he kind of, you know, when he talks to a CFO, he wants to know what he's talking about. So that's kind of his at 20 years old, that's his thinking already. So and then our my youngest is going to be an entrepreneur, but he works at Georgia Boys.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

So there you go. Shout out Georgia Boys. Yeah. Uh well, and you're new to newer to Roof Source, but I know you made a career change and uh was looking at a lot of different models, but really landed on that as something that aligned with you. So tell me about Roof Source and what was your journey that led you to them?

SPEAKER_00 2:20

Yeah, so Roof Source, um they've had previous names before, but as Roof Source since 2017. Um kind of, you know, my our owners have been in the business for you know 11 years or something like that. Um actually started with one of your other fellow podcasters that's also in the roofing industry. Yeah. Um, and then went out on his own and started Roof Source. Um a great, great company to kind of just not just you know help people and get to to do what we do with something that no one ever wants to work with, which is roofing. No one wants to deal with their roof, um, no one wants to deal with leaks, no one wants to deal with insurance. Um, so kind of put together something that you know was helpful for people, um, but also put it in a in perspective of you know, still doing like fellowship and um like family. Like we had a team meeting this morning and we didn't we talked maybe 50% was about business and what's going on and and processes, but the other 50% was um what's going on with you in your life and what are you working on and stuff like that. So everyone was like, You look kind of dressed up today. I'm like, I got a podcast later.

SPEAKER_01 3:37

So well appreciate the appreciate the dressing of, but yeah, I will tell you exactly how you are. Uh one thing I admire about you, Paul, is when I follow you on social media, uh you have a heart of a teacher. You you're you're always educating with your posts, you're always giving value, you're always lifting others up. Um, and I'm sure that is a conscious decision of how you're choosing to market. But uh what is your what is your strategy with that? Like, do you have uh specific things you do on specific days, or how do you come up with what you're doing?

SPEAKER_00 4:06

Yeah, so um LinkedIn, for example, um I do have uh a formula that just through um you know taking some some classes from people who are LinkedIn experts and and working on that, I I kind of post very similar things every day of the week. Um so Monday is a topic, Tuesday's a topic. Um Wednesday I try to do educational topics where I actually put out an article every Wednesday. Um Thursday is kind of why we're relevant, you know, why why us, why roof source? Um and then Friday I always do a book review. Um and sometimes I do a sci-fi book and tie it back to business, or I do a business book. So kind of stick to that model. And then everywhere else, I just I want to educate. I don't want to be white noise. Um, I want to be more top of mind when a roof comes up because roofing is just different, right? I'm not selling selling apparel, so I'm not selling clothing that people are out there looking for and and constantly looking for. So roof is something that people need when they need it, right? There's a leak, there's a hail storm, something, then they're looking for a roofer. So just I kind of take the approach of how do I be top of mind when someone needs something?

SPEAKER_01 5:26

So a book a week, though, that's that's quite a pace. Do you read a book a week, or is it from the you know, just stuff that you've accumulated over the years?

SPEAKER_00 5:33

30 years of sales. Yeah, I've read a lot of books.

SPEAKER_01 5:36

So what's what's some of your favorites?

SPEAKER_00 5:38

Um, I mean, one, it's kind of it's kind of funny. There's it's kind of outdated, but it's it's called the one-minute man, the one-minute manager meets the monkey. Um, and it it literally has to do with with managing things and the the monkeys on your back, um, taking on things instead of delegating it. So uh kind of not taking on everything and delegating things out, um, and kind of getting rid of those monkeys, you know, tossing them off your back is a good one. Um, there's so many that now I'm trying to think through all of them. Richard Branson books are always amazing. Sure. Um uh screw it, just do it is a great book from Richard Branson, um, which talks really about him of like uh just do it. Like, what's the worst thing that could happen? It fails, and then you try something else. So um lots of good ones out there, but those are kind of a couple good ones. I I I compared Ready Player One to oh yeah, to business and roofing a couple months ago.

SPEAKER_01 6:35

So well, if I remember right, that's like somebody goes into the the video game, and uh so how did you tie it into roofing? What was that like?

SPEAKER_00 6:43

Um, I think I just tied it more into business. Um, how you need to be present and living in a virtual world isn't gonna put you in front of your customers and and be present for them and and aware. You know, you can't live in social and and virtual world. You gotta show up and be present for people. So that's kind of how I tied it back to a business sense.

SPEAKER_01 7:07

Okay. Well, one thing I see you do that I think is super smart is a lot of people will try to get as big as an audience as possible. And not that you're not trying to do that, but you're also targeting the micro audience. So, like Barefoot Lakes, where you and I both live, has this uh business owner's Facebook page, a community business, and you take time to actually specifically post in there, not just share to that group where the audience is just the size of one neighborhood, but you have really stand out as the local expert. So um how long have you been doing that? Has that been paying off for you?

SPEAKER_00 7:43

Yeah, so um that's the other thing that I do is I I do so I do post in lots of different groups, um, like on Facebook, for example. There's also another one, the the Tri-Town uh Facebook group, which is up north. Um, and I whatever I post there, I'm not posting the same thing on my personal page or on LinkedIn or other places. I try to be specific to the target audiences. So barefoot, I do try to just, you know, I I'd love to be the neighborhood roofer. I know there's some other other roofers that live in our neighborhood, um, but I just tried to take advantage of having a captive audience, um, not spamming them, trying to put relevant things out there. Sometimes I try to make it fun. Um, like I think a few weeks ago it was National Pretzel Day or something, and I said, somehow, Ty, go get a pretzel and let me come inspect your roof, or you know, kind of making it fun and and changing things up, um, but really just targeting an audience of you know, homeowners, of course, uh, but then real estate agents and and property managers and and other people that are out there that you know also just again, top of mind, you know. Um, one of your previous guest, Alex, um, from AGT landscaping, like you know, being aware of you know, even tying those things back of hey, putting that out there when people ask for recommendations, so using it that way as well as a as a networking tool to other people out there. I've even recommended um see now I'm not the off the top of my head. I'm thinking through it, but um interior design.

SPEAKER_01 9:23

Yeah, Alicia.

SPEAKER_00 9:24

Yeah, yeah. So cool. Just trying to put it out there to that. I mean, our neighborhood is growing, it's what is it, 3,000 homes now, soon to be five. So yeah, just trying to be relevant.

SPEAKER_01 9:36

That's cool. Well uh and you know, we've talked, you're like, I'm not the person roofing your house, I sell the roofs, but you you have really good partnerships, you you pride yourself on uh providing additional venting and and a couple of things that set you apart. Um what I mean, some people just try to like get the biggest thing in an insurance claim. And uh Paul, you've always just always done what's right for the client. Um is that a roof source thing? Is that a Paul Foot thing, or what is that a both?

SPEAKER_00 10:08

I think it's both, but I think you know, the one thing that sets roof sort roof source apart um is that we do pay attention to the ventilation, and that's not just us, other people do too. Um, but there is some importance to it. Um that there can be a cost increase to paying attention to the roof being properly ventilated, but ultimately what it comes down to is the warranty of the shingle. If if the roof's not properly ventilated and the shingle has a problem, and there's a 25-year warranty on the shingle, and the manufacturer comes in and they looks at it and they go, Oh, this roof isn't properly ventilated, the warranty is null and voided. Um so that can fall back on us as the roofers. Um so it's our responsibility to do that for the customers. Um, but it's also the right thing to do because no one wants the upstairs of their house to be you know 20 degrees hotter than the rest of the house. So a properly ventilated roof breathes and it's important. Um, and also builders, they just throw vents up there. They don't do calculations, they don't try to figure out how many vents need to be there. I would say most of the time there's usually we need four to six more vents on every roof that I've ever done.

SPEAKER_01 11:25

Is that something you could put in like retroactively, or do you need like a whole different roofing system?

SPEAKER_00 11:30

You could put it in retroactively if you did the similar kind of vents. Um, we would probably try to go to a new style vent, which is like a ridge vent where there's more surface area is actually being vented um versus the small turtle vents, which you if you look up on your roof, it's looks like a mushroom just popping up off the roof. Um and the ridge vent just looks cleaner, it takes all those off. Um, but it also gets to the peak of the roof where the heat's leaving. So um, but I would say ultimately back to that original question was set us apart. I mean, yes, roof source is important with that, but I think what sets us apart really is our project managers, you know, me and the other people on our team. We're very um kind of niche on who we are and who we hire. Um, and it's um that we we don't we hire maybe a couple of people here or there when needed, but the process is vetted of is this the right fit for Roof Source? Um you know, Roof Source, I would say our whole team we're we're faith-based. We pray before team meetings. Um it's kind of it's awesome. We you know, there's times where we have meetings and it's a testimonial because one of our guys is struggling or something. So it just we take that amount of care that we put in just in our team where we were kind of all family, and we that's how we take care of our customers. Um it's probably the biggest thing that pointed out to me um moving into roofing and sales was I get to help people, which is the greatest joy of the whole process.

SPEAKER_01 13:09

So I was on my roof the other day, Paul, and uh not that I wanted to go up there, but there was a wasp nest like way up there, and I'm going in like with some spray, and I didn't have a tall enough ladder, but uh and then I looked at all my neighbor's house and they all have wasps up there too. So how do you deal with the insect? Or do you build relationships with the pest control company before you come up?

SPEAKER_00 13:32

I mean, our guys, if they're doing a roof and they they deal with the wasps, I mean they have wasp killer in there. Um yeah, I mean it's something that just it's just part of the part of the hazard of the job, yeah, I guess, right? Like it's you know, I I don't encourage you going up on your roof, of course. Um maybe you people ask for a free inspection, and oh, by the way, while you're up there, will you kill that wasp best?

SPEAKER_01 13:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:59

I've had that asked, so and done it, but um, you know you're supposed to do those at night too when they're all in there, so yeah. Kill the queen.

SPEAKER_01 14:09

Yeah, right. Well, I you know, I roofing, especially in Colorado, with the amount of hail we get, it's uh competitive business. There's a lot of roofing companies, there's a lot of people, you know, trying to get the word out of there. There's a lot of different ways to do it. Um, and as someone who builds networking groups, I want somebody who is uh a person of great integrity, person who has a great product, stands behind a great product, but also uh is a great communicator. And well, one thing about roofing is a lot of them are seeking out these networking groups, but some of them are different levels of engagement. And you've come in, you're one of the highest engaged person in the Longmont group, and um I think you're leading in the scoreboard of of uh the amount of referrals given and uh the one-to-ones that you've done. Um how has networking been a part of your strategy as a roofing uh project manager?

SPEAKER_00 15:01

So I mean, I guess to put it in there, it networking is everything.

SPEAKER_01 15:07

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 15:07

It's it's everything. Um we, you know, I know not a lot of other roofers don't door knock either, but we don't. We don't door knock. Um we're 100% referral based, um, be it either from our referral partners or past customers. Um that's I mean 90, I think our last time we checked is like 90% of our entire business is referral. From referrals. Um the rest, that other 10% is Googled roofer and and and found us and and called in. Um, but yeah, it's it's just a big number. And even it actually makes me door knocking makes me a little nauseous. Like, you know, after a hail storm, I go to a customer's house that called us to come look at their roof a day after a storm, and standing on a roof and seeing 12 other roofing companies in the neighborhood just knocking on doors or or are pulling up to their house, and when I walk up to the front door, there's 12 business cards sticking out of the door. It just is kind of ugh, just yeah, it's not a good look for our business. So I I you know, any other roofers listening to this, please knock it off. But um it's uh as far as the networking thing, again, one-to-one meetings. Um, you know, I've met with so many people in our in our group that you wouldn't even think about our roofing connections, but you know, you talk a lot about this as being a connector.

SPEAKER_01 16:33

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 16:34

Um, and that's kind of where I see being a connector, right? I know a lot of people. We went through the the checklist that we did, and it was I think you watched me for 20 minutes just checking boxes of I know so many people in so many industries. Um even meeting with Cliff from Humane Society, like sure you know, he's already referred a couple real estate agents to me. So cool, just having those uh connections and resources again top of mind, right? I when someone like needs a roofer, I want him to talk to someone else and be like, Oh, I know a guy. Here's here's Paul's info, because you know, I just I don't know, networking's everything in in every aspect of sales, period.

SPEAKER_01 17:17

So in any business like that, if you're breaking into it and it's a big referral base, a lot of people just don't know where to start. Like, if I don't, hey, the the top producers in my office already have all of these connections and they're getting all these appointments, and here I'm trying to make new connections. Um, but this show is called Connections That Matter. So we're helping people make connections, but what are the valuable connections that need somebody that is like you, Paul? I and I'll just say on your behalf, like you show up as a teammate, you show up as somebody who is gonna be in your corner, not just to represent a great roofing company, but go above and beyond to collaborate and work with people's business. Um, you talk about real estate agents, but what other kind of professions are you looking to connect with?

SPEAKER_00 17:58

Um, I mean, definitely property managers, um, people in HOA boards um are great connections. Um insurance agents, of course. Um, I know those probably the top two are insurance and real estate, and every roofer probably gonna give you that same answer. Um but there's I mean that property managers are some that are just you know, I I work with a property manager up in SS Park and working on um a huge condo project right now. And even from that, you know, I did a a house last week that they didn't know was their house. They realized it was a house they were managing and it had wood shake shingles. Well, wood shake shingles in SS Park are banned because they're basically Kindling sitting on a roof, right? So you know, I we quickly turned around and had a roof on in a week for them to get compliant because the city was like, Hey, they this roof isn't gonna fly. Um so those are things like that where the property manager is just working with them. Um and then same thing with the real estate agents. Just um I I made a post a couple weeks ago. I don't know if you saw it, but it was you know, it's definitely it's not it's hail seasons here, hasn't happened yet, but but selling seasons here, and it's in full effect. And I've been on almost every day I'm on a roof for one of my referral partners that's a real estate agent.

SPEAKER_01 19:24

So yeah, I mean we're real estate people, but it's like Super Bowl Sunday, and then uh till the kids go back to school, and it kind of tapers out. Not that it doesn't slow down during the summer, but yeah, uh people are making deals happen, and um so for for someone like me as a homeowner has a lot of rental properties. I always like, please don't hail, please don't hail. Do you cheer for the hail or do you do cheer?

SPEAKER_00 19:48

We pay for we pray for it every night at meal. Please, we pray for our meal and we pray for hail. Um and I it can hit my house. I don't care.

SPEAKER_01 19:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:58

Um, you know, obviously I don't want anyone to go through that.

SPEAKER_01 20:02

It's the claims process, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:04

Um, but I actually again I find joy in sitting down at a kitchen table with a family and going through their insurance claim and explaining, you know, I think the running joke is insurance math isn't real math, but I can at least help them understand it to the the best of the knowledge of hey, this is what you're going to to get for your roof. And you know, the biggest question is well, what's it gonna cost me? And it's you know, it's they're already telling us what's it's gonna cost. Um and that all kind of is changed from even 10 years ago where you would go get a bunch of bids, um, where nowadays insurance kind of tells you, they tell us, here's what we're willing to pay um to have this roof replaced. Um and then this explaining that to the homeowner of you know, if you're if your deductible is a thousand dollars, that's really your only out of pocket cost. Um I don't have any surprises, I'm not gonna um you know the ventilation we talked about, even if it's not covered, we're gonna still do that. Um, we're gonna upgrade to a class four shingle, which most people are doing anyways. Um, but those are kind of some of the the main things that I find joy in is doing that in that process because again, yeah, I pray for hail. You pray for no hail. Yeah, so we probably cancel each other out, but um I don't pray for it for um like it's a joke. Sure, sure, of course. Ultimately, down to it, I I want the best for people and I want their homes to be safe and and taken care of. I think ultimately, even like when it's not hail seasons, and and you know, Colorado goes through a kind of a five year season. It hails five years, it doesn't for five years. Um and you know, part of our success is we're successful when it's not hailing. Like right now, I'm extremely busy. And it hasn't hailed. Um the problem I think that a lot of people don't think about is when it does hail and your house is damaged and you don't do anything about it and you go a couple years, insurance now chalks that up to wear and tear. Not hail damage. So and it's very you can tell, you can tell an old damaged roof versus a freshly damaged roof. Um and so do the adjusters. So you know, I unfortunately when it does happen, we do recommend um, you know, even and I'll I got another shout out, I guess, but uh Morgan from State Farm, she'll tell you the same thing is you know, you can call her, but she's gonna tell you to call me first before you file a claim. Because I'm gonna get on your roof and go, you're good. Don't file a claim because that can cause more problems down the road.

SPEAKER_01 22:53

So somebody who integrity. Yeah. Well, and somebody who's audited many of insurance policy, um, you know, and I know limited thing, but there's like replacement value versus actual cash value versus percentage deductibles. Like it's hard to find a thousand dollar deductible. I don't know if you have any hookups that you can give people that can people can still find those kind of things. But what what is what do you what would you recommend that people have on their house, especially in Colorado where um wind and hail damage is a higher pri possibility?

SPEAKER_00 23:24

Um I mean definitely stay away from your ACV only policies, um, where it's only gonna cover the actual cash value. Um on average, it's probably like 50% or less of the cost. Um, you're gonna be paying a lot out of pocket for that. Um really pay attention to the policy and ask a lot of questions. Um really get to know your your insurance agents if you need referrals. Yeah, you know, I already threw one out for Morgan.

SPEAKER_01 23:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:51

Um, but they they will walk you through and and and tell you what you need. Um, you know, it's not always the best to get the lowest rate. Sure. Um, which cause that could hurt you in the long run. Um a lot of just shop the companies too, because all state is gonna be different than State Farm or American or any of them. So I would uh really focus on making sure you have the right policy that's gonna be the right for your family. So even if your deductible is, you know, a lot of them are going to a percentage where it's 1% or 2% of your home value. Um and just making sure that you're you're covered with the right coverage. Um because it's it's really hard when I mean I just helped a guy last year who um basically had an ACV only policy and to replace his roof is about $15,000 out of pocket. Um because that there's there's A C V only and they take your deductible. So I mean I've seen people get you know not much. Sure. Five five thousand dollars and it costs twenty thousand to replace the roof. So just pay attention to what you got, and if you're not sure what you got, um, you know, have someone else look at it that's not your insurance agent, have another agent maybe help you, or a roofer look at it.

SPEAKER_01 25:23

Yeah. Well, if somebody maybe is like, oh man, I should get my roof inspected. There was that storm, or we're you know, who knows by the time that this airs, there might have been a recent storm, or if you're watching this uh because there was just a storm, um, how do people contact you? How do they get in in touch with you to get a to get a quote?

SPEAKER_00 25:41

Yeah. Uh so my phone number uh 303 827 1139. Um email address is Paul at Colorado Roofsource.com. Um, or Colorado Roofsource.com is the website. Um we have four point, I think it's four point nine Google rating. Nice. Um almost 300 Google reviews right now, um, which I know I got heard your car, the car guy on the podcast, he has almost a thousand if he's there yet. But um that's a lot. It's a lot of Google reviews. So um, but yeah, that's that's probably the best way.

SPEAKER_01 26:16

Awesome, Paul. Well, thanks so much for coming on the show, and uh it's been a pleasure. And uh hopefully my anti-hale, at least in barefoot, they can go around us and meet. But if it does come, I definitely know who to call. So thanks for coming on the show and sharing your story. Thanks.

SPEAKER_00 26:30

Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_01 26:31

Hey all, thanks for watching. I love networking and building relationships with other Northern Colorado business leaders. So if you want to come meet some of these podcast guests, meet me or meet some other amazing entrepreneurs in Northern Colorado, I would love to have you attend one of our next events. Uh go in the podcast description. There's the ways that you can see our upcoming schedule. And maybe you could be a future podcast guest as well. Thanks.