Roofing contractors can benefit from a well-organized service department, and service and maintenance work can become even more important to a company’s profit picture in tighter economic times. Service departments are typically smaller departments that operate independently from a company’s main roofing operations. The service department handles all of the company’s leak repairs and service-related items, such as installing flashing at new curbs and the installation of additional vents and drains.
When it comes to sales, you may be affected by social consciousness in more ways than you realize. While it’s easy to recognize that job pressures shape your performance - for example, the struggle to meet corporate expectations and uncompromising customer demands at the same time - what’s not so apparent is that your behavior is also shaped by social pressures and often is reinforced by movies, literature and television.
Section 1507.2 of the International Building Code (IBC) covers the requirements for the application of asphalt shingle roof coverings. The section states that asphalt roof coverings shall be applied in accordance with the standards set in this section and the manufacturer’s installation requirements. The following text provides a brief interpretation of these codes.
Leadership is not a business title.
All too often, the most successful sales performer is promoted to the role of sales manager, and we assume that the individual, having never been trained even once on the skills of leadership, will somehow develop them by osmosis.
The most frequent question I am asked in my travels: Do you know a good salesperson that is available for hire? My answer is always the same. If they are any good, they aren’t looking. And if you want good salespeople, then don’t try stealing them from a competitor. It rarely works. If you want good salespeople, build them.
Rooftop garden construction consists of two equally important phased applications: the waterproofing application and the garden assembly. The ultimate success of a rooftop garden depends largely on the proper design and installation of both of these applications.
In 2004, Ford Motor Company integrated 21st century environmental design into its manufacturing facility with the construction of the Ford Dearborn Truck Assembly Building.
Perhaps no aspect of the sales process has been more misunderstood than the skills of “closing.” The word itself implies an end to the process when, in reality, it should signify the beginning of a relationship. Closing is “opening,” and the process of successfully closing a sale need not be mysterious nor as combative as many salespeople have been taught in their careers.
Rule No. 1 in the roofing business - We don’t put new roofs on houses, we put roofs on homes. There is a big difference between a house and a home. A house is a project, a physical entity, which is built and remodeled according to schedules with ladders, scaffolds and materials. A home is a place that neighbors admire and where families raise their children. Adhere to Rule No. 1 and you will already have distinguished yourself from the competition.
In full sun, the surface of a black low-slope roof may experience a temperature rise of as much as 50 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit (F), reaching midday temperatures of 150 to 190 F on a summer day. A white vinyl/PVC reflective roof on the same building typically increases only 10 to 25 degrees above ambient temperature under the same conditions. A differential of this magnitude begs the question: What makes one roofing material “cooler” than another?
