How to Train a New Roofing Salesperson in 30 Days

Most contractors throw a new salesperson into the field with "shadow Jake for a week, then good luck." That's why roofing sales turnover runs 60-80% in year one. Here's a real 30-day training plan that gets new hires productive in 4 weeks.

Week 1: Product + Vocabulary

Day 1-2: Hand them the roofing terms glossary. They memorize 50 terms before week is up. Quiz at the end.

Day 3-4: Walk a finished job site. Pole-photo every component (drip edge, ridge vent, flashing, valley, ice & water shield). Name each one out loud.

Day 5: Run a mock pricing exercise. Give them a measurement and your pricing tiers — they build a Good/Better/Best estimate from scratch.

Week 2: Software + Process

Day 6-7: Full CRM training. Every lead source, every pipeline stage, every CRM field. New hire takes notes in their own document — that's their personal SOP.

Day 8-9: Inspect 5 roofs with a senior rep. Watch them photograph damage indicators using the 10 documentation framework. New hire follows along, takes their own photos for comparison.

Day 10: Branded PDF estimate workflow. New hire generates a complete proposal in RidgeIQ and emails to the senior rep for review.

Week 3: Objection Handling + Sales Scripts

Day 11-12: Drill the 8 most common sales objections. Senior rep plays homeowner, new rep practices each rebuttal until automatic.

Day 13-14: Ride-alongs. New rep sits in on real sales appointments — listens, doesn't talk. Notes what works.

Day 15: First solo appointment with senior rep watching but silent. Debrief immediately after.

Week 4: Solo + Coaching

Day 16-20: Solo appointments, daily 30-minute debrief with manager. Review every appointment: what was said, what got closed/lost, what they'd change.

Day 21-25: Same as above, with manager reviewing the CRM activity feed daily. Coach on speed (time-to-quote), thoroughness (photo count per inspection), and pipeline hygiene (every lead has a next-action date).

Day 26-30: First close goal. Most new reps close their first job between day 18-28 if the training is solid.

The 5 Metrics to Track from Day 1

Inspections per week: Should hit 8-12 by week 4
Inspection-to-quote ratio: Should be 100% (every inspection = a quote)
Photos per inspection: 15+ minimum
Quote-to-close ratio: 15-25% is normal for a new rep; 30%+ is excellent
Average ticket: Within ±10% of senior reps by day 30

The Compensation Curve

Pay structure that retains new reps:

Days 1-30: Salary only ($600-1,000/week depending on market). No commission pressure while learning.
Days 31-90: Salary + draw against commission. Half the comfort, half the upside.
Day 91+: Pure commission, typically 7-10% of gross job value or $400-700 flat per closed job.

Reps who survive day 90 stay 3+ years on average. Reps you put on commission day 1 turn over in 60 days.

What Kills New Reps

Throwing them into cold-call door-knocking with no script
No CRM training — they lose leads, blame themselves, quit
Zero ride-alongs — they never see a real close
Daily metric pressure before they understand the process
Senior reps refusing to share their objection handling

→ Run your team on RidgeIQ — built-in lead pipeline, branded estimates, photo workflow. Free CRM tier handles unlimited reps.