Guest: Adam Bensman, The Roof Strategist
Host: Jim Ahlin, Roofing Success Podcast
Listen to the Episode: https://roofingsuccesspodcast.com/stop-gambling-with-your-marketing-budget-269
Links:
https://www.rsra.org
https://www.youtube.com/@TheRoofStrategist
https://blog.theroofstrategist.com/
https://askadambensman.com/
🤖 Have a question? Ask this customized ChatGPT for the answer! Specifically designed for this episode, it’s here to help:
https://roofingpod.com/chatgpt-269
Take Control of Your Roofing Marketing
Too many roofing contractors throw money into marketing hoping for results—but hope isn’t a strategy. In Episode 269 of the Roofing Success Podcast, Jim Ahlin sits down with Adam Bensman, renowned sales trainer and founder of the Roofing & Solar Reform Alliance (RSRA), to unpack how contractors can take back control of their marketing. His advice is simple but game-changing: stop being a passive spender and start acting like the general contractor (GC) of your own marketing machine.
From Roulette Wheel to Roadmap
Adam opens with a blunt truth: most roofing companies treat marketing like a slot machine—drop in dollars, pull the lever, and hope it pays out. But what if, instead, you treated marketing like a construction project? You’d never build a house without a blueprint, budget, or plan—yet many roofers build their marketing stack on gut feeling and vendor promises.
“You don’t have to become a media buyer,” Adam says, “but you do need to know enough to evaluate performance and hold your marketing team or agency accountable.”
The Marketing Control System
Adam’s solution is what he calls the “Marketing Control System”—a structured framework to measure, evaluate, and optimize your marketing investment. At its core are four foundational metrics:
- Total Leads
- Qualified Leads
- Appointment Set Rate
- Close Rate
Tracking just these four metrics will give you a clear picture of where leads are getting stuck in your funnel—and where you’re lighting money on fire.
“Your data tells a story,” Adam emphasizes. “You don’t need to become a data scientist. You just need to learn how to listen.”
Think Like a GC
When you GC a construction job, you don’t need to be an expert electrician or plumber—but you better know what good work looks like. The same logic applies to marketing. As the GC of your own marketing, your job is to:
- Develop the blueprint (your message and offer)
- Hire the right trades (ads, SEO, web, follow-up tools)
- Check the work (measure performance)
- Fire underperformers and double down on what works
In a live RSRA workshop, Adam used this method to help one roofer save $75K and another a whopping $121K—just by analyzing spend and performance across their marketing channels.
Know Who You Are Before You Market
One key mistake Adam sees over and over: storm restoration companies trying to run retail-style digital ads without changing their sales process. The result? Leads sit untouched, or worse, reps refuse to run them.
There are only three ways to get roofing leads:
- They come to you (inbound/retail)
- You go to them (door-to-door, cold outreach)
- They are introduced to you (referrals, networking)
Your marketing must align with your company’s strengths. A storm company that thrives knocking doors shouldn’t expect Facebook leads to magically convert without structural changes to follow-up and sales. As Adam puts it, “Know your core competency and double down on it.”
Define Your Sliver of the Market
One of Adam’s most practical tools is helping contractors define the “sliver” of the market they own. Instead of generic messaging like “Best Roofer in [City],” he challenges contractors to identify:
- What makes your offer unique?
- Who are you best suited to serve?
- What specific pain point do you solve?
Whether it’s affordable financing, fast repairs, or virtual sales, your messaging should be specific and emotionally resonant. Adam even recommends analyzing your Google reviews using AI tools to identify the language your customers already use to describe the experience.
Four Questions That Will Save You Thousands
Adam closes with a framework he calls the “four-question test” for every marketing channel you’re paying for:
- Is it trackable?
- Does it generate quality leads?
- Are your customer acquisition costs acceptable?
- Is it consistent and predictable?
If a channel fails two or more, cut it. Redirect those dollars into what’s already working—or just keep the profit.
Putting It All Together
Here’s Adam’s recommended roadmap for becoming the GC of your marketing:
- Build a dashboard with the key performance metrics.
- Review it weekly—not monthly—so you can course-correct fast.
- Secret shop your business and ad funnel. See what the customer sees.
- Define your niche and improve your messaging based on real reviews.
- Run the four-question test on every marketing channel and reallocate budget accordingly.
It’s time to stop hoping your marketing works—and start knowing it does.
FAQs: Roofing Business Takeaways from This Episode
Topic: Marketing
Q: How can I tell if my marketing is actually working?
A: Start by tracking four key metrics: total leads, qualified leads, appointment set rate, and close rate. These reveal where in your funnel you’re losing potential customers and where you should focus your improvements.
Topic: Marketing
Q: What does it mean to be the “GC of my marketing”?
A: It means taking ownership of your marketing results, even if you’re outsourcing. Like a general contractor, you need to understand what success looks like, measure progress, and hold each player accountable.
Topic: Operations-Management
Q: How often should I evaluate my marketing performance?
A: Weekly. Waiting until the end of the month could result in wasted spend or missed opportunities. “Marketing Mondays” is a great habit to start.
Topic: Marketing
Q: What’s the biggest mistake roofers make with ad agencies?
A: Hiring specialists without knowing how their work integrates with the rest of your funnel. Your PPC guy might be great—but if your landing page is weak, you’ll waste your budget.
Topic: Growth-Expansion
Q: How do I figure out what makes my roofing company unique?
A: Review customer feedback and look for common praise. Then frame your messaging around a specific market sliver, like fast repairs, affordable financing, or tough claims.
Topic: Finance-Accounting
Q: What’s a good customer acquisition cost (CAC)?
A: It depends on your average job size and margin. There’s no one-size-fits-all CAC, but you should define an acceptable range that allows you to stay profitable.
Topic: Marketing
Q: How can I measure my brand’s growth?
A: Track branded search volume in your Google Search Console. More people typing your company name shows growing brand awareness.
Topic: Technology-Innovation
Q: How can I improve follow-up on leads after hours?
A: Consider using AI or automation tools to handle outbound calls, texts, and appointment setting—especially if 75% of your leads come in when no one’s in the office.
Topic: Sales
Q: Why aren’t my reps running digital leads effectively?
A: You might be a “you go to them” company trying to use a “they come to you” strategy. Digital leads require a different sales process and infrastructure.
Topic: Marketing
Q: Should I invest in branding or direct-response marketing?
A: If you’re under $10M in revenue, focus on now-money. Branding takes time and lots of budget. Direct response gives faster, measurable results.
Topic: Customer-Service
Q: How do I align my marketing message with customer expectations?
A: Use language directly from your customer reviews. This ensures your ads and landing pages reflect the experience customers actually want and remember.
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