Guest: Marty Sheegog of Sheegog Contracting
Host: Jim Ahlin, Roofing Success Podcast
Listen to the Episode: https://roofingsuccesspodcast.com/how-to-grow-your-roofing-business-by-buying-the-competition-chris-moore-255
đź”— https://sheegogcontracting.com/
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From Chaos to Clarity: Why Marty Sheegog Built a Roofing Company on Operations First
Most roofing contractors launch their companies with a sales-first mindset. Marty Sheegog took the road less traveled—and it’s made all the difference. Instead of chasing revenue, Marty built Sheegog Contracting in Orlando, Florida, around rock-solid operations. It’s a model rooted in consistency, clean job sites, tight communication, and unwavering attention to detail. And ironically, by focusing less on selling and more on doing the work right, Sheegog’s team ended up selling more.
This episode of the Roofing Success Podcast is packed with practical wisdom for roofing contractors looking to move from reactive chaos to scalable, sustainable growth. If you’ve ever felt stuck juggling sales, production, and quality control—or just want to tighten your systems—this conversation delivers a blueprint worth studying.
Starting With a Different Mindset
Most roofers who launch their own businesses come from a strong sales background, particularly storm restoration. That wasn’t the case for Marty. As he puts it, “I wasn’t a great salesman—I was just someone who really cared about every job.”
That customer-first mindset led him to obsessively visit job sites, learn the roofing process hands-on, and micromanage details others would overlook. That eventually became the DNA of Sheegog Contracting: quality first, every time. And it wasn’t just Marty—his early team, including his business partner and production lead Jonathan, all bought into that philosophy.
“Sales were a side effect of the job and quality we were doing with our customers.”
The Field Supervisor: A Game-Changer for Quality Control
One of the most transformative decisions Marty made was creating a dedicated field supervisor role. This wasn’t just a crew member promoted to oversee jobs. He learned the hard way that supervisors must be separate from the crews—someone impartial who can advocate for quality and keep communication flowing.
The role helped solve one of the biggest headaches roofing companies face: inconsistent customer experiences. The field supervisors handle everything from morning texts to final walkthroughs and even asking for reviews and referral photos. They’re trained using company templates, paired with a field manager, and incentivized with spiffs tied to customer satisfaction metrics.
“Finding someone who actually cares about the job site—that’s what you’ve got to find.”
Drawing a Line Between Sales and Production
One of the biggest operational hurdles? Training sales reps to stop managing jobs after the sale. It took a full year to break the habit. Homeowners naturally want to speak with the person they signed the contract with. Salespeople feel obligated to answer questions. But Marty’s team learned to draw a hard boundary.
Now, sales reps are trained to hand off the relationship and set expectations clearly. A contract call reinforces who the homeowner’s point of contact will be. Field supervisors take over communication, with daily updates and final walkthroughs that close the loop.
Project Examination: Preventing Problems Before They Start
Florida’s unique building codes and architectural quirks make roofing especially complex. That’s why Sheegog Contracting implemented a pre-installation “project examination” system. Jobs are reviewed by experienced team members using a checklist to catch problem areas before crews arrive—dead valleys, stucco complications, chimney flashing, and more.
It wasn’t easy. The system created bottlenecks, especially when everything funneled through one person. But over time, they built a layered review process: 80% of checks are handled by trained staff, while the top 20% go to their most experienced team members.
“Once you know, you can’t unknow. We can’t go back to turning in just a contract and color.”
Data-Driven Improvements: Tracking What Actually Works
Quality control is great—but without data, you’re flying blind. Marty started simple: tracking leak locations, crew performance, and fault attribution in a spreadsheet. That basic effort quickly grew into a powerful feedback loop. Now, they track issues, review trends, and make decisions backed by real evidence.
The insight? Most problems came from just a few parts of the roof. That led to changes in flashing protocols and homeowner communication—all reducing future callbacks and boosting reputation.
Centralization vs. Expansion: Lessons from the Field
Sheegog Contracting grew quickly across Florida, but it came at a cost. Stretching operations across a four-hour radius introduced serious logistical challenges. Field supervisors needed to stay overnight, costs ballooned, and marketing ROI dropped.
Marty’s takeaway? Expansion is easier when it’s built around a centralized, consistent system. They’re now working to consolidate marketing and operations around core service areas before scaling further.
Rethinking Marketing: Know Your Acquisition Cost
From a marketing standpoint, Marty’s team had to learn the difference between lead generation and brand building—and that giving digital leads to door-knocking reps often backfires.
Today, they separate their marketing leads from door-to-door teams. Dedicated reps run inbound leads, while the rest focus on boots-on-the-ground prospecting. They’re also diving deep into metrics: click-to-lead rates, close rates, cost per job, and customer acquisition cost (CAC).
“If you can’t measure it, don’t start. You’re just throwing money away.”
The Operational Reboot: If He Had to Start Again
If Marty had to start over, he’d be laser-focused on structure. Salespeople would only sell. A dedicated operations team would handle everything else. The goal? A scalable model that delivers consistent, high-quality customer experiences—without overloading reps or bottlenecking operations.
“The lie is that it’s easier when one person does everything. That only works until you hit three sales reps.”
The Operational Reboot: If He Had to Start Again
Topic: Operations-Management
Q: How can field supervisors improve roofing job quality and communication?
A: Field supervisors serve as dedicated on-site project managers who oversee installation quality, maintain homeowner communication, and handle walkthroughs. Their presence reduces callbacks, improves reviews, and allows sales reps to focus solely on selling.
Topic: Sales
Q: Should roofing sales reps manage production too?
A: No. Marty recommends drawing a clear line between sales and production. Sales reps should set homeowner expectations and then fully hand off the job to production teams to prevent miscommunication and burnout.
Topic: Operations-Management
Q: What’s a “project examination” and why does it matter?
A: It’s a pre-installation review that checks job details for potential problems—like flashing, stucco, and ventilation issues—before crews arrive. Catching problems early saves money and avoids surprises during installation.
Topic: Marketing
Q: Can door-to-door sales reps handle marketing leads effectively?
A: Not usually. Marty found that mixing lead types confused reps and diluted their efforts. It’s better to assign marketing leads to dedicated reps who can handle scheduled appointments and follow-up efficiently.
Topic: Growth-Expansion
Q: Is it better to expand service areas or stay local?
A: Staying local allows for better quality control and lower overhead. Spreading out too quickly can overextend field supervisors, strain logistics, and reduce marketing ROI.
Topic: Technology-Innovation
Q: How can roofing companies reduce onboarding time for new supervisors?
A: Use templates, systems, and a clear training structure. Marty’s team leverages company cam templates and checklists to bring new hires up to speed faster.
Topic: Customer-Service
Q: What small actions help drive positive reviews from homeowners?
A: Sheegog incentivizes field supervisors to ask for reviews, take a photo with an “I love my roof” sign, and collect referrals during final walkthroughs—small steps that drive big reputation gains.
Topic: Education-Training
Q: How can you train reps to handle homeowner handoffs better?
A: Script the sales-to-production transition, use contract calls to set expectations, and remind homeowners throughout who their point of contact is. Training sales reps on this process is critical for buy-in.
Topic: Finance-Accounting
Q: How do you determine an acceptable customer acquisition cost (CAC)?
A: First, establish your CAC range based on expected job profitability. Then work backwards through your metrics—click-to-lead, booking rate, close rate—to ensure you’re staying within that range.
Topic: Operations-Management
Q: How do you track job performance and find operational weaknesses?
A: Start with a simple spreadsheet logging leaks and callbacks. Over time, build this into a broader system to identify crew issues, installation trends, and areas that need tighter SOPs.
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