Key takeaways

DTE hasn’t knocked doors in about two years. Leads come from brokered relationships with insurance agents, tree companies, real estate agents, home inspectors and handymen.
Anyone who is inside customers’ homes is a potential partner.
Cold emails to agents ask for a lunch meeting and aren’t a pitch for preferred-roofer status. Donovan’s estimate is that 100 emails get roughly 20 takers.
Pitching agents: you make their customers happier and make them look better. Donovan says DTE has never compensated agents for referrals.
State Farm agents are DTE’s biggest referral source. Offering to review stalled, difficult claims is the quickest way in.
After a roof sale, ask for the customer’s insurance agent and hand-deliver paperwork for any shingle-class premium discount.
New reps shadow agent meetings instead of learning door knocking.
DTE’s evidence package, paired with lump-sum pricing, gets approved about 60% of the time up front.
When a carrier “requests” something, ask whether it’s a request or a requirement.
Donovan’s expected ramp-up for the agent model is about a month to see consistent leads.
Ken’s view: the better you get at retail, the better you get at claims.

Mentioned in the episode

Chris Zimmerman and John (board of advisors and mentors)
Exactimate, Roofle-style instant quote tools, Eagle View, SRS and ABC
State Farm and Allstate
GAF and the Power Roofing model
Fair Labor Standards Act and 1099 considerations (Donovan notes he isn’t an attorney)

Find the guest: DTE Roofing (https://www.dteroofingllc.com/), Facebook DTE Roofing, Donovan Davis and Mitchell Davis on Facebook.

Note: the transcript spells Roofle as “ruffle” in places, so double-check the product name before publishing.

Search Keywords

roofing podcast, Kitchen Table podcast, Ken Baden, Donovan Davis, DTE Roofing, roofing sales, insurance restoration, roofing insurance claims, evidence package, Exactimate alternative, roofing referrals, State Farm agents, insurance agent referrals, stop door knocking, roofing lead generation, roofing business growth, retail roofing, instant quote roofing, Roofle, roofing supplements, Diversified Roofer, Potomac Custom Remodeling, Columbus Ohio roofer, roof claim approval

Timestamps

00:00:18 – Intro and welcome to Donovan Davis of DTE Roofing
00:00:55 – Chris Zimmerman as mentor, and the evidence package’s impact on approvals
00:01:57 – Ohio market, retail vs. insurance mix, and the Columbus storm
00:02:53 – How Donovan and his brother got into roofing
00:03:57 – The low barrier to entry and why it hurts the industry
00:05:00 – Hiring lessons and a rep filing claims on his own
00:06:36 – Pop-up storms, running a clean business, and the 1099/FLSA lesson
00:08:59 – Contractor licensing in Ohio and Pennsylvania
00:10:40 – Treating insurance work like retail and moving off Exactimate
00:11:40 – Lump-sum pricing and instant quote tools
00:14:30 – Retail options and good-better-best packages
00:15:50 – GAF/Power Roofing model and ventilation
00:17:15 – Referrals and finding the “dance partner” in a neighborhood
00:19:00 – Professional referral partnerships and the cold email to agents
00:21:29 – State Farm agents as the biggest referral source
00:22:50 – Building the agent network and post-roof insurance paperwork
00:25:30 – No door knocking: training new reps on agent meetings
00:28:30 – State Farm focus and selling agents on making them look better
00:29:30 – Frivolous claims and honest inspections
00:31:45 – Ramp-up timeline and winning agents with stalled claims
00:33:00 – No compensation to agents, and keeping the model clean
00:33:37 – Exactimate writers and supplementing in-house
00:34:40 – The two-step evidence package
00:35:45 – Request vs. requirement, and the Allstate call story
00:38:15 – Reasonable pricing and local price verification
00:40:00 – Wrap-up: ages, three years in business, and community
00:41:35 – Exit strategy and EBITDA mindset
00:42:25 – Retail vs. insurance focus and plans for spring
00:43:55 – Where to find Donovan and DTE Roofing
00:44:50 – Chris’s plane, Diversified Roofer and closing

The Kitchen Table

Message History

Delivery option(s)