Sales Reps: Stop Making These Common Mistakes

Summary

Podcast Summary: Sales Reps: Stop Making These Common Mistakes

Podcast Information:

• Title: Andy Elliott's Elite Mindset Motivation and Sales Training
• Host/Author: Andy Elliott
• Description: Andy Elliott, CEO of The Elliott Group, is dedicated to training salespeople globally to reach their full potential. With over 20 years of experience, Andy transforms sales skills overnight, catering to both newcomers and seasoned professionals.
• Episode: Sales Reps: Stop Making These Common Mistakes
• Release Date: March 20, 2025

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Introduction: Embracing Unexpected Journeys

Andy Elliott kicks off the episode by sharing an inspiring story about Mark Robinette, a sales rep who never imagined a career in roofing during his high school years. After struggling with various jobs post-college, Mark took a leap into roofing sales, which transformed his life over the past 11 years.

Andy Elliott [00:00]: "Most people don't know what industry will take them to the promised land. You might be in one right now trying to make something work and it's not."

Mark's journey underscores the theme that success often comes from unexpected places, encouraging listeners to remain open-minded about their career paths.

Section 1: Understanding the Types of Salespeople

Mark and Andy delve into the different personalities in sales, emphasizing that success doesn't require being the stereotypical loudmouth salesperson. Instead, being relational and educative can lead to natural and sustainable sales growth.

Mark Robinette [05:36]: "Have the knowledge to educate them, and the sale will naturally happen."

Mark shares his approach of treating sales interactions with respect and authenticity, likening it to “dating a client's daughter” to build trust without high-pressure tactics.

Mark Robinette [05:53]: "You could crack a few jokes. Just get them to like you."

Section 2: The Power of Self-Belief and Perseverance

The conversation highlights the critical role of self-belief and perseverance in sales. Mark recounts the story of a sales rep who, despite initial setbacks and personal challenges, persisted and achieved remarkable success.

Mark Robinette [08:32]: "He never gave up on himself. He kept pushing, and in his first nine months, he made over 100 grand."

Andy emphasizes that many talented individuals fail not because of a lack of skill but due to insufficient perseverance.

Andy Elliott [10:04]: "If you have perseverance, that's one."

Section 3: Discipline Over Freedom

Mark discusses the importance of discipline in a sales role that offers significant freedom, such as roofing sales. Without self-discipline, the flexibility can lead to inconsistent work habits that hinder success.

Mark Robinette [12:23]: "Discipline is the building block to all success."

Andy reinforces this by cautioning against the dangers of excessive freedom without structure, likening it to wanting to work whenever and however one pleases without accountability.

Section 4: Building a Sustainable Book of Business

Mark shares strategies for establishing a reliable client base, emphasizing the use of social media and referrals over traditional cold calling.

Mark Robinette [32:27]: "We capture leads by converting social media interactions into direct sales conversations."

He explains his method of leveraging client testimonials on platforms like Facebook and Instagram to attract new referrals organically.

Section 5: Leveraging Social Media and Referrals

The duo explores effective marketing techniques, particularly the power of social media in generating leads and building a network of referrals. Mark illustrates how tagging satisfied clients and engaging with their responses can expand one's reach effortlessly.

Mark Robinette [34:27]: "We use social media to turn likes into leads by engaging with comments and sending direct messages."

Andy highlights the importance of creating a strong online presence to facilitate continuous business growth without relentless door-to-door efforts.

Section 6: Long-Term Growth and Leadership Opportunities

Mark outlines the growth trajectory within his company, Priority Roofing, which focuses on promoting from within. He shares his personal experience of climbing the ranks by proving himself and earning respect from peers.

Mark Robinette [36:54]: "Everyone that's in is running a branch and some get part ownership."

This approach fosters a culture of internal growth and leadership development, encouraging sales reps to aspire beyond their initial roles.

Section 7: Choosing the Right Company for Success

A critical discussion revolves around selecting a company that prioritizes employee growth and maintains a positive culture. Mark contrasts Priority Roofing's supportive environment with his previous experiences in less favorable organizations.

Mark Robinette [39:48]: "We want people to like where they work. It's not toxic. We're not just cherry-picking from the outside."

Andy underscores the importance of aligning with a company that genuinely invests in its employees' success and well-being.

Section 8: Overcoming Ego and Building Trust

Mark and Andy discuss the necessity of setting aside personal ego to embrace trust in leadership, which is essential for professional growth and opportunity within the company.

Mark Robinette [37:58]: "When you find a good company with good standards... they want everyone to respect you as you rise."

This mindset shift helps sales reps focus on collective success rather than individual accolades, fostering a collaborative environment.

Section 9: Market Advantage in Texas

Mark highlights the benefits of operating in Texas, a state with no income tax, frequent hailstorms (a significant factor for roofing sales), and a diverse, entrepreneurial population. These conditions make Texas an ideal market for roofing sales professionals.

Mark Robinette [22:55]: "Probably 99% of our work is insurance."

Andy echoes this by emphasizing the strategic advantage of being in a state that supports roofing businesses with a robust insurance-driven market.

Conclusion: Embrace the Opportunity

Andy concludes by encouraging listeners to seize the opportunity to join Mark's team, highlighting the potential for substantial earnings and personal growth within a supportive and dynamic company. He underscores the importance of finding the right leadership and company culture to achieve long-term success.

Andy Elliott [44:19]: "I've seen so many people get in the roofing space that have so much potential, but they go to the wrong place and then they drop out and settle for less."

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Andy Elliott [00:00]: "Most people don't know what industry will take them to the promised land. You might be in one right now trying to make something work and it's not."
• Mark Robinette [05:36]: "Have the knowledge to educate them, and the sale will naturally happen."
• Mark Robinette [08:32]: "He never gave up on himself. He kept pushing, and in his first nine months, he made over 100 grand."
• Andy Elliott [10:04]: "If you have perseverance, that's one."
• Mark Robinette [12:23]: "Discipline is the building block to all success."
• Mark Robinette [32:27]: "We capture leads by converting social media interactions into direct sales conversations."
• Mark Robinette [34:27]: "We use social media to turn likes into leads by engaging with comments and sending direct messages."
• Mark Robinette [36:54]: "Everyone that's in is running a branch and some get part ownership."
• Mark Robinette [39:48]: "We want people to like where they work. It's not toxic. We're not just cherry-picking from the outside."
• Mark Robinette [37:58]: "When you find a good company with good standards... they want everyone to respect you as you rise."
• Mark Robinette [22:55]: "Probably 99% of our work is insurance."
• Andy Elliott [44:19]: "I've seen so many people get in the roofing space that have so much potential, but they go to the wrong place and then they drop out and settle for less."

Key Takeaways

1. Self-Belief and Perseverance: Essential for overcoming challenges and achieving sales success.
2. Discipline Over Freedom: Maintaining self-discipline ensures productivity and personal growth, even in flexible sales roles.
3. Building Relationships: Focus on educating clients and building trust rather than using high-pressure sales tactics.
4. Leveraging Referrals and Social Media: Utilize social platforms and client referrals to organically grow your business.
5. Growth Opportunities: Choose companies that promote from within and offer leadership development based on performance and respect.
6. Market Advantage: Operating in a supportive market like Texas can significantly enhance sales prospects.
7. Overcoming Ego: Setting aside personal ego to embrace trust in leadership fosters a collaborative and growth-oriented environment.
8. Choosing the Right Company: Align with a company that genuinely invests in employee success and maintains a positive culture to ensure long-term career fulfillment.

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This episode serves as a motivational and strategic guide for sales representatives aiming to eliminate common mistakes, enhance their performance, and achieve both personal and professional success. By emphasizing self-belief, discipline, relationship-building, and choosing the right opportunities, Andy Elliott and Mark Robinette provide actionable insights for transforming one's sales career.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign. Hey guys, Andy Elliot, in this video I want to talk about the opportunity for a lot of you to really change your life. And you know, like, and by the way, this can be a value video, okay. But also it's just like everyone, everyone starts somewhere. And most people, I was talking to Mark, which I'll get to Mark in a second, about how most people, you know, when he was in high school, he didn't think he was going to end up in roofing. If I would have told Mark in high school, hey Mark, you're going to end up earning all of your wealth and roofing, he'd be like, what? And you know, again, he goes off to college, you get out of college, you sell gym memberships, you're doing that thing and you know, someone throws this crazy idea out there, which we'll get into that. And you know, and for the last 11 years he spent his life in roofing and he has a beautiful family, three kids, crushing it, killing it financially. Great. Building a massive team, love seeing his guys make money, love to see his clients happy. I mean, just cool, right? So I want to just start this video by telling you, I think that a lot of people don't, don't know what is going to be the industry that's going to take them to the promised land. And you might be in one right now trying to make something work and it's not working. And maybe you need to listen and watch this full video and we can maybe talk about how you found your journey and then also about the thing that maybe you would think is the thing that wouldn't be it ends up being it. And so be open minded, right?

[B]

100.

[A]

You wouldn't have got out of the gym membership deal if you weren't open minded about this crazy guy talking about roofs. Okay? And then also I look, Mark's a savage, okay? He's strong, he's fit, he's a good looking dude. You know, he's athletic. But I don't take you off as a high loudmouth sales guy.

[B]

No, definitely not.

[A]

Okay. But they need to know that because people think about salespeople and they're like, oh, it's like an Andy Elliott type guy doing that and that. And that's not it, you know. So number one guys, I got Mark here and he's a savage. He's out of Dallas, Fort Worth, Texas area. He is building a massive team. Mark is very close to me. He said, andy, I'm looking, you know, I'm looking for about 20 more really strong men or women, people that, you know, want to change their life and want to be a part of a really strong team. And so I was like, dude, I got the people, man. I promise you. So if you're watching this, like, pay attention. That could be you. And you'll have a number to text Mark and reach out to him and you guys can have a conversation. But. But Mark talking about, like, not being a salesy sales guy, but now here you are the last 11 years, you're in roofing sales, and you obviously run your company now. But. But sales is what changed your whole life, right? Can you talk to us a little bit about, like, there's two types of sales guys. So obviously people understand that. They view maybe a guy like me that's really outspoken, you know, who's. Who's real. You know, I might be loud. I might be like that, like, talk to the rest of the world that says, and I want to say something. I think this is the reason why a lot of people don't get a sales. They can't. They can't stomach the risk. Right, right. Like, and I hear people say, oh, I've tried sales. It didn't work. That guy can stomach the risk and he'll never get that big life he wanted. So he'll settle. And then also, you know, it takes courage, right. You know, to get out there. But I want them to know that they don't have to be built like me. Right. And I love that. I think this is a really good opportunity for you to tell how you got in sales and how with your personality, you strived in sales and maybe talk a little bit about, you know, this opportunity with you in the roofing industry and then we'll give some, maybe how you grew up and stuff.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, definitely. You know, with how I got into roofing, I mean, it was completely blindsided. Never been on a roof. Didn't know the first thing about construction at all. But when I got out of college, I had a degree. I had a. I had a bachelor's degree in business management. I applied a bunch of places. Nobody wanted to take me as you know, because with somebody with no experience straight out of college. So I ended up settling for selling Gym memberships, making 30 grand a year. Obviously, I found out pretty quick that's not going to carry my life. That's not going to get me to where I want to go. Yeah. And, you know, I had just kind of a friend just tell me, hey, like, get into roofing sales. And I'm like, roofing sales I've never been on a roof. I don't know the first thing about construction. Like, I. No. No way.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You're like, no, no, no. You just. You just learn how to sell it. You understand the roof, and, you know, you can make good money. Obviously, you have the crews that, you know, do the work for you. You just got to talk to people. And I was like, well, I could talk to people.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, that was the biggest thing. And so I said, hey, screw it. Let's go for it.

[A]

Walk us through this.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like you're. You're from. Let's go back in time.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then walk us through. I'm a guy that's not the loudmouth guy. That's not the typical salesy person.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But your buddy's like, bro, all you're doing is educating roofs. You learn a little bit about it. You go talk to people.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And you're like, sounds too good to be true. Right, right, right.

[B]

No, for sure. And, you know, I. I was an athlete growing up, and I was never, you know, the. The. The rah rah guy, you know, the pound of the chest kind of type of guy. I always like to just, like, let my performance speak for itself. And that kind of carried over into just the professional life as well. And I think just the. The biggest thing was just being able to be relational. You know, I didn't. I didn't need to, you know, have this, you know, grand old show for them is. Is just be personal with them, have the knowledge to educate them.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And the sale will naturally happen that way. And that. That's. That's what helped me with my success, is just, you know, being that guy. You know, I. I've told a couple of my sales reps, like, hey, act like you're dating their daughter. Like you're trying to make a good impression. Very respectful.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, maybe crack a few jokes. Just get them to like you.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, that's. That's the key.

[A]

Find a place in their family.

[B]

Yeah. 100. Yeah.

[A]

Such good.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I love what he said. I caught this. You said make the cell happen naturally. I think a lot of sales people think that everything is about, like, I say this, they say this, I say that. It's like a word play game. And really, at the end of the day, when it happens naturally, people are happy to spend. They don't want to shop. They make a decision to do business with you. Whether you're higher, lower, better. It doesn't matter, really. At the end of the day, roof's a commodity 100% and you're not 100%.

[B]

And honestly, the way I look at it is it didn't matter what logo I had. It didn't matter what company I worked for. They're. I'm selling me and they're buying me. Right. And that. That carried me a long way. You know, and when I first got into roofing, I was with pretty bad operating company.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

You know, but I. That's where I didn't know your teeth. Yeah. I didn't know better. You know, this is kind of all I know. But I'm selling me, and it doesn't really matter what logo I had. Even even though I'm behind closed doors, the company wasn't operating the way it should have been. Yeah. But people were still. They were buying me. They didn't really care to look up my company. They just liked Mark. And that's the biggest thing, and that's kind of what I try to implement into my sales team, is get them to buy you, you know, and hey, we have a fantastic company. Fantastic backing, you know, where you have that in your back pocket. But at the end of the day, they want to work with somebody they trust.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, and they. They believe everything they're saying. They know you're going to get. You're. They're at peace that knowing that you're going to do a great job for them.

[A]

That's crazy, man. Talk to us about some of the guys on your team that are doing really well. What are some of the things that they're doing to be successful? Like if we were to make a human.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like there's one watching this right now. And how would we know that they'd be perfect? So if we were to make a human. Right.

[B]

Y.

[A]

That would be perfect for your team. What. What does that look like?

[B]

It really comes down to self belief and. And believing in yourself and understanding that you can do it. Because I have. I have one of our top sales reps and he's a fantastic, fantastic guy. I almost didn't hire him. He's. He was overweight, kind of looked a little lethargic to me and was kind of soft spoken.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But he made me believe that he was going to be able to do whatever he put his mind to. He made me believe that. And so I gave him a chance.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And you know, at the beginning, it was hard. It was very hard for him. And he's got a wife, he's got two kids, and he didn't know how he's going to pay his mortgage by month two. You know, because he was kind of going through some struggles. But after multiple conversations with him, what I really got out of it was he told me like, I believe I can do this. It's not happening right now, but I believe I can do this. And he never gave up on himself. And he kept pushing and he kept pushing and I saw, you know him, all the failures he went through early on and he kept pushing, kept pushing in his first nine months, ended up making over 100 grand.

[A]

That's awesome.

[B]

And then year two he made over 300 grand.

[A]

And, and it's from a guy you never thought would.

[B]

A guy I almost didn't hire. But he had so much self belief in himself and he, he, and he had a big. Why Obviously he had a wife, he had two kids, he had had a mortgage that he had to pay. He was, he was the provider of his family and his self belief has carried him to the point where he's at now.

[A]

It's amazing.

[B]

It's absolutely amazing.

[A]

So, so, so number one, if you're watching this, I mean obviously in any industry, this is value to take to any company, right? Yeah. I think it's two things. Number one, self belief. If you don't believe in yourself, you're obviously going to quit at some point. And then talking about the quitting thing, you said the reason why he made it is because he didn't quit. I think perseverance is something that's really lacking in the world. You know, pushing through.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

And, and you know, they teach. There's a, I want to say this. There's a lot of very talented people who are unsuccessful. Have you noticed how many talented people there are? Have you ever talked to somebody and you're like, dude, you are overqualified for this job. But they are unsuccessful. No perseverance.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

They quit. Yeah. And, or they don't believe. And so if you believe, if you have perseverance, that's one. What are, what are a couple other things that you, you like? Maybe I'll get, I'll throw out some ideas to let you fish in, but maybe values, standards, you know, work ethic. I mean things that you see what bring these high producers out. Average people. What turns average people to great in your company? Like that guy was average. He turned great.

[B]

It's implementing discipline in their life. And with this type of sales, there's not a clock in, clock out. You know, I, I train them, I give them, you know, all the tools to be successful early on, but from there, I'm not going to micromanage them. You know, I don't want to. I don't want to be breathing over their shoulder, calling them, hey, where you at? What are you doing today? What's your plan? I need people that are going to go do it regardless because they want to make a better life for themselves and they want to take that next step. And it starts with discipline. Right. And I'm not telling you, you have to be here at a certain time. You're going to wake yourself up and start your day and go where you need to go by yourself.

[A]

That's huge.

[B]

Right. And the beauty of the roofing sales is you have that freedom, you know, but some people take a little too much advantage of it.

[A]

Some people need a babysitter, I would say, you know, like, people are like, you know, I don't want to be micromanaged. You know, I don't want a boss. You know, I want to. I want to work for myself.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. And then they go work for themselves, or they go. And they don't have a micromanager on them. And they don't work.

[B]

They don't work.

[A]

I mean, honestly, freedom is very dangerous. You know, if you. If I say, hey, you can wake up whenever you want, go to sleep whenever you want. No rules, no boundaries. Yep. No rules, no boundaries.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Now, that dream that you say that you want.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You. You. You do that thing now.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And a lot of people, they. They don't operate that way. So. So discipline is the building block to all success. And you're saying that they need to be super disciplined, which means they just need to do what they say they're going to do.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

And you know what? I love what he said. If you listen to this and it's cool, how many of you right now, you want to go on vacation when you want. You want to go to your kids games. I mean, you don't miss a kid's game.

[B]

I don't miss my kids games.

[A]

Okay. So you say, well, hold on, wait a minute. You're in sales, and you don't miss a kid's game, and you don't have to clock in and clock out. So with Mark's company, you come in and work, and it's time to work, and then when it's time to be with your family, you go be with your family. And then we understand that sometimes, you know, weekdays can look different. Some days, you know, some weekends you might want to grind and work, and some weekends you're like, no, I'm gonna spend that with my family. As long as. When you're having the opportunity to work your own, basically you have a. The people that work for you have a life by design.

[B]

Definitely.

[A]

And. And that's. And that's super cool. And everybody, I believe, wants that. But you just have to be disciplined or else that life by design will go right in the trash can because you'll look up and you'll be lazy. Because the flesh wants to be lazy.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It doesn't. I mean, dude, honestly, we all started. I'm a savage. Yeah, you're savage, but your body doesn't want you to always be a savage. I didn't wake up. Want to wake up at 5:00am this morning.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But I did because I knew that if I didn't, I would hate me later.

[B]

Y.

[A]

And so I went. And I hated me then, but I loved me now.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And so I think that when you feed the flesh, you end up hating yourself.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

You know, success.

[B]

Success comes with sacrifice. You know, you have to. You have to have some sacrifice to be successful. And, you know, obviously I don't. I don't want anybody to be that. To be perceived the wrong way. Like, hey, you got to like, you know, work from 8am to 8pm and forgive.

[A]

We just said don't sacrifice the family.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

Yeah. You're saying that the discipline, when it's time to work, you work. And if you do that, then you don't have to sacrifice those precious things. The God relationship, the wife relationship, the children relationship, your physical fitness relationship, you. You can keep all those intact and in store. Just because when you're at work, you're working, it'd be like going to the gym and thinking about being at home with your family. You wouldn't get in shape. Or going home with your family and then thinking about being at the gym.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

I think the reason why most people get beat is because they're not really where they are. Yeah, right.

[B]

Yeah, absolutely.

[A]

Have you ever read that book, Napoleon Hill? Outwitting the Devil?

[B]

I have not.

[A]

Dude, it's so good. And basically, Napoleon Hill, you should study him. He. I mean, way back in the day, 1930, he had this dream, right? And he was talking to the devil. And this devil's explaining to him how he owns 98% of the world. He goes, I own their mind. I'm in their mind. I live in their mind. I make up stories, fake stories, false things, things that don't even exist. I create fear anxiety. Now, the 2% that don't let me in their head are the successful people. And Napoleon is like, I'm gonna outwit the devil. And so in his dream, he. He starts writing this play to run on how to every morning, wake up, your mind isn't your friend. And so you have to be really good to yourself, and you have to be grateful. And then you have to study and feed your mind some good stuff. And when you do that, then your day goes really well. Now, that day can be one. But then the next morning, your mind wakes up again after a good night's sleep, and it's not your friend again.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

And every morning, you have to turn your mind around and make it your friend every morning. And he said, that's how we're going to outwit the devil. And I'm going to go teach the whole world how to do this, because I'm going to. This is going to be my ministry.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then the devil, before the dream was over, goes, you release that book, I'll hurt your family. I'll take all your money. I'll ruin your life. I will kill the people you love. And it was so real. He never wrote the book or he never released a book. Dude.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

It's set in his drawer. He died in 1980. His wife died in 1990. And I think they released the book, his foundation, in 2007 or 2011. And now, like, hundreds of millions of people have read it. You need to read it. It'll give you chills, bro. And he never released it. Like, he was like, we're not releasing this book.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

But it was called Outwitting the Devil. Oh, is that crazy?

[B]

That is crazy. And then at the very end, it got him.

[A]

Yeah, at the very end. You know, it eventually came out. Right. But the idea of it is, isn't it true, though? You know? So my question would be, like, a lot of people are in a job right now, just like you were in the gym space. Two things. Some of them, they're not making what they want, and they're not really happy about it, but they don't believe in themselves enough to do. Like, I'm not good at sales. I can't do that. That is an absolute lie. The devil's telling you that there's no evidence of that, especially if you've been around a good leader. And then secondly, I call this the golden handcuff syndrome. You might have people watching this that are like, I make six figures a year, you know? And they're like, oh, well, here's the Deal. Forget money for a minute. Okay. And even if you're making 700 grand a year and his opportunity could be 400 grand a year, what value is it to stay where you're at to make money? If you don't have an on fire relationship with your, with your wife or your husband, your children, you're not in physically great shape. You don't love yourself, you don't have a good relationship with God, and you're burned out and you're just working and it is a job.

[B]

Mm.

[A]

Right. What, what would you talk to people about? Like, like that? Because a lot of people are really qualified for a really special life.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And there's probably someone watching you right now. That's like. That would be my dream life, you know, like not to have be micromanaged. Just wake up, take my kids to school and then go work my freaking butt off.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Take a date night every week, spend time with my family. You know, do this. But when I work, I work and I don't want, I don't want. See, because I was in the car business, right? Like I worked from 7 in the morning till 11 at night and there was no. Like you didn't leave.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, like you get fired when you leave, but because of what you do, you, you work as hard as you want, as much as you want. You can earn as big as you want and the commissions are a little bigger, so the volume can be a little less.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

You know what I mean? And it's really a numbers game with the good attitudes. What would you tell somebody, like, that's maybe in a job, right. That's not getting everything that they want in life and they're settling for money or somebody who's in a job that's not paying very much money, but maybe they have a good life, but they could earn more and be with a good company.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

How would we slay all these dragons in their head? You know, because you've went through this.

[B]

It's in, in my opinion, it's the best job in the world because I'm not sitting behind a desk. You know, I'm not clocking in at 8:00am and you know, I obviously I've talked to a lot of people in the car business business and I know the long hours that it takes in the car business and the weekends.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And a lot of sacrifice, probably too much sacrifice in a sense, if you have a family as well in this job, you can set your own schedule. Obviously you are not sitting behind a desk. You are constantly meeting New people. It's kind of a fresh every day. It's not just repetitive over and over and over the same thing. Right. And you, you, you do have challenges, but I love it. I love the challenges every day of, you know, different scenarios and, you know, customers to deal with and how to kind of. I, I love that.

[A]

I love problem solving.

[B]

Problem solving 100%. But, you know, like you said earlier, it's, hey, I can take a vacation when I want to take a vacation. You know, if I'm. I want to go to my son's coach pitch game, I'm going to be there. Right. But obviously, you know, you can't take over advantage of the schedule.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, you got to, you got to fill in. You got to fill in the, the gaps, obviously.

[A]

Well, plus. Plus, I want to say this a family that as a man, that you have this opportunity to be where you want to be when you need to be it. That family normally supports you to go work as hard as you can so that they can keep that respected life.

[B]

Amen.

[A]

Right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like your wife's like, when you go to work, you better work. Right. Because. And then there's probably periods where you'll go, like two or three months in the pain.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Right. Like you're not even coming up for air, you know, but then you got that summer where the kids are out of school and like, you know, like, that's the time where your kids are going to be home. You're going to want to spend a little more time with them again. It's a life by design for sure. You know, I'm saying, storms come in, you know, okay, we're gonna, we're gonna. You know, in the car business, when it held, you know, it was like, oh, it's time to sell some rides. You know what I'm saying? We had hell money.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, we got all these excuses and mean people's car got blown, their windshields blown out. We're ready. Same with roofs.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

If there's damage, we're time to go. I want to talk to you because we want to talk to people who have a problem.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, I'm saying. And so sales and your deal, most of the time, it's pretty much finding a home. Your area is great. Can we talk about that real quick? Okay. Because I think that everybody. I want to say this. He lives in Texas. Texas is a very great state. Unbelievable. Great tax. You guys don't even have in tax. Income taxes, no income taxes. Laws are great. I mean, everything's great. I mean, the rules are great.

[B]

That's why everybody's coming there.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's just. But it's great. I mean, warm weather most of the year. You know, I'm saying you're in a, you're. There's a lot of wealth in that area. Right. Which is good. People have money. You know, there are a lot of, you know, know, it's, it's, it's just a very. Oh, entrepreneurial area. Right. That you're in. Right. Still kind of some redneck, some country. But also it's got some city in it. A lot of city. You know what I mean?

[B]

You get the diversity with Dallas and Fort Worth, for sure.

[A]

Yeah. It's that diversity deal and, and a lot of standards. Good people, Bible belt y, you know, a lot of good Christians in that area. You know, just. But my point is just a lot of good family values. Just talking about the place. But also there's a lot of, there's a lot of weather.

[B]

It's the hail capital of the U.S.

[A]

That'S what I was going to say.

[B]

So Texas.

[A]

So living in that area where there's weather, just. So everybody understands roofing, basically, if someone has a roof, they could have qualifying damage to have it replaced by an insurance company is most of work. Insurance work. Most of it.

[B]

Probably 99% of our work is insurance.

[A]

Beautiful. So you're not like asking, just so everybody understand. I'm not like asking someone to pay, oh, like you need to give me 50,000 for a roof. No, they're. They're paying a $1500 deductible, example. And then the insurance is giving a $50,000 roof. And by the way, they've been paying for this insurance for 20 years. Is it about time that you used it? And most people don't know and that. That there's even damage on a roof. They're unaware.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

You know, because I don't know what a good roof and a bad roof looks like, but a roofer does.

[B]

If it's not leaking, it's fine.

[A]

Yes, exactly. And the, the property values to people I know are important and I know that homes are mean the biggest assets that 99 of the world will ever purchase. And so those assets, you know, they want to take care of them. They want to make sure that if an event, something happens or they want to sell or want to move, they want top dollar for that property, so they got to take care of it. And that's where they have big insurance on it. And all these other Things and you know, they're paying big monthly payments to stay in that beautiful place. It's, it's like when you're knocking on someone's door and you know, you can see qualifying damage. I mean, it's pretty simple. You're not asking them to buy anything. They've already been paying for this insurance every month in the event that needed to use it. They didn't have to come out of pocket.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

And you just have a conversation with them, right?

[B]

Absolutely. And it's not like we're, we're selling something that's not, not a necessity. Right. Like it's, it is a necessity to protect your biggest asset that you own. And so if you can kind of have the feeling like I'm here helping people, I'm knocking on this door to help them. Yeah.

[A]

And there's windows when people can file a claim, Right?

[B]

Exactly. Yes.

[A]

Yeah. And that's a big deal. Like, you know, he just said this. We don't sell anything. We help, it's called sales because we're paid commission. But these people, when there's any event of a storm or anything, and when these things happen, you know, whether it happened last year and I'm there this year, there's a window in which time that will expire and that roof will no longer be able to be covered by an insurance company. And so the sooner that, you know, a good standard, you know, education guy like yourself shows up and says, hey man, you know, can I grab a ladder and take a look? Yeah, if I, and if I see anything concerning, I'll let you know. And if I don't, I'll be on my way. Oh, okay, cool. Oh yeah, hey, I did see something concerning. I took eight pictures here. I mean, I'm pretty familiar with this. This roof right here qualifies for a new roof or for X. And people are like, fix, fix it. Yeah, I don't need anything from you.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I'm just asking, can I have permission to get it, to get it to 5 tier roof quality, like, you know, like a nice roof. And I'm not a roof sales guy, but I want to say that these guys, they're just educators. Am I right? Like, you're just educating people of damage and then help making sure that the insurance company does their job and then you guys get paid for your efforts.

[B]

Amen.

[A]

Is that right?

[B]

Exactly what it is.

[A]

Yeah, I wanted to say that because. And by the way, a lot of you right now are in sales and you're not earning 3, 400 grand a year, and you're, you know, you're in a real salesy place. And a lot of people don't like that because they're like, man, I feel like I'm high pressure and people all day long. This is just educating people. You don't pressure. Basically, you're just doing what's right. You find damage, you let people know, they say, yes, I would like to get this fixed and you get it fixed. And I think it would be pretty rare to have someone say, no, we don't want to fix our roof that has damage on it while it's qualified for the insurance to pay for it, which we've been paying for every month. Right, Right. Hey, guys, sorry to interrupt the podcast as you're listening to Mark talk about this level 10 earning opportunity. How a lot of people right now earning six figures a year and working 40 hours a week doesn't really go together. A lot of people make 30 grand a year. 40 grand a year. I'm talking if you can put in 40 hours a week, you can work hard, you can make six figures a year. And if you can be a person who's like, hey, I'm going to be a good student, I mean, you can earn up to 300 grand of 400 grand a year. I mean, could you imagine that? And so basically what it is, it's about finding the right opportunity. It's about finding the right leader in the right organization that wants to see you grow and build your family and your success. And that's Mark. And so below I'm going to put his personal cell phone number. It's this simple. If you're listening to this and you're like, hey, you know, like, I want a shot like that. All I want you to do is text Mark, say, hey, I saw you on Andy's podcast. This is who I am. And you guys can get on a call and have a conversation. Mark. Okay? And your life can be forever changed. Guys, let's get back to the video. I appreciate you. And it will be Mark physically taking these calls. That's his personal cell phone. That's how dedicated he is to finding the right people and. And building a big, beautiful team, which he has a great one now, but they're expanding it, and some of you right now could be a really big part of that. So love you guys. Let's get back to the video.

[B]

It's, it's. It's a fairly easy sale. You know, looking at it that way, I mean, it really is, because in North Texas, it happens so often too. But everybody wants to protect their biggest asset. And hey, we're just here to help. And we're here to educate them and walk them through the steps and doing it the right way and, and what we can do along the way to, to help them. And so that takes the pressure off them, you know, and hey, just, we're your concierge for this. Yeah, we kind of take the load for it.

[A]

And I'm thinking about this right now. You're not financing anything for anybody. You're not really presenting a money, monthly payment or anything like that. You're not even really discussing money except for, you know, like if you want a five star roof. Right. Like our goal is you've been paying for this insurance is to put the nicest roof possible on your house. Am I right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, I've never seen a customer go, no, put the cheapest one on there. You know, now the insurance company might say, put the cheapest one on there, which is where you step in and say, no, no, no. We want these great customers of ours to get this roof. And I think that that's kind of part of it. Like people, people need someone on their side to fight for them for the best roof. Would you agree?

[B]

Amen. Yes, absolutely.

[A]

So you're like a broker to make sure that the client gets taken care of and then basically you get paid for your efforts to make sure they get a five star roof.

[B]

Yes, yes. And obviously just bringing value in the people that can really dig into, you know, understanding that the sales aspect of the job, you know, is bring more value to the table for the customer. And in our market, we do get a lot of hail, you know, and there's, there's windows.

[A]

I bet your deal's referral big time.

[B]

Too big. I mean, that's what I lived off of, like selling.

[A]

Well, I bet that. I was just thinking, and I want everybody to think about this. What would your life look like? You join Mark's team. Okay. You work hard for a year or two, you're out in the field, you know, because you make relationships at every front door. And these storms keep reoccurring. So every time there's a storm reoccurring, Mark put my last roof on, I get hit again. I don't care about. People come by knocking on my doors. I call Mark. Mark's my guy. My buddy got hit. Call Mark. After a year or two, I believe in your business of hard work at that point, I don't think you ever even knock a door again.

[B]

No. And and that, that's what happened, right? That's what happened with me.

[A]

Okay. I'm not there, but I'm just envisioning like, like I'm trying to paint big picture because I always like to tell people, like there's today, right? Like we have to create the build. Like we have to build this when we're here today. But then, but then there's like big picture, right? What, like, what does this look like? Long range? Can you talk and talk long range? Maybe year one, year two or three. And then also opportunities to also move up and even into management with you.

[B]

Yeah. And I mean that's what I preach is, hey, you put in the work now and, and you put in hustle and grind and you really build your book of business now because the bigger you build your book of business, the more it's got a chance to expand from referrals. Right. And then those referrals give you referrals. And for me, you know, I, I really didn't have to knock doors after the first couple years because my referral and networking game was so great. And it was just, I could just sit at home, let my phone ring and I could probably make 150k.

[A]

That's it.

[B]

You know, Just let my phone ring.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, I was never that guy cuz, you know, I still wanted to hustle to get out there.

[A]

You're hungry. But that's, that's the game. If you stay in it long enough to, to make that happen, that's what happens. When I was in the car business, you know, so like in like everything has like a quota or an average, we would say, what does the average roofer put up a year or the average amount of roofs, whatever or per month, you know, like what's the, the average that the industry average? Well, so in the car business, the average was eight cars a month. Okay. They would say like eight or the gate, which means like sell eight or get out the gate and get out of here. Right. That was like the manager's deal. And my last probably six or seven years selling cars, I averaged between 60 to 70 to 80 cars a month. All two things. I never, never shook a hand on the lot. I didn't need to anymore. I didn't need to live and die by that gate.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Anymore. Waiting for people to pull in. You know, when you pull in the dealership, the people stand at the front.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Well, that was like a roofer going to hit doors. That was like us waiting because we had no book of business.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And so, you know, it was either cold calling inside, and then we'd be like, okay, I want to go stand outside now. Right? Let me get some sun. And then we come back in, hit the phones, and we would have to figure out how to make this thing start. But the biggest thing is, is social media, right? One was how I killed it. And then number two, I killed it by repeat and referral. Every time I would help a client, I would just say, hey, do I have permission to, you know, share your, you know, your experience with me on the Internet? And they would. And they'd say, yeah, that's fine. And then I would, like, say, okay, cool. Would it be okay if I tagged you in it? You know, and then you could accept, like, me and you, like, thank you so much, you know, Mark, for like, letting me serve you today. And then it would be like, Mark would, you know, hit accept, and then it would say, Andy and Mark. And that means that it would put it on Mark's page now.

[B]

Yeah, right.

[A]

That was my goal because I wanted your friends to see this post. Yeah. I wanted my friends that already knew I was doing this to see me winning again and helping people again. But I wanted your friends to see us winning together, and then they can know me. And then what would happen is, check this out. People would comment on your page, right? And they'd say, awesome, Mark, I'm glad you got taken care of. You know, looks beautiful, whatever. And then I did this thing, likes the leads. What I would do is that I would go in and like their comment, and then I would go and send them a direct message and say, hey, I saw that you liked Mark's post that I put up. Mark's incredible. By the way, if I can ever help you with anything, it doesn't matter what it is. Anyone that's a friend of Mark's is a friend of mine. I'm gonna put my personal cell phone number here below. So I don't care what it is. Even if you have a question, text me. And I appreciate you. Have a blessed day. I ran that play, and people say, well, you know, how do I qualify for this? Or how do I get that? Or, you know, you know, I'm gonna buy something six months from now, or I plan on doing something next year. And all it was was an itch. And then my job was to scratch that itch. I just needed to know that someone had a little itch, and if they itched, then I would start scratching it. Right? And I'm like, tell me about that. What's going on? Why would you think about why would next year? Why in your head, why is next year. Right. And then I would be on the phone with them and then we built a relationship and then plus me and you were good and then they knew you. I'm like, how do you know Mark? Oh my God, that's amazing. You know, it's like, it's like we were all friends and it, I call it the likes to leads game.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And so I use social media that way and then also repeat referral. And I just see a lot of people right now that are going to work really hard in 2025, but they don't have a plan or a play for 26 and 27 and 28. And if you don't start, start thinking about 26, 27 and 28. Well, 26 is going to come around and you gunned it this year, you grinded it this year. Hopefully you made some damage. But in 2026 you're like starting a new play again at some point. This year has to be a part of the three year play. And I like to be with companies that can help me with a three year play or a five year play. And so these guys, they work for you, they build their book of businesses, they become reps, they have a great, I mean you talk about family quality time. When those repeats and referrals and all this start coming in, the family quality time increases and the work time decreases and the money stays the same. And your, your, your teeter totter starts to shift because of the upfront workload you put in.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

And now you got the backside win. Right. What about, you know, advancing into your, into your leadership? Do you promote within and help people?

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

Actually your company own only promotes, only.

[B]

Then promotes from within.

[A]

Let's talk about that real quick because a lot of people don't do this and this is a big one. Their company will not bring in an outside leader.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

Under any circumstance.

[B]

That was me.

[A]

Yeah. Again, I'm glad you say so. Tell me this.

[B]

I sold roofs for six years with a different company and I was the top producer at that company. Met Will, the, the founder of our company and I came in and you know, I had more experience than anybody in the building.

[A]

Totally qualified.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

And he started me, hey, you know, hey, I want you to go through our training program. I want you to go through and sell, you know, but he told me, hey, you go out and you prove yourself, you make a name for yourself, there's going to be something for you. And that's when we were in our early stages.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And now, like, we had two locations at the time. Yeah. Now we have eight, 18 going on 25 locations just four years later. And everybody.

[A]

That's crazy, man.

[B]

Everybody that's in. In that's running a branch and some get part ownership. And they. They started the same way. There was a sale. They were a sales rep at some time within one of our branches, and they worked themselves up for sure. And that's what happened to me when I came over to Priority Roofing, started in sales.

[A]

It was an ego check, huh?

[B]

Yeah. I want to load some pride.

[A]

Well, so. And let's kind of finish out with this ego check, because this is big. And I want you to explain, like, what you went through and then why you went through it. Okay. Like, why did you believe that Will. Because you didn't know. You didn't know that Will was. Would that that could really happen. Right. But that's part of the risk of being a winner. You could have said, well, I. I have no guarantees. Well, the guarantee is, is that at some point you're gonna have to take a damn risk.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Because if you don't, you'll always be stuck and you'll always be paralyzed and always overplaying it. There's people right now that are watching this and, like, they have been knowing for a long time that they need to stop what they're doing and it's time to start something else. Because there's no 3, 5 year play where they're at right now.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And you with ego, you're number one, dude. Guys, the greatest freaking roof sales guy in the world. All of a sudden I got to go back and sell. I don't get to run a division, dude. I'm a division runner. I'm better than all these other guys. Doesn't matter. When you. When you find a good company with good standards and good values and a good organization with big opportunity, they don't care about none of that. They want to learn you. They want to get close to you. They want to start from the ground up with you. They want everyone where. When you get to where you're at, they want everyone to respect you. Isn't that cool? If they would have just let him write. Will's very, very. He's like an owl. He's very smart. Right. Very, like owl personality. Right. And I mean, like, very analytical. He won. He wanted, when you rised to everyone to respect you because they saw you rise and he knew you were.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

He didn't doubt you weren't. He just was saying, hey man, like if I believe in you and I put you in now everyone else that I put ahead of you that's been working their butt off, they're not going to work for you. Right. So talk about, let's finish with that last thing. How can someone put their ego aside to go forward because it feels like you're going two steps backwards.

[B]

It did feel that way, but I, my first company, I didn't, I didn't know. Like I thought that's, this is what it is. I just sell. That's it. I didn't know there was like room for growth and things like that until I met Will and, and really started digging into it with him and I saw the vision with him and I really trusted him. I put all my trust in him for, for joining and kind of taking, you know, a step back, go through a training, like with new higher training. He put me through that with six years of experience and I, I did that. Kind of had to swallow some pride but you know, I just had to go out there, have people respect me and then I could be elevated. And that's, that's our whole model is because we want to keep so such a good culture around it. We the people to like where they work.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's not toxic. We're not just cherry picking from the outside.

[A]

You guys have the best company ever.

[B]

Yeah, we want people. You know, the people that get elevated are the ones, people are the ones that have performed and the ones that have gained respect from their peers. And the, the growth potential has been just mind boggling over the last four or five years since I've been here. Just seeing so many people just stepping up in a new roles. And that's what I tell people when I hire them too. Like hey, you know, you come in, you prove yourself. We're a company of growth and Will's a maniac.

[A]

He's gonna, he's a man. He's a freak, bro.

[B]

Yeah. He's gonna blow this thing up. Like he's not gonna stop.

[A]

And, and he needs, and we need people. Yeah, that's right. And so someone's watching this right now and you're like, why not me? Like, when am I going to get my turn? Well, whenever you put your trust into someone like you did with Will. And here's what I'll tell you guys, just so you're aware. So the founder of Priority, of Priority Roofing, the founder, which is will, is he 32, 33 33. He don't like talk about his age, but he's very young and super mature. He's got a 75 year old brain. Like he's been on this earth for that long. Like that's how aware he is of like things. And he loves standards, respect, people, peace, family, love, God, he loves all these things. He loves seeing his people win. It's so rare to find a company that truly, genuinely wants to see their people win. It doesn't exist. I just don't see it anymore. And he does. And just like he told him that you come in, okay, which you guys have an opportunity, opportunity to text Mark right now and you guys can join with Mark. Mark started, he joined someone somewhere, some branch leader, someone who started as sales, worked up, you started for them in sales, worked up, learned, learned roofs, understood the industry, fell in love with the company and they're opening up. Like you said, they're 18 going on 25. They're not going to stop. They're going to be all over the country, all over the world. They're going to be all the United States and every state. And, and the question is, so where do you want to be? And so making that shift to run for the next couple years, you know, in Texas, you know, maybe, hey, I love Texas. Maybe you're like, I want to go to Hawaii. Who really cares? You know, I want to go to Kentucky, I want to go to Florida. I'm going to go anywhere. I mean like, you see these people moving everywhere and they all started the same way as you. And then having the opportunity to get equity and partnership, so rare. I talked to a guy last night on the phone and we'll finish with this. He's been doing this for 14 years in roof sales and he gets overrides, right? And that's cool, right? He's got a team, gets his overrides. He'll never get a piece of equity, he'll never build anything. That'll. And that's okay. But when you can find that, you're like, okay, if I'm going to give all I got, I'm going to give it there. Because the, the big picture part is where will you guys be 26, 27, 28? Where will you be four years from now in your life? Where will he be when he's 36? He made a decision when he was 28, 29, to be where, when you're 32, 33, you're going to be here and you're there. And the cool thing is that you're about to go there and now you're looking for the next people that are going to run with you. And so guys, you met Mark. Dude, I, I love your style. Like, I love it. I love the, I love the, you know, iron handshake, you know, like, like military, like we're gonna, we're gonna shake on this deal, like, type business transaction doesn't exist much anymore. I love that, you know, like, we're all built a little different. I've always been built like I'm gonna be the hype guy, get everybody excited. But then there's always that quiet guy in the corner corner that you're like, watch out for that guy. Okay? And then that guy, he's just very observant. And by the way, he can talk probably better than anyone in the room. He just is, uses his words when it's time. He's a sniper, you know, I'm saying? And so I love that. So when you're watching this man, sales and leadership will get you rich. A lot of people don't know this. A lot of people took a risk in sales and they took it at the wrong job, man. I got a buddy, dude, he was so good and he went work for the wrong guy and it was just a bad experience and he just hates sales because of that. And now he makes about 120 grand a year and the guy should be a 2 million dollar a year earner. Freedom.

[B]

I've seen so many people get in the roofing space that have so much potential, but they go to the wrong, the wrong place.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And then they drop out and they're doing the same thing, settling for less.

[A]

Dude, I get it. Like, listen, dude, like, hey, it's like being in a bad relationship, right? If I was in a bad one, I'd be like, dude, I'm not ever going to be in a relationship again. Like, that one was horrible. She broke my heart. It was horrible. It was nasty. It sucked. But not all relationships are like that. You would be an idiot to, to stop believing that good relationships exist. I have a very good relationship with my wife. It just sometimes takes, you know, a little bit of time. That next thing could be that next handshake, the person you meet, which you guys are meeting Mark now. One handshake can change your whole life. I learned one speaking event can change your life. One speaker, one podcast, one one thing. And so if you're watching this, you guys are getting a really good connection to totally transform, change your life, have the greatest opportunity ever. You know, build something special. Make. Make your life count. Leave your mark. Build a legacy. Okay? If you want to be a legacy builder, you got to find somebody that wants you to build a legacy, and they're going to help you to do it, and that's this guy. So, Mark, I appreciate it. Do you use social media?

[B]

Need to get better at it. I have it. I need to be better.

[A]

If somebody wants to go, like, follow you, find you, and you don't use it a lot, but, like, if they did, what would it be? On Instagram or Facebook?

[B]

You can find me on Facebook at Mark Robinette. R O B I, N E, T T E. Or Instagram @robinette10.

[A]

Robinette10.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Okay, guys, Facebook, Instagram. You guys could go hit them with the direct message there. Do you check your messages?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay, you guys go hit him with the direct message there. Or you guys can just text them. That's easy. So we love you guys. Appreciate it, man. And maybe you watch this and you made it to the end, and maybe this isn't for you and this has helped you, but maybe this is for someone you know, and you're like, I'm gonna send this to my buddy. This is perfect. There you go. Pass it along. Okay. Appreciate you guys. We'll see you in the next video.