How roofing service divisions are shaping industry resilience

By Jesse Sanchez. 

Building a solid foundation for consistent revenue and customer trust in roofing. 

In this episode of Roofing Road Trips®, host Heidi J. Ellsworth explores the growth and potential of service and maintenance programs in the roofing industry, featuring insights from experts Will Riley of Centerpoint Connect and Chad Westbrook of Service Alignment. These two professionals discuss the critical changes roofing companies must make to launch and sustain profitable service divisions. 

Will and Chad highlight a shift toward “recurring revenue,” expressing how proactive maintenance creates steady income and cultivates long-term client relationships. “With preventative maintenance agreements, it allows you to be able to get on that roof one, two, four times, whatever it is per year,” Chad explains, adding that regular inspections not only ensure roof quality but allow contractors to assess potential future repairs and sales. 

COVID-19 marked a turning point in the industry, Will notes, driving a renewed focus on service. Many large-scale projects were delayed, leading roofing contractors to pivot toward maintenance to keep business flowing. “Service really became that front-and-center way to be able to say, ‘Well, they’re not replacing their roof so what are they doing?’ They’re repairing it,” Chad recalls. This trend persists, with many building owners now accustomed to regular maintenance as part of their property management. 

The discussion also reveals the internal hurdles roofing companies often face when implementing service divisions, particularly cultural resistance and process changes. Will points out that service operations cannot be simply added onto existing re-roofing workflows. “You can’t pull a guy off a production crew who’s used to banging out squares and put him in a service truck and expect him to take care of a customer,” he explains. Instead, success lies in aligning team structures and training employees to think differently about customer needs. 

An essential strategy for fostering this culture, according to Chad, is adopting the mindset of “Act As If.” This philosophy encourages employees to approach each project as if they were working on their own property. “If this was your building, would you ignore the fasteners that were missing, the sealant that was failing?” Chad says, stressing the importance of integrity and customer-first thinking in building a sustainable service model. 

Read the transcript, Listen to the full episode or Watch the video to learn more about what a service division can do for your company and how you can start one.