Business View Magazine - October 2018

62 63 To date, Best Choice Roofing has completed over 30,000 projects –99 percent of them on residential properties. Holloway explains how his company operates, and what differentiates it from the competition: “There are two different depart- ments in the organization– the sales department and production.We’re different, and unique, in the fact that most roofing companies let their sales persons handle projects all the way from knock- ing on the door, to explaining to the customer what the roofing problems are, all the way to the completion of the roofing project. I don’t want to do that. I fully understand that, most of the time, I’m going to hire a salesperson who was like me back in 2009. They know how to sell; they know what storm damage is; and they understand the basic concepts of roofing, so they can be there for the customer. But, I don’t want my sales guys out there on the job, installing and supervising. “So, once my sales people find a customer, they meet with the insurance adjuster; they discuss the damage and what it will take to get the roof back to pre-storm condition; then engage in a contract with the customer; then turn the con- tract over to the office. And my sales people are done, because, at that point, it becomes a pro- duction challenge. That’s when my people in the field, the project managers who have extensive BEST CHOICE ROOFING AND HOME IMPROVEMENT INC. backgrounds in construction, use the crews that they’ve hired. They assign a roofing crew that we thoroughly vet –workers’ comp, general liability, background checks, we ensure they have a driv- er’s license and automobile insurance coverage. Once we vet these contractors, we sign them as a subcontractor to install the job and that’s where my production managers and project managers are responsible for ensuring that the job is com- pleted in a timely fashion, that it’s done to man- ufacturer’s specifications, and that the customer is satisfied. Those people are hired in the local markets.When we open an office, the first thing we do is hire an office administrator, locally. She’s the one who will start answering the phones and handling paperwork. Shortly, thereafter, we’ll hire a project or production manager. Then, he or she will hire the crews, and then, I usually will trans- plant either a GM or an SM to hire local people to become sales people. And then, hopefully, we’ll find somebody with some talent and bring them up the ranks, give them a management position, and move onto the next one.” According to Holloway, some of those “next ones” include newly opened offices in Arling- ton, Virginia, Birmingham, Alabama, and Tampa, Florida. “And I’ve got my eyes on another couple of markets,” he adds. “The furthest west that I