The Chamber Members Podcast Episode 9 - Brian Roach Always Be Fair Roofing & Restoration

Welcome to the Chamber Members podcast! In this episode, we have an exciting lineup for you. We'll be sharing a valuable business tip of the week, making some essential chamber announcements, and introducing our special guest, Brian Roach, from Always Be Fair Roofing.

Before we dive into the content, we'd like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our sponsor, U.S. Benefits Group, for supporting this episode. If you're in need of health insurance solutions for your individual or small business needs, reach out to USAA Benefits Group at 3302089455.

Our business tip of the week is brought to you by SBS Consulting Systems. Shawn Hetrick, an expert from their team, will discuss effective ways to motivate employees. As each employee is unique, understanding their strengths, weaknesses, and personalities can help tailor motivation strategies for better results.

Now, let's welcome our special guest, Brian Roach, from Always Be Fair Roofing. Brian and his team specialize in insurance claims and roofing, helping homeowners with storm damage issues. They prioritize fairness and honesty, never chasing storms or compromising their integrity. Brian shares valuable insights about the roofing industry and the importance of maintaining a good relationship with insurance companies for smooth claims processing.

At Always Be Fair Roofing, they go beyond roofing services, offering assistance with insurance claims for other property-related repairs too. With a strong reputation and over 34 years of experience in the insurance industry, Brian and his team are advocates for fair and appropriate claim settlements.

We hope you enjoy this informative and engaging episode! Don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more valuable content, and remember to take care of your property to ensure a smooth insurance experience. Thank you for tuning in!

Transcript

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Welcome the Chamber Members podcast. We're going to go over a business tip of the week, some chamber announcements, and you'll get to hear from our special guest, Brian Roach from Always Be Fair Roofing. First, a quick shout out to U.S. Benefits Group for sponsoring this episode. If you're looking for health insurance, your individual contractor or small business owner who's not absolutely in love with their current plan, reach out to USAA Benefits Group and they'll find a carrier that best meets you're going to need. They can be reached at 3302089455. Up next, our business tip of the week by SBS Consulting Systems. Hi, everyone. I'm Shawn Hetrick from SBS Consulting Systems. Today's business tip of the week. We're going to talk about employees and trying to figure out how what are the best ways to motivate them because each employee is a little bit different. So what I do is I take and I'll take a list of my employees and I'll go through each employee and list their strengths, their weaknesses, personality, personality, characteristics and anything else that I kind of think when I think about them. And then I will go and look for ways that would motivate those people because each person is motivated a little bit differently. So you want to go through each one and determine how to motivate them. And then what you'll see is you'll see that there are groups that can be motivated a certain way and other groups another way, and then look for ways to tailor benefits or other ways to motivate them. So again, this is Shawn Hetrick, SBS Consulting Systems. Shawn, thanks for another great tip for. Brian, welcome to the show. Thank you. Thank you. I'm excited to be here and glad your answer. Yeah, I don't know anything about roofing, but you do. Yeah, or especially dealing with like insurance claims and those, you know, everything involved in that. Roofing, the big industry. There's a lot that goes on with it. Yeah. And most people don't know, so don't, don't feel bad that you don't know. So one of the things I have a difficult time helping people with is understanding the difference between a roofer, a roofing company, a roofing contractor, and an insurance restoration roofing company. So people just think, you know, like lawyer, they think roofer. Well, no. You know, there's specialties in in the lawyer field, their specialties in the insurance field, and they're specialties in the roofing. Yeah, sure. Excellent. So. So always be fair. Roofing. What's the meaning behind that catchy name? Well, what we like to say is we're fair to the customer, we're fair to the insurance company, and we're always fair to ourselves. Unfortunately, in the industry that I'm in, which is insurance claims and a lot of roofing via storm damage, there's what's known as storm chasers. And storm chasers are not fair to the homeowner and they're not fair to the insurance company and they reap the rewards of that. They take all of the profit. They take all of the margin. So, you know, we're local. We don't chase storms. We don't go anywhere. So if we're going to see you at the grocery store, if we're going to see you at the restaurant, then you know, we need to be fair. Yeah. You know, and we've got a real good reputation with the insurance companies also, because we don't push the envelope, you know, So we're fair to them. We know what is legitimate damage. We know when a claim should be paid and we know when it's just normal wear and tear and or the homeowner is going to have to pay for the roof themselves, at least. I mean, that probably makes you, you know, having a good release with the insurance companies a smoother process for you. Right. And others like yeah you know your your acceptance rate on those are probably really high. Yeah. Or 99%. So was funny I was texting with the guy last night and he's like, but there was hail on April 1st and and I know what legitimate hail is. Okay. If the industry has an event, a hail event, it's known, you know I mean you can go Talmage 2030 and you can go Firestone Park 2007, you can go Strasburg 2015, you can go over 2017. If you're in the industry, you know, when and where. There was one inch and a half hard hail that hit every single property. Why? Because we like to say there's a guy sitting at the end of the street handing out money. Yeah. Who wants to go to that street and collect sums, you know? So that's why people go and knock on doors. But I was talking to a guy last night, and, you know, I gave him a correlation back to his own industry because I knew what he did. And I'm like, you know, yes, there was hail on April 1st, but it wasn't damaging hail. You know, he just wanted a free roof. Yeah. Like, I'm not going to file that. Yeah, right. Yeah. So I know you guys are located in North Canton because I want to in on this after hours you guys held, which was pretty fun. Yes, but what area do you service? I like to stay close to home. So pretty much Summit Stark, Wayne Portage. That's a good area, then. Yeah. Yeah. And another thing we have, we say, you know, we have different mottos and sayings for different things, but you know, everyone within the company, you know, we say family first. Well, God first, family second or third. So what good is that going to do for me to sign up a bunch of jobs in Toledo? If that means my crew and my salesmen have to travel an hour and a half, 2 hours every day, both ways to do the work. Yeah. Where does that fall in the God family? Yeah, it doesn't. So we like to stay. I, I'm selfish. I like to stay within 20 or 25 minutes. I don't want to drive traffic. So. From what I understand, you do more than roof. What other services do you guys offer? Well, the biggest thing is understanding insurance claims. Okay, I. We just wrapped up a job that was a $250,000 basically house rebuild from a massive tree fallen on the ground. So that job included drywall, paint, electric plumbing, gutters, roof siding, framing, you know, everything. So, you know, I've got the connections to the specialty subcontractors in every field. So it just depends on what the job is, how much we do when when you look in overall business, I'd say the majority of our work is roofing siding, gutters, exterior stuff. And you guys had power washing the end of this year, right? We did, Yep. Yep. Good friend of mine was in that industry for years and I watched him struggle through a couple different ownership changes in the businesses and every time he ended up disappointed and frustrated and, and I said, You know what? Let's do this together, right? So we put $30,000 in a rig and take his 13 years of experience and put him on the road. And yes, it's great. We we're talking about his numbers so far this year, and he's already at 80, 85% of what we wanted for his minimum. Yeah. You know, he's over halfway towards what we thought would be good and, you know, possibility of hitting what we thought would be the great number. Nice. That feels like a good fit for you guys, too. It's like right in that same kind of. Well, it is. And that leads to another thing, you know, I don't want the homeowner who is begging for an insurance company to pay for his roof because he doesn't have the money to do it. Okay. I don't want the homeowner who has a home that he hasn't done anything to and since he bought it 12 years ago, you know, and now he wants the insurance company to pay for something. Our ideal customer cares about their home, takes care of their property and wants things fixed correctly. So, you know, you don't have a storm and you don't need a roof and you don't need siding on a regular basis. But if you take care of your property and you want it to be nice, you could use power washing on a regular basis. So, you know, that's something that can be done yearly or every other year. So it's a good fit. Thanks. So what made you want to get into into the industry? Well, I don't think anyone really knows what industry they want to get to. You just kind of fall somewhere. So I was thinking about it earlier and it's but now it's been 34 years since I got my insurance license. So I was in the insurance industry some form or some way for 34 years. So as I became disgruntled being on the insurance company side because I saw a lot of the selfishness and greed and manipulation and things hidden in the contracts, I gravitated towards the claim side and making sure that things were paid appropriately. So one of the things that, you know, I like to tell everyone is an insurance company will never pay something they don't know. So if it takes me 11 months to get them to pay something appropriately, guess what? They owed 11 months ago? Mm hmm. That that appropriate claim settlement. So, you know, now I'm an advocate on the other side. Okay? You know, previously, to always be fair Roofing, I owned Alexander Body and Fender, and we did insurance work and clean your parents. And so, you know, I was on that side again and fighting for the appropriate repair to the vehicle. And then now we just fight for the appropriate repair to the house is in transition then. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's just so important that you had that experience of the people that you're talking to and know what they're thinking to kind of move that claim through the process. Yeah. And here's one of the things I like to share with people is people say which, which isn't sure which insurance company should I buy? And I say, if you know their name, if you know their mascot, if you know their slogan, if you know their celebrity endorsement person run far and run fast, okay? They're spending money on marketing and gimmicks. Yeah. Okay. When it comes time to pay a claim, it's hard, you know? So I buy from an independent agent who works for you, has multiple carriers that you probably haven't heard of, and he finds the best fit for you. Okay. It depends on the dynamics of your property. You know, if you have three outbuildings, you need a different carrier than somebody who just has a house and an attached garage, because out structures are usually limited to 10% of the dwelling coverage. So if you've got a $250,000 house and then you've got a three car garage and a big barn and then a shed, you know, you've got $25,000 in coverage for that and there's trees all around it and a tornado knocks a tree down on all three of them. Guess what? You're out. You're out. Yeah. Here's your $25,000 to fix $80,000 worth of property, right? Yeah. It's definitely important to find someone that can shop a lot of carriers most of the time. And you know that all the carriers have their niches, right? Or the zip code. And for, you know, what type of coverage they want to they want at risk. They want to take in different industries. So it's a it's important to, you know, find someone knowledgeable in the industry and no match up. Yeah, well, the commercials these days just drive me crazy. You know? And I'm a sports guy, So when do you see all the commercials? Your names, name your price. We can save you money. And, you know, I just tell everyone, you know, underwriters and actuaries are all the same. Okay? Every premium is a formula of risk. Yeah. So if somebody is giving you less premium gas, who's taking more risk? You are. Yeah, that's okay. It's just a formula. I mean, underwriters and actuaries do this year in, year out, you know, for decades they they know it. So, you know, if all of a sudden your premiums get reduced by 20%, there's a reason. Yeah, you know, you switched to a carrier who I like they always say on page 37 has this, you know clause that you know, instead of you getting a full amount that you expected for this claim, you're just reduced by 60%. Yeah. So, uh, so during your journey of growth here with all is it fair roofing, was there a particular moment that kind of changed the course for your business? Yeah, and I share this to anyone that'll talk about it. And it's, you know, on all of our literature, you'll see Proverbs 22 one. You know, for me, in 2015, I decided to turn my businesses over to Christ, you know, And, you know, that means something to different people. To me, it means I'm serving with my knowledge. Proverbs 22 one is a good name, is more desirable than great riches. To be esteemed is better than silver. Gold. My entire life I've been a gifted salesman. I could do that. I could do that from when I was 12 on and, you know, at some point in my middle years when I knew I had sold somebody something that was good for me and maybe not the best thing for them, I wasn't comfortable bumping into him at the grocery store yesterday. Okay. Because how's it working out for him? You know, could be working out okay, but it maybe wasn't the best fit. So as soon as I realized, you know, being able to walk away because it's not a good fit is important. And also, you know, if you're not aligned with somebody on I mean, we sell value and quality, we're not the cheapest. If somebody just wants the cheapest and I try to meet their price, it's still not a good match. So I'd rather spend my time with somebody that one's value and quality and a warranty and wants to become a friend, you know? I mean, I couldn't tell you how many friends I've gotten just from helping people. Yeah, yeah. And they, you know, you know, for years if someone did you. Right. Wrong, you know? Exactly. It's important. Yeah. So before we end the show, I always like to ask, is there any shout out you like to give to their chamber members, though? Yeah. I mean, the chamber's been phenomenal for me. I tell people I brought a new salesman on recently and he kind of was hesitant about getting involved with the chamber. And I say Chambers have brought me millions of dollars worth of business. Okay? I mean, I could go on and on and on from Molly and the Tip clubs. David Angie own that handyman and, you know, multiple, multiple chamber people that, you know, I've done business with referred business back and forth. Shannon Hostetler at the Hostetler Insurance Group. You know, it's everywhere. And again, it comes down to authentic relationships, getting to know people and caring about people. And I think Chambers give you the opportunity to do that in the business community. Yeah, it does. It really does. I guess that's a quick plug. Yeah. For chamber announcements, as you know, we had those tip clubs. I see you got your staff there and you were there all the time. If you guys don't know about tip clubs, just a great way to meet other business owners and key and key personnel. Um, they have five during the week, a couple of boxes and a few lunches. So definitely look up Chambers website and see when those those are, those are all listed and they do a great job of facilitating those. So yeah. And well now we're doing business after hours every month and every great event. So yeah, so that wraps up. And so nine of the Chamber Members podcast, I hope to see you next week, but thanks. Thank you.