What started five years ago as an ambitious idea pushed forward by Samuel Hostetler and Jonathan Keim is now a national success. Both men knew there was a piece missing in the commercial roofing marketspace. There had to be a way for commercial roofing business owners to be properly incentivized to help others, while providing better service for their own clientele and growing their businesses. And with that, the idea of Choice Roof Contractor Group was born, founded, and took off!
The group is now well known for uniquely offering support to contractors who wish to expand their commercial business and providing new valuable benefits to building owners. By delivering a better service, encouraging higher standards, and providing leadership, guidance, and training opportunities, Choice Roof Contractor Group has become a recognized name in the commercial roofing industry. Members of the group have noticed the increasing credibility on the jobs they’re bidding, and business owners have enjoyed the peace of mind that comes with group-wide accountability.
The last five years have been full of new experiences and a pathway to success for members of the group! Below, you’ll find a recap of the past five years. If you’re interested in joining our nationwide network or discussing new collaboration opportunities, give us a call at 800-670-5583.
2013-2018: The Beginning of Choice Roof Contractor Group
The First Contractors to Join Still Thrive Today
In the fall of 2013, Choice Roof Contractor Group was formed. Soon after, the first few contractors joined. Brenneman Roofing, Mid-West Roofing Systems, Five Star Roofing Systems, A-1 Roofing Systems and Troyer Roofing. Their stories are all similar and have inspired many struggling contractors throughout the country who wish to break into the commercial field.
Robert Brenneman, owner of Brenneman Roofing, had been working as a full-time fire fighter with a side business of being a handyman. He worked day in and day out on time-consuming jobs that did not provide for his family the way he hoped they would.
John Miller, owner of A-1 Roofing Systems, was struggling to gain traction in commercial roofing and to make ends meet, getting only small jobs for small buildings in a small town. He ended up taking some residential roofing work just to help generate cash flow.
Samuel Hostetler, owner of Five Star Roofing, was shingling roofs in freezing weather just a few years before starting the group, knowing there was more, but unsure he’d be able to invest. After all, he had a very large family to provide for.
Simon Troyer of Troyer Roofing had always worked on various small construction opportunities but was searching for a change. He began to learn the construction trade, remodeling, roofing, and other carpentry aspects, but after working for others for five years, he knew it was time to make a change and do something of his own.
Rufus Hostetler, owner of Mid-West Roofing Systems, landed his first commercial job prior to joining the group and had early success. But he couldn’t seem to find both the time and money needed to live his dreams.
When each member joined Conklin and the Choice Roof Contractor Group, they began to see their future change. They were impressed with the trainings and felt that they could better provide with this new business opportunity. And over time, they did just that. All three of these contractors took the time and effort needed to utilize the tools in front of them. And because of that, they are successful in their local regions, and continue to see the benefits of being endorsed members of the Choice Roof Contractor Group.
To hear, read and watch dozens of other real-life stories, visit our What Contractors Are Saying page.
2013-2014
At the beginning, the idea of the Choice Roof Contractor Group was one of faith. Founding members were on board for something new that could solve the pressing challenges of the commercial roofing industry. And with that came many wins!
The initial group of endorsed members received 100 leads in the first year and we began to see leads continue to increase in size.
We partnered with Top Roof Marketing to maximize visibility of what we had to offer the industry while ensuring new members had a trusted source for generating more leads.
They also were able to witness some of our first meetings, gained numerous sponsorship/mentorship opportunities over the years, and continually receive special recognition for helping the group concept become a reality.
2015
After the first year was fully under our belt, we discovered what worked best and kept feeding that model. For example, our lead generation service provided over 200 roofing leads in 2015, double what it had the prior year! We also saw a significant jump in the number of leads that were over 100,000 square feet.
The first workshops were also rolled out this year which together had more than 60 in attendance! The first workshop had over 35 attendees traveling from 9 states. The second workshop had almost 30 contractors from 8 states! They all came together to discuss roofing techniques, marketing and sales strategies, and more, really embracing the model that Choice Roof Contractor Group wanted to provide – contractors helping contractors.
Members of the group continued to see rapid growth in their individual businesses, the success stories kept coming in, and new ideas from others joining up took us to the next level.
To see more details of this year, visit 2015: Year in Review.
2016
The year of 2016 was by far the best on the books at that time. The continued effort to provide lead generation through the group website enabled endorsed members to share 302 roofing leads with each other! Another 50% of growth!
We also saw the largest attendance ever from our group at the Conklin National Convention, rapid growth in the size of our group across the country, and founder Jonathan Keim was given a prestigious title.
Additionally, like the year prior, the group members came together for another two contractor-led events. Both workshops completely sold out!
A missing piece to the puzzle in prior years was not engaging in tradeshows. While the previous marketing strategy was thorough, adding four trade show appearances in 2016 allowed us an opportunity to increase our contractor network by meeting those who were hearing about us online!
To see more details of this year, visit Strong 2016 Success Builds Powerful Momentum for 2017.
2017
Continuing the upward trend, our endorsed members yet again saw an increase in the number of lead opportunities generated. This year a whopping 427 roofing leads came in! Other highlights include reaching 197 blogs, 263 comments, and 1000+ subscribers to our weekly newsletter.
We also added additional success stories from our members, arriving at 20 different examples brought to life via videos, recorded calls, and articles. Notably, Sam Hostetler was given the opportunity to share his personal story to nearly 1,000 people in Branson, Missouri.
The national workshops in 2017 were held in Cleveland, Ohio and Tyler, Texas, and the strong attendance numbers once again proved that we were quickly becoming a leading educator in the commercial roofing industry. The comprehensive roofing event gave contractors of all experience levels hands-on training, sales and marketing strategies proven to work in the field, and an open panel to discuss tips and how to overcome common obstacles!
We were even more excited to see various members of the group rise up and commit to hosting their own local hands-on events on the first Saturday of each month. Michigan, Pennsylvania and Texas roofers were now able to learn directly from successful commercial owners and train their crews with life-like mockups without having to leave their state.
A nationwide coatings magazine, CoatingsPro, began to recognize the group, and in October 2017 Jonathan Keim provided our first contribution to their magazine which then became the top cover story! Since then, we’ve been given additional opportunities to submit content.
To see more details of this year, visit Exciting Achievements of 2017.
2018
The Choice Roof Contractor Group saw an impressive year in lead generation with another record number of roofing leads achieved!
One of the largest roof leads yet came in – touting an impressive 430,000 square feet!
The group welcomed its first female contractor to the members, hoping to add more in years to come.
And the brand recognition continued, being contacted by over 450 other contractors throughout the nation. Through a new marketing program, we were able to gain placement of our ads on some of the most prominent websites and mobile apps.
To see more details of this year, visit The Excitement Continues – 2018 in Review.
On to the Next Five!
The formula of contractors helping other contractors to give better service to business owners is not common. However, because we have the right group of people with genuine team spirit for this shared brand, we have been able to share some incredible highlights:
- 366,782 page views from more than 120,000 visitors to the site
- 4,000+ project photos available to share with contractors in the group
- 1,655 followers on various social media channels
- 1,646 commercial roofing leads were generated
- 1,263 subscribers to our weekly newsletter
- 209 blogs that continually pull in traffic and provide open educational material
- 72 commercial roofing companies that have joined
- 68 videos on YouTube that feature various testimonials, tips from the field, and more
- 21 timeless recorded calls with first-hand contractor knowledge
As our first five years come to a close, we continue to focus our efforts on what will help our members and the building owners they serve the most. We will continue to improve our brand recognition, help our members close more sales, and welcome new contractors who share our values with open arms.
If you are interested in learning more, or joining the group, reach out to us at 800-670-5583 or via the contact page.
One of the main reasons we’re now well known is because the many online marketing initiatives. Our endorsed members this year were able to benefit from our strategic marketing programs by receiving a record number of roofing leads! Our focus will not waiver for 2019 as we will continue to focus efforts on the most effective marketing strategies!
No, that’s not the amount of roofing our members installed this year, it’s the largest roof lead of the year! That’s right, 4,300 squares for just one lead! The ongoing effort by Top Roof Marketing continues to rank us on the first page of Google for hundreds of keywords, sometimes even in front of the manufacturers themselves! These big fish just keep coming!
Our brand continues to be quite popular with contractors throughout the nation. With quality resources like our eBook geared towards educating contractors who are interested in switching to commercial roofing and the group connections with experienced contractors willing to help others, it’s no wonder we’ve had so many contractors reach out! And, in case you were wondering, this number is up almost 50% from the prior year!
With their endorsement through Choice Roof Contractor Group, John Miller and his team at A-1 Roofing Systems were able to gain the trust needed from a large company that they have been trying to get an appointment with for a long time. The 40,000 square foot roof lead was just one more perk to their endorsed membership this year!
We are excited to announce that this year we welcomed our first female roofing contractor to our ranks! Her initiative and drive makes her a perfect addition to our group. We appreciate Samantha joining the group, and hope that it will inspire other trail blazing women to join what is currently considered a male dominated industry.
In order to continue to offer our members the best resources, we have partnered with Dunn & Bradstreet. This new partnership allows us to offer our members quality contacts for more than 75% off the retail costs! These resources allow our members to effectively reach out to business owners in their area for a fraction of the cost they could get elsewhere. Direct mail, email campaigns, and cold calling just got even easier for our group!
$50 million in sales was reached by a record number of Preferred Contractors as well as others who chose Conklin to protect the roofs they service. Also, as of the last official count, there are currently more than 1,090 who have reserved their seats for the 2019 Conklin National Convention next month. We’re all looking forward to celebrating the manufacturer’s 50th year anniversary and all the success each of us achieved this past year.
CoatingsPro Magazine continues to enjoy the relationship and expertise provided by the Choice Roof Contractor Group. As an industry leader sourcing quality content, they trust our group to provide reliable information about the roofing industry. A new article will be featured in their upcoming January edition about the past, present, and future of the coatings industry.
Whether you need to file a roof insurance claim for hail damage depends largely on the type of roof you have and the severity of the damage.
When it comes to your commercial roof, who you hire matters. A lot.
One of the biggest mistakes a building owner can make is hiring the “cheapest” roofing contractor to repair roof damage. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for, and fly-by-night roofers or inexperienced contractors just starting out may quote you a low price and deliver shoddy work.
If your commercial roof is covered under a warranty, bear in mind that you need to choose a roofing contractor who meets the standards set forth by the manufacturer of the product on your roof. Failure to do so can lead to the invalidation of your warranty.
Choosing a roofer who doesn’t have a solid reputation, who hasn’t worked in your area long or who is just “traveling through” can bring disaster. Opt for a roofing company that has a solid business background and is likely to be around to back up the work they perform if any issues should arise down the road.
Life is full of unexpected happenings that can leave behind disasters. When Mother Nature turns cruel, for instance, business facilities and other commercial properties often bear the brunt, and business owners can be left scrambling to repair damaged property and recover from the catastrophe.
The saying “When the cat’s away, the mice will play” is one of the oldest adages around, and it has been around for so long because it’s true. It is human nature to slacken one’s efforts when the pressure is off and no one is watching, such as when a boss or supervisor is temporarily away. But, thanks to the Internet, in today’s business world “the boss” is always watching.
Within the roofing industry, there is a nationwide association composed of some of the best commercial roofing contractors across the United States known as the 
Once someone joins Choice Roof Contractor Group, group accountability helps ensure they will continue providing outstanding service to their customers. The reputation of the group must be safeguarded, and each member is diligent in ensuring that it is. If for some reason a contractor part of the group fails to honor their word or provides substandard service, he or she will be given one chance to address the situation. If the situation remains unaddressed, that contractor loses all the benefits of being part of the group.
We speak, of course, of Conklin. For more than 40+ years, the Conklin company has offered innovative products that have revolutionized the roofing industry. Among these are Conklin’s exceptional roof coatings—a technology the company helped pioneer back in the 1970s and has gone strong ever since.
Conklin roof coating systems are fully adhered, seamless membranes that are applied right over top of an existing roof. These coatings not only cost significantly less than replacing a roof, they fully restore an old roof to like-new condition and boast a host of other impressive benefits, as well. After perusing the list of assets these innovative systems offer, it’s easy to see why roof coatings have continued to sweep the roofing industry ever since Conklin was part of introducing them!
For roofing contractors, the benefits of Choice Roof Contractor Group membership are multifold.
Another benefit of working with Conklin that Cory is striving to take full advantage of is the opportunity to help other roofers join the Conklin family. Introducing new contractors to Conklin’s products not only gives those new roofers access to high-quality roofing solutions and training, but it benefits the Conklin contractor who made the referral and helps the new roofer succeed—another win-win.
Within the Choice Roof Contractor Group, group accountability is a key focus, and members are held to a high standard of excellence—something their customers definitely benefit from. This means if they bring the name down, they get kicked out and lose all benefits. Choice Roof Contractors also have a vast network of roofing professionals to call on when they encounter a complicated roofing job, which further helps ensure clients their chosen roofers always have countless years of experience to tap into. They no longer have to rely on the expertise of just one company.
Cory is actively spreading the word about Conklin and the Choice Roof Contractor Group, and he is happy to share the information with other roofing contractors who want to do more commercial this year.