A Career Change from Selling Women’s Shoes to Roofing Repair Sales

By Lauren White, RCS Reporter.

With a knack for sales, Kalen Canaday has found success at Maxwell Roofing. 

Less than two years ago, Kalen Canaday joined Maxwell Roofing in Nashville, Tennessee.  In that time he has gone from never stepping foot on a roof to an Account Manager.  While working at Nordstrom selling women’s shoes, a customer asked him why he wasn’t selling houses.  That encouraged Kalen to get his real estate license. Eventually he started looking for something more steady and found Maxwell Roofing.

Kathleen Maxwell is the Vice President of Sales at Maxwell Roofing, her family’s commercial roofing business.  In an interview with Kalen, Ryan Groth, founder of the Sales Transformation Group shares, “In 2017, Kathleen got promoted to VP of Sales and had begun helping Maxwell Roofing make the transition from a mom and pop, new construction-oriented customer service company into a professional selling organization that can create a pathway for employees to grow and thrive.”

Prior to the Sales Transformation Group, Ryan was President of Followup CRM.  It was during his time there that he met Kathleen and her father John.  He flew to Nashville so he could work with Maxwell Roofing’s sales team to “...bring more organization, structure, and accountability for consistent service sales growth,” Ryan shares.

When Ryan began the Sales Transformation Group, one of his first clients was Kathleen and her father.  Ryan discloses that they wanted to continue, “...the pursuit of building a high performing sales organization, with a major emphasis on service and relationships.”

The next time Ryan flew out to Nashville to work with their sales team, he met Kalen.  A 6’4” former basketball player, he walked into training on crutches because he had sprained his ankle playing pick-up basketball.  Ryan shares, “I was a little unsure, excited yet optimistic about Kathleen’s selection of talent. This is a credit to her confidence in Maxwell’s commitment to growing people, along with my training and philosophy in sales.”

Kalen’s roofing sales career started by growing service house accounts.  “He has participated diligently in my sales training modules, personal growth and overall culture that Kathleen has been building at Maxwell Roofing— all without removing their family atmosphere,” Ryan reveals.  Now, Kalen is averaging $200,000 per month in service sales. And through the connections he’s made during his year and a half with Maxwell Roofing, he’s negotiating replacement construction projects.  

Kalen discloses what he has learned and what he attributes his success to in his interview with Ryan.  They discuss his breakthroughs more in depth, but there are five main takeaways:

First, Kalen realized it was essential to change his mindset when he switched from retail selling to providing roofing solutions.  Some of his success has been due to Maxwell Roofing’s commitment to helping their employees grow, which they have done by, “investing in training and coaching to their mindset, skillset and career growth,” Ryan discloses.  Third, Kalen has found that working as a team is necessary in roofing sales and depending on estimating, surveys, and project management is crucial for success. Maxwell Roofing has established a company culture that cultivates personal growth and motivation, recognizing that both are constantly in progress.  And lastly, “Sales Transformation Group has unlocked his [Kalen’s] ability to only work with qualified opportunities and not waste time trying to sell to everybody.”  

The sales department at Maxwell Roofing has been built and optimized for long-term growth, thus leading to their success.  “The trades are a great place for high-level talent to be part of, what seems to be missing is the vision of ownership for employees to thrive and grow,” Ryan reveals.  

Kalen is one of many success stories.  Schedule a sales strategy session with Ryan so your team members can experience the same growth and potential that Kalen has in his short time at Maxwell Roofing. 

For your free 45-minute strategy session with Ryan visit their special RCS promotional page.

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