Jess Cress and Bill Eitenmiller - Making Solar Possible for all Contractors - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Jess Cress and Bill Eitenmiller of SRS Distribution. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast.

Intro: Welcome to Roofing Road Trips, the podcast that takes you on a thrilling journey across the world of roofing. From fascinating interviews with roofing experts to on-the-road adventures, we'll uncover the stories, innovations and challenges that shape the rooftops over our heads, so fasten your seat belts and join us as we embark on this exciting roofing road trip.

Heidi Ellsworth: Hello and welcome to another Roofing Road Trips from Roofers Coffee Shop. My name is Heidi Ellsworth and we are here today to talk about something that I have been passionate about for probably three decades, and that's solar. I know, I know. We keep saying, "Is solar really going to be part of the roofing industry? Are we going to own the solar arrays? What's it all about?" Well, I think we're finally making the turn and it's because of our good friends at SRS. So we're here today to talk to them about what's happening with solar. Let's make this happen. Let's have the roofing contractors take it back. So I am here with Bill Eitenmiller and Jess Cress from SRS to talks solar. Hello, you two.

Jess Cress: Hey, how are you?

Bill Eitenmiller: Hello.

Heidi Ellsworth: I am so excited for this conversation and I just love, of course, being with both of you talking through this. So let's start with some introductions so everybody else knows you, too. So Bill, if you could introduce yourself, tell us what you do with SRS.

Bill Eitenmiller: Yeah. Hey, I'm Bill Eitenmiller. I am the director of sales for Solar at SRS, a fairly new position. I started on April 1st in this role, but have building up this program for about the last eight, nine months. So yeah, happy to be here.

Heidi Ellsworth: That's great. And Jess, please introduce yourself.

Jess Cress: Hi, Jess Cress with SRS Distribution. I'm out of the Athens Georgia location, so representing the southeast over here. Known you for a long time, been around roofing for a long time, so really excited to get into the solar space, for sure.

Heidi Ellsworth: I am curious when we talk about solar, that big picture. So Bill, let's start with you, just kind of your experience both in the roofing industry but also with solar. How have you been involved with it in your career?

Bill Eitenmiller: I'll be super candid here. So I've been with SRS for 11 years. So I came on shortly after college, I was at MIT, worked my way up through the company, was managing a branch in Eugene, Oregon. And I literally had a contractor walk into my office and he put a data sheet on my desk and said, "Hey, can I buy this from you?" I said, "I don't know. I know what a solar panel is," but that was effectively the extent of my knowledge. But I love to learn, so I did a deep dive in the solar industry and just started reaching out to contacts and yeah, in seven, eight months I said, "Hey, this is something maybe we should be doing, we should be getting involved with." And me looking at other folks in the industry from afar, what they've been doing, there was a huge transition happening in the industry and put a proposal up to the leadership team and here we are. We got a new solar vertical launching and making waves. It's been a lot of fun.

Heidi Ellsworth: That is great. And so Jess, how have you been involved with solar? And give us a little bit of history about your roofing.

Jess Cress: I mean, roofing specifically, I was an installer for a while, flipped a couple companies. I actually installed Solar Feet when I was in Florida about eight or nine years ago. Never thought I would be here, so I say Bill did it to me. He introduced the idea. SRS of course is always about how do we provide value to our contractors? And so when he gave me the opportunity to get open here, I just took it and he started throwing all kinds of training stuff at me, so I learned Greek for a few months and now I can say I'm running solar out of a branch and we're doing really well, the team has been great.

Heidi Ellsworth: You know, it kind of takes that. And I love this story, Bill, that Eugene, Oregon, of course, first of all, love Oregon and that you were there, that it rains a lot in Eugene, so you don't think about that, right? You don't think, "Oh, solar is going to be a big thing." But it is, and the fact that you took that idea and took a proposal to SRS all the way up and they're like, "Yes, let's start a division," I just have to stop there for a second because that says a lot about SRS.

Bill Eitenmiller: Oh, absolutely. I mean, I wouldn't be here for this culture and the leadership, there have been so many opportunities. And obviously a huge transition that was announced here a couple days ago, so exciting. And yeah, I thank our leadership team so much for providing this opportunity. But that's kind of the culture at SRS regardless. I mean, we bring ideas, let's try new things. And so very, very blessed to have this experience.

Heidi Ellsworth: So how did you and Jess start working together? How did that, did Jess just say, "Me, me, I want to do solar," or did you guys stalk her? How did that work?

Bill Eitenmiller: We're a big company now, right? So it was actually a territory manager that introduced me to Jess, what Jess, probably last October? Something like that. We're both working separate sides of the country doing things and "Hey, you really need to be reaching out to Jess Cress over in the southeast. She's kind of a badass." And so, all right, let's do it. Yeah, she's, man, definitely very, very impressive and has been kind of our pilot branch so far. It's been going really well.

Heidi Ellsworth: So Jess, what did you think when Bill reached out and said, "Hey, I want to do some solar?" What was your thoughts?

Jess Cress: Well, I think it was the natural response due to me being a glutton for punishment. I was like, "Yeah, why not?"

Heidi Ellsworth: Let's do it.

Jess Cress: "Are we going to help people? 100%, let's do it." Yeah, I mean I would say the entire company probably has that mindset. If you have an opportunity to do something and it's going to provide value, I mean, it always goes back to that. How do we become a resource and provide value for the people that we service every day? We try to be a little bit different. So I was all in.

Heidi Ellsworth: I love it. Okay, so let's talk about what's happening, Jess, in your branch. So you said "I'm all in, let's go." How did you approach it? Which contractors did you look at? What was kind of your game plan to start really providing solar into your market?

Jess Cress: For me, and I would say probably for most of us, we're not really people who are just going to go out and sell something that we don't understand. So I would say the first two months was literally me just diving into everything Bill gave me. We went through training programs, I read specs. I probably could go pass a master electrician's test today. And I mean, truthfully, everything that I sell now I've personally installed. So it was a huge learning curve, but I had to get myself familiar. When I did that, I started having conversations. Bill was great, instrumental in setting up a bunch of different avenues so that our contractors have those options of which direction they want to go. And from there, just talking to everyone. Everyone deserves the opportunity, at least.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, to be able to do that and have that out there. So okay, Athens was kind of your pilot or your starting point, Bill. Where are you on overall? Are you working with other branches selling solar? Where's the program at right now?

Bill Eitenmiller: Yeah, Athens was our starting location and really was a lot of lessons learned there. Jess, I kind of tasked her with, hey, as you go through some of these things, the way solar distribution has worked in the past and then obviously SRS, we have to make it our own and do it our own unique way. So she very gracious, did an operational playbook for me. All the lessons learned. Big picture thinker, I can kind look at this makes a lot of sense, but how does it work in the field? And Jess is really good at breaking that stuff down and putting that on paper so we can grow these things out.
So we actually have a branch in the Pacific Northwest, Tacoma, Washington has been stocking solar for a few months. That's been going really well up there. And we have a launch period set, so I don't want to give specific dates or anything quite yet, but we'll have a number of locations onboarded here in a very short period of time stocking and distributing solar products.

Heidi Ellsworth: So contractors who are listening to this, ask your SRS branch manager, you never know. It could be, you could have it already. So, okay, I really want to kind of dive into the contractor part of it. And so Jess, tell us, I mean, you've sold some systems, you're working with some contractors. What has been their success? What does that look like as they've kind of incorporated this and started down this road?

Jess Cress: I think for most contractors it was always something that was just unattainable. Specifically in the busy season, Southeast really doesn't slow down that much. And then once we got this off the ground and running, everybody's thinking about the summer, like how do we do that? I think we did a really good job at making it very easy for them and since then, it's not some elusive crazy thing that they can't touch or chase anymore. It's something that they've been able to integrate into their business and it's gone really well, truthfully.

Heidi Ellsworth: So Bill, let's explain it. How does this program work? I'm a contractor, I'm coming to Jess and I want to start doing solar. How does it work?

Bill Eitenmiller: Yeah, I mean, again, nine months ago when that contractor rolled up into my desk and they're, I guess it's a little over about almost a year ago now, rolled up to my desk with a data sheet and said, "Can I buy this from you?" I mean, selling product, that's the easy part. I could buy from a manufacturer and we distribute it, right? But actually installing the product, and there's a lot of very regional-specific requirements that you have to follow, state requirements, regional requirements, what have you. And so really, roofers can kind of gain entry into the space in a few different ways. And there's a number of roofing companies out there that already have solar divisions. So obviously we have partnerships with many of those folks already and that's kind of the easier path.

But for the roofer who doesn't have any solar experience, for them just to come in and say, "Oh, we'll install the racking and have the solar company come in and do the pit modules." In some states, you can't even do that. You have to have an electrician on staff, be subcontracting with an electrician to make that work and then the solar sales cycle and just learning how to sell solar is a completely different process than roofing.

So it's been a lot of training and we've got some strategic partnerships. And so really what I look at it is, what's the easiest path for roofers to gain solar? So sometimes they just want to be completely vertically integrated and they want to hire an electrician, they want to do it their own, they want to bootstrap it and figure it out and we do have a number of companies that have taken that path. They control their own destiny and they want to do everything underneath their name and we're going to support that.

A number of companies I've worked with over the last 11 years have actually started solar divisions in the last six months just because we're doing this stuff, which is very exciting. Others, they just want to have an easy button. They just want to be able to say, "Hey, I'm at this home already, the homeowner's here, they're interested in solar. I don't have a source, I don't have a way to sell them solar. Bill, how do we get them into the space?" And so we've got some partnerships out there with folks that effectively help them close those deals as either passing off a lead and they get a little piece of the pie or they can get taught how to do the sales component and then kind of work with this other organization on the side and so there's a number of pathways to get through this. The biggest thing is we want our contractors to know that you don't have to say, "No, we don't do that," you now have an answer. You can bring solar to the customer.

Heidi Ellsworth: Well, to me that's really interesting because there are a lot of solar providers, companies out there who are coming to contractors and are saying, "Just give us a referral and we'll take care of it." But there's no trust because they don't know who they are. And so when I hear, it sounds like to me and confirm if I'm right on this, Bill, that what SRS has done is taken the trust, contractors trust SRS and you have found good strategic partners to do that where if you just want it to be a referral, you know you're safe because it's through somebody who's trusted. If you want to get more involved all the way to having it totally integrated, that makes a lot of sense. And it also makes sense to me that the contractor can maybe start at step one with referrals and then work their way up through that. Jess, what are you seeing with your contractors or most of them, what are they doing, referrals? Are they doing the whole thing? What's the mix?

Jess Cress: A lot of them are coming to me originally because they need help, like Bill said. We're here, they've asked about solar, what do we do? I can connect them with someone that we're already talking to, servicing, have a partnership with. Some guys are actually setting up training programs as we speak. They have people coming in and training them on how to go from 0 to 100. It's a big mix, really. And you would think specifically Georgia, right? Solar, it doesn't make sense is what a lot of people are saying. But the second that people started looking into it and kind of checking it out, it's all of a sudden the dime is flipping just a little bit and you're starting to see a lot of people have access to something that they didn't have access to as a consumer. So I mean, a little bit across the board.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, yeah. No, but I mean in taking those steps, so what are some of the challenges you're seeing for contractors? I mean, is there some trust issues to get over, Jess? Because solar has been, like I said, since I started 30 years, I've been excited about solar and it just never seems to... It takes off in little bits here and there, but we really, as a roofing industry, haven't owned it. What are some of the challenges you're seeing with your contractors in trying to really get into it?

Jess Cress: Candidly, I would say yes, of course, but I think there's trust issues with anything you don't know. I don't know that it's necessarily one thing or another. I think it's just, this is, again, back to this elusive thing that everyone hears of. It's super cool and trendy, but no one knows what to do. So I think of course there was some trust to overcome there. Training, for sure. It's a brand new language. That was always something that, "We don't have time," or "How do we figure this out?" And that's where SRS came in and made it super easy and you can go whichever direction you want. We just wanted to make sure we had a path for everyone.

I would say truthfully, any of the challenges have been really good growth for us, like lessons for our team and our staff. Every single person I have in this branch dug into... Like as soon as I learned it and started putting it out, they just dug their heels in and they were like, "Let me soak up as much as I have" so if you walk into this branch, somebody knows what you're talking about. It was good. I'm thrilled, truthfully.

Heidi Ellsworth: That is so cool. Okay, talking about training, Bill, going back to that, what Jess just said, one of the things that I've seen over the years is regulations, like you said, state to state is different, tax incentives, building codes, all of that. So on a national level, that has to be a huge challenge for you to help all the branches within each of the states to understand what they're doing and then to be able to train the contractors to understand it, talk a little bit about that.

Bill Eitenmiller: Oh, it's so easy to get lost in the weeds to some of that stuff and try to synthesize all the information. And it's really like, what's the most important for the branches to know and for the contractors to know to be successful in the space? I mean, those are going to be vertically integrated, obviously, they're going to have to have a deeper knowledge set. And I'm always learning. I mean, I'm finding out new things. The more I get into this industry, the more I found out I just don't know, the next step. And I'm super humble on that. I'm not by any means a product expert in all areas, but I just want to make sure I have enough resources for the branches to be successful in the space. Yeah, that's really it. Right now I'm working through a little how-to cheat sheet book for the branches, like if this, if then this then that, like what questions am I not thinking of? Just simple little things.

Heidi Ellsworth: And are you finding that, I mean, there's a lot of solar companies out there who are doing solar every day and I've always heard this rumor, so I'm just going to see if it's true or not, that there's a lot of roofing companies that actually sub for these solar companies. Has that been a case and how is that kind of bringing everything together?

Bill Eitenmiller: Yeah, I mean there's a ton of in, especially the larger solar companies, they have roofing subs everywhere nationally. Since I've been into this space I'm getting a lot of, I'm sure Jess is too, these solar companies coming out of the weeds and we're being a resource for them needing roofers in different markets, which is a win-win for everybody. So certainly we know the roofers better than anyone, I mean, certainly better than the traditional solar distribution companies. And so we're able to help bridge that gap, as well. Yeah, absolutely, that's always going to be a thing.

Heidi Ellsworth: I think that's a full circle, right?

Bill Eitenmiller: Absolutely.

Heidi Ellsworth: As you're looking at this, that full circle comes back around. So on the referral side, that seems like the very first step. I mean, it is, we've already established that, but it's the very first step. Jess, how does that work for your contractors if they want to do a referral? And for contractors who are listening out there, they're in the home, the homeowner says, "I want solar," what's their path to really take advantage of this SRS referral program?

Jess Cress: I'd say the first step, what we do initially is just set up a call and make sure that they understand what that looks like, number one. What are you going to put in place in your business to ensure that it is something that you offer? Not necessarily just a backup, of course, it could be we're here to help however, but I think we set up the call for sure. Find the right fit, everybody jives a little bit different. You find the right fit and ensure that that partnership is there, they trust each other. And then specifically, however each company does it. Like I've seen everything from an app, super easy, you're there, move on. Or it's a phone call or an in-person Zoom. There are so many options and there's really a fit for everyone depending on what they're looking for.

Heidi Ellsworth: So when they move beyond the referral and they want to start selling their own and doing the training, is that something that's available through the branches, are you guys doing training sessions? Or is this something that you kind of go to the solar manufacturers, the panel manufacturers or a combination of both, Bill?

Bill Eitenmiller: Yeah, I mean, we're not going to be set up to necessarily teach people how to do the full. We have industry partners in the space that lead them in the right direction. So at the end of the day, we're not going to be involved in the direct solar sales process with the homeowner, but we want to be able to, just like I'm providing my team internally resources to be able to make sure their branch is set up operationally, they got the manufacturer support to sell and distribute solar, I want to make sure the roofers have enough opportunity and the resources to make sure they can get to what they want to do as well, whether it be vertically integrated or through this referral process.

There's a number of resources out there, and certainly to Jess's point, there's a lot of different ways to go about this and so we want to make sure we're finding the right fit for each contractor. It's no different than how we sell roofing in a lot of ways. We ask contractors, "What's important to you? Do you want to focus on selling warranties or are you just trying to find the cheapest laminate? Or how do you go to market?" I want to make sure we have enough resources out there so they can decide for them. Almost like an à la carte-type opportunity there.

Heidi Ellsworth: Jess, how has this changed your yard and delivery, bringing in solar panels and just a whole 'nother product line? How has that gone?

Jess Cress: Really good. I'm blessed, I'm not going to lie. I have the best team. I mean, I did hand select most of them, actually, but I couldn't have done any better. From the warehouse to the counter, my drivers are so excited to be, "Hey, we're delivering solar." It's so cool and everyone's so excited about it that it's been really easy. We've delivered a ton of solar and I think we've messed up one tiny little piece of something. So the efficiency and the ability to be able to get that stuff out, and I think their excitement plays a big part into it. As far as the yard and the branch, I mean, it was pretty easy to just plug it in. It wasn't incredibly difficult, truthfully. I would say the first order we stumbled through it, we had to figure some things out. After that we made a couple more tweaks and since then, everything, it goes out really easily.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, that is so cool. I love hearing that because so often all you hear about is roadblocks and problems and everything like that, but to hear that this is being integrated so seamlessly and in a way that contractors can take small bites, right? They don't have to eat the whole elephant. They can grow into it along with them. What about profit and growth for contractors? How can solar really play an important role in their business to help them grow to that? To take on that next division, to grow their business? Jess, what are you seeing from your contractors?

Jess Cress: I think it's always considered quote unquote "value add," right? Any time you're able to throw in gutters with your roof package or the ability to put in insulation. I mean, it's just another arm, another option, another tool in the tool belt always. So I think of course, the guys that are looking at it and really understanding that that's what it is, they've done really well in regards to just having a value added proposition for them. But also we focus a lot on the consumer. You want to be able to have that option if you want it. If this is something you want to get when you get your roof put on, you have the ability to do that. And I think that that has really changed the game in this space a lot, giving people that option. Because I mean, before, it really wasn't there.

Heidi Ellsworth: And so then you're leaving the homeowner wanting something more and you can't deliver.

Jess Cress: Right.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. How about nationally, Bill? And you said something earlier that really, the salespeople, being able to train the salespeople to sell solar and to be able to talk about it with the homeowners and stuff, how is that looking as these contractors are expanding into solar?

Bill Eitenmiller: Yeah, I mean, roofing contractors are really just the best in a lot of ways, a really good fit for the space. They're already there in the home, and especially those more consultative sales-minded companies that sit down and have that baked-in trust with the homeowner already. And oftentimes during that discovery process, they're going to find the homeowner is getting a roof because they're getting solar, they're thinking about solar or what have you. So you've already got the contract signed, you're getting that contract signed on the roofing side and all of a sudden you have this additional solution that's competitively priced, that's a really good warranty. So yeah, I mean for these folks, it's a simple process. It's just the next step.

And for those that want to use a lead generative-type model where they're just passing off a lead and adding additional profit where they could have been making X on an overall project and all of a sudden they're making a little bit more, it's a win for them. And if they want to be completely vertically integrated and to do the whole thing, they can make even more money, so there's just a lot of pathways. It's been really exciting to see the roofing industry generally change from the manufacturer standpoint.

I mean, with GAF entering the space and their solar shingle and you have certainty in their solstice shingle and their rack and panel products. And then Owens Corning adding their Solar Protect program and their warranties for platinum and certain preferred contractors. And you can see the merging of this industry and the roofing contractors getting more comfortable and having more resources and tools, not just from SRS, but from the manufacturers, as well.

Heidi Ellsworth: It's not going away.

Bill Eitenmiller: It's not going away, it's only going to get more.

Heidi Ellsworth: Even if it was a little slow start, it's not going away. Well, I am so excited to watch both of you and see how this just explodes because I know it will, you can already see it happening. And so we're going to have to have you back on another Roofing Road Trips in a year or so, so we can hear all about the solar across Georgia and the US.

Bill Eitenmiller: Love it.

Heidi Ellsworth: Because Bill, you're going to have it in every branch by then.

Bill Eitenmiller: Fingers crossed.

Heidi Ellsworth: I love it. Well, yeah, it'll happen, it'll happen. Thank you both so much for being here today and being on this Roofing Road Trips. This has been great. I love it. I love to see the solar taking over, this is excellent. So thank you so much.

Bill Eitenmiller: Thanks, Heidi.

Jess Cress: Thank you.

Heidi Ellsworth: Thank you. And thank you all for listening. Hey, you got to get out. Go hit the branch and ask your SRS branch manager what they're doing with solar. And if they say, "I don't know," have them call Bill. I'm telling you right now, it's going to be so important in every market that you really look at this to add to your business, whether you're commercial or residential, it's not going away, it's only going to get bigger.

So thank you so much for listening today. Please share this out with all of your roofing professional friends so that they can also hear about what's happening. Be sure to check out all of our podcasts under the read, listen, watch directory navigation on Roofers Coffee Shop. Also, on your favorite podcast channel, be sure to subscribe and set your notifications so you don't miss a single episode. We'll be seeing you next time on Roofing Road Trips.

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