The Kitchen Table

Guest: Ryan Wells, sales rep, Potomac Custom Remodeling. Former pro flat track racer who competed in the X Games twice. Originally from between Buffalo and Rochester, New York; now based in Salisbury, Delaware.Key takeawaysHire for traits, not résumés. Athletic backgrounds signal competitiveness and discipline, and good attitude and work ethic can be trained into the rest.Poaching isn’t a strategy. Recruiting only from competitors imports other companies’ subcultures, so you never build your own identity, and those reps tend to leave for the next offer.Self-driven reps do their own homework. Ryan’s examples include watching YouTube videos, asking to see installs, and role-playing sales pitches to his dog.Stay sharp between leads. Two weeks without a lead means a long gap between paychecks, so be ready when the next one comes.Use a post-loss checklist. Review what you did and what you could do better, and don’t carry a lost sale home.Selling systems build on themselves. One missed step can throw off the whole presentation, especially for system-dependent reps.More tools in the toolbox. Learning to knock doors adds income options in slow seasons.Retail and insurance restoration are being combined. Running them as two separate companies made it hard to focus on one main thing. The new hybrid, options-close format is still a beta.Mentioned in the episodeKen’s best closing percentage: 79% in a quarterRyan’s closing rate without declines: estimated at 80%+Roughly $250K in financial declines in SeptemberIndeed reportedly listing the company as the second-biggest provider of sales jobs in DelawareAdam Larson, another rep Ken is mentoring, who is not yet on cameraConnectRyan Wells on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanwells94_/Ken Baden: CEO/Owner of Diversified Roofer (DiversifiedRoofer.com) and Potomac Custom Remodeling (www.PotomacCustomRemodeling.com)Podcast: thekitchentablepodcast.net

Key takeawaysDTE hasn’t knocked doors in about two years. Leads come from brokered relationships with insurance agents, tree companies, real estate agents, home inspectors and handymen.Anyone who is inside customers’ homes is a potential partner.Cold emails to agents ask for a lunch meeting and aren’t a pitch for preferred-roofer status. Donovan’s estimate is that 100 emails get roughly 20 takers.Pitching agents: you make their customers happier and make them look better. Donovan says DTE has never compensated agents for referrals.State Farm agents are DTE’s biggest referral source. Offering to review stalled, difficult claims is the quickest way in.After a roof sale, ask for the customer’s insurance agent and hand-deliver paperwork for any shingle-class premium discount.New reps shadow agent meetings instead of learning door knocking.DTE’s evidence package, paired with lump-sum pricing, gets approved about 60% of the time up front.When a carrier “requests” something, ask whether it’s a request or a requirement.Donovan’s expected ramp-up for the agent model is about a month to see consistent leads.Ken’s view: the better you get at retail, the better you get at claims.Mentioned in the episodeChris Zimmerman and John (board of advisors and mentors)Exactimate, Roofle-style instant quote tools, Eagle View, SRS and ABCState Farm and AllstateGAF and the Power Roofing modelFair Labor Standards Act and 1099 considerations (Donovan notes he isn’t an attorney)Find the guest: DTE Roofing (https://www.dteroofingllc.com/), Facebook DTE Roofing, Donovan Davis and Mitchell Davis on Facebook.Note: the transcript spells Roofle as “ruffle” in places, so double-check the product name before publishing.Search Keywordsroofing podcast, Kitchen Table podcast, Ken Baden, Donovan Davis, DTE Roofing, roofing sales, insurance restoration, roofing insurance claims, evidence package, Exactimate alternative, roofing referrals, State Farm agents, insurance agent referrals, stop door knocking, roofing lead generation, roofing business growth, retail roofing, instant quote roofing, Roofle, roofing supplements, Diversified Roofer, Potomac Custom Remodeling, Columbus Ohio roofer, roof claim approvalTimestamps00:00:18 – Intro and welcome to Donovan Davis of DTE Roofing00:00:55 – Chris Zimmerman as mentor, and the evidence package’s impact on approvals00:01:57 – Ohio market, retail vs. insurance mix, and the Columbus storm00:02:53 – How Donovan and his brother got into roofing00:03:57 – The low barrier to entry and why it hurts the industry00:05:00 – Hiring lessons and a rep filing claims on his own00:06:36 – Pop-up storms, running a clean business, and the 1099/FLSA lesson00:08:59 – Contractor licensing in Ohio and Pennsylvania00:10:40 – Treating insurance work like retail and moving off Exactimate00:11:40 – Lump-sum pricing and instant quote tools00:14:30 – Retail options and good-better-best packages00:15:50 – GAF/Power Roofing model and ventilation00:17:15 – Referrals and finding the “dance partner” in a neighborhood00:19:00 – Professional referral partnerships and the cold email to agents00:21:29 – State Farm agents as the biggest referral source00:22:50 – Building the agent network and post-roof insurance paperwork00:25:30 – No door knocking: training new reps on agent meetings00:28:30 – State Farm focus and selling agents on making them look better00:29:30 – Frivolous claims and honest inspections00:31:45 – Ramp-up timeline and winning agents with stalled claims00:33:00 – No compensation to agents, and keeping the model clean00:33:37 – Exactimate writers and supplementing in-house00:34:40 – The two-step evidence package00:35:45 – Request vs. requirement, and the Allstate call story00:38:15 – Reasonable pricing and local price verification00:40:00 – Wrap-up: ages, three years in business, and community00:41:35 – Exit strategy and EBITDA mindset00:42:25 – Retail vs. insurance focus and plans for spring00:43:55 – Where to find Donovan and DTE Roofing00:44:50 – Chris’s plane, Diversified Roofer and closing

🗒️ Episode NotesRick's unconventional path: engineering degree → corporate tech job → sales → laid off in the dot-com bustThe origin story: selling Space Invaders T-shirts at Portobello Market in Notting HillBuilding an international business licensing Disney, Warner Bros., Netflix, Star Wars, and Marvel IPThe difference between corporate licensing (Disney/Netflix) and relationship-driven music licensingWhat "merchandising" actually covers: apparel, accessories, headwear, nightwear, and moreEvergreen licenses (Disney) vs. fleeting pop-culture moments (Stranger Things) vs. touring bandsWhy merchandising is a high-volume, lower-margin business — "license to print money"Rick's biggest music license ever: AC/DC, and why the Rolling Stones' logo is untouchableWriting The Maverick Entrepreneur: turning life lessons and failures into a bookThe role of tenacity, resilience, and refusing to quit in entrepreneurshipRick's motivation for public speaking and pursuing personal developmentWorking smarter, not harderRick's closing piece of wisdom: "grab life by the throat" and take full personal responsibilityTrusting your instincts and learning from (not repeating) your mistakesWhere to find Rick Lowe and his upcoming book 

EPISODE NOTESGuest: Jake Huotari, Co-Owner, Aspire Home Services (Maple Grove, MN)Host: Ken Baden, CEO/Owner of Baden Consulting and Potomac Custom RemodelingKey takeawaysFlexibility and a good attitude are core to Jake's leadership philosophy: "Blessed are the flexible, for they will not be bent out of shape."Jake and Josh started at Aspire as a small insurance restoration team. After the 90-day program with Ken, they ended 2025 just under $4M.Jake says retail runs about a 60% margin after commissions, and that insurance claims can move from about 45% to 75% margin using financing and upgrade tie-downs.Retail is a value-based proposition. Your ability to articulate value determines your ability to charge a premium.Retail businesses are worth roughly 4 to 5 points more to private equity and investors, according to Ken.Starting retail doesn't take a huge budget. Begin with one or two canvassers and add as profit allows.Hiring with a personality and temperament profile takes the mystery out of finding reps who will actually close.Jake says that when his team deviated from the scripting in July, their close rate dropped from 34% to 18%. It recovered as soon as they went back to it.Aspire's team now includes 7 sales reps, 8 canvassers, 2 phone staff, a job site coordinator, and a production specialist, which Jake says is a framework for a $15M business.Jake sees insurance carriers squeezing contractors through slow pay and scope disputes. He says fewer than half of last year's roughly 4,000 Minnesota contractors remain.About 3 in 10 roof replacements are insurance-driven and 7 in 10 are for other reasons, according to Ken. Very few roofers go after that 70%.Jake's advice on what made it work: follow directions, and put in the work.Jake's caution: "This is not get rich quick, this is get rich slow."Mentioned in the episode: Blue Collar Baller event (Dallas, 2023), one-sit close, canvassing, DISC-style hiring profile, CRM and cost-per-lead tracking, financing on insurance claims, private equity interest, NLP-based scripting.Connect with Jake: https://www.facebook.com/jakehuotariConnect with Ken: thekitchentablepodcast.net | Badenconsulting.net | DiversifiedRoofer.com | PotomacCustomRemodeling.com

🗒️ EPISODE NOTESMenace Monroe joins the show for the third time, discussing his life, music, and business ventures.He details his history in and out of incarceration starting at age 14, including a recent 6-year prison term.Discusses how a drug habit drove much of his past legal trouble, and how he's been sober and focused since coming home.Explains why he sees the music industry as "a business" — artists need consistency and traction before labels will invest.Talks through his growth strategy: he calls it "multiplication" — steadily increasing followers, streams, and income rather than expecting overnight success.Shares the emotional story of losing custody of his younger son during his last incarceration due to an interstate custody case, and how that experience continues to affect him.Credits family — including his brother, who was incarcerated alongside him — as a major source of motivation and change.Talks about his current single "Still My Boo," dedicated to women who've been mistreated in relationships.Discusses his long-term goal of eventually creating music with a positive message, citing Bob Marley as inspiration.Explains the origin of his clothing brand Trap Rob, which began as sketches in a notebook while incarcerated and has since grown into a full merch line (shirts, hats, bags, car accessories, and more) — now trademarked.Gives a shoutout to his brother's brand, Black Heart Garments, known for tactical, concealment-friendly sweatsuits.Wraps up with where to find his music and merchandise, and future goals: 1 million followers and 10x growth within a year.