Storm season hits. You need 10 sales reps in two weeks. You post the job, get 200 applicants, and start screening. Twenty hours later, you've called 15 people. You're three weeks in. Storm season's over.
This is the recruiting bottleneck that kills roofing companies. And it's exactly where Sales Transformation Group and GhostRep diverge completely. One keeps you screening manually. The other eliminates it entirely.
What Sales Transformation Group Actually Delivers
Sales Transformation Group (founded by Ryan Groth in 2018) provides comprehensive sales transformation using Dave Kurlan's Baseline Selling methodology—a universal sales framework using baseball as metaphor. Each base represents a stage: appointment → qualified prospect → hot opportunity → closed deal.
According to Trustpilot customer reviews, STG costs approximately $18,000 per person annually with a 2-year contract (first 6 months paid upfront). For a 20-person team, that's $360,000 over two years.
What STG provides:
- Sales methodology training (Baseline Selling framework)
- 21 Sales Competencies Assessment from Objective Management Group (OMG)
- Weekly group coaching calls
- Technology stack: GameTime (activity tracking), STG Statcast (analytics), CoachCRM (coaching documentation)
- Conference roleplay tournaments
The critical limitation: This assessment happens after you hire someone. You discover competency gaps when they're already on payroll, not before you waste interview time.
The Multi-Industry Reality
STG serves roofing, HVAC, painting, and other home services trades—all using the same methodology and assessment. When a framework needs to work for painting contractors, HVAC techs, and roofers simultaneously, it necessarily prioritizes universal principles over industry-specific depth.
Their 21 competencies are generic: cold calling ability, needs analysis, asking for the sale. Not roofing-specific: storm damage identification, insurance adjuster navigation, roof inspection documentation.
The Recruiting Bottleneck STG Doesn't Solve
Here's the problem: you still spend 10-20 hours weekly manually screening candidates.
Post a job → get 200 applicants → spend 20 hours on phone screens → conduct 15 interviews → hire 3 people → STG's assessment tells you 2 of the 3 lack fundamental competencies. Too late—you already hired them.
During storm season when you need to hire 10 reps in two weeks, manual screening becomes impossible. By the time you finish the first round of calls, storm season ends.
The cost of each bad hire: $76,000 in wasted salary, training, and turnover replacement (Industry data from roofing contractor research).
What GhostRep Delivers: Complete Roofing-Specific Ecosystem
GhostRep isn't a sales transformation platform—it's a complete ecosystem purpose-built for roofing that starts before you hire anyone and continues through their entire development.
Phase 1: Pre-Hire Screening with AI Recruiting Agent
Share a white-labeled application link in your job postings. Candidates get interviewed immediately by conversational AI trained specifically for roofing sales.
The AI doesn't waste time with clearly unqualified candidates. It goes straight to roofing-specific questions:
- "Roofing is 100% commission. You could work 60 hours, knock 200 doors, close zero deals. Can you handle that?"
- "Homeowner says your competitor is $3,000 cheaper. Walk me through your response."
- "Insurance adjuster's estimate is $8,000 under what the job needs. What's your approach?"
You get detailed assessment reports with numerical scores and clear hiring recommendations: Strong Hire, Consider, or Pass.
Recruiting time comparison:
- Manual screening of 200 applicants: 20 hours of your time
- AI screening of 200 applicants: 24 hours (automatically, while you sleep)
- Cost of one prevented bad hire: $76,000 saved
Learn more about how GhostRep's AI Recruiting Agent works
Phase 2: Unlimited Conversation Practice Infrastructure
After hiring the right people, they need to get competent at roofing conversations quickly. STG provides weekly group coaching (maybe 10-20 scenarios annually). GhostRep provides unlimited AI conversation practice.
A motivated rep can complete 30 roofing conversations in a day, 150 in a week, 600 in a month. By conversation 50 with homeowners concerned about insurance claims, responding becomes automatic.
Roofing-specific practice scenarios:
- Insurance claim conversations (adjuster says roof is fine, claim denied, waiting approval)
- Material selection discussions (architectural vs 3-tab shingles, warranty differences, color selection)
- Contractor selection objections ("I need three bids," "My brother-in-law does roofing," "You're more expensive")
- Storm damage qualification (identifying damage, understanding timing, qualifying urgency)
Custom scenario creation: If your reps struggle with a specific objection in your territory, build that exact scenario. If you have unique financing programs, create practice conversations around them.
Explore our objection mastery training guide for roofing-specific practice scenarios.
Phase 3: Live Field Coaching with Ghost Rep
After reps practice and start selling in the field, they need ongoing coaching. Ghost Rep provides AI-powered live coaching during actual customer interactions—no manager ride-alongs required.
This closes the loop: pre-hire screening identifies good candidates → unlimited practice builds conversation competence → live coaching ensures continuous field improvement.
Discover how Ghost Rep live coaching works in real customer calls.
The Economic Reality
GhostRep pricing: $6,000 for 1,000 hours annually or $11,000 for 2,000 hours annually. Unlimited reps share the pool across all features.
Your 20th rep costs nothing more than your first rep.
For a 20-person team:
- STG total: $360,000 annually ($18,000 per person)
- GhostRep total: $6,000-$11,000 annually (shared pool)
- Recruiting time cost with STG: $6,000/month ($75/hour × 20 hours weekly screening)
- Recruiting time cost with GhostRep: $0 (automated)
One prevented bad hire ($76,000 saved) pays for three years of GhostRep.
Decision Framework: What Problem Are You Actually Solving?
Choose Sales Transformation Group When:
You need complete organizational architecture: If you lack sales infrastructure entirely—no process, no leadership, no compensation plan, no technology—STG builds comprehensive systems from scratch. Baseline Selling provides proven structure that works across industries.
You can invest $360,000+ for 20 reps: If your margins support $18,000 per person annually over two-year contracts, STG's comprehensive transformation fits your budget.
You have 6-12 months for implementation: If you can dedicate months to methodology rollout before expecting results, STG's transformation timeline works.
Choose GhostRep When:
Recruiting is killing your growth: If you spend 10-20 hours weekly manually screening candidates, AI Recruiting Agent eliminates that bottleneck completely. Storm season burst-hiring (need 10 reps in 2 weeks) becomes manageable—AI screens 200 applicants in 24 hours.
Conversation execution is the bottleneck: If reps freeze during roofing conversations about insurance or pricing, unlimited practice builds automatic responses. One rep practicing 600 conversations monthly executes better than 100 generic roleplay conferences annually.
Manager time is constrained: If managers can't provide recruiting screening, roleplay practice, or ride-along coaching, GhostRep automates all three.
You need roofing-specific tools: Generic sales training doesn't transfer to insurance claims, material warranties, or adjuster navigation. Roofing-specific infrastructure matters.
Budget constraints exist: If $360,000 for 20 people isn't feasible, $6,000-$11,000 for unlimited reps makes economics work.
The Honest Reality
Sales Transformation Group built a comprehensive business transformation platform using proven generic methodologies. For owners starting from zero, STG provides valuable architecture.
But it's generic. Built for all contractors across all trades. The assessment happens after hire. You still manually screen every candidate. Practice volume is constrained by human coaching availability.
GhostRep built the opposite: purpose-built roofing infrastructure that solves recruiting, training, and coaching specifically for roofing sales.
The AI Recruiting Agent screens candidates automatically using roofing-specific assessment before you waste interview time. Unlimited conversation practice builds execution capability through repetition of actual roofing scenarios. Ghost Rep live coaching provides ongoing development during real customer interactions.
Different tools. Different problems.
If your bottleneck is recruiting time, conversation execution, or coaching scalability, GhostRep provides focused infrastructure—all for 3% of STG's cost.
Ready to eliminate recruiting bottlenecks? Explore GhostRep's recruiting agent.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Sales Transformation Group training take?
STG requires a 2-year contract with the first 6 months paid upfront. Most contractors see measurable improvement in weeks 3-4, but full organizational transformation typically takes 6-12 months.
What's the difference between Baseline Selling and roofing-specific sales training?
Baseline Selling is a universal sales methodology using baseball metaphor (bases = sales stages). While proven across industries, it doesn't address roofing-specific challenges like insurance claims, adjuster negotiations, or storm damage qualification. Roofing-specific training teaches conversation skills for these exact scenarios.
How much does it cost to train a 20-person roofing sales team?
Sales Transformation Group costs approximately $360,000 annually for 20 reps ($18,000 per person). GhostRep's ecosystem costs $6,000-$11,000 annually for unlimited reps using a shared pool model.
Can I prevent bad sales hires before they start?
Traditional sales assessment happens after hire, discovering competency gaps when you've already invested hiring resources. Pre-hire AI screening identifies unqualified candidates before you interview them, preventing $76,000+ in wasted salary and training per bad hire.
How much time does recruiting consume for roofing contractors?
Most contractors spend 10-20 hours weekly manually screening candidates. During storm season when hiring 10 reps in 2 weeks, manual screening becomes impossible. AI-powered screening processes 200 applicants in 24 hours automatically.
The GhostRep Advantage
One Platform. Closed Loop System.
Every interaction makes your team better. AI that learns, adapts, and improves with every rep.
Hire
AI screens candidates
Train
1,000+ scenarios
Coach
Real-time guidance
Analyze
AI learns & improves
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