What's a Normal Roofing Sales Turnover Rate? (2025 Benchmarks + How to Improve)

You just hired five reps for storm season. Two quit after their first week. One disappeared after collecting his first commission check. The fourth is "thinking about it" after three months of mediocre numbers. You're down to one productive rep by September. $37,000 spent on recruiting, training, and manager time. Gone.

Is this normal? Unfortunately, yes.

The Benchmarks Nobody Talks About

Construction industry turnover sits at 21.4% annually according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's already high compared to most industries. But roofing sales? Different beast entirely.

Here's where turnover actually sits across the roofing industry:

• Construction industry average: 21.4% annual turnover
• Roofing field workers: 40% annual turnover
• Roofing sales reps: 50-70% annual turnover (depending on W-2 vs 1099, base salary, and training quality)
• Top-performing roofing companies: 20-30% annual turnover

That gap between 70% and 30% isn't luck. Top-performing companies are doing five specific things the high-turnover companies ignore completely. We'll break down exactly what those are, but first you need to understand why roofing sales turnover is so catastrophically high in the first place.

Why Roofing Sales Turnover Destroys Companies

Most owners think about turnover costs wrong. They calculate recruiting fees and training time. They miss the bigger number: territory opportunity destruction.

Here's what actually happens. Your new rep is supposed to canvass the neighborhood that got hailed out last week. That's 180 homes with visible roof damage. Prime territory. He quits Friday afternoon. You scramble to reassign the territory but your other reps are already booked. The territory sits untouched for eleven days while you interview replacements.

Eleven days later, six competitors have already knocked those doors. Your window closed.

That territory generated $340,000 last season. This year? You'll be lucky to pull $85,000 because you're arriving fourth or fifth to conversations. That's the real cost—not the $12,000 you spent training someone who quit. The $255,000 in missed revenue from territories that got burned while you were replacing bodies.

The 5 Reasons Reps Quit (And What Each One Costs You)

1. Commission-Only Attracts Job Hoppers

Pure commission structures attract two types: hungry grinders who want unlimited upside, and desperate job hoppers who'll try anything for three weeks. The first group is gold. The second group destroys your pipeline.

They collect a few easy insurance checks, realize the work is harder than the recruiter promised, and vanish to the next "opportunity." Workers 25 and under show 38% turnover rates in construction. In roofing sales, it's worse. Young reps hitting 0-for-40 on their first week of door knocking rarely make it to week eight.

The commission-only model works when reps have reserves to survive their first 90 days. Most don't. They need income by week three or they're gone.

2. Seasonal Income Instability

Storm season generates 60% of annual revenue for most roofing companies between April and September. October through March? Dead. Reps who crush it during storm season face seven months of minimal income unless they're in year-round markets like Texas or Florida. That volatility drives turnover.

The rep who closed 40 deals and earned $180,000 from April to October gets offered a $75,000 base salary position at a software company in November. Stable income beats roller coaster income for most people. He takes it. You're hiring his replacement in March, training through April, and hoping they're productive by May when the season actually starts.

3. Poor Training = Poor Results = Quitting

Sales positions average 35% annual turnover nationally. Roofing sales doubles that because most companies provide almost zero real training.

Here's the "training" at 60% of roofing companies:

"Here's the product catalog. Go knock doors. Ask for the homeowner. Point out roof damage. Get them to sign. Any questions?"

That's it. The rep fails. They quit. The cycle repeats. The rep who gets thrown into territories without practicing conversations, objection handling, or insurance claim processes fails 80% of the time. They survive on luck and inherited leads from marketing spend, never developing actual skills.

They close 18% of qualified appointments. Your trained reps close 32%. The gap compounds. The untrained rep sees everyone else succeeding, assumes they're not cut out for sales, and quits.

4. Better Opportunities Elsewhere

The median wage across all U.S. industries is $48,060 according to Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational earnings data. Half of construction workers earn $58,500. That's a premium. But roofing sales reps in their first year? Averaging $31,000-$42,000 depending on market and season timing. That's brutal compared to what the recruiter promised about "six-figure potential."

The rep struggling to hit $50,000 in year one gets recruited by a solar company offering $65,000 base plus commission. He's gone. You're hiring again.

5. Burnout From Constant Rejection

Door-to-door sales requires rejection tolerance most people don't have. Getting 40 hostile "not interested" responses daily breaks people psychologically. The rep who goes 0-for-87 doors before getting their first appointment isn't developing resilience—they're developing anxiety and self-doubt. They quit before hitting the learning curve inflection point where results start coming.

The ones who survive? They've typically done door-to-door sales before in other industries. They know the rhythm. New reps without that foundation rarely make it past 90 days.

The True Cost of Turnover (With Real Numbers)

Roofing companies spend between $57,000 and $120,000 per rep who quits. Here's the complete breakdown:

Breaking Down The Numbers

1. Recruiting Costs: $2,000-$5,000 Per Hire

Job postings on Indeed, Monster, and Craigslist cost money. 62% of contractors use online job postings as their primary recruiting method, making these costs unavoidable in competitive markets.

Here's what you're actually spending:

• 30-day Indeed featured job posting: $300-$500 depending on market
• Annual posting fees (continuous recruiting): $3,600-$6,000
• HR time screening 40 applications to get 8 interviews: $540 in labor (12 hours at $45/hour)
• Background checks and drug tests: $200-$400 per hire
• Onboarding paperwork and setup: $300-$500

Total recruiting cost per new rep: $2,000-$5,000

2. Training Investment: $5,000-$15,000 Per Rep

Your sales manager makes $85,000 annually. That's roughly $41/hour including benefits and overhead. Here's where that time goes for each new hire:

• Week 1-2: 40 hours riding along and shadowing = $1,640
• Week 3-4: 20 hours practicing scenarios and feedback = $820
• Week 5-8: 30 hours field support and deal reviews = $1,230
• Week 9-12: 20 hours ongoing coaching = $820

Total manager time investment: 110 hours = $4,510 per rep

Add these additional costs:

• Product training materials, CRM licenses, tools: $1,000-$3,000
• Some companies provide draw against commission during training: $1,500/week for 4 weeks = $6,000 in cash outlay you might not recover if they quit

Total training investment: $5,000-$15,000 per rep

3. Lost Production: $50,000-$100,000 Per Territory

This is where it gets expensive. The territory they were supposed to work generates revenue or it doesn't. When reps quit mid-season, territories go dark.

Real example: Storm hits a subdivision with 200 homes. Your rep works it for two weeks, gets 12 appointments scheduled, then quits. Those 12 appointments get reassigned. The other 188 homes? Unworked.

The math:

• Average insurance claim in that market: $18,500
• Close rate on qualified leads: 28%
• That's 53 potential deals at $18,500 = $980,500 in revenue
• You close 28% = $274,540 in actual revenue if someone works the territory properly

Your rep quit. You recover maybe 30% of the territory potential before the window closes = $82,362.

You left $192,178 on the table.

That's the real cost. Training dollars are recoverable. Territory opportunity destruction isn't.

What Low-Turnover Companies Do Differently

The 20-30% turnover companies aren't doing anything revolutionary. They're executing six fundamentals the 70% turnover companies skip. Here's exactly what separates companies that retain talent from companies that constantly rehire.

1. Better Hiring: Screen for Fit, Not Just Hunger

Low-turnover companies interview for door-to-door experience and rejection tolerance, not enthusiasm. They ask questions that surface job hoppers immediately:

• "Tell me about a time you faced sustained rejection for weeks. How did you handle it?"
• "What was your income your first month in your last sales position? How did you survive financially?"
• "Describe your worst day doing door-to-door sales. Why didn't you quit?"

These questions matter because the person who's never done door-to-door sales before and has $900 in savings will struggle. They're a bad fit no matter how motivated they seem. Top-performing companies reject candidates who can't demonstrate they've already survived the hardest parts of the job somewhere else.

2. Structured Onboarding: Not Sink-or-Swim

The first 30 days determine whether reps succeed or quit. Low-turnover companies provide structured ramps instead of throwing new hires into territories on Day 3:

Days 1-5: Product knowledge and company systems
Days 6-10: Practice conversations and objection handling (not field work yet)
Days 11-15: Shadowing top performers in actual appointments
Days 16-30: Solo appointments with immediate manager feedback

This isn't complicated. It's intentional. High-turnover companies skip the practice phase and wonder why reps fail when they hit their first "my insurance deductible is too high" objection.

3. Ongoing Training: Not One-and-Done

Training ends for most reps after week four. Low-turnover companies never stop training. They run weekly objection practice sessions, monthly ride-alongs with managers, and quarterly skills refreshers. They give reps access to AI practice tools that let them simulate 500+ conversations before facing real homeowners.

The rep who practices handling "my insurance deductible is too high" 50 times in AI simulations doesn't freeze at kitchen tables. They handle it naturally. They close deals. They stick around because they're succeeding.

4. Career Paths: Not Dead-End Jobs

"Sales rep" can't be the ceiling. Low-turnover companies create advancement tracks:

Rep → Senior Rep → Team Lead → Sales Manager → Regional Director

This requires intentionality. You need to define what "senior rep" means—production thresholds, mentorship responsibilities, different commission structure. You need to create the path and show reps they're building a career, not just making commissions until something better comes along.

5. Competitive Pay: Base + Commission

Pure commission creates instability. Low base + strong commission creates security while maintaining upside. Here's the difference:

The rep with base salary survives their first 90 days without panic. They develop skills. They become productive. Yes, your commission structure changes. But your turnover drops 40% and you're not constantly rehiring.

6. Culture Investment: Recognition and Community

This sounds soft. It matters. Monthly top producer recognition. Quarterly team events. Private Slack channels where reps share wins and help each other. Simple things that make people feel part of something.

The rep hitting rough patches doesn't quit immediately if they feel connected to the team. They push through. They figure it out. The isolated rep working alone out of their truck quits the first time they have a bad week.

Quick Wins to Reduce Turnover Starting This Week

You're not rebuilding your entire training program overnight. Start with four immediate changes:

1. 30-Day Check-ins

Every new rep gets three formal check-ins in their first month—Day 7, Day 15, Day 30. Manager asks directly: "What's working? What's not? What support do you need?" Address problems before they become resignations. This takes 30 minutes per check-in. It saves $75,000 in lost territory production when a rep doesn't quit.

2. AI Practice Tools

Give reps access to objection practice platforms where they can run 20-30 practice conversations daily. The rep who's practiced handling insurance objections 80 times before their first appointment doesn't panic. They execute. They close. They stay. This costs $149/month per rep. It prevents $57,000-$120,000 in turnover costs.

3. Manager Training

Most sales managers never received management training. They were top reps who got promoted. Invest $2,000 in actual management training focused on coaching, feedback delivery, and motivation. Your managers drive retention or turnover—make sure they know how to do the former.

4. Exit Interviews

When reps quit, actually learn why. Not the polite "pursuing other opportunities" version. The real reason. Track patterns across multiple exits:

• If four reps quit citing "unrealistic income expectations" → Your recruiting promises don't match reality
• If three reps quit within first 30 days → Your onboarding is broken
• If two senior reps leave for competitors → Your pay structure isn't competitive

Fix the patterns. Stop repeating the same mistakes.

The Bottom Line

Normal roofing sales turnover is 50-70%. That doesn't mean it's acceptable.

The companies keeping turnover below 30% are capturing territories their competitors leave open. They're building experienced teams while everyone else restarts from zero every 8 months. They're compounding skills while others are burning cash on recruiting.

Reps quit when they fail. They fail when they're unprepared. AI training prevents the spiral by compressing what used to take 90 days of field failures into 2 weeks of practice scenarios before they ever knock their first door.

The math is simple: Keep one additional rep from quitting and you've saved $57,000 minimum. Keep three reps and that's $171,000 in retained productivity. Do that twice per year and you've captured $342,000 in value that used to walk out your door.

Your turnover rate isn't fixed. It's a choice reflected in how seriously you take hiring, training, and support.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average turnover rate for roofing sales reps?

Roofing sales reps experience 50-70% annual turnover on average, significantly higher than the construction industry average of 21.4%. Top-performing roofing companies maintain turnover between 20-30% through better hiring, structured training, and ongoing support systems.

How much does it cost to replace a roofing sales rep?

Replacing a roofing sales rep costs between $57,000-$120,000 when you account for recruiting expenses ($2,000-$5,000), training investment ($5,000-$15,000), and lost territory production ($50,000-$100,000). The largest cost is missed revenue from territories that go unworked during the replacement period.

Why do roofing sales reps quit so frequently?

Roofing sales reps quit primarily due to five factors: commission-only compensation that creates financial instability, inadequate training that leads to poor results, seasonal income volatility between storm and off-season, constant rejection burnout, and better opportunities at companies offering base salaries plus commission.

What turnover rate should roofing companies target?

Roofing companies should target 20-30% annual turnover, which top-performing companies achieve through structured onboarding, ongoing training programs, career advancement paths, competitive base pay plus commission, and strong company culture that provides recognition and community support.

How long does it take to train a roofing sales rep?

Traditional training takes 8-12 weeks for reps to become moderately productive, with full proficiency taking 6-8 months. Companies using AI-powered practice tools compress initial training to 3-4 weeks by providing 500+ simulated conversations before reps face actual homeowners, significantly reducing early-stage failure rates.

What's the biggest hidden cost of roofing sales turnover?

The biggest hidden cost is territory opportunity destruction. When reps quit mid-season, territories go unworked while you recruit replacements. A single storm-damaged subdivision can represent $200,000+ in potential revenue that gets captured by competitors while your territory sits dark during the replacement period.