Service Leadership Starts With Strategy - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Ellisha Loftus of Service First Solutions. 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 seatbelts and join us as we embark on this exciting Roofing Road Trip. 

Megan Ellsworth: Hello everyone. My name is Megan Ellsworth. Welcome back to a Roofing Road Trip episode brought to you by rooferscoffeeshop.com. 

I am really excited because I am talking with Ellisha here from Service First Solutions and we're talking about strategy, leadership and all that good stuff. 

So, hi Ellisha, how are you? 

Ellisha Loftus: Hi, I am doing great. How are you doing today? 

Megan Ellsworth: So good. I'm really excited to learn more about you and everything you're doing at Service First Solutions. So let's dive right in. I'll have you just introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about you. 

Ellisha Loftus: Sure. My name is Ellisha Loftus. I live in Asheville, North Carolina. I've been in the commercial roofing space for almost 16 years and commercial construction for 25. Not dating myself, but I just did. It's okay. I'll actually be 48 on Monday. 

Megan Ellsworth: Happy birthday. 

Ellisha Loftus: So not shy about sharing that. I think we all need to remember that aging is cool, right? 

Megan Ellsworth: It's so cool. 

Ellisha Loftus: It is. 

So I've been in the space, had lots of wonderful opportunities along my journey that's given me a really holistic look at the roofing industry. So happy to be here. Super passionate about commercial roofing and you know what they say, "Once you get in, you never get out." So happy to be in the space still. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yay. That is so true. And you're new to Service First Solutions. That's so exciting. Tell everyone when you started and how it's been going. 

Ellisha Loftus: So I've been with Service First Solutions just a little shy of two months. It's a natural at-home fit for my jam, what I do and what I love to do and the space I need to be in. The team at Service First, Tracey, his reputation preceded him. I've been following Service First for a while. Jay Adri and the rest of the team are just wonderful. It just feels like home. It feels where I need to be. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, I love it. I love it. Fabulous. 

Okay, so how would you say this opportunity of joining Service First aligns with your vision for elevating service departments in the roofing industry? 

Ellisha Loftus: It's very natural because my experience, back in the day, I had this wonderful opportunity at North American Roofing back in 2011. Prior to the evolution of them selling and being who they are today, it was a different place back in almost 15 years ago. 

And I had a really good opportunity there to be taken through the ins and outs of the commercial roofing business and the different positions. So it's a quick little story, but it will help segue into why working with Service First Solutions is a good fit for me. 

So at the time, back then, they were in the process of rolling out their first CRM system. And they were actually using Microsoft CRM. That's how long ago it was. And it was being created, it was out of the box software that you could completely customize. 

So everything was being customized within the individual departments, which production and service. And then all of the SOPs for the company were also being written simultaneously to roll out something they'd never had before, which was a software that was all their own to dispatch both production and service. And then corresponding standard operating procedures for each of the positions, each of the departments. 

And so it was a really good space to be in to allow me to really spend time with each of the positions and everything that made all of the cogs in the wheel go around. So I was basically the liaison between the departments and the IT department to build and then writing these SOPs. 

So it was a great opportunity to take a peek under the hood and see how everything worked, which ultimately led to an opportunity to be director of service for their service department. 

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, wow. 

Ellisha Loftus: Yeah, so throughout my time there, we finished this project. And I had several opportunities there, but ultimately landed in the service department. And we were centrally managing at our high peak, 52-man teams across the country. 

Megan Ellsworth: My gosh. 

Ellisha Loftus: A pretty cool opportunity. I got to work with some really awesome people that helped mentor me. My biggest accredited mentor, Kelly Wade was the vice president at the time and really just mentored me into learning how to look at a P&L. And how to run a budget. And how to take the service techs from paper. We took them from paper to iPad technology back then. So that was a big step at the time. 

So I think the big thing is the opportunity that I had to learn so much and see all the different vantage points, really now, allows me to be in a role like I am now with Service First. And for real, I can meet anybody where they're at. They can be a small company with one truck just looking to create the infrastructure to grow or it can be a mid-sized company or a larger company. 

Because of the opportunities and the learning path that I was blessed enough to have been able to travel, it really aligns with Tracey's philosophy of meeting people where they're at. And so it's just a natural fit. 

And because I was able to see the tangible results from creating those processes and procedures, working with the team, all on client-focused outcomes, creating the synergies with production. And just to actually see, whenever you get all of those pieces moving in the right direction, what can happen for the bottom line overall. It just really gets me jazzed. And it's continued to keep my passions running and all the opportunities that I've had in this space. 

I love it because it's working with the people. It's listening to what our clients need. And creating those infrastructures that we need to grow. And ultimately, be synergistic. 

But I was telling somebody the other day, "Yes, it's about this and yes, it's about that." But ultimately it's about adding to the bottom line of our business and growing our business, increasing our gross profit margins. And all of that can happen through these strategies that are developed for your service department. 

Megan Ellsworth: I love seeing how passionate you are about this. That is so fabulous and your experience in the field is huge. The two going hand-in-hand and you joining Service First Solutions just makes absolute sense. The fact that you ran such a large department for so many years. What great advice you can provide for people. That's so awesome. Really cool. 

Ellisha Loftus: Yeah, it was a great opportunity. 

Throughout the evolution of my career, I also worked for some small folks. The last eight years prior, that had an eight-year space, where I worked with a smaller company that was growing from that 1 million to the 5 million mark and ran all operations. And got to see the growing pains from that perspective and what it means to take on another truck. What it means to add that overhead and how we have to grow to support the customer needs and the customer experience. 

So I really feel that's another reason why I fit with the culture of Service First of meeting folks where they're at, is because both Tracey, Adrian and myself all have been with companies at different times in their growth and different size companies. So whenever we say, "We've been where you're at," we can say it and really mean it. Collectively, we have been there. 

So it's cool to be surrounded by other professionals that are just as passionate and rock the same culture and have the same objectives. It just feels really good. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, that does feel really good. And again, I love the passion that you bring to this. It's infectious for sure. 

Ellisha Loftus: Thank you. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yes, of course. 

Okay, so how would you say, with all this experience you have under your belt. How has that experience shaped your specific approach to service and repair? And what advice do you share with your customers in this department? 

Ellisha Loftus: Well, I think one of the things that we all must look at when we're trying to grow, whatever that means. Grow in the truck that we have better or grow into 10 or whatever it is. We want to work smarter, not harder. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yes. 

Ellisha Loftus: And a lot of times when we're busy, we take the path of least resistance and thinking that that's what we need to do. And already, I see that a lot of the clients that I am working with now, it's looking for those opportunities to work smarter, not harder. And just making some small changes that give you back your time. That allow you to focus more on the customer experience or growing the business and less on duplicitous tasks. 

So it's having that opportunity to be in all the different spaces that I have been over the last 25 years. That's the first thing that I look for is efficiencies. What are some small tweaks we can make to your day-to-day that will give you your time back to focus on the client? 

Megan Ellsworth: That is so refreshing because it's manageable, right? You're not taking on more than you can chew. It feels authentic in the sense of you're not overwhelming yourself to try to get to those 10 trucks or whatever that growth looks for you. It's manageable. 

And helping your people realize that it can be manageable is a really nice and big realization for a lot of people. 

Ellisha Loftus: Sure. And I look at what we do at Service First Solutions as a tool in your tool belt. We always hear in leadership, you have to work on your business and not in your business. And having a tool like Service First Solutions allows you to do that. 

Having someone from the outside look in and work with members on your team one-on-one, which is what I love, to help make those small changes that ultimately show up on the bottom line. 

And being objective is what helps. We can see things that you can't see. And then we also have the time to work individually with members on your team and take it slow and get them there. And show them these tools. Show them how to pick up some of this low-hanging fruit that will give them some time back. Even as much as, there's a client right now that we just look at five work orders a week. And look at the pictures, so we can start to develop her skill set on how to realize repairs through the photographs and how to translate that onto paper. 

It's the little things that make such a huge impact. And that is what I love about being at Service First is no two clients are the same. No two meetings are the same. What I'm working on with one, learning how to recognize and price repairs, versus complex reporting with another client. So it just feels so good to be able to help folks grow in so many different ways. 

Megan Ellsworth: And I love that example of just five work orders a week, showing them what can be done and repaired in those photos. That's really cool because you're getting a chance to also mentor the next generation or someone that's coming up behind. And that always feels really, really good, at least to me. I love that. 

Ellisha Loftus: Yes, it does. And we've been saying it a lot for many, many years in the roofing industry that not a lot of folks are coming in. And how can we get more people attracted to roofing? 

And one of the things that I feel very passionate about is bringing more women in the space. And we have some awesome women in the space and awesome people doing things to promote women in the space, like National Women in Roofing. There's some baddie women out there in the roofing space that are really making some big impact to our business. 

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, I could talk about that for hours, so don't get me started. I love that. Okay, so going off of that, what has sparked this amazing passion that you have for service teams? And why do you believe professionalism, planning and communication are so vital in this space? 

Ellisha Loftus: I think my passion drives from the opportunities I was given and the female leadership that mentored me along the way. The opportunity is what really ignites the passion and I feel so lucky. So I had Kelly Wade at North American that was a huge impact and mentorship to me. And then I also got to work with Lindy Ryan at Tecta America coming off of her NRCA presidency. And she mentored me in a different way. 

So I got to learn from two very strong women in the space. And the theme that runs through both of those mentorships is communication, professionalism, setting up scalable, repeatable process. The basics for the successes of the opportunities that I've been given and seen with three different, totally different companies and how they operate. 

The underlying themes to success are always the same and that is having those repeatable processes that are scalable. Everything that you do, do that with a client-focused nature, always think how does that affect the client and continue to be innovative, stay up with the new technologies. 

So it's ever-changing, the evolution of the roofing space, but the underlying principles that make or break a company are the same. 

Megan Ellsworth: Those core values for sure, they're so important. And one thing that I love about this industry as well is it's so family-focused, whether you're a family business or you're not a family business, but you just really embrace the families of your employees and coworkers. That is definitely a core value of this industry too. 

And something that I really enjoy, National Women in Roofing talks a lot about too as women in roofing, a lot of times the heads of the household. And I love that you said technology changes and business ideas change, but those are some of the core values of the roofing industry for sure. I like that. 

Ellisha Loftus: Yes. And not just the experiences, but you just said it and it's true. I think it, a lot and I say it a lot whenever I'm working with peers, but these are my people. 

This is where I love to be and I love working with people that like working. These are my people. I've learned so much from the techs in the field and created relationships and friendships that still go to this day. I still talk to some of my old techs on LinkedIn regularly. 

Megan Ellsworth: Love it. 

Ellisha Loftus: It's building those relationships because you're right, this is a very family-centric industry. And it's not just the family you're born with, it's the family that you choose. It's your work family. Yes, I agree. 

And that's one of the reasons why if you're lucky enough to stumble into this industry, that you don't leave because there is a warmth and a camaraderie. And even though we're all looking out here, people might think competition, but there is a camaraderie within this space that continue to create leaders in the space and make change. 

I don't know if you know this or not, but one of the things we do at Service First Solutions is we have peer groups of service [inaudible 00:19:39] that join monthly from all different types and sizes of roofing companies. 

And yes, if you're out there, we're not going to put you in a group with your competitor. And we sign NDAs and we do all these things. But it's really a fun space to come and collaborate with people that are doing what you're doing. And listening to each other, help each other solve problems. Bring ideas, blue sky or whiteboard, whatever you want to call it. Come up with solutions together for problems that we're all having. 

So that was a shameless plug, but it was a segue into one of the passion projects that we have and continue to stimulate through our peer groups. Getting people together to talk about roofing and help each other out. 

It's a strong community and even people that might consider themselves competitors or whatever, we all come together and help each other out. It's a very strong coalition without being a coalition. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yes. 

Ellisha Loftus: People always look out for each other and help each other. And I love hearing people solve problems with, shoot, even material shortages. 

"Hey, I really can't find that, can you?" 

"Oh, hey, I'll help you out. Our supplier has tons of that," 

Or just listing problems get solved through peers in the same industry and everybody is there cheering each other on. And honestly, wanting to help and hold up and support and rally. And that's why I have passion for this industry because we're awesome people. Roofers rock. Yeah? 

Megan Ellsworth: Yes. I love that. Roofers do rock. 

Ellisha Loftus: We do. 

Megan Ellsworth: And that was not a shameless plug at all because I was going to say the same thing about your peer groups. I think it's so cool to see programs like that in the industry where roofing contractors are coming together across the nation, whether they're competitors or not and just helping each other. And lifting everyone up. When the waters rise, all boats rise. Right? 

Ellisha Loftus: That's right. 

Megan Ellsworth: So I love that. I love that sentiment and that energy. I think it's so important and a little unique to this industry for sure, like you said and which I love. 

Okay, so how do you plan to wrap all this up and bring your expertise to the contractors you work with at Service First? And most importantly, what do you hope is your impact that you make through this role as growth consultant? 

Ellisha Loftus: Helping folks achieve tangible results, whatever that looks like to them. If that's growing trucks. If it's growing margin. If it's reducing indirect costs. If it's teaching their folks how to run a P&L on a budget from a roofing perspective. Anything that drives your business forward, we're there for. 

And I do feel really blessed to have had the opportunities that I've had and can join a team with Tracey and Adrian and Jay and really take our collective experience and be able to help people solve problems to grow. Whatever that is. 

And we all work with each other. We all don't have the same experiences, which make it the perfect play because we can collectively come to each other. For instance, in all my roles, I've estimated a little bit, but that's not my jam. But Adrian on our team is the bomb estimator and he's seen it all and looked at it all. 

And so being able to pool together and solve individual problems. And when you work with Service First, you're not just working with one of us, you're working with all of us, depending on what we're doing. 

Megan Ellsworth: That's great. 

Ellisha Loftus: So for instance, Adrian works with a lot of estimators and field managers and production managers. I tend to work with a lot of upcoming female leadership and working with them from the other side because I've been in the field. And I've been on a roof and I've teched a roof, but I haven't consistently made repairs on a roof as part of my job. And you know what? Tracey and Adrian have been in those shoes before. So we're always going to put the right person with the right project. 

And so collectively together, that's what the hope of all of us is is to be able to give you the tangible results that you're seeking. Whatever that is. Whether it's as simple as bringing on a new CRM software. And helping you implement that and adjust your SOPs to match the new and make sure we're flowing right. Or working on developing a training program or working on overall holistic approach to beefing up your service department. 

Whatever it is, collectively, we have the experience and have been there to meet you where you're at. And I'll continue to say that because I feel it every day when I'm working with different clients. I'm meeting them where they're at. 

If we have a coordinator who wants to grow into a manager, we can start teaching her the behaviors that she needs to learn now to build mindset to be eligible for that role. Or if we have a really strong service manager who's looking to expand their skill set on looking at the financials. Or whatever it is, we've been there. And collectively we have the knowledge and experience to help you drive toward your goals. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, that's really cool. It's also cool that it's a whole company look, right? You can help anybody. It's not just the big boss, you're helping out or CEO or whatever. You can work with anybody and help grow their service department and also their career skills. Their hard skills, soft skills. I think that's really cool that you do that. 

Ellisha Loftus: Yes, yes. And that approach that we take and divvy up where we're at. This is Tracey's brainchild and we feed. We all talk. We all know what's going on with each other's clients. We deliver information and reporting to Tracey so he can talk with the leadership, the executives and the stakeholders. And help drive forward initiatives that we're working on with their team. 

So it just works really well. And even only being here just shy of two months, I've already seen such impactful change week over week working with clients. 

One of my favorite things to do is get rid of third-party spreadsheets and teach you how to use your system. So anytime I get to do that, that makes me do the happy dance. It's those little wins that really drive your business and give you that time back to grow. So it's cool. 

Megan Ellsworth: That's so true. 

Ellisha Loftus: I love it. And I love it not being the same thing every day. Not the same type of project with every client. It's very versatile. It's inspiring, getting to be a part of the small wins and watching other people have these successes. It's a really cool place to be and get up and come to work every day. And get to meet with people and watch the impact that we have collectively. It's super cool. 

Megan Ellsworth: That is so fun to hear. I love hearing people just being excited about what they do. And having that passion and high energy about helping people and just getting excited to go to work. And not really having it feel like work. I love that. 

And being able to work with really cool people every day helps that of course. And this has been an absolute blast just talking about everything you all do with Service First and all the cool things you offer your clients. 

So how can contractors listening today find out more about Service First Solutions and start working with you all? 

Ellisha Loftus: Yes. So Ellisha Loftus, I am on LinkedIn, so it's Tracey Donels and Adrian Hilton and Jay Wade. And then our website, you cannot mess up. It is growroofservice.com. 

Megan Ellsworth: Perfect. 

Ellisha Loftus: So feel free to reach out to any of us directly. All of our contact information is on our individual LinkedIn's and our website. So that is growroofservice.com. 

And we'll be happy to have a discovery call with you. Find out what we can do to help, whether it's joining a peer group, becoming a total access client that we work with weekly for an annual term term. 

We also have the peer groups and we are having a service summit this year with our peer groups. So we're looking forward to bringing all the peer groups together to meet together in Dallas this October. So definitely going to be an opportunity synergize with roofing companies from all over the country. So lots of ways to get in touch and lots of ways to get involved. 

Megan Ellsworth: That's so exciting. And everyone also can go to the Service First Solutions' directory on Roofers Coffee Shop to learn more, see all the other podcasts and webinars they've been a part of. Tracey has done loads. I think Jay's even been on one and now, Ellisha. So thank you so much for sharing your passion with us today. It's been a delight. 

Ellisha Loftus: Thank you, Megan. Thank you for chatting with me today. 

Megan Ellsworth: Absolutely. 

Everyone, please, please, please make sure to go check out their directory on rooferscoffeeshop.com and go to their website. Learn more. Follow them on LinkedIn. Connect. And I look forward to chatting with you again, Ellisha and hope to meet you in person sometime. 

Ellisha Loftus: Totally. Looking forward to it. 

Megan Ellsworth: Absolutely. Everyone out there, thanks for listening. This has been another great Roofing Road Trip and we'll see you on the next one. 

Outro: If you've enjoyed the ride, don't forget to hit that subscribe button and join us on every roofing adventure. Make sure to visit rooferscoffeeshop.com to learn more. Thanks for tuning in and we'll catch you on the next Roofing Road Trip.