u/Tophgoat

Long story short, I interviewed at company A and accepted a position and I am nearing my start date. Company B’s interview process was longer but the offer is quite compelling. This is for a retail sales/estimator position in the PNW. I need help deciding what is going to be the best fit as I am coming from an adjacent industry (solar).

Company A:
- decades of good reputation in the community. Virtually no bad reviews that have gone unaddressed
- m-f 7-5 (start in office, run estimates, leave from office) claiming some autonomy if productive
- 50k base + 3% on gross revenue sold
- health, vision, dental, 401k w/ 4% match
- company truck at the office
- mainly residential, with a path into commercial eventually
- 15-20 company fed appointments per week (smaller sales team)
- professional and well structured culture.
- emphasis on no hard sale, no direction to knock other than a 6-pack. Does encourage networking
- earnings seem to be $150-200k (based off current reps)

Company B:
- about a decade of decent reputation in neighboring communities. Reviews vary mostly in quality, hard sale for unneeded reroof, communication.
- no time commitment in office other than a meeting or two a week
- base can be negotiated while starting, but otherwise just 5% of gross revenue sold, 7.5% on self-gen commercial
- health, vision, dental are all employee paid
- take home company truck
- primarily residential, some commercial
- 8-11 company appointments per week (performance based)
- 10 other sales reps, not a lot of long tenure
- performance-driven and young culture
- encourages knocking, self generating
- earnings claimed to be $175k-300k (based off current reps)
- offers the autonomy to help build/sell solar. Also offering a more commercial based position that has a 60k base but less on commission, less company leads.

I am making the transition into a retail residential estimator/sales role from 4 years of in-home solar sales experience. I sold a number of roofs with the solar projects and one standalone roof in my tenure.

For context, I am in the PNW. I am getting onboarded by a local family-owned company that has been around for decades and has excellent brand recognition/reputation. They were not initially hiring but i had a friend there in the commercial space and he recommended i submit my resume.

This is a w2 position with a $50k base and 3% of total sold revenue. Medical, dental, vision, disability, 401k with 4% match. Company truck, phone, laptop, gas card etc. The company provides the appointments and expects i should receive approximately 20 a week when i get rolling.

I averaged $150k/yr in solar with the last two years being over $170k. I was always in the 75th percentile among my peers in production. I understand there will be a learning curve with roofing and i want to hedge my expectations appropriately.

- what should i expect to make my first full year?
- what is the seasonality of roofing sales in the PNW?
- tips for quick progression of beginner - average - top rep
- i am not afraid, but also not stoked on climbing steep or 2-story roofs (especially in inclement weather) does this fade with experience?
- what are some other tips/recommendations?