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L2 Consultant

DRS University · Level 2

L2 — Consultant (Sales Rep)

Lesson 1

The Job & The Non-Negotiables

As a Consultant you own the job from the knock to the final check. That’s real money and real responsibility — here’s what the role actually is, and the lines you never cross.

What the job actually consists of

Canvassing · inspecting roofs · identifying storm damage · performing maintenance and minor repairs · making inspection videos · presenting to homeowners · signing contracts · attending adjuster appointments · receiving insurance estimates · writing retail bids · picking up checks · setting up installs · running materials · sending Certificates of Completion · invoicing your commissions.

Hard line: we do NOT pay deductibles

Paying or “eating” a homeowner’s deductible is illegal. It’s insurance fraud, and the Texas Department of Insurance has task forces looking for contractors doing exactly this. Never offer it, never hint at it.

Hard line: no Sundays

We do not work Sundays — and we don’t show up to Sunday adjuster appointments. The only exception is an emergency repair to stop an interior leak. Working Sundays is grounds for immediate termination.

Roof safety (this keeps you alive and employed)

Walk flat-footed — as much of your foot touching the roof as possible.
Wear Cougar Paws on every roof 7-pitch or steeper, and on any roof with loose granules.
Careful on hot days — hot shingles damage easily under your feet.
Ladder: secure, 4-to-1 angle, set steeply — never resting against a gutter.
Too steep to walk? Call a manager. We’ll fly a drone or bring the right equipment. Don’t be a hero.
If you damage something

If you damage gutters or anything else, you pay for it. And if you damage something and fail to report it, your contract is terminated immediately without further compensation. Report it. Every time.

How you actually get paid

You are never working for this week’s commission. You’re always a month or two out, so you work for the draws and you keep the pipeline full — aim to hold at least 20 jobs in your pipeline at any moment. Drop cards at insurance agencies, real estate and mortgage brokerages, title companies, home inspectors, and home shows (no more than 10 cards per office, and skip offices that already have a stack of ours).

Why you care

Embrace rejection and failure — success isn’t possible without them. You have a bottomless well of untapped potential; the pipeline is what turns it into income.

Knowledge Check

Pick your answer — you’ll see instantly if you’re right, and why.

1. A homeowner asks if you’ll cover their deductible to win the job. You:

A Do it quietly — it closes the deal
B Ask a manager for approval
C Never — it’s insurance fraud and illegal
Right: it’s illegal, full stop. Texas Department of Insurance task forces actively hunt contractors doing it.

2. You accidentally bend a homeowner’s gutter with your ladder. What happens?

A You report it immediately — and you pay for it
B Say nothing, nobody saw
C Blame the storm
Right: you pay for damage you cause — and hiding it means immediate termination without further compensation.

3. How many jobs should you keep in your pipeline?

A Whatever comes in
B At least 20 at any given moment
C Five good ones
Right: commissions land a month or two out, so a full pipeline is what keeps your income steady.
Lesson 2

The Insurance Process

If you can walk a homeowner through this calmly, start to finish, you’ll win more jobs than the guy who just talks about shingles.

Here’s the journey from the homeowner’s seat:

  • 1. Inspection / evaluationYou inspect and determine whether repair or replacement is needed, then make an inspection video to explain your findings and lead them to the next step.
  • 2. Claim is filedThey call their carrier to report damage. We usually make that call with them to make sure it goes well.
  • 3. Adjuster appointment scheduledCoach the homeowner: never schedule on a Sunday (we won’t show), and call us immediately so we get it on the calendar.
  • 4. Adjuster appointmentA DRS rep is on site to make sure everything is documented properly.
  • 5. First check & estimateCarrier totals the roof and issues an estimate. (The math is Lesson 3.)
  • 6. Mortgage endorsementThe first check usually goes to the mortgage company to be endorsed. We handle that process for them.
  • 7. PaymentWe collect the endorsed check and the deductible together. They only endorse the insurance check — they never cash or deposit it.
  • 8. InstallationUsually about a day. Ask them to bring in fragile lawn items and move vehicles out of the driveway.
  • 9. Other tradesGutters, screens, AC, fencing, garage doors, chimney flue cap/crown — completed as soon as possible after the roof.
  • 10. Final invoice & CoCWe submit the certificate of completion and final invoice, and negotiate any supplements. The carrier then releases the withheld depreciation.
  • 11. Final payment & close outThey endorse, we deposit. We submit the manufacturer warranty and hand them a Class 3 or 4 form to renegotiate their premium.
  • 12. Referrals & reviewsIf they’re happy, ask for a Google review and referrals — we always pay referral fees.

Knowledge Check

Pick your answer — you’ll see instantly if you’re right, and why.

1. The homeowner is about to schedule the adjuster appointment. What do you coach them?

A Any day works, just tell us later
B Never a Sunday, and call us immediately once it’s set
C Schedule it without us
Right: we don’t work Sundays, and we must get it on our calendar right away so a rep is there.

2. What does the homeowner do with the insurance check?

A Cash it and pay us
B Deposit it and write us a personal check
C Just endorse it and hand it to us — never cash or deposit it
Right: they endorse only. We collect it alongside the deductible and deposit it.
Lesson 3

Follow the Money

RCV, depreciation, ACV, deductible, net claim. Learn this cold — it’s the difference between sounding like a pro and losing the room.

The chain, in order

RCV (Replacement Cost Value) — the total value of the job as the carrier writes it.
Depreciation — deducted based on the age/condition of the roof.
ACV (Actual Cash Value) — what’s left after depreciation.
Deductible — the homeowner’s responsibility, deducted from the carrier’s obligation.
Net Claim — what remains. This is the amount of the first check.
Supplementing — a correction to the carrier’s initial estimate, submitted after the fact.
Recoverable depreciation — released after the CoC and final invoice are submitted.

A real example

RCV (total value)20,000
Less depreciation-10,000
ACV10,000
Less deductible (homeowner pays)-3,000
Net Claim (the first check)7,000
Supplemental overages+3,000
Final check (released depreciation)13,000
Final job value23,000
The key relationship

Deductible + Net Claim = ACV. In the example above, the homeowner’s 3,000 deductible plus the 7,000 net claim equals the 10,000 ACV — that’s what we collect up front to do the job.

Knowledge Check

Pick your answer — you’ll see instantly if you’re right, and why.

1. What is the “Net Claim”?

A The total value of the job
B What’s left after depreciation and the deductible — the first check
C The homeowner’s out-of-pocket
Right: RCV minus depreciation = ACV; ACV minus deductible = Net Claim, which is the first check.

2. RCV is 20,000, depreciation 10,000, deductible 3,000. What do we collect up front to do the job?

A 10,000 — the ACV (7,000 net claim + 3,000 deductible)
B 7,000
C 20,000
Right: deductible + net claim = ACV. The rest (recoverable depreciation) comes after the work is done.

3. When does the carrier release the recoverable depreciation?

A At the adjuster appointment
B When the contingency is signed
C After the certificate of completion and final invoice are submitted
Right: the work has to be done and documented before they release what they withheld.
Lesson 4

Contingency vs. Contract

These are not the same document, and confusing them in front of a homeowner will cost you credibility.

  • The Contingency — permission, not a promiseA simple document the homeowner signs when filing a claim. It authorizes us to speak with their insurance company, mortgage company, and third parties. It also carries information on financing their deductible, an explanation of the insurance process, and pictures of our color options. It is technically NOT a contract — it’s missing several things a contract requires.
  • The Contract — bindingA contract actually binds the homeowner to us to perform work. To be valid it needs: a clear detailed offer with a specific dollar amount; signed and dated acceptance from all parties; a clear explanation of what’s exchanged (money for work); and specific verbatim deductible language in size 12 bold font.
The shortcut worth memorizing

All of those contract requirements are already built into the contract attached to our proposal templates. So: once the proposal is signed, we have a contract.

After it’s signed

Have them sign on your device whenever possible (emailing it is the fallback if they’re out of town). Verify the document actually shows as signed on the job card, then advance the job status to Contingency Signed.

Knowledge Check

Pick your answer — you’ll see instantly if you’re right, and why.

1. What does the contingency actually do?

A Binds the homeowner to have us do the work
B Authorizes us to speak with their insurance, mortgage, and third parties
C Sets the final price
Right: it’s authorization plus information — it is not technically a contract.

2. At what moment do we actually have a contract?

A When the contingency is signed
B When the adjuster approves the claim
C When the proposal is signed
Right: our proposal template already contains everything that validates a contract — signature on the proposal makes it binding.
Lesson 5

The Adjuster Appointment

This is the single highest-leverage hour of the whole job. Document everything.

Arrival

Show up 15 minutes early in case the adjuster is early. Greet them, offer a card (they’ll usually photograph it), and ask whether they want your help marking damage and taking photos — some want it, some want you out of the way. Ask up front.

Documentation: 100–200 photos, no exceptions

Start with a front overview so you know where the set begins in your phone.
Overviews from every angle — facing the house and panning, then from the house looking outward and panning. Every side.
On the roof, shoot from the apex points. Someone should be able to click through and see every square inch plus every accessory.
DOCUMENT THE ACCESSORY COUNT. This drives the material order and the claim.
Elevations / contents (the non-roof items): work left to right on each side. Label screens F1, F2… R1… B1… L1… for Front, Right, Back, Left plus their number from the left. Mark damage once per item — one ding totals that run of gutter.
AC unit: get down level with the top and look for dips in the glare. Garage door: shine a flashlight parallel to it — dents appear as shadows. These are high-ticket and easy to miss.
Follow the adjuster and photograph their test squares, markings, and data sets.
Why you photograph everything

If a homeowner later claims you damaged their dog house and you have no “before” photo showing it was already damaged, we assume responsibility and the cost goes on the job. Your photos protect the company and your commission.

Closing out the appointment

Get a sense of the adjuster’s next steps, upload every photo and note to the file, set the homeowner’s expectations, and advance the job. Then one of two things happened:

  • Open coverage — full replacementAdvance to AA Complete, Pending Estimate.
  • Open coverage — only a few itemsAdvance to Re-Inspection Needed.
  • Denied coverageAdvance to Public Adjuster.

Knowledge Check

Pick your answer — you’ll see instantly if you’re right, and why.

1. Roughly how many photos should you take at an adjuster appointment?

A A dozen of the worst damage
B 100–200 — every square inch and every accessory
C Whatever the adjuster takes
Right: thorough documentation wins claims and protects us from false damage accusations later.

2. How do you spot damage on a garage door?

A Shine a flashlight parallel to it — dents show up as shadows
B Knock on it and listen
C Only the adjuster checks that
Right: and for AC units, get level with the top and look for dips in the glare. Both are high-ticket items.

3. The adjuster denies coverage entirely. Where does the job go?

A Lost
B Re-Inspection Needed
C Public Adjuster
Right: denial goes to Public Adjuster. Partial coverage goes to Re-Inspection Needed; full replacement goes to AA Complete, Pending Estimate.
Certification Exam

L2 Consultant Exam

8 questions · 80% to pass. Pick the best answer for each, then submit.