Founder

Richard Kaller, founder

Richard Kaller

Richard Kaller started as a roofing contractor in 1964, eventually installing all types of roofing from small residential projects to million dollar commercial roofing projects to significant historic restoration projects featuring slate and copper restoration.

Richard was a  professional contractor trainer for over twenty years. He spoke at many local chapter and national trade Conventions. Richard was a former Director of the National Roofing Contractors Association where he served as Chair for the Steep Roofing Committee of the NRCA, which is responsible for codes and specifications effecting the residential market.

During thirty years, while in the roofing business, Richard acquired five long-term established roofing companies in the Philadelphia area. Since the companies averaged 700-1,000 roofing related contracts per year, Richard knew first hand the problems and challenges that roofing contractors experience in their businesses.

For over twenty years, Richard  shared the insights he  learned about the roofing business for the benefit of other roofing contractors through seminars and training tapes. His “Contractor Development Seminars” were sponsored by major building material manufacturers distributors, and trade associations in every major market in the USA and Canada.

Richard’s best selling audio-cassette tape training series “Time Out” (which suggests the contractor take time out from his normal hectic business routine to sharpen his ax) has helped thousands of contractors to substantially improve their businesses and their bottom lines. Below is a listing of his “Time Out” titles:

• Time Out Series I “Overcoming a contractor’s most common problems”
• Time Out Series II “How to get more jobs and more dollars per job”
• Time Out Series III “How to improve installation quality and productivity”
• Time Out Series IV “Dispute Resolution – How to turn a job complaint into a new sale”

He was also the creator of the very popular CertainTeed “Better Jobs” Audio Tape Training Series.

• “Winning Better Jobs” Featuring how to sell against the low-ball bid, how to use Good/Better/Best to differentiate and upgrade the sale and improve customer satisfaction.
• “How to get a better price” Getting the right price is often the hardest part of the selling process. What is the right price? What is a reasonable profit? What will the prospect pay? What is the competition bidding? What is the role of price in the closing process? Who is more afraid of the price discussion …..the sales person or the homeowner?
• “Converting objections to better jobs” Highly adaptable suggestions (WordTracks) designed to overcome typical and not so typical objections that consumers raise during the selling process. This tape shows contractors/dealers how objections, during the sale, are the “key” to the close.
• “Closing Better Jobs” How to close the sale when the consumer says – “You are my first price…obviously I have to get other prices before I can proceed.”
• “How to hire and train a sales person” Based on Richard’s two-day seminar. Should you, or shouldn’t you hire a sales person? How to find and hire the right person for the job, write the ad, conduct the interview, and convince the person to work for you.

Richard also created  Air Vent’s “Hammer Home The Difference” This may be the most popular audio cassette training tape in the home improvement industry. This tape features the power of differentiation and how to use it to overcome competition, improve customer satisfaction and profits.

Richard founded CCN (Certified Contractors Network) in 1996, which was a spin-off of Richard’s contractor training company CES, or Contractors’ Educational Services. Following a seminar, it is commonplace for contractors to request private consulting or request the opportunity to visit his businesses. Over the years, Richard found that most contractor challenges were very similar from contractor to contractor and market to market. Contractors share common sales problems, field production problems and general management problems. Richard found he could network different contractors, reducing the consulting cost for the individual contractor, which is resulting in the recent explosive growth of the CCN Network.

Today, CCN provides low cost, hands-on consulting and networking between non-competitive contractors. CCN has members in most States in the USA and Canadian Provinces. CCN offers an entire marketing, sales and management system for the contractor, from the one-man shop to the one hundred men companies