Overhead and profit is a hot topic in this industry. Nothing puts a chubby in your pants like an automatic 10 and 10, but insurance companies are tightening their coin purses more than ever before when it comes to O&P.

“It’s the law! As a general contractor facilitating and coordinating the repairs, we are ENTITLED to overhead and profit on these jobs,” we argue. Those are valid arguments and they are true and legitimate. But I want to let you in on a little secret: overhead and profit isn’t the biggest fish in the sea. You can spend your energy elsewhere and get way more than a measly 20%.

We see so many contractors fight tooth and nail against the big insurance companies who refuse to reward O&P, going so far as to file class action lawsuits to take legal action against them. Some of the “sales training leaders” out there are even encouraging you take up litigation! In my opinion, this is an enormous waste of time. And I’m going to explain why.

First of all, let me ask you a question: how much is your average job worth? Probably around $10,000 in revenue I’m guessing. This job probably yields around $3000 in profit. So adding O&P to your average job means adding an additional two grand, which is cool.

Now let me ask you this: how many hours, days, weeks, or months are you spending in the pursuit of O&P on a claim that’s probably only worth a couple grand to begin with? Not to mention if you’re spending money on legal counsel. All the time and energy you’re focusing on this unwinnable battle to get that 20% could have (and should have) been focused instead on going out and getting another 1, 2, 3, or 4 jobs that are worth FAR more than whatever the O&P on that other job would have been worth. How much money are you missing out on because you’re chasing after one claim’s O&P?

“But it’s the principle of the matter! They OWE overhead and profit!”  Again, that’s true. They should pay it. It’s bullshit. But don’t get so wrapped up in these little issues that you lose sight of the big picture, which is pushing forward and generating jobs.

That’s main point number one. Main point number two is that there are ways to get not only what you’re after, but even MORE than what you’re after without inviting a bunch of strife. Here’s what I mean:

Insurance adjusters are conditioned to put up a wall when it comes to requesting O&P. Automatically they are ready to say no before they even hear you out. So don’t ask for it directly.

Imagine you’re a teenager: You want to go out on Friday night and go to a kegger at a friend’s house whose parents are out of town. If you ask your mom if you can “go do beer bongs at Kenny’s house and make bad decisions that will end up on Facebook later,” she’s going to say, “Absolutely not, and I am not interested in any argument you could possibly make because the answer is simply no!”  So don’t ask your mom if you can go to a kegger at Kenny’s house. Just ask your mom if you can spend the night at Kenny’s house. Resistance: gone. End result is the same. You’re getting to go to Kenny’s to slam Natty Ice, but you’re asking for something different to avoid the big N-O. See what I’m saying?

There are opportunities to add WAY more than just 20% to your average claim in the way of massive backend supplements that can increase your average claim by up to 99%, and those types of claim increases can be scored in literally minutes with 1 simple email and almost zero resistance from the insurance company. Who cares if the additional funds come with the label “overhead and profit” or “various additional soft metals and ladder jacks” (among other things). The end result is the same: you get the dinero.

By the way, if you’re over there furrowing your brow and going, “Pssshh, 99% claim increases with a simple email? Shut the front door,” then you need to chat with us, young grasshopper. Our Roof Sales Mastery programs take a deep dive into supplement strategies. We show you exactly what we’re doing, saying, and adding to hail claims to increase them by up to double without giving two shits about O&P. Want to learn more about it? Give us a shout.

Let me leave you by saying you’ll miss out on 100% of things you don’t ask for. You should still always ask for O&P! You won’t get it every time, but by no means am I recommending passing on the opportunity entirely.  Ask every time, but don’t fight it every time.

But to summarize, yeah, overhead and profit is nice. It’s like pouring gravy all over your claim. But don’t get wrapped up in chasing a dime at the bar who isn’t interested in you and wouldn’t go home with you if you were the last man on earth, when meanwhile you could have been spending your time convincing two 7s to go home with you. Pick your battles. Work smarter, not harder.