Estimating With Coach John

By Colin Sheehan, RCS Reporter. 

Make your estimating business competitive with Cotney’s new estimating training and certification opportunity. 

Season 3, Episode 27 of Roofing Road Trips features John Kenney of Cotney Consulting Group and RCS President Heidi J. Ellsworth who discuss everything estimating and what Cotney Consulting Group can do to help you grow your estimation business. The all-new Cotney estimating training and certification program is the first of its kind in the roofing industry and will alter how roofing contractors conduct an estimating business. Heidi and John also talk about John’s latest book, “The Blueprints to Your Business.”  

John is always looking to bring something new into the industry and help others succeed. His leadership has been instrumental in putting together Cotney’s certification program for estimating, which officially launched on May 5, 2021. 

“It's all about getting to the next level so everyone can benefit from it,” said John. “Coming up through the industry and training people as I’ve gone along [I’ve noticed] there’s other programs out there for sure, but they're more generalized. This particular module is geared for the roofing industry solely.”  

The first phase of the certification program accommodates anyone interested in estimating – from people who know nothing about the roofing industry to people who have been in the roofing industry but who want to become an estimator. It’s also available for current estimators who want to increase their knowledge and credibility through certification.  

"We're covering the whole spectrum in this one module,” said John.  

The duration of the course is five and a half to six hours long with a final assessment ranging from one to three hours. The final consists of 80 questions and requires a 78/80 or greater to pass. All participants have two attempts at the final.  

Above the initial first phase are two more levels of certification: accredited and certified. 

“The accredited level will be if you have up to two years of estimating experience that you can document in the roofing industry, and the certification level, [requires] five years of experience,” said John. “Once you're able to pass these assessment tests, then you will have to show us how you do your estimation [and] how you would put a proposal together. You will also have to do a verbal communication as if we were a client.” 

Listen to the entire podcast to hear more about Cotney Consulting Groups estimator certification program.