Should I take a commission-only roofing sales job?

Robust Roofing Careers · Updated October 2026

A commission-only offer can look exciting on paper and feel very different in the third month without a closed job. Whether you should take one depends on your savings, the split and the support behind you. Robust Roofing's Roofing Project Manager role is not commission only: it comes with a $75,000 per year base, and it also pays a true 50/50 split of job profit with nothing taken off the top, not a 10/50/50. That pairing is unusually generous in roofing sales.

Should you take a commission-only roofing sales job?

Only if you can go months without a paycheck, the plan pays you on a clearly defined number with nothing off the top, and someone experienced will train you. If any of those is missing, keep looking, because roles with a base and a fair split exist.

Commission-only work suits people with savings, a second household income or a network of past customers. It is hardest on career changers, who are learning roofing, insurance claims and selling all at once. Insurance restoration adds a timing problem of its own: claims move on the insurance company's schedule, not yours.

How common is commission-only pay in roofing?

Common, but far from universal. About one in three roofing companies pay their sales teams commission only, according to JobNimbus's 2025 Peak Performance data.

That means you have real choices. Some roofing companies pay a percentage of the contract price, some split profit, some offer a base, and some combine them. Your pay plan is something you can shop for, the same way homeowners shop for a roofer. See which roofing companies pay a base salary for more.

Why do so many roofing companies pay commission only?

Because it ties the company's costs to its sales. A company that pays only when a job closes takes on very little risk when it hires, so slow months, training time and jobs that never close cost the rep instead of the company.

Are insurance restoration roofing jobs usually commission only?

Nearly half are. JobNimbus's 2025 Peak Performance data found that nearly half of insurance-focused roofing companies pay their sales teams commission only, a higher share than across roofing as a whole.

Storm work is uneven: hail and wind arrive in bursts, and claims take time to move through the insurance company. Paying only on closed jobs keeps a restoration company's fixed costs low through quiet stretches and shifts that risk to the rep. Robust Roofing is an insurance restoration company too, and it chose differently: its Project Managers get a $75,000 per year base and also a true 50/50 with nothing off the top. Read more about how storm restoration sales pays.

What should you ask about a commission-only offer?

Ask exactly what your commission is figured on, what comes out before it, when it is earned and what happens if a job falls through. Then ask yourself how many months you could cover without it.

1. Is my commission a percentage of the contract price or a share of job profit?
2. If it is profit, how is profit defined, and is anything taken off the top first?
3. Are there office, lead or processing fees on each job?
4. When is a commission earned, and when is it paid?
5. What happens to my commission if a homeowner cancels?
6. Is there a cap?
7. Who trains me, and toward what credential?
8. Who on staff knows insurance claims well enough to back me up on a hard one?
9. Can I read the full written plan before I accept?

The list of questions to ask about roofing sales pay goes deeper, with Robust Roofing's own answers.

What if a commission-only job burned you before?

Then the problem was most likely the structure, not your ability. Months of learning with no pay, fees you did not expect and pressure to close fast make roofing sales much harder than it needs to be.

Before you try again, decide what you need this time: a base, a split figured on the full job profit, real training and someone in the building who knows claims. Robust Roofing offers each of those. You get training toward HAAG certification, which Robust provides, you work beside a licensed Property and Casualty adjuster on staff, and you are never asked to waive a deductible, because Robust Roofing never does. Roofing experience is not required; Robust hires for communication, follow-through and honesty and teaches the rest.

What does Robust Roofing offer instead?

A $75,000 per year base, and also a true 50/50 split of job profit with nothing taken off the top, no 10% deduction and no cap. How the base and the split work together is explained in the interview.

Industry figures: JobNimbus Peak Performance report, 2025. The middle column describes general industry plans, not any named company. Robust Roofing's $75,000 per year base is well above the $51,170 median annual wage for all occupations in the Atlanta metro (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA, May 2025), and its 50% share is more than double the 20% of profit that is the most common rate among roofers that pay on profit.

Top performers can make upwards of $400,000 a year. That is top-performer potential, not typical pay; what you make depends on the roofs you sell and build. The role is full time, based around Johns Creek in the North Atlanta metro, and serves 39 North Georgia cities. See the Roofing Project Manager job description and roofing jobs with salary and commission.

How do you apply?

Apply at chooserobust.com/careers: a short application, then a short questionnaire, then you pick your interview time. Bring the commission-only questions above and ask every one of them. Prefer to talk first? Call or text (470) 887-6637.

Questions candidates ask

More about the role