Shared vs Exclusive Territories for Roofing Sales Teams

There are two philosophies for roofing sales territories, and smart owners can argue for either one depending on what they are trying to optimize. Exclusive territories give each rep a locked zone. Shared territories let multiple reps work the same area. Each has a real cost.

Exclusive Territories: The Case For

Exclusive territories are the standard for a reason. Each rep owns a geographic zone. No other rep works it. The benefits:

• Retention: reps feel ownership, which keeps them around longer
• Fewer fights: no disputes about who knocked which door
• Better knowledge: one rep learning 4,000 doors over a year develops real neighborhood expertise
• Referral pipeline: customers refer neighbors to the same rep, which only works in exclusive zones

The cost: you only get as much coverage as one rep can produce. If rep A can knock 200 doors per week, the territory gets 200 knocks per week. No more.

Shared Territories: The Case For

Shared territories put 2 to 5 reps in the same zone. The benefits:

• Coverage velocity: 4 reps in a zone can knock 800 doors per week vs 200
• Storm urgency: when a zone has a 30-day window, you need more feet on the ground
• Rep redundancy: one rep quits, three others still work the zone
• Skill matching: different reps close different personality types

The cost: conflict. Constant conflict. Overlap fights, dispute resolution overhead, and rep turnover because nobody feels they own the book.

The Retention Math

We have tracked turnover on dozens of teams. The pattern is consistent:

Territory modelAnnual rep turnoverAverage tenure Exclusive, 1 rep per zone35 to 45%18 to 24 months Shared, 2 reps per zone45 to 55%12 to 18 months Shared, 3+ reps per zone60 to 75%6 to 10 months

The more reps sharing a zone, the higher the turnover. This is why most retail-focused roofing operations (non-storm) run exclusive territories. The long-tenured rep is the business model.

The Coverage Math

Storm operations flip the equation. A 90-day storm cycle does not care about 24-month tenure. It cares about how many doors you can knock before the competitors finish their work.

Example: a hail swath that contains 60,000 doors. You have 45 days before the easy money is gone.

• Exclusive model: 12 reps at 200 doors/week each = 2,400 doors/week total = 15,000 doors over the window. 45,000 doors unknocked.
• Shared model: same 12 reps doubled up on 6 zones. Overlap costs you 20% efficiency so you get 9,600 doors/week effective = 43,200 doors. Nearly full coverage.

In that example, shared wins by $2.5M in gross revenue, even accounting for the overlap inefficiency. For storm work, shared is usually right.

Hybrid Model: Zones Within Zones

Smart teams run a hybrid. Each rep has a core zone (1,500 to 2,500 doors) that is exclusive, plus a shared expansion zone (5,000 to 10,000 doors) that overlaps with 2 to 3 other reps.

Reps work their core zone on slow weeks to build the customer book and the referral pipeline. When a storm hits the shared expansion zone, everyone swarms it together. Best of both worlds.

RoofKnockers supports this with layered territory types: a primary polygon that is exclusive plus a secondary polygon that can overlap with teammates.

Commission Structure Has to Match

Shared territories need different commission rules. In exclusive zones, the rep who signs gets 100%. In shared zones, you need tiered commissions:

• Rep who signs contingency: 60%
• Rep who closes the sale: 30%
• Rep who walked the adjuster (if different): 10%

If you run shared territories with winner-take-all commissions, you will have daily fistfights within 30 days.

When to Pick Which

Exclusive territories fit:

• Retail-focused operations (no storm)
• Teams under 8 reps
• Markets with 12+ month sales cycles
• Reps who value autonomy and long tenure

Shared territories fit:

• Storm-focused operations with 30 to 90 day windows
• Teams of 10+ reps in concentrated geographic areas
• Markets with high door density (2,000+ doors per square mile)
• Teams willing to pay higher turnover for faster coverage

FAQ

Can we switch models mid-year?

Yes, but only with 30 days notice and clear conversion rules for open deals. Switching without warning will cause a rep exodus.

Do shared territories work for door-to-door or only storm canvass?

Both, but shared doors without a storm urgency usually underperform. Without a time pressure, reps avoid the overlap zones and shared mode degrades to de facto exclusive with worse communication.

How do we prevent reps from poaching in shared territories?

You cannot, completely. What you can do is enforce the commission split. If reps know they will get paid fairly for their contribution, the motivation to poach disappears.