Shed businesses involve many moving parts. Vendors, builders, dealers, haulers, and customers must be able to communicate clearly to meet and exceed customers’ expectations.
Vernon Ulrich, sales manager of Golden State Buildings near Fresno, California, says he and others in his firm experienced a lot of frustration keeping (client communications) straight on paper.
For example, he says, quotes for projects got lost along the way, which translated into lost sales and service calls. His company was using Hubspot, but not for tracking clients, maintaining records about how people found Golden State, or even the potential customer’s contact information.
They needed a more organized way of keeping track of valuable marketing information that eluded them using the methods previously in place, says Ulrich.
After researching several marketing companies, Ulrich and his team were most impressed by E-Impact Marketing, a customer relationship management (CRM) firm located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Ulrich says their approach and services echoed Golden State’s vision for organized, easily accessible marketing and communication tools that helped boost their bottom line and increase customer satisfaction.
“We took their advice on how to proceed with CRM all in one package, including Google Ads, and more,” he says. That was nearly three years ago, and Ulrich says the benefits have proven well worth the investment.
A VIEW FROM INSIDE
As it happens, a shed was the first home of E-Impact Marketing. While the enterprise has outgrown its former digs, the shed sits on the Pennsylvania company’s back patio, according to Nick Foose, a CRM specialist at E-Impact.
E-Impact Marketing serves small to medium-sized businesses and the shed-building industry, and a CRM creates seamless lines of communication between the small business and its customers or potential client base. That translates into no more phone messages written on paper and, more often than not, lost. It means online leads are stored digitally, making them easy to access from anywhere.
“Most of our clients are mostly concerned with ensuring client communications are never lost,” says Foose. “The goal is to keep that business top of mind for that customer.”
CRM software is a useful tool for shed companies to use to reach that goal, he says.
“Sheds are not impulse buys. A customer is likely to get several quotes (before they purchase). Our job is to help the shed business keep their name in the forefront of a customer’s mind,” Foose says.
HOW TO KNOW WHEN A COMPANY IS READY FOR A CRM
Despite the services CRM software offers its users, it is not right for every company.
When a new, potential client reaches out to E-Impact to learn more about its CRM software, Foose says he gauges whether they’re ready for a CRM, based on a few things.
Those considerations include:
- Is the small business so overwhelmed with leads that it can’t keep them straight?
- Is the entity inundated with leads to the point that potential sales are being lost?
- Whether the small business is equipped to convert leads into sales.
The point of a CRM is to keep all the leads in an organized system where you’re not scrambling to find notes from a client, he sums up.
SHED BUSINESS COMMUNICATION ADVICE FROM A CIRCUS
Many shed customers contact builders and dealers online or by phone after gathering information from a website or a lot. Also, many people who work for a shed business are not “employees.” Builders and haulers, and other positions, are often workers outside of the business.
In all those instances, clear communication is vital.
Nathan Allenby is a huge fan of CRM. The founder and proprietor of San Diego’s Cirque Quirk, a circus performance company, Allenby is a one-man show. That is not to say he necessarily performs circus-inspired acts for parties, festivals, and other events by himself, but he oversees his company as a freelance contractor.
“There are no employees,” he says.
Because he oversees every aspect of the business himself, Allenby relies heavily on CRM software.
“I try to automate as much communication as possible to make my processes efficient. Automating tasks like tracking communications simplifies my life,” he says.
There are start-up costs to implement CRM software, but, says Allenby, “The risk-on-investment is massive, but it is worth the time and money to learn the system and implement it.”
Therefore, he advises anyone considering a CRM platform to be prepared for a learning curve when familiarizing themselves with it.
Another piece of advice regarding CRM software is to purchase the best you can. But, buyer beware, he cautions. There is a lot out there, so thorough due diligence is warranted.
Allenby was thrilled to have found a CRM designed specifically tailored for his industry. He praises High Level for its ability to streamline communications to the point that it probably could replace three employees at a fraction of the cost.
Something else he enjoys about his CRM software is that it replaces a Rolodex.
Instead of a physical file, which has some importance, like for contractor or client lists, all data can be housed and organized by the CRM.
“It’s just like on a cell phone, but better. It can upload a contact from a phone to any device and all employees,” says Allenby.
For better or for worse, CRMs are starting to replace salespeople because it saves time, and therefore, money, Allenby says. The software is capable of tracking a transaction from an initial customer inquiry all the way through “job complete, review requested,” he says.
It can also track the goods and services an entity sells.
Another CRM tool he relies on is asking clients online about the services they are seeking. Because there are many choices to choose from, like jugglers, stilt walkers, and more, Allenby has broken them down into smaller, more manageable categories.
“I don’t want to overwhelm (the potential customer),” he says. And, as a company increases its offerings, a CRM can accommodate.
He also likes that his CRM system puts the client in command of communication.
“When they want to schedule time with you, they can. That prevents clients from feeling they are being pushed,” he says.
Also, because Cirque Quirk has no employees, its workforce of freelance contractors needs a way to communicate their availability, location, and more with Allenby. Because the contractors he hires tend to be Millennials or Gen Z who grew up with cell phones in their hands, Allenby needed to implement a way to communicate seamlessly with them. Digital communication was the answer he was looking for.
“You can customize the software to help you run your business exactly how you like,” he says.
When he founded Cirque Quirk alone in 2014, Allenby had absolutely no business experience. “I was green behind the ears,” he quips. He had no marketing experience or a college degree.
His best business advice?
“Fail forward,” he says. “You must be willing to make mistakes and learn from them. We don’t know what to do because we don’t know what to try. Doing something is better than doing nothing.”
Automating as many tasks as possible simplifies the immense responsibilities of owning and running a business, he says.
Not surprisingly, when his enterprise was smaller, it was easier to track clients. Without a CRM, clients were falling through the cracks. It costs more in time and money to recreate those lost communications, Allenby says.
“The essence of the CRM is to minimize time in the weeds,” he sums up.
ALTERNATIVES TO CRM
“Small businesses are leaking money because customer messages go unanswered, unseen, or get stuck in limbo,” says Vance Morris, founder of the Deliver Service Now Institute. That statement may not come as a surprise, but what might be a surprise is that Morris contends a CRM is not the only way small businesses can streamline communications.
“Most CRM tools create a false sense of security instead of solving the problem,” he opines.
He says that’s especially true in the small business setting. If the owner or manager(s) are not tech savvy, a CRM might be too complicated to implement.
“CRMs have so many bells and whistles and can be complicated to the point of paralysis,” points out Morris. “Unless you are a CRM expert, familiarizing oneself with the technology can be daunting, even to the point of not using it.”
Morris’s advice to small business owners? “Secret shop” your own website. In fact, his company does just that for the numerous websites he oversees, since Morris is a serial entrepreneur.
“A lot of initial contacts for the several services businesses I own are online, but once we hear from a prospective client online, we have staff call them personally. Or email or text, depending on the customer’s choice,” he explains.
Then, even if the call goes to voicemail, “We leave a message. It shows we care and humanizes our business,” he says.
Relying on an automated system for client communications versus the human touch diminishes the interaction, says Morris.
You are losing the lifetime value of a client by implementing automated communications, he says.
However, he cautions, this method of client communication is not for everyone.
“The owner has to mandate a clear system for the staff to implement the owner’s expectations,” he says.
For example, Morris’s entities utilize what he calls a simple system for tracking telephone leads. Every call is logged both via analog and digital means. Then, every call is verified against the recording of calls. He says this method is similar to a CRM but can be completed using something as simple as an Excel Spreadsheet.
In 2025, Morris himself was in the market for a shed. He recalls entering a shed business, where he spoke with a sales rep for 15 to 20 minutes. When he left, all he was given was a sales brochure.
“They didn’t ask for my name, my address, or for my email,” he says. “They lost all marketing possibilities because they didn’t seek the information” needed to follow up on the encounter.
He urges business owners to think about your message. There needs to be a culture of “servicing the customer,” not “customers are annoying.” That, he says, is a prevailing attitude in the customer service industry, adding that is how many construction companies answer. It’s like they are in the sales prevention department.
Despite their different approaches, Morris agrees with at least one of Foose’s business theories.
“It is not your customer’s job to remember you. It’s your job to remind them you exist,” he concludes.
