For professionals who work with outdoor structures and all it entails, certain abilities can have a positive effect on daily business transactions.
Here are some shed pros who depend on those skills for themselves and value them in others.
SELLING POINTS
Previous experience in other industries can be helpful. That was the case for Anthony Skinner, who handles sales and marketing for Montana Shed Center in Great Falls, Montana. He came to the shed industry with a software background in systems and processes and worked in another field.
“For me, it was a natural play into the marketing piece with Google and Facebook ads,” he explains.
Skinner appreciates the popular philosophy: “automate the transaction, elevate the relationship,” attributed to Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy.
“With systems and processes, we’re able to automate all of my legwork, which leaves a lot more room to send personal messages and videos checking in on personal updates with customers,” he adds.
These special connections are essential.
“High-value clients want a human touchpoint,” Skinner explains. “With online sales, we’re selling to people from all over the United States. High-ticket customers are less concerned with price. They want to know if I am hearing them and am I warm when they interact with me.”
To enhance his skills, Skinner invests time and money into personal development and observes how other professional salespeople carry themselves and what they recommend.
“Everyone has their own unique style, and it works for them,” he says. “I wish I was a little bit more firm. I wish I didn’t soft pedal or back away when someone is saying the price is too high. I wish I played hardball a little more with customers.”
He understands where customers are coming from and their various pain points.
“As you develop in this sales world, you start asking customers hard questions,” adds Skinner. “Sometimes they come back the next day.”
His team also goes above and beyond.
“Some people do their best, and some do whatever it takes,” he says. “I have a team that does whatever it takes, specifically in our production line. When there was a big issue that happened here recently, they were here until 9 or 10 at night. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, they’re here.”
As for Skinner, what he lacks in closing skills, he makes up for in marketing skills with his ability to talk to people.
“Craig Felker, one of the coaches at JMAG, shared a selfie video from Savannah Bananas,” he says. “Ever since then, I send selfie videos to customers. Now I’m on the phone, showing people my face and showing them that I’m a real person. When high-ticket people see you, they are far more likely to trust you. People just want to put a face with a name. If I have a building similar to the one they want, I will show that too. Somewhere between marketing and sales, I’m selling myself and selling the product.”
CHARACTER ACT
When it comes to her employees, Erica Goodnight, CEO of Union Grove Lumber Inc. in Harmony, North Carolina—a stocking wholesale lumber supplier that warehouses their material directly from the mill—looks for certain qualities that stretch beyond essential skills.
“You can teach a skill, but you can’t teach a quality, and you can’t change someone’s character,” she says. “I’m looking for honesty. I want to ensure that customers can trust our team when it comes to keeping a quoted price and lead time.”
Material knowledge in all sectors of the shed industry also makes the list.
“We are not building houses or Taj Mahals, but sheds matter from the inside out,” says Goodnight, who mentions being knowledgeable about wane, blue stain, and structural integrity as examples. “Product knowledge should matter to every salesperson on the shed lots. Knowing what goes into the barn from the roof to the runners … it’s all very important and can differentiate you from the shed lot next door.”
Sales lots also benefit from employees who are extroverts and customer focused. Backgrounds in other industries like car or cell phone sales can be an added bonus.
“If you are looking to hire or expand and you like the way the people you come into contact with daily interact with people, don’t be afraid to ask them,” says Goodnight. “My truck dispatcher was an owner-operator of her own trucking company, so she truly understands the position better than anybody, and I got my controller from the bank. She is very nitpicky with audits and checks and balances. I knew she was attention focused. Both of these folks I met in their previous positions, but I liked what I saw, and I offered them a job.”
Problem solvers can also contribute to your success.
“If you don’t have a problem to solve daily, you’re not doing something right,” adds Goodnight. “If you are not accessible and proactive, you’re not doing your job. If there is a problem, just fix it. Don’t bury your head in the sand. It’s only going to get bigger.”
Poor communication or avoidance can be an issue.
“Anytime a customer has a question, if you don’t communicate well or drag your feet or don’t respond, you don’t know what they need,” she says. “Just communicate. It’s okay if it’s not a ‘yes’ every time, but you have to be able to communicate.”
Cutting corners in the shed industry can pose another challenge, says Goodnight, such as rushing the job, building sloppily, and ignoring quality. She also does not believe in cutting corners when it comes to educating your staff.
“We will go to dealer days. We want to help. If they’re not educated, the sheds are not going to sell. It’s unfair to everyone when you are cutting corners in education,” she explains. “It goes back to communication. If you need help educating your staff, we will be there. You need to communicate the need.”
BACKGROUND CHECK
Donnie Duvall, owner of Duvall’s Portable Buildings in Russellville, Arkansas, worked in the transportation trucking business in another industry for more than 25 years, and that has served him well.
“Transportation is a big part of the portable building business. So many times, companies count that as a necessary evil for the shed business,” he says. “I worked for a refrigeration carrier. For one of the largest retailers, we had to be within a 20-minute time of our scheduled appointment in another state. When I got into the shed business, I discovered transportation had trouble getting a building delivered across town in three weeks.”
Duvall knows what it takes to get the job done from start to finish.
“A building is not sold until it’s delivered on the customer’s property, and that ‘happy sheet’ is signed. The building has to be delivered in good shape, and the customer has to be satisfied with how it was delivered, or no one gets paid,” he explains. “We took over our own transportation and bought our own equipment, and we proved that a building can be delivered in a timely manner. We’re back in that time frame within 15 to 30 minutes of when they expect us to be there.”
In addition to being dependable, Duvall believes in being completely honest with the customer about what can or cannot be done.
“If you make a promise to a customer, do it,” he says. “Listen to the customer and find out what they need and what they expect. If they are wanting us to do what is beyond reason and could not be done, we have lost sales, but we send them on to somebody who can.”
Flexibility can also help with success, like it did for Duvall’s wife, his business partner, who started with the company before he was available to do the same.
“She was the one in charge, and she had never been in sales or in the portable building business,” he explains. “She became one of the top dealers in Arkansas at that time because she learned the business and listened to what people said. She also showed up for work on time, and if she needed to stay later, she did. You have to be flexible.”
His son-in-law brought a marketing background to the business, which has also been helpful.
“I can’t build anything, but I can look at a building and tell you what’s wrong with it,” Duvall says. “You have to be able to understand the market. Most companies respond: ‘Because that’s the way we’ve always done it,’ but you have to be willing to change when the market changes. If you can’t provide what people want, they will find somebody who will.”
VALUE ADDED
At Adirondack Storage Barns in North Lawrence, New York, co-owner Justin Puffer demonstrates how foundational experience can lead to success. As a teenager, he balanced work at his father’s bulk food deli with part-time shed construction next door.
“I always liked numbers,” Puffer explains. “I was given access to the books at both the deli and the shed company, which helped me understand some financial aspects of business.”
Puffer also appreciates special abilities in others.
“One of the traits my brother has that makes him an excellent partner is that he is very skilled in being detailed. He displays the sheds on the lot in straight rows, and we get comments on that all the time,” he adds.
In addition, customers frequently praise the team’s exceptional efficiency and professionalism.
“Our on-site crew cleans up the job site every night, and they work without needing a lot of discussion,” says Puffer. “People have said more than once that watching them feels like it’s a choreographed dance when they build a shed or a two-car garage.”
When it comes to unfamiliar territory, going the extra mile can be another admirable trait.
“Some of the guys are willing to tackle a challenge anytime and learn what to do. Maybe they haven’t done it before, maybe the customer wants something custom, and they’re willing to figure it out,” he adds.
His leadership philosophy is distinguished by a commitment to his team’s professional development. Puffer views his company not just as a business, but as a place of growth.
“We all want to continue to learn and grow. Over the last while, we have really focused on personal growth. We strive to add value to everyone that works with us,” he explains. “That way, if life leads them to guide their own business or work for someone else, they take that with them.”
While efficiency is key to productivity, Puffer is careful to distinguish between mere speed and true value. The core focus remains steadfastly on delivering a quality product.
“We try to offer something premium,” he says. “We’re trying to provide quality.”
This dedication to craftsmanship ensures that the company delivers not just buildings, but enduring value to its customers.
FINISH LINE
Growing up on a farm, shed hauler DeWayne Little, who covers mainly Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri, worked with farm equipment and has also done construction.
“On the driving side, backing trucks up is basically second nature,” he says. “The biggest thing to being a good shed hauler is good PR skills. There are a lot of different attitudes, from best to worst. You have to find out why customers are upset without things coming out sideways. Being a people person, I talk to people.”
Having a good sense of humor can also be helpful in a professional setting.
“You can’t go wrong,” says Little. “You can have one-liners that you probably used 500 times, but they get the same response from everybody.”
For instance, with the elevation of a building to fix something like plumbing, he jokes with people who need to get underneath it. “My go-to: I always tell them, ‘If you get up on under there and people stop bringing food out to you after a few days, then you’ll slide right out.’”
In addition, he believes in having a positive attitude and avoiding shortcuts.
“Put your best foot forward out of the gate and don’t take the easy path. It bites you a little bit more on the front,” says Little, who also relies on his faith. “Most importantly for work skills, being born again, being a Christian day in and day out.”
