Latest / The Elevator Careers Podcast / From Sales Rep to CEO: Building Axxiom Elevator | Jeremy Metzger, Part 1

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From Sales Rep to CEO: Building Axxiom Elevator | Jeremy Metzger, Part 1 · The Elevator Careers Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: So I had to figure out how to differentiate myself and and how do I how do I sell, how do I be successful.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_01: And one of the easiest things to do, which for some reason we we we see as a struggle, I think, in our industry, is being responsive, calling people back, making sure they're not waiting for you any extended period of time, even if you don't have an answer, call them back and let them know you're working on it.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: So many times, you know, it was kind of one of my, you know, it's it's it's it's a cliche.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: People say it all the time.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and I just I just I did it.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: Was I didn't go home if there was a call that I needed to make, or I made sure I made that phone call on the drive home.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: Even when I didn't know, I'd make that call.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I sometimes I knew I'd probably get a voice message and I'd just have to leave a message.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: But I always wanted the customer to know I'm calling you back, I'm letting you know I'm working on it, I haven't forgot about you.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I know it made me a pretty successful salesperson.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, and welcome to the Elevator Careers Podcast, sponsored by the Allred Group.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: I am your host, Matt Allred.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: In this podcast, we talk to the people whose lives and careers are dedicated to the vertical transportation industry.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: To inform and generate learning building upon the foundation of those four, to inspire the next generation, elevator.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: This is part one.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: Jeremy, welcome to the show.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: Matt, great to be here.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: Appreciate uh appreciate the time.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, thank you.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and like I was saying a little earlier, it's it's kind of funny, you know, being in the industry for a while.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: I've I've been recruiting for a while and uh you know, looking at some old notes and and that I tried to recruit you to to some job, you know, 10 or 12 years ago is is uh it's funny, but it's also uh I don't know, there's some satisfaction in in knowing that you know we can build relationships, talk to some of the same people and uh and then you know years later talking again, it's a different conversation.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: So um absolutely I think I think that's part of the elevator industry, right?
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: We uh we tend to stick tick together and stick it together for a long time.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_01: I know there's quite a few people going back to to my days starting at Kone when I was in the training program, and uh, you know, I still talk to a lot of those individuals.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot still in the industry, and uh, I think it's it's somewhat unique about the elevator business is that uh you can really form relationships that that extend for a very long time.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: So tell me a little bit about those those early days.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: How did you get started with Kone?
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: So so uh they came to uh I'm a proud Penn State grad.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: So uh they came to Penn State and did uh did the recruiting process.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: And uh I think like any uh young college college kid just finishing up, I uh I was really excited about my first career opportunity and uh kind of had you know had a business marketing sales background, wanted to get into management uh through school.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: So uh started looking at a number of different sales, sales opportunities and pre-management opportunities.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: And uh uh Kone, I think in Koney's job description they talked about you got a laptop.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: So I you know back then, back in the late 90s, I was pretty holy cow, I get a laptop, that'd be great.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: So uh, but no, yeah, we had a great, great group of uh recruiters at that time for Koney.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I always go back to to the Koney days of uh I thought they did a really good job of of finding individuals that that uh had the right mindset coming out of college, looking to start a career.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: And so uh I think I was in a class of 20 or 25.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh got to move out to to beautiful uh Quad Cities area for about five or six months and check Iowa off the list of of working in Iowa for a little bit of time.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: And uh and yeah, great experience, but um, but you know, haven't really looked back.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: It was it was uh uh the right decision for me uh that has kind of gone through quite a few years now, 25 plus years now.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Now how I'm just curious, how far apart from being, you know, a quiet Mont Montgomery, of course, was acquired by Kone.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: What was the the time difference there?
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: Well, so when I went there, it was probably very close to when they became Montgomery Koney.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um it was it hyphenated or they they went with both names at the time.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: I want to say so I I started there in '97, and I want to say it was somewhere in the mid-90s that that Kone purchased Montgomery.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: So it had been a few years.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but I was uh I was also there when they dropped the Montgomery name and went with just Kone.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: So uh so I kind of saw that transition happen.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yep, cool, cool.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: I and I I remember going to uh I think it was uh why is this escaping me?
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: I it was um Universal Studios in Florida, I think.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the the long walkway and it says Montgomery Koney and yeah, you still see them out there.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: It was a small, it was a small little period of time, but you definitely uh see quite a few units out there that still have the Montgomery Kone tag on it.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right, right.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: So you you joined there uh as a sales rep.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: Was that kind of your first role as account management or yep, exactly came in straight as a as a service sales, what they called it?
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: Uh service sales, so maintenance, repair, uh learning and dabbling in modernization early on.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: And um, my first assignment was down in Tampa, Florida.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: So I was a Pennsylvania kid moving down to palm trees, which was very exciting for me.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and at that time I was engaged, so my wife eventually uh got to move down there with me.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but uh, but yeah, you know, we were really learning the business.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: I think day one, my my my sales manager kind of gave me a maintenance contract and said, here, go deliver this.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, you know, I had to drive out to St.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: Pete Beach and and go to a go to a customer meeting that that I'd never done before.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but that's kind of the learning by fire, learning under fire type situation where uh you know, once you get out in the field, it was always nice.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: If Coney did a good job, they had that kind of five, six-month training program, which got you at least a little bit of knowledge about the business.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but it, you know, you you you learn more in the first couple weeks of being actually out there doing the job uh than a couple months in a training facility.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: So uh so really kind of learned very quickly, you know, the kind of customer relationships and really doing a lot of customer uh management and uh ultimately selling, you know, really sitting down starting to talk to customers about things they could do to to improve their elevator performance and uh and kind of you know learning and enjoying that part of the business was uh was right up my alley.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: I was, you know, pretty yeah, pretty much you know, a open, open book.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: I like to talk, I like to meet new people.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: I had no issues speaking uh, you know, in in front of people or in crowds, you know, the condo board meetings and things like that were always interesting down in Florida where you got a group of people uh ready to take you out because the elevator you know door closed too slow.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: I was gonna ask you about that.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, did you ever meet any hostile crowds that were like oh well yeah, you you definitely had to.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, again, especially down in Florida where there's quite a few condo associations, and you know, you go in when they're ready to they're ready to tear your head off, but you go out, you hope with a modernization sale or a couple door operator upgrades or something that uh you know helps the performance of their elevators for them.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: So uh so yeah, it was a great learning experience and really kind of got me uh entered into that into the business of having a good solid knowledge.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I think the service sales side of the business really did give you a more rounded approach to the business because you also obviously had a lot of people that would come out of training with just the new equipment side.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and that's what they focused on.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: And again, you know, great uh great part of our business.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: But uh we we kind of on the service sales side had a lot of a lot of different things with repair mods and obviously the maintenance side.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: You learned about a lot of different uh types of business, uh business lines and how to make those successful, um, and really how to sell directly to a customer versus a contractor or somebody that that affects.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: So uh so I was pretty happy that I chose that path uh and and really learned that side of the business.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: I think it helped me move into management down the road because I had a little bit more knowledge of of a lot of pieces of the business.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: What what was uh what was it like to go, you know, find new business?
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: Because that's part of the job too, right?
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: You've got all these existing customers, but then was that a little intimidating to go find new?
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, maybe it wasn't for you, but uh Yeah, yeah.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: No, I mean again, I it I think it is for everybody.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I think it's one of those scenarios where um, you know, whether you're cold calling and knocking on doors, just trying to get somebody to to give you the time of day to talk to you, and then finding the right person to speak with, and uh, you know, somebody that could actually pull out a maintenance contract and said, Yeah, here it is, this is what we have.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, you you walk into a lot of hotels or or places where there just isn't somebody sitting there that's gonna have that information.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but you know, it was it was it was probably it was the most difficult sale, I think we have is is that that longer term process of trying to actually meet somebody and then cultivate a relationship and then ultimately close.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but you know, I can I can think of you know many times where just just a cold call or a knock on the door led to a nice conversation, led to okay, I'll come back in three or four months.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, it might have been 12, 18 months later that you finally had somebody willing to uh to give you a shot at maintenance.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, those while took the longest were were kind of some of the uh the really kind of best sales you could put together because it really was a longer term.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then back and then back when I was starting in sales uh Koney, it they didn't we didn't have commission.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: So we were just okay, you were just a straight, you had a base salary and you sold to to to sell.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that was what it was about.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: It wasn't about more money, it was about that's your job.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: Go right go sell and and let's keep the business moving and growing.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: And obviously we still had metrics to reach and we still have quotas and things like that, but um, but yeah, it was much more, you know, the the sell was the reward, you know, that was actually getting that signature.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: So so you obviously you were in the in the business when when commission started to become more more of a thing.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: How do you think that has changed the the nature of the the sale or the business or or has it?
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I think you know, you have to on the management side, I think you have to be very careful with how these they're structured, how your commission programs are structured, structured.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: Because you certainly um I've seen lots of different plans throughout my career, and you know, some of which, you know, you you can tell, like, well, uh, if if if I knew the sales rep, or if I was a certain very, very uh coin-driven type of salesperson, which is nothing wrong with, by the way.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm actually a big fan of individuals who do that because you know, we want you to sell and we want you to be motivated both by the sale but by by making the money, because that's what's good about it.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: But um, you know, if if there's a if there's a uh an area where somebody can maximize of the most money potential, uh, we tend to see people trend that way.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: And and so uh so you've got to be careful because you have to have a balance of every type of work that you need to have.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, you know, for us now, kind of in the independent world, uh, but it's the same for everybody, whether it's you know, uh one of the OEMs or any independent, you know, maintenance is is key.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we always want to grow our maintenance base.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_01: So you need to and want to have everybody focusing on maintenance.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_01: But like I just said, it's probably one of the more difficult sales.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_01: So it takes longer, it takes a lot of time.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, salespeople like like the kill, right?
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: They want to get the sale and they want to get it done.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: So that's you can get that in repair, you can get that in in modernization a lot quicker.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_01: So you've got to balance kind of the programs out to make sure that that individuals can get incentivized for the activity, but also put emphasis enough on the right activities that you want for your business.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's good.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: That's good.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: And part of the reason I asked that question is I have a client that's a little more maybe a little more traditional, old school, and they still don't do you know sales commissions, and they were just just saying, you know, some of the risks of you know, if you could incent the wrong behavior, and it can kind of work against you if you if you're not really careful.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: And so they're like, nah, we'll just skip it for now.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you definitely you definitely can.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: I think the one thing about the elevator industry is you know, it's not a sole commission, typically, it's not a sole commission business, right?
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: So sales reps have a base salary for the most part, and part of that base salary is the account management side.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_01: You know, there are things that need to get done on a day-to-day basis that don't generate commission opportunities.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: So uh I've had that conversation with many sales reps over the years when when you get the complaint of, hey, I'm supposed to be selling and you got me doing paperwork, and I say, Well, I I I understand there is some of that that goes along with with the job, and that's why there's a base salary versus no base and just straight commission.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_01: Because sure, believe me, if I was on 100% commission, I I certainly wouldn't want to be, you know, loading a customer into uh, you know, my operating system, I'd want to be out selling full time, but um, but I think that's the balance we have in the industry.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: At least most companies that I'm aware of have still have some type of base salary.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, agreed.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm I'm curious, what who were some of the biggest mentors for you early on to kind of help you, you know, that really made an impact for you?
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so my first sales manager was a gentleman named Bill Motley.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um Bill uh was a 30-year, 30-year person when I joined the industry.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: So had a lot of experience and you know, definitely put me under his wing and uh helped me, uh helped me along uh the path of learning and you know, maybe maybe learning a couple bad bad habits too, you know, like a like a good old seasoned uh elevator guy.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: He had some tricks of the trade that um that I that I probably uh should have maybe shied away from.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: But um, you know, we were much more hands-on back then, you know, at that time.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, safety, not that safety wasn't there, but it it certainly wasn't as emphasized as it was now.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: And and uh, you know, I I was doing things like you know, you know, checking voltage on controllers and and doing things that probably I shouldn't have been doing, you know, with my skill level.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, he was an ex-mechanic, understood the business, and really knew how to do things.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: And so um so in hindsight, you know, I certainly would not recommend that for anybody out there, but um, you know, you did you did tend to do a little bit more and get a little bit more hands-on.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you know, uh, unfortunately for I think for all of us, uh, Bill actually went back in the field after after a period of time uh and and ultimately, you know, uh was killed in the field.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: So um, you know, uh a terrific man, an incredible guy who who really knew the business, and and ultimately the the elevator, uh, the elevator industry, which we all should know and be aware of, is extremely hazardous and has lots of hazards.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and and you know, unfortunately took his life.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, these are some of the lessons that I think I've learned over all these years is you can't take anything for granted.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_01: And it's why, you know, safety, you know, the you know, I I I give kudos to to Otis.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: I spent a lot of time at Otis.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: They've really taught me a lot about safety.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_01: They have a great safety program.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and now, like with our company, we we certainly are are seconding that mentality of we have to have safety as a as a prime part of our business.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, as we're as we're rolling out new safety items and new safety bags and programs, it's it's become, you know, we want that to be, you know, one of our key metrics as well.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you you mentioned that safety, you know, wasn't maybe taken as serious in the early days.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: What was it that you know, was there an event, was there a moment where you were like, oh wow, wow, I I really need to to take this more serious.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I I think that uh as as time, I think the industry changed, we saw a lot of industry change.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I do think that Otis really drove that.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, they they were one of the first to really seriously look at safety.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_01: And it's it's not that Kone didn't have safety or or anybody else didn't have safety, but uh, you know, we had programs in place.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: We certainly had tools and and we had you know gloves and all the things that you needed to have, but it just wasn't a topic of discussion as much uh at that time and my start of my career.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and then after I left and went to Otis, I left Koney and went to Otis and realized, well, okay, they they do emphasize it a lot more here.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so I just think they may have been the trendsetter of that, at least with the major companies.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_01: And ultimately uh everybody fell in line because it was the right direction for the business.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think everybody fell in line and said, yeah, we we all should be doing this.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, and I've I've talked to mechanics from all the different major companies and and independents, and so um, I think that the majors are all now doing a very good job of of promoting safety.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I think through through elevator contracts of America, through ECA, uh, you know, we're a member of ECA and they do a great job of promoting uh promoting safety and making sure we have it.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: I think the IUEC does a great job of promoting safety, and they have certainly fallen in line as well to say, yeah, these are our members.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: We we want companies to keep us safe.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, you know, again, I you know deal with uh John Herbert down in the Miami local, and he's and he's on us.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: Like, where's our safety bags?
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_01: Where's all the safety equipment?
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: We want to make sure our guys are safe.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, we we we like that that's all encompassing in the industry.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh no, and and I've seen just in the time I've been recruiting in the industry, that more and more I just I just hear it.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: I hear it from more people.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: And and I do believe that yeah, a lot of people really take it take it very seriously.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I I mean I've heard some stories from some older mechanics, and so it kind of blows my mind that some of the stuff that they they would do and and most of the time get away with it.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: And uh you know, that's the well and that's the thing about safety.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_01: One thing I've I've told uh I can't tell you how many rooms of mechanics that I've stood in front of and and I've said, guys, uh usually people get hurt because they're trying to do something above and beyond.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_01: They're and they're trying to do something, but they're trying to do it a little bit quicker, they just want to get it done.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_01: Whether that's hey, my supervisor is pushing me to make sure I hit my hours on this job, whether that's hey, I got dinner with with you know my wife after this, I gotta get out of here quick.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_01: And all of a sudden, you know, I don't want to take the extra, you know, flight of stairs, or I don't want to, you know, do a couple extra things to make sure I do it the safe way, and then somebody gets hurt.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, we always talk to guys, you know, don't ever do something that puts you in an unsafe situation, uh, you know, and think, well, it's for the company, or I want to do something to get it quicker or get it done better, or do something like that.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: We do not want that.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: Like we want you to be safe, we want you to go home.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: You know, again, I've you know, I've been part of personally multiple serious accidents and fatalities that um that I know were absolutely avoidable.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, and I don't like to sit in a hospital room with one of my guys or girls, and I don't want to ever be in a situation where I've got to meet with a family and say, you know, I'm sorry what happened.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_01: And so um everybody needs to just make sure they put that first in in their business.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's beautiful.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: So uh a couple more questions on kind of your early career, and then I want to shift gears over to uh to your current adventure.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I guess the one of the questions to ask is what what would you say is one of the biggest lessons you learned early on that you really feel like has led to or or really contributed to your success?
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you know, I I'm uh starting out in sales, you know, I think uh, you know, you gotta there's there's some certain people that really have a knack, right?
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_01: They really are able to sell.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, for whatever reason, people gravitate to them um and and they want to buy from that individual.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: Unfortunately, um, you know, I didn't I didn't have great hair.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: I you know, I had a couple of things that just didn't make me uh stand out as hey, I gotta buy something from this guy.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_01: So I had to figure out how to differentiate myself and and how do I how do I sell, how do I be successful.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: And one of the easiest things to do, which for some reason we we we see as a struggle, I think, in our industry, is being responsive, calling people back, making sure they're not waiting for you any extended period of time, even if you don't have an answer, call them back and let them know you're working on it.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_01: So many times, you know, it was kind of one of my you know, it's it's it's it's a cliche.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: People say it all the time.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um I just, I just I did it.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_01: Was I didn't go home if there was a call that I needed to make, or I made sure I made that phone call on the drive home.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: Even when I didn't know, I'd make that call.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_01: And I sometimes I knew I'd probably get a voice message and I'd just have to leave a message.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_01: But I always wanted the customer to know I'm calling you back.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_01: I'm letting you know I'm working on it.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_01: I haven't forgot about you.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I know it made me a pretty successful salesperson to be able to do that.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_01: And it it really transcends into so many other things within, you know, whether it's business or life, right?
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_01: Is uh always keep keep that in in front of you, keep that kind of next step, know what you're going to do next and have a plan for it.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_01: Because the more that that I was able to make sure customers knew we were that they were important to us, make sure employees know that that you're important to us, and always return phone calls, make sure you're discussing with everybody what's going on.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I I always I've told everybody within my current business or any time I'm in a management role, please, here's my cell phone number.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_01: Call me whenever you need something, and I'm going to call them back.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you know, sometimes I might it might be it might be a few hours, but I don't leave too many phone calls uh open overnight or over 24 hours.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_01: But some of my guys now get a little worried when I'm calling them back at nine o'clock at night and I'm like, sorry, I just I just finally got time to call you back, but I wanted to call you back to make sure there wasn't something that that really needed to get done.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_01: So I I guess that's kind of a lesson learned that I would hope people would take away is uh just always be on top of that and make sure people know that you're you're not forgetting about them.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I I liked what you said.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, uh you you said a minute ago, you know, know that that that you're that they're important, right?
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's not just that I'm returning your call, it's that the message I'm sending to you is you're important enough for me to to call you back, whether it's you know later for me or you know, that that you are important is a is a strong, powerful message to send.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um and by uh being on top of that, you you send that message.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: No, absolutely.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: And and again, I think uh uh you know, we've certainly adopted that philosophy within our business.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we we we know our customers are why we're here.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: And and and I think it's fun is part of uh it's part of I think any good customer service is to realize that you know, yeah, customers have questions, customers have problems, you need to address these issues.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_01: And the more you make people wait, the more you you don't have answers for them is the the longer it just more upset people can get.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_01: So uh being being quick, being able to talk, and being responsive, I think are very important.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, thank you.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for uh so I I guess the last question on on this portion that I wanted to ask you is um you know, what would you tell somebody who's who's starting out brand new?
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_00: You know, maybe they're graduating from Penn State and getting recruited and know zero about this industry.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: What advice would you give?
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_01: Well, one, uh, you know, it's it's a terrific industry that's gonna kind of suck you in and keep you in it for for probably your whole career.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, I I I started right out of college.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: I I had a couple quick little stints outside of the industry, but it always kind of pulled me back in.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's one of these businesses that I think you become very fond of and you really like to stick with it.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I it it it's not uh it it's a it's a niche industry where you once you learn uh about the business, it's very comfortable.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_01: I I can't tell you how many people have said, hey, you know, I don't even think about elevator service.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_01: Oh wow, that's interesting.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_01: I don't even think about it.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, yeah, it's kind of the good thing, right?
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_01: I hope you don't, because if you are, there's probably something wrong in your building or an elevator.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, we want to we want to keep them running and keep them kind of hidden in the back so people don't have to worry about it.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_01: But um, you know, for for young, younger people or just people looking for a career change and look for something different, uh, if you're willing to kind of put in the work to learn, you know, some of the technical aspects of it, you don't need to be an expert.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I tell everybody the last thing you want is me working on your elevator.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I I know enough to be dangerous and uh and and you know, tell tell ask a mechanic a few questions, you know, did you check this or did you check that?
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_01: And half the time they laugh at me and say, Yeah, I did that, we're fine.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_01: But but still, um, you know, you learn the business, you learn the terminology, you learn a lot of the lingo that goes along with with talking to customers and making sure because they look your customers can look at you as the elevator expert, regardless of you know, one year, 10 years, or 50 years in the business.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_01: So um, you want to be able to do that and you want to be able to say it's okay if I don't know, I'm gonna find out the answer for you and come back, and uh and just come in with an open attitude and be ready to uh be ready to to kind of be humbled from time to time when you're you're trying to learn new things, but but also as long as you work hard and you do kind of the little things that to make you successful, uh the sky's the limit, you know.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it's really a great industry that's that's gonna continue to grow.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_01: They're not gonna stop installing elevators and they're not gonna stop uh maintaining elevators.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, we've we've got an industry here that's fairly well protected from a lot of the ups and downs of the economy and and the issues that are out there, and so it really does make it a pretty safe harbor for a career.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Jeremy.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: I I appreciate you being on with me today.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's uh a lot of fun to get to know you a little bit better and talk about your your career, your business, and wish you the best as you as you keep building it.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I appreciate everything you do.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_01: I think this is a great uh outlet for people to discuss and learn a little bit about the industry.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_01: Uh if even for those who aren't in the industry, maybe learn a little bit about something else.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_01: So thanks, thanks for what you're doing, and again, great to spend some time with you today.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: Bye bye.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to the Elevator Careers Podcast, sponsored by the All Red Group, a leader in elevator industry recruiting.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_00: You can check us out online at elevatorcareers.net.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: Please subscribe, and until next time, stay safe.