Shed Geek Podcast
The Shed Geek Podcast offers an in depth analysis of the ever growing and robust Shed Industry. Listeners will experience a variety of guests who identify or specialize in particular niche areas of the Shed Industry. You will be engaged as you hear amateur and professional personalities discuss topics such as: Shed hauling, sales, marketing, Rent to Own, shed history, shed faith, and much more. Host Shannon Latham is a self proclaimed "Shed Geek" who attempts to take you through discussions that are as exciting as the industry itself. Listeners of this podcast include those who play a role directly or indirectly with the Shed Industry itself.
Shed Geek Podcast
Rural Reviews, Real Results
A dependable sales engine in a rural market doesn’t come from hacks; it comes from consistent habits that buyers can see. We sit down with dealer and marketing director Jerald Rhodes of Creative Backyards to unpack a full, repeatable playbook for generating shed demand without overspending on ads. Jerald sells larger buildings outside city centers, and he explains why rural buyers are simpler to serve, more profitable to deliver to, and more receptive to clear, professional branding online.
We dig into the details: how to turn a tidy lot into a standout digital presence, why your second Marketplace photo should be a branded micro–business card, and how short, authentic video makes customers feel like they already know you. The centerpiece is Google reviews. Jerald shares the exact 12-hour window to ask, the word-for-word text he sends on delivery day, and the direct link that removes friction. He also breaks down what the data says about trust: respond to every review, aim for 50-plus total reviews, and keep them fresh so Google and customers see you as active, real, and reliable.
You’ll also hear the practical setup tips most businesses miss, like choosing “physical location” over “service area” for your Google Business Profile so customers can navigate to your lot. We talk ethics—no incentives, no cherry-picking—and why authenticity beats polish on social. By the end, you’ll have a simple framework: consistent branding, personable video, thoughtful Marketplace listings, and a delivery-day review sequence that turns happy customers into public proof.
If this playbook helps, follow the show, share it with a fellow dealer, and leave us a review. Your feedback helps more rural sellers find strategies that work.
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Studio Sponsor: Shed Pro
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Welcome back to the Shed Geek Podcast. I'm your host, Cord Koch, standing in for Shannon Latham while he is taking a bit of a break. Just to start the podcast here, I want to do a little bit of housekeeping, remind everyone that if you need to get in touch with Shed Geek for any reason, or if you'd like to explore uh options on rentals, finance, consultation, or any other of the offerings through Shed Geek, the number to call is 618-309-3648. You can visit www.shedgeek.com. Don't forget to check out the Facebook page. And also, if you are a Shed Sales Professional, like our guest today, Mr. Jerald Rhodes, don't forget to be a part of the Shed Sales Professionals Facebook group. It is a great resource and we take a lot of pride in helping to bolster that group and bolster that community for everyone's success.
Cord Koch:So, without further ado, uh today I'm joined by Mr. Jerald Rhodes of Creative Backyards, right off uh Highway 75 there in Plattsmouth. Am I saying that right? Nebraska. That's right. Plattsmouth, Nebraska. I actually I've been trying to keep this uh theme going, keep Shannon present here. And so uh if you're watching, uh I do have on the Creative Backyards hat that Shannon has accumulated at some point. It's a sharp hat, Mr. Rhodes. Thank you. That's a good looking one. Um you are a uh dealer for Mid-America Structures, Mr. Wendell Yoder. Is that right? That's correct. We uh I think actually one of the first hats that I wore here was the Mid-America Structures hat, uh, knowing that that you were going to be coming on here shortly, but uh I don't want to take up the time here, Mr. Rhodes. Why don't you give the audience a little bit of a refresh on uh who you are, what you have going on, uh your lot obviously there in Plattsmith, um, and uh catch us up on what's been going on with you in the last couple years.
Jerald Rhodes:Yeah, so I'm Jerald Rhodes. Um my shed lot is in uh Plattsmouth, Nebraska. I actually live further south down in Auburn, Nebraska with my wife, and uh we have three children, and um been in the shed industry since early 2022. Um got in post-COVID, which I'm actually kind of thankful for, so I don't really have that handicap. Um and I've been loving it. Uh always kind of been in sales, uh, started out more in the agricultural space, uh, grew up on a farm and then transitioned into agricultural sales. Uh, probably the prominent there would have been um with Big Iron Online Auctions and uh worked for them for uh seven years as a sales rep, basically going out and uh convincing farmers to use our platform to auction off their equipment online. And uh one thing I learned there is that uh relationships are so key to sales, especially in the agriculture industry, where farmers they're not just picking up the phone and uh you know ordering a combine without much thought, but there's a there's a there's a whole process there. And you know, when I jumped into sheds uh early 2022, I just kind of brought a lot of that knowledge that I acquired there and applied it to uh to sheds. And obviously there's nuances, you know, in in both spaces, but principles apply no matter what you're selling, and uh that's been good. So my actual um first shed experience though would have been probably when I was about 20, 21. I bought my first shed. Uh at the time I lived in southern Indiana, close to uh the Davis County area, and uh I bought a 10 by 16 uh metal sided shed off of uh Wagner Mini Barnes, and I think I think I paid $2,500 for that shed, if I remember right. Um then uh Cliff Knepp, which uh probably many in the trucking world, the shed hauling world would know who Cliff is. Cliff uh delivered it. I still remember him uh bringing it out, and he was just that was in his early days of getting started with a pickup and trailer, and uh he brought it out and um yeah, so I had it had a little side business I needed some storage for, and that that 10 by 16 was perfect. So, yeah, um, so I own Creative Backyards here, and uh I'm a dealer for Mid-America Structures, as well as I also work for Mid America Structures as their marketing director, so um that's kind of a part-time job with them, handle their marketing, uh, anything to do with marketing, website, catalog design, things like that. And then um uh I originally went to work for them to be sales manager and um over the years transitioned into just narrowed that down to being the marketing. And I love selling sheds, I love being on the sales lot, so I love this aspect more than managing dealers, so to speak. Right and personality. Yeah, so Brian Litz is uh sales manager for the dealers at Mid-America Structures. Um doing a good job with that, and um, I'm just I'm having a blast selling sheds. So, uh it's just I just love that interaction with people and getting out there and uh yeah, so that's kind of what I do in a nutshell. So yeah.
Cord Koch:Yeah, well, I've uh really enjoyed um I've been in the industry for about a year now, since last November, uh, and on the Shed Sales Professional page, I suppose, since oh gosh, maybe February or March of this year. But I've really enjoyed your very practical, um, kind of down-to-earth uh you know, straightforward advice that you give on there. I think that you're one of the really good contributors that consistently kind of speaks up and has really good uh really good opinions about these things, which of course you would uh being the marketing director for a regional company like that. So maybe a good place to start is you know, what do you see in that? One of the most interesting spaces to me is in this rural um market development type of uh of an area. I mean, you know, I think everyone in the shed industry knows that the suburbs and the exurbs and the sort of the communities where you just have you know tons of houses stacked up, obviously those are really great uh areas, but it fascinates me what people are doing out here in rural areas um, you know, to really market uh and to put products and the best service in front of customers. So how do you kind of see that, Mr. Rhodes? I think I kind of know what you think from your shed sales professionals post, but kind of tell me tell me what the real world is uh out there in in that sort of market.
Jerald Rhodes:Yeah, so we really do target the rural areas. Um I'm my sales lot is 25 miles from Omaha, but uh we actually don't sell a lot of sheds into the into the city. We prefer to sell you know the bigger units out in the go out into the hobby farms, the rural places. Uh you just make more money, you know, and it seems to be less headache with especially and even for the drivers, you know. Yeah, permits, getting sheds into tight spaces. I mean, somebody wants a shed, we'll sell it to them, but um yeah, and so these rural areas, um, you know, there's I think so many things that are key to um, you know, when I jumped into sheds here, there was no shed lot in the rural immediate area, and people didn't know me. Um, I'm obviously not native to the area, and then I'm uh putting up this new shed lot. And so I think if you know, there's people are always looking for that silver bullet, you know, to sell on sheds, and there is no silver bullet. I think it's doing 500 little things well, you know, just being consistent, do the do all those little things, and they the sum of the parts is greater than the whole, you know, when it when it comes to doing all the little things. Be consistent, be at your lot, have a night, have a good looking presence. Um, Google Maps, which we're gonna get into that, uh, is a big part of that. Um, I think probably if I could put in one word, consistency is probably the key, is just be consistent of what you're doing. Um, it takes a while to build your brand, build your presence, and um Facebook's another great place to do that. Just constantly being on Facebook posting, you know, your sheds that you're selling, whether that's marketplace or your business page, but just consistent. I think consistency, if you could boil it down to one word, I think it would be consistency.
Cord Koch:Yeah, right. It's not um it's not as complicated as uh as some people might make it or whatever else. You're absolutely right. Now, how that consistency translates from uh you know the consistency of keeping a good tidy, which I actually I haven't been to your shed lot. I hope to make it up there uh here, you know, even this year would be fantastic, uh, or the first of next year. But I looked at your pictures on Google that you put on there, but then I also went and did the street view, so things that you couldn't have possibly planned for. And it looks great both ways, right? Um, so you know, the consistency of just appearance uh and how you are presenting yourself, uh being there, all those things that are kind of real-world consistency, but you kind of touched on it um with the Google Maps, but then how do you start to translate that consistency into the digital world, into the specifically the digital marketing world where you are competing for those digital leads? What is consistency? How do you how does that translate into that kind of world for you? How do you see that, Mr. Rhodes?
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Jerald Rhodes:Yeah, I think um, you know, a lot of times we think that um when we get into the digital space, we think it's harder to control the narrative of who we are or even the customer, you know, when they're on your lot, you think it's easier to convince them. But people aren't they're not stupid, you know. They're they for example, you know, if you take uh you have your Facebook business page, which every shed lot should, and um, you know, consistently posting there, just staying front of mind, front of presence, you know, of your audience, um, even maybe running some ads to reach those people who are outside of your pace. And the nice the nice thing too is uh like it or hate it, but Facebook now with their algorithm, they are showing you pages that you don't follow. You know, it happens all the time. They're suggesting pages that they think would be in your interest. So as someone who's running a business page, promoting a product, it's a it's a win for you because if you're consistently putting content out there, Facebook's gonna start suggesting you to other people that they think would be a good fit for your page. And so, you know, I don't get it done, but I have a goal of like trying to post every day, um, at minimum, you know, three, four times a week. Um, I see sometimes people they just think that, oh, if I, you know, I'm gonna start a page and magic's gonna happen. Well, no, you're you have to be consistent posting your pictures, your projects you're doing, you know. Um you know, I see a uh a mistake some people do is they'll dump, you know, they'll do five posts in one day, and then they go on a two-week vacation, you know, and then it's another dump of posts. But I think it's just you know, this is just one way, that consistent uh putting out of content, whether it's you know, what's on your lot or tidbits or projects that have got done, you know, sheds that have been delivered, um, things like that. Just staying there in front. And even like uh another thing is we talked about Google Maps and we're gonna dive into that, but bringing in uh a fresh flow of reviews to your Google business profile. And we're gonna I'll have the data here that that proves that. Um, but people are looking for that consistency of fresh reviews coming in. You know, if I'm getting on Google Maps and I'm looking at places, and well, this business, the last review they had was six months ago. Uh, well, hey, they must not be in business anymore, or they're not, you know.
Cord Koch:That's exactly the thought, right? That's exactly the thought that passes through people's heads. They must not be doing business anymore.
Jerald Rhodes:Right. And so that's how I apply consistency to the digital space is um wherever you're gonna be present digitally, whether that's Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, I mean, I suggest find a platform that you're comfortable with and then master that one before trying to do, you know, a lot of them. So, for me, Facebook and Instagram, I have a YouTube channel, but I'm not doing a lot there just because I don't feel like I'm gonna do it well at this point. So, I'm trying to, you know, right now I found my best audience to be Facebook Instagram. So, you know, that it just taking that whole consistency thing of um posting regularly, branding yourself with your post, you know, um marketplace listings. So just this is another tidbit that I found to be very, very helpful is uh in your marketplace listings when you post that new shed. I um my second photo that I post uh in that listing, because you can post up to you know 10 photos, but the second photo after the main photo of the shed is I've created like a little digital business card with my picture, my logo, my brand colors, and then phone number, website, and I post that as the second photo. That way, when these people are scrolling through marketplace looking at sheds, like boom, you know, they and you and you have all your sheds listed. So maybe you've got 15, 20, or maybe you only have 10. But if you got all your buildings on there and you've taken good photos, so they present well, and people are clicking on that, and then they start seeing this pattern of like, here's this guy that's you know, his presentation is always the same on marketplace, the way he outlays his description, his photos, and he's always got his branded profile, you know, his branded photo. Um, uh, and so I started doing that uh probably about a year ago. And um I was actually amazed at the amount of people that now actually bypass the messaging part and call me direct just from seeing that little business card with my phone number, and they don't want to mess with messaging through Facebook. They pick up the phone, they're like, Hey, I saw your listing on marketplace, and I just think it's been big, you know, consistent branding, your listings are the same every time. Um, it's just it's such a little thing that's it's so easy to do, but it's so uh a lot of people don't do it. They just it only takes another 30 seconds to do it right, you know.
Cord Koch:It's similar, it's similar to that sort of well, what it is it's professionalism. Right. I mean, like what you are portraying is the same thing that uh, you know, pick your pick your speaker, you know, Zig Ziggler or uh, you know, uh Rockefeller, like it doesn't matter, right? But what you're doing is the same thing as um you know shining your shoes or right it's the presentation of professionalism and how you're able to translate professionalism across a platform, right? And how people sort of perceive that is that oh well this guy is consistent, uh he is well branded, he is affable. I think you said that your business card actually has a picture of you on it, which is which is a great suggestion, right? Let somebody see the person they're actually going to wind up speaking with. Um yeah, it's trans it's translating all those things that we do in our day-to-day lives that make us business professionals, and how do you how do you manage to get that across on these platforms where primarily it just says 10 by 16, you know, lofty bar, right? And so uh, you know, I think that's a really good insight. You're talking about the sort of interest-based uh algorithms that are now uh you know more prevalent on Facebook and Instagram, TikTok, all the social medias, you know, primarily they're using those to their biggest degree with the you know vertical style. So, I'm curious just uh just your thoughts on you know, should people be focused on at least attempting to create that sort of vertical scrollable style? Do you feel are you doing that? Do you feel like it's something that you want to implement? Where are you on that sort of or maybe you think it's just a trend?
Jerald Rhodes:Yeah, so I do kind of a mix. I probably do more of like photo-based post versus uh like a reel. Um, it's interesting. So um when I do a reel, it performs better on Instagram than Facebook. When I do a photo post, it performs better on Facebook in terms of you know views. And I think it's good to have a mix of both. And I think too, when you do that reel, uh get your face on camera just a little bit, you know, as an introduction or even your whole video, um, don't talk from behind the camera. Uh I think I think you need to get your face on camera, which is it can be scary, you know, but you you'll get better at it as you do it more often. And that way people uh that again helps cement your brand, you as a professional. And um, you know, people come into the well, I was at the uh at the Shed Expo. I had people coming up to me and they're like, Oh, well, we watched your content on Facebook and I didn't even you know these people, right? But they recognize me from being in a video, you know, and so I think um I think as a customer, you know, clients in your area, when they see you in a video, and then when they come to talk to you, they feel like they probably kind of already know you. So you've kind of maybe broken down a few barriers uh by doing that.
Cord Koch:Absolutely. Yeah, first impressions that you know uh again pick your poison on who the sort of um you know motivational or business speaker is, but um in all of those um philosophies, right, there's always such an emphasis on your first impression. And you know, in real life, we're limited to um how we can actually, right? Like, do we are we presenting ourselves with enough enthusiasm or you know, do we do we smile good enough or whatever else, right? And we're limited to that space. But you know, I think one of the good things about uh some of these things moving digital is that you can make sure that right, you can you can record that video two or three or four or five times until you feel like you absolutely you know gave that that enthusiastic, friendly uh, you know, perception. And that is your that is your first impression to a potential client, right? So uh and you can do it uh a couple thousand at a time instead of one at a time.
Jerald Rhodes:Um so you know I think I think people too are past the thing of a perfect video. I think people are more wanting something authentic and original. So if you're doing the video, you mess up, don't worry about it. You know, it's not that everything has to be framed perfectly. I think people like that authenticity. Um I you know, maybe five years ago, ten years ago, having the perfect looking video was optimum, but I don't know that it is so much anymore.
Cord Koch:No, it's consistency, right? Yeah, it's consistency, it's putting out uh whatever you want to call it, putting out authentic good content daily or every other day or weekly is much better than putting out perfect content once a month or whatever it is, right? Like it's exactly what you're saying. How consistent can you be with that good high quality and also delivering value in that, right? What are you actually saying to the customer? And is it something that affects their sort of uh shed buying journey? Or maybe it's not even a shed buying journey, maybe it's just their day-to-day, right? Um, so anyway, no, I think that's I think that's a really great perspective. So I know you want to talk about um Google reviews, Google Maps, um, and I know that you've got some good data for us. So I would love, if you're if you're ready, Mr. Rhodes, dive in and let's learn something.
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Jerald Rhodes:Yeah. Well, uh Google Reviews is something I'm very, very passionate about, and I love helping other people uh with that. And you know, so many people have helped me in the shed industry, and even prior to that, that I just I think it's good for us all to contribute back in some way. You know, whatever your tidbit is that you're good at, don't be afraid to share it. And um, and I think probably what changed my mind the most on that is uh I encourage everybody out there that's in sales to go read the book The Go Giver by Bob Berg and just be known as a giving person, and um, which goes back to it's a biblical command, you know, but um just you know, so often it's us versus them when we when we think of our business and the business down the road. And that's actually a trap, you know, it's it um it breeds into a scarcity mindset. And um once you start, just think of giving back, whether it's to your customers or you know, whoever, don't be afraid to send a lead down the road to the next shed person if you can't help them out, you know. Um, but giving back, and so that's why uh I love sharing this stuff. I don't care if my you know the next shed lot down the road takes this and uses it, great, you know, um if we can help someone else, but yeah, I think um when it comes to Google reviews, I think it's one of the most underutilized things in the especially in the shed industry. And the fact that it's free, you know, it doesn't cost you can do all this on your now. Obviously, you can hire somebody to manage your profile and do all that for you, but you don't have to. Um, it's not super complicated. And um, I think sometimes maybe when things don't cost us something, we don't tend to pay attention to it. You know what I mean? Like if we had to pay a thousand dollars a month for something, then we make sure it works. And so Google Reviews, it's like uh I when I got into selling sheds in in 2022, um, it was probably later that year, I kind of come to the realization that I think this is a vital part of having a uh healthy flow of traffic coming to the lot, or even you know, phone calls or to your website, is setting up a Google business profile for your for your company and then actively managing it and uh running it and you know um setting up the profiles. Well, I guess maybe we should talk. I think most people would probably know what a Google business profile is, but we all go to Google Maps, we search, you know, fast food restaurant near me, and these businesses pop up. Um, maybe it's maybe we're looking for a motel, you know, we're going on a trip. And even Google Maps plays into the whole Google search thing. You know, if you just go to Google to search for whatever, it pulls in data, especially if it's location-based, you know, a business or something where you're going to a location, it pulls in everything from Google Maps, you know, and you and you get what you call the three-pack where it's going to show you the three top-rated businesses uh that Google feels would best serve your interests. And so even outside of Google Maps, it's still very pertinent uh for the Google search experience to have the Google Maps profile. And I think a lot of people under utilize that. Now, I don't obviously we nobody knows Google's algorithm and how much weight they put on the on the business profile, and I'm not a guru in that, but sources I've read feel like you know it's probably around 10% uh of the weight that that Google applies to a Google business profile uh when they're looking at the search algorithm. So, it's 10% is it's not like it's mountainous, but it's something you don't want to ignore.
Cord Koch:You know, it could be the difference in being in that three pack, right?
Jerald Rhodes:Right. Yeah. And so Google, you know, for Google, they want you to keep coming back to Google to use Google. They want you on their platform, they want your data, they want you using it. So it's in their best interest to show you the best performing companies, you know, because they want you as a as a consumer, they want you happy when you do a search, they want to serve you results that are going to answer your questions so that you're gonna keep coming back to Google to use Google. So, it's in their best interest to promote. promote good companies and so it's kind of a win-win because Google's gonna promote the good companies. Um you as a business can do your best to be that good company. And you know um when I s when I started doing the Google reviews thing it was kind of scary at first to ask for that review, you know, because you're afraid what people are going to say about you. You're afraid they're gonna give you a one star, you know, and so it's it can be a little bit scary to ask for those reviews. You're being vulnerable because you're asking for people's opinion. But so, with that in mind, I was like, I want a five star experience for my customers. I want to I want to be top rated in my in my area for a shed. And so, you know I kind of reverse engineered that if I want a five star, what does it take to get to be a five star? You know so you kind of reverse engineer that and it's like well I need to offer good customer service you know I need to have a clean lot I need to have uh a painless experience uh one that's seamless when they come to buy a shed you know there's so many things you can think of and that actually was beneficial for me like it almost in a way it kind of reframed my process of greeting customers just the whole gamut of things because I wanted that five star you know and so I think um it can be scary it can be daunting but um for yourself like strive to get a five star review and there's this myth out there that you don't want to be five star rated you know there's people say that well you know I only do business with a 4.7 or a 4.8 like when there's a five star and you know that might be true if you only have 10 reviews but when you've got a hundred or two hundred three hundred reviews stacked up and they're consistently uh speaking well of your business you don't need you want to my rating is at a 5.0 and I have over 200 reviews and I am not scared of that 5.0 rating. You know I hear I think that's a myth that people put out there.
Cord Koch:I think it's bred out of I think it's bred out of areas that are super high uh competition right so that sounds like something that my brother who lives in downtown Charlotte you know Charlotte North Carolina that sounds like something that he would say about picking a restaurant but it's because you know whenever he types in uh you know restaurant near me there are 80 different options right and so I think that there people make that that argument saying that well if it's a five star then it must essentially be fake reviews or box reviews or whatever else but you know to me kind of circling back to where we started which was about the actual rural you know markets and rural marketing and how do you get those leads you know I don't think out here in rural America um where you know if right now uh if I typed in you know restaurants Metropolis, Illinois uh there's only five to choose from you know like I don't think I don't think in areas that are not as saturated with competition um that it even has that psychological effect on the consumer anyway um you know but I'm like you hey I'll take five stars all day long right to me that means that they put in a lot of effort um you know not just to provide great customer service but to provide great customer service and then seek out those customers to actually uh fill out those reviews so maybe that's a good next step here uh Mr.
Jerald Rhodes:Rhodes where do you go from the experience to actually getting those customers to commit to uh you know giving you those valuable reviews uh on your Google business profile yeah and just backing up a comment on what you said about you know the five star rating I think you brought out a valid point is super high concentrated areas you know um and especially a business you take like a restaurant or a hotel that takes in a way higher volume of reviews than like a shed seller. Right. There you might be a little more leery of a five star you know and you might feel more comfortable with the 4.8 or 4.9 but I think the industry we're in I think that's a myth that you don't want to strive and have a five star agree actual rating you know because now honestly the 4.8 and the 4.9 are probably going to carry as much weight you know to the customer as a five star but I don't think we need to shy away from that five star you don't need to go look for a bad review is what you're saying. Right, right yeah yeah and you know I've had I've had some below that rated me less than a five you know a three or a four um but we've taken in so many five stars that it's it still averages out to a to a five star rating. And if somebody wants to rate me lower than a five I'm not offended you know because they have that full right and privilege to give feedback and um yeah so it's um yeah so to your question there uh the process of getting reviews I think one of the key things is uh a lot of people that I see that are scared of getting the review or don't want to put the effort forth aren't giving reviews themselves. So I encourage everyone if this is looks new to you be a giving person and just tomorrow today whatever go out and give five reviews to five businesses in your community you know businesses that you appreciate that you've done business with and go leave them a review go give something back you know in that sense and kind of get used to how does this platform work? How does it work to post a review and to upload photos and depending on the category of the business you know there's maybe additional questions that you can contribute such as you know parking what services they offer whatever menu items you know how much did you spend things like that.
Cord Koch:Google makes you feel real good for helping out with that.
Jerald Rhodes:Right.
Cord Koch:They give you the little badges and the contributor stuff and yeah no I love giving reviews and telling them where the front door is and where the best parking is and help out the next guy right yeah because we all use like it or not we all use Google reviews we benefit from it you know for our own personal experience we use that as a as a point of reference to especially when we don't know where to go whether it's in a new town or whatever or maybe it's something a new product we want or a service but we we're not familiar with that industry.
Jerald Rhodes:And so, we go to Google we go to Google search or Google Maps, which you know is pulling in that data of these business profiles. And so, we use it. So, you know I think it goes back to this thing of just being a giving person uh start giving reviews out to other businesses. I like when I especially when I travel um I'm all the time you know taking pictures of you know the inside of the place the restaurant or whatever and uh especially if it's I'm not so big on leaving reviews on the chain you know the chain places but you know the small the small one-off businesses that are entrepreneurs just like us out here you know I want to reward them for their good hard work if they've given us a good experience you know give them a give them a review um so I think that's I think that's a good starting point is be comfortable yourself giving reviews out learn how that process works and I think it'll make your you asking for a review will become easier if you become familiar with the process and you uh you have experience that yourself giving those reviews so um.
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Jerald Rhodes:Collecting the reviews uh there's a lot of different ways you can go about it I think one of the biggest keys that a lot of people miss and that is if you want to take a review in for your business or your service um your highest success rate of getting that review is within 12 hours of the experience so uh for us people that sell sheds that experience is when that shed is dropped in the backyard that's the experience for the customer it's not when they came to your lot and ordered the shed it's not two weeks in when they're wanting to know if you know what's when's the delivery or whatever um but it's when the shed lands in the backyard that's the experience and that's when you need to strike and I see a lot of uh especially uh shed companies they'll ask for the review maybe when the person orders the shed but people aren't they're not ready to leave a review because maybe they've they maybe they they've interacted with you they kind of know how your experience is it you know your customer service up to that point maybe they feel good at that but they've not received the actual product you know and a lot of times uh they're not comfortable leaving that review and so um I don't even have a review QR code on my desk or in my office anywhere because that's not the time and place to ask for the review because they've not experienced the product that I'm going to give them you know or serve them with. And so I think it's uh you know that's a key point is um I see people either asking for the review too early or then they're waiting too long. You know, maybe they're waiting a week after the shed was delivered or two weeks or whatever. And that that window of opportunity is 12 hours of the experience. So basically the the day the shed is delivered you know um you can wait till the next day but it's just for me over and over again it's proven that your high success rate is the same day as the delivery. And so what that means is you need to have good communication with your delivery crew you know and I uh really kudos to the guys at Mid America Structures, our dispatcher Derek over there schedules the buildings we use the shed app for selling the sheds designing and dispatching and so every one of us dealers um in our profiles can see uh when that shed is scheduled you know so every morning I'm checking my list of buildings that I've sold to my customers and seeing if there's any updates on you know usually they schedule anywhere from two to four days out ahead so I know when that shed's getting delivered you know um so it's that communication between the delivery crew and um and the delivery is done by Mid America structures you know that's vertically integrated there so that is a huge benefit. I know a lot of shed companies are using independent drivers you know where that may be more challenging but I would encourage every shed dealer out there just to develop a good relationship with your drivers you know I think that's a lot of people aren't doing that and um don't just call your driver when you're upset at him but you know throw him a tip or whatever every now and then for the hard work they do and just um I don't I don't want to use this term stay on the good side of them because that's you know but we want to have a good relationship with the drivers so you know when your buildings are getting delivered. Like so many people just sell the shed and then that's it. You know they just kind of wash their hands of it. And um if you're gonna take that approach then yeah you're probably scared to ask for a for a Google review. But I think yeah communicating with the delivery crew um our delivery guys they send me a photo of every shed they set which is huge because then that can be used on social media or even on your website. So pretty much and you know 90% of the time the shed gets delivered that day. Sometimes there's hiccups or whatever but we know when the shed's getting delivered and we can strike when the iron's hot you know so that so my process goes like this um the day of the delivery I usually wait till afternoon or even towards evening once I know that you know the shed's been delivered and um and if anybody's listening write this this is the script I use and it's I use the exact same script every time and it just it works. But I text everyone um people say well you know there's old people out there that don't text and that's another myth. I've like I would say
Cord Koch:Grandma and grandpa are texting.
Jerald Rhodes:Right grandpa and grandma are texting I would say it's less than one percent of my customers that won't text you know and so uh a text is just a simple way you're not bothering them with a phone call they're having a busy day already setting up their shed their you know or whatever with their work but just sending it so I send them a text message and it goes exactly like this it's like hey Bob and then I write uh a question I say how did delivery go today question mark and then my next line is how are you liking your shed question mark exclamation mark so it's a question but it's also I'm already anticipating their excitement you know and I'm not scared to do that because I know the guys built a good shed I know the delivery guys did a great job of delivery I'm not afraid of our processes or our product so I can do that with confidence. So yeah that that's the script hi Bob how did delivery go today question how are you liking your new shed question exclamation marker it might be chicken coop or cabin or whatever you know it's feeling plane um and I would say that um probably 90% of the time they text back you know and they're like you know the f the most common response I get is wow that delivery was amazing you know the mule they love the mule and just they're wild by it and um and then they love the shed you know they're they'll usually throw in a comment or two about the shed or the cabin or the greenhouse and they're just they're loving it you know whatever aspect of it they love they usually share that and so 90% of them are going to text back and so my next response back to them is like hey great I'm glad to hear you're loving it or whatever you know and then uh immediately I say would you help me out would you help us out with a Google Maps review and that phrase there is so key you always want to frame it as a question. Right would you help me out with a Google Maps review? Just use that exact terminology and um you asking for someone for help. And it you know people love to help others and so often I see people they'll say well you know when they're wanting a review they'll tell their customers like hey we uh we really like Google reviews over here when you get a minute could you drop me a review or you know something along that line they offer it as a suggestion or we would want you to do this. And but that doesn't necessarily motivate people to do something. And I have found that the question form of would you help me out with Google Maps review um I would say that 70% of the people will answer in the affirmative that yes, they would be glad to do it. You know there's 30% that maybe they don't know how or they don't want to do it and that's totally fine. You know we're not going to force anyone to leave a review. But so, what you do is when you ask them that question and they respond in the affirmative they've just made a psychological commitment. You know it's has it's all part
Cord Koch:they're now being a good neighbor and nobody themselves as not being a good neighbor right yeah
Jerald Rhodes:Right and by text by them spelling out in a text message that they're going to do a review that commitment uh carries a lot of weight that uh you don't really think about and so my experience has been you know about 70% of them respond in the affirmative that yes they'll be glad to help with the review. So, then I in return uh you have to make it convenient and I'll I will uh right away I thank them thanks so much for doing that for us and I'm gonna send you the link where you can leave the review. You know give them the link and Google Maps um makes it super easy where you can go to your business profile and you can get they will provide you with a link that takes you directly to not just the profile itself but actually to the review section where they're ready to leave a review. And so that's the key is send them that link and they click on it and they can fill it out. So that's that has uh been very effective I also you know there is um review acquisition software you can use you know uh to help with that and I do use uh I use real work labs been with them since uh early on when they kind of jumped in the shed industry been very happy with the service um and they you know they have automated review acquisition so but I have found that if you just rely on an automated system alone you don't you don't get near the reviews and so that personal that's why I do that personal text messaging uh first just check in make sure they're happy with the product they got what they delivered you know and if they have a problem then we address the problem let's address the problem and so it's a great way to find out you know if there was an issue with delivery or maybe the building was you know a window was put in the wrong spot or whatever um obviously address those concerns and uh and find an avenue to you know fix that for that customer so um but back to the review the automated services um I feel like there's a lot of good there's a lot of different programs out there bird eye uh and I think even some of your CRMs have them have them integrated like I think maybe go high level on some of those you know it's integrated in there but just relying on that alone uh it works but you can I think you could probably um when I when I start applying the strategy I use I would say my uh review intake probably doubled uh over just using the automation alone so um just establishing that little connection uh following up that service after the sale and um so you know we get about 70% of them say they'll be glad to leave us a review I thank them send them a link directly and at the same time I also then trigger my automated program to trigger off an email and a text message as well um and um and then if they don't leave a review that day I think it's uh day three another email gets sent and then maybe day seven and then after that you know they stop um so you don't and you don't trigger that until after they have answered in the affirmative is the key there right like you're right and some people could say well you're staging yourself to get all five star reviews well I want to take care of all concerns and even the people that haven't been happy I still ask them for a review like everybody gets asked for a review even if they're an upset customer I'm not cherry picking yeah you know customers so if there is an issue let's address it let's get it fixed and obviously you always get customers that you still can't please every once in a while you get those I had on here always about a year ago he was just nitpicky and just uh he was over the top with some of his stuff that he was picking on you know but we still you know we still ask for the review um even if we because if they want to provide you know their true heartfelt opinions you know they have that right sure right yeah so like you said open to can open to being constructive right like solving problems and everything else that's right yeah so um I would say with that strategy that I use um I can average about a 35% uh response rate wow with uh Google reviews so um it works you know just using that simple process it works um and uh we get in a fresh flow of reviews and um you know and a lot of those are still come that same day or that evening it it's very rare that I would say the automations that follow up day three and day seven probably only bring in another 10% five to ten percent of the reviews you know 90 to 95% of those are happening the same day which proves the point that you need to be asking the day of the delivery.
Cord Koch:Do it in that window. That's right
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Jerald Rhodes:You know we can get into this whole thing of ethics of Google reviews which we've kind of touched on that but um you know it's illegal to incentivize uh a five- star review um it's illegal for you to offer a reward in exchange for a good review that's illegal it's against Google's policies. I think technically you can offer an incentive for leaving a re uh a review right um to dictate what that review has to say. A five- star review right yeah so but I don't I don't even do that you know I don't reward people for leaving a review regardless you know I while Google would allow you to do that I think um I just don't think it's good ethics to try to butter someone up yeah review. So, um so yeah that's I think that's key and you know I only ask reviews from people that I have technically done business with. You know I I see some people well they want dad brother and uncle and cousin to to leave them a five star and when they've never really interacted with you and to me that's not that's not really legitimate. That's not an accurate portrait of your profile you know and sometimes you can even see through those reviews uh people can tell if the review is authentic or uh you know if it's someone just trying to help you out so to speak.
Cord Koch:Yeah absolutely, we've all unfortunately we've all gotten very adept at that right like just being a discerning consumer now requires that you're able to kind of look through the smokescreen on companies that are operating that way.
Jerald Rhodes:But it sounded like you had some uh some data there just to back up the sort of results side um uh hit us with what exactly how exactly can this uh benefit what's the data say yeah before we launch into that back on the ethics I want to touch on one more thing and this this has to go with giving reviews um I don't think that um giving bad reviews should never be seen as a retribution plan you know when we become upset with someone um I think it's fine and proper to when we've had a subpar experience to leave a lower rated review and explain what you know what happened. But I see sometimes people um they get upset with a business and then they tell all their friends about it and all their friends and cousins aunts and uncles come in and give this business a one star review when they've never actually interacted with them you know as a as of like a payback for whatever and a prime example of this was just recently with Charlie Kirk's assassination you know you saw uh some of the horrific things people were saying and some of these people were business owners maybe they had a cafe uh they maybe supported his assassination or cheered it on which is horrific but then you had people trying to retaliate and they're like posting on social media hey let's go over and give everybody let's go give Sally's cafe a one star review and let's take them down and to me I just that's not the way of Jesus you know that's we're supposed to love our enemies return good for evil and I just don't think that's the heart of Jesus to uh to use Google reviews as a retribution you know for things that have been done. I think if we've if we went to a place and had a bad experience that's one thing but to just go out in mass and try to take someone down uh you're abusing the system you know in in that regard.
Cord Koch:Yeah no I agree and I mean not only is it is it um not in the spirit of Jesus in the spirit of loving kindness and um you know as you said um returning uh evil with uh kindness and love but um not only that but it also just diminishes the overall value of the sort of network itself right if the value of Google and Google reviews and Google business profiles is that the public the consumer the people who are actually the customer that is actually you know buying that product or using that service uh are the ones who are then kind of passing that passing that review and passing that judgment on. It's supposed to be meant to you know obviously do exactly what you're saying encourage good business right and judging someone based on whether it's a horrific uh stance to have or not um you know judging their business on what their personal stance on some uh thing is um just also diminishes what the value of that platform is in everyone's minds right it actually marginally makes it less valuable for uh you know uh for creative backyards whenever other businesses are getting torn down not because of anything to do with business right so you and then the thing to remember is the same thing could happen to me if somebody takes offense with a position I have and wants to land blast me with a bunch of one stars be and have never even done business with me.
Jerald Rhodes:You know so what goes around comes around. And so that's just yeah I just I felt really uncomfortable about that you know several months or weeks or whatever going that I and I saw people that called themselves Christians were promoting this on Facebook like hey let's go over and give a bunch of one stars and I just I couldn't jump on that wagon you know it's not it's not who we're supposed to be as Christians. Yeah, agreed but you know to the data um you know for me I've always believed in the Google reviews thing and it works. It's you know I I've seen the results myself and how it's grown my business and so like when we knew we were going to talk about this I thought I'm gonna just dive into the data and see what does the data have to say because you know numbers don't lie. And it was it was actually really fascinating. What I found was um there's been several studies done out there on the effect of reviews and um this is talking about reviews in general not just Google reviews but review Google Facebook Amazon wherever review platforms that 33% of consumers always check reviews and 42% of consumers regularly check reviews so that's 75% of consumers who either always or regularly check reviews of a local business before doing business with them. That's 75% it's mind blowing that's like a huge amount of the population. So if you are not in a position that you're taking in reviews or have reviews
Cord Koch:You're um how would you say you're when people excluding yourself from three quarters of the opportunities.
Jerald Rhodes:Yeah, and maybe those people will still come and check you out, you know, right maybe because of a limited amount of choices, but you're already off to kind of a slippery footing, so to speak. You know, if they come to your location and you have uh a huge log of reviews where they can kind of already see what customers are experiencing with you, puts you off to a good start, you know, with that consumer when they step on your shed lot. So that was pretty intriguing to me. Um, so out of that 75% of people that regularly or always use reviews, 81% of them are using Google Maps. Um when it comes to local checking out a local business, 81% of them prefer Google Maps as their platform for looking at reviews, which is huge, you know, 81%. Um the next share of it goes to Facebook. Right. Uh Facebook business profiles, 45% of consumers are checking out Facebook, and then uh 44% are using Yelp. And I would say, you know, for us people that are in the shed industry, I think Google Maps and Facebook is going to be the place to do those reviews. And an interesting note is the Better Business Bureau is only down at 20%. Only 20% of consumers actually check out the BBB. And that is on a downward trajectory uh when I looked at the data. Uh, just in the last two years, they went from 31% down to 20%. And, you know, I've just I've never I know a lot of people like the BBB. I've just never been a big fan of it because I don't think you should have to pay to prove your credibility, you know, but is basically what happens there.
Cord Koch:Yeah, I mean it's yeah, it's pay-for-play and does it have some value? Sure. I think maybe even Richard Miller brought this up on the Shed Sales Professionals page recently, um, you know, talking about something to do with the Better Business Bureau and you know, kind of their unfair system, and it's a very limited uh, you know, kind of experience that is even being represented there. Whereas I'm like you, I mean, Google Reviews um to me seems to be probably just about the most like democratic version of how you actually how you actually figure out how this company operates, because it's just the people who have went and bought the product or used the service. And so um, yeah, I tend to agree, but that really is kind of shocking for people who grew up in an era of you know BBB uh certified, you know, like that used to be the thing that everybody promoted for themselves.
Jerald Rhodes:Right. And when you dive into that data a little more, um that the BBB rates higher with like the baby boomers, you know, they still put a they still put a fairly high higher than a 20%. This 20% is everyone, you know, that puts credit, uh, you know, checks out the BBB on a local business. But you get into the people my age, you know, people that are 40 and younger, uh, that trend is way down. Like uh, you know, and if you're part of the BBB, I'm guessing it's probably, you know, there's maybe more benefit there in in terms of business interaction with other businesses. You know, I'm sure there's there might be some value there, but to use BBB as um as an accredited you know source for your business, I don't think is necessarily a real good strategy. Like I think, I think you're better off going with Google Maps, yeah. Um, because Google Maps is going to be in a sense unbiased. You know, even Amazon reviews, uh, which I rely on Amazon reviews, but that's still reviews that benefit their platform, you know, in a sense. And you can see fake reviews on there. And so, the BBB, you know, you're paying uh to be in the system there. But Google Maps and Facebook reviews are really, in a sense, and probably the Yelp reviews, I've never really messed with those that much, but you're yeah, like you said, probably the most democratic way of getting an honest review of something.
Cord Koch:And they seem to, I mean, you know, especially when they're when they're up to date, to your point, when they're the reviews are recent and they're plentiful, uh, in my experience, they're very accurate, right? If there's you know, whatever, so call it a dozen reviews in the last month or two months or whatever, and all of them are positive. In in my experience, I've always had a positive, you know, experience then whenever using that that business. And um, you know, so I think that people trust them more and more and more all the time, um, you know, which then gets into uh you know how much is are these AI uh AI search queries going to rely on uh Google reviews to then suggest things whenever they're looking. And my guess is probably pretty highly, right? Even just from my kind of limited experience, because to your point, um, you know, as we're thinking about what happens on that search page, right? Um you know, we're now to the point where you have uh, you know, if it's any kind of a category that has local service ads, those are going at the top. Then you're getting the kind of standard Google search paid ads, then you're getting your three-pack of Google Maps, then you're getting any kind of uh if you're on a desktop, then you're getting the primary Google Business Profile off to your right hand side. I mean, honestly, the actual organic website results keeps keep sliding down and down, and now AI has jumped to the very top of that, right? So um, you know, uh Google Business Profile is kind of holding that primary position underneath the paid version of ads, and then now the AI version of those things.
Jerald Rhodes:So, uh yeah, so and even continuing on with the with the data here, um, you know, another big thing is responding to reviews. Uh, when you look at the data, uh, I see a lot of businesses, maybe they do a good job of taking in the reviews, but they don't respond to the reviews. And so, the data out there suggests that um businesses that respond to all reviews, negative and positive, will attract 88% of consumers. So the good, the bad, you're responding to all of them, you're gonna attract 88%. If you respond only to the negative reviews, which is what a lot of people do, right? You uh you drop you drop to 58% of attracting consumers. And then if you respond only to the positive ones, you go further down to like 54%. And if you don't respond at all, um, you only attract 40 percent 47% of consumers. So, you know, you've got two businesses side by side, they're both taking in reviews. Maybe you're doing a good job of acquisition, but you're not responding to those reviews, either thanking them or acknowledging their criticisms or whatever, addressing their problems. If you're not doing that, you're losing over half of the trust of you know, trust of half of the consumers. Uh, just weren't so hard for you. Right, right. Yeah, and you know, that's um, I think a lot of people, for me anyway, I actually almost pay more attention to the responses than I do the actual reviews themselves. Like, especially when it's a negative review, how did the business respond? What kind of solution did they offer? Uh, did they brush it off, or did they offer a genuine response? You know?
Cord Koch:Um, so I think similarly to your business card on the second photo of a marketplace listing, what you're looking for, you know, psychologically, you know, subconsciously, and what you're looking for is professionalism, right? What you're looking for is to get a sense of do these people conduct themselves professionally? Whether they are confronted with someone who says, Wow, you did so great. Um, you know, I love my shed. Are they conducting themselves in a uh a boastful fashion? Are they saying, yes, we know that we're the best? Well, nobody wants to go to those people, right? Um, you know, or are they politely saying thank you? We appreciate you being professional and then doing the same whenever someone has criticism and saying, gosh, you know, I'm so sorry that that was your experience. Please get with uh myself uh, you know, first thing Monday morning, I'll make sure that we uh rectify the situation, right? That professionalism is what we're looking for, right? Uh and it's just it's what people want to. There's a reason these things keep on working. Right. Yeah. Yeah.
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Jerald Rhodes:And another thing I found interesting was the amount of reviews that a business has. Um 13% of customers, consumers say they will consider a business uh with less than 19 reviews. Um once you get over the 20 threshold, 20 to 50 reviews, you pick up another 30, you go up to 31%. Um, and then once you crack 50 reviews on your profile, you attract 28%. So, it's interesting. Uh, once you crack uh 50 reviews, you're attracting 87% of consumers, you know. And so 50 reviews, yeah, that might take, you know, it might take you a year to acquire that. Sure. But let's start today. You know, uh, you got to start somewhere. And even with Google, uh, from what I've seen and uh the research I've done is even for Google themselves to recommend you, they like to see around 10 reviews before they're gonna start promoting you. So maybe you've only got three reviews. Let's see if you can bump that up to crack 10, you know, get 10, and then Google's gonna start seeing you as serious because Google's, again, they want to serve relevant, relevant content, relevant businesses. And so if you're taking in that fresh flow of reviews, so maybe you have 60 reviews, like we talked earlier, maybe you've got 60 reviews, but the last one was six months ago. That's sending a bad signal to Google that, you know, here's a business that's doesn't care, or they got, you know, maybe they went out of business, right? You know, and so keeping that fresh flow in there. Um I found this interesting too that 50% of consumers will put as much weight on a on a review as they will word of mouth. And we all know how good word of mouth is. You know, we love word of mouth uh advertisement, but uh 50% of consumers say they will put as much weight on a review as a recommendation from a friend. So there again, the data's there to uh to get out there and get it. So, you know, and I yeah, I think taking in a fresh flow, responding to them. Um, you know, they don't have to all be perfect reviews, but you know, strive to be a reputable business and uh give those reviews because that's what's gonna help get you into Google Pack. You know, the three-pack I think is uh, you know, it's a combination of things that obviously gets you there. It's you know, your rate, your actual rating. Um, I think the age of your business can play into that. You know, when you when you set up your profile, you put in when you opened up, and a lot of times you'll notice it'll say three years in business, five years in business, ten, whatever, you know, below the business. And we just hit the three-year mark uh this past spring. And it was interesting. I was I was waiting for this because that's the first uh rating, or you know, three years is the first time they start showing that three years, five. I think then it's maybe ten and fifteen. Sure. But uh when we cracked the three-year mark, I did see an uptick in like our placement. Um our you know, we did rank start ranking higher because of that, the age. Um, so I think that's you know, I think that and just you're so obviously you can't alter that part, you know. If maybe you've just been in business one or two years, but go after the reviews, get those good ratings. Um, yeah, I I think it's just uh it's just it's a low-hanging fruit, you know.
Cord Koch:It really is. And it's I mean, like you're saying, it takes discipline, it takes consistency, but was it do what it doesn't take is a monthly expense, right? It it's not a $500 or a thousand dollar check that you're writing every month. And I know that um, you know, for lots of dealers, um, you know, being able to solve some of these marketing um issues on their own without having to have an agency come in and have that monthly recurring expense is really invaluable, right? Being able to take those steps forward. So um, Jerald Man, I think you have done everybody a service by talking through these things today. Um maybe uh just tell people what the best way. I'm sure people will have some questions for you. What's the best way to get a hold of you? And then uh I always like to uh give people an opportunity to give a shout out. Uh, you know, I know that that being a dealer, it takes um, you know, like you've already shouted out uh some of your haulers. Uh I kind of called out uh Wendell there uh as your manufacturer, but um, yeah, just kind of maybe if you have anyone to shout out, uh, do that as well.
Jerald Rhodes:Yeah, so if anybody, uh I would love to help anyone. Obviously, I'm not gonna help you set up your profile, I'll be up front with that.
Cord Koch:That that's you know, kind of more of a hands-on thing, but if you have questions, videos and pictures you are who you say you are, yeah.
Jerald Rhodes:Yeah, that that can be a lot of times they require video verification to set up your profile, so you have to be a legitimate business. And a side note to that, when you set up your profile, set it up as an actual place of business and not a service-based business. I see a lot of shed companies do that where you Google gives you the chance, the choice. You can set it up as a service-based where you're not actually showing a 911 address, you're just saying I service this general area. So maybe you're like an HVAC company, you don't have a front office, you don't want people coming to your shop, right? But you service, you know, a three-county area. That's what Google designed the uh the service-based business as. And rather you want to be an actual location so that people can find you on Google Maps and let's drive there. So, I see shed companies set their profile up as a service area-based business, and then people they can't click the directions button, you know, to drive to your lot. So, when you're setting up that profile, just make sure you're choosing that instead of a service area business, uh, because that's gonna be critical. But yeah, if anybody's questions on the acquisition, uh marketplace strategy, I have a strategy I use that seems to work well. It's again, no silver bullets. It's just 500 little things that you do well is what gets you, is what's gonna you know propel you forward. So yeah, probably the best way my cell phone is uh 402-600-1220, calling or texting me, or you can find me on Facebook too and message me there. Um, be happy to chat, help anyone out, you know. And uh yeah, as far as shout outs, um Mid America Structures, uh been you know, started with them in 2022 as sales manager and also set up a shed lot uh under them and great products. Um I'm the marketing director. Brian Litz is sales manager, and both him and I are here to support our dealers, and we are actively looking for more dealers. So, people that are in, you know, western Iowa, northern Kansas, northwest Missouri, uh select areas of Nebraska, uh, we'd love to chat so I can get you in touch with the proper channels there. Uh as far as shout outs, yeah, um again, Mid-America Structures, um, JMAG, we use them for rent to own. Uh just great crew over there, have served us very, very well. And uh we use the Shed app for uh 3D design, Alex and the crew over there. Uh, you know, it's just they have a great program there. And uh yeah, been very happy with all of all those services that have been provided to us.
Cord Koch:So very good, very good. Well, thank you so much for your time today, Jerald. Um, if you don't mind, um uh I think uh I think I just I'm just feeling inspired to pray us out here. I feel like we've had a uh you know a good uh a good conversation and uh you know involving some of the like we say uh the Christian spirit. Um so if you don't mind, I think I'll pray us out. Sure. And uh I will see everybody next time. Merciful God. Be with us today on this beautiful day, both in Plattsmouth and here in Metropolis. We thank you for your love and for your abundance and for your spirit of giving. Uh spirit of giving that uh inspires Mr. Rhodes to freely give of his knowledge and his time. Um be with him and place your hands on him um you know as he continues to um serve you an want to serve your spirit uh and want to serve the rest of the industry uh in giving away um this knowledge and this this powerful strategies uh to make sure that everyone continues to grow um and continues to glorify your name. Uh be with us um in this uh season as we switch over into the uh the slower time of year in our industry. Um be with the people who are um continuing to operate and who are um continuing to plan and continuing to build uh for the coming spring and for next season. Um and be with everyone as we really try and grow in in your light and grow in your love uh and continue to uh build your kingdom here on earth. In God's name we pray. Amen. Amen.