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
Sell Post Frame With Confidence
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Your lot can be packed and your phone can ring, yet growth still flatlines. We’re chasing the “why” with Tristan and Lance Nelson from Legacy Builders, a team that grew out of decades of Nelson’s Buildings experience and turned hard-earned lessons into a post-frame pole barn dealer program built for real-world selling. If you’ve ever watched a customer walk because you couldn’t offer the building they actually wanted, this conversation is for you.
We dig into the crossover between portable sheds, metal buildings, and post-frame construction and why trying to force buyers into your preferred product is a losing play. The better move is diversification with guardrails: SOPs, dealer training, clear checklists, and a process that respects the added complexity of permits, site conditions, and utility concerns. Tristan and Lance break down how their onboarding works, what they require from a dealer (including a commercial storefront), and how they keep “streamlined” quotes simple while routing truly custom projects to a dedicated estimating team.
A huge takeaway is customer experience as strategy. Legacy Builders talks about pulling permits, calling customers at least weekly, and treating every job like your reputation depends on it because it does. We also get into the “five senses of sales” from 3D builders and clean lots to lighting, music, and the small details that make buyers feel at ease. If you want to sell higher-ticket buildings without higher stress, start here.
Subscribe for more conversations like this, share the episode with a dealer who needs a growth lever, and leave a review so more builders can find the show. What’s the one product or process change that would stop you from losing your next deal?
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This episodes Sponsors:
Studio Sponsor: Shed Pro
Cardinal Leasing
iFAB
First Choice Metals
Shed Builder Expo
Sensei
Hello and welcome back to the Shed Geek Podcast. A quick word about our studio sponsor. One thing the team at Shed Pro has been hearing lately from Shed businesses is that many of them aren't struggling because of lack of demand. Things just kind of stall out. The lot is busy, but growth flattens, and it's not always obvious why. Usually it's something small. The website, the follow-up. How customers interact with you before they ever pick up the phone. So, Shed Pro put something together called the Shed Sales Audit. It helps you get a clearer picture of where you might be losing people. It takes a couple of minutes, and if you want to dig deeper, their team will walk you through it. Here's the thing nine times out of ten, the fix isn't more leads, it's a tighter operation underneath. That's the rest of the Shed Pro platform. Configurator, point of sale, RTO contracts, inventory, deliveries, and dealer tools. All in one place. From website lead to final delivery, one clean workflow. Start with the audit at shedpro.co/shedgeek. Thank you, Shed Pro, for being our Wednesday studio sponsor and for building something that helps the industry.
Studio Updates And How To Connect
ShannonOkay, welcome back to another episode of the Shed Geek podcast here from rainy, finally rainy, uh Metropolis, Illinois. We are joined today by the good folks over at Legacy Builders. Uh, you guys would know Tristan Nelson from Nelson's Buildings, uh, down in Gainesville, probably year one, I think, on the episode. Uh definitely enjoyed going down there, getting a chance to like see their location, uh, and love to see the growth that they're experiencing here uh over the last few years. Just excited for them. Always a good time to talk with them, meet with them at the Shed Expo, just talk with them throughout the year. They're hungry, they're innovators, and they're just cool folks. So before we get uh rolling, a couple ways to stay plugged in. As you guys know, you can give me a call here at 618-309-364 if you have questions, comments, would like to be a guest on the podcast or promote your product or service. Uh info@shedgeek.com uh is my email. Uh you can go to shedgeek.com, fill out a lead form, or get our newsletter. Uh, we highly encourage you to get our newsletter. It goes out to nearly 5,000 contacts in the industry. So we'd love to get uh if you've got a product or service, we'd love to like put that out in front of uh our audience. They always appreciate the help uh or seem to. Our Facebook page, give us a like and follow uh Shed Sales Professionals group. Please go be part of the community. It's always appreciated when you uh share your experience with others in the industry and uh you get rewarded by others sharing back. So uh it's a great thing. And for the uh playing community, call in landline 330-997-3055. Uh, on that newsletter, we actually have a registry if you want to go back and see which uh episode, a particular episode you wanted to listen to. Coming up on episode 500 now in year six. So there's a lengthy list, but it's broken down, and you can just click on the button and listen straight from there. Uh the playing community, call in. I think we get about four or five hundred a week from the playing community, and they can just save their spot and go back and listen. So lots of cool things happening. Uh, I do want to give a quick shout out to uh Sensei. Uh you guys know the 3D builder that is uh uh Sensei Digital. Uh the visual experience matters, but it is only as useful as the product uh logic behind it. Sensei supports the real combinations uh dealers and manufacturers sell, including doors, windows, roof styles, options, uh upgrades, and other components. Every manufacturer has its own rules. Sensei can account for which component options and upgrades work with which models instead of treating every configuration the same. As customers change sizes, materials, options, and upgrades, the pricing changed with them. Stop pricing logic. Uh, strong pricing logic helps reduce quoting mistakes and project uh protects margins. Goodness, if I can get through that this morning. Um, thank you guys so much over at Sensei for being advertisers. We do appreciate you guys, love your product, and uh hope you guys continue to do well as you expand. Uh, and speaking of expansion, uh, we've got Lance and we've got Tristan here with us today,
Meet Legacy Builders And The Nelsons
Shannonguys. Sorry for my whole little monologue thing I gotta do there to beginning, just uh introduce everybody because I'm excited to talk to you guys, and I think the audience wants to hear from you. So uh introduce yourself, tell us a little bit about you.
Tristan NelsomMan, we uh we love to hear your intros, dude. So um, but anyway, yeah, my name is Tristan. Uh I'm one of the Nelson brothers, and I mainly uh assist with Nelson's Buildings. I'm more of a creative helper for Legacy Builders, and you know, we uh we're really trying to head toward um a different brand identity here. We're getting into that um a little bit today, right? And um talking them through our dealer program with Legacy Builders, but we've been doing things at Nelson's Buildings since 1998, so we're coming up right on uh 30 years. And I'm 29, so that does put things into perspective a little bit. Uh mom and dad started it uh years and years ago, and they have just let us kind of spread our wings and um really just they meet with us and consult with us all the time, but they just empower us, man. So, um we're just walking um right there with some giants in the industry.
Lance NelsonYep, and I'm Lance Nelson, Tristan's brother. I'm mainly over at Legacy Builders and just help give guidance and advice to Nelson's Buildings as well. And um, yeah, man. So, Nelson's Legacy Builders was pretty much born out of Nelson's Buildings in a way. So, um about six years ago, Nelson's Buildings was uh um pole barn dealer for another company, and um they had a rough experience and um ended up starting their own pole barns, and um that's kind of we realized that it was a second company and we've grown since then, so yes, sir.
Product Tiers From Metal To Red Iron
ShannonYeah, very, very neat. Um I yeah, it's so we've talked about this probably you know a couple times on the show already, but you know, it's it is interesting the bleed over from one, I guess, so-called industry to the next. Like even the word shed, I've said before is a bit ambiguous. You know, there's people I've talked to in Michigan and they say we've got a pole shed, or whatever, or we they'll even say we have a shed. Now that was Michigan, New York. I mean, there's other places that I've heard people say this, but like we've got a shed out back, and it's like what size? I'm thinking portable shed. And they're like, you know, it's like a 50 by 150 or whatever. And I'm just like, whoa, well, that's like to me, that's not a shed. So, like the all the language starts to get so twisted that you have to ask yourself, like, whether it's shed, post frame, pole barn, pole shed, portable building. I love how people have like sort of you know adopted the like uh this is the proper language to call it, you know, a portable building, uh to decipher between something that's you know fastened to the ground, maybe that's for tax purpose. I don't know. But at the end of the day, um the industries complement each other, wouldn't you say like yeah, post frame sheds, steel buildings? You know, it's hard not to be in one and not have at least some knowledge or maybe even be involved in other. Is that has that been your experience? That seems like it, since you've grown legacy out of this.
Tristan NelsomYeah, we um we started to really see a need there, man. Um, we were pushing and pushing and pushing our metal building products, and um, there were just some people that you can't win over. They wanted a pole barn, they wanted something in the post frame criteria. Um, I've kind of like made up some tiers in my head about the way that like steel buildings go. And you have like tier one is like a metal building, tier two is like pole barn post frame, tier three is like a red iron. Um I think like you can fit most things into like those kind of different categories, and you know, they all can there's tons of crossover, tons of nuance there. Um, like you can risk cat to a metal building and get it as a commercial storefront. You can do that also for a pole barn. You can do that also, and you can make a red iron workshop. So, there's tons of different like uses for each individual one, but um, we've really found that getting people into the product that they prefer is the best route to go instead of forcing them into the product that we want we sell, right? So, diversification is so important um within our industry to make sure that we can really try to meet people's needs, they end up happier with you in the end just by giving them what they truly wanted from the start, anyway.
ShannonYeah, yeah, that's absolutely right. Um, one thing question that comes to mind is like how the differentiation is you guys have like grown this out on like customer acquisition time. You know, I agree with your tier one, two, two, and three. I think that's awesome. That's a really, really wise way to put it. Um, I think I sort of have come to that conclusion in my head and I've never labeled it that way. So, I appreciate the clarification. Uh but customer acquisition, you know, somebody comes in for a shed, they're like, hey man, I just need something quick, easy. I mean, I've seen I've sold a shed in 15 minutes. I know others probably have, and you just like you don't see that guy again, and they're out the door, they just knew what they wanted or whatever. Probably takes a little bit more time when you're stick building something that's uh, you know, like you've got uh the permits, the prep. How how's that have your customers been different? I guess is what I'm asking you. Do you have to treat them uh with a with a different like approach with sheds and post frame?
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Tristan NelsomYou
Why Post Frame Demands More Systems
Tristan Nelsomhave to have SOPs in place and making sure that you you're very careful in the way that you approach the construction of the project. Um it isn't as simple. Um we've learned the sometimes hard way, right? To um it's not as simple as laying down a base rail and just running with um you know your legs and starting to put them up. Um in a way, metal buildings are much easier, but we've had to figure out uh educational material for our dealers, um, checklists, uh questions to ask, and really trying to meet them where they're at. So, they uh it's extremely complex having a site-built unit that um whenever you dig into the ground, uh that's Mother Nature, right? And you're churning up dirt that goes up like two, three feet in the air, and it looks like a construction site, and you're dealing with underground utilities at that point in a much more invasive way. So, um we've tried to um really make sure that we cross our T's, dot our I's um it causes a lot more attention when we build, so we have to um use our contractor's license because you know you gain the attention of your neighbors and all kinds of things like that. And so you just want to make sure that everything's uh on the up and up. Um, so we have done all that heavy lifting for people already so they can just hop right into the industry, get started, and um just start selling it almost extra extremely in an extremely simple manner, similar to carports and metal buildings.
ShannonSo let's
Dealer Program Built For Speed
Shannonlet's talk about that. You know, you guys are expanding your dealer network uh to be able to bring on dealers who may be interested in selling post frame, and that makes a lot of sense because it complements what you're already selling. And I think you've already mentioned it here today, you know, you give those people uh um you know options, you know, and if they're just stuck on I want to, you know, pole barn, then then then you can solve that problem. Well, what does it look like? You kind of you, kind of hinted at it here with like needing to get the materials, the educational piece for your dealers. Like, what do you want potential dealers to know?
Tristan NelsomI want them to know that they don't have to set it all up on their own, that we have worked our tails off, probably lost years off of our young lives, um working and getting it to this point. Um, there's been almost six years worth of work and um mistakes and fixes and realizing that this is the optimal way to make a project flow and um setting up the dealer programs and the way that commissions flow and payouts go and everything like that. Like it's been um we have already made some of the mistakes that other people don't have to make or don't have to worry about doing um those things on their own. Because it's like we it's probably it's one of those things that you probably wouldn't have done if you would have known how hard it would have been. But you committed to it and you realized, oh man, all right, we're in it now. We gotta go only move forward, keep going, don't stop. We yeah, and we saw it through to the end, and um, so now we're ready. We're taking on dealers, and um, we're just ready to try to empower them and help them diversify their product life.
Lance NelsonI think uh a lot of times the client experience also um affects the dealer experience. So, we've gotten a lot of systems in place on our end with that client experience because most of the time we're pulling all of our customers' permits, um communicating with them. So, as soon as like the dealer makes that sale, like it's just straight order fulfillment from there. We're pulling their permit, communicating with them, calling them once a week, always giving them an update, a minimum once a week. Um, always giving the customer an update. Um, I mean, we're six years in, we're still five stars. Um, we just focus on building that relationship with every client, and you can't please everyone, but we try to walk away from every situation with a very happy client.
ShannonAnd um, yes, sir. So, I think, yeah, no, I think you guys are gonna do just as good as you've done with Nelson's buildings over 30 years and carried on the legacy of your parents. So, what's the process look like? If I I'm an interested party, you know, uh, I'm assuming you guys are uh expanding regionally, uh, or maybe you know, hopes to do something national. I don't know. Maybe you got big dreams, but like where are you guys looking at expanding to? And what's the process look like if I'm near Gainesville or somewhere in Florida or Georgia or wherever you're going, what is it? What does it look like for me if I want to become a dealer?
Tristan NelsomRight. So, we're really strong right now in South Georgia and South Alabama. Um we're really strong up into the panhandle and down south in Florida. Uh so, we're really in a spot now where if you're interested, you go and you fill out a form on our website. There's a become a dealer page, and you just fill that form out, let us know. Um, we do require that you have a commercial storefront. Uh, at the very least, we want uh as much establishment as possible for you to be able to get in front of people. But uh we what we do is once you fill out the form, if everything checks out, we'll set up a meeting with you, kind of go over um what the dealer program looks like, how it flows, how everything works, and then we will give you the chance from there uh to if everything seems like it checks out and both parties are interested, we tell them, like, all right, let's uh let's go ahead and move forward. And we set up a training meeting and within 30 days from that first meeting, um, try to show them how our 3D builder works, how our uh sales uh system and order fulfillment systems work, and um kind of like keys to success. Uh we have a full dealer binder that's like over 50 pages long. So, um and it just kind of breaks down like ever it's a full training manual, uh essentially. Uh we have catalogs for people. Um, so we've really kind of established this thing uh where everything's very streamlined, and we have set it up to where we can even get them into custom stuff too. I don't I think that's a very underrated aspect of our program, is um the dealer can fill out their simple unit, send the quote off to us, fill out a referral form, and from there, Legacies custom estimating team can take it over. So, let's say that they want full, fully done site prep, concrete, um landscaping services, demolition to tear down an old building. We do all of that for them. Uh so uh then the dealer maintains their original commission on that unit that they sent over and they get a really nice referral bonus too. So, um it we found over time that pole barns are extremely custom. So, it's really important for us to uh let streamline be streamlined and let custom be custom. Um it just kind of keeps things simple because who wants to train their reps for uh 12 months, you know, or the you know, you just gotta try to that that training period can be a slow drip for sure whenever you're dealing with custom product lines. So, you just want to keep things as simple as possible for them.
Dealer Requirements And Display Strategy
ShannonAh, all of that uh certainly makes sense. So, like, yeah, if I were and so you said you're primarily in southern southern uh uh Alabama, you know, Georgia, Panhandle, down into Florida. So, you cover pretty good ways already. And I know some of your dealers already because I've seen some of your displays out, and I was gonna ask that question like, do you because like it seemed like you guys did like a smaller version, you know, of what it would look like to just show the customer as an example. So, does that come custom with the dealer? Is that something that needs to be paid for? Maybe I'm asking too much, but no, no.
Tristan NelsomUm, so they do pay up front to get started. We want if we're gonna make an investment into you, give uh you five years worth of intellectual property, then we want to see that if the feeling is mutual. Um so we do have them invest back in us. We do say no to our dealers more than we say yes. Like we've had tons of people come to us and we've probably said yes uh less than half the time. So, to new potential dealers. To new potential dealers. Um now, as far as the displays go, um, we do like to see that they've made some sales, they have plenty that's available to them already up front. So, like we do that small display. Um, it's more of like a sign that shows what like what the pole barn trust is and everything like that. Um but they also have uh the 3D builder available to them and the sales system and the full binder, and we set up a TV in their office, so it and it's constantly on a loop of just the pole barn product, giving them like close-up shots of um professionally done uh videography so they can see what some of the soffit looks like, some of the trim work, some of the custom windows and doors and everything like that. Um, so um you can only do so much with a display because there's so many different options within the pole barn market. Um, but uh long story short, if the dealer is doing well, we go back out there and give them an extremely subsidized uh pole barn display that's much larger. So, like our St. Augustine dealer, within the first couple of months they hit the number uh threshold, and then we were like, okay, all right, let's go out there and get you a display up. And we like, you know, stain their perlins and their posts and um did give them did a nice coupon top for them and everything. Um so yeah.
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ShannonSo, like for everybody that was always asking us for more inventory, we were like, you know, what comes first, the chicken or the egg? Everybody says, you give me more inventory, I'll sell more. And then like you give more inventory, and the sales do not increase uh in in correlation to the added number of inventory. Like you do sell more, but you didn't sell enough to justify the cost, right? Of bringing out all that inventory. So it was like, you know, then you go back and you give a little pushback and you say, Well, if you would sell more, I would bring more. And it's like, well, how can I sell more without having any? Uh and yeah, then the only the only proof of concept there is unfortunately it's not a winning strategy, is whenever you say, Well, XYZ dealer over here has half of what you have and they sell twice as much. So, where how am I supposed to feel, you know, if you're not moving uh the product or moving the unit, if if just 60, 80, 100 buildings out there is what's going to move it, you know, why don't we just uh do that on every lot? And point I'm trying to make is like it, it really you're a small business. There needs to be skin in the game. Like you need someone who's committed, and it seems like you guys are looking for the best. And I think that's what you mean by saying no more than yes. It's like, hey, we don't just want to go out here and promise everybody everything and then you know get behind trying to like catch up and make good on these promises.
Tristan NelsomRight. Yep, that that's the exact goal. Um, we our dealers, we show up to the lot and we look at their temperament. You know, are they how have they set up their displays? Are the doors open? Are they sweeping things out? Are they um letting things kind of um depreciate actively out there? Or, you know, is the delivery truck parked? Um is it is it out in the field? Like uh have they cleaned their desk? Um there's a lot of like little basics or a lot of times you'll have a dealer where they have like two gates or three gates and only one gate is open. Well, it's like you've only allowed yourself to have one-third of your drive-by traffic to be able to get into your lot. So, um we do and we test like people that are uh if we see that they have the want to, we're willing to try to train them through some of those things. You know, a lot of people want to do the right things, they just don't know how to do those things. So we try to equip them with, and that's where kind of Nelson's Buildings comes in. And like we built this program be by as a dealer. And like being a dealer for multiple products for almost 30 years is we can look at it and truly go, like, okay, what would this dealer want? How would they want it? And we can also help them like make some of those like tricks of the trade, you know, and those little tiny improvements, because it's really typically not um one big like zinger of a sales line that makes your sales change. It's probably 10
Ten Small Fixes Beat One Big Hack
Tristan Nelsomto 20 little things, little improvements that you make that make all the difference.
ShannonYeah, I I'm gosh, I can go down a million rabbit holes on that. I think about growth whenever people like the first time you talk to them in consultative services or marketing services or something, it's like, what is your goal? What do you want to, you know, what do you want to do next year? And they're like, we want to double. And like I've gotten so this is kind of like your we say no more than we say yes. This has become my like line. You don't want those problems, like you do not want to double your business. Because, like, what else are you gonna run into? You know, you're gonna run into uh uh uh you know ordering issues, you know. Can you stock that much? Uh you're gonna run into driver issues. Can you get the drivers to do that? You're gonna run into building issues, quality's gonna start to suffer because you're trying to hurry up and get buildings out because you are getting a ton of leads and you're selling. Um it, you know, birthday money is easier to spend than money you've earned, right? And anything that's given to you, uh it just I say this all the time. The goal is not to make, you know, if you're like, I want to make a million dollars a year, um, which is pretty lofty. I'm just saying, like, if you have that goal and you say it's just I've determined, I'm gonna do this, but you don't want to go from 60,000 a year to a million because you're not gonna appreciate it like you did the journey of going from 60 to 120 and 120 to 200 and 200 to maybe back to 150 and having a struggle and then getting back up to 350. It's the journey there that gives you the discipline to be able to like actually accept and do well with the million dollars then. Because if you go straight from 60 to 100, you're gonna go buy a brand new car, you know, a fancy sports car or something, and you're just not gonna appreciate it the same. So slow and steady growth is really the focus. And uh our buddy Christopher said that says this all the time there's a difference in a strategy and a plan, you know, and uh I think that's just you know, the way he lays it out is beautiful. Um, and I and I think that you do have to take those things into consideration. I was thinking about a time where I sold insurance, and the most successful guy that I knew that sold uh he sold life insurance, and the rest of us are struggling to sell it, and he sold it like crazy, and he would go door to door, which is first of all, that was rare. But he said the way he did it was he looked for a particular home. You talked about looking for a particular dealer. He said, you know, one thing that I noticed is if they really like spent the time to landscape well, I wanted to be in front of them because that meant they cared about their home look, which meant they probably care about things like legacy and like things like that. So, they're gonna be a candidate to like see the value in it. Whereas if you go to someone who's not take really taking care of their home, they don't care about that appearance. They probably aren't gonna be overly concerned about like the longevity of what's gonna happen legacy-wise with my kids once I'm gone. And it stuck with me. It's all these years now, it's stuck with me. Like how he found success was to like look for other people who wanted to be successful.
Tristan NelsomYeah, yeah, that's true. It's true, man. Um, we are really excited to be able to help people um and finding the right clients, finding the right dealers. Um, I do believe that there will be a squeeze in the industry um in the next 10, 15, 20 years. I don't want to put a number on it, but yeah, I think you know, we're all feeling it. It's in like one of your ads, right? But um we feel that squeeze, man. And it's important to do things in excellence. Um like we're trying to start to bring in like air fresheners for our each individual room in our office, and like scents and um ambiance music and lighting and um some of those little attention to details, I think are they going to become even more important as time begins to go on. Um and being able to meet I think from another angle with the pole barn uh product specifically, there's uh a real want for a very specific product type or a very specific look. You can't just sell something that looks like this standardized um like there there's a standardized product is it has its place. Um we that's in in our bones. Like we sell standardized, very simple products, but you have to be able to meet some of those custom niches um and meet those people where they're at. Because like I we're starting to see a real trend for people showing up and they're just like you can't win them if you if you don't meet them right where they're at.
The Five Senses Of Sales
ShannonI'm giv I'm giving away too much here whenever I say this, but when I hear you say things like the ambiance, when I hear you say things like the freshner, it reminds me of like something we talk about around here that we haven't really talked about too much publicly, and that's the five senses of sales. You know, um why a 3D configurator? Because it speaks a visual language to people. Like sometimes people have to see, not everybody can hear, or not everybody can imagine or visualize what you want. So, hey, let's get it on a configurator so you can see it. Why? Because that's going to give them more confidence in what it's going to look like. This is a sense of the sale. Um, you know, why uh ambiance? Because, you know, when you're at ease, whenever you listen to music, whenever you like, I like does it play a smaller role? Maybe, but like even smell, like you know, we you walk in somewhere, it feels good. I remember we went to a hotel and they had uh it was like a spa or whatever hotel. And man, like every floor it smelled amazing. And like me and my wife were on vacations, we were just like, this is amazing, it smells great. Every floor you go to, and you don't realize what that's doing to your psyche, like little things that it's doing that you know aren't tricks. You're just trying to set the mode, you're trying to set the tone for somebody so that you know that they can like really focus on what matters, but that visual language, that's why you set up a display, is so people can go out and see it, touch it, and feel it because they want to like they want that visual aspect. That's one of the five senses. So, um I love the idea. We don't talk about it enough, and I wanted to put a series out about it that talked about it because I mean this involves Tristan, you know this. I mean, Lance, you know this. I'm sure too. I know I know Tristan a little bit more, but uh um, you know, we've talked about these things, like what your dealer lot looks like, what your website looks like. It all speaks a language. And somebody the other day was like, hey, need to find out I can get me a website cheap. And I'm like, oh it's like it's just like the you know, like it's just like the thing you don't want to hear. Like, do you really want to work with somebody who says, I just need something fast and cheap?
Tristan NelsomUm meet them where they're at. Uh that's a big part of it. Is like uh customers are they're so that's my favorite part about sales, man, is that there's so many different types of people in the world, and learning the psychol psychology of what somebody's how they're going about what what's gonna be their um their point of pain throughout the sale process. So, like had somebody yesterday that they were arguing about the husband and wife, they're just like, Oh, you know, I want it at this spot of the yard, I want it in that spot of the yard. And we're like, you know what, hey, we don't want to get in the middle of this, but let's set up a site visit. We'll go out there and check it out for you and help you decide, you know? And just that little tiny touch, they went ahead and gave us their deposit, they felt at ease, and yeah, we walked them through with the 3D designer and everything while they had their the scent and the smell and the ambiance and all that stuff, you know. So, it's just uh setting the tone. And I think uh dealers have to ask themselves, like, what do you what kind of dealer do you want to be? What kind of business do you want to run? Whenever you first start, whenever you said yes to opening your small business, what did you have? Like what kind of vision did you have? Did you do you want to try to do those things in excellence, or do you just want to do it easy? Because doing it easy is gonna get harder and harder and harder as we start to feel that squeeze that we're talking about sometimes.
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Branding, Website, And Core Values
ShannonYeah, dude. I feel like uh uh I feel like your website does a good job too. Legacy builders. I was looking it over, you know, commercial, agricultural tabs, you know, garage. Yeah, so many options here. It kind of gives like that visual language for people, and the colors look awesome too, by the way. Uh I just I'm just I'm especially saying that because it's so similar. That's a Lance thing. So, Lance, are you like the are you like the marketing guy over there? Are you the guy that has the like attention to detail aspect?
Lance NelsonPaying attention to detail. Um, we um outsource a lot of our marketing and stuff, but um yeah, we just everything we do, we strive for excellence. If we if we open up a nine, like we're not just pulling in at nine, like we were there an hour before. We're ready for our customers, and just and whenever they look at our website, like our website needs to be ready for them. They it may we don't want them to click off of our website and click somewhere else. We want to have a good, engaging website, just everything that we do, social media. Um, if we can just please that customer in every way and then just be like, dang, this is really nice. And it like they become a sale before we even get to speak with them.
Tristan NelsomSo yeah, the website, everything, every decision we make in our company runs through our three core values um integrity, relationships, and innovation. And so, through those principles, if we're not going to uh put up a website that isn't innovative and doesn't um speak to those relationships, um, we just try to run it through that filter. If we're gonna have an innovative magic, I think it's like sharp and it needs to um appear as premium as possible. Um I was pointing he we uh talked whenever we were doing the rebrand, we went over the color. Um and Lance wanted to do that more like dark color with the yellow or gold, and I was wanting to do more of like a blue and gold. So, whenever you said something about color, um I was like, oh, that was him. He did it, man. It does, it looks good. He we made the right choice ultimately.
ShannonIt really does look good. If you just go to your legacybuilding.com, you guys will see what I'm talking about. You should certainly check it out. I mean, uh, I've had the pleasure of knowing Tristan for quite a while and some of your team. I mean, you guys have always been so supportive, not only when we're down there and we missed you guys on our last Florida trip. I ended up getting sick. I'm notorious for going to Florida and getting sick, and then uh for some reason needing to head on back. That's happened to me twice on the road. Uh, hopefully we can break that uh that pattern. Uh, because I love being down there, and I just, you know, I really love what you guys do. Um, I'd love to see the
Family Legacy And Purpose At Work
Shannonexpansion. I know one of the things that we talked about was like legacy and how much that mattered even four years ago. So, I think it's interesting to see legacy builders because you talk so much about your mom and your dad and like all the time that they had put in and the amount of dedication that you know they had put into the business that led you to where you are. And that's a super exciting thing for me is to see second, third generation uh uh builders, you know, shed and pole barn and metal, metal builders, and maybe even third generation in some ways, you're starting to see some of that. Um talk on your talk on your family dynamic a little bit there and why legacy and what it really means, what it what the customer journey should look like, because you're I know that your parents really instilled that in you. Um I just remember that being a big topic of our conversation whenever I was there before. So that's like really showing itself in real in realness with your website. It's like I know that that's real to you. You want to talk about that one a little bit?
Lance NelsonYeah. So mom and dad are still involved. Um they mom is mainly um there for accounting purposes and um good guidance points. Same with dad on the guidance points. Um dad's mainly doing the site checks and stuff, but um we are different, I would say different from most families or family businesses that you see all the time. Like we actually really do get well along with each other and um we meet with each other at least once a week, go over everything that's going on with the businesses. Um, it's our leadership meeting and um just always being really, really productive in those and um just focusing on looking at our core values, making sure we're living by them, um, doing our quarterly reviews with all the employees. Um even if they don't want to talk, like we still need to talk and discuss and keep getting better, man. Um every day that's constantly not allowing a problem to continue to happen, build now a system for it. It just builds more and more, makes less and less little problems. Like now, like I feel like whenever we first got started, it was like all these different things, and you're feeling like you're getting hit from the left and the right, and it's like punches coming at you, but now it's like dang, like now our customers truly are happy. We only have like if somebody is has something to say, then it's just like something so small, and it's like there's already a system in place to where like our employees know what to do, how to take care of that customer, and just make them happy. So, that's what I really care about. That's what mom and dad have instilled in us, is just like at the end of the day, always making sure you have a happy customer, uh, what they say about you really matters as well.
Tristan NelsomSo, they never uh they never forced us or make pressurized us to make us feel like this is what we needed to do. Like we were always able to say, you know what, I want to go and try this out or try that out. They encouraged us to do that. We Lance and I arrived at this is what we wanted to do on our own. And just what they did is they we went to work with dad in the summer and worked with them uh doing deliveries of the sheds and everything like that. And um anytime mom was around, she would have us uh whenever we're in the office, we would have a little playroom in the side in a side room. And so we, you know, we would set up our own little sample desks and act like we were little office workers. And so they really kind of for a long time, me personally, like Lance always knew what he wanted to do, right? Like you always wanted to be a contractor. He went and immediately, right out of high school, just started working as a project manager, um, quickly moved his way up to that role, and then knew that he wanted to be a contractor. So, it was it was something that it was it was very helpful to have him just kind of knowing and being solid. I fought it, man, for a long time. Like I was like, I don't want to sell sheds for a living. I don't want to, you know, sell buildings for a living that just seems like kind of boring to me. But dude, the more and more that you attach your purpose to something, you can you can put your ministry into any situation we're tasked with improving people's lives. We can that room that they've been struggling with to clear out for a decade or decades or years, whatever it may be, they can they get to clear it out. Um if a There's somebody that's a hoarder and their root their whole house is messed up. We get to improve and help her to help him or her to not be in that lifestyle anymore. We get to help people to um improve their lifestyle, those hobbies that they have been waiting on for years, uh, that they've thought, man, I really would like to go and do that again. Um, they get to buy one of our products and get right back into that hobby that they haven't done in forever. And so we're really like activating and improving people's lives, and that really opens the door for um showing our faith to people and um trying to do what's best in order to uh help people to be the best versions of themselves.
ShannonI'll start with saying first, your parents have done an amazing job. Uh I just not only with the business, but with you guys. Uh I, Tristan. I really felt that connection when we were there before, man. You were just like so, so honest, and like you could tell that family was such an important thing uh from our conversation and legacy and how those things mattered. I mean, these are things that you talked about four years ago that have come to fruition now. So, like that's to for me, that's exciting. And if you're not excited listening to this podcast this morning, I mean, like, I mean I I'm really struggling to say this, but I really feel sorry for you because like what these guys have just laid out, uh attaching your purpose to what you do. If you're coming in today and you're like, man, I just sell sheds, like I come in and I this is boring. I come in. If that is the approach that you take, I would make the argument, uh, and this is the strongest position I may have ever taken on the podcast, like you're hurting the industry more than you're helping it. Like if you don't come in with that same vigor and that same like excitement that these guys are talking about, like what you do does matter. And like if it's just a job to you, then then it's then that it's always just gonna be a job. But if it's a career and it's something you want to focus on, uh it took me back to something Travis Beachy said when we were like looking at starting uh uh Shed U, you know, and I'm so glad that like the Shed Sales Summit has kind of like fulfilled that role and ran with that. I mean, we're limited on our time, but like I remember Travis saying the one thing that bugs me is like a lot of times people say, you know, well, you're not a manufacturer, you're just a dealer. Just a dealer. What do you mean, just a dealer? I'm not just a dealer, like I'm a professional. I come in every day and I focus on helping people. Like, no, I might not be manufacturing, but I could be sweeping and I want to do it the best of my ability, you know, like it doesn't matter what it is, I want to do good. That's what I chose. And Anthony Mitchell, you guys might know him. He's uh he's in Georgia, he's a little bit, you know, uh further north than you guys, but I remember him saying, uh, and I haven't talked about either one of these guys in a while, but they came to mind in this conversation. I remember Anthony talking about, you know, being involved for the purpose that shed sellers can be professionals, it can be a career job. It can, I mean, you can do very well uh if you'll pour yourself into it. And I'm sure the same is uh it's the same for manufacturers, for hauling, for anything that you do, if you do it with you know, with all of your uh uh purpose, as you put it, Tristan, attached to what you're doing. If you'll attach your purpose to uh meeting these people, it gives you a chance to. I mean, I I've never sold buildings to people that I've prayed for just because it felt like the right thing to do was to pray for them. And it was like, what a cool thing that you get to like just witness to someone and like you think you're just selling sheds. And I and that it's bothersome because it's like there's so much more purpose. Um I'll leave that alone so I don't get hate mail. Uh I'll stop there before I get too deep. Uh uh, I wanted to ask you this. I if I if I'm listening to this podcast today and I'm like, well, I don't know, should we add pole barns? Why should I? Like, I think you guys are gonna explain it to the best. Is it is it that the margins are better? Um, you know, I'm assuming you know I make a percentage of a sale, but like if I'm just sitting there and saying, like, I really want to focus on this, I want to learn this, I want to invest in this process, but why should I? What is your what is your best pitch? I know you guys aren't like knocking down the door saying, hey, we just want 500 applications in because we're gonna be selective on who we bring in. But for the serious person listening today who wants to expand, wants to grow with good people and a good business, like what's your message to them? Why add pole barns?
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Why Add Pole Barns Now
Lance NelsonI think your customers already want them. You just don't know it yet. I mean, uh they or you probably do know it. They're asking you for them, and you're trying to push them in a route of hey, purchase this tubular still, or purchase the shed from us instead. And also, I mean you put a big old pole barn sign out on the side of the road. Now you're also attracting even more customers. But um you can even like you that you may not even sell your customer a poll barn, but now you've given them a quote for a pole barn for the tubular. They don't have to go somewhere else down the road to get a second quote or go to a different business and get a pole barn quote. Um, because at the end of the day, the people buying a pole barn, that's usually what they want. Um, and it's hard to talk somebody out what they want into a different product um whenever you could offer it to them and make the sale that much easier on yourself.
Tristan NelsomYeah, if you've become uh a little discouraged by maybe some customer service challenges uh with the metal building dealer programs, there are certain ways that we've set this thing up to make sure that you are protected. Um we want to make sure that whenever you sign up with us and you say, uh, you know what, I'm gonna be a dealer, that you never have to worry about if you're gonna we get a weird review or anything like that. We wanna work through everything. Like Lance spoke earlier about uh giving the customer weekly updates of their permits. We might not even have an update that week, but we're gonna call them anyway. We're gonna say, hey, this is what we're doing. Um we don't have an update yet, but this is your update, and we will call you again next week. Why do we do that? Because no, go ahead, go ahead. Yeah, it's because it keeps people um reassured. I think so much now people are so used to uh not necessarily because of this industry, just in general in society, they're just used to not being taken care of. Yep. And so they're they come in with all these walls set up, and our job almost sometimes is just to break down their walls, just to get them to open up and realize that we're actually like their champion.
Weekly Updates And Customer Trust
ShannonMore than once have I wanted to give you a couple of amen hallelujah shouts from the pew uh on a couple of things you said, but none more have affected me over the last few months than the just the lack of customer service that's provided in the blue-collar community. You know, people who are actually working in trades and things like that. I mean, it is amazing how we've gotten to a place where it's just okay not to take care of the customer. And like it's become commonplace. It's almost kind of like, well, once it cost me too much money, I mean, I we have we have really seen over the last few months like what I feel like it is just such a downturn in customer service from what we've experienced. Now, it's been a plethora of people, it's not been in the building, you know, side. So, I don't take that personal anybody and as me saying that you individually aren't offering good customer service because maybe you're killing it. But in in general, like we just feel like the trades have like really gotten away from taking care of the customer and they're really focusing on the bottom dollar when everything gets tight. And I understand that, but I always feel like if you'll just like change your mindset and take care of the customer first, the dollar's always going to be there. And like we failed, like I know the feeling of that personal failure. Like we have overpromised or underdelivered, like we have we have done that ourselves, and the temptation to do it is always there, so we always have to go back and be like, is this the best thing? Like, I've had to throw myself at the foot of the cross more than once and be like, I'm not going to do this if it's not going to be good business. And like sometimes you can't outrun that because people feel uh, you know, whatever hurt over that. But we've got a saying around here that like we really want to do good business at all times. And like we want to, we want to be so good about doing good business that like we never want to be in a place where we feel like we can't talk openly uh about the conversations we've had in the office, you know. Like I understand they're sensitive information, but we just really want to be like, I want to help the customer at the end of the day. I mean, like, if not, where's your long-term in like the short-term gain? You know, Tristan and Lance, like you build somebody a pole barn, but you kind of uh, you know, just got it done, but they don't feel good about it. Uh I mean, are they gonna tell anybody? Are they gonna tell their neighbors? Like, like the goal is excellence, like you said, we're always gonna fall short, but that's the goal.
Tristan NelsomYeah, you treat that you know, couple thousand dollar customer the same as your three hundred thousand dollar equestrian barn customer, and uh because that person for a couple grand, they might have a neighbor or they might have some friends or connections, and you might not make but uh a hundred bucks, fifty bucks on that little guy, you know, but it's gonna lead to other sales. Um, so just don't lose who you are in the process. It that that is a whole other podcast, man, saying no and saying yes to things, but um figuring out a way to get people through your funnel, say yes and say no to them, and just be honest with them. Uh people appreciate that. They will recommend you just for being honest to them and um not treating them like they weren't important because they were some like little sale or something.
Permits, Wind Ratings, And Custom Builds
ShannonAbsolutely. Uh man, I know time flies when you're having fun. I'm asked this last question, and uh then we'll go from there. Is there a difference in like what you're you guys are happening to offer from like Florida and Alabama and Georgia? Because like I would imagine you got different wind ratings. I know things with sheds have to be inspected, you know, um uh different materials. Like what are you know, share some of the thoughts on like the materials that you guys use now or the construction, the actual building, because that that matters to so many people with quality being what drives this industry? Um, you know, I know that you guys want to put up a good building, and even what you mentioned here today, you know, with the equestrian buildings, like what are the different like things that you see through the garages, the agriculture, more commercial style? Like, what are you guys seeing that customers are out there wanting? And what's the type of things that you guys will be building for these dealers as they come on?
Lance NelsonWell, the your first question with the win rating and stuff. We are Florida boys, we started out in Florida, so I'd say just um I have my contractor license in Florida, and as we've gone more north, it's just been easier and easier. Um, because when we pull all of our permits here, um unless the client's ag exempt or something like that, or they want to do an owner builder permit. But um, so like as we've gone up into Georgia and when to pull a permit, it's like, oh my gosh, like they have like the easiest regulation ever in the municipalities. So, it's like kind of insane, honestly. Um, so that's just been easier and easier, and then usually your building is a little bit cheaper as you go down north, um, as far as what engineering purposes and stuff. Um and then from our customer standpoint, I feel like a lot of our customers aren't most of our dealers like normal customers. Like they're more of the high-end clients that want to come in, they're like really particular about their Dutch doors on their horse barn, and um as their horses rub against the siding, like what's gonna injure their horses, or if this client is turning their barndominium, like they're actually gonna live in this. Like we have all stick framing in between our posts, and um the regulation across the other industries, like electricians and stuff, like all of their outlets are set up for stick framing already because it's a normal practice across the country. Um, so it's just that much easier. Sheetrock guys already know what they're doing. Um, all the other practices just fall straight in line because it's their common um day-to-day. Um so uh and then we just get super custom with them. We can do the hip roofs, we can do cupolas, just dormers on your roof, whatever it is you want a cool wood beam gable porch going off the side of your e-wall. Like it's super easy for us. Um that's our background. If you want it all pine-toning roof, um, just it's whatever the customer can dream of, we usually um can handle it as long as we can engineer it. So, um that's what it comes down to.
Innovation Mindset And Closing Thoughts
ShannonI think folks who continue to innovate like you're doing are the future of the industry. I think that the fact that you have uh uh you know innovation as part of your, you know, your three priorities, uh, you know, and identifiers of who you are as a company is important. I think I mentioned to you, and I've mentioned it on the show before, but even before we got started, we were talking about creativity and innovation and things like that. And I I'd mentioned Maya Angelo, uh, you know, famous poet. So, with creativity, the more you more of it you use, the more of it you have. And I think that's uh that's what's going to take us into this next, you know, um this next period, this next era of sheds and where sheds connect with pole barns and connect with uh steel buildings. And I think you guys are innovators, and I think you're leaders, and I think you're going to continue to do well, and you're certainly carrying on a legacy from your family that's uh to me, it's obvious, and anybody who I think gets to know you will feel the same way. I love what you guys do. You guys should go check them out at your legacybuilding.com. Uh if you want to become a dealer, it sounds like you guys are focusing on Florida, Georgia, uh, Alabama. You know, uh I'm sure you'll take a call and like at least have the discussion. So, uh whoever they are and wherever they call, uh, I'm quite certain they'll be excited about that. I absolutely love what you guys do. Um thanks, man. Any final thoughts from you guys? Just anything that you just want to share with the industry shout-outs or questions or comments or just anything to clear your heart here today uh with the industry.
Tristan NelsomYou know, uh just ask yourself why not uh continue to improve your product line. Um if there is no risk of uh customer service issues, because we're we find that very important to us. If we've made it as easy as possible on you, we have training programs and education and uh the systems in place, the 3D builders, um, things that uh aren't really standard practice yet in the pull bar and post-frame industry. Um they're starting to become more and more of a thing, but uh we have worked ahead on some of these difficult things to do um to try to help people um to be able to have as many tools as possible. So, it's ready for you. Just come on. All you gotta do is say yes, and uh we we'd love to work with you.
ShannonI love it, man. I think you guys are great. I can't wait to see you guys. I hope you're gonna be in Knoxville. Uh definitely swing by. If not, next time in Florida, I'm gonna make it a point to stop by and at least spend a couple hours with you. I'm sure I owe you a lunch or something. You guys have been so kind and I appreciate you being able to work with my schedule, uh, you know, both on the road and uh here from the office. So, wish you guys nothing but luck and success in your future. I know you're gonna continue to do well. And uh hey, maybe we'll have you back on uh and kind of kind of uh talk about the journey and where it's led in another three to four years, or maybe one to two. Maybe we can do something sooner than waiting so long next time.
Tristan NelsomBut yeah, yeah, sounds great, man. Well, many blessings to you and uh thank you for having us on and have a good one. All right, we'll see you soon. Thank you, Shannon.
ShannonSame to you guys. Thank you so much. Uh appreciate you guys listening to the Shed Geek podcast. Uh hope you'll tune in for the next episode.
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