Episode Transcript
[00:00:05] Speaker A: Welcome to the Clear Impact Podcast brought to you by PGTI University. Thanks for joining us today. My name is Sherry Connor and I am your host.
[00:00:17] Speaker B: Well, good afternoon. We are here on the Clear Impact podcast and today we are chatting with Christy Meadows, who is our Vice President of Sales Operations.
[00:00:28] Speaker A: So welcome back to the podcast, Christy.
[00:00:30] Speaker C: Thank you, Sherry. Good to be here.
[00:00:32] Speaker B: It's good to have you. Last year you were in a different role and you recorded a couple of episodes in our Customer Success series. And so for those that may have missed that, can you give us just a brief recap of your background and experience?
[00:00:47] Speaker C: Sure. I've been in the manufacturing construction industry for around 30 years in leadership within the manufacturing side of things. I started in PGT seven years ago and I started in Customer care and worked as a customer care manager, promoted to senior manager and then the Director of Customer Care, and now have moved over to the new role of Vice President of Sales Operations.
[00:01:13] Speaker B: Nice. And so tell us a little bit about that position.
[00:01:17] Speaker C: So that position is to help kind of be the conduit between sales and operations, right. The initiatives that we're doing to help support our customers, making sure from operations point of view that we're prepared for that, that everybody knows about that, and that we see opportunities to help our customers and streamline those processes to make things as easy to do business with us as possible.
[00:01:38] Speaker B: Well, that's a big job. It is a big job.
So how does that team that's a broad brushstroke. How does the sales operations team on a day to day basis, how do they help our customer groups?
[00:01:51] Speaker C: So we work a lot with our sales team directly identifying opportunities for improvement, pain points that's happening in the field, and how we can help streamline those and make those better. So we dig into the processes, revamp the processes, make sure that we take out any pain points that we have, streamline the time that it takes to do certain things and make sure that they flow through correctly. So that's from a proactive point of view looking, but then as a reactive point of view, if there are certain things that are being held up or not happening the way that they need to, we can get involved and make sure the stakeholders and the right departments are involved to help make sure that the customer is supported.
[00:02:33] Speaker B: Nice. So like, for an example, like inside sales, so they can be working on getting answers to dealers when the rep is busy out on the road or.
[00:02:45] Speaker C: Things like that, it depends on what it is. Right. So most of those questions go through our customer care department for after sales. The Inside Sales support the presale side of things. So when it has to do with job site deliveries, if it has to do with dealer or onboarding when it has to do with our large projects and making sure that those are planned out the way that they're supposed to. Also, chasing down opportunities and helping our dealers find out all the answers that they need so they can close that sale so they are more on the before the order is converted side of things where customer care supports the after the conversion.
[00:03:20] Speaker B: So you've got a really good vision of all of that because you were on the backside of that before, and so now you're like, I know what we can do on the front side to make things smoother on the backside.
[00:03:31] Speaker C: Exactly. So using my experience working with different departments and operations on some of the pain points and the things that happen that could be prevented presale.
[00:03:40] Speaker B: And so the university kind of falls into that.
[00:03:43] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:03:44] Speaker B: Because education is the preempt to basically every problem that there is. It is, right.
[00:03:51] Speaker C: Knowledge is power.
[00:03:52] Speaker B: Knowledge is power. I use that hashtag a lot. And so connecting the university to the sales operations, what is the benefit of that to our customer groups? How do you see that?
[00:04:04] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. So we have concerns sometimes with our customers where it has to do with not knowing what criteria glass is in and what is acceptable and what's not acceptable, those kind of things. How we handle certain processes and those kind of things. What different family or brands are most compatible with their particular job. So knowing where those pain points are and knowing where the struggles are for our dealers, that feedback from sales or from our dealers working with the Pgtu to help make sure we create that content and we show value to the customer. It could be pain points actually the dealer is having that they need us to come in and help educate their people to prevent reorders. Right. To help them prevent making mistakes on the orders themselves. So getting that feedback in from the field is crucial so that we, as Pgtu, create the right content to support them.
[00:05:03] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, I think we do a pretty good job of know, we've got all these different spaces, obviously, the podcast, the YouTube channel, the LMS, the training camps. Patrick is in Texas today.
[00:05:16] Speaker C: Right.
[00:05:17] Speaker B: Sent me a picture for I'm like.
[00:05:18] Speaker C: Where are, like, this beautiful beach view.
[00:05:21] Speaker B: I'm like, Dude, are you here? He's like, I'm in Galveston, dude. So we do offer the variety of different ways for people to learn. But knowing what to teach them and to be able to deliver it out, that requires some strategy and some understanding of what's really going to be helpful. Yes.
[00:05:36] Speaker C: And make sure that we have their content experts that help us support that. Right. They're the ones that will help us create that content. And then, like you said, we can do the training and help support the customer.
[00:05:47] Speaker B: All right, so what are you most excited about in your new role?
[00:05:52] Speaker C: Oh, I'm one that likes to get in and make things better, so I'm excited about having the opportunity to do that. Working with our sales team, working with operations, working with our partners in the dealer base to be able to identify problems and fix them. And the team that I have supported behind that from the Pgtu, the inside sales and operations team and then also our sales analytics side of know I have a support team behind me that is a wealth of knowledge that can help make that successful. So just being that conduit between those areas to be able to make sure we identify those opportunities and turn those opportunities into something successful is very exciting.
[00:06:33] Speaker B: Well, we're excited to have you at the helm and excited to see what new and fun things we will all brainstorm and come up with and more will be revealed.
[00:06:43] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:06:44] Speaker B: Thank you. All right, well, thanks for your time today, Christy. It was great chatting. You, too. All right, have a good day. You too.
[00:06:49] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:06:50] Speaker A: PGTI University is the customer education team for an entire family of brands. We began with the original Easy Breeze Porch Enclosure line, then became PGT, america's leading brand of impact resistant windows and doors. We then added CGI. CGIC window, western Window Systems, new south windows, Echo Windows and Doors, Anlin windows and Doors. And our latest acquisition, Martin Garage Doors. We create products built to withstand major storms, keeping people safe, secure, and prepared. Our exceptional brands give you the protection you need without compromising design or functionality. PGTI University is here to educate you, our listener, so that you can be more informed consumer of window indoor products.
