Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
Welcome to the Clear Impact Podcast brought to you by Mitre Brands University. Thanks for joining us today. My name is Sheri Conner and I am your host.
Good afternoon. We are here on the Clear Impact Podcast and today on the phone we have with us Liz Rodriguez. Welcome.
[00:00:32] Speaker B: Thank you, Sherry.
[00:00:33] Speaker A: Yeah, glad you could be here. Appreciate the technology and the time.
So we are going to just talk about a bunch of things today, but we want to just do a brief recap and introduction for those that may not know you. Can you just chat briefly about your history and tenure and your previous roles here with the company.
[00:00:52] Speaker B: So I've been with the company since May of 2012, so. So going about 13 and a half years now. I actually started with CGI as an inside estimator and I spent a year and a half in that role before I ventured into outside sales as a territory rep for Broward county. And then in 2016, I expanded territories, which included Miami Dade and the keys up until 2018 when I was promoted to regional sales manager, the Southeast. So that was Palm beach, down to the Keys, I had six territory reps that were on my team. And then in 2020, I was promoted to the director of sales where they split the state in half. So north and south. I had responsibilities for the South. So imagine a line from Palm beach straight across to just below Venice is where I had responsibilities for two regional sales managers and their individual teams of five to six territory reps each. Plus I was also responsible for the international market.
[00:01:56] Speaker A: Wow. And that's when I met you. And that was a lot. You were very busy.
[00:02:00] Speaker B: Yes, I was. I was going a million miles an hour every day. And then In November of 2023, an opportunity presented itself with PGT's newest acquisition. I guess at that time, Echo Window Systems, which I believe was happened in 2021. But the new opportunity in 2023, I was promoted to the senior director of sales operations. So that's where I was responsible for the customer care team and the commercial estimating team there. That was a complete change for me, kind of going back to working in an office full time after being on the road nonstop for, you know, the past nine years in outside sales. But it was also a great opportunity for me to learn and understand the operations side of the business and then just being instrumental in rolling out new structures and being able to improve on our efficiencies of our teams and processes. And ultimately, you know, the goal was to really improve, you know, the customer experience.
So kind of in a nutshell, and it's funny because when I was in outside sales and I had some type of request from a customer, maybe it was a custom glass type or a custom finish or some other type of product configuration that I wanted to sell or something that I wanted to implement, I would always say just make it happen or we should be able to do this, what's the big deal? And then being exposed to the other side of the business, right. In an operations type role, you know, I began to understand all the moving parts that it takes to make those certain kind of requests really work and all the other departments it really affects. So it's definitely a learning curve for me, but it was really good for me.
[00:03:38] Speaker A: So what is your current role and responsibility? So what are you doing now?
[00:03:42] Speaker B: So now my current title is the multifamily division manager. So this was a newly created position position in Florida which I took on towards the end of January this year. It's myself and one other team member, Ryan Burke. Mitre already has a multifamily manager who handles everything outside of Florida. And it just made sense to basically mirror those same roles here in Florida. So we're responsible for targeting GCS developers and architects who focus on these multi family projects. We used to refer to them as large projects. Same thing, but it's a market segment where we have achieve success. But to continue to engage and you know, bring a brand awareness, build momentum to this space is something that's really important. So I think there's probably still confusion in the market as to where PGT products sit or where they belong today because we're widely used, you know, in the residential market, we're also used pretty extensively in the commercial space. So combining with our commercial storefront product, which is the PGT commercial. So in addition to the multifamily role, I'm also still responsible today for the PGT Commercial estimating team as well.
[00:04:51] Speaker A: Yeah. And so what does that look like? So you're out just setting appointments and talking to developers and getting your hat in the ring for bids on big projects, things like that.
[00:05:03] Speaker B: Yeah. So in my role there's a couple different components, right. We're supporting our architects, our GCS developers, engineers, our dealers. Right. So specific to architects, you know, myself and Ryan are offering product consultation services. Right. So basically sitting down with them and getting the right product specified to meet project requirements, energy performances, design pressures and then just kind of the overall design intent, we want to make sure that we're suggesting the right product for their project. We're currently offering CEU courses which we have been actively engaging in for the past few months. Were pretty booked through February of 2026. So that's been exciting, kind of getting back in front of them. In terms of the in person. CEUs have been pretty dormant, I would say, for the maybe the past year. We worked with the Mitre Brands University team at the beginning of the year to kind of get some of these refreshed and it's just been really great. And the architects have been very responsive and engaging with us. We were also the main sponsor of the AIA trade show this past July in Tampa. So that was a great turnout. We really had the opportunity to connect with several of those architects. So that's kind of one component. The next one is just, you know, for GCs and developers, being able to reach out to them. We use different types of services and lead services that, you know, have different projects attached to them that we're able to communicate with these contractors. We've attended different networking shows to be able to get in front of them and get in front of the right people to make connections to then connect them with our dealers.
[00:06:42] Speaker A: We are sharing our expertise around all topics relating to the window and door industry. Whether you are a customer selling our products or a homeowner doing research, the Clear Impact podcast provides helpful content that makes an impact. Subscribe today wherever you listen to podcasts.
Yeah, because you can't design something and spec it out and then not be able to find someone to build it.
[00:07:04] Speaker B: Right.
[00:07:05] Speaker A: You know, you have to be able to work in tandem with your suppliers.
And architects have a tremendous amount of responsibility. They have to know so many details about a building.
And glass and windows and doors in and of themselves are highly complex.
So I'm sure they appreciate having that partnership with you and your team to really make sure that they're doing what's right for their customers.
[00:07:33] Speaker B: Exactly. Yeah. I mean, you just said it. The window and door component is really one part of the building. Right. And it can be complex. So being able to offer that service where they can lean on us to be the experts in that space helps them to identify which product would work best for their project.
[00:07:52] Speaker A: Sure. So what about this are you most excited about?
[00:07:55] Speaker B: I would probably say that I'm most excited about building new relationships with a community of contractors and architects we maybe haven't engaged with yet. You know, this allows them to see how our products perform in these multifamily projects and then just view our brands and company through, I think, a different lens. Moving the mindset from strictly residential to commercial and then also, I think it's exciting to rebuild relationships and just continue to foster the relationships with our current supporters over the past several years. Without them, we really wouldn't have the presence that we do have today.
[00:08:31] Speaker A: And so let me just verify. So your scope is the entire state?
[00:08:34] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:08:35] Speaker A: Oh, wow. So you're doing CEUs and consultations, so you're traveling a bit again?
[00:08:40] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:08:41] Speaker A: Nice. Okay.
[00:08:42] Speaker B: Back on the road. It's a hybrid right now.
[00:08:45] Speaker A: Right. Because you can't be gone all the time.
[00:08:46] Speaker B: Right.
[00:08:49] Speaker A: So how do you see this reorganization and refocusing on the commercial side, how do you see all of this impacting our Florida business?
[00:08:58] Speaker B: Yeah, I think being able to continue the growth of our brands in different capacities and really flex, I think, brings a sense of confidence to the design professionals specifying our products. But I also think we're very fortunate to be based in Florida, where construction consistently continues to grow and thrive. Adding in these multifamily projects, together with our already established residential business, both in the new construction and replacement segment, I think, you know, we have the ability to gain a large amount of incremental business with our dealers and expand our footprint.
[00:09:34] Speaker A: Awesome. Yeah, there's always new things popping up. Like, it's kind of crazy. Like, I just drive, you know, from the Venice plant to my house, you know, where I live in Gulf Gate. And every now and then, I'll take a different route and I'll be like, whoa, where did that building come from? Or, oh, that came up out of nowhere.
[00:09:52] Speaker B: Like, yeah, every corner there's something happening.
[00:09:55] Speaker A: Yeah, I know. Just Sarasota county is booming, so I know the rest of the state is as well, because it's an amazing place to live.
[00:10:01] Speaker B: It is.
[00:10:02] Speaker A: Yeah. And people want to be here. So what does the we are Florida tagline, what does that mean to you?
[00:10:09] Speaker B: We are Florida, to me means so many different things when I think of windows and doors. Right. And being in the manufacturing space. As someone who has been in the fenestration industry since 2003, I can confidently say that PGT has always been the number one manufacturer of windows and doors in the state. Even before PGT acquired cgi, who I was with and actively competed with, it was always hard to truly compete with them because they had such a great product and a great team of people. But PGT not only focuses on building the strongest products, but they focus on building a community of team members and also building a community.
Right. That homeowners and design professionals can really look to depend on. So I think being designed in Florida, by Florida. For our state, we understand building codes. We understand the different standards that we must have and the customer experience that really separates us from everyone else.
[00:11:05] Speaker A: Yeah, agreed. You know, as the education team, we bring people in, and, you know, sometimes they come in with just a ton of experience, but it was all up north or, you know, in Ohio or North Carolina. And then they come into this space and they're bewildered. They're like, wait, what?
So it is a definite different space here, and people who know it is really an advantage for those customers that choose to do that.
So one last question.
So we have this thing called the Mitre DNA, and this was really helpful for a lot of us when the acquisition happened about a year and a half ago, just to kind of understand the culture and the mindset of the new leadership and the larger organization that we're now part of. But we haven't really talked about it a lot on the podcast, and so there's about 20 statements or so that build the DNA. So which part of this speaks to you the most?
[00:12:05] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, it's several of them, and to just pick one was very difficult.
So there's three that really stand out for me personally. The first one is we celebrate the wins and learn from our losses. You know, I think so often we tend to focus on the losses and what went wrong.
Right. Rather than celebrating the wins. So I think our brains naturally go to, what can I fix? Or what can I do better next time? But no matter how small the win is, it's still a win, and we need to embrace that. Right. But losses are also important. Right. So we can continue to grow and continue not to make those mistakes that led to that loss to begin with. So that. Definitely a learning advantage there.
[00:12:47] Speaker A: Yeah, for sure. I like that one, too.
[00:12:48] Speaker B: The second one is we are comfortable being uncomfortable. So in my words, I think that success is uncomfortable. Right. I don't think anyone who has had success has done so by just kind of breezing by. Right. You have to do things out of your comfort zone, whether that's raising your hand for something you don't know much about. Maybe it's public speaking or just having the confidence to speak up. Somebody once told me, right when I got into outside sales, if you do something uncomfortable every day, it just gets easier. And that's really resonated with me and throughout my tenure here.
[00:13:23] Speaker A: I like that one, too.
[00:13:24] Speaker B: And then the last one is we focus on opportunities, not obstacles, because the only barriers that exist are the ones we choose to create. So sometimes we end up making excuses. Right. Excuses are obstacles, and we kind of get these ideas into our heads that we can't overcome. So being able to change the mindset, to kind of find that opportunity within that obstacle and break it down into achievable steps, we usually can break through that barrier, which can lead to even bigger opportunities than we originally had thought. So that one's really important to me as well.
[00:13:59] Speaker A: Yeah, I like all of them, but, yeah, I love those three as well. That's awesome. Is there anything else that we didn't cover that we should talk about?
[00:14:06] Speaker B: No, I think that's it. I mean, I'm very excited to be in this role. I think there's a lot of room for new opportunities and covering the unknown, so it's very exciting for me.
[00:14:16] Speaker A: Well, it's been nice to see you grow and shift. I've been a fan of Liz for many years and remember our first ever meeting and conversation and just, you know, appreciate your mentorship and your leadership within the sales organization and obviously promoting the university when you were in that space. So it's been a pleasure to watch you grow and shift, and it's always fun to chat with you.
[00:14:38] Speaker B: Yeah. Thank you, Sherry, for this opportunity. It's been great.
[00:14:40] Speaker A: Yeah. I appreciate your time today, Liz. Thanks so much.
[00:14:43] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:14:43] Speaker A: All right, take good care.
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