Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: 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.
[00:00:19] Speaker A: I spend all this time with my dealers and my customers throughout the day that they become family to me. I have a lot of friends that I've made through all of my dealers as well. And I just want to take every situation that comes their way that may affect them personally, so I can help them get through it.
[00:00:38] Speaker B: So good morning. We are here on the Clear Impact Podcast and I am chatting with one of my favorites today, Teresa Saez. Welcome.
[00:00:47] Speaker A: Thanks, Sheri.
[00:00:48] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm just bummed that you couldn't be here in person because I love seeing your smiley face, but over the phone will do.
So we are talking about the we are Florida stuff. And before we dig into all the things that have been happening, tell us a little bit about you, like your history, your tenure, maybe previous roles and the territory that you cover.
[00:01:09] Speaker A: So I started with PGT in July of 2020. I had a territory that covered Delray to Davie and did that territory for about three years.
Took a little break from PGT for a couple months and then I came back into the Windor side of things and I was the territory rep for the east coast of Florida for a little over a year. And then I went back into a territory manager role. I've been in it probably a year and a half now, and I do Palm Beach County.
[00:01:45] Speaker B: Wow. And so you're playing in all that fun traffic every day.
[00:01:49] Speaker A: Yes, tons of fun.
Lots of traffic.
[00:01:53] Speaker B: And so you started right after I did. I remember you were one of the first salespeople that came through the university because our team generally does the onboarding with the new sales reps. And it was just so nice to have, you know, other women in the office and got to go to lunch and things like that. So that was really fun.
So one of the things that we've been talking about a lot lately is the consolidation of product lines and closing of CGI and then adopting Sparta and Scout and new software and new quoting and new things all around. And so that's been happening over the last several months. And your territory is ones that's been primarily impacted by that. And so can we talk about that for a little bit?
[00:02:34] Speaker A: Sure. It's been interesting. You know, there were some surprises down in the Southeast with Sentinel and Estate being discontinued, but we've been able to have a replacement for most of those products that were discontinued. The plant move from Hialeah to Venice with the 450, the 160, the Scout and Sparta. The plant move and setup went pretty quickly. They got everything ready in time. We did have some hiccups with the quoting software, actually, the older orders from the previous quoting software, migrating the current quotes into the new software. And I think there were some building material issues, but we've worked all that out. I think we are past all of that now. We've sorted out any of those glitches we had and we are moving forward.
[00:03:26] Speaker B: Nice. So your role as the rep is to, like, put out some of those fires and really literally take the heat when there are fires. Right. Because the customers are impacted when things don't go quite right. But you get to be the one that walks through them with that. And so now that we're kind of on the other side of that, how are the relationships? Like, do you find that it's tighter and closer now that you've been able to walk through all of that, or is it still like a little shaky or how are things feeling for you?
[00:03:57] Speaker A: I feel like everything's good now. I mean, there was never really a time I felt that we were ruining our relationship with anybody. I mean, I always stayed on top of any hot items that a dealer had. I would have a call each day with one of the customer support managers, Eliana, who is amazing, and she helped me through all of the 450 and the 4130 issues we were having. We had a list going.
She'd follow up on everything each day. I'd follow up with the customers or a customer support person would follow up with a customer. So we kept them as up to date on everything that was happening with their order that was either backordered or if we had to reorder it. We kept everybody up to date on what was going on. To me, I feel like that strengthens a relationship. I never ignore any of my customers. I always try to help them whenever I can and however I can and take care of it as quickly as I can. So that's what I felt like I did during that four or five week time frame. And again, I had a lot of help from the inside. I could not have done it without the inside sales team, customer support and Eliana's help.
[00:05:09] Speaker B: 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. So whenever you do run into those things. You know, communication is obviously really important.
They just send the order off and then they're just waiting to find out, like, when is it coming? Is it going to be the right thing? Is it going to be what our customer needs? Because they're answering to their customers. Right. So I think just having that solid communication plan and really keeping on top of the one or two things here that may have been backordered for some reason or need to be rebuilt or whatever the situation was, just helping them understand where they are in the process, I think clears a lot of that doubt, right?
[00:06:04] Speaker A: Yes, agreed.
[00:06:05] Speaker B: So we have a new logo that is in the process of being released and new colors. And have you seen that? Is there any feedback, any rumblings from out in the field about that?
[00:06:16] Speaker A: So I did get a sneak peek the other day. Marketing sent the logos over to me because I have a dealer that's going to use it on a van wrap. And I love it. I think business logos should be changed quite frequently because things get boring really quick. I love the fact that you're still going to recognize the PGT name, but then they've incorporated the Miter red. So I think it was a good design. Good decision to do that.
[00:06:39] Speaker B: Yeah. It'll take a little time to get everything transferred over, but, you know, you don't want to just throw away everything that you've had done. But you do roll out with the new things as soon as possible. And I know we're getting new apparel and new business cards soon and so that's going to be fun for everybody, right?
[00:06:54] Speaker A: I know. Ok. Wait to go shopping for new shirts.
[00:06:57] Speaker B: Me too. So, Teresa, I know we're recording, you know, mid April, but it's not too soon to start thinking about hurricane season, which is June 1st. And so what do people need to be doing in order to be prepared for hurricane season?
[00:07:12] Speaker A: They need to go ahead and start now, start ahead of time, researching the dealers in your area, getting a few quotes from them. Once you've decided on who to go with, you need to take into consideration what our current lead time is. After the order is placed, you have to add that time in. You also have to add in time for permitting and you also have to add in the time when you're going to be able to get on their install schedule. Schedules can vary between dealer to dealer. So the earlier you start getting ready for hurricane season, the better.
[00:07:45] Speaker B: Exactly. So just a couple more questions for you and I really appreciate you taking the time today.
We've been doing this We Are Florida campaign, and it's really become more than just a campaign. What does the We Are Florida, Florida mean to you?
[00:07:58] Speaker A: We Are Florida. We were built here. We have always produced in Florida. Our employees are Florida based. I mean, we're one of the larger employers in Sarasota County. So that's what We Are Florida means to me. Our product is being installed all over the state of Florida. I mean, we are so Florida. We will never be able to not say we are Florida.
[00:08:21] Speaker B: Right. And then the last question, and this one has been really fun to discover everybody's favorites. So we have the Mitre DNA statements that really represent how we operate as a company.
Which one of those statements speaks to you the most?
[00:08:36] Speaker A: There's a lot of them. I think the one for me is that we believe that business is always personal. I truly believe that. I'm very caring when it comes to my dealers, and I understand when they have an issue that it's also mine as well to help them get through the issue. And because it's their business, it's their personal life, which in turn, it's mine as well. I spend all this time with my dealers and my customers throughout the day that they become family to me. I have a lot of friends that I've made through all of my dealers as well. And I just want to take every situation that comes their way that may affect them personally so I can help them get through it.
[00:09:16] Speaker B: Yeah, you really do develop those close connections and you get to spend time and, you know, if you're fortunate enough to go on trips and things like that, I mean, even just having lunch helps build those relationships. So I love that. I can see that with you. And you are very passionate about your customers and you're very quick to resolve things. Like that's one of the things I really appreciate about you is that if you need something, you call and ask for it. You don't just send an email and hope I see it in a day or two. Like, you're on it, you're texting, you're calling. You're very quick to just clear the slate and make sure things get done. So not surprised that you're a successful sales rep in your area and your customers are lucky to have you.
[00:09:56] Speaker A: Thanks, Sherry. We're lucky to have you, too.
[00:09:59] Speaker B: Aw. Well, this is always fun. I love having good conversations and getting to highlight people that are excellent at what they do. And I know you guys have been through it. You know, you've had some challenges, for sure, but glad to hear things are on the upswing and happy that you could take some time and record with me today.
[00:10:15] Speaker A: Well, thanks for inviting me. I appreciate it.
[00:10:17] Speaker B: Yeah. Have an amazing day, Teresa.
[00:10:19] Speaker A: All right, you too, Sherry. Talk to you later.
[00:10:21] Speaker B: Okay.
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