Sales and Women in Roofing - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Desiree Huff of Tremco. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast!

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Heidi J Ellsworth: Welcome to another Roofing Road Trips from RoofersCoffeeShop. This is Heidi Ellsworth and today we're going to talk about sales, one of my favorite things, I love talking about sales. And I love it even more when I can talk to another woman in roofing about this because that's not always been the case with us women in roofing on really being involved in sales. We got a hold of Desiree Huff from Tremco, who has had an amazing career and we just wanted to talk a little bit about her career, sales and roofing, and doing it at Tremco. Desiree, welcome.

Desiree Huff: Thanks so much for having me, Heidi, I really appreciate it.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I love this, I love these conversations. But first of all, let's start out with an introduction. Can you tell everybody who you are, what you do at Tremco, a little bit about your job?

Desiree Huff: Sure. I am Desiree Huff, I work for Tremco. I am the regional sales manager for the Pacific Southwest region which covers California, Nevada. And I've been in this position since September. And before that I worked in the Pacific Northwest region which covered nine states in the Pacific Northwest. In both regions I've worked for excellent teams. I'm just really thankful to be a part of the Tremco family.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Just to get started, tell us a little bit about ... What's your sales job as regional manager look like on a day-to-day basis? What are you talking to your customers about when it comes to Tremco and WTI?

Desiree Huff: Gosh, every single day is so different as a regional sales manager which I love, I love the variety, I love learning something new every day, I love working with the sales team. The sales team is just ... They're amazing. I view my job, as a regional manager, as doing whatever I can to make those reps succeed. Whatever I can do to alleviate a burden, alleviate paperwork, provide additional support staff, maybe just be a listening ear sometimes or providing some feedback. Anything I can do to help them succeed while reaching our corporate goals is my goal. They are just amazing people to work with and make my job really fun and interesting. There's tough times too, but I just really appreciate the opportunity to work with them it's been amazing.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I love that. That's how I felt. I was a regional sales manager too and it was so fun. I loved all the people in the field. Tell everybody a little bit about Tremco and WTI. And what are some of the services that you bring to your customers?

Desiree Huff: Perfect. Tremco is a commercial roofing product manufacturer and we specialize in the fluid-applied systems. But we also provide single-ply systems, built-up roofing systems, metal systems, safety. We do a lot. If there's something that your roof needs we can get it done for you. And then with WTI or Weatherproofing Technologies, Inc, we have two different areas of expertise. We have our general services arms so we have actually field technicians who are out completing patch and repair or they are doing warranty inspections for us or final inspections making sure that roofs are tight and waterproof. And then we also have our general contracting arm where that we can work with other roofing contractors. We can sub them underneath of our contract to provide a turnkey solution for customers.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Wow. That is great. I mean, it's so important because you do, you bring the whole package which is ... I mean, premium products, premium installation, premium service afterwards. From a sales perspective, how does that feel to be able ... I mean, you got to really believe in what you're selling to be a great salesperson, and it sounds like you do. Talk a little bit about that.

Desiree Huff: I do. When you see how much it takes to procure projects, when you see how much it takes to go through the contract process and everything like that, anything that we can do to alleviate that by providing a one-stop shop or just one contract where that they can get all of their building envelope needs completed, I feel really good that we can provide that to our customers and just make it a little bit easier on them. And just work with them as closely as we can.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I love that. You and a couple other women are really blazing a path in the sales area of Tremco and WTI. Tell us just a little bit more about how you started in sales in the Pacific Northwest and then that move into a regional manager into the Pacific Southwest.

Desiree Huff: Sure. I've been at Tremco for almost eight years. I started as an administrative assistant and I worked very closely with a sales rep in the Pacific Northwest region. Thankfully, I had the opportunity to be exposed to, not just the administrative side but the sales side also with several different reps in the region. I was involved in pre-cons, and sales calls, and inspections, roofing inspections. Or just customer meetings, they would pull me in for presentations. So I just had a lot of exposure to a lot of different areas of roofing which was great. I met with design professionals, and roofing contractors and cooperative purchasing contacts, just everybody. I learned a lot.

Tremco has a program where that you can get your tuition reimbursed once you've been there for a certain amount of time. And so I decided to take advantage of that. I have my bachelor's degree in social and behavioral sciences, and then I decided to go for my master's in business with a focus in construction management. And so I applied for that program and I was accepted. Finished that program and I learned so much, and it just brought a lot of the areas of the business together for me.

And I was very thankful for Tremco to ... I really appreciate when a company invests in their employees, and I feel like that's what Tremco does. They invested in me, in my education, they've provided career opportunities for me so I feel like it's worth it for me to work hard for a company like Tremco. I'm just thankful for the opportunity of higher education, and then that opened up some additional doors. I worked as a regional administrator in the Pacific Northwest and then a strategic business manager. Last summer I was approached about becoming a regional sales manager in the Pacific Southwest region. So it's been quite a journey that I was never expecting but just very thankful and blessed for the investment that Tremco has ... Had put in me.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Tremco and WTI were founding members of National Women in Roofing, they have been very, very active. Currently, the president of Tremco Roofing is Krista Gnatt who is just amazing. The first woman president and [inaudible 00:07:47] Tremco. And we're going to be having another podcast with her to talk about that. Things have changed so much in the roofing industry when it comes to women. And I've really seen it a lot in the last 10 years definitely. But it's been steady growth. Right now opportunities in roofing for women are just amazing. What are you seeing, Desiree?

Desiree Huff: Yes. I seeing the same thing. I am really thankful for the women that we have in leadership. It's nice to have mentors in the company and in the industry. It is so male-dominated. We do have struggles to overcome. But I think it's worth it. We're better together. It seems like men and women have different perspectives that we can offer. It's nice when we can all come together and look at it from a broader perspective instead of just one point of view only if that makes what.

Heidi J Ellsworth: You know what? That is so true. And studies are showing left and right that when the balance creates success ... That when you have a balance, not just of the genders but of also of all different types of thinking: thought leadership, backgrounds, culture, diversity ... That's one of the things I've loved about Tremco is when you go to Tremco you see diversity, a lot of it, and celebrated, celebrated. And so it creates this way of thinking, this thought leadership that creates success like we see through the sales of Tremco and what you're doing. So okay. I'm going to get back to ... On course here. I just love talking about all this stuff.

Desiree Huff: Okay.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Let's talk a little bit about roofing sales. Like I said, I did sales. I was a regional manager for the Western states. Loved it, loved it. What do you love about being a salesperson?

Desiree Huff: There's a lot of things, there's so many things. I love being able to drive through towns and be like oh, we did that roof, or I've been on that roof, or something like that. And also, I have two kids so I have a 15-year-old and a 13-year-old and they are very involved in sports and they're very involved in their schools. And so every weekend I think we're in a different school or we're in a different athletic center. And I love knowing that companies like Tremco help to create safe, dry environments for my kids to learn, for my kids to play. Other people in the community can have a safe place to gather.

Especially in Oregon where we have so much rain, we value a dry area maybe more than other places. It's not just a roof, but I look at it as it's a safe place for kids to learn. A healthy environment creates a better learning environment. For hospitals, a better place for people to heal. I really appreciate looking at the whole picture of it and how that ... The little piece that I do and how that impacts the community as a whole.

Heidi J Ellsworth: That's so true. I think about sales, and there's the excitement of sales, right? I mean, for people who like sales, there's a lot of excitement of closing a deal, of prospecting, of seeing the opportunities. But really, you're right, at the end of the day it's all about what value did I bring to that customer by helping them on this customer journey. And now the value is safe children, safe patients, safe everything. I love that. I think about that the same way. That is cool. Sorry, I'm going to go back on this because it's just ... You brought this up. Earlier in your career, did you ever think that you wanted to be in sales?

Desiree Huff: I appreciate it from a supportive view. I've always been in the supportive view. I've had a couple other jobs where I worked in sales lightly, not a ton. I think sales reps have a very difficult job. Yes, I love it. I love being there to support them and doing whatever I can to take each customer a little bit further down the path. I never thought that I would be in sales myself but I love it. I love the excitement, I love it. I love the learning from the failures, I love sharpening your skills to be better every single time that you go out the door. I love every piece of it.

Heidi J Ellsworth: That's so funny because when you talk to a lot of people and you say, "Did you plan on being in roofing?" Most people say no. A lot of people if you ask, "Did you plan on being in sales?" They say no.

Desiree Huff: Right. It's true. It's very true.

Heidi J Ellsworth: It's something you grow into.

Desiree Huff: Right, right. When I first started somebody asked me the same thing, "Did you ever think that you would be in roofing?" And I was like "No, I never considered it." And they're like "Well, everybody needs a roof." And I was like "That's a very good perspective."

Heidi J Ellsworth: That is so true, we hear that all the time. Okay. Let's talk a little bit about the solutions that you bring from Tremco to your customers, to those hospitals, to those schools. What are some of your top products right now that are really hitting that sweet spot in the market of what people are looking for?

Desiree Huff: One of the things that we provide to our customers is asset management. Changing the mindset of just looking at each roof individually. And looking at their portfolio of roofs as a whole and seeing what we can do to help them develop an asset management plan so that we go in and we assess their roof systems, we categorize them as maintain, replace or restore. And then if we can get to the roof systems early enough before they reach the point of failure, then we provide our restoration solutions. We have a lot of different fluid-applied systems. We have our AlphaGuard BIO, we have our new FC LO which is our PUMA but it's a low-odor option. We're able to provide those restoration systems in more sensitive environments that might have odor concerns so we can help with those issues.

We also just recently acquired an HVAC restoration company, Pure Air Control's, so that we can provide restoration solutions for their HVAC systems. Now that I'm learning more about HVAC, and looking for those systems more than I previously was, I can ... When I'm accessing roofs and going through the building, and you can see how difficult it would be to replace those systems when they're indoors. And so now we're able to offer a solution where that we can restore them without having to worry about all of the logistics of shutting down part of the building, and getting a crane, and removing the HVAC system. That's one of the new things that we can provide.

Heidi J Ellsworth: That's so cool. Desiree, speaking of Portland, Oregon, I can remember my first job out of college was at a high school, Jesuit High School. And I was sitting in my office and all of a sudden I'm like what is that smell? And they were putting down roofing, they were redoing our roof, and it was tar, and it was asphalt, and it was kettles. Not that that's bad it has its place. When you think about today and what you can do ... I'm so happy you brought up that FC LO because that is just a phenomenal product for restoration with no smell. That is making a huge difference, I think, in schools, hospitals. Let's talk about that just a little bit. When it comes to K-12 sales, what do you focus on? What are the things that are really important for the schools to have a really good solution?

Desiree Huff: Again, with the offsite management plan and putting a ... We offer TremCare which is ... We go out and we do the assessment of all the roofs, and we put them into our online system so that the facility manager has access and they can see the status of each of their roofs and budget for what's needed for maybe next year or the next five years as far as restoration, or replacements, or maintenance. And with our TremCare program, we have different inspections that we can do once or twice a year to reevaluate the roof and then complete any minor repairs that need to be done as well. I think that's really helpful for a school district when they have so many different buildings and roof levels to maintain. Additionally, we also offer the safety solutions so we have guardrails or hatch guards or crossovers, anything like that, to bring the roofs up to OSHA compliance.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I hadn't even thought about that. All your safety barriers and ... That you offer and install that are long-term permanent solutions. How important are those on schools?

Desiree Huff: Yeah, so important.

Heidi J Ellsworth: It's important everywhere.

Desiree Huff: It's so important. Right, right. I did a ... Just a simple Google search to see how many kids ... Because kids are at schools all the time, not just during school hours. They're playing on the playgrounds, they're accidentally kicking balls up on the roof, and so many times, somehow, a child is accessing a roof. If you don't have the proper safety installed it's so easy for somebody to fall off or to fall through a skylight. It's just heartbreaking to see when those news reports come out. And so it's important for us to do whatever we can to prevent that from happening.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I love it. Really when you're looking at the roof administration too, it's the fact that it really is part of an environmental long-term solution for these schools too so that they can go back and say, "Look, it's not going into the landfill. We are a long-term environmental" ... I think that isn't always talked about enough but is definitely becoming a key topic as we're moving forward.

Desiree Huff: Yes, exactly. We have somebody in our corporate office who is amazing at providing the actual data of how much waste is diverted on each project that we're able to restore. And it's not just the restoration that we do at this time ... We do a restoration now and then we can put a 20 or 30-year warranty on it. At that point it's another waste diversion. Then also because we're able to just restore the roof again and hopefully just keep on doing it for the life of the roof system. Yeah, it's incredible the environmental impact that it has.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I think it's really interesting because I know you live in Portland but yet you have California and Nevada. How different is the sell to schools in California and Nevada compared to the sell in the Pacific Northwest? I know weather plays a part of that.

Desiree Huff: Yes, for sure. It's a lot different. I think a huge piece of that is the procurement options too. I'm still learning a lot about how we do it in California because I'm more familiar with how we've done it in the Pacific Northwest. But I think the procurement is a huge piece of how we can help our clients. We have different cooperative purchasing agents that we're in ... Under contract with. We're just able to provide the turnkey solution, or we can do material only and then we can bid out the labor. There's just a lot of different things that we can provide to help K-12 customers.

Heidi J Ellsworth: And energy and insulation I know is a big difference in California now too. Just the building codes, that makes it a big difference. You have those solutions also.

Desiree Huff: Correct. Yes, we do. There's a lot of extra things to learn in California. And they're a little bit more stricter in ... Then the states that I've worked in before. But thankfully our sales team, they are experts and amazing at providing the solutions for every customer.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I love it, I love it. That is so great. Okay. One last question before we get to how everybody can get involved. I know when I was regional manager I had a lot of amazing manufacturer's reps who I worked with who really taught me a lot. I would love your experience as you're working ... You just said it. Working with the sales team down in California and Nevada now as a regional manager, how has that been just in camaraderie and also this amazing opportunity to be mentored and to learn from people on the ground? I found that as a huge thing for me.

Desiree Huff: Yes, it's been amazing. In the Pacific Southwest region, we have so many reps who have been at Tremco for a long time, decades. I just had one rep, I received his 20-year anniversary email today which is incredible.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Wow.

Desiree Huff: They've been here for a long time and they provide so much expertise. And they're also so willing to mentor the younger reps coming into the company who are just building their business. And it's just incredible to see the success of the younger reps because of the investment made by the more experienced reps. It's an incredible team down here. They each go out there and work hard every single day and it makes a difference.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I love it. For the contractors out there listening to this, and they want to get involved with Tremco, what is your advice? How can contractors who are currently not involved with Tremco get involved?

Desiree Huff: Yes. I would say to reach out to their local sales representative. If they don't know who that is feel free to reach out to me and I can get them in touch with the local person. And then we have an approval process we go through. And then we also have additional product training to make sure that they're prepared to install our products on the roof. And we can even offer additional support as they're kicking off a project to make sure that they know how to start each project and how to most effectively apply our product.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Well, I can tell you, I know a contractor out of Sacramento, Madsen Roofing who loves Tremco and does amazing work. So I got to give a shout-out to Christian. For anybody in the western states who doesn't know them, he's another one to talk to because amazing roofing company. But that's the thing that I love so much about what you do is it's just such a great combination of working with contractors, and also with WTI, and just finding the right solutions for that customer and for their journey. Desiree, wow, what a great conversation, I loved it. And congratulations.

Desiree Huff: Thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me I really appreciate it.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Okay, well, we're going to be watching. I'm excited to see how everything goes. We'll have you back again, we'll talk more about sales and roofing overall. I mean, because it is Roofing Road Trips so there we go. For everybody who's watching, please check out the Tremco and WTI directories on RoofersCoffeeShop. You can find Desiree there, you can find the ... The websites where you can find your local sales rep. This is something to really check out. It is an amazing products, systems and organization overall so be sure to check that out. Also, check out all of our podcasts under the Roofing Road Trips Navigation. Be sure to subscribe and set those notifications on your favorite podcast channel. Desiree, one more time I want to say thank you so much for being here and we'll see you again soon.

Desiree Huff: Thank you.

Heidi J Ellsworth: And we'll see all of you again on Roofing Road Trips.

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