Shed Geek Podcast

From Faith To Features, Steven Choi Explains How Shed Pro Helps Builders Win Online

Shed Geek Podcast Season 6 Episode 10

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Buyers don’t want to be sold; they want to see. We sit down with Steven Choi of ShedPro to map out a simple, high-impact plan for modern shed sales: show up where high-intent customers search, make your website convert, and use a fast, accurate 3D configurator that turns curiosity into confident orders. Steven shares what has changed since the early days of skepticism and why 3D has become a standard, not a novelty, for builders who want steady lead flow and higher-margin sales.

We walk through a live demo that brings the value to life: interior cutaways, electrical layouts, lofts, shelving, insulation, even tiny home concepts with cabinet finishes and appliance swaps. When customers can visualize decisions in real time, they upsell themselves—moving to larger footprints and smarter options that match how they’ll use the space. The result: faster sales cycles, bigger tickets, and better handoffs from sales to operations with quotes, sales orders, and work orders generated directly from the 3D design.

Steven also addresses adoption worries—timelines, onboarding, and cost. Shed Pro’s approach emphasizes speed to value (weeks, not months) and a white-glove setup so your team isn’t buried in tech tasks. We dig into specialty models—combo buildings with porches, dog kennels with dynamic runs, pavilions foundations, and two-story structures with staircase visualization—reflecting the industry’s evolution from “just storage” to outdoor living and tiny homes.

If you’re ready to simplify your digital stack and sell more with clarity, this conversation delivers the blueprint. Subscribe, share with a teammate who needs a nudge toward 3D, and leave a review with the one feature your buyers would click first.

Enjoy the conversation and then take action—subscribe, share with your team, and leave a review so more builders and dealers can find it. What move will you test first?

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This episodes Sponsors:
Studio Sponsor: Shed Pro

Cardinal Leasing
IFAB
Identigrow

Shannon:

Hello and welcome back to the Shed Geek Podcast. Here's a message from our studio sponsor. Let's be real. Running a shed business today isn't just about building great sheds. The industry is changing fast. We're all feeling the squeeze, competing for fewer buyers, while expectations keep climbing. And yet I hear from many of you that you are still juggling spreadsheets, clunky software, or disconnected systems. You're spending more time managing chaos than actually growing your business. That's why I want to talk to you about our studio sponsor, ShedPro. If you're not already using them, I really think you should check them out. ShedPro combines your 3D configurator, point of sale, RTO contracts, inventory, deliveries, and dealer tools all in one platform. They even integrate cleanly into our Shed Geek marketing solutions. From website leads, to final delivery, you can quote, contract, collect payment, and schedule delivery in one clean workflow. No more double entries, no more back and forth chaos. Quoting is faster, orders are cleaner. And instead of chasing down paperwork, you're actually running your business. And if you mention ShedGeek, you'll get 25% off all setup fees. Check it out at shedpro.co/ShedGeek. Thank you, ShedPro, for being our studio sponsor and honestly for building something that helps the industry.

Shannon:

Okay, welcome back to another episode of the Shed Geek Podcast. Thank you guys for joining us today. We always appreciate your willingness to listen to what we have to say. We're here, home base, shed quarters today in Metropolis, Illinois. And I'm very excited about having on uh today's guest. We've obviously got Cord Cook here co-hosting with us for Growth Ops Ally, and uh we've got Stephen Choi with us from Shed Pro. And many of you guys know Shed Pro and Steven, uh, you've probably talked to him several times, seen him at the different trade shows. Uh, and uh, you know, uh, we were just lamenting about uh uh how it's so nice to have a couple of like uh smooth talking, good looking uh uh guys on here with nice hair uh where I don't have. So uh before we get started here, just a couple of little things to let you guys know how to stay plugged in with us over at Shed Geek as we continue to move into 2026. If you need to reach us, just call me directly at 618-309-3648. Uh email us at info@ shedgeek.com. We'll be sure to get back to you and go check out our website at www.shedge.com. I don't know why I said www. That sounds like I'm in the year 2004, but um we're still gonna go ahead and run with it. Uh also give our Facebook page uh a follow, uh, give us a like, uh share, comment, something, and be sure to check out the shed Shed Sales Professionals group. Say that five times fast. Shed Sales Professionals Group. Uh, there's always a lot of good content over there where folks like Steve and Choi uh are able to jump in and help add value to the conversation. For those of you using our call-in landline or wanting to get that number to someone in the plain community who would like to listen in uh but doesn't uh listen through all of the different outlets uh that we use. That phone number for the playing community is 330-997-3055. And just a shout out for the hot item of today. As you can see, I'm wearing my Heartland Capital Investments uh hat today. Uh, we appreciate them for being a sponsor over at the Shed Geek Podcast. Please give Heartland Capital Investments a call. Phenomenal uh RTO, provider, and leader in the industry. And we thank them for being a friend of the show. So welcome, Steven, to the Shed Geek Podcast. Uh, from what I would normally say from Canada, eh? But you're actually a world traveler at the moment. What are you up to right now, my friend?

Steven Choi:

Yeah, that's right. I'm in Vietnam. Um, so as many of the listeners know, Shed Pro, um, we have operations in Vietnam as well as in the US and in Canada. Uh, a big part of why we do business is to try to make a kingdom of impact in places around the world that are hard to reach. And so, we just wrapped up our annual planning um here in Vietnam with our leadership team. Um, and so yeah, I'm staying up nights to meet with clients and talk to Shed Geek. Uh but uh but that's all part of the fun here.

Cord :

Burning the candle. That's awesome, Steven. I know we were talking offline, but uh the listeners would probably be interested. So, you're keeping overnight hours so that you can still be on the sort of US-Canada time, but then you're actually going to preach some during the day. So not only not only devoted to work, but then also uh, like you say, doing that kingdom work uh during the daytime. Tell us about it.

Steven Choi:

Yeah, yeah. So I'll actually be going after Vietnam, I'll be going to Taiwan where we have some uh church connections. And so I've been invited to preach this weekend in Taiwan to talk a little bit about more about how business can make a kingdom impact around the world. Um, and so that's a big part of my story, actually, uh, and why I started up with Shed Pro in the first place is you know, kind of uh the why behind the business. All right, it's not just about the economic bottom line, but uh there's a there's a spiritual bottom line to what we do as well. And so that's a big part of my journey and a big part of you know why I love working at Shed Pro.

Shannon:

So, you are going on how many years have you been with Shed Pro now, Steven?

Steven Choi:

I I'm just uh just celebrated my eighth anniversary at Shed Pro.

Shannon:

Ah, congratulations, man. Very, very excited for you and very excited to see where the future continues to take you outside. And uh this is completely off topic, and this is not uh, I guess you want to say faith-based, or it may even be a little anti uh what we would normally think of. But I was telling with James, I shared something with him recently that is the most obscure thing in the world. This is this is really just like I don't know. I feel like it's so unusual. The fact that like James might be the only person uh uh that I actually know in Vietnam that's working in in Vietnam. I mean, obviously met some of his team. We have a local girl here in the community of Metropolis, our little bitty town, home of Superman, right? Uh, who's actually in Vietnam? And Cord may know more about this, but um uh it's kind of it's kind of what's that?

Cord :

We gave her a key to the city, you know.

Shannon:

Give her a key to the city, that's right. You're on the you're on the city board and gave her a key to the city, but congratulations to her. Uh her mom is actually uh my chiropractor, which is kind of funny. And like my daughter went to school with her, and uh she said she's just the nicest, sweetest girl, but she uh attended the it was a beauty pageant, and it was uh I guess it's a Miss Cosmopolitan because Miss Cosmo, yeah.

Cord :

And she won. So, she's like Miss Cosmo World, and it was there in uh, let's see, I guess Hanoi, uh, I think is where the actual competition was, but she was there for like a month and won the competition. Uh we actually the whole town, you know, Metropolis was live streaming, uh was live streaming the uh the finals at 6 a.m. our time uh you know, watching Yolina Linquist uh you know win a beauty pageant uh in Vietnam. And so anyway, it was just beautiful. I mean, the culture over there and the way that they put on that sort of pageantry, uh, you know, honestly, I think we've lost some of that in the U.S. uh just the show is actually part of it, right? You know, so anyway, it was yeah, we'll move on from that.

Shannon:

We're just it's just kind of funny, Stephen, that like, you know, we have this connection in Vietnam and like our whole little town is learning everything about Vietnam culture right now through these videos and through like her experience because she'll be there for like a year doing this, and uh yeah, uh I know as a uh a beauty pageant or whatever, but you know what? She's uh she's uh a beautiful young lady and she did a great job. And you know what? I think Cord, you said her biggest thing was uh you know, what gets overlooked is their talents and their and their intellect.

Cord :

And what was her mission was to drive finance education, yeah, personal financial literacy, um, which my goodness. I mean, honestly, that's probably gonna touch on some of even the value propositions that Shed Pro has uh you know in the those sort of micro uh micro economies and sort of how you run a business. But yeah, I mean such a worthy thing, right? Like teaching um kids and that sort of secondary, high school age kids, especially just how to save and manage money and uh you know how to make a uh a real impact in poverty levels, you know, around the world, uh and even more than that, right? Even from middle class and then continue to achieve. So um, yeah, she's just a wonderful person, very smart. Uh so we're happy for her. And yeah, so Metropolis is now, as Shannon said, where everyone in town is kind of learning about Vietnam and really embracing all of that at the moment. So, we love it.

Shannon:

So, I'm like, I've got a friend at Vietnam, you know, and people are like, shut up, you know, we don't care. But uh uh no, I think it's great. I mean me and Cord kind of felt like we have our own, you know, at home, you know, mission and journey and things that we're doing. So we think we're thankful for what you guys do. Let's talk about the industry. Let's talk about sheds, let's talk about Shed Pro. You know, let's talk about what you guys are doing, what's moving, what's shaking. I see you out there. Uh uh looks like you're going to the event down in Knoxville soon uh that Joe Ignis is having our good friends over at Velocity 360, exclusive partners of us, uh, exclusive CRM providers, you know, in the space. We highly encourage you to go and chat with them. They do a phenomenal job over there, him and Brandon. But he's having an event down in Knoxville, February January 23rd. January. Okay, January 23rd. And Steven, you're gonna be there along with some other guys. Jared, our buddy over at Steel Kings, is gonna be there, you know. Shed Pro is uh is uh sponsoring the event. Uh James Arthur, you know. Uh so some Shed guys are getting in there. Tell us about that. What are you hoping to speak on?

Steven Choi:

Yeah, well, I mean, so the conference is gonna, each speaker is gonna be kind of bringing in a different angle. Um, and they've invited me to actually come speak um about faith, actually, faith and business. Um, so um, you know, I mean, I obviously, you know, we could touch on a number of different things in terms of you know what where we add value, but I just uh I'm excited to be able to speak on that perspective. Um, you know, that's um, you know, speaking of beauty pageants and using your talent and whatnot, you know, when I was growing up, um, I was kind of taught, whether it was implicitly or explicitly, that if you really want to live out your faith, then well, you ought to just quit your job and become a pastor, right? Which I actually did, right? So, I started uh after university, after college, I um I was working, you know, in the corporate world, uh, was you know first doing consulting and then worked uh in in an electric utility um and quit my job to go to seminary. I got an MDiv, I started pastoring at my home church, and to my surprise, during my uh seminary education, God actually called me back into business, but this time um with kind of a different purpose behind it. And that's when I learned about how business can be used to actually be an expression of your faith. And if you think about it, you know, my friends from seminary, a lot of them, you know, took their education and they became pastors. Some of them went into nonprofits, you know, some of them went into education, and you know what? I just wanted to go into business and you know, use everything that I had learned about Jesus and apply it in the business world. And so when I found out about Shed Pro, I met James. Um, you know, and it was just the it was like the perfect intersection of my skill sets in business, my sense of call to make a kingdom impact throughout the world, and um, and then my pastoral training. So uh I'll share a little bit more about that and unpack that and you know, maybe share with some business leaders down at the conference about you know how you can also integrate, you know, your faith in your business and why and how that actually um is part of you know God's design for each of us. Uh, but that's a little bit of the perspective that I'll be bringing.

Cord :

That's awesome, Steven. I think that's awesome. Um, so yeah, we want to make sure we say all that right. It is uh January the 23rd in Knoxville. Looks like it's uh uh all day event there, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. I'm sure that Joe's gonna put on a great show. Uh love those guys down to velocity 360. Um and it sounds like uh very eclectic. I mean, that's awesome. That's awesome to have a sales conference um and then to you know bring in uh look, we think you're one of the best. Uh obviously Shannon and I have been on um calls with you with prospects, you know, for Shed Pro and clients of Shed Geek that we're kind of introducing to the 3D builder. Um and you're an all-out pro when it comes to sales, but I think it's awesome that that that's really gonna be a focus uh down there in Knoxville. So I encourage anyone. Um I I'm not sure, I I'm not uh up to date on what the ticket situation is, but I know Joe and I bet he will let you in. So, uh if you if you still want to go. So uh, you know, look that up and go find a way to get into that conference. It sounds great.

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Steven Choi:

You know what's funny? Um, I hardly ever talk um in sales calls or in client calls about the faith angle because at the end of the day, um, you know, if we're not doing if it doesn't make good business sense to work together, then it probably doesn't make sense. Right. And so, you know, I always lead with the business, um, but it's also, you know, it's neat to just be able to talk a little bit about sort of the purpose behind everything as well.

Shannon:

Well, I think uh reading Simon Sinek's Find Your Why was a life changer for me. You know, I love reading the word. Um I've got I'm reading a book right now. So, I'm getting through I'm getting through uh the gospels right now. I mean, I've read the Bible cover to cover, you know, but before, you know, a couple of times, but um I'm going back in and I'm taking a different approach to it in 2026 the way I'm reading it, but I'm taking breaks in between. I'm reading a couple of uh books. Um I'm reading one over um uh the book of Isaiah right now, so I'm actually in the new the New Testament, but I'm going back and reading a book that really describes you know the details uh of the Old Testament specific to the book of Isaiah. I just find that time, you know, especially before I go to bed every night, reading a little bit, you know, getting my mind full of like good things. It allows me to have better sleep and things like that. Um what uh I feel like finding your why is so important. So, you know, you found that you landed it, you know, here with Shed Pro. You've been with them for eight years. You guys have been making moves in the industry for some time now, you know. We try to be a friendly face to everybody here at uh the uh Shed Geek podcast. You guys have just been, you know, reciprocal of that uh, you know, this whole time. Where's it going, Steven? Like where's the where's the future of the industry going? Where's the future of 3D and how that meets, and especially this digital presence now that's seemingly ever expanding? Uh, it feels like, you know, there's well, I say it's ever expanding, it's almost like a divide, isn't it? It's either it's a it's a you know, you hear the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. I feel like the digital uh uh platform gets bigger for those using it, and it just gets farther away from those who are agnostic to it. So get give us your overarching thoughts on what you see.

Steven Choi:

I think that's a great way of putting it, is that you know, there the industry is getting more uh sophisticated. Um, people are getting, you know, smarter and more capable as far as their online presence, as well as going deeper in terms of incorporating digital tools in in their workflows, in their in their marketing, and everything else. And so I know that it can feel overwhelming for people, um, just that, you know, and maybe some people even feel like it's too late for an old dog to learn new tricks. But you know, that's I think that's really where Shed Pro, you know, shines is uh it doesn't have to be that complicated. Um we believe that uh I mean, you know, you could do everything possible out there. You could market on every single channel, you know, you could try to dominate on every single, you know, platform. Um but at the end of the day, I think where most people are at, um, it's actually there's probably 20% of what's possible. Uh you just need to you just need to do that, the 20%, and that's really gonna drive 80% of the results. That's a an axiom that's true in most things, and it's actually true in online marketing as well. And so what we've found is that for most shed businesses that you know that are you know, maybe they're not quite the multi uh multi-state national brand type shed businesses, you know, um, and but they're not just like your, you know, um they're not like just your small or maybe side business type of shed business either. Most people in that range are going to actually get all the traction that they need by doing three things really well. Number one, make sure that you can be found online for people that have the highest intention to buy. Number two, make sure that your website actually does its job. The website's job is to take visitors and convert them into leads. Number three, if you add a 3D configurator to that mix, that will just um kind of it typically doubles the number of leads that you're getting off your website. And the leads that you get off your 3D shed configurator are typically gonna close much faster uh than a non-3D configurator lead, as well as prices that you get off of those sales are gonna be 30% higher. So we believe that if you can do those three things really, really well, um, that you're going to be you're gonna be fine. It's you're going to um get more leads, get more consistent leads, and make bigger sales. And um sure there's some folks that you know need more than that, um, but for the majority of the people that I talk to, those three things, if you can do those things well, um that's going to um that's gonna get you pretty far.

Cord :

Yeah, I think absolutely coming from that sort of you know, marketing side of things, just a baseline of how do you get uh your offer in front of people, right? And then how do you uh take those people who are seeing an offer and actually manage to get enough information about them to then start a sales process. Um, you know, that's just the core of what marketing is um and it continues to evolve. You know, I think that while there's a big awareness of 3D builder within the industry, I don't know that there's you know really anyone operating out there who doesn't know they're available. I do think that there is still it is still a little bit intimidating. I think it's intimidating for people who have maybe never had a 3D builder, like on board and on their website and uh interacting in a way that you know potentially is even kind of their primary um way that they build orders or whatever that might be. Um but I also think it's intimidating for people who already have a 3D builder on board, but maybe are not for whatever reason, uh it's not performing, whether that just be to the sort of baseline metrics of volume and close rate that you just kind of mentioned, or even if it's a little more kind of core, you know, technology type of things where it's just not actually um you know loading quickly, uh, which as we know is such a such a thing these days, just the amount of patience that people have to look at a screen while that little uh uh you know uh bubble you know uh loads there uh is going down. You know, maybe speak just a little bit, Steven, to the performance, you know, of Shed Pro specifically and how you kind of alley alleviate any of that tension that might come from whether it be people who are kind of first timers or even people who have maybe had an experience that um you know that that they're just they're not quite sure about 3D builders altogether.

Steven Choi:

Yeah, no, that's a great point. So um it's really important that when you decide to uh uh jump on a solution, that whoever is delivering that solution to you is able to deliver it quickly. Um I think the worst thing is when you know you decide to buy something uh because you need it now, and then it takes months and months to deliver. And so meanwhile your problem hasn't gone away and you're kind of languishing here without a tool uh you know that you thought you were gonna that was gonna solve the problems for you. And so at Shed Pro, we do um we do consistently um deliver on you know the solutions that people sign up for um, you know, within two to four weeks for websites and Google ads, or uh within three to six weeks for 3D configurators. So, we know that that's really important that we get we get the tools in the hands of the business owners when they decide that they're ready, right? So, that's really important. Um you know it doesn't have to be that intimidating, I think. For us, it's really important that um that we do all the heavy lifting for our customers. At the end of the day, uh, we are experts in the technology, right? This is we're not a shed builder. Uh maybe I'll tell a story about our building project fail at one of the shed expos. Um, you know, what we do and what we specialize in is building software for this industry. And um, and so our job is really to be the technology partner for our clients so that they can go back to doing what they do best, right? Which is knowing their product, knowing their customer, you know, building uh building their products. Um and so even during onboarding, you know, I've heard a lot of people tell us that they were surprised uh that Shed Pro, you know, did all the heavy lifting for them, that uh they didn't felt feel like they gave Shed Pro enough information, and yet Shed Pro was able to set up a 3D configurator that accurately represented their styles, their options, their pricing, you know, with visualizations that actually look like their buildings, right? So um, so yeah, I mean we understand that it can be intimidating. Um, and so what you know, one thing I really like about my job is that my job, you know, obviously my role, I'm measured against my sales, but I try to always remember that at the end of the day, my job is to help people um understand, feel confident, and make an informed decision one way or the other. Um and so, you know, during uh during the sales process, during interactions, I always try to educate, I try to inform. Um, and there are times where I will say, hey, Shed Pro is actually not the right fit, right? Because at the end of the day, you know, I want to make sure that um that we're being um you know um that that we're being honest and that we're bringing real value. Um so yeah, the intimidation factor it might be there, but at the same time, when you when you're working with people that you trust, that um that um you know are experts, um I think sometimes that intimidation factor can kind of get in the way of otherwise making you know some important uh decisions and progress on the business.

Cord :

Absolutely.

Shannon:

Very good. Um what do you feel like is different going into for you? I don't have you haven't been over Shed Pro for the whole uh time that they've been, or have you been? Uh so like uh uh e you know, either way, what is you what do you feel like is your experience, like the contrast between year one and your going into year nine for you? Like what is it that people are embracing now that they did not embrace?

Steven Choi:

Uh you mean in the industry or you mean in Shed Pro?

Shannon:

Yeah, well, more in the industry. I mean, you can share, you know, uh the insights to Shed Pro and what you guys are doing and uh the internal dialogue over there, but uh uh I'll give you I'll give you a scapegoat. I'm curious more what you feel like the customer or potential customer or just the pulse of the industry as a whole. I mean, the one thing that's gotten me is like the amount of acquisitions that's happened. I heard of just two, two more this week, and I feel like that's gonna continue to be a drumbeat in the industry here for quite some time. I don't know if those things affect you. We can address those, but I'm just kind of curious that like uh so I have this running joke. Uh this this is I'll give you the premise to my question, and then maybe that'll help you understand a little bit more. Uh, several listeners have heard me say this before. Cord hears me say it all the time. Me and Cord like to joke around about politics and what it means to be liberal, what it means to be conservative, where we cross the lines, where we hold tight uh on certain things. And uh the one thing I always laugh about, you know, you've heard the Republican Party is the party of no, right? And the Republicans generally, you know, goes along with like the conservative mantra. And I always like to say, well, that that doesn't just, you know, happen in the politics, that happens in the business world too. And I said, I'll prove it to you. In the shed industry, somebody can say, Hey, I've got a new product, a new uh service, a new idea, and uh everyone will say it'll never work. And uh the and always say, Well, you haven't even heard the idea yet. And like, that's just the conservative nature is to be like, nope, nope, won't buy it, nope, don't want it, nope, it'll never work, nope, I'll never use it. And then five years later, they're using it. And it's just like there's never this comeback that's like, hey, I was wrong, you know. I was short-sighted on that. Have you guys so now you understand the premise of my question? And that's a it's a little bit of a poke from me, the shed geek at the industry. So please forgive me. But it's kind of one of those things where we're just like, no, don't want to embrace that. No, don't want to do that. No, I'll never use that. And then they end up using it. Have you experienced that as well?

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Steven Choi:

I certainly did like um more than I do now, so I definitely think that there's been a shift. Um, at the beginning, of course, um there were just so many people that were so skeptical that this industry needed something like a 3D shed configurator. Um, there's still people I would say that feel like um not having transparent pricing, um, you know, or uh is um is necessary for them to be able to make sales. Um, or you know, sometimes I talk to people that say, well, why do I need a shed configurator? I don't want people to be able to purchase their shed online. You know, uh, we really feel like the sales experience is part of the value that the customers buy into when they work with us. And so um, yeah, I mean, you I do still hear those kinds of objections, but I also have sensed uh a shift in the industry where, you know, five years ago, you know, shed configurators were still um, you know, pre pre-COVID, still somewhat novel, whereas right now it's almost a standard way of doing business. Um, it's uh basically become a proven um asset, right? It's proven to generate more leads, it's proven to uh help sales close faster, it's proven to generate higher prices. Um we um I would I talked to uh one client at the last Shed Expo, um, and they had they had signed up at the previous year's expo. So they had been with us for about 12 months, and they said that year over year their revenue had grown by 300% after signing up with Shed Pro. Now we can't take all the credit for that, obviously, but um what they did tell us was they had struggled for years to try to generate any kind of traction with online sales, online marketing. And then once they signed up with uh with Shed Pro, um basically leads just started coming in consistently and uh and they were actually able to verify these stats that I that I quote, which is that there when the shed when the sale came in from the 3D configurator, the average sale price was 30% higher than um than when it was not, right? And so I think at this point, there's so many businesses that are using this software that are incorporating it into their sales process. And even whether the lead came in online or not, it's like they're finding that there's so much value in being able to instantaneously render, visualize, and price out um you know a custom order. Um so I do think some of that skepticism has been replaced by um sort of a an acknowledgement that number one, it works, and number two, you know, um most people would like to have it, I think at this point. Um, although of course you still you still do find people that you know maybe are it's a little bit new to them, and that's okay, right? Um I guess the value of signing up later is that a lot of almost all of the initial pain points uh and bugs and kinks and stuff have been worked out. And so now if you're signing up, um, you know, it's gonna be a smooth onboarding experience and the time to impact is gonna be very, very short because it's such a mature product at this point.

Cord :

Yeah. Steven, maybe if you don't mind, I don't know. Um you know, we're obviously a few minutes in here, but for our YouTube listeners, would you mind to kind of show us you know a little walkthrough, little demo? I know one of the things that that um Shannon and I um and the podcast and you know Shed Geek in general has really been focused on lately has been on the product side. So I'm like a little curious to know, you know, uh when it comes to you know whether that be um you know uh a solar blaster fan, right? That that goes on the roof and is a an active uh you know, uh a piece like that. If people, if those are the types of and I know anything's possible with custom, you know, I'm just kind of curious to see a little walkthrough itself, but then maybe also to explore um, you know, solar blaster is a is a good example because it's visible um you know from the outside. Um but you know, as we're as we're kind of thinking through uh exactly to your point, how do you wind up driving up the price? Because the customer needs that solution, right? They need uh whether it's just strictly storage, uh whether it's the upsell of um you know interior built-in uh you know cabinets or overhead storage or whatever that might be. Like when you give people the option and they are the ones, if it's a digital lead, uh, you know, who are who are able to control, gosh, I I really would like a workbench in there. I mean, that's how you wind up, not just the sizing. So a big portion of that 30%, I'm sure, is people go from an 8 by 12 to a 10 by 16 or whatever, right? But then the other part of that is actually getting those upsells and people feeling comfortable with those options right in the builder. So I guess kind of a two-phase question. Number one, give us a little, if you if you have time and you can share, give us a little walkthrough. And then number two, on that products and kind of innovation side of things, like how do you see Shed Pro continuing to try to meet what are ultimately customer demands, but obviously for the builders themselves to then integrate those things in for their customers.

Steven Choi:

Yeah, I'd be happy to share. And feel free to, you know, feel free to interrupt me if there's like a specific thing that you want me to show. Um, is this showing up on the on the zoom here? It is. Yeah, so you know, here's an example of uh you know a model that we can generate here. I mean, one thing that I always get comments on is the visual 3D quality of like the Shed Pro 3D configurator. Um, you could see clear inside of the building here. Um, and uh, you know, kind of the rendering um fidelity is really, really high in our 3D configurator, which we're really proud about. Um, and so just the ability to, you know, obviously, you know, make a change and see that change um in real time is really is really important. Um, but also in terms of you know adding value to the price of the sale, essentially when people don't see something, um, or rather, when they see something, um, they actually uh realize, oh, hey, I didn't even know I could do that, and now maybe I want it, right? And so I think that a lot of times that's how um how the uh add-ons and options. Um, and so just for an example, like in this interior, maybe the customer didn't realize that with the size of this building, they're gonna need a loft in the front and in the back. But once they get in here and they can visualize, you know, the approximate kind of uh size of this, you know, maybe they realize actually, hey, I'm gonna want some benches, maybe I'm gonna want, you know, some shelving or something like that. The other thing too is like, you know, um our configurator, uh, we do uh a lot of uh detail on the interior. So, like electrical, uh, for example, you can see here in the back in this particular example, you know, I've got a breaker box. Um, you know, we've got some uh plywood laid down here, but I can also add things um like um, let's see, where's my insulation at? Insulation. Um, so you know, we could we could do things like insulation or uh foil um or you know, just things that um the customer may may or may not realize is available or you know may or may not realize that they need it, once you can show it to them visually, it's suddenly um it um it makes it uh more likely that they're actually going to purchase um some add-ons that they may not have otherwise. Does that does that answer your first question there?

Cord :

Yeah, that is awesome, Steven. To be honest, I don't know that I had seen that that full kind of zoom in where you get the cutaway. Um, you know, and obviously this the one that you pulled up here uh kind of has all of those uh you know product and interior. Upgrades uh available with whichever company this is, or maybe is this just your sort of this is this this is just a demo, right?

Steven Choi:

So this is uh this is just kind of a uh beta or demo model to kind of show off what our configurator actually can do. Um, because when you find a Shed Pro configurator like live in somebody's website, um, what a lot of people don't realize is that you know, we've customized that particular configurator to exactly what that business actually does. And so, there's quite a few features that our configurator can do that, you know, nobody uses 100% of the features that we have available. Um and so yeah, there's just a ton of stuff that uh the can the configurator is very capable at this point. Um, I'll show you another one. This is like a tiny home beta that we did. Um, again, this isn't anybody's real tiny home, but just kind of a demonstration of the type of technology. So, what we did here is just we kind of set up a tall A-frame building. Um, and then on the interior, we've actually kind of set this up so that um, you know, so that it again, this is nobody's real tiny home layout, but the idea would be that anybody that is finishing out um their interiors, um, you'd actually be able to come in here and your customers can, for example, um let's see. Your customers can come in here, or you could they could sit down with a salesperson and for example, they can choose their countertop finishes, or maybe they can change up their cabinet colors. Um, you know, um they could pick out their um we could even swap like you know appliances and things like that. These objects here can move around. Um, so there's quite a bit that our 3D configurator can do, which um a lot of people haven't realized, right? And so um this is this is uh again a beta of like a what a tiny home configurator could be, but you know, um this is also where you would you know find like the average price of one building that's finished out like this is gonna be you know uh multiple X's on top of your uh your typical storage shed. So this is this has uh generated you know quite a bit of interest in some folks that I've talked to.

Cord :

Yeah, that is incredible. Um I've actually gone through you know the process of uh ordering kitchen cabinets. We've done some renovations and uh interior type of 3D designs, you know, whether it be Lowe's or Home Depot or Menard's or what have you, um, and to have that level of detail um, you know, within the interior space, whether it be a tiny home uh or the shed demo that you just have, I mean, there's absolutely no telling what kind of money, you know, Lowe's and Home Depot have into, you know, into those custom built um solutions. So I mean, maybe uh after just being uh honestly a little blown away, I like some of these features that I'm seeing that that I hadn't even uh demoed with you offline yet. So maybe this is a good point to say, you know, what the sort of uh um you know promotional, like what do you have going on? Because in my mind, seeing just that little walkthrough you did, gosh, that product is so valuable. My mind starts saying, well, that must be out of my price range if I'm your sort of small scale or medium scale uh builder, manufacturer, dealer, dealer lots, whatever it might be. Can you give us a little bit of details for how you can get a product like that on board that seems to have just be packed with so much value to the customer and the builder and everybody?

Steven Choi:

Yeah, well, we understand that um we understand that um switching software um or signing up for software, um, you know, it can be uh a bit of a hassle. Um, it can feel like a heavy lift, um, and obviously the financial part of it. And so we are running a promo right now for anybody that's switching to Shed Pro from one uh from another uh software platform. We are offering a 50% discount on our setup fees. Um so we want to make it easy for people to jump in and get in on what we have to offer. And then also typically on the monthly pricing, um, most times um we are actually cheaper than our top competitors on the monthly. And so, um, so yeah, it's a good time. It's a good time to come talk to us um and just maybe, you know, maybe even just uh um just try to see if there is if it does make sense to switch at some point. Um and again, we're trying to make that as easy as possible, both operationally as well as financially.

Shannon:

I was like to say nothing happens without a without a demo. You know, nothing happens without a discovery call. Like that's probably one of the hardest things. It's like, you know, I love going to the expo just as much as anybody. I'll be there next year. I've been there for several years, I enjoy it. A bunch of people being able to come together, and but I'm gonna and it's nice to kind of have like a lot of competing products in one place so you can go from one to the other. But like, you know, I see people walk by booths all the time. And I'm like, hey, these people paid to come see you. Trust me, they want to talk to you. Go over and like, and it's the same way here, you know, do the demo. Do the demo because you don't know until you go and explore your options. And I think education is powerful because the more you know, the more informed decision you can make. You really got to get on a call with these guys to be able to understand uh the things you don't know, the things you don't understand. That's the expertise that that you bring, Stephen.

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Oh no.

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Sam, what's going on? Are you okay?

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Yes, I'm fine, Lisa. I was just trying to get a screwdriver and all this other stuff fell down. I'm ready to go buy a shed so we can have some space in this garage again.

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I agree. I keep looking at the shed Mr. Jenkins bought. Let's ask him where I got his.

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Howdy, neighbor. We're wondering, how do you like your shed?

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I love it. It's exactly what I needed, and I couldn't have asked for a better service. And where did you get it? I can't remember, but let me check. Something this nice will probably have the builder's name on it somewhere. No, I'm sorry. I can't find a name anywhere.

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Well, we finally got a shed.

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Yes, I just hope we're happy. The thing is a lot more shoddy than I expected. And I'm sure I told them I wanted a window, but they didn't have it in the paperwork, so I couldn't argue. Boy, is this a lousy shed. We haven't even had it two years, have we?

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Barely. It was just a bad deal all the way around. Mr. Jenkins told me the other day that he likes his shed so much he wants to get a second one, but he still can't remember where he got it.

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Steven Choi:

Yeah, well, I mean, I get it too, because I hate being sold to. I mean, it just it just like my um my uh spidey sense goes on or whatever, like when I feel like somebody's trying to sell something to me. I literally had somebody you know ring my doorbell at home and was offering me to switch to a different internet service provider. And it there was no reason why I shouldn't have said no right then and there, but I just don't like being sold to, so I said no. It would have been cheaper. And uh I don't, you know, so I get it. But at the same time, you know, I think that's where you know I always try to um um just try to uh be helpful, um, educate and inform. Um you know, I'm sure, I'm sure all of us in this industry uh we understand like that nobody likes a hard sell. So, you know, uh anyone that decides to come talk to us, I'd be happy to answer any questions and just get you more informed and identify you know where some of your biggest bottlenecks are. And whether you choose to go with Shed Pro, you know, to resolve those bottlenecks or not, you know, you will have gained value from that call. Um, yeah, I will say that um a significant percentage of our new business last year actually came from people that were switching over uh from somebody um from some other platform to Shed Pro. And our onboarding success rate was 100% on the 3D configurator. So, we're excited. Um, you know, it seems like um people kind of are um hearing that Shed Pro is doing a good job, um, that we're you know trying to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to features. And actually, um, if you don't mind me sharing my screen again, um we we've actually uh made some progress as far as some specialty type of buildings um that you can't really get anywhere else. Uh, would you mind if I showed you some of those?

Shannon:

Yeah, go for it. Absolutely. Uh while you're doing that, I was gonna say the uh while you're pulling that up gives us a chance to chat here and the psychology of sales and what you're talking about is such an interesting topic. And when you start thinking about inbound leads versus outbound, and I'll give you just a quick, just a quick synopsis of something that, like, Lord help me, uh uh if it sounds like a statement of arrogance, because I don't mean it that way. But one of the coolest things that I found whenever I was working rent-to-own on uh road-to-road calls, knocking on doors, running into gatekeepers because you know, it was like, hey, I don't want the solicitation today. I don't want if I want to buy it, I'll contact you, you know, that kind of mentality. And I totally understand that because me and you both probably wouldn't welcome a knock at our door right now of somebody trying to sell us internet or a roof or a vacuum cleaner or whatever it is. But it's maybe just the intolerance of us and people in wanting to be in control in that psychological effect of the tug, uh the back and forth of like sales and understanding the psychology of it. What I found interesting is was there was people that gatekeep me that I could not get into. We started the podcast, we tried to create value, tried to become a subject matter expert. And I was really pleased whenever I began to get calls from the same people who I could no longer could not talk to at one point from an inbound lead. I was I was getting solicitation from. So, I think what did I learn from that was the exercise I took away from that is help people, and a lot of sins can be forgiven, right? Even, even you know, help people. If you help people, people want help. If you can help them at an affordable price, something that actually offers value and they feel good about it financially, they not only want to use it, they want to tell everybody else about it. I think, you know, where it says love covers a multitude of sins in the word, I think help covers a multitude of failures in the business world. So, like as long as you can come back with every step and say, hey, wait a minute, I have a solution here of something that helps you. People will get over the psychology sometimes of even the hard sale to be like, you know what? Uh I was skeptical at first, but it helped me. And I feel like companies like Shed Pro have done that well. And 3D configurators are exactly what you said, a mature presence in the industry at this point. Not saying if you don't have one, you're gonna fail. Let's be clear, we don't have to go to extremes. I'm just saying other people, as we begin to see mergers and acquisitions and people take bigger uh market pieces of the market share, it is going to be the ones offering a 3D configurator who's gonna continue to take that market share, in my humble opinion. Go ahead, Steven.

Steven Choi:

Yeah, and you know, some of the objections that I some sometimes hear, I mean, this is uh percentage of the time, small percentage, but sometimes people say, oh, well, our buildings are too unique or whatever. But Shed Pro has historically been more willing uh to go after and create models for buildings that uh you know other configurator companies um you know have haven't been able to touch. Um so here's an example of like a um this is uh um like a uh kind of a combo type of building with a porch and kind of some complex angles here on the roof. Um our but our team was actually able to do this model really, really beautifully, in my opinion. And this has become you know a really uh important seller for uh for Twin City Barns in Missouri there. Um also like animal structures like dog kennels, you know, the logic to be able to um you know adjust uh the number of runs or you know the sizing in between um runs and things as the as the building changes sizes to be able to render that accurately. Um pavilions, perglos, you know, we don't have a hundred percent solution here, but um, you know, we do have uh uh some foundational models, I think, that we're gonna try to uh lean into. And so, um so a lot of times people end up coming to us um because they get um kind of innovation um from us that um you know um and like here's another example of a two-story model um with uh interior staircase visualization, right? So just things that you know we've been able to accomplish for um you know specific clients um that uh you know that has added value. And again, um whenever you can whenever you can get your products in front of your customers, visualize them, render them instantaneously, it gives your client, your customers a sense of confidence in in their whole interaction, and it gives the shed business a credibility that will increase your win rates and increase your average sale value.

Cord :

Well, I'm blown away. But uh, but I am a buyer, Steven. I mean, that is uh like this little and I know we're kind of out, you know, maybe on the far corners of the capability and uh uh you know some of those uh models are probably not offered universally, but my goodness, uh just beautifully rendered um the inside, the upsells. I mean, these are all the things that we you know, I don't want to say harp, um, you know, we don't we don't try to preach or you know um in any way you know make people uh feel less or than for this or that or the other, but these are the things that we continue to encourage the industry to embrace, not just the 3D builder itself, but how do you actually put into that tool all of your true value upsells? You know, I I'm always confused a little bit. Um, you know, I've said this to Shannon separately, but you know, American Airlines sells an extra $55 million worth of um upgraded um tickets every year because they moved that choice to the end. Instead of saying, do you want an economy or a business class or a first class seat whenever you go to book, they moved that pricing to the end. All things are relative. Sales are relative. The customer is seeing that price as compared to the other, right? So if you're allowing them to add those um you know options as they build, right, then by the time they get to the end, they're not thinking, well, that is a whatever, you know, nine, ten, eleven, twelve thousand dollar building. They're thinking, well, the uh the when I started, right, or the other 3D build that I did that was plain was already six and a half, right? Like it like all things are relative in that customer's mind. Um, and having all those things built in, you know, I mean, it's no wonder that you get a 30% uh you know increase in in overall sales price on average because uh it just makes so much sense and it's rendered so beautifully. So uh shout out. I know it's not you personally, Steven. I know there's a whole team of people who are doing the work and you're just the face and uh you know the account guy, but like you guys are doing good work.

Shannon:

Because he's got good hair. That's what it is. They're putting him out front because of the good hair. I know what's up here. If they had a bald guy like me, they'd keep me in the corner. You know what I mean? Uh no, thank you so much.

Steven Choi:

I mean, it is it is a testament to our team. I mean, and how hard they work and how enthusiastic they are about helping our customers grow. Um, and actually that's something that, you know, that that's it's something that we talk about um all the time is that we exist to help shed and carport businesses grow um, you know, through our digital solutions. So, whether that's your online marketing, whether that's you know, a 3D configurator that can quote and generate sales orders and work orders, um, you know, and we haven't really talked about our ops hub either. Um, but you know, we're really trying to provide a platform of digital solutions that helps any shed business grow their sales or grow more efficient in their operations.

Shannon:

I gotta tell you, uh Steven, that to me, that just means that's all the more reason for us to uh solicit you to come back for another and future episode so that you can talk about and uh discuss those things in detail. Uh for sure. We're up against uh what 50 minutes now. Curious, do you have any shout-outs, any just things, final thoughts, things that you would want to share with the industry? Thank yous, um, well, whatever, whatever's on your heart there.

Steven Choi:

Yeah, well, I want to thank you guys for what you do for the industry, honestly. You know, you've done a great job of you know developing a community online, of making it safe to kind of share best practices, uh, to encourage each other. So, you know, thank you to you guys uh for definitely um you know for everything you guys have been doing in the industry. And you know, I want to thank our clients. I want to thank you guys for pushing us. I want to thank you guys for you know giving us feedback to make us better. Um, you know, we do our best to try to listen and uh and try to get better. So thank you so much for um for your loyalty and for um you know for the goodwill that you've generated toward our name. Um so thank you thank you to all of our wonderful clients out there.

Shannon:

Well, uh Ditto, we say the same. Thank you guys for being this year's studio sponsor, our title sponsor on our Wednesday episode. It's been uh excellent. Uh appreciate all that you guys do and just really the whole team over there, kind of getting to meet the whole the whole team and sitting down with you guys uh you know for lunch or dinner or something at the trade shows or just places that we find ourselves in uh in common ground. Uh everybody's been so pleasant. So thank you as well. Um Cord, what are your final thoughts on wrapping up here today with Steven Choi from Shed Pro?

Cord :

Uh I just think that these that this is um uh such a necessary tool at this point, right? We say it all the time, whether Steven's on or not. Mm-hmm. You know, 3D builders, um, you know, I continue to say the industry needs to keep developing those assets, right? You know, and I'm sure Shed Pro is thinking about that too, right? How do we continue to evolve assets that bring people uh you know in that that increase the uh volume of leads and meet people where they are and blah, blah, blah. Um, but I just think they're doing such a great job. And to be honest with you, uh blown away uh by just the functionality that's available. Obviously, I've had a lot of interaction with Shed Pro, but you know, a lot of it is live has been limited in the past to a kind of more basic um, you know, 3D build that didn't necessarily, you know, have all of the options involved. But as the industry develops, as it diversifies, as you become uh, you know, an all-around solution for all things backyard, outdoors, uh, property management, like as the shed industry continues to evolve um into that direction, meeting your customers where you are is key. And from what I can tell, I mean, I'm blown away, Steven. I got I think that was such a great, like such a great little short uh you know demo of what's possible, um, you know, and it's exactly what the customers are looking for. So um I would just say give these guys a call. You're never gonna have a bad time with Steven, uh, even if you don't decide to use Shed Pro as your configurator. He's always gonna be uh a good conversation. Um and I count myself lucky to have him as a friend in the industry. So thank you, Steven.

Steven Choi:

Yeah, no, thank you for having me. Uh yeah, first time uh here on the podcast, but you know, uh hope I wasn't too boring. Yeah.

Shannon:

Thank you for the kind words and being such great hosts. You've definitely done great. For those of you that suffer with hair envy like myself, uh, you're just gonna have to wear a hat whenever you talk to them. That's just what it boils down to. But uh, Steven, I know that uh you know that one of the things that we uh think about over here is how we incorporate our faith into our message a lot of times. And uh sometimes that can be very tricky. Some people highly embrace that, some people really run and scurry from that or connect with me privately. Uh, we always want to try to be uh leaders in that area and not followers. So, because of that, oftentimes, you know, we like to pray here on the podcast. And I didn't ask you this, but as a pastor, I was hoping that you wouldn't uh uh take too much uh offense to this if I asked you to just kind of pray over the industry as we end this episode and then we can uh we can uh talk just a little bit off air.

Steven Choi:

Yeah, I would love that. Thank you for asking. All right, let's pray together. Father, I just want to give you thanks for this chance to um have this uh conversation uh with Shannon and Cord and for everyone that's listening. God, I pray that the information that we shared today would be helpful, that it would be encouraging, that would give people a sense of hope that things can get better, that um, you know, that the uh solve to their problem isn't too much of a reach. Um, Father, we just ask that you would continue to um uh that you would bless everyone's business this year in 2026. Um God, there's uh you know, business is always challenging. There's lots of stuff going on in the world and in the economy, uh, but God, we trust that you are our provider. Um and so I just pray our prayer of blessing over uh each and every listener, all of our families. Um God, we just uh uh we thank you, we love you for your provision, and we pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

Shannon:

If somebody wants to get a hold of you, Stephen, before we get out of here, where's the best place for them to reach out to you?

Steven Choi:

Yeah, you can go to shedpro.co and book a call um using the uh let's talk um um Calendly link on the on the website. Uh if you'd like to speak to me directly, please call me 657-201503. You can also email me Stephen S T E V-EN dot C H O I at shedpro.co. Stephen.choi@shed pro. co.

Shannon:

Excellent. Appreciate that very much. Uh to the listening audience, the only thing I can ask you to do is uh humbly ask you, tell them Shed uh Geek sent you over. You heard about it on Shed Geek, you know, it gives us a little bit of credit back to these guys who spend money with us, you know, constantly to stay in front of you guys with uh hopefully uh engaging and entertaining educational content, things that are helpful for the industry. We appreciate you guys so much for tuning in, for listening in. Go check out our newsletter. If nothing else, go click on their link there. Uh, we'll make sure to get you in touch. We'll uh turn over every rock to get you in front of somebody. We want to see your business thrive and survive in 2026 and uh uh really up against all the odds that we face here uh that the world throws at us. But uh, you know, appreciate you guys and uh really appreciate you guys' partnership and just being on the show today, Stephen. Uh look forward to another conversation with you. I've always said you're a great conversationalist and an excellent salesperson.

Steven Choi:

Well uh thank you so much. I appreciate it.

OUTRO:

Thanks again, Shed Pro, for being the Shed Geeks studio sponsor. If you need any more information about ShedPro or about Shed Geek, just reach out. You can reach us by email at info@ShedGeek.com or just go to our website, www.shedgeek.com, and submit a form with your information, and we'll be in contact right away. Thank you again for listening, as always, to today's episode of the Shed Geek Podcast. Thank you and have a blessed day.