Sawdust, Sweet Potato Fries, And CRM Chaos

What really makes a shed sell itself? We dig into the details with Ervin Stutzman of Summit Portable Buildings and returning road-warrior-turned-sales-pro Joe McNally to uncover how craftsmanship and digital savvy combine to win modern buyers. From studs and flooring you can feel underfoot to configurators and CRMs that speed decisions, we share what’s working now and how small manufacturers can outmaneuver bigger brands with clarity and care.

We start with the build: quality 2x4s, double top plates, LP’s SmartGuard advantages, and why bark on studs turns buyers off. Then we pivot to the first impression online. A decade after Craigslist listings, the path now runs through clean Google profiles, sharp photography, short-form video, and 3D designers. Some shoppers swipe a card for a 10x16 without a question, others want to dial in color, trim, and door placement. The trick is reading who’s in front of you and using tools that adapt to both. We also tackle the “self-checkout” of shed sales: smart CRM follow-ups and light automation that keep the pipeline warm so your team can focus on high-value conversations.

Ervin breaks down why tighter brand control—corporate lots, trained staff, consistent visuals—can outperform a loose dealer network, while Joe shares wins from selling a $45K spray-foamed unit to managing lean lots that still moved serious volume. We unpack diversification, too: playsets, hunting blinds, and select steel structures bring in fresh traffic and create natural cross-sells, so long as you curate inventory to avoid choice overload. Editing a stale shed—new colorways, added windows, a door move—can flip it from overlooked to sold.

Looking ahead to 2026, we see a hybrid future where well-built products meet disciplined digital marketing. Keep the craftsmanship undeniable, make the online experience as welcoming as a landscaped lot, and educate buyers before they arrive. That’s how smaller shops capture more market share and keep delivery trucks rolling. If this resonated, follow, subscribe, and share it with a friend in the trade—then tell us: what single change has moved your sales the most?

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This episodes Sponsors:
Studio Sponsor: Shed Pro

Shed Challenger
LuxGuard
Three Oaks Trading Co
CAL

Transcript

Sponsor And Setup

Shannon 0:00

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 filling the squeeze, competing for fewer buyers, while expectations keep climbing. And yet, I hear from many of you that you are still juggling spreadsheets, cluncky 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 lead 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 payouts. Quoting is faster, orders are cleaner. And instead of chasing down paperwork, you're actually running your business. And if you mention Shed Geek, you'll get 25% off all setup fees. Check it out at shedpro.co/ shed geek. Thank you, ShedPro, for being our studio sponsor and honestly for building something that helps the industry. Okay, welcome back to another episode of the Shed Geek Podcast. Uh on this sunny day, just want to remind everybody uh if you just want to stay connected with the Shed Geek Podcast, be sure to give us a like and a follow. Uh go to our YouTube page and subscribe, our YouTube channel rather. We'd appreciate your uh um uh doing that. And just reach out to us and we'll subscribe to your channel and follow you too. We want to support other businesses. Uh if you need to reach out to us, go to our website, shedgeek.com or info, I N F O@ ShedGeek.com 618-309-3648. For those of you who want to reach out to me directly, more than happy to chat with you. Go to the Shed Sales Professionals page and other private groups around the industry to stay connected and plugged in. Uh, and we just want to say thank you today for our returning guest, one new guest, but one uh fan favorite and personally my favorite, uh none other than Ervin Stutzman of Summit Portable Buildings here in Farmington, Missouri.

Ervin Stutzman 2:34

Thanks for having us.

Meet Joe: From Shop Kid To Pro

Shannon 2:35

Yeah, very, very excited to have you back uh on and to talk with you today and to have a nice steak at Colton's. We did have another steak. Always. But let me tell you the secret, sauce, guys. Uh, the real key is the sweet potato fries uh with the warmed marshmallow cream for a dip. You just can't go wrong there. Whatever restaurant's not doing that, set in judgment of yourself because that is just amazing. Um but uh, and then uh so I have one more person to introduce and really want to spend some time talking to him today here. Uh Joe, who are you? What's your name? What do you do? Where'd you come from?

Joe McNally 3:15

I'm Joe McNally. Um grew up in Western Ohio, and my dad had a shed shop from the time I was seven. And so every afternoon after school, every Saturday, we were out there in the shop building random stuff, helping on sheds. Um I could build an entire shed by the time I was 15 by myself. So nice.

Shannon 3:39

Sounds a lot like Ervin's son.

Ervin Stutzman 3:40

Yeah, Cameron, he built his first one around 11 or 12. Yeah, little eight by eight. Uh, I think that's still on one of the I'm not sure there's a Facebook page out there with his photo on it. Yeah, yeah, that's right. It is one of them.

Shannon 3:53

Yeah, yeah. Uh Cameron, I remember coming up here when I first met you, and Cameron was working at Zero Turn Mower. Yep. And I was like, man, that boy looks like he doesn't weigh enough to keep the seat, you know, engaged. The sensor engaged on the seat. He was he was tiny. Uh couldn't have been more than six years old. Six or so, probably. You know, and man, he was doing a great job. He's mowing better than I do, and yeah, uh, and I was just impressed. But uh he's grown into a fine young boy, he's taller than you now. Yep.

Ervin Stutzman 4:24

He's probably an inch or so taller than me. 17, going on 18. So yeah, he's very much involved with the business right now. Man, him and uh one of our other builders are actually doing an on-site project today. It's a 10 by 10 built on a concrete slab. Okay. So, he sent me a photo of the first wall that stood. So pretty happy to see how that's gonna turn out.

Shannon 4:43

Man, what a what a cool story the way that just watched him grow up and um you know managed to get into this. But that kind of sounds like your story too, a little bit, Joe. Your dad ran this uh shop in Ohio, and then you just kind of made your way around a little bit in the in the shed world. Tell me some of the things you've uh you've done.

Joe McNally 5:02

Yeah, so when I was 20, I worked for Teton Structures in Cheyenne, Wyoming for almost a year. Love Cheyenne. Beautiful. Um yeah, Wyoming is just gorgeous. Pull that up a little. Yeah, I also worked for Rocky Mountain Structures in Eton, Colorado for a while. Um super amazing people. And they tend to build a little bit more custom stuff, so it's super fancy sheds. So yeah. Um, after Teton Structures, I worked at Old Hickory for a while as a builder.

Shannon 5:35

Um little bit of uh the building manufacturing side in your background, and that sort of segued into you naturally getting into that. Now, how'd you end up in Farmington around this guy?

Building Skills And Early Industry Stops

Joe McNally 5:51

So last year I sold for premiere, um, had some decent numbers for my first year in sales, and I saw a Facebook post by Summit Portable Buildings saying they were looking for salespeople, preferably remote, and I'm like, okay, let's try it. And that lasted for about three weeks, and then Ervin's like, I need you in office. So I uh packed up all my stuff and showed up here in Farmington.

Shannon 6:17

Moved here from Philly, yeah, from Philadelphia. Yeah. So, uh definitely knew his way around a little bit when he got here, and that's sounds like that's been a good fit, Ervin.

Ervin Stutzman 6:27

Yeah, well, I've been around the block a couple times since I was young too. So in that way, we're kind of similar. I was born in Kentucky and moved to Illinois and Arkansas, northern Missouri, back to Kentucky, now back to Missouri. So, I've been around a couple places, but maybe not as far as Joe has been.

Shannon 6:42

But yeah. But you guys had a similar story, and you were just uh compatible in terms of like and sounds like you guys are doing a great job now. So Joe's selling, doing some deliveries.

Ervin Stutzman 6:54

Yep, a couple here and there, small buildings, yeah.

Shannon 6:57

All of all of that is going good so far. What's your experience so far here in Missouri? I love it.

Joe McNally 7:02

Yeah, um, Missouri, not necessarily a fan of Missouri itself. Missouri. Literally Missouri. But I like working for Ervin. It's a good company to work for. Ervin and the team have really treated me well.

Shannon 7:16

What is uh what are what are some of the changes that you feel like you've seen? Uh, you know, we'll stay on the positive side. So, let's maybe talk about positive changes as opposed to negative. But um, my I guess my question is, what do you feel like's changed from having all of these different experiences so far? What do you see that's different? What do you see that's working? Um you know, what do you what do you think sets people apart?

Joe McNally 7:41

Yeah, I think what sets people apart mostly is quality and different options. So, like here on our Pro Series, we offer 12-inch ranges, which I don't know of any other shed company that does that. I mean, they're probably out there, but um we've just got enough of those options that it sets us apart as a higher quality building.

Shannon 8:02

You feel like you're at that point where you can see a building going down the road on a truck or in a lot and you just know whose building it is? Yeah, yeah.

Ervin Stutzman 8:11

Most guys that have been in industry long enough will kind of know that they can pretty much pick it out just by even sometimes colors, uh, or the shape of the logo on the doors. You don't even see the name, but you can see the shape. For sure. Yeah, that's how I pick out a lot of mine.

Shannon 8:25

Once you're building, it just kind of comes naturally to you, or selling because you see the features. Um, so I'm curious. We were talking a little bit over lunch. We're talking about different products and things like that. Uh, what do you what do you feel like is, you know, we were asking questions like, you know, number two versus number one wood and things like that. I know this is very heavy into the shed side and maybe not the consumer side, but from a B2B perspective, just looking at it on a on a talking to other shed manufacturers uh you've built for a long time. Give us some of your thoughts on what you should have and what are some pros and cons, what are some must-haves that you feel like really set your company apart from your competition.

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Joe McNally 10:51

Yeah, I think a lot of must-haves are quality 2x4 studs, double top plates. Quality flooring is a big one. Um LP flooring is I think some of the best. No bark on your lumber. Like if I walk into a shed and I see bark on a on two by four studs, it's just a massive turnoff for me. And I would agree with that one. Definitely.

Shannon 11:21

The visual, you know, the customer gets that from visual. You know, we were talking about this on the way up, you know, the difference in like OSB and ply and things like that. And some people having that natural. If you think about the five senses that people are, you know, sight and sound and smell and all that, when they walk into a uh a building, part of that is unknowingly part of the sales process. But when they walk in and they smell fresh wood, do you feel like we were talking about how like your dad liked to use DuraTemp earlier whenever he was getting started? He's like, I want to use DuraTemp, you know, or whatever. Uh, or whether he was getting started or established already. Um what do you feel like? Do you feel like that makes a difference to the customer when they walk in and you see something like this desktop here that looks really nice and it smells like real wood as opposed to OSB? Do you feel like there's an advantage one way or the other there?

Joe McNally 12:14

Definitely. Um, especially for older folks who buy buildings, when they walk in and they automatically see OSB or particle board, a lot of them are turned off because they know of OSB being, you know, 20 years ago and it was not a good product. And so explaining that process, I've been through LP's uh shed UK. And so that was super helpful in knowing warranty.

Shannon 12:43

Joe Neto, did Joe, did Joe put that on for you?

Joe McNally 12:45

I think so. Yeah, Joe's awesome guy. Yeah, yeah. So that that was super helpful in knowing what the product was. So, I can explain to the customer, like, hey, look, I know it doesn't look like plywood, but it's actually almost better than plywood.

Shannon 12:58

Yeah.

Ervin Stutzman 12:58

Because of the manufacturing process they put into it. Yeah. Yeah.

Shannon 13:01

The smart guard process, the glues, the resins, the termite control, really good product, really solid. Yeah. Uh, you know, definitely sold a lot of them. And I was the guy that like read the tear pads. I don't know about you guys, but I would get into it and read it. And my product knowledge, I felt like was there. Uh, do you find that that's helpful with the customers when you're selling? Because you're doing all three. You've built, you sell, you deliver. Do you feel like people are kind of like impressed by the explanation of the glues and resins and the product knowledge? Or do you feel like people are just looking for a price point? You know, what do customers want nowadays?

Joe McNally 13:43

I think it depends on the customer. So if I have someone coming in asking a lot of questions, then I'm gonna sit down and take the time to explain that. Um, versus the other day I had a customer walk in and she's like, I want a 10 by 16, and I showed it to her on the website. She didn't care what color, and she paid with her credit card right there. Like she had zero questions. She's like, I want that shed. Knew what she wanted. Yeah.

Shannon 14:10

Do you do you feel like things like 3D configurators help play a role in that? I mean, they've come a long way, uh Ervin, and being able to like show a customer. I remember whenever I worked for you, we were we were jotting stuff down on paper. We were putting a we were drawing a box on a napkin and trying to get your builders to understand what we ordered.

Ervin Stutzman 14:29

Yeah. Because we didn't really have any drawing paper or yeah, 3D, we didn't even have anything back then. But I think it's like Joe said, every customer is a little different. Some people just come in and they know kind of what they want, and the small details like a floor, siding, whatever, don't really matter. They just need something that kind of hits their price point and the size to do what they want to do. But then other people come in, they have this mental image of what color should look like, the style, you know, might be seen on Instagram, certain colors. So, they want these little fine details. So, you kind of have to kind of figure out what they're looking for and then kind of lead them through that process.

Materials That Matter: LP, Plywood, OSB

Shannon 15:09

One thing that's really different I've noticed, Ervin, is like sort of the uh I don't have a word for it yet, but the reclassification of a manufacturer in some way with the increase in digital, as we're sitting here talking about 3D designers as an example. Uh, I remember when me and you did the uh oh gosh, this had to have been years ago. Uh, we did when they first came out, like a like a demo with Shed Suite and the Shed app. And they were still new, you know. They were there's the first year that they were out, and we were doing demos and things like that with them back then. It's amazing to see where not only they've come to, but all the other companies that have surrounded them. With the increase of the digital landscape, one thing I've noticed that you've done different from whenever we were here is from a multi-lot manufacturer to a little bit more of a single or just smaller couple locations with a more intense focus on the digital side. How has that worked out? What's the what's the process been like?

Ervin Stutzman 16:12

I think that's definitely uh something that I've been kind of thinking down that path for a long, long time. And um what that does, it gives you a little bit more control on how you present your company to the customer, especially in the digital world, versus a dealership model uh can work, but you've only got so much control of what the dealerships will portray for your company. Um I am seeing a shift for some companies that are starting to look at that idea about doing more corporate locations where they own or rent the lot and they put their own trained salespeople into the lot. What that does, it makes it more uniform all the way across their company branding at each location, it'll look very similar. Uh but the dealership model still works great. If you have it set up properly, it still works great. But uh I am seeing a few companies here and there that are kind of moving that direction towards the corporate idea.

Shannon 17:09

What's been the biggest uh uh surprise for you or even success in in the digital side versus say 10 years ago?

Ervin Stutzman 17:20

Uh that's a good question. Um might depend on what aspect you're touching on, is just uh digital marketing or just utilizing the digital assets you have to maximize your sales processes. There is, I mean, that's a subject that's so big. You almost have to categorize everything, like you know, how you want to appear online through Google My Business listings or your social media pages, and how you want to appear to the public or your customers. And then once that potential customer becomes a lead through an online form or whatever, then that's a separate process of we talked about that today about how our CRM is supposed to work. Uh I'm still learning on the CRM stuff. Uh so once you got that customer in that pipeline of what happens from the initial stage that he comes in to the time that they actually purchase a building.

Product Knowledge Vs Price Shoppers

Shannon 18:18

Me and my buddy Jeremy Martin, you know, Jeremy down in uh East Kentucky. Yeah, you know, me and him were talking the other day and we were discussing how, you know, keeping that pipeline full is the key. You're not gonna sell to all 20 people, yeah, but you might sell to five of the 20. Right. So, you don't want five customers on the hook, you want 20 customers on the hook so you can sell to five and so on, uh, a hundred customers to get 20 and things like that. Um, we were having that discussion about how they filter in to your CRM. Uh, how much of that is we're in we're in a we're in a world where like AI is like loved or hated, you know what I mean? Like it's it just depends on who you're talking to. Um, I mean, I think it's like anything. I think any you can use it for good or bad. Yeah. I think a heart really is what matters, but what for people who are using it uh for their business and to help promote things, uh, you think about even the automations of how well it's replacing your labor force in some way, yeah. Right? Because it's able to take care of a lot of the stuff. And I'm gonna do this. I'm going out on a limb here, guys. Y'all go with me because I don't want to be by myself. Okay. Go when we when we get all the emails from this. But to me, it's like self-checkout. I've been pushing this narrative for a good many years. I think self-checkout's a good thing. Okay, before you boo and turn the radio off and everything else, just hear me out here. I think it's just a changing of the way that we do business. There was a time where you know someone came out and full service gas stations pumped your gas.

Ervin Stutzman 19:57

I barely remember those days. That kind of phased out in the 80s. Would I be correct to say that?

3D Configurators And Modern Sales

Shannon 20:03

Well, I mean, yeah, because I still remember pulling up. I was born in 1980, and I remember people coming out and filling up our car, but also checking your oil, wiping off your windshield, you know, and we didn't complain whenever we said I got to get out and pump my own gas. Yeah. What happens is it's just a changing of job responsibilities as we progress in society. Some could say regress, perhaps, but you know, in theory, if we're progressing, we're seeing uh uh where people can do that, uh take their workforce and say, let me put your efforts over here. So now you may not be, Joe, like you may not be whatever, uh answering every single lead. But maybe the CRM is answering the lead for you as much as it can until it's time for you to get involved. So now it's saving you time, it's not actually doing something negative, right? It's help it's helping to create efficiency for you guys. So that's the reason why I say self-checkout's a good thing. I agree with you. If they check my receipt when I'm walking out the door, oh, it just frustrates the fire out of me if you're gonna ask me to do my own.

Ervin Stutzman 21:16

Had it happen a time or two, yeah, but it makes it kind of feel a little weird when it happens, but it's just part of the changes of society.

Shannon 21:23

It things do change. The retail side of things change. I mean, you've seen that in the in the you know years that you've been in it already, Joe. And I know Irvin has. This is something I didn't tell you guys at lunch I was gonna tell you, and this is good for the audience too. I remember back when I was selling for another company and was talking with Irvin, and me and Irvin would just discuss different things, and we got on a phone call one time and he said, Well, I'll tell you what, what are you guys seeing that's working? And we're chatting. And he said, Let me tell you what's been working for us. People have been starting to use this uh this Facebook to sell on. And Facebook had been around for a couple of years, whenever me. You was gone, but I remember distinctly the conversation where we were like, We're having really good luck just posting buildings on Facebook. And you were like, you know what? Some of my dealers are having the same luck. Now think about how we've moved into Boosting Post, Marketplace, Google Ad Center, you know, I mean uh uh meta ads and actually doing targeted ads and retargeting. It's crazy how we were just talking about a social media channel would you know be a good sales option for us.

AD-LuxGuard 22:29

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Going Digital: From Dealers To Corporate Lots

Ervin Stutzman 23:58

You know, I started selling sheds. That's back when I got into the shed industry in 2011, and Facebook was pretty new yet at that point. Um, but Craigslist was still a big thing back then. I remember posting to Craigslist, and I've sold multiple buildings through Craigslist, but I do remember creating a Facebook business page back then, and I grew that thing to a thousand or two thousand followers, which you know it's not that big nowadays. But um I don't think back then I realized the power of Facebook and social media, but it's just grown into something way, way bigger beyond that yet.

Shannon 24:37

I just want to say if you're a listener listening to this today and you remember selling sheds on Craigslist, it's probably a good time to schedule your colonoscopy. Uh just being just being honest. Uh, there was a time where we had to sell uh on uh Craigslist, and that's a real thing. Uh tell me about what you know, what you guys think about diversification of product. Tell me what you think about, you know, one of my favorite things, and you said you're good friends with David Hirschberger, which by the way, love those guys up there, the whole company do great. I'm so happy to be promoting uh uh Hershberger Launch Structures, PlayMor playsets, and Stryker Hunting Blinds, which you guys sell here, I've noticed, uh, as one of your products, and I'm super happy to call them an exclusive uh provider over here at Shed Geek. What does that do for your business? Does it help bring people in? And what's your experience with David? Go ahead and you said you're good friends with him, so go ahead and give us all the goods here.

Joe McNally 25:36

Um I worked for him shortly before I worked for Old Hickory back in 2021. It wasn't very long. Um, my dad had sold PlayMor since I was a little kid, so I knew about PlayMor, and so I applied for a job there when I was 22, I believe. Long time ago. But um, yeah, got to know David really well, and he helped me walk through some really tough stuff, including a breakup while I worked there. So yeah, um PlayMor and Stryker are some of the best in the industry. Um, just highly impressed with their quality, especially their blinds. Like we just went to their sales conference um a couple weeks ago, and I learned a lot that I didn't know about Stryker.

Shannon 26:27

But yeah, we just missed you. I had the pleasure of doing a keynote speaking uh at their last event, their last dealer event. Yes, and I was impressed the way those guys were uh showing uh the um the building of the Stryker. You know, they were actually doing an assembly of one right there with their dealers. Uh, but I mean they did some cool things. They did some giveaways for the people who showed up for their every year, you know, yeah, pretty much every year.

Ervin Stutzman 26:52

I've won a big swing. Did you really? Yes.

Shannon 26:55

Yeah.

Ervin Stutzman 26:55

So it was real awesome. I actually, we actually won a little bit something when we were up there.

Shannon 26:59

A little bit of a it's just worth going to. I enjoyed it. Uh the food was good, the company was better. But I mean, the product was good. Uh, I'm a I look, I'm a big fan of them. I actually used to work with them uh a while back. It's been you know a couple years now, but um just always kept that relationship with them and they've just been top-notch. What do you think that does for your lot, Ervin, when you diversify your products and add things like that to your manufacturer? Yeah. So just to be clear, you're trying to sell sheds because that's what you build.

Ervin Stutzman 27:31

Yeah.

Shannon 27:32

When you put these other products on here, does that help you?

Marketing, CRM, And Lead Pipelines

Ervin Stutzman 27:35

We've struggled with the idea. Do we keep on pushing that product on the side of our manufacturing processes with sheds and stuff? Um, we struggle with getting rid of it completely because I do feel like it does add a dimension to where it gives you a little bit of diversity, where you do uh, I don't know, it just gives more opportunity for other things. Uh it I think it adds more to the uh list as far as attraction, what they might see online or driving by on the road. Um I guess one of the big things I still stick with them is because I really like those guys myself and I think they really care about their product. Um I've been with them guys since 20 probably 13.

Shannon 28:16

Yeah.

Ervin Stutzman 28:17

Uh that I've worked with them. Uh they make a really good product. They keep changing, they keep innovating. Some of the swing sets that they were building, they just continue because they really track their numbers on what the top 10 sellers are. They look at colors, they look at everything. They keep kind of changing and modifying and improving. Added the 3D? Yes, to 3D as well. You can of course the Stryker Blinds, they added that, and I'm not sure when they added that in the last five or six years, seven years, something like that. Um, they could keep improving that process too.

Shannon 28:50

The whisper close window. I you gotta love that. So quiet.

Ervin Stutzman 28:55

Yeah, they've got good products. I would recommend any shed dealer to look at what they've got, especially their swing sets.

Shannon 29:02

Yeah.

Ervin Stutzman 29:03

Uh definitely they've got a good product. They're always really good about warranty issues. I've never had much problem with their warranty issues on the swing sets. If there's an issue, they want to take care of it.

Shannon 29:13

And the poly is kind of, you know, it I hate to use the term sales itself. You know what I mean? It's just not a fun, it's not a fun thing to say because it takes away the value of the salesperson, but that the product really does. I mean, it does a great job at being able to throw that out there with the stainless, you know, uh uh steel. Yeah, I mean, it's an easy seller. You can wipe this thing off with some soap and pressure wash it, and it's like brand new wood, you know, it just uh breaks down over time, you know, much easier and faster. So, it just seems like a lot of times those things are on their way out. Plastics, they used to talk about plastics in the 80s, and I know these are old milk carton jugs or whatever that this stuff's being made out of, but it's interesting how it's entered into our little world. What else do you guys offer on the on the sales lots outside of hunting wines, playsets, and sheds?

Ervin Stutzman 30:03

Do you do some carports and steel structures? Okay, like steel garages, steel frame garages, yeah, stuff like that. We don't sell a lot of those, but we definitely have been benefited by having a dealership with a company that sells or is available to sell through. Um, because sometimes you got people coming in, they're looking for that steel structure that a completely different use for than a shed. Uh to get more square footage for like a bigger shop area or something. Something we couldn't do on a portable site.

AI, Automation, And Self‑Checkout Analogy

Shannon 30:33

It brings some shed customers in from time to time. Correct. You know, uh, I feel like it's just the diversification. We're talking about putting a lot there at Metropolis again. We're talking about going low inventory, like three builds. Because here's the problem I haven't sold a shed since before COVID. Lucky me, I quit selling right before the rush. You know, I was there during all the hard times. We didn't have all the e-commerce and all that stuff available to us. Uh uh, and I almost feel like I start to get uh distant, a little detached from the process. And I want to, you know, I want to bring that back in, but we're gonna do it with low inventory, you know, maybe have some utility trailers, some striker hunting blinds, some play more, you know what I mean? Get some uh steel structures out there or whatever. Uh, and rather than fill the lot up with just a ton of inventory, which I do think can work, by the way. Um, well, I mean, you know this from whenever we were working with you, Ervin, whenever I was doing sales, you know, you want to turn that inventory three to four times.

Ervin Stutzman 31:33

Yeah, that's ideal. Two times minimum if possible.

Shannon 31:37

Yeah.

Ervin Stutzman 31:38

Or more.

Shannon 31:38

But meaning if you've got 15 sheds on there, you want at least 30 sheds sold throughout the year. Yeah. You'd prefer 45 or 60, but minimum, you really need to get 30. Um, we did something unique whenever I was here with you. Uh, we actually gave them a minimum amount of sheds, and then if they were able to actually turn the inventory, we increased their sheds.

Ervin Stutzman 32:01

But it's based on what their history was on sales, based on what their sales was.

Shannon 32:05

So, like you could get more if you sold more, but the work for it. Yeah, the misnomer of like we have to have more sheds to sell wasn't always the case because we found some really successful shed sellers without a whole lot of yeah. What are your thoughts, Joe? You've sold now for a while. Do you think more inventory equals more sales?

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Joe McNally 33:41

We're gonna find out. That's what I had on my lot in uh Wisconsin last year. Um at the most, we had was six or seven um selling for premiere. But um I mean we sold over two million between me and my boss. So yeah, I think that's a good one.

Shannon 33:59

I see why I see why Ervin uh brought you on board. Yeah. I think it's great. I think it's great.

Ervin Stutzman 34:07

I like that history that he's got. No, definitely. Definitely.

Shannon 34:10

Uh but you would say, you know, what, 10 or 12, 15 maybe?

Joe McNally 34:15

The max because you know, we've got a ton of inventory here, but I think we've got too many options for our customers.

Shannon 34:21

Yeah.

Joe McNally 34:21

Um, any more than that is just like they're overwhelmed. Um, I think that's a big because I had a customer here the other day, and he was just like, Wow, you've just got too many sheds here. He's like, I don't know which one I want. Tell him we can take several.

Ervin Stutzman 34:37

We're going through and trying to look at things and streamlines and stuff, and maybe just something weird that we did, most people wouldn't think about doing it. It makes it nice that we have the shop here. We put pull the building into the shop, and we actually changed the color on it, added double doors on a part of the building, and added a window to change the look of that building. Yeah, if you have a dealership model, that's not really possible unless you're gonna spend a lot of extra money to send a repair guy out there to do that. But we did that hoping to market the shed better. We felt like the way that shed was sitting there, it's not marketable because of the color options it had, the components that were on the shed. So, we brought it in and tweaked it again, hopefully, hoping that it'll go.

Shannon 35:24

Hoping that'll make a difference.

Ervin Stutzman 35:25

Yeah, it's a really awesome color combination. It's sitting out here. So maybe you want to get a couple photos.

Social Media Shift: Craigslist To Targeted Ads

Shannon 35:31

Yeah, we'll get a couple photos. Yep. For sure. One thing that we're gonna do with you guys, it's a lot of fun today, is uh we're starting a new YouTube channel and we're gonna try to get some b-roll. And I don't listen, guys, I don't know if this is gonna roll out in three months, six months, or sixteen months, but you know, we're gonna try to uh start creating an interview process that is consumer-facing, uh, where we use the Shed Geek uh brand uh to go out and like interview different companies and their buildings, uh their buildings, goodness, uh interview different companies to talk about their buildings and explain to a customer what they should be looking for. So if you're a dealer or you're a manufacturer and that sounds like something you'd be interested in doing, let me know. We want to try to like uh come by and talk to you and speak with you, especially when we're in the area, uh, or if we can make it work, uh, that a trip makes sense to come out and we get multiple interviews and different things. We want to like turn around and turn those leads into uh are the views rather into leads that we can uh then give to you uh so that people know and they're getting educated on the process a little bit before they get there. If you know a little bit about the car, the Corvette before you go buy it, Joe. Uh you've done a little bit of research, and now when you get there, you're not relying so much on the salesperson to tell you, right?

Joe McNally 36:52

Correct. I mean, it would be a Mustang for me, but afford yeah, I got afford trucks, so I'm with you.

Shannon 36:58

I just like I like Chevy cars. I don't know. But uh no, I it just seems to make sense, right? If you understand a little bit about the product first, you're gonna walk in educated. Yeah, yeah.

Joe McNally 37:10

I think with the digital space that we're in right now, I think that's a lot of customers are walking in, they already know what they want. If they're you know a walk-in customer, if they're online, they might not quite know, but most people that walk in already have an idea of what we sell because they've been on our website. Yep.

Shannon 37:30

Seems like the power of video too, like all these social media small reels and TikTok, and you can go on and you can see. And we're simple creatures, so we we're captured for about a minute, and then you that's all you got. Uh start to lose interest in watching. But um, that's why I'm thankful to be doing long form content, yeah, you know, on a podcast and have people listen for an hour at a time. We hope we're entertaining for you guys, and if we're not, don't tell us. Uh just kidding, let us know. We we we always look for uh show suggestions and topics and things like that that we can cover that's entertaining and educational for you. So again, thank you guys for listening always. Um, what's your favorite moment, Joe, in the shed industry so far? What has been your best moment, your favorite moment, something that sticks out to you in general?

Joe McNally 38:25

Yeah, probably when I sold uh yeah, the most expensive shed that I ever sold. Okay. Um and it's not super high, but it was forty-five thousand dollars. Um, sixteen by forty-four, fully spray foamed. And that was the highest that that area had ever seen for premiere, anyways.

Shannon 38:47

Cash buyer.

Joe McNally 38:49

Uh used as Amex, but oh okay, okay. Yeah, it was that was that was a big moment for me because you know, you sell $20,000 buildings or $5,000 buildings, but that was that was a big moment. Um yeah, and I worked in Alaska at Better Built Buildings for a while. And it was just a laid-back culture, and I just remember, you know, taking off as a company doing team events. Um one day we went snowboarding way out in the middle of nowhere. I still don't know where we were. Um, we were like 50 miles from like civilization, and it was just I think team building, that was a super incredible event.

Shannon 39:32

I like what you said when we were sitting there at lunch. Um, you know, you said I pretty much eat, breathe, and sleep sheds.

Joe McNally 39:39

Yeah.

Diversifying Lots: Playsets, Blinds, Steel

Shannon 39:40

At this point. I mean, you've had, you know, in in your in your short life, you've had such a vast experience already in the shed world. Uh, you know, you're, I, you're an honorary Shed Geek, so there's no doubt about it. Thank you. Uh just listening to you talk about you r story and things like that have really mattered. Um Ervin, what's your what's your message to the industry for those who are listening? Shed builder, manufacturers, haulers, sellers, uh, business owners. Um if there was one thing that you could tell people today in in in February of 2026 in the shed industry, what would it be? What are the things that are most on your mind when you wake up in the morning? Or what are things you want to know? Because maybe you can ask and they'll call and tell you.

Ervin Stutzman 40:30

Yeah, that's a good question. Um, something that I'm trying to work on for myself is uh carve a path to where I actually enjoy my role in the business and can wake up and enjoy coming to work and just really enjoy it. Um if there's something else I would say probably is uh focus on create being creative in your business and and don't get so focused on what all these other guys are doing and don't look at all of them as your competition as a reason that you can't do good. Focus on building your own little brand. And but at the same time, it doesn't mean you can't listen to what they're doing and watch what they're doing. Uh you can learn from them and bring some of those ideas in to build your brand better. And I think that kind of works across both ways. People learn from each other, and that's what I want to do. You want to continue learning, but at the same time not look at each other as enemies, so to speak, or competitors that we can't talk to, or you know, something like that.

Shannon 41:46

What's been helpful? What's one of the things that's been the most helpful for you over the last five years? Uh Facebook page or going to events or uh Shed Expo. That is my highlight of the Yeah, for sure. You have to be there.

Ervin Stutzman 42:01

The Shed Expo is literally my highlight of the year as doing something related to the company. Um, I have I think one of the first years that I went to, I don't know if it was called the Shed Expo at that time, but I think it was in 2014.

Shannon 42:17

Shed Show. It's probably just called Shed Show at that point.

Ervin Stutzman 42:20

That was in Pennsylvania. I think it was hosted by some lumber company.

Shannon 42:24

I think Union Grove Lumber had it at that time.

Ervin Stutzman 42:26

Yeah, that was the very first time I went, and then it kind of transformed into something different a few years later.

Shannon 42:31

I'm not sure how long they were doing, they were doing every other year and things like that. But I mean, you you need to be at those events for the um uh the networking.

Ervin Stutzman 42:41

Yeah, the networking is a big one for me, and not only that, I have enough friends and family that are involved in this industry. It's like a big family reunion.

Shannon 42:51

You can catch up with all your friends and catch up with other people.

Ervin Stutzman 42:53

You go out in the evening, hang out, have a steak dinner, yeah. And you know, you can do that for two nights in a row.

Shannon 43:01

Yeah, no, it's a it's a big benefit.

Ervin Stutzman 43:03

I really enjoy that part of it, so I try not to miss those events.

Shannon 43:06

So, shout outs to anybody, uh, anybody or any company, uh, just someone that you've been so impressed with or so appreciative for uh services, products. Who would you give a uh a tip of the cap to today?

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Ervin Stutzman 44:23

Uh as somebody in the Shed Expo, like a vendor.

Shannon 44:26

Well, just in the in the uh in the industry in general, like any any service provider or any product provider that has just really gone above and beyond uh what your expectations are. Or does everybody stink?

Ervin Stutzman 44:41

Well, the only problem is anytime I get a product, I gotta pay for it. I haven't found somebody that can get it for free yet.

Shannon 44:47

Well, you should become a you should become a consignment shed dealer.

Ervin Stutzman 44:50

Well, I guess that might be an answer to that, right?

Shannon 44:55

Uh I mean I I know that you've used various different you know different people across the, you know, across the time that you've been in business.

Inventory Strategy And Choice Overload

Ervin Stutzman 45:02

We've got one that I can probably point out. Okay. Smart pay rent home. We've been with Richard, I'm just kidding. I promise. We've been with them since 2018, and uh I've watched them grow from the early days. Dave Miller, the owner, came and and sat with us for the first time, got us introduced, and uh we've been with him since then. And uh, of course, Richard Miller is their rep. And so we get to hang out. I feel like I remember some of those early days. It really is kind of fun.

Shannon 45:33

I remember some of those early days for sure. I was just pointing out to uh these guys when we went to Colton's. I said, I remember meeting with Ervin and Richard Miller here at uh Dexter Barbecue years ago. I don't know. Gosh, that's been so long ago. Kyle was with us, I think. Yeah, and Richard did his signature thing. He gave us a Go Giver book, uh, you know, yeah, back at that time.

Ervin Stutzman 45:53

That's good book. I read that book. That's a really awesome book.

Shannon 45:56

No, they do a great job, honestly. Uh just teasing Richard. Love you, love you, Dave. You know, you guys have done uh some really amazing things in the industry, and kudos to you guys. Uh, I know Ervin has been more than more than pleased. Joe, same question. Any shout-outs? Anybody along the way that's mentored you, that's just done so good, uh, just very helpful in your process to help you understand it. Product, service, or person. Any shout-outs to anybody?

Joe McNally 46:23

Yeah, I think uh Dolan Hostettler from Driftless Outdoor in Richland Center, Wisconsin. Um, he owns quality-built lawn furniture sold for him last year um at my premiere lot. And he's just a really awesome guy. Just he took me to the first to the Shed Expo for the first time. So that was really incredible. Spent the weekend down there in uh Knoxville. Well, I guess it was during the week. But um, yeah, Dylan Hostetler from Driftless Outdoor.

Shannon 46:56

It's funny the mentors that you get along the way and the people that you meet that just kind of speak into your life. You know, Ervin, you've been that certain, certainly for me, along with several others, giving us a shot to get started back whenever we were first uh first getting into it. I know I worked for Grosseland previously to that and and purchasing and things like that when I got started, uh, and thankful for my childhood friend Jonathan Rentfro for giving me that helping to give me that opportunity. And there's been some cool guys along the way that I've got to meet after stepping into uh uh addiction recovery and things like that and coming back into the industry, uh, it just turned a whole new page for me to have these opportunities to really do this. I was doing this for years, uh, even when I worked for SmartPay, you know, years ago, was having these conversations with people. And I was driving around in that car and I was like, why doesn't somebody record these conversations? These are gold.

Ervin Stutzman 47:46

Yep.

Shannon 47:47

And I still say some of the best podcasts that happen are the ones that we never get on on record. And uh that usually happens around a table, breaking bread together. And listen, we are we encourage you to reach out to us. We want to tell your story, we want to break bread with you. We'd love to meet with you uh over here at Shed Geek. Myself and Cord, we're firing up everything for 2026, getting episodes together, and uh, we want to hear from you. So do not hesitate to reach out. Um, we we're going into year six, and we want to provide you something that is uh wholesome, uh entertaining, and educational. Any questions for me? I used to do this and I quit doing this. I probably need to find a new theme, but do you have any questions for me? Uh podcast or shed related, just any thoughts so that we can end on a on a high note here where I can give you my unfiltered opinion unless I have to filter it and then we've got to edit. So just any questions uh shed related at all. Good question.

Ervin Stutzman 48:48

Nothing, nobody's got I'll probably have six of them about 10 minutes after this.

Shannon 48:55

That's probably already happened while we've been on this podcast. I'm sure I've got six text messages saying, hey, what about this or that? And I do appreciate those, so I please I don't want it to make it sound like our complaining at all. Um forecast for 2026, and then we're gonna get out of here and let you guys go. What do you guys see happening in the industry this year? What's some big surprises? What are your expectations?

Ervin Stutzman 49:20

For me, um if you think about COVID economy, things settling down, things trying to find their place. I think 2025 was one of those years. I think 2026 might still be a bit of that, but I think really what's gonna pay off is how we leverage the digital world and understanding that more completely. Um I think that's gonna make the big difference, and I want to learn more about that. What you know, the digital marketing, CRMs, all that stuff. I want to learn more about that. I think Joe wants to do the same.

Joe McNally 49:58

Yeah, definitely. Digital marketing. Um I think 2026 could really blow up for that. Um I think you know, January, a lot of my friends in the shed industry saw a really strong January. Um I think this could be a really good year. As far as sales, as far as manufacturing, digital marketing. I really think this is gonna be a really good year.

Shannon 50:22

Finding customers where they're at, and they seem to be online, so many of them. But I I just think we're in this mix, right? Where it's I don't know if that's gonna be a 10-year, 12-year, whatever, until I don't know if we're ever really gonna see all brick and mortar, all digital side. Um, it seems like it's it's gonna be a mix of both. And for everybody who's fixing up their shed lot right now and putting out flowers and and landscaping, you know, that happens on your website too. You know, you've got to you've got to create that same look on your website to try and attract a customer from the digital road, the same way as you do from the actual highway. And I think if we can figure out how to do that and do it well, um, you're in a perfect spot, especially as a smaller mid-sized company, to move the needle on actually pulling business your way and taking more of the market share because you're able to get in front of the same people with your value proposition just the same as the big boys do, right?

unknown 51:21

Yep.

Shannon 51:22

So good word. Thank you guys. Certainly, certainly appreciate that you guys went to lunch with us. We're we're excited about getting this drone footage and shooting some uh some content for our new consumer-facing YouTube channel. Uh, we'll continue to give you guys details on that as we as we go. Um, I always as always to thank you guys for listening. Uh, we're blessed uh to have the opportunity to come and speak to you uh constantly and share these shed stories with you. Reach out, we want to tell more stories. This year, I really want to uh focus on some people who've been around the industry for a while and see if they'll come and tell us about what uh what their history's been like, uh what it's like now and where they think it's going because I think that helps us all kind of feel a little bit connected. So thank you guys. Appreciate it. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Ervin Stutzman 52:10

Yep, appreciate it for having us on.

Shannon 52:15

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@shed geek.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.