Customer Service: The Missing Skill in Construction Sales? A Conversation With Drew Tharp

Most people think sales is about the pitch. We’ve seen the opposite: deals are won by the person who follows through, communicates clearly, and makes the buyer feel safe. Tim Lansford sits down with Drew to trace his path from small-town Indiana to the restaurant world, then into Texas construction and landscaping sales, where the pace changes but the pressure to perform doesn’t. 

We dig into the transferable skills hospitality teaches you fast: clarity over complexity, calm confidence, and the discipline to deliver a consistent experience. Drew explains why “features” don’t close jobs nearly as often as trust does, especially with builders, contractors, and homeowners who have been burned by vendors that disappear after a project. You’ll hear practical talk on timing (flatwork before landscaping, irrigation before finish work), customer service in construction, and why relationship-building still beats a perfectly polished brochure. 

The second half gets tactical on a repeatable sales process: make the call, earn the next step, ask better open-ended questions, and keep your talk time short so the real objection surfaces. We also cover tonality, handling rejection, using simple systems like reminders to stay on follow-up, and setting written goals that turn ambition into accountability. If you work in construction sales, real estate, or any business where trust decides the deal, this one will sharpen your approach. 

Subscribe, share this with a teammate who needs a follow-up reset, and leave a review with the biggest communication lesson you’re taking into your next call.

Transcript

Building Yourself First

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Welcome to the Building University. I'm your host, Tim Lansford. This podcast is for builders, real estate professionals, and business leaders who understand that the most important thing you'll ever build is yourself. Here we talk about leadership, accountability, decision making, and the mindset required to succeed in the real world of business. No fluff, no theory, just real world leadership. So let's get started.

From Small-Town Indiana To Texas

SPEAKER_01 1:40

100%, right? So, you know, and we're gonna get there. We're gonna get to the landscaping part, but let's go way back. Now, you're definitely uh uh you don't have as many gray hairs. Matter of fact, I don't know that you have any gray hairs, do you?

SPEAKER_00 1:54

One here and one in my beard.

SPEAKER_01 1:56

All right. Well, see, he's he's a little whippersnapper in my in my book. So uh he's getting there, but uh he's got a lot of experience. So let's first talk about your your your path, you know, because we have similar paths. We've talked about that, you know, over the years. And I just did it much earlier, like before you're born, and and uh, but we've had similar. But let's talk about a little bit about your background. Let's start there so we can give uh the people a little bit about what what sort of you've you see you've the challenges you went through, right?

SPEAKER_00 2:26

Yeah, so grew up in a small town Indiana. Um, nothing really to do out there except for cow tipping and smashing mailboxes. So um I grew up out there when I got uh a certain age. I was like, I need to get out of here. Or there's just nothing to do, just nothing. So uh got in the restaurants there, moved all the way out here to Texas, um chased my now wife. She lived out here and she was not moving to Podunk, Indiana.

SPEAKER_01 2:52

And uh And I don't blame her. All there is is corn. There's corn and I know being a Missouri boy, so I understand these things, right? So very close.

SPEAKER_00 3:03

And so uh moved out here in 2017 and still chased the the restaurant life and uh that high of uh you know just always something to do. There's no days off with that. And and I enjoyed it, uh loved it, you know, opened up, you know, uh oh, a bunch of restaurants in my life and my career, stuff like that, and uh different states, and uh was just ready for a change. Uh been married for a while, had a kid, and was missing all that time with both my wife and and my son. And uh was just kind of just done with that grind of seven days, you know, a hundred hours, you your days off were never off. You know, you always had 1400 questions from staff and your bosses and their boss's boss and other managers, and um you know, that was all fun. You know, I enjoyed it, but I was ready for that time with family again. And so uh got into uh sales. Um for about 10 years, met him at one of my restaurants I opened up and kept in contact and great relationship with him and um you know pestered me and and courted me, I think is uh is a good word to use that.

SPEAKER_01 4:06

Yes, that's what some of my guys say. Uh they courted him until signed on the dotted line, and then what happened, right? You know, to get him drinks, cigars, and oh, I got your signature now. I mean, I'm you gotta go buy your own now. I hear one of my friends tag talk about that all the time, right? He's a he's a character. Uh-uh.

SPEAKER_00 4:22

And uh with that, six, seven months of that courtship, I I guess you could say, and I was like, you know what, let's do it. I was like, it was perfect timing. Uh I've had a new career, uh, take a chance of something and uh never done sales before in my life. And uh here we go, just ready for it.

SPEAKER_01 4:40

Well, I gotta say, you're pretty good at it, you know, and just following through. I think that's that's that's the whole key, right? And that's the whole key in this business in the construction industry, and it's right. You know, it's just you know, uh pick up the phone and call somebody back. And and if you say you're gonna do something, do it, right? And I'm gonna have a bid to you in two days, have a bid to them in two days. And and uh most of the time, people in there that we're competing against and I'm giving out uh you know construction bids, like, well, we called four people, they're all supposed to give us a bid. You're the only ones that gave us the bid back and who they're gonna go with, and it's a hurt from the ones they haven't for the time showing up. And you know, and and we talk a little bit more about like you know, landscaping and and and following through. And and this is one of the things I tell people associates all the time from a builder standpoint is you know, most builders are sort of set in their ways, right? They're not gonna change tomorrow, but if they're gonna change if they have a problem, right? And you just got to do the long road and and put in the time and and you're really good, you're good at follow through. So I I commend you because I don't commend all the the sales. I'm not just just because you're here, you know me. I'm I'm a straight shooter. I I I straight shoot some of the other stuff with him a little bit, you know, but uh that's the way I am. So yeah, so we're glad uh glad to have you here. So joy to be on there. So let's talk about your your industry. Uh I came out of the hospitality world, you know, when when coming out of college and all that stuff. So let's talk a little bit about that. Um, what are some of the um the biggest lessons that you can say that you take away from the hospitality industry? Because I I know I have, and maybe from uh, you know, biggest lessons or leadership or just biggest overall, what you know, yeah, because I mean this this has a very diverse crowd. We're construction, we're real estate, but we have a lot of just industry people in here of all industries that I teach in, and uh, just to sort of help people out. Because I mean, there's lessons you can learn. Doesn't matter what industry you're at, we all have lessons that we've brought out of something that made us who we are today.

SPEAKER_00 6:37

That's a great question. So, with

Hospitality Lessons That Transfer

SPEAKER_00 6:39

restaurant management, I got into it at a really, I think a younger age than what you see when you go out to a restaurant and you're like, oh, gentlemen in his mid 40s, 50s, lady. Uh, I got in at 21 years old. And so for me, I've always looked younger. Things like that. I I dealt with those um challenges. But coming with that, well, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter how old you are, it doesn't matter who you are, it's just all about clear communication and it's clarity. It's not complexity. You can take something so simple and just make it sound like rocket science and no one's gonna listen to you. And so getting getting a team of you know, 20 people in a restaurant, 100 people in a restaurant to work towards a same goal is all without clarity. I mean, that's if you communicate properly, you move forward with it. And so for me, for the leadership um of that, another challenge that I came up with or faced constantly was growing up on a farm in Indiana, um, loved it. However, I get nothing to do. If you want something done right, you do it yourself. That's how I was that's how I was raised, that's how what I was taught. My papa, my mom, uh that's what's what you did. Um restaurant industry life doesn't normally work like that. So having being a leader, it's not about having all the answers. It's about making sure you have the right answer. And that could be somebody that's you know um a server or an office assistant, whatever it is, but that's what leadership is about. It's about putting the right outcome in the forefront. It's not about you having to make the decision every single time. That's not leadership, that's dictatorship.

SPEAKER_01 8:07

Yeah, and that's exactly right. I mean, I always say the people that have a name tag, I mean, there's been many a business that that somebody had the name tag, but you know, that wasn't the true leader of the group, right? I I tell stories all the time of uh in in my seminars and stuff. I uh the Phil uh used to be my manager when I worked at Sears, and I'll never forget the first time that I uh went to uh uh the client came in just yelling about the toaster, and it and I love sort of dealing with people like that because I think it's sort of fun, right? When they come in a rate, you know, I don't I'm sort of weird like that. And uh and Sears back then would, you know, this back in the 80s, they would take take anything, you know, it doesn't matter. What's Sears? I don't know what Sears. Yeah, exactly. Right, exactly. And uh, you know, and I went over and just grabbed his name tag and he goes, What are you doing? I'm like, I'm taking care of a client. And I went and took care of this this customer, and uh long story there, but I it was great. I had fun. So I gave him his name tag. He goes, Anything I need to get? He worked in like a little coat closet back in the corner. And he goes, I go, no, I took care of it. He goes, All right, good. So then I just started going back and he'd just have his name tag up and hand it to me, and I'd go take care of the client. Well, next thing you know, that um I'd hear my name over the speaker and it'd be Kim down in uh women's fashions. Tim Lansford to the uh women's fashions, please. I'm like, all right, what's up? We got our right customer over here. I'm like, take care of it. So I started going all over the store, and then I started uh making myself um that instead of Tim Lansford, I'd just tell everybody I'm I'm Buddy, I'm the store manager. And I create and but what was funny at the time, there was a cutout of Buddy at the front desk at the front of the store, and he was about five foot two, very round man. And uh not me, I'm six foot four and bigger, and uh it was sort of funny. Uh, but yeah, they had to create a management position for me just because I was doing everything for the managers in the store. So it's just one of those things that we talk about. We tell war stories back and forth. We we go to lunch a lot. So I just figured I'd share that story with you. And um, so let's get back to you because I I love talking as much as you do.

Customer Trust Beats Fancy Features

SPEAKER_01 10:20

But uh what do you think your hospitality background um how did how did it give you an edge in construction in this industry?

SPEAKER_00 10:28

Hospitality. People want to when they go out to eat, they spend their hard-earned money, they want to have a good time, they want to have a good experience. It's not about what you say, it's about how you make them feel.

SPEAKER_01 10:39

Right.

SPEAKER_00 10:39

And it's the same thing in our industry, I think, today. It's not about the features you offer, it's about the the trust, it's about how you make them feel. It's like oh it's Tim Lanceford, it's a truth arp. Okay, yeah, the the way he spoke to me, it was it was calming, it was oh it sounds like he knows what he's talking about, you know, the uh he's got all these new green features, whatever. But no, it's I feel like that's the way a lot of people are doing, but at the same time, it's not about the features, it's about hey, today I know what they're talking about. They made me feel calm, uh, the wife liked it, you know what I mean? Things like that. That's that's literally just one I had uh I dealt with yesterday was oh well, my wife just felt very comfortable with way what you said to me, things like that, and what we talked about, and she was just blown away by that. So I mean, at the end of the day, it's just about how you make people feel.

SPEAKER_01 11:23

Yeah, 100%. Um, you know, we talked about what sort of sparked your move into construction, you know, family and spending time and everything.

Handling Rejection And Relentless Follow-Up

SPEAKER_01 11:33

Um, was there a culture shock when you first sort of jumped into uh sales uh out of the hospitality? Did you have any culture shock there?

SPEAKER_00 11:42

A culture shock. I mean, working from home for a little bit or not having to go into a restaurant and it's loud, it's crazy, it's it's booming, it's it's a lot of uh coffee shops. So I guess maybe a little bit of the same, you know, being in a restaurant. Um being told no 45 times a day can definitely wear and tear on you. But I'm I don't believe I'm one of those individuals that is like oh man, I got told no again. I'm done for the day. No, it's you you keep going until you find that yes, or and then it's like, hey, you know, let's go get coffee, let's go get coffee. It's that follow-up. You know, they say no originally. I don't know, there's somebody in the room that may have said that, but I kept asking, I kept asking, and then all of a sudden it's like perfect, let's go grab coffee, let's learn it, let's see who you are, right? And see if this is gonna be mutual. And so uh yeah, I think I think that was probably the biggest culture shock was just that that you have to keep going. There's no there's no option, you know what I mean, in in this industry, or in my especially in my position.

SPEAKER_02 12:40

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 12:42

Yeah, and and that's one of the things that in sales, you know, I teach, and you just gotta get used to the no, you know, and it's sort of like um a lot of my real estate agents that you know, when they were new and they were working for me, and they're like, I don't want to make the calls, I don't want to make the calls, I don't I don't want to do it. And and then as soon as they do something, and then they get a big old commission check, they're like, I'm gonna make twice as many calls now, because then you're like, Oh, this is worth it, you know. But nobody wants to hear no, but at some point in sales, you just gotta know that you're you're hedging your betch. It's a numbers game, right?

SPEAKER_00 13:16

Correct. Well, uh 95% of the time, the no, it's they don't know who you are. It's what are you trying to sell? It's it's all about your approach, it's all about your tonality, and then the objection that they have that's already up. I mean, if you can work your way through that and see what problem is there, if they have a problem, if they don't have a problem, you know, if they're looking, if they're not looking, there's different reasons, and then all of a sudden, okay, it's no now. I'm gonna follow up in a month, I'm gonna follow up in two weeks, be like, hey, house project at XYZ going on, you know what I mean? Uh, you're happy with how everything looks. And I I had it the other day, probably the other day I say like four weeks ago. They're like, no, I have to redo it all. Like, when can you come out and take a look at this? It's like, hey, perfect. You know, already talked to them. They're like, Oh, yeah, we know you. And then you go meet them, and then they're like, Okay, this guy's kind of weird. But anyways, you know, we've had a stuff good relationship, you know.

SPEAKER_01 14:03

Yeah, you're fine. Um, you know, and uh, you know, that carries over to some of the stuff we were talking about in hospitality. Uh, a lot of people don't know that that timing uh your food, timing of everything, your presentation is such a huge part of the hospitality. A lot of people don't know that. They think, ah, these people are just giving their food and they're just getting, I mean, it's a certain experience, you know, dimming the lights to a certain certain temperature based on what it is outside. You can see, I I I I get that all the time. My my kids are like, why'd that just turn down the lights? I'm like, it's that time. 5 30. Yes. It's gonna be a click down. And they're like, Really? I'm like, yeah. And then I explain it why, where exactly, right. Um, so based on that timing and presentation, how do you think that that concept is sort of what you're just talking

Timing And Communication In Landscaping

SPEAKER_01 14:50

about? You know, how do you think that concept carries over into uh the landscaping sales business?

SPEAKER_00 14:55

Timing, yeah, perfect. You know, flat work's gotta be done first before landscaping, you know, irrigation, everything like that. The communication for us is that's what I've came across most of it. It's we work with people that don't communicate in the past. That's that's kind of the mantra that I've gotten from builders, custom builders, spec builders. Communication's awful. They don't they don't as soon as they're done with the project, you don't hear from them again. Right? It's like, okay, what what just happened? Like, or I thought we were using you guys, and now all of a sudden just because you're done with the project, we don't want to hear from no with us, we're relational. Um you know, we have several relationships that we've had for 10, 15, 25 years, and people just love that. You know what I mean? You know what you're gonna get, you communicate, um going to lunch with people, getting them coffee, a cigar, things like that. Yeah, just try to be you just try to be friendly with people. I mean, that's the hospitality. Um it's all about how you make it feel. And it's it just all goes into that. You know, if if you don't feel comfortable with uh the estimate that you're giving them, um if you don't know the numbers. I mean, there's there's certain markers that you have that you just completely turn people off if you if you don't come in prepared. And so I mean that's the same thing with hospitality. You know what you know what the uh clientele wants, you know, um it's a it's a wine area or it's a it's a bourbon, it's a it's a beer town, things like that. Yeah, you know, if you're in Amarillo, what do you do out there? You just drink beer, right? Right. So that's that's kind of the Dallas is not that Dallas is.

SPEAKER_01 16:20

You're not going and breaking out the big McAllen bottle, you know, and having some good scotch out there most of the most of the time. I'm not saying never. I I lived in Amarillo, right? So but most of the time it's beer and whiskey, you know, and all that stuff. So uh do you think, and that carries over my next question, do you think the construction industry undervalues customer service? Or do you think they just get a bad rep on it?

SPEAKER_00 16:43

The whole in the industry as a whole? Yeah, industry and whole. No, no. I mean, just from what I've dealt with, um people are usually very friendly. Texas is I mean, every that southern hospitality runs deep out here. And so if it was Indiana, maybe a different story. You know what I mean? No knock against the Hoosiers as they're going to the national championship game in Colorado. But um good luck to them. But here in Texas, everybody's got that southern hospitality, I feel like. Even though you you're moving out of from California, New York, Indiana, Missouri, Florida. Well, people are still moving to Florida. If you're moving out of state into Texas, you learn quickly. I think you assimilate with that. But in the construction business, I haven't met too many people that are that don't value customer service. Is it the forefront forefront of what they're looking for? Some yes. Some are. Others, others want that that great value, others want that great um that curb appeal. Like they I want the best. You know what I mean? Like that's um that's the outcome that they're looking for. Customer service, uh, there's several several people that I've that I've talked with or deal with current currently or have great relationships with that are like you know, you followed up so well that they're like, we're going with you. So that follow-up is part of the customer service aspect of things. 100%. And so go ahead. I mean, that's um Blue Jack Ranch. I mean, I'll name drop that place um out there. They project manager out there was like the only reason you guys are out here. And I'm not trying to do my own order or anything like that. They're like Drew Thar follows up like none other vendor we've dealt with out there. And so, sure, is it a little bit of a craziness to me? You know, the the the ADHD shining through, you know what I mean? Uh constantly following up, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 18:22

Follow up and say, You need

A Simple Sales Process That Works

SPEAKER_01 18:24

to, right? And that's leading my next question before you get too far down that, you know, sort of walk us through sort of your sales process or your your uh you know, what you consider a good sales process or follow-up or anything, just sort of help the people out there that might be uh associates that are dealing with builders or contractors or all that stuff.

SPEAKER_00 18:41

Just make the call.

SPEAKER_01 18:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:43

That's um you look that volume or sale or the amount of call volume that you that you make and fix a lot of different things. Um if you're not making the call, you're not not doing things. If you're not trying to meet somebody and it's like, hey, I don't know, seeing associates or uh vendors on my side of things, not actually building the home. I mean with that, take them to lunch. Build a relationship with them. That's the approach first. You talk to them, you're figuring out their problems, they're getting to know you, you're building that trust with them. You can go into it and be like, hey, do you want to do this or not? And that works for some people. They're like, actually, yeah. Um a client of ours that we're doing a couple different uh jobs on called one time and she was like, Yeah, actually we just fired our landscaper today. So I mean, there's if you don't make that phone call, if I didn't make that phone call, we wouldn't be with them today. And so it's all about making the phone call, be relational, uh figure out what problems they have. Uh hey, did can your current company do curve boards? Well, actually, that's what we're they don't know how to do that. Okay, well, do you have a license irrigator? You know, things like that. Find out a problem, build a relationship with them, build that trust, show them, hey, you know, we can do this. So you have a good um portfolio of things that you've done. You can build a pamphlet, give them, hey, hey, here's XYZ at this property, this address. Do you like this or not? You know, this is kind of what we do. This is what you do you like to go this route? Do you like to go smaller, more concise? I do it like this. So with restaurant life, there's what quick casual or quick service, sports bars, fine dining, upper casual. I won't bore you with all the different different ones. I mean, you you got out of there so long ago, and so uh with that, I talk to clients and it's like, hey, do you want you want a nice bottle of wine? You know what I mean? Things like that. It's like, oh, what are you celebrating? You celebrating a birthday, you're celebrating promotion, what is it? The same thing with the uh construction industry, with the builders. It's like do you want you know hardscaping? Do you want uh artificial turf? Do you want you want soisha? Do you want or do you want to go more of a hey, you know, I just went out for a quick bite to eat? Or we're just hey, I'm just I'm wanting to run a water burger and grab a grab a Frisco Mel or things like that, you know what I mean? So you can get these small, small things. And it's like, hey, what what do you want? You know, we can sit here and suggest at the end of the day, everything that under the sun, you know, we can overbid, we can overestimate, you know, anything, but it's like hey, ask him, just ask them, hey, what's your budget? You know what I mean? Do you want to do you want to have a $2,000 meal with a with a great bourbon, you know, McAllen 18? Or do you want a a steak or you just going in for a salad, a quick bite to eat, you know, tuna taquitos or whatever it is, you can go different routes with with anybody. You just find out what their what their wants are, what their needs are, and then you just meet them. Simple.

SPEAKER_01 21:27

Simple. Somewhat simple. Somewhat simple. So you deal with contractors, builders, contractors, and everything, but you deal with clients straight calling you as well.

SPEAKER_00 21:38

A few of them, yes. And you can take a drink. It's okay. I I can cover it for you for a second. Take a drink. I uh I love the Spring Valley water. So uh spring water is just I feel better. You know what I mean? You can get the purified, but this just And that's out of the bottle.

SPEAKER_01 21:52

That's that's a big one. So it's glass.

SPEAKER_00 21:54

Yeah, and uh a few I do. Um there's several different clients that uh We've gotten great relationships with that I've landed or um been in great communication with. Um, there's a guy named Tim Lansford, you know, I talk to him all the time. Yeah, I'm telling you, right? There's uh, you know, some guys up north, um out in Alito, Salina, Gordonsville, Texas.

SPEAKER_01 22:19

Gordonsville, yeah. You're way up there.

SPEAKER_00 22:20

I've lived here for nine years, and I find out probably two, three new Texas cities every day. Being in this industry, it's it's expedited that process for me or expanded it exponentially. And so and uh a few I do. Not a lot though. My my boss is pretty personal with that. He likes to handle the kind of uh interactions.

SPEAKER_01 22:38

Do you think the sales process is different between like a contractor and client? Is there anything that you do different to sort of massage the relationship there?

SPEAKER_00 22:48

Yeah, sometimes. You know, I'll take a nice bottle of wine or uh E.H. Taylor or uh take him out to lunch, take him get him some coffee, right? Things like that. Um got a job out in Denison, uh again, another place I learned. It's right next to Pottsboro. It is and uh going out there, walking the property, taking them out to lunch, things like that. You know, they don't like coffee. So for me, it's just the smoothing aspect of things. It's like what what am I comfortable with? Well, hospitality and restaurants. So I know great restaurants, I know most of the people out here, and just find a great spot and take them out there, figure out what they want, whether it's client, whether it's a builder, it's the same process for me.

SPEAKER_01 23:28

Right. So we talked about you're good at fill up follow-up. I can I can give kudos for that. You're good at follow-up, you're good at communication. But what do you think great communication looks like to you that you can maybe help some other salespeople out there, you know, to give them some tips on what do you think to you really is the hot points of great communication?

Clear Communication And Better Questions

SPEAKER_00 23:53

Clarity. It's always gonna be clarity. If you don't if you don't frame the issue of what they're needing, or if they if you can't get the frame of what their issue is or what their what their wants are within five minutes, it's too complex. It should be concise. You talk for 10, 15 seconds and then you then you shut up. You let them talk. They're gonna one, either tell you what the real prop real problem is or the real objection. And then two, you're you're learning what they want. Everything they're gonna say, you can you can boil it down to either for let's go, let's go objection. It's like, oh uh, if you want to send me an email, send me some stuff you've done. Okay, that's a no. All right. But then if you reframe a question and ask them, be like, hey, so what would it what would it take to be a yes? You know, if if it's estimates too much, you know, or if they've if they've said that, it's like, hey, well, what would it take to be a yes? Is it the price? Is it the value? Is it the okay, um we've had really bad landscapers in the past, we're just you know, we're we're gonna sit on this for a minute. And it's like, okay, well, you can sit on it, but then it's just gonna sit there and it's not gonna have curbapiel, you're not gonna sell it quickly, et cetera. Always ask questions. If you're just if you're the one that's talking 80, 90 percent of the time, they've already tuned you out after 10 seconds, 12 seconds. I think I think there's uh TikTok bases their algorithm around that. They the human brain pays attention for five to ten seconds. For me, it's like three. So if you if you ask questions, draw them back in. You draw them back in that that way you keep the conversation going. It's fluid, it's it's genuine though.

SPEAKER_01 25:30

Open-ended questions.

SPEAKER_00 25:32

Open-ended questions, yes. Teach it all the time.

SPEAKER_01 25:34

You gotta get good about open-ended questions and you just keep stacking on based on what they answer, take a little better of their answer and ask them another question, go deeper and deeper and deeper.

SPEAKER_00 25:43

And then it's the tonality, 100%. I mean, it's the tonality. If you I'm very energetic, if that's just who I am. I have to tone that down sometimes when I'm talking to people.

SPEAKER_01 25:54

Yeah, and you gotta read the the other person, right? To know that person.

SPEAKER_00 25:58

If they're if they're calm, if they're casual, if they're if they're a little bit, if they take things a little bit slower, then you have to match that tonality. So then it's that's where I've really worked on the past probably six months. It's not rushing through a pitch and then be like, okay, cool. You're not convincing them of anything at that point. You're not trying to convince them anyways, you're just trying to, again, find the problem and be the solution. You framed that. But if you're talking way too fast to somebody that's like, oh, what'd you say? And they keep asking questions, you've already lost it. They're not gonna, you know what I mean? So they're gonna move on to something else. They're gonna know what's comfortable, what's safe, et cetera. Slow down, tonality.

SPEAKER_01 26:36

Yeah, absolutely. So

Self-Improvement Habits And Daily Systems

SPEAKER_01 26:38

what are you uh what are you doing as a professional right now to uh to grow um books, mentors, um, systems? Give me an idea of what you do uh to uh better yourself.

SPEAKER_00 26:51

You're always learning. I think um, I think with this, I've never been in direct sales, but I think I've always been in sales, even in restaurants.

SPEAKER_01 27:00

Oh, yeah, everything sales. Life sales, everything sales. Correct. Checking in at the airline to hotel to restaurant, everything sells.

SPEAKER_00 27:08

It's consumerism, right? And so I think it translates well with that, but it's you're always learning though. So podcasts, um, books, um, you know, looking into sales classes, things like that, you know, how to how to talk to people. And it's not even direct sales, it's just how to be better at those certain things, like objections or pitches or closing deals, or you're you're always learning. You can always learn something new. Like that's what I've always that's what I've always been taught. You can you can sit there and be complacent and be like, okay, I know a little bit of something, or you can sit there and be like, okay, I'm constantly learning and I want to be better than one percent better than yesterday. That's always been one of my goals. If you're one percent better than you were yesterday, you're moving the right direction. So LinkedIn actually has a lot of good content. A lot of good. I I know Elon Musk doesn't like to use LinkedIn, I think he's wrong there. However, he is getting to the moon or Mars or wherever else it is. But uh LinkedIn has a lot of great content, and so constantly watching stuff on that, reading stuff, you can learn anywhere. LinkedIn, Deep Stash, TikTok. It's all about how you use these tools that are readily available for you.

SPEAKER_01 28:16

Right. So I gotcha. Um, so if if one a couple more questions here. If someone shadowed you for a day, what would somebody be surprised to learn about the work you do? Anything fun and or awkward or crazy or I do a lot of take a nap during the day or my my boss does, and he he he assumes that I do.

SPEAKER_00 28:38

Yeah, however, during lunch, I say that's good for you.

SPEAKER_01 28:42

You know, I I haven't been able to figure that one out.

SPEAKER_00 28:44

Well, doesn't the Italians they do that, right? Europeans when they take a take a nap during that siesta, right?

SPEAKER_01 28:49

You know, close down Spain. I was like, what the heck happened? The the streets rolled up. I'm like, what is this? I was young, right? I didn't know about the hour, right? It just shuts down for an hour and a half in Spain. I'm like, what where I had to go to the beach and just sit there because my hotel was too far away. I was just gonna do some shopping.

SPEAKER_00 29:06

It's uh it's crazy. It can be great, right? For me, I do a lot of faith-based things. And so um, you know, Bible study or devotions, things like that. You take time out of your day, gratitude, and it just slows things down for you, and you're more focused and more driven. I think that's just the outcome that I've had has been that. And so very, very grateful for that upbringing. But um, you got to channel that in and be focused. And then all of a sudden you have this gratitude, you're you're sitting there and your whole day is just better. And so for me, if somebody followed me, they'd be like, You really do have ADHD, first off and foremost. But um, I have all these, I have all these reminders on my phone. It's I mean, I just got one right here. It says uh follow-up phone calls, I mean, research, research builders, client outreach, you know, it's it's I have constant reminders that if I do follow a rabbit trail, it's pulling me back in 15 minutes later. And so I think that's been uh a attribute to my or some of my successes that I've had in this past year being in this industry, that I'm not following these rabbit trails, or it's you know, in a restaurant, it's oh the somebody clogged the toilet or the ice machine's ice machine's not working, so then you have to break off and do that. And so it's kind of the same thing. It's just getting back into this.

SPEAKER_01 30:18

Right. Well, a couple of things, uh, and and it's sort of a two-part. You know, what's the favorite part of your current job? And do you have a hospitality habit that you still use every day?

SPEAKER_00 30:29

A hospitality habit is the favorite part of my job.

SPEAKER_01 30:32

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 30:34

Man, I never imagined that I'd be on a podcast doing doing landscaping sales. There you go. Now we do custom builds, you know, installs, irrigation, drainage, stuff like that. So um the opportunity like this, I never would have imagined, you know what I mean? But um a hospitality, something that I still do with that.

SPEAKER_01 30:53

Hospitality habit you still use every day.

SPEAKER_00 30:55

Man, well, I'm I'm usually at a different coffee shop every single day. So it's hard not to see certain um health code, you know, things that when you go out. My my wife, um, she's over it. Anytime you go out to a restaurant, and it's any restaurant, I'm sitting there, I'm critiquing the waiter in my head, and she just sees the steam or the the smoke coming out of my ears. Yeah. And I'm like, she's like, hey, you're not in restaurants anymore. I'm not. It's just 15, 15 years of you know, 80, 80, 100 hours uh a week, you know, it's kind of ingrained. Um favorite part of the job though, it's definitely being home to see my kid.

SPEAKER_01 31:37

Yeah, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 31:38

Uh my wife, she works overnight, so I get to see her for a little bit in the morning, a little bit at night. And when I was in restaurants, I never got to see them.

SPEAKER_01 31:46

Oh, that's so tough. Never. So being able to see my family.

SPEAKER_00 31:48

And I mean, I I missed, you know, two years of my kid, and I was just I was done with it. I was like, I can't, I can't sacrifice my family time for a dollar. You know what I mean? So in my opinion, that's that's probably the best thing. I'm in church more, uh, my faith is getting better. Um so those two things, you put them all together, I I think that's that's a tie. That's a tie with that. So my son is now about to turn four in March.

SPEAKER_01 32:13

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 32:14

And we actually have the same birthday. So he was born on my birthday. My wife That's so cool. I was pretty upset about that. Yeah. But I'm tired of it. I think it's pretty cool. I'm 29 the rest of my life because nobody asks, Hey, what do you want to do for your birthday? It's always hey, what do you want to do for Garrett's birthday? Yeah, it's exactly I'm 29 forever. There you go.

SPEAKER_01 32:29

That's the way it works. Yeah. One more question, then we're

Family Time Goals And The Fun Game

SPEAKER_01 32:32

gonna have some fun. Um, what's what does success look like for you in the next 12 months?

SPEAKER_00 32:38

Success for me?

SPEAKER_01 32:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:44

That's a great question. You know, I you you have these goals that you put in front of you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:49

And as I do you do goal setting?

SPEAKER_00 32:51

I have a few. Okay. I have a few. You know, there's a there's a dollar amount that I that I want to hit and in some sales and uh or commissions, etc., you know, for uh for myself, you know, more for validation. I feel like in this new field um being able to be more confident is definitely one thing that I would I would have to say is a sus is a success. You know, being new in this industry, it can eat you alive. I f I feel like you know, getting the nose, you know, getting door slammed in your face or losing a bid to somebody else. I I think that building those more five more new relationships, that's that's one that I have. Five more new relationships. So whether that's a new custom builder, a new client, et cetera, a new vendor, building that relationship, building that network, that's that's one key success for me. Um, you know, we don't work for everybody. Our our makeup, what we want to do as a company doesn't always work for everybody, but there's somebody that does. And so finding those five people and building that relationship with them, that's one success that I've or goal that I have. Um dollar amounts, sales, you know, what what did we do last year? What am what did my company do the year before? And that I work for, not my company. But seeing that challenges me to double it. You know, that's just a personal goal. You know, if you don't have a high goal, you have to have a high goal. Correct.

SPEAKER_01 34:13

You're never gonna look at the goals every year. Correct. Every every month, I'm sorry, every month or two months, every quarter, look at them and see what you're doing.

SPEAKER_00 34:22

Where you're failing, where you where you need to step it up.

SPEAKER_01 34:24

You don't have to lower it, just figure out what you're not doing. If you didn't hit quarter one, then you need to figure out how to crank it out in quarter quarter two. Don't wait till quarter four to figure it out. Correct.

SPEAKER_00 34:34

And that's that's not me. I'm constantly always following up, like you said. So with that, it's setting a high goal. You set it too low, you're not gonna motivate yourself. And if you can't motivate yourself, sales is not for you. Yeah, like that's at the end of the day, it's just it's not. So having a high goal, constantly following up on your goal and writing them down. I've I never wrote them down until about two years ago. And I I found out that writing them down, goodness gracious.

SPEAKER_01 35:00

You don't write them down, they're only a dream. It's holding yourself. If you write them down, they become a goal.

SPEAKER_00 35:03

100%. And so having a high goal and having that um, I mean, for me, it's it's three and a half million. That that that's my that's my dollar amount in sales that I'm trying to hit first full year in sales.

SPEAKER_01 35:17

So I like it. All right, well, we're gonna have a little fun now. Um, just so you know at the end of the show, and I think you guys have getting the thing of it. Uh, I do a little pick this or pick that, and um, you know, three questions about my guest. And what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna limit the first book between one and a hundred. Give me uh give me a number.

SPEAKER_00 35:41

Man, one in a hundred now.

SPEAKER_01 35:42

And this is uh pick this and pick that and or that and why would you pick that? All right. One to a hundred. Give me a number.

SPEAKER_00 35:50

All right, I'm gonna go with Luka Doncic, number seventy-seven.

SPEAKER_01 35:54

Seventy seven. Probably won't get won't talk why on the trait and all that stuff. Yeah, let's not get into that. All right. Um curly hair or straight hair and why. I told you these are just random, but man.

SPEAKER_00 36:11

Okay, so my wife, she likes to curl her hair, she likes to straighten it. Uh-huh. Straightening is it to her is is easier. Yeah. Curling it's a little bit longer of a process. But man, she looks great with straight hair. She just looks fantastic. That's awesome. Yeah. So I'm gonna have to go with straight hair. All right, fair. Another number between one and a hundred? One and a hundred. Let's go 33. That's how truly old I'm gonna be this year.

SPEAKER_01 36:38

33, not 29. Uh salad or cold slaw and why.

SPEAKER_00 36:48

That's the tough questions we ask. Correct. Man, this is uh this is uh look into my soul. I I don't like either of them, but if I had a pick, I mean, we had lunch today at David's barbecue. Yes. I did get some coleslaw there. You did, but I don't really like coleslaw. I saw you get it if I'm being 100% honest. I was like, okay, he's gotta say this is pretty good. If if Tim's getting it, yeah, you know, it's not bad.

SPEAKER_01 37:13

It wasn't bad. All right, fair enough. All right, another number, one between one and a hundred.

unknown 37:18

One and a hundred.

SPEAKER_01 37:19

Yeah. Let's go with 76.

SPEAKER_00 37:21

Let's go right next to Luca.

SPEAKER_01 37:22

76. Face your imminent face your enemy or face your fear.

SPEAKER_00 37:32

I'm gonna face my fear. Face your fear? Yeah. I am deathly afraid of falling from high places. Really? So, like skydiving, I'd black out 100%. I'd probably pee my pants.

SPEAKER_01 37:45

So much fun though.

SPEAKER_00 37:47

For you, yeah, for for me, I there's oh man, I hear the horror stories. You know what I mean? And so for me, that's always just psyched myself out. So if I had to do it, I probably would, but I'm definitely blacking out.

SPEAKER_01 38:00

I already know. Uh it's so fun. I've I've done it twice. I'm just kind of I won't do it now. I got kids. I was youth and younger when I did it.

SPEAKER_00 38:06

So yeah, I got a kid too, so no, that's out.

SPEAKER_01 38:08

Yeah, yeah. Good excuse. Good excuse. All right, on this one, we got three more, and I'll let you go. Uh, you got this one's full. This is a full book between one and three thousand. What do you got?

SPEAKER_00 38:19

We're gonna go with 1776.

SPEAKER_01 38:21

1776. I like it. It's a good year. It is. 1776. Do you appreciate and learn from criticism?

SPEAKER_00 38:34

I just created this great business card. I love it. It's Lone Star Landscaping and it has to have a Texas flag backdrop.

SPEAKER_01 38:42

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 38:43

So you just got that, right?

SPEAKER_01 38:44

I did just get that.

SPEAKER_00 38:45

All right, it's pretty, pretty colorful. It pops. It's an awesome card. It's got a good QR code. Yes. Can you read it? Can you read my name on there? I can read your name. Do you need your glasses though? I don't. Because I got good eyes for that. Do you think some people would need glasses? I think the eye told me.

SPEAKER_01 38:59

I do possibly think that your logo needs to be bigger on the back, and uh your font on your name and stuff needs to be uh bigger.

SPEAKER_00 39:09

So there is a difference between constructive criticism and then just criticizing. So what you gave me was obviously constructive. Yes. So yes, I love constructive criticism.

SPEAKER_01 39:17

And I gotta preface this. He said he was so excited, he was so proud of his card and all this, and I I almost hesitated, but that's just who I am. I I'm I'm an executive coach and trainer. I'm here to make you better, and and and I give feedback whether it's good or bad. And and I I did give him some criticism right before the show. And and it wasn't bad. It's the card's a great looking card. It's just next time if you do it, just make it that much better by doing these things. Love it. So there you go. I appreciate it. All right, another one between one and three thousand. Two more.

SPEAKER_00 39:51

Two more. Let's go my birthday. Let's go three eleven. Well, it's I say my birthday, it's our birthday. Our birthday, right? Yes.

SPEAKER_01 40:01

What is the most important thing to carry with you at all time?

SPEAKER_00 40:07

Well, we do live in Texas, right?

SPEAKER_01 40:09

Right. Yes, exactly. I mean, it's okay to say it. So I have one with me most all the time, too.

SPEAKER_00 40:14

So I mean, there's that one, you know, you just always either pocket knife or a pistol, right?

SPEAKER_01 40:20

Correct. So it's one of the two. It's a pretty tall base.

SPEAKER_00 40:22

You know, if I'm with my wife, I'm always carrying uh nothing's gonna happen to her or my kid, you know. Yeah. If I can if I can help it, nothing's happening.

SPEAKER_01 40:29

Exactly. Right. So yeah, fair, fair answer. Uh, one more between one and three thousand, and then I'll let you off the hook.

SPEAKER_00 40:36

Oh no, this is great. One in three thousand. I have I have two numbers. I'm trying to narrow them down.

SPEAKER_01 40:42

Oh, I mean, I can let you do two of them. I don't have a problem with it, but you know.

SPEAKER_00 40:46

Let's go with the year. Let's go 2026. 2026. It's crazy to even say that. Yes, it is. I remember being six years old and it turning 2000.

SPEAKER_01 40:58

Yes, I know. Trust me. I remember uh a lot of stuff from 2000, but uh I was doing much more things that I shouldn't by then. Um, this is a good one. What would be the moral of your story?

SPEAKER_00 41:14

The moral of my story, redemption.

SPEAKER_01 41:17

Redemption?

SPEAKER_00 41:18

Redemption.

SPEAKER_01 41:18

Nice. Yeah. Yeah. I like it.

SPEAKER_00 41:21

It was uh always had a always been small, you know, five nine, five ten on a great day, you know, my back's not hurting. And uh that chip on the shoulder, you know what I mean. I've always had something to prove. So redemption for me was just proving something wrong, you know what I mean? Uh you can't do this. Well, I'm gonna go do it. So um gets me into some sticky situations sometimes, but uh I think through you know, patience, my wife, you know, being very, very patient with me and and helping me along my process, it's redeemed a lot of that time lost. We dated off and on. I'll I'll give a small example of it. Uh we dated off and on for long distance for years. You know, she was like, Oh, I'm not moving to Indiana. And I was like, Well, you need to move here. And she's like, Why? And she was ultimately correct. Yes. And so um, you know, I regret that lost time I could have had with her. We broke up twice over that a bunch of nonsense. I should have just listened the first time and moved out here. It's so it's so great in Texas. And so redeeming that time, you know, we spent a lot of time with her, things like that, with uh going out to going out to eat, trying new things. Uh, we got uh our anniversary coming up here on Sunday, and so we're we got some stuff planned and uh redeeming that time, redemption, that's gotta be the moral of my story.

SPEAKER_01 42:33

I gotcha. I gotcha. You want to do one more number that you had in mind?

SPEAKER_00 42:36

Yeah, let's do it.

SPEAKER_01 42:37

Let's do it. Let's go triple sevens. Triple sevens, seven, seven, seven. Yeah. All right. Uh, what is one thing in your life you can't make a decision about? What is one thing in your life that you can't make a decision about? Man, that's a that's a thought provoker. I mean you you brought this on yourself. I'd let you off the hook. I remember saying I should have just started three, right?

SPEAKER_00 43:03

Quit while you're ahead. Something I can't make a decision about.

SPEAKER_01 43:11

It's okay.

SPEAKER_00 43:12

No, no, we gotta we gotta figure this out. I'm trying to sit here and think about it. No, no, I'm gonna make you figure it out. I don't think I've ever thought that question ever. Yeah. So I can't make a decision on how to answer this. That's a good twist on it, right? It's gotta be uh, well, my dad was uh in politics, so I should be able to talk out of both sides of my mouth, right? Um something I can't make a decision on. Uh, whether to watch a Dallas Mavericks basketball game ever again. I love Cooper Flag. I think he's gonna do great things, but man, the I I feel like my the soul of our city was just ripped out.

SPEAKER_01 43:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:47

I I said we said we weren't gonna talk about it, but you it's okay. When Luca Doncius got traded, I'm gonna tell the story. My wife uh we were we were sitting there, I saw this ticker come across the screen and it said. Luka Doncic trade and I was like, okay, it's probably bleach report, it's probably a bunch of nonsense, just a rumor mill, right? And I was like, I didn't have my phone on me, it was her screen. I was like, Hey, give me give me your phone. She's like, What happened? I was like, all I could get out was Luca. And she goes, Did Luka Doncic die? She and I was like, No, he got traded. She she thought it was more plausible that Luka Doncic died than they got traded. So I don't know if that was the main reason. I mean, you look at all the game winners that just went to the finals the year before.

SPEAKER_01 44:28

I know.

SPEAKER_00 44:28

Gets traded.

SPEAKER_01 44:30

I've heard lots of rumors, but I don't know what's true and what's not, and just I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 44:34

So Patrick Dumont are are are the Dallas Mavericks moving to Vegas? I think that's the I think that's the big rumor. But I don't know if I can if I can watch another game. I just it's not the same ever again.

SPEAKER_01 44:46

Right.

SPEAKER_00 44:46

You know, you you sit there and you watch this kid, you know, come overseas and put his heart and soul for seven seasons, six, seven seasons, and uh gone in the middle of the night, literally, what eleven thirty at night?

SPEAKER_01 44:57

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 44:58

I I don't know. I haven't watched a single game.

SPEAKER_01 45:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:01

I've seen highlights, sure. Sure. You know, obviously Cooper Flag, you know, there's number one pick that it was.

SPEAKER_01 45:06

Sure, he's doing pretty good, but still he's definitely different, right?

SPEAKER_00 45:09

Definitely rigged that uh we got the number one pick, but yeah, I don't know if I can watch a game again.

SPEAKER_01 45:14

There you go.

SPEAKER_00 45:15

Yeah, there you go. All right. Well, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 45:18

Tough decision, right? Well, thank you for uh joining me here on the show

How To Reach Lone Star Landscaping

SPEAKER_01 45:22

today. Thanks for having us. Uh why don't you uh give everybody your contact information if they want to get hold of you or anything that you want to share out there? And and uh we'll we'll close it out with that.

SPEAKER_00 45:32

Perfect, perfect. We are Lone Star Landscaping. We got a great website, Lone Starlandscaping.com. And then my personal number is 817-630-8075. Look forward to just having a chat with you, grab a cup of coffee. You know, pretty personal. Um I would like to think I am. There you go. But uh yeah, look forward to that, and uh awesome.

SPEAKER_01 45:55

We'll be in touch. Well, thank you for joining us. Uh, you know, as always, I appreciate you and uh keep doing what you do because I think you do it pretty good. So I appreciate it. I appreciate it. All right, guys, have a great day, and uh we'll talk to you next week.