Stop Letting Framers Install Your Windows - Jeremy VanDeWalker with Pella

Most builders have a window story that still makes them mad: a sash that won’t operate, water showing up where it shouldn’t, or a “simple install” that turns into weeks of finger-pointing. We sit down with Jeremy Vandy Walker from Pella Windows and Doors to get honest about why those problems happen and what pros can do differently, starting with the mindset that leadership is doing it right the first time, not fixing it later. Jeremy’s path runs through sports, the Navy, and years in sales, and that mix shows up as discipline, planning, and a calm, direct approach to earning trust. 

We get into the sales craft that actually works in construction and building products: showing up, building relationships, being unusually detailed in quotes and notes, and bringing homeowners into the showroom so decisions aren’t made blind. Jeremy also shares how AI window visualization is changing the buying process, letting clients upload a home photo and preview colors and window styles. Then we talk Pella innovation, from roll screens to custom hardware and what it means to support builders who need speed without cutting corners. 

The most practical section is all about window installation best practices. We cover why letting framers install windows can create avoidable issues, how good teams check openings ahead of time, how to tape and waterproof correctly, why you never block weep holes, and why shimming matters when the house settles. We also dig into handling price objections by reframing around quality, durability, and limited lifetime warranties that can transfer within ten years. If you care about fewer callbacks, better client experience, and stronger vendor relationships, this one is for you. Subscribe, share this with a builder friend, and leave a review with the biggest window mistake you’ve seen on a jobsite.

Transcript

No-Fluff Leadership Podcast Kickoff

SPEAKER_02 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.

Meet Jeremy From Pella

SPEAKER_02 1:13

Oh my gosh, got another special guest in the studio with us. Thanks for showing up and coming and hanging out with us here in the studio. Yes. Uh with me. Tell me who's with me today.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

I am Jeremy. I'm with Pelo Windows and Doors.

SPEAKER_02 1:26

Jeremy with Pelo Windows and Doors. Another uh sales rep, you know, hanging out with us, telling us all the the master sales of this industry and and telling us a little bit about it. So tell us a little bit about you, tell us a little bit about your background. It's where I usually sort of start, you know, and and then we'll we'll talk about your journey.

SPEAKER_00 1:47

All right. Uh a little bit about me. I just I love sports, right? Big sports person. Uh like to stay fit and be active, and I like to sell.

SPEAKER_02 1:58

Yeah, I understand, right?

SPEAKER_00 2:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:00

So are you from Texas?

SPEAKER_00 2:02

I'm not. I was actually born in New Jersey. I've lived in Connecticut, uh, Florida, California, and ended up in Texas when I was 15.

SPEAKER_02 2:11

15, nice. Well, at least you got out there soon enough. I've been talking to my Jersey peeps all week, and it's it's getting pounded up there, right? So yeah, so exciting for me. So so what brought you to Texas? You know, was it?

SPEAKER_00 2:24

It was uh long journey. Yeah, yeah. So let's see. I was in Connecticut um all through middle school, and I wanted to try and live with my dad who lived in New Jersey. So I went up there to live with him for my freshman year of high school. And uh, whenever I moved, my mother moved from Connecticut to Texas, and I didn't really care to stay with my dad anymore. So when I decided I wanted to live with my mom again, she was in Texas, and that's how I made it to Texas.

SPEAKER_02 2:53

I see.

SPEAKER_00 2:54

That's that's fun.

SPEAKER_02 2:55

Yeah.

Sports Discipline And Team Leadership

SPEAKER_02 2:56

So let's talk about early childhood, right? Did you uh did you work? Did you uh were you I I I I assume that you're a big sports guy, right? Did you tell me a little bit about your sports career? Tell me a little bit about, you know, did you have any jobs? How how let's start with sports. Let's let's keep it defined. So tell me a little bit about you you like sports. What what was your favorite?

SPEAKER_00 3:16

I do. So uh football and basketball were pretty much right at number one. Right. Um, everything else I played was just that time of season. And you know, naturally I was able to roll into it and be, you know, pretty successful with baseball, tennis, track, bowling. So bowling, ice.

SPEAKER_02 3:34

Yeah, see, that's we had a golf one, but we didn't have bowling. So yeah, I I couldn't afford golf back then. Yeah, that's why I went to the golf team, you know, so you can play for free at the local course. Well, that would that was our that was our mission there, right? So we're like, hey, let's join the golf team. We're gonna be A team. No, probably B team, but we get to play for free every day. So yeah, that's awesome. Yeah, so that was that was our motivation. Uh yeah, so yeah, I I'm a big sports fan. We, you know, and and I think that comes with uh a lot of times you can identify in in my opinion, people that have been sports, you know. That's why I'm really big on my son, my daughter, and stuff being in some kind of sports, some kind of that, just because of the discipline. I think that you get a lot of discipline out of it. Yeah, uh, and and I I watch, you know, people that maybe didn't grow up with a sports background. Nothing bad, they're disciplined in their own way. But I mean, uh my my my kids, you know, in sports, and I tell the coaches, I'm like, you yell at him. I mean, my my coaches growing up were not nice people, right? They were, but they not in sports, right? They they they they learn suck it up buttercup, you know, and and get it done. And and I I can respect that now as I've got older, and and uh, you know, you you still got a few years to catch up with me as far as uh as far as the uh the age and the gray hair in there, but uh you know, you got you got a few. But but yeah, it was it was I think sports is one of those things that sort of define you as a person a lot, in my opinion, you know. But but that could be me coming from a sports background.

SPEAKER_00 5:00

Absolutely. I mean, it definitely taught me how to be a leader, uh how to lead a team, yeah, um, and just how to like you said, stay disciplined. And I think without sports, I probably could have went, you know, a ray and went down a different path. But it kept me in line, it kept my grades good because I wanted to play. I never wanted to miss because I failed a class. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:19

Did you do any college sports or anything?

SPEAKER_00 5:21

I did, yeah. So well, after I got out of high school, I went into the Navy. Um and then when I was in the Navy, I actually tried out and made the all-navy basketball team. So, you know, they'd fly me out to Annapolis, and I got to be out there playing basketball for a couple months and still getting paid. So it was nice.

SPEAKER_02 5:36

That's not too bad. Not too bad.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

Yeah. And then uh once I got out, I I walked on to a junior college football team, and that's I played receiver for a year, and then I ended up uh going to a university and and then played rec sports and dominated there.

SPEAKER_02 5:50

I understand. Yeah, that's sort of my thing. I went for college football scholarship and and uh played for you know a couple years there, and I I just wasn't big. I'm a big guy, and I'm just not big compared to college. There, those guys are monsters, right? Oh yeah, in the protein all day. I'm I'm six foot four, two hundred and seventy pounds, and and I was a small dude, right? You know, yeah, the small dude compared to some of these people that I'm because I was a lineman, right? So these guys were just massive, you know? Yeah, six foot eight, three twenty, not an ounce of fat on them. You know, it was it was like that's where my negotiation skills started, right? You know, yeah hey, I don't want to blow out your knee, so uh give me a couple wins, you know, because you can pick me up with your pinky and put me aside. So, but yeah, but then uh where I was going with that is I I got in flag football, you know. We went to nationals and for flag football and and all that, you know, the rec sports and stuff. That was always a fun one, you know, where you could transition into.

Navy Lessons And Leading Under Pressure

SPEAKER_02 6:48

So you mentioned military, so you came from the navy. So how how'd you like the navy?

SPEAKER_00 6:53

I actually really enjoyed it. Yeah, um, yeah, I mean it was it was a nice transition from you know being all in sports and then going into the military um and boot camp, you know. Boot camp was where I really felt like I found my my niche for for leadership um because I was chosen in uh the third week of boot camp to be the leader of of our division. Nice. And so yeah, I led our our uh division zero nine seven uh to graduation. Um they used to call me RPOC, that's what they call the leaders.

SPEAKER_02 7:26

You're about you're about well, my my buddy is in Navy, he's a little bit just a little bit older than you, so yeah, you'd probably be a little bit. So I was like, uh no.

SPEAKER_00 7:35

I mean he'd be he'd be a little bit older than you. And it was nice because it was uh, you know, I got meditoriously advanced after boot camp, so I got automatically advanced to another pay grade. Nice and then I also got to choose kind of which side of the country I wanted to be on, so I got that's what and that's how I ended up in Coronado and California.

SPEAKER_01 7:53

Nice.

SPEAKER_00 7:54

And I loved it out there too. Went for the warm weather. Yeah, yeah, chose that. It's a little bit more laid back over there. It's kind of the military bearing on the on the east coast is really tight.

SPEAKER_02 8:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:03

Oh yeah, I could I could see that.

SPEAKER_02 8:05

Well, cool. So you say uh military sort of shaped your leadership. So how how did it shape your leadership or or how does it still shape you today?

SPEAKER_00 8:15

It I mean, I was like, I was always really self-motivated. Um, and I I like, you know, being a part of a team and especially a team that's successful. Um and when I see something not going the way it should, or uh, you know, if I feel like I might be able to do a better job, then I'll typically stand out and and try to lead instead of just sit there and watch them do it the wrong way. So that's just always kind of shaped everything that I've done. I'm I believe in if it takes a little longer to do it the first time, but you but you do it right, then you know you're never you're not gonna have callbacks, you're not gonna have people, you know, hounding you because if you if you cut corners, it's just gonna bite you, you know, down the road and it causes more problems. Right. Yeah. So yeah, I just I've always been, you know, one of those people that try to do it the right way the first time just so it's done and it's easy maintenance after that.

Early Jobs And Sales Career Path

SPEAKER_02 9:05

Yeah, that's awesome. So what how did you grow up? You you went through sports and all that stuff, like all of us. What what were some of your early jobs? You know, where what did you grow up in the construction industry? Was that just a fluke? Or was tell me where you sort of started out? You know, how'd you cut your teeth? Was it in sales? Was it management? Uh give me an idea of where you came from.

SPEAKER_00 9:25

Yeah, so I always I always thought I'd be in sales, and that's just because the way I grew up was was a little rough, and we moved around a lot um just to try to make it. So with all those moves, I just felt like you know, I was constantly building new relationships and getting really good at building new relationships just because I had to out of you know nature, you know, going that way. And so I just knew talking to people and building relationships, I'd be able to be pretty successful in in sales. Um but I'd say so. My very first job I had was uh Jenkinson sweet shop on uh the boardwalk in New Jersey. I was 14 and I used to serve ice cream. Uh yeah. So uh after that, you know, I got I got into sports a little uh heavy because I I took off my freshman year and that's when I uh joined the bowling team because my knees. And then uh and yeah, I think uh after that let's see I mean shoveling driveways, breaking yards, anything I could do to make money. And then after after the military I went straight to college and then I worked at a I worked at a uh car wash, finishing cars, I did that for two years, and then I wanted to enjoy college for the last two years, so I started taking out loans.

SPEAKER_02 10:40

Yeah, I understand, right? That's the way it works, right?

SPEAKER_00 10:43

Yep, yep. So I wanted to enjoy that. Um and then after college I worked at uh RJ Reynolds tobacco company. So I did um I did sales for them. I was a national account manager for those guys uh for seven and a half years. Um and then I was just ready for an industry switch, uh kind of getting burnt out and no pun. Right. Yeah, yeah. Oh no, a wrong one. That one. That's funny. Uh and then yeah, after after that I I've you know decided I wanted to move from Houston because I was in Houston for eight years. I'm sorry. Yeah, me too.

SPEAKER_02 11:24

Hey, we it we we love Houston, but man, Houston is just it's grown so much and it's it's crazy in oil, and it's just it's a different breed compared to you know some of the other Texas cities. So we we we we us us Dallasites, you know, but they they say the same thing about us down there, right? For sure, right?

SPEAKER_00 11:44

Down there you're getting nowhere fast. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 11:47

You know, but yeah, it's huge, it's it's crazy busy down there.

SPEAKER_00 11:51

But then yeah, I saw I moved up here, I've always wanted to live up here. Um big Cowboys fan. Uh my family's out in East Texas, both my best friends live up here, so nice. Uh I saw an opportunity to move up. And when I did, I I started with a a startup company um who, you know, kind of promised me a nice salary, but I never got that salary. And then after five months of burning through 50 grand, I I realized that I need a real job. Yeah, that happens, right? Yeah. So uh that's that's what brought me to Pella. Um I had so Jared is uh the vice president of sales, and he is uh who I knew uh through another friend, and I just reached out to him and sent him a uh my you know, not an application, but my resume and um had an interview and everything went well and here I am. That's all my third year. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 12:47

And and uh do you find um, you know, have you found anything hard about your transitions from maybe military to to civilian from from Houston to Dallas, from from one company the way they handle leadership compared to the way Pella handles leadership?

Culture Fit And Personal Work Habits

SPEAKER_02 13:07

Have you found any similarities or differences in your transitions?

SPEAKER_00 13:11

Um definitely. I I I definitely look for culture as like a very positive part of of you know working. Um if you don't have a good culture, then it's not fun to go to work. Um and I know it's not fun for everybody to go to work, but I mean it's gotta be tolerable, right?

SPEAKER_01 13:27

Right, yeah, exactly right.

SPEAKER_00 13:29

Yeah, and that's what I loved about RJ Reynolds was the the culture, but you know, then we got bought out by the Brits and they took over the company and the culture just kind of hit the back door. And uh, you know, they tripled the workload, they didn't do anything with our pay. Um, so I mean they were just numbers, numbers, numbers, and you know, they didn't care about the relationships and the people that we were burning, so that's when I got burnt out and uh moved to over here to Pella. And the culture of Pella is just everything that I could ask for, you know, it's just a really fun working environment. Everybody cares about each other, it's a big team. We all work together. And uh yeah, so I could see myself with Pella for a while. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 14:12

Yeah, before we get into uh Windows here in a second, which we're gonna get into. Let's talk about from a leadership. Are there any specific habits you have or routines that you put in place or how do you sort of line up your weeks, your days, your your months, and do you set goals every year? Sort of tell us a little bit about the leadership and how you handle some of those things.

SPEAKER_00 14:31

Yeah, so I'm a big spreadsheet guy. I got a lot of lot of spreadsheets. Um, but typically I I that's how I monitor my work and what I'm doing. Um I mean I I I keep a good calendar, so I keep everything on my calendar. Uh and that Friday, usually Friday afternoons, I will look, you know, at my next week and plan for that. Um and that's that's pretty much how I go about you know my day.

SPEAKER_02 14:58

Right. You do any personal things? You do meditation, do you do goal setting?

SPEAKER_00 15:03

Do you do anything? I mean, so I I set goals. Um typically, you know, number goals. Um I try to hit you know every goal I can every every month, but it doesn't work out that way all the time. Right. It's construction.

SPEAKER_01 15:17

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 15:18

Yeah. Um, but yeah, I set my any goal that I get from the company, I always boost it a little bit for my personal goal.

SPEAKER_01 15:26

Awesome, awesome, awesome.

SPEAKER_00 15:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:28

All right, so let's tie into some of these

How He Wins In Window Sales

SPEAKER_02 15:30

windows. Uh, you know, we we know that you sort of made your uh uh your connections. That's why a lot of times people get into good companies and and especially the big companies is through, you know, sort of the connections, and then you gotta prove yourself. Um is there anything that um you think made you successful so far up to this point in window sales?

SPEAKER_00 15:51

Yes. Uh I mean in any sales, I do believe uh relationship and presence and showing there and um showing up is is a big deal. Um the way that I the way that I quote, I try to be a little bit more unique than any, you know, anybody else's quotes. Um I put very detailed.

SPEAKER_02 16:09

How too? How?

SPEAKER_00 16:10

Uh I'm just very detailed with uh with what I put in my customer notes, um, just to make sure that there's you know that the builder understands that there's other options or you know, if I had to make a change because the window didn't meet egress, then I need to I need to annotate that and let the builder know. I also like to put together um you know little PDF files with alternate uh alternate options if you know they don't like the the cost. Um and I do that with a lot of my a lot of my customers. I'll um I'll take the house and I'll if it's a replacement job, I'll I'll take a picture of the front of the house and I'll I'll add in the windows to let them you know kind of see what it would look like if they decided to go with us and and yeah, I mean I've seen a lot of success uh by doing stuff like that and really touch in base with like the homeowners too. Like if I can get in with the homeowners and really get them to a showroom and go through all the you know hardware and and the specific features that they're looking for. I I feel like that really helps, um, especially because they transitioned. They said they had a you know a great meeting with me and that makes the builder a little bit more comfortable with wanting to go with us.

SPEAKER_02 17:18

Yeah. You mentioned like giving them mock-ups and stuff like that.

AI Mockups For Homeowners

SPEAKER_02 17:22

Have you guys incorporated any AI into your things or you've been checking into that?

SPEAKER_00 17:26

Uh yeah. Yeah, yeah. So they they actually have a little program now if you just go on the Pellet website where you can you can upload your picture of a house and you can add whatever color or type of window to the windows, and AI will generate another photo that um can show another homeowner or a builder of what you know what it would look like. So that's awesome. They just released that not too long ago. I think that's been available now for like maybe six months.

SPEAKER_02 17:51

Yeah, I mean it's changed in our industry completely. I mean, I study AI a lot, and it's it's really gonna be amazing what's gonna change over the course of you know the next, I mean, I mean a lot of things have changed in the last year, but even the next year, two years. Um it's it's pretty exciting to see see all the changes that we have out

What Sets Pella Apart

SPEAKER_02 18:11

there. So one thing, um let's talk about Pella. Pella's a big name, right? So what do you what do you think that true maybe truly sets them apart from the crowd? Innovation. I assume you're probably biased on that, right?

SPEAKER_00 18:25

So I would say I would say innovation. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:28

Uh so how how so?

SPEAKER_00 18:30

Well, so we the we actually uh became a company uh because of uh roll screen. So we were the first people to or you know, Pella was the first people to invent the roll screen, and at first that that's what the company was, and then they you know transitioned into Windows where they um added roll screens. Essentially, uh almost every window, the way it operates or the way um you know it's copied is because uh you know Pella came up with an innovative product and it just caught on. So uh we have a lot of products that you you know you can't find anywhere else. We have you know ever all of our hardware is Pella Hardware, it's all custom factory made. Um, you know, you put in an order and it's on the assembly belt in 72 hours.

SPEAKER_02 19:18

Right. I already know the answer to this because I mean you are my one of my window reps and and and all that stuff, and I order a lot of stuff through you. So do you consider yourself more of a consultant or a closer and why?

SPEAKER_00 19:34

So I like to uh I don't like to hard close. I I I like to uh I like I like my work and my relationship to be the reason why people continue to work with me.

SPEAKER_02 19:49

Right.

SPEAKER_00 19:49

Um so I just like I like to prove my worth through you know my work and and being there and showing up. Um so that's I mean that's kind of right. I mean I I think I can yeah, I can close. I mean I've been closing for a long time. You're a good closer, but yeah. But I don't but I don't uh I don't I I don't try to hard close anymore. I don't try to hard sell.

SPEAKER_02 20:11

No, you don't I just try to have a relationship with the with the person and and do good work and then and I always tell tell everybody, you know, because we we were talking about these new member breakfasts and everything we do in all the associations, and it's putting the time and and being available because there's gonna be a time. Most builders, um I you know, I'm open because but I have a business background. I I'm not the typical construction guy that grew up in construction. I I'm a business guy, so I look at everything a little bit different than a lot of the builders. Uh, but that's why I tell all my vendors is it's it's all about doing the the time, putting the time in and being there at the right spot, the right time, that their window person blink something up, and uh, and at that point they're they're ready for it. And if you're sitting there hanging out with them at the same table and doing whatever and having a luncheon, and and that that's your end, right? It's it's and then you develop that nurturing that relationship and and be that right hand. You know, I tell tell all my my vendors, you have to be my right hand because I I get 20. I mean, you're very specialized. We're as project managers, we have a little specialty in a lot of different things. And and there, there's some exceptions, but that's where it is. I don't want to be a specialist. Could I sit down and study everything about Windows? Do I know a lot about Windows? Yes. When my client asks me, I'm like, I don't know. I'll have to ask my rep because I don't want to tell that. I and I know a lot of builders do, they like to spout their information. That's just not me. Yeah, I'd rather rely on my expert because there's gonna be one question I don't know that ultimately I'm gonna have to bring you in anyway to ask. Yeah, that's why I send my people to you. That way I say, I don't know anything about Windows. You go talk to Jeremy over here, he'll take care of you. So, you know, and you know, it's just a simple thing, even though I've I've studied Windows and but I mean they're ever changing. And then I, you know, every every international builder show or everything, there's always some new technology or something that they've added, or you know, I I you I think we've got a new line coming out, right? Yeah, we do. Don't you?

SPEAKER_00 22:13

Yeah, it's called Pela Vista.

SPEAKER_02 22:15

Pela Vista. What is what is the Pela Vista while we're on that?

SPEAKER_00 22:18

It's gonna be uh it's gonna be our aluminum line. Yeah. Yeah, and it's gonna be very customizable. Uh like a hundred colors. I mean, it's uh you can go real big with them. It's gonna be it's it's definitely gonna round out our portfolio.

SPEAKER_02 22:31

Right. Yeah, that's great. I know you've been anxious because I mean that's that's been something that's been missing. And that's a big thing about you know bigger companies. They're they're a little slower to react and they need to perfect, do their testing, and you know, R and D and all that stuff.

SPEAKER_00 22:45

So we're pretty vigorous with that.

SPEAKER_02 22:47

Yeah, exactly.

Install Mistakes That Cause Problems

SPEAKER_02 22:48

So what's uh what's some of the most common um mistakes builders or contractors make when it comes to windows?

SPEAKER_00 22:55

Letting the framers install. Yeah. Right? Yeah, yeah. The framers, I mean, it's nice if it's an easy project, you know, yeah, a couple windows, but um, I just notice that, you know, whenever they use their framers to put in their windows, I just wonder, you know, are you having your framers do your plumbing? Right. Are you having them do your AC? You know, it's it's you you get your windows from uh a nice luxury line. You should probably let them install it.

SPEAKER_02 23:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:23

But it's only just because that affect your warranty when my framers put them in? Uh it it does not, no. Yeah, it doesn't affect the warranty, but you do get additional warranties if you let us install. Okay. Yeah, because we'll back it with a five-year warranty on the install.

SPEAKER_02 23:38

I see. Um how do you do on the prep? I know there's certain ways we tape our windows and and prep with waterproofing and all that stuff. Do you and do you have reps that come out and check that prior to install, or do you give advice to some of these people? Are you handling that from yours? So give us an idea.

SPEAKER_00 23:54

Whenever they're allowing their guys to install, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:56

Well, the the taping them up, you know, the waterproofing, getting them all prepped for when you're getting ready to install them. If you're the you're on my installer, you want to make sure they're waterproof. I'm not gonna have any leaks. Yeah, and there's certain ways you do your, you know, yeah, all your zip tapes and all that stuff. Or do you do you inspect them? Are you you have a service to provide to do that? Or tell it, tell us a little bit if if people aren't familiar, because there's a lot of new builders that listen, they might not understand that there's certain ways you gotta prep windows, you know, the the the in uh the openings before you put the windows in.

SPEAKER_00 24:29

Yeah, yeah. So I mean, if we're installing, uh then we send our our team out there two weeks before the install to check all the openings to give the builder time to correct any of the openings. If all the openings are correct, then when we go out to install, we will tape around uh the opening. Um, and then most of it will be nail finned. So they're gonna nail the fin on the exterior. And then they're gonna uh before they do that though, we're gonna add um a really nice adhesive glue uh to the back of the nail fin just for additional, you know, additional waterproofing. Um and then after the fact we'll we'll tape around the nail fin. Um don't ever tape at the bottom because we need those weep holes open.

SPEAKER_02 25:08

You need that water to get out of there once it gets in.

SPEAKER_00 25:11

Yeah, yeah. And then uh a huge thing which is missed by a lot of um framers is the shimming. So when when it comes to you know foundation and and all that stuff, it's gonna settle and it's gonna move, it's gonna move the openings just a little bit. So you need to shim these windows to give that, you know, give a little bit of room for them to adjust with the house. Um a lot of times those framers won't shim, and then they they they try to open a window and you know it's too tight because they just throw it in there and the window doesn't operate properly. And then they'll they'll call us and they're they'll wonder why it's not operating properly, and I'll ask, well, did we install? And I said, Did your framers shim the windows? And they'll say no. And then and then I'm like, okay, well, next time we should install. Yeah, we should install, right? You know, and those guys never have suction cups or anything like that. So if you get a large window to take it upstairs, I'm I've seen these guys walk up ladders with these windows, and it's it's scary. Yeah, it's risky.

SPEAKER_02 26:09

It's it's scary on some some instances, right? So, you know, if if at all possible, I'm I'm gonna have you know you guys install on on my stuff.

SPEAKER_00 26:18

So but we're also with our cloud wood, we have uh a new innovative fin, uh we call it the yellow fin, where you don't even need to uh nail anything in the exterior. Um this is our interior steady set installation system, um, and it's exclusive, you know, for us. Uh not only that, it it cuts the install in half uh the time. It's it's a lot safer. You can install from the interior rather than the exterior, and it only it really only takes Is it like a snap together or how does it have brackets? Okay. So there's brackets that um come in and you take it out and you slide it in. You can have four inch brackets for two by four walls or six inch brackets, and we have a universal bracket too, just in case. Um but yeah, it and you screw it right to the inside and it it sits right there, and then then the the fin will come out and then you just uh tape the fin. So it takes a it it takes a lot of nails and stuff, uh a lot of extra holes uh out of your you know exterior. Sheathing and all that. So that's awesome, awesome. It's a great, great product.

SPEAKER_02 27:23

I understand. So in sales, let's talk about go back to some of the sales,

Price Pushback And Warranty Value

SPEAKER_02 27:28

right? So, you know, we have a lot of salespeople that they're sending in this. What um you know, we we have bad days, right? In sales. I've been in sales all my life. You you don't get a job or you get that rejection, or or you know, somebody says, you know, blah, went with this guy and all that. So how does that affect you? Do you do anything? Is it uh numbers game? Is it uh sort of tell me tell me what you set up for success better based on that?

SPEAKER_00 27:56

Um a lot of times it comes down to to price. You know, we're a company that's a luxury company, been around a hundred years. Um, so I have a lot of builders that will come to me and saying they want a nice quality window, and then they'll see, you know, what the quote looks like, and they'll be like, Well, you're you know, this much more than my other quote. And I said, Well, what's your other quote? And you know, it's uh elevate or something like that. Yes, and I'm big price defense. Yeah, and I I said, Well, I I thought you wanted quality. Right, you know, yeah, so it it a lot of it's uh just trying to figure out a way to move their mindset off of price and have them, you know, think about what they really want. Like, do they want a good quality product? Do they want the windows to last 20 years to a lifetime in a home without any anything going wrong? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:44

Um because you guys offer lifetime warranties in most cases, still do that, right?

SPEAKER_00 28:49

Oh yeah, yeah, limited lifetime. Yeah. And a lot of a lot of our warranties will transfer over to another owner within the 10 years.

SPEAKER_02 28:55

That's where I was going because I had a uh remodel I did years back, and and uh I had a uh sort of a round octave octagon window, and I was like, wow, and one of the seals had busted, there was something or it had a crack in it. And uh I was talking to my rep prior to you, this has been you know 10 years ago. So yeah, you know, and he goes, Is there uh a number down in the corner? I'm like, where's this at? Because I didn't know whose windows it was. Yeah, and I said, Yeah, there's a number down there. He goes, Read it to me. He goes, Yeah, that's one of our numbers. Let me check on it. Sure enough, it was covered on a lifetime warranty. Just random. I didn't know it, I didn't know about the lifetime warranty. I knew you guys offered a warranty, but I didn't know that it transferred and all this. I mean, this was just random. My I was talking to my guy on the phone. He's like, Hey, is there a number there? I'm like, sure, let me check. Yeah, sure enough there was, and and yeah, you guys replaced it. And man, made my homeowner pretty happy on that one because those real, those little round, you know, off offshoot windows sometimes can you know be pricey. Yeah, so that's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 29:56

So yeah, we etch, we etch uh the serial numbers in all of our stuff.

SPEAKER_02 29:59

Yeah, that's that was pretty cool to

Accountability And Motivation Outside Work

SPEAKER_02 30:01

to learn. So um, so um uh how do you hold yourself accountable, right? You know, because in sales, one of the big things that a lot of people they they might work from their house and never go in the office, or they stop by and they have their dictate of their own schedule, right? And uh, you know, uh, you know, a lot of people abuse that a lot of times. And and uh, you know, how how do you hold yourself accountable?

SPEAKER_00 30:31

Uh I I just know, I mean, I like I've always been self-motivated. So uh if if I'm not doing my job at a high level, then I'm I'm failing a lot of other people as well. So I mean, I I have accountability through the company, but I also have accountability to myself where I I know I need to make things happen if we're gonna build this company together. Um and that every every rep knows that. Um so I try to hold myself accountable by uh just planning, um, making sure that I my planning is is right. I hold myself accountable if I'm if I'm in the office for two or three days. I tell myself I gotta get out and see somebody, I gotta, you know, go to lunch, I gotta do something, uh, and get out of this office. Um so that's I mean that's pretty much that's pretty much it. I have goals and I want to meet those goals. Um you know, I wake up every morning, I cook a big breakfast, yeah, and that gets my day going.

SPEAKER_02 31:25

Can't sit at home on the couch eating bonbons and accomplish your goals, right? No, just doesn't work that way.

SPEAKER_00 31:31

Yeah, plus I'm getting married and I just bought a house.

SPEAKER_02 31:33

I was getting ready to ask you my next question. So you you bought a house, you you're getting married, and uh, how long have you been uh dating her?

SPEAKER_00 31:41

Uh we've been together um so it'll be three years, uh pretty much. Um pretty much when we get married. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:50

So we met a Texas girl. Is she a transplant down here as well?

SPEAKER_00 31:53

No, no, she's a Texas girl. All right, good. Born and raised in Dallas, she's been in Dallas her whole life, uh, except for when she went to college, she's a red raider. So you know, go Texas Tech. Go Texas Tech.

SPEAKER_02 32:03

And I've done some training up at Texas Tech for us, so yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:06

Um, and yeah, she's she's changed my life. She's a lot of my motivation. Um uh she's she's everything to me, so that's awesome. When it with marriage and a house and becomes more bills and more bills. Kids eventually. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:19

Yeah, that's that'll really change your motivation, man. That's just changed all I had people tell me that as I was growing up. All the kids change. I'm like, yeah, okay, all right. Yeah. You know, I date a lot of girls that had kids, and and uh I was like, Yeah, I know it does, but no, it just when you have kids of your own, it just that mentality is just it blows you away how much your your mindset changes, what you have to accomplish every day. So I'm looking forward to that. Yeah, no, it's it's best, best thing, biggest accomplishment of my life by far, not even close to anything else, right? So

Favorite Product Lines And A Win

SPEAKER_02 32:52

all right. So a couple things as we sort of go through on the last couple of minutes of this, or you know, we got some fun things we're gonna do here in a second, but what's your favorite pillow window line to sell? If somebody was coming in and says, Hey, tell me what what's your favorite, Jeremy? Which which one should I put in my house? So it depends. I mean, I I don't uh I don't have a budget. I mean, uh whatever, whatever. Just tell me tell me which one you want me to put in.

SPEAKER_00 33:17

So I mean, uh Cladwood is is a very, very unique, very customizable uh window. Um depending on what you're building, I would I would recommend going with our our cladwood. Um but impervia fiberglass, it's the strongest fiberglass on the market. It's it's built built to last, it's built for uh large large buildings, um, large windows, uh durability. And uh I sell a lot a lot of Impervia. Um it's a it's a great great window, it's a great line. That is, that is.

SPEAKER_02 33:51

Um one more question until we get into some fun stuff. What's your most rewarding project or client story so far?

SPEAKER_00 34:01

I would say I'd say the most rewarding was I would I mean they all feel really good. But one one that I worked for real hard where I was getting turned down and was getting turned down and I just I kept, you know, making sure that I was there on the job site, I was calling the builder, I was getting them in front of me, I was bringing them to the showrooms, and uh you know, and and it was all about price. And so, you know, I I talked with my boss and I looked at and I said, Hey, if if I can get him to bite on this, can we do it? And uh and I told him, I said, Look, I can do this for you for this cost, um, but you have to make a decision today. And because I was just tired of being thrown around the wheel. Sure. Yeah. And and they did. And uh that one was that one was very rewarding because I definitely thought I lost that job. And it was my first job. It was my first job with them, and they've recently sent me, you know, three or four more plans. Um, and yeah, that one's uh that one's actually still in the works. I mean, well, it's already all installed and stuff, but yeah, you know, it's still going on that build. That's great. Yeah, that's great.

SPEAKER_02 35:18

All right, well, that's that's all

Rapid-Fire Questions And Closing

SPEAKER_02 35:20

the fun questions. I mean, so all that's all the serious questions. Now we get to get into uh I've got two books, two books over here. Uh 3,000 pick one questions, pick this or pick that, and 3,000 questions about me. So what I need you to do is we're gonna do three out of each of these, and uh, I need you to pick a number from one to three thousand. Okay. Tell me right now, yeah. 11. 11. This is your first one that we have. So yogurt or cottage cheese and why? Yogurt or cottage cheese?

SPEAKER_00 35:56

I'd pick yogurt. Yogurt, yeah. And that's just simply because I don't like cottage cheese. There you go.

SPEAKER_02 36:03

Well, you might be. You're a workout guy, you know, you gotta get that casein protein in there.

SPEAKER_00 36:06

So yeah, Rosa's really into it. She eats it all the time, but yeah, it's it's good stuff. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:11

All right, so number the number one to three thousand.

SPEAKER_00 36:14

Uh 116.

SPEAKER_02 36:16

116. See, there's no, there's I keep this all random so I can't, you know, beat up on my uh, you know, my people that are coming in there. 116. Oh, golf cart or four-wheeler and why?

SPEAKER_00 36:32

Golf cart, because that means I live close to a golf course.

SPEAKER_02 36:35

That's what I was thinking the whole time. Exactly right. All right, one more. One to three thousand.

SPEAKER_00 36:41

Uh let's do one thousand three eleven.

SPEAKER_02 36:48

All right. 1311. And we have Polish or Italian sausage.

SPEAKER_00 37:03

I think I'd have to go. That's a tough one, even for me, right? Yeah. I think I'd go Polish. Yeah. Just because I I don't I don't get it very, very often, and it's always delicious.

SPEAKER_02 37:14

Yeah. You know, I'm married to a good Italian, love my Italian sausage, but I'm thinking Polish sausage because that means it's probably summer. I'm out on the grill. Yeah. And that's the first thing that went to my head when when I asked you that question. So so I might have gone with that Polish as the answer as well. So yeah. All right. Uh all right. Now we're gonna go about 3,000 questions to me, a little bit. That was your warm-up with pick me, pick this or that. Okay. Uh so give me anything, one to three thousand. Uh two nine nine nine. Two nine nine nine. Oh, you're going straight to the top, right? All right. What is something you wish you could avoid? What is something you wish you could avoid?

SPEAKER_00 37:56

Hmm. I wish I could avoid the very hot weather during the summer. Oh, yeah, you don't like the hot weather? Not not when it's over a hundred. Oh, I love it.

unknown 38:12

Over a hundred.

SPEAKER_00 38:12

That's my favorite. No, I can't. I was born in Jersey. Yeah, it's true.

SPEAKER_02 38:16

I was born. It was like a melting out there. I've been down here a long time. I like that hot weather. Yeah. I always had my best sports when I was over a hundred because I don't, I'm not a big sweater like a lot of the people. So, and everybody was just dehydrated and falling down. I'm just getting warmed up, right? Oh, yeah. So I could kick everybody's booty if it was over 100. So I had my best games when it was over 100 because everybody else was horrible. Yeah. Tennis, I could just outlast everybody. I just keep going. I'm like, oh yeah, yeah, you're fine. Let's let's just keep going. Let's keep going. And then next thing you know, I'd like eight eight games in a row, and you know, all that stuff.

SPEAKER_00 38:49

So I'll I'll sweat, I'll sweat pretty bad in 60 degree weather. Exactly right.

SPEAKER_02 38:54

And then you'll wear out fast. All right, another two numbers. What's the next one?

SPEAKER_00 38:58

Uh let's go 24.

SPEAKER_02 39:03

24 taking the opposite side of the spectrum.

SPEAKER_00 39:06

For my man Kobe.

SPEAKER_02 39:07

There you go. Uh, what do you most value in your friends? That's a pretty good one. Loyalty.

unknown 39:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:15

Yeah. Yeah. I could go with that answer. All right, one more.

SPEAKER_00 39:20

Yeah. Let's go. Uh let's go 140.

SPEAKER_02 39:27

140. It's fun, isn't it? Right? You get to random. I'd never even know what I'm going to ask you. 140. Uh, made me smile. Uh I know how you're gonna answer this one already because uh because of what we talked about at the beginning of the show. Have you ever let someone win an argument even though you knew you were right? And who was that? I have. And those are ex-wives. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Yeah, the girls, they always they always are the ones, right? I can think of a lot of business. Uh, there's been many times in business that I knew the answer and I I pretended I didn't like the windows things, right? I know the answer. I just send them over to you, you know. It's just because I want you to establish a relationship. I don't need to be the expert of everything, but but yeah, it's it's it's sort of uh a funny thing. So yeah. Well, man, I appreciate you coming and hanging out with me. And uh you're down here in the Dallas Fort Worth market. If if somebody's needing a window person, uh give uh give the good people an idea how they might be able to get hold of you and and and uh talk to you.

SPEAKER_00 40:38

Yeah, well, you could always uh you know call any of our our um showrooms. Yeah and uh cross the country, right? Anytime, but yeah, yeah. So we have three showrooms here in the in the you know Fort Worth, Dallas area, um Frisco, Dallas, and Fort Worth. Um if you walk in there, you you would be sent to one of the reps, um, or you could ask for me specifically. Uh, you know, my my work number, 682-269-8247. Uh, give me your name again. My name's Jeremy Vandy Walker. And uh yeah, I can be your Pelo Windows and Doors rep.

SPEAKER_02 41:14

There you go. Well, we appreciate you taking the time today and and uh you know had a had an enjoyable time getting to know you and hanging out.

SPEAKER_00 41:22

Yeah, I appreciate you having me.

SPEAKER_02 41:23

Look toward to uh future business. Yes, sir. All right, thank you much. Yes, sir.