How to build your business & sales success with CORE values! ft. Tinos Marketis, Jr.

0:16 Welcome to the Impact Sales Podcast. I'm your host, Joe Beck, and we've got a great episode in store for you today. Today we're going to be talking all about the importance of core values in the development of your business and exactly what that can lead to when you build the foundation the right way, with the right structure, and most importantly, the right core values. Before we jump into that, let's talk a little bit about what's going on in the sales world. What's going on out there. We're heading into the fourth quarter of the year. For everybody that's out there that's selling, you know, it can either be a great time of year for you to be selling or a very challenging time right But the one thing that we know is we get closer towards the end of the year, is people are looking at their annual sales objectives trying to determine how they're doing. Are they on track, are they accomplishing what they want to accomplish? Are they going to reach their goals? And if you're struggling out there, you're not quite where you need to be, and you're working on it. Stay tuned to the Impact Sales Podcast.

1:19 We're going to continue to give you great content, great information, actionable stuff that you can take into the field and use and absorb so you can have it impact your own sales success. So today, though, we have a great guest in store for all of you. This guy was actually born into the construction realm. He was born into a family that owned a fairly large painting and general contracting company. He started at a very young age. He started at the age of nineteen years old. He actually was running large projects for his family at a very young age, and he's now taken all of that experience over many many years and built it into a very special, growing and thriving business. So with me in the studio today is mister Express Tinos Marquettish Junior with the Impact Sales Podcast. Stay tuned, we'll be back in a minute. Hi, this is Joe Beck with the Sales Activist. Are you a coach, consultant or entrepreneur who's struggling to create dynamic and consistent sales success in your business? Does your appointment calendar look like a barren wasteland with little to no appointment activity and unfortunately even less in your pipeline. Well, if that's the case, I want to help for well over thirty years, and after tens of thousands of live sales interactions and hundreds of millions of dollars of closed transactions for companies that I've worked with and for, I've developed a proprietary sales system where we can guarantee your sales success and guarantee to triple it within six months

2:51 or less. It's our ISSM system, the Impact Sales Mastery System. You want to learn more details about it, just text the word sales to the number four oh nine five oh nine seven three five five. That's four oh nine, five oh nine. Sell his text the word sales four O nine five O nine cell, and I look forward to speaking with you. You don't have to settle for average sales results. And we're back with the Impact Sales Podcast. I'm your host, Joe Beck with me in this studio. He was born into the construction realm. His parents owned a fairly large painting and general contracting company. He started at a young age in the business. At the age of nineteen, just nineteen years old, he managed a commercial project of one hundred and seventy eight apartment and condo units for his father. He's been in the business for twenty eight years and now he's built his own driving company in the construction industry. He's the CEO of Express Exterior Design, a multi state construction for specializing in residential and commercial exterior construction. Please welcome to the Impact Sales Podcast, mister Express. Tinos Marquettis Junior. Hey Tinos, how are you.

4:11 I'm doing well, Joe, I'm doing well. Thank you for the introduction. No, my pleasure. I was excited looking forward to this opportunity for us to talk a little bit. So I want to jump right in. I like to ask everybody that joins me on the podcast a starting question, and that question is this, how did you first get started in sales. That's a great question, Joe. I was born and raised in the construction industry, as you mentioned, so every day I would hear my mother and my father just they were operating through a sales process, closing down deals. I would go as a child to projects with my father and just watch him, you know, negotiate. So I literally one day, I was twelve years old on a project and my father had some additional work pop up, and I literally looked at a superintendent from the general contractor that he was doing the project for and I said, sir, you know, this is additional work and my father can't do this work for free, so we're going to have to up charge you for it. And from that point on, I just started to you know, I actually my father said, did you really have that conversation with him? I said, yes, he goes, well, you know what, now you can go give him the price. So I started. That was when I kind of started getting involved with it, and my father kind of just like you know, led me through

5:42 a path of getting involved with those kind of situations. Yeah, that's great, That's that's so awesome, and it's really exciting to hear how you kind of grew up in a house where not only you were part of the family business, but you were seeing firsthand how they were handling those sales things, even at such a young age. So that's a that's a great story. Love. I love hearing stuff like that. I grew up in a house where it was the exact opposite my my father's like, whatever you do, don't get into sales. Much different than an entrepreneur household for sure. So you know, a lot of great things going on with Express, Why don't you tell me just a little bit about the company, what you guys are working on.

6:26 I know you're now in multiple states and growing. Tell us a little bit about Express and you know the story there. Express six Steer Design is a family owned business. November of twenty eighteen, I decided to start Express S excuere Design. I looked at my wife, after so many years of doing interior and exterior remodeling, and I said, you know, I'm tired of being inside people's homes. I want to be outside of people's homes. I don't want to disrupt, you know, disrupt their home and personal time. Let's start an exterior remodeling business. So we started Express s Excior Design.

7:12 And the first thing I did was I came up with three core values, trust, quality, and integrity. And we stand behind those core values through business and personal life. Uh. We find that, you know, over the years, you know, seeing a lot of contractors out there, I don't see how a company can grow without core values. So Express sixteer Design stands behind those core values. We offer roofing, windows, siding, gutters, and door services. Currently we're in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, those three states. We offer every service uh where. We just opened up in office this month's September in Florida. We're going to be doing roofing and gutters and then we are going to eventually have the other services, but the way the licensing works down here, it's a little bit different.

8:13 Our plan is to also in October open up our Texas office as well. Wow, that's great, and this all just started since twenty eighteen. There was a little thing in the middle of all that you guys might all remember it, that pandemic that impacted the world. But you know, you've plowed right through that, and not only have you survived through that, but you've expanded, you've gone to different states, and that's a that's a great, great story. So love the core values so powerful to stand out and really stand behind what you're doing. And that brings me to one of the things that I think is really important in professional selling, no matter what product or service that you're offering people, and it's the idea that you really need to become a trusted advice and resource to the people that you work with. And I know this is something that means a lot to you and express you know, what are your thoughts on being that trusted advisor for your clients.

9:10 I find and I find it important that in our sales process we don't we don't utilize hard, pushy sales tactics. We are to do two things express exterior design is an educational and a solution provide. We provide education, We inform our customers. Let's face reality, our customers nowadays, our prospects are a little smarter than the average bear. They can go onto Google and research things. So if we're you know, if we're operating under trust, quality and integrity, it's important to be fully transparent and educational, provide an educational process and then just go straight to the solution for the customer.

9:58 No, that's and that is is absolutely true and right. I mean, you're doing the right thing, and obviously it's paying off. People are really enjoying that part of the process and the growth is an example of that as a result. So one of the things that I think, you know, I think is critical as well, and I know you guys stand behind this as well, is you know, it's never just enough just to do the job, like you need to do the job, but it's the impression that you leave the way you operate and the way you work with people is a large part of what you guys are about, and I think it's a testament to why your growth has been what it's been. That goes back to something that I talk about a lot, because you just mentioned that people are smarter than the average bear. They're able to get so much information out there, information overload. You know, they can google it, they can figure out this even rough pricing wholesop right. They can figure all these stuff things out. And when you educate, you're helping them fill in the gaps that maybe they kind of have and that's valuable to the client. But the other thing that I know you guys do is you have a big impact on the people that you work with.

11:10 And you change lives in some ways. You're changing how their home is perceived or how their business is perceived. It changes a lot of things. And I talk a lot about impact because that's really what makes the difference. You know, there's a lot of people out there that can go and do a job. It's those that make an impact that really really change things. So tell us how you and express impact people. And some of the stories are just give me an example of the impact that you're having on the clients that you're working with. In servicing, impact is a powerful word. I believe that impacting our customers is one of the main things that has brought our success to where it is today. What we do, the kind of service that we offer hand in hand, we walk our customers through the entire process, and the way we find that is extremely effective. The most effective way to impact our customers is to do as we say we're going to do from start to finish, when the process is streamlined and they know that they can trust us through the good and the bad. Most of the time, being a service provider, that's a hard spot to be in because of past experiences that they've had,

12:40 current experiences that they're going through. So our process builds an impact by doing what we say we're going to do. That's what we do. And if you look at our company reviews online on Google, a lot of our customers spell out how they were impacted through the entire process. Mm hmm. Yeah, And that's and that's powerful. And you're absolutely right, you. Know, in today's in today's world, showing up and doing the job is in some cases, you know, exceptional or good. Right, it's not going to be good for those that are elite, you really want to take it to the next level and do everything the right way, because there's so many people out there that just don't they don't show up, they don't do what they say they're going to do, and that that does create challenges and and you you were very transparent when you said that. Sometimes it creates challenges from from things that happened in the past. Sometimes it's what they might be currently experiencing. I'm I'm assuming you sometimes walk into some problem situations that people are trying to clean.

13:52 Up or fix. You know, how do you how do you handle those types of circumstances, Because I know they're not all nice, easy projects, right, Sometimes you walk into things that are a bit of a mess, maybe fixing somebody else's problem. How do you how do you handle that? Because because your your your customer, your client is already upset, right, they're they're already not in a good place and it had nothing to do with you, but you're starting them in a tough spot. How do you how do you handle that? Because I think that's impactful in and of its. Absolutely, we just again we find we find means and methods to accommodate our customers. And it's important when we're doing things, we have to have all our systems and processes in place. When we're dealing with a customer that either had a bad experience at the moment, or we're going behind someone else, which we tend to do quite a bit, we will just calmly, humbly handle the situation.

14:55 We give them a peace of mind that they're in good hands. We all emphasize that they're dealing with a customer excuse me, I apologize for that, they're dealing with a contractor that stands behind trust, quality and integrity at all times. So through that process, when we tell them that, we don't only tell them, we show them that they can trust us. They know they're going to get quality workmanship, and they know with the integrity aspect, we're going to do as we say we're gonna do. Yep. Yeah, And that's powerful and I think that's and I'm so happy to hear you say that, because especially in in you know, service providers in various categories sometimes and it's not even justified, Sometimes people have these natural stereotypes of they're not gonna it's not gonna be easy. It's gonna be hard because they've had a bad experience or they've heard a horror story.

15:50 Right. And in those opportunities, though, comes tremendous opportunity for the people that do it well, that really do it well and embrace standing behind their service and being there. And I know you guys operate on the standard that you know you're you're not leaving a job until everything is the way it's supposed to be to the client's happy, to they've gotten everything that they're supposed to be receiving, and that you're satisfied as well that everything is set. And you know, tell me a little bit about that because that goes sometimes a little contrary to what people's experiences are with other contractors. Right, Tell me about that, because I know that's very impactful in your business.

16:31 Absolutely. I created a slogan, Joe, it's your job isn't finished until you're fully satisfied. And we stand behind that firmly. Now, you know, we strive to satisfy every customer, will go out of our way no matter what it takes. Uh. You know, we're not able to satisfy everybody, but we've done a very good job at it. I'm going to say rough about ninety five percent of our customers. We do a very good job at it. We're very passionate about doing that. Uh, it gets a little hairy and a little uh it's it's a challenge again, I'm gonna say the word challenge. It's challenging when you have to deal with a customer through a tough time because they're already irate, they're already you know, they're already speculating because let's face reality, in the construction industry, contractors do not have a great reputation. Most contractors don't have a great reputation because either their work is shoddy, they don't do as they say they're going to do, or they promised the customer a bunch of stuff just to get a sale and then proof nothing takes place. A lot of contractors, you know, tend to run off with deposits, whatever the case might be, or the they basically over promise or

18:05 no under promise and do not deliver either. Right Like, it's like over promise and don't deliver or under promise, and it's like it's very hairy, and unfortunately we have to go behind other contractors who operate in this manner, and we have to make things right and try to get them to believe in that there is some good contractors out there, because there is there's many good contractors as well that take pride in what they do. The problem that I see with a lot of other contractors and this industry is they don't have core values in place.

18:52 They're not training their staff to follow the core values. And then you know, when it comes to quality control, they don't have quality control either. Quality quality control is one of the most important things in any type of business. I think that's what leaves your that that's what will either give you a good name or a bad name. Yeah, yeah, I think you described it well. And I think the other reality of any service related business, especially contracting, is nobody ever knows what's on the other side of that wall or the other side of you know, some project that you're working on, and many times there are surprises. And you know, I've had previous guests that would say to me, sometimes, you know that service excellence is not necessarily just what you do.

19:43 Sometimes it's in how you do it. And I know in the contracting business, you know, ninety five percent satisfaction is really really good, and I wish everybody out there was at that level because you see so many curveballs, right, you know, they may start one way, but they change, and satisfying somebody completely, you know, is always based upon what the agreement says. With the understanding of that, look, we're we're here to do this work, We're not here to do that work. Well, sometimes that work becomes part of it because. Things have changed, so you know how you do it. I'm yeah, glad you brought that up, and I'll tell you why. You know, some things are unforeseen. So when we have unforeseen things and the customers already set on okay, for example, this job is going to cost ten thousand dollars, Well, when we start to remove certain things and we start digging into it, then all of a sudden you might end up with a thirty five hundred dollars change order.

20:46 And that's where customers tend to get a little upset. But it's hard for us to be able to detect detect certain things or assess certain things from the beginning. But a company, again that stands behind quality, we have to do that to properly offer the warranty that's necessary. Sure, yeah, and that's and and that comes from being elite and having that level of service. You know that, that's and and it's so true. And that's obviously a testament to why your company has been successful because you've been able to do that and continue to grow and thrive through some very challenging times. And that's you know that that says a lot. Now.

21:26 One of the things that you know, our our audience loves to hear because. We have a. Vastly different type of group of people here from time to time on the show. We always like to know, you know, having been through some of the things you've been through. If you had to start all over again as an entrepreneur, as a business owner out there selling whatever, if you had to start all over again tomorrow from day one again, what would be the first one or two things that you would focus on? Well, what I know today and what I knew three and a half four years ago when I started Express Sexerior Design and prior to that. The first thing would be I would have core values in place, but on a I would have my core values spelled out and I would make sure that everybody on my team that was hired aligned with those core values? Number one. Number two would be SOPs. You and I both know what SOPs are.

22:39 What are they, Joe, Standard operating policies or procedures? Correct? Yep, And not many of us when we started our business years ago knew what a standard operating agreement was, right, or operating procedures, not agreement procedures. And shooting from the head, shooting from the hit. We're gonna do this, We're gonna go ahead and do that. Well, how do you expect the new hire to even know what we're doing without SOPs in place? So it made our made our job a lot harder than it should have been. So when you have standard operating procedures in place, it streamlines everything and it keeps everything aligned. Oh you know, we would complain this guy's not doing this, he's constantly forgetting this, and they're not doing that, and she's not doing this. Well, you got to have standard operating procedures in place. It'll eliminate a lot of that. So those are the two main things, core values and SOPs.

23:45 Yep. Yeah, so you know, if I'm hearing you correctly, Obviously those core values started off and then the SOPs really are structure. You would create structure that was clear, easy to follow, understandable, And that's something that I think is really important because you're right, there's a lot of people out there that follow the ready shoot aim approach to business where they're not necessarily planning things out, they're not really targeting and focusing, and they're not structured. So I really appreciate you sharing that. So, you know, Tinos, this time has been great, and I wanted to quickly give you an opportunity, you know, for somebody to follow you and express. Where can they find you? How can they connect with you? You know, give us a little bit about where people can reach you.

24:32 Okay, my email address Tinos t I n O S at Express without an e X p R E S S exteriordesign dot com. I'm on Facebook as well LinkedIn. We have our Express Exterior Design page on all platforms, Instagram, LinkedIn Facebook, I have a mister Express page on Facebook as well and Instagram. I haven't been posting as much, but I will be. I am so busy, I need to hire a social media manager. So those are great places to get in contact with me and follow me and if you have any questions or anything you just want to talk about or even get on the phone send me a message.

25:23 Okay, that sounds great, Tinos. It's been a pleasure having you with us now. LEI like to wrap up each one of these episode with a simple phrase, and that phrases this sell better and impact the world. Thanks for joining us today, Tinos. Thank you, Joe, I appreciate it. Hi, this is Joe Beck with the Sales Activist. Are you struggling to reach the sales objectives you set for yourself and your business? Are you a coach, consultant, or entrepreneur that's not quite where you want to be sales wise, and you're looking to take your business to the next level. Well, if you are, I'd like to help. For well over thirty years and after tens of thousands of live interactions and hundreds of millions of dollars of closed transactions for companies that I've worked with in for I've created a proprietary sales system to help you create dynamic and consistent sales success. And I'm so confident in this sales system that I'm willing to guarantee that within six months or less, you'll be able to triple your sales results. To get more details on our proprietary ism mastery system, just text me at four oh nine five oh nine seven three five five. Text the word sales to four oh nine five oh nine seven three five five to get more details and to connect and learn exactly how we can triple your sales results. This is Joe Beck with the Sales Activists. You don't have to settle for average sales results.