June 23, 2025 • 47 mins
Steel tariffs have officially arrived, and their impact is already reverberating throughout the metal building industry. In this candid conversation, Jared and Eric dive deep into how these economic changes are reshaping business practices, pricing structures, and customer relationships.
The duo shares real-world examples of how some dealers are responding to economic pressure with questionable tactics – from hidden contract clauses that allow price changes after deposit to refusing to disclose manufacturer information until after payment. One particularly alarming story involves a customer who nearly fell victim to a bait-and-switch scheme until discovering the fine print allowed the company to arbitrarily increase prices after commitment.
"The quality of the industry will rise if everyone gets together and says we have to be better," Jared emphasizes, highlighting how economic challenges might ultimately strengthen the industry by rewarding transparency and ethical business practices. Both hosts stress the importance of due diligence for customers and integrity for dealers during this transitional period.
The conversation takes an unexpected turn when Jared reveals a surprising TikTok shop experience where a customer purchased a $30,000 building with a single tap without speaking to anyone – demonstrating both the opportunities and pitfalls of evolving sales channels. This leads to a thoughtful discussion about trust, consumer behavior, and adapting to changing market conditions.
Whether you're a metal building professional navigating tariff impacts or a potential customer wondering how these changes affect your building purchase, this episode delivers the straight talk and practical wisdom you need. Connect with us at jared@thesteelkings.com or eric@thesteelkings.com – we'd love to hear your experiences in this changing industry landscape.
For more information or to know more about the Shed Geek Podcast visit us at our website.
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube at the handle @shedgeekpodcast.
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Studio Sponsor: J Money LLC
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jared (00:32):
Hey guys, what's up?
This is Jared and this is theSteel Kings podcast.
Over there is Eric.
We are back for another episodewith you guys this week.
Eric brother, what's going on,man?
How are you?
Eric (00:43):
Happy Monday.
It is June 9th at 2.15 pm.
We've got a lot on the bookstoday.
Man, I'm doing pretty good.
I am wore out.
I have a yesterday.
If I did an episode, I wouldnot have a voice because I was
screaming all weekend.
Jared (01:04):
Yeah, I was raising my voice, I guess, yeah, yeah,
you're staying busy, man, we'reboth staying busy.
Man, this is our first episode16.
For those who are followingalong at home If you're
listening to us on YouTube orwatching us on YouTube or
listening to us on the audiofeed thank you for being part of
this, this journey that we'reon, like I said, episode 16 this
week.
And, uh, bro, it's getting intothe summertime.
(01:30):
Man, kids are home.
Um, I'm finding myself a littlebit busier with them.
Um, trying to balance podcastlife, metal building life, pole
barn sheds, uh, soccer.
You know now you're fitting inlike basketball camp and you
know I'm finding myself justdragging in the evening time.
But I'll tell you, brother, Ireally love this time we get to
spend together, Eric and I.
So, just so you guys know, ericand I don't get to be in the
(01:52):
same room all that often.
We're both too dang busy and westay in our lanes.
But, like, bro, this is ourtime to just hang out and chill
out with you guys.
Um, eric, what are you up toman?
You had a busy weekend.
Man, give us the, give us thelow.
Eric (02:07):
You know, I I said I got married last year.
I moved to Germantown, Ohio,which is a little quiet town off
the beaten path, and I joinedthis little I would call it
community church, but it'sreally bigger than that and kind
of got plugged in there andthey're active, they church, but
(02:30):
it's really bigger than thatand um, and kind of got plugged
in there and they're active,they, they're helping the
community and like a lot ofstuff.
And I I touched base with thisguy named Brad Higgins and he
had a vision and we there's ametro park not a metro park but
like a little town splash pad,kind of a river thing, down in
downtown Miamisburg, Ohio, andthey gave us the facilities for
the weekend and we rallied, Ithink, uh, five or six
non-profits, um, and 12 churchesall through this kind of I'm
(02:54):
just gonna say, for a lack ofbetter words a party slash
revival down there all weekendthere was bounce houses, toys,
people were evangelizing, therewas food, food trucks,
chick-fil-a came, a bunch oflittle side businesses and, man,
it was just an odd time offellowship in the public and so
a lot of people just wanderedover there, because the strip of
my Amesburg is, so we ran intoa lot of people that you would
(03:16):
never run into.
You know, in the side, the fourwalls of a of like a
traditional church, I'd say.
And, man, it was good.
I'm tired, though.
I ordered a ribeye steak at1030 PM.
I was slaving all day and weended up crashing, crashing out,
and I ate super late and I'vebeen not feeling the best, but
(03:37):
now it's time to get back toreal life.
Man, it was an Epic weekend andlooking forward to doing it
next year.
They already booked us.
They said come back please, andwhich is a good thing, that's a
good.
It's good.
It's good for you're in thecity, you're involved with the
city and, yeah, it's alwaysimportant for the local churches
to be connected to the citybecause it's a good resource for
, for, uh, people in need anddifferent things like that.
Jared (04:00):
So, yeah, yeah, man, yeah .
So I mean, I was just blownaway by it.
Yeah, I know you're planning ondoing a standalone episode, so
I'm not going to dig too deepinto it, but I know that's kind
of what motivates you, man.
So, doing the business, youknow, doing the business with us
, you know, doing the podcastwith me, you know all of that's
for the greater good of what youwant to do, not just, you know,
(04:22):
in your church life but in yourcommunity.
And you know I always do theshout out at the end of the
episode.
But I mean that's really whatyou're all about, bro, and I
love giving you that platform tokind of share that with the
folks.
Eric (04:31):
And expect this.
I will be in Belize in Julydoing a youth camp, and so I'd
love to do a quick 15 minutelittle.
Whether it's with you or solo,it'd be cool to be live from a
different country and wedefinitely got to get.
Jared (04:45):
We definitely got to get you some content, brother,
because I think sharing thatwith the folks is going to be
good man.
Like I said, I'm just, I'm justbusy with soccer.
I'm busy with soccer and tryingto know what's your what's your
daughter's up to?
Eric (04:57):
you're, you're.
It seems like every time I talkto you got literally like it's,
it's one thing.
It's a soccer field, it's a.
It's one thing.
It's a soccer field.
It's a school event, it'sbasketball.
Jared (05:08):
Bro, this is like yeah, we went to WWE so I took my.
I've got an 11-year-old goingto be 11 this year and I've got
twins that are going to be 10.
So, there's only 13 monthsseparating them.
So really, it's just triplets,right.
I mean it's like having threekids that are the same age but
they months separating them, soreally it's just triplets, right
.
I mean it's like having threekids that are the same age but
(05:29):
they all like different stuff.
They're starting to kind of,you know, talk to boys.
And my oldest just got a cellphone, like an actual cell phone
, which has been kind of nervewracking, but she's, she's
responsible with it, you know,mainly just to check in with us
because she's walking.
You know she likes to walk, andshe likes to get around the
community.
So, I feel like, you know, keepyour phone on.
You Make sure you call dad.
Facetime.
You know it's funny.
The first day she had it sheFaceTimed me from the school as
(05:51):
she's walking to the library.
And you know, I appreciate that.
You know technology is one ofthose things like we can get on
this podcast and obviously talkto, you know, dozens and
hundreds of people at a time andall that, but you know when it
starts getting into, like yourkids, and you know I remember
when I got my first cell phoneand it didn't do anything.
Yeah, I want to try to keep thisdown and my, my oldest twin,
(06:14):
Julie, is super intoprofessional wrestling.
She caught the bug for me.
We've been to a couple of shows.
The last year went to aSmackDown, so SmackDown came to
town and took her and daily withme so I got daily the oldest,
Julian, Sadie, the twins, andSadie's my wild child.
She's uh, she's different, butshe uh, real mechanical with her
(06:34):
hands, starting to get reallyhands-on with stuff and I mean
she could probably fix anythingthat she breaks.
She she's always wanting totear stuff apart and tinker.
It's just one of those things.
Three totally different kids,three totally different
personalities.
Julie's doing soccer right now,so we're staying busy on
(06:57):
weekends with that and justtrying to enjoy my time with
them as they're getting older.
I want to do one quick shout out.
As always, this episode of theSteel Kings podcast is brought
to you by our studio sponsor, JMoney.
Whether you sell steelbuildings, sheds, windows, doors
or pools, J Money makes it easyto offer flexible financing to
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(07:19):
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Brother.
I want to talk a little bitabout the steel tariffs.
That's the topic for today.
I know we talked about itbriefly in a previous episode
(07:40):
but looking at the newsreels,this is June 9th that we're
recording, so you guys are goingto get this towards the end of
June.
But steel tariffs took effectJune the 4th.
We kind of knew it was coming.
We had talked about it, I think, back in April, something like
that.
We just touched on it brieflyand I think we felt a little bit
(08:03):
of hesitation and maybethrowing it out there as much as
we are now.
But I think it's really hittingthe forefront.
I mean as somebody who is inthe line of fire every day, like
you and I, we're feeling it.
Manufacturers are squeezing.
You do a lot of sales.
I mean you are the top salesguy at Dayton Barns.
You're all over Facebookmarketplace.
(08:24):
You're all over the place.
What are you seeing right now,brother?
Pricing buildings, talking tocustomers.
What's your, what's yourfeeling?
Eric (08:30):
You know, um, I'm still having a ton of convos, but it's
definitely a talking point Um,not from a customer standpoint,
but from a pricing standpoint.
Um, not from a customerstandpoint, but from a pricing
standpoint.
Um, I think a lot of people andlet me just say this, the steel
(08:52):
tariffs is just one of themthere, there's tariffs on
everything there, and if youjust do a quick Google search, I
mean, uh, solar panels, um, EV,got their remove.
You know, there there's notremoval, but things are shifting
on like, uh, like a productbasis, um, and, and so there's
other, like semiconductors.
There's, um, there's notremoval, but things are shifting
on like a product basis, and sothere's other, like
semiconductors.
(09:12):
There's tariffs on that now,and I think those are even
higher than the steel ones.
So, I don't know if getting intothe politics of it, but
certainly people are shoppingwith caution because prices are
a little different.
With caution because prices area little different.
So, a lot of times people onFacebook are like hey, my
neighbor got a building andthey're going into it with this
preconceived notion that that,that it should be the same price
(09:33):
, and so there's a little extrato overcome.
And so, I would say you knowI'm.
I'm selling one a day out ofOregon.
I'm fortunate that the tariffhasn't affected that particular
area of the United States, butcertainly some of the suppliers
are either removing theirdiscounts or lowering them in
response to it.
(09:54):
It's probably a good time to bediversifying what you're
selling, and we're lucky to bein a couple different things.
Jared (10:04):
It's hard to put a tariff on a tree, so if you're buying
something with wood, that's uhif you're in the I mean, I just
want to say this too if you'rein the Ohio area, contact the
guys at country cabins.
Um, if you're not selling woodsheds, I know that they're open
to working with you.
Um, if you're working withsteel manufacturers, right now
is the time when you need to belooking across the board to
maybe take a pivot.
(10:25):
We're still super happy withour, with our guys over at
American steel.
They're still doing a great jobfor us, but they, you know,
they, like everybody else, youknow kind of cutting down on the
discounts, giving us a littlebit less leverage to work with.
And you know the differencebetween us and somebody sitting
and listening to the podcast.
You know you have to be on thefly, willing to adjust pricing.
(10:51):
You have to be on the fly,willing to eat into your
commission levels, because youare going to get beat right now.
There's always going to besomebody lower.
I don't care what productyou're selling, whether it's
woodshed steel buildings, polebarns.
You know the competition'snever been tougher, and now with
this, it's going to get eventougher, cause I mean, you know
we were talking sitting back inthe end of March and you and I
were like man, we're gettingready to get busy and you know
(11:12):
taxes are coming in and you knowwe're starting to ramp up a
little bit, like you know, likenormal, but it's not at the
level it's been the last coupleof years.
I I mean we're noticing itpretty significantly at this
point.
Eric (11:26):
One of our bigger suppliers, um, or one of our
bigger partners, um, feel freeto mention the name, but they're
, they've had a discount goingfor quite a while.
Um, yeah and um, and that'sgoing away, which is kind of
shuffling some things around, soopening the door for some other
things, other, um, maybe somepeople we haven't been using as
(11:50):
recently, so it's going to benetworked as well.
So, I think this is going tostretch us in a different way.
But I mean, like you know, wewoke up today.
We've got plenty of orderscoming through, we sold a ton of
buildings last week and um andso, uh, we're fortunate to be
pivoting.
So, if you're an individualseller or a small time, now it's
time to you know, don't freakout, just look around, look
(12:14):
around, get on some forums.
Call us, call Jared, call youknow, call myself.
Jared (12:17):
And yeah, email us.
You know we got dedicated.
We got dedicated podcast emailsnow.
So, I'm Jared@the steel kings.
com, he's eric@ thesteelkings.
com.
We want to hear from you guys.
If you guys got a cool story,if you guys are out and about,
if you guys got a cool lot, giveus a shout man.
We'd love to have you on thepodcast.
We are open to everybody.
We welcome Competition isfriendly.
(12:40):
We're not going to be looking totake any of your leads or sell
any of your buildings.
There's plenty of buildings tobe sold.
I think right now, what I'mseeing, or what I'm feeling, is
that the cream is really goingto rise to the top.
You got to be better than yourcompetition, not just on price,
because, buddy, right now theywant to know that the building's
coming and they want to knowwhen it's coming.
And I think that's been thebiggest struggle from a
(13:02):
conversational standpoint.
I've got several projectmanagers in here that are
working leads all day and that'sthe number one question.
I get like, hey, can I promisea lead time?
And most of the buildings arefour weeks or less with a slight
picture and a down payment.
Most everybody that sells steelbuildings knows that, but at the
end of the day, we're competingagainst people out there that
(13:23):
may not be given all the truth,maybe, maybe not.
You know, and again I wouldchallenge you if you are
struggling that way, you'renever going to get beat with the
truth, because you'll feel goodat the end of the day If you,
if you lose the deal, at leastyou told the truth.
You know, and Eric and I haveboth been in situations where
we've probably spoke out of turn.
(13:43):
Um, I don't want to act likethis isn't a Dayton Barns or a
Jared or Eric problem.
You know, I've been insituations where I've made
promises that I ended up notbeing able to keep because
somebody didn't keep theirpromise to me.
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Jared (15:07):
you know and ultimately you know that's really.
you're only as good as the wordof the person you're working
alongside of.
That's why I love working withEric, cause when Eric tells me
something, I can write it downand it's gospel right.
But if you don't know thesemanufacturers that you're
working with, if somebody coldcalled you one day and said hey,
we'd like you to sell metalbuildings for us and we'll give
you a higher dealer commissionthan what you're getting from
your current supplier ormanufacturer it isn't always
(15:31):
going to be like tall grass andtall cotton, right?
I mean, it's going to be one ofthose things where you really
need to do due diligence on whatyou're selling.
Believe in it.
I love what I do here, so Idon't struggle with it.
When I tell a customer certainmanufacturers are 12 weeks or
less with a site picture I don'tblink my eyes twice.
(15:51):
I know that if I'm going totalk to a customer, I give them
what I tell them I'm going toand if not, I'm going to stay in
touch with them.
We had one come up recently Eric, I know you wanted to talk a
little bit about this.
One had a deal on the table.
I think it was out west, maybeOregon.
I think you've been really hotout in Washington, Oregon,
places like that.
We had a deal on the table andthe customer was balking he had
(16:14):
a cheaper price and get tolooking at the contract and the
contract basically States likehey, we can change the price
anytime, anywhere, any, any,anyhow.
Like there was so much, youknow, there was so much verbiage
in that contract.
Tell me about that.
Eric (16:30):
So, I was thinking while you were talking.
You know, I think, when, sixyears ago, when the steel metal
building game started exploding,I feel like the companies that
were at the top, a bunch ofpeople left.
Those companies started theirown thing, and there were so
many suppliers and so manypeople selling that it was a
(16:53):
race to the bottom.
What I can say now is it'sgoing to be a race to trust,
because a lot of people are notnetworked like we are, and a lot
of companies are not networkedbecause they put all their eggs
in one basket, and when peopleget reeling and they're not
righteous, humans slashcompanies.
They will lie, and so a lot ofthings are.
(17:15):
There's going to be moreripoffs.
Now.
I can tell you that right now,for a fact that I that that
people are gullible.
They've never bought metalbuildings before.
If you're perhaps a customer,make sure you do your due
diligence.
Let me touch on what Jared justsaid.
You know, and I can't remember,what the company name was.
I want to say it.
I don't remember, though, and Idon't want to missay it.
Jared (17:38):
Describe it to me and I'll decide if I want to share
that.
Eric (17:41):
Okay, so the company.
Jared (17:43):
The company, the name you were competing against.
Eric (17:45):
Yes, I can just tell you this?
Jared (17:47):
I can just tell you this.
Eric (17:49):
I've been doing this now.
They've been doing this now.
I don't remember who it is, butI've been doing this now.
Jared (17:53):
I've been doing this now for about four years, with you
or so, right around that point.
Eric (17:59):
And I read these people like a book.
Jared (18:01):
You have gotten a quote like if you're dealing in high
volume metal building sales andyou've gotten a competition
quote, you've come up againstthese guys and again don't want
to badmouth anyone in particular, I'm not going to share their
name, but I will tell you thisIf you're dealing with somebody
who's got a significantly lowerprice than you, listen to what
Eric's about to say, becauseit's going to be something to
(18:22):
pay attention to this guy.
Eric (18:25):
This particular customer had committed, he got reeled in.
He committed to a buildingprice, got onto a contract with
a company and there was not onlythere was a couple parts, but
the main part was that inasterisks Okay so.
So, for example, I rememberback in the day when a when a
(18:45):
company would sell you abuilding and they would want
vertical siding, they wouldleave off the word vertical and
then, after the person purchasedthe building, they would add
vertical siding, would add like1600 bucks, and that's how
people would sell the buildingto the customer.
Sepa is they'd hide a detailuntil after the signature on,
(19:06):
and then they would hide behindthis asterisk.
It buried in their contractdetails that said a company has
right to change the price at anygiven time, and so, instead of
saying you know, we're lockingin on this very project for
three to six months, orsomething like that, they would
basically put in there that wecan change the price, and then
(19:27):
they would plan to screw youover.
They would literally plan toadd something later and then
threaten never to give yourmoney back.
I mean, this is exactly whatthe guy did.
So, the guy, the customer, hadthis price.
And I said, sent me, send me,send me the contract, let me
look over it.
And, red flag after red flagafter red flag, the number one
(19:48):
thing was that after the guybought it, they called him back
and said it's going to be a 2300more box or something, whatever
the cost was extra.
And I said, well, why wouldthey do that?
He said, well, I would havebought it from because the guy
got a quote from me before.
And so he said, well, I boughtit from you.
And I said, well, why did youbuy it from them?
So we had a cheaper price.
And I said, well, that didn'twork out because what you signed
(20:10):
was basically a variance, likewe're gonna, we can change the
price anytime.
And so, at what happened afterthat was that is exactly that.
So, um, the seller lied to thecustomer to get them to commit
and then change the game on themafter the fact, and uh, and
blame engineering came back andsaid this is what we need to add
(20:32):
.
It was totally phony.
I'm glad you said we're notgoing to rip the company's shed,
but they've done that, man,it's so heinous.
Jared (20:42):
They were the first company that I ever came up
against a metal building quoteon.
I remember Colin.
I remember Colin, a tip of theday, and you guys are already
doing this.
But I mean, just for those ofyou that aren't, I call dealers
all the time.
You've probably talked to mematter of fact and it's not a
matter of I'm trying tonecessarily close the sale,
(21:07):
don't get me wrong.
Like, that is absolutely whyI'm trying to find the
information.
But, like, if you're a dealer,your due diligence is to supply
the customer with all of theinformation necessary to make a
good and educated decision.
If you call Dayton Barns, we'regoing to tell you exactly who's
manufacturing your building andwhat to expect when they come.
We don't hide behind the cloakof well, you know, got to close
(21:31):
you.
Before I give you that info, Imean, just think about that.
If you're sitting where we'resitting and you're working
selling metal buildings, if youwere buying a metal building,
wouldn't you want to know whowas putting it up?
Wouldn't you want to know thereputation of the people who are
installing the building?
We've talked about it before.
I can't say it enough the mostimportant part of a metal
(21:52):
building process, from start tofinish is the install crew.
If you don't know anythingabout your install crews, you
need to figure it out.
Some of the most talented metalbuilding salespeople that I've
talked to learned from spenttime with they know exactly who
the install crews are for themanufacturers they work with and
they're able to supply thatinformation.
Not only that we've got installcrews, that we have their
(22:13):
numbers, so that way when theinstall crew gets there we know
when they're on site with ourcustomers.
We go get building pictures, wemeet and greet with the
customers.
We go out of our way to makesure that that process is
seamless, truly from start tofinish.
And I know you're sitting therethinking well, Jared, Eric, I'm
one guy sitting in the middle ofnowhere and you know I sell a
(22:34):
couple of buildings a month.
I get that.
I get that we can't go to everysite that we.
Eric's not going to Oregon,right, he sells a lot of
buildings in Oregon.
He's not going there Now.
He just went cross country fromDayton to Washington and back
and did stop at some customersproperties in Wyoming and Idaho,
and that's a one-off.
We know you're not going to beable to travel all over the
(22:55):
country but at the same time, doyour due diligence.
Man, I can't tell you enoughLike the quality of the industry
will rise if everyone getstogether and says you know what?
We have to be better.
We want you to be better and wewant to help you with that.
That's why we're on thispodcast and and you know, we, we
talk and we talk, and we talkabout the same type of type of
(23:17):
topics because it's important tous and it should be important
to you.
Um, you know and I'm not tryingto tell you how to feel or think
, and neither is Eric but Ithink if you can hear insights
from somebody who is doing it ata high level and you might be
doing better than us we mightlearn something from you.
Very, very good possibility ofthat.
But at the same time, um, youknow, I feel a calling on me.
(23:39):
I know Eric does too.
This podcast is meant to callyou out and get you motivated to
sell metal buildings.
Eric, tell me a little bit moreabout that deal, cause there
was one specific thing about it,and if you don't touch on it,
I'm going to.
But go ahead.
Is there anything?
Eric (23:55):
else I know I cut you off.
You got to refresh me.
I pulled up the convo.
I was trying to read through it.
Jared (24:03):
Well, okay, so your customer was dealing with
another dealer and that dealerkind of, and I think that the
sales rep, I think that thesales rep and all and all
truthfulness probably just doingwhat he was told.
You know, I don't think that hewas being malicious or anything
like that.
He probably knew that that wasthe policy but at the same time
(24:24):
he wasn't necessarily beingmalicious, so I don't want to
throw that out there.
I will tell you, if you're notfamiliar with the state of
Oregon, they need seismic andsite specifics on almost every
single building in Oregon.
I think that that's what itcomes down to.
A lot is that we do the duediligence upfront so all my guys
know how Oregon works.
(24:44):
We've got spreadsheets forpretty much every state that we
service.
You know Florida, Oregon, partsof Texas, New York State, New
Jersey.
There's a lot of a handful,maybe two handfuls of states
that require random odds andends.
In Oregon.
We always price site specificsin seismic because more often
(25:06):
than not you need it and ifyou're buying a $30,000 building
and you're not told that you'regoing to need $3,500 worth of
blueprints, you're talking abouta 10% difference in the price
of the building and most ofthose manufacturers need that
cash, need that money for thosesite specifics upfront.
So, we go out of our way tomake sure that the customer
(25:26):
knows hey, you're not only goingto be paying us, you know, a
few thousand dollars down tosecure your order, get it coming
, get it on the way, but you'realso going to have to have
$3,500 ready for some sites.
Eric (25:40):
So, this company okay, I'm reading the combo now I've got
to pull it up.
Number one they didn't offerthe door size.
So, the guy wanted a 14 wideroll-up door.
I know everybody, we knoweverybody that goes to Oregon.
The guy wanted a 14 wideroll-up door.
I know everybody, we knoweverybody that goes to Oregon.
There's not a 14 foot wideroll-up door.
Those things it unless youbought your own.
And since the company, I knewwho they were.
(26:00):
I knew who they, who were theywere using.
The customer didn't know whothey were using.
I knew who they were using justbased on the quote, because the
line items matched up with whowe were going to use, and so the
guy lied blatantly.
It was the same company we wasquoting.
Same exact building, differentprice.
The guy was lying.
You could tell sold from adifferent so that sold from a
different dealer.
(26:20):
So I start to chat and I, youknow, I, I and I'm just reading
the the question um, oh, now Igot the quote.
I'm pulling it up now, um, andit said he won't tell me the
manufacturer until I make thedown payment.
That's a huge red flag.
You're not going to tell me whois going to put up my $20,000
(26:42):
building.
What kind of ridiculous crap isthat.
I want a sedan, let me buy asedan.
I need a four-door with AC, aBluetooth, low miles.
And they're like, yeah, I gotsomething for you, can't you?
Until you, until you give mesome cash, I'm not going to tell
you the make and model.
Like, you are an absolute idiot, turd, you're a turd, nothing
(27:05):
burger, if that's what you'redoing, you're an idiot, like,
literally, this poor guy, thispoor guy.
Dear Rokey, thank you for yourinterest in our metal building
services.
We have requested your quoteand then, oh, by the way, we're
changing your price also, andokay.
So laughable point here is thatif you act that way, you're
(27:27):
going to get busted Facts andthen you just make it easy on me
, a person, that's like, yeah, Iget the most likely tomorrow.
I just look back man, I'm justmaking me sick.
He says this makes me sick.
I'm just, I'm sorry we're gonnahave to get some filler because
there's a lot of combo.
(27:47):
I really cared about this guy.
I cared about this guy so muchman.
Jared (27:53):
What you end up with.
What you end up with is you endup with not just a happy
customer, you end up with anextremely happy customer who
then gives reviews, who thentells all of his friends, family
, neighbors and otherwise hey, Igot my building from Eric.
He's a great guy.
He told me the truth.
I did pay a little bit more,but I got exactly what I asked
for.
And then some, I got apermitted building.
(28:14):
I got it up in a quick amountof time and it wasn't any more
or any less than we agreed to.
It was the exact penny that Ipaid.
And speaking of that, I want togive a quick shout out to the
guys at J Money.
If you're struggling withfinding the financing, contact
the team at J Money.
You can get upfront payments,not just as a dealer, but as a
(28:35):
manufacturer.
If you're selling inside, thoseguys can help you get deals
across the table when thecustomers are struggling with
funds.
I know that RTO is popular.
We use RTO here, but I can tellyou the guys at J Money know
exactly what they're doing.
I also want to give a quickshout out to our newest sponsor
on the Steel Kings podcast, andthat is the team over at
(28:56):
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So Versabend is a product fromCold Spring Enterprises.
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Right now the tool is 19,500,average shipping price around
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If you're out of state andthey're in South Carolina, get
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And seriously tell Wendell thesteel Kings put you onto him,
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um, I wanted to catch up, let me, let me.
Jared (31:25):
I wanted to catch up a little bit for you.
No, keep going, brother so.
Eric (31:28):
So I he sent me the quote and I don't normally ask for
quotes.
I just there was some red flags.
The guy sent me the quote,quote.
I read it and I said if youwant the 14 tall, I'll sell to
you for 17 K, but keep in mind.
And I said it says 17, six onthe page.
I said I'll do 17 K.
X Y Z company and me are sellingyou the same building, same
company, same installers.
(31:48):
Fyi, they are not going to tellyou that, but I'm telling you.
And he said how are they ableto do the roll-up door?
And then I had I had Michellecheck.
I said I just called XYZ.
They do not offer a 16 by 10roll-up door.
So, then I was like, Hmm, whywould they tell this guy that
they can do something they can't?
And so, it made me think thatthey just wanted the money.
I said well, can you find outwho they're selling?
(32:10):
Manufacturer wise for XYZcompany?
Apparently they cannot do a 16by 10.
I'm wondering about them.
I said I want to earn yourbusiness, I will care about it
more.
And he said he won't tell methe manufacturer until I make
the down payment.
And I said, wow, that's insane.
You obviously want to verify.
I'm curious for multiplereasons, but now I'm like why
would you hide that information?
Lol, I'm on the phone with theother owner.
(32:30):
We're trying to figure this out.
That's you, Jared?
I said I can't figure out,Unfortunately.
I think it's bad business to notshare who it's installing the
building.
I'm transparent about it.
I could care less if you buythe building from me, but you
should not buy it from them.
Is a generic plan buildingstamped by engineering?
I said in all cases, yes, hesays that matters.
And I said, at worst, thiscompany is scamming, they're
(32:51):
being deceptive.
Yeah, they have good reviews,so I don't want to say too
negative.
I love the industry.
So, I want to stay positive.
This is me saying this.
I'm saying this time I want tostay positive, I love the
industry.
Under the customer info it says24 by 50 by 12, but in the line
items it says they don't evenhave prices anyways.
It shows a 26 by 32 by 14,which is not the same, it's not
(33:13):
the same building, and so,anyway, let me call you, so I'm
getting close.
Jared (33:23):
I haven't told you about this, eric, it just literally
popped into my mind.
So, we're trying all kinds ofavenues on advertising.
So, this is all.
Again, we want to circle backto the main topic, which was
steel tariffs how to compete.
Yeah, sorry about that.
No, no, no, bro.
I want to talk about stuff likethis because firsthand
experience is what I want toshare and what we should want to
(33:44):
share.
I can tell you this we work onMeta, google, all the
advertising platforms.
We've tried a little bit ofeverything.
One thing we tried recently andI haven't shared this with Eric
, so I'm excited to see his, I'mexcited to see his reaction to
this.
So we recently set up TikTok,and Eric and I have both been
kind of Uber opposed to TikTok.
It's not something that eitherof us use as a social media
(34:07):
platform.
It just kind of, for whateverreason, just hasn't suited our
fancy.
We're more Facebook guys.
I think maybe it's because ofour age or whatever, but we set
up TikTok.
We have a guy in our lives, oneof our project managers, who is
really aggressive on socialmedia.
Super nice guy, Chris.
I got to give you a quick shoutout, brother.
(34:28):
I know you love podcasts, sohopefully you're listening.
But I can tell you this hereally got me motivated about
TikTok.
We set we uh set up Tik TOKshop.
We set up, uh did a couple ofpaid ads and then things got
some good traction.
Uh got a couple of leads.
It was pretty solid Um.
But when you set up Tik TOKshop, just tools of the trade,
(34:49):
um set up Tik TOK shop, they canbuy from Tik TOK shop, they can
buy and pay on tiktok shop.
So we get a call in the shopand the customer's like yeah,
you know, I was reading yourpost on tiktok.
And he's like yeah, I paid, Ipaid for the building, and like
I just wanted to get some info.
And I'm like, brother, I don'thave a clue what you're talking
(35:10):
about how much money did he give?
us like Like 4,600 bucks.
Eric (35:14):
He paid it over the internet.
Jared (35:16):
Yeah, with Apple Pay Didn't call it and talk to
nobody.
Eric (35:20):
Pro tip get a TikTok account.
Jared (35:22):
Well, let me share this.
Before you just run out and geta TikTok shot, you got to make
sure that the customers arereading.
Eric (35:28):
I am not going to do it.
Jared (35:29):
So, I personally listed the building.
I gave him a pretty gooddiscount on it.
I think it was a 30K building.
It was one of our dark nightsand the customer didn't read the
description all the way and hesaid I didn't realize that the
building was going to be 30K.
And he's like I'm a contractor,I'm in the Louisiana area, what
can you do for me?
I said, brother, I don't haveyour money.
(35:51):
I said as far as I'm concerned,you can call your credit card
company and cancel thetransaction because TikTok's
wanting to take a really highpercentage off that payment.
Anyway, I hadn't set up Nowlisten, this is the crazy part
had not set up purchases, hadnot set up a bank account, had
not set up nothing.
And this guy had almost $5,000of his personal money inside
(36:12):
TikTok and TikTok didn't evennotify me.
Now, I'm just some guy in anoffice.
I love helping customers.
I called the customer.
I said look, I'm going tocancel the order here on TikTok.
I don't have your money, tiktokhas your money.
But I got to talking to thecustomer.
Customer is a contractor, doesconcrete, does all kinds of
(36:33):
stuff in Louisiana area.
He's part of a conglomeratethat services like 12 different
locations.
They do like nationwide work.
I just got to talking to him.
I said, brother, stay incontact with me.
I shot him a text.
He said I'll let you know assoon as I get the money back.
But he wants leads on concrete.
So, he and I are going to worktogether on building projects in
his area to see if we can'tconnect customers with concrete,
(36:55):
and he's going to end up buyinga building from me.
We're just going to work it outa little bit differently.
Probably get him one of ourpole barn kits and just a super
nice guy.
But I can tell you we saw theflashing lights and everything
of TikTok and thought, man, thisis going to be awesome.
You can create yourself acustomer service nightmare in a
(37:16):
real hurry.
The guy was super nice and wewere on top of it.
But man, I'm telling you, yougot to be mindful of what you're
doing out there, because I cantell you, it's not always going
to be rose colored glass, I canpromise you.
Eric.
I want to hear your opinion onthat.
I mean, I know what you'rethinking, man.
(37:37):
We should list a bunch ofbuildings on Tik TOK.
We'll get a bunch of orders.
But I will tell you this Is itnot crazy that a company would
take payment and I've not evenauthorized them to do that?
It was supposed to be a leadgen.
Eric (37:50):
Where did the money?
Jared (37:50):
go it was in a holdings account with Tik TOK.
Same on Tik TOK.
Ago it was in a holdingsaccount with tiktok.
Eric (38:00):
Same on tiktok dude.
Crazy, crazy.
I didn't notify me, didn'temail me.
Full disclosure.
Jared (38:02):
I'm gonna check out tiktok now yeah, yeah, for sure,
I mean for sure, like at leastcall us and buy now we're not
getting, yeah, we're not gettingoff, did the guy?
think he was buying a buildingfor 4600 yes, yeah, swiped his
apple, pay, that's like a 30freaking wide swipe swiped his,
swiped his car or tapped hisapple pay and was on it and,
(38:26):
like I was asking him, I said,man, do you really make a habit
of doing this?
He's like I just thought it wasa deal that was too good to be
true.
And I said, brother, it's adeal that's too good to be true.
I can't sell you that buildingfor 4k, I said.
I said that's what I'm gonnamake on it.
Eric (38:38):
I said that's what I think you can get a team metal
building for 46 yeah I mean youcan get a metal building, but
it's gonna be like a rickety.
Jared (38:45):
You know it's gonna be something you put together.
Yeah, gonna be some kind of,some kind of put it together on
your own kind of a kit you getfrom a big box store or
something I don't know.
I again, I can't stress to youguys enough, being on top of
things in your business rightnow, with everything going on,
man, people are looking.
They're looking for our product.
(39:06):
People still want and needmetal buildings.
They still want the size of it.
it was a dark night, 30 by 50 by12 30 okay 30 by 50, by 12,
lean to, he's gonna buy, youknow I've always been fascinated
that people are getting youknow Carvana.
Eric (39:25):
You just buy a car online.
You don't even test drive.
They literally drop it off it'sinsane because I think,
mechanically speaking, I wouldmuch rather buy something that
doesn't require constantattention, like a car, I mean,
unless you just trust it.
Maybe you got Carfax.
But it's fascinating to me howpeople buy big items from the
(39:49):
couch these days and how peopletrust it or they want to trust
it Well, with cars, withanything really, you can put a
return policy on and how peopletrust it or they want to trust
it.
Jared (39:56):
Well, with cars, with anything really, you can put a
return policy on it.
I think Carvana, a lot of theonline dealers they'll do a
three-day return policy,something like that.
But when you get this buildingfolks, it's there, I can assure
you it goes into the ground,whether it's an auger anchor,
whether it's concrete, whateverit is.
(40:17):
That building's there to stayand it's not meant to be picked
back up and taken back away.
And I can tell you there's nota whole lot of returns in the
metal building world.
I mean, we've had a coupleprobably I don't know, probably
two or three that I can recall,where customers didn't pay their
bills and their buildings weretaken away and I got a phone
(40:37):
call.
And I mean those calls arefunny because you know customers
will call and say, hey, my rollup door isn't working, or hey,
my man door isn't working, orwhatever.
Okay, well, how's everythingelse Building's fine, other than
that?
Well, I'm also getting callsfrom the manufacturer that the
same person hasn't paid theirbill.
So, I have to tell the customerlook, you know the.
(40:59):
The warranty is only appliedonce the building's paid for.
You know you, you can't get awarranty on something that you
haven't paid for Like.
Come on Like you know, if youdon't pay for it, chances are
they're going to take it away,chances are they're going to
show right back up, load itright back up and they're going
to drive your building back towhere it came from, cause, at
(41:20):
the end of the day, nothing'sfree, eric.
Nothing at all.
Nothing at all is free.
Eric (41:26):
And I think metal building doesn't cost 4,600.
Jared (41:28):
That is, that is correct.
So, you know I was thinking brofor about $4,600,.
I can send you a scale model ofthe Dark Knight, the.
Eric (41:37):
Lego version.
Jared (41:48):
I can send you a really cool version of the Dark Knight.
That's about a 30 inch by 50inch by 12 inch tall metal
building scale.
He understood and he was a niceguy.
Like I said, I made a goodconnection.
The guy was a nice guy.
Like I said, I made a goodconnection.
The guy was super nice.
He's going to leave us a review, just kind of outlining his
experience and thanking us forour help.
And again, there are so manycompanies out there.
If you happen to be a customerand you come across our podcast,
(42:08):
we'd love to sell you a metalbuilding.
There are lots and lots andlots of reputable metal building
dealers out there.
Chances are there's one in yourlocal community.
But give us a call.
We'll help you on every aspectof it and we're not going to
just tell you hey, they suck,they're terrible.
We don't do that.
You know, we want to work withyou.
We got a handful ofmanufacturers that we really
(42:28):
trust and enjoy working with.
Eric (42:31):
Like I said, we were trained today, we were framed
from name dropping today.
So we don't want to, we don'twant it.
Jared (42:38):
That's right.
We don't want to be.
We don't want to be anythingmore than good stewards for the
industry.
Metal buildings is a greatindustry to be in right now, I
know.
With the tariffs and everything, it seems tumultuous.
It seems like we are headed offthis cliff right now and we
need a parachute.
I tend to trust and have faithin what's going on here and I
(43:01):
think it's going to rid us ofsome problems.
I tend to be a little bit moretrusting than most folks.
I think we just trust theprocess.
At the end of the day, theprices on steel, the prices on
buildings, probably needed to goup a little bit anyways, I know
a lot of the manufacturers thatI've been talking to are
feeling the squeeze.
They're feeling the squeeze ofpercentages when you talk about
(43:25):
if there's 100% pie and a dealertakes 20% and install crew
takes 25%, that doesn't leave awhole lot of meat on the bone
for these manufacturers.
That have payrolls to meet,they have facilities to maintain
, they have all kinds of billsand expenses that a dealer, a
small time dealer and you knowwe're a medium sized dealer, we
(43:47):
do what we do really well, but Imean you know their, their
bills super, exceed ours.
So we have to work alongsidethose people because if they
decide one day that they don'twant to do this anymore, then
Eric and I are looking for newpartners.
You know, that's just all thereis to it, because we want to
stick with the people thatbrought us to the dance.
Those folks like American Steel.
We can't give enough love tothose guys.
(44:08):
If you are in need of a metalbuilding supplier, contact the
team at American Steel.
They will get you what you need.
They service almost all theUnited States.
We've got a lot of otherpartners.
Reliable Metal Buildings Lovethose guys too.
I want to give those twocompanies a really good shout
out, because right now they'rekeeping us in the game.
(44:28):
They're keeping us steady,keeping us on our toes.
Bro, I think we're going towrap this one up, eric.
I think we've touched base onthe steel tariffs.
We've given a little bit of alowdown on what we're doing.
You got anything else before wefinish up this episode, brother
?
Eric (44:44):
You know, I think that's a good stopping point.
You know, my final words are isdefinitely, if you're a
customer, there will be more.
There's going to be an increasein spam and scam now because
people are going to be grippingtight to trying to keep up with
sales, because prices are goingup.
So just make sure you do yourdue diligence.
(45:06):
And if you're a dealer, youbetter be transparent, because
something else is coming yourway.
So we want the industry tosurvive, so that's all I got.
Jared (45:20):
Get out in your communities.
Be a good neighbor, be a goodfriend, be a good protege, be a
good, whatever it is that you do, big brother, big sister,
brother, sister, mom, dad,whatever you're doing, get out
in your community.
I want to give one last shoutout to our friends over at Cold
Spring Enterprises, the industrypros behind the versa bend, the
(45:41):
most efficient square tubingbender on the market.
If you're still using a fivebend method to shape bows,
you're wasting time.
The versa bend makes a completebow in just three bends.
That's right.
Faster bends, less downtime andprecision every time.
Built to handle two inch, twoand a half5, 2.25, square tubing
plus 2x3 rectangular tubing in12 and 14 gauge, the VersaBend
is made for real builders doingreal work Switching sizes,
(46:03):
tool-free and done in seconds.
Adjust angles with the built-instops and center marks to hit
that perfect roof pitch everytime.
If you want one, theVersaBend's $19,500.
If you're outside SouthCarolina, there's no sales tax.
Average shipping's around $600.
Give the team over at ColdSpring Enterprises a call.
Check out our friends at JMoney for all your financing
(46:24):
needs.
We will be back at you next weekwith another episode of the
Steel Kings podcast.
I am Jared, he is Eric.
We are the Steel Kings and forthis week we're out, peace out.
Guys, have a great week.
All right, talk to you later.
Hey guys, what's up?
This is Jared and this is theSteel Kings podcast.
Over there is Eric.
We are back for another episodewith you guys this week.
Eric brother, what's going on,man?
How are you?
Eric (00:43):
Happy Monday.
It is June 9th at 2.15 pm.
We've got a lot on the bookstoday.
Man, I'm doing pretty good.
I am wore out.
I have a yesterday.
If I did an episode, I wouldnot have a voice because I was
screaming all weekend.
Jared (01:04):
Yeah, I was raising my voice, I guess, yeah, yeah,
you're staying busy, man, we'reboth staying busy.
Man, this is our first episode16.
For those who are followingalong at home If you're
listening to us on YouTube orwatching us on YouTube or
listening to us on the audiofeed thank you for being part of
this, this journey that we'reon, like I said, episode 16 this
week.
And, uh, bro, it's getting intothe summertime.
(01:30):
Man, kids are home.
Um, I'm finding myself a littlebit busier with them.
Um, trying to balance podcastlife, metal building life, pole
barn sheds, uh, soccer.
You know now you're fitting inlike basketball camp and you
know I'm finding myself justdragging in the evening time.
But I'll tell you, brother, Ireally love this time we get to
spend together, Eric and I.
So, just so you guys know, ericand I don't get to be in the
(01:52):
same room all that often.
We're both too dang busy and westay in our lanes.
But, like, bro, this is ourtime to just hang out and chill
out with you guys.
Um, eric, what are you up toman?
You had a busy weekend.
Man, give us the, give us thelow.
Eric (02:07):
You know, I I said I got married last year.
I moved to Germantown, Ohio,which is a little quiet town off
the beaten path, and I joinedthis little I would call it
community church, but it'sreally bigger than that and kind
of got plugged in there andthey're active, they church, but
(02:30):
it's really bigger than thatand um, and kind of got plugged
in there and they're active,they, they're helping the
community and like a lot ofstuff.
And I I touched base with thisguy named Brad Higgins and he
had a vision and we there's ametro park not a metro park but
like a little town splash pad,kind of a river thing, down in
downtown Miamisburg, Ohio, andthey gave us the facilities for
the weekend and we rallied, Ithink, uh, five or six
non-profits, um, and 12 churchesall through this kind of I'm
(02:54):
just gonna say, for a lack ofbetter words a party slash
revival down there all weekendthere was bounce houses, toys,
people were evangelizing, therewas food, food trucks,
chick-fil-a came, a bunch oflittle side businesses and, man,
it was just an odd time offellowship in the public and so
a lot of people just wanderedover there, because the strip of
my Amesburg is, so we ran intoa lot of people that you would
(03:16):
never run into.
You know, in the side, the fourwalls of a of like a
traditional church, I'd say.
And, man, it was good.
I'm tired, though.
I ordered a ribeye steak at1030 PM.
I was slaving all day and weended up crashing, crashing out,
and I ate super late and I'vebeen not feeling the best, but
(03:37):
now it's time to get back toreal life.
Man, it was an Epic weekend andlooking forward to doing it
next year.
They already booked us.
They said come back please, andwhich is a good thing, that's a
good.
It's good.
It's good for you're in thecity, you're involved with the
city and, yeah, it's alwaysimportant for the local churches
to be connected to the citybecause it's a good resource for
, for, uh, people in need anddifferent things like that.
Jared (04:00):
So, yeah, yeah, man, yeah .
So I mean, I was just blownaway by it.
Yeah, I know you're planning ondoing a standalone episode, so
I'm not going to dig too deepinto it, but I know that's kind
of what motivates you, man.
So, doing the business, youknow, doing the business with us
, you know, doing the podcastwith me, you know all of that's
for the greater good of what youwant to do, not just, you know,
(04:22):
in your church life but in yourcommunity.
And you know I always do theshout out at the end of the
episode.
But I mean that's really whatyou're all about, bro, and I
love giving you that platform tokind of share that with the
folks.
Eric (04:31):
And expect this.
I will be in Belize in Julydoing a youth camp, and so I'd
love to do a quick 15 minutelittle.
Whether it's with you or solo,it'd be cool to be live from a
different country and wedefinitely got to get.
Jared (04:45):
We definitely got to get you some content, brother,
because I think sharing thatwith the folks is going to be
good man.
Like I said, I'm just, I'm justbusy with soccer.
I'm busy with soccer and tryingto know what's your what's your
daughter's up to?
Eric (04:57):
you're, you're.
It seems like every time I talkto you got literally like it's,
it's one thing.
It's a soccer field, it's a.
It's one thing.
It's a soccer field.
It's a school event, it'sbasketball.
Jared (05:08):
Bro, this is like yeah, we went to WWE so I took my.
I've got an 11-year-old goingto be 11 this year and I've got
twins that are going to be 10.
So, there's only 13 monthsseparating them.
So really, it's just triplets,right.
I mean it's like having threekids that are the same age but
they months separating them, soreally it's just triplets, right
.
I mean it's like having threekids that are the same age but
(05:29):
they all like different stuff.
They're starting to kind of,you know, talk to boys.
And my oldest just got a cellphone, like an actual cell phone
, which has been kind of nervewracking, but she's, she's
responsible with it, you know,mainly just to check in with us
because she's walking.
You know she likes to walk, andshe likes to get around the
community.
So, I feel like, you know, keepyour phone on.
You Make sure you call dad.
Facetime.
You know it's funny.
The first day she had it sheFaceTimed me from the school as
(05:51):
she's walking to the library.
And you know, I appreciate that.
You know technology is one ofthose things like we can get on
this podcast and obviously talkto, you know, dozens and
hundreds of people at a time andall that, but you know when it
starts getting into, like yourkids, and you know I remember
when I got my first cell phoneand it didn't do anything.
Yeah, I want to try to keep thisdown and my, my oldest twin,
(06:14):
Julie, is super intoprofessional wrestling.
She caught the bug for me.
We've been to a couple of shows.
The last year went to aSmackDown, so SmackDown came to
town and took her and daily withme so I got daily the oldest,
Julian, Sadie, the twins, andSadie's my wild child.
She's uh, she's different, butshe uh, real mechanical with her
(06:34):
hands, starting to get reallyhands-on with stuff and I mean
she could probably fix anythingthat she breaks.
She she's always wanting totear stuff apart and tinker.
It's just one of those things.
Three totally different kids,three totally different
personalities.
Julie's doing soccer right now,so we're staying busy on
(06:57):
weekends with that and justtrying to enjoy my time with
them as they're getting older.
I want to do one quick shout out.
As always, this episode of theSteel Kings podcast is brought
to you by our studio sponsor, JMoney.
Whether you sell steelbuildings, sheds, windows, doors
or pools, J Money makes it easyto offer flexible financing to
your customers so you can closemore deals without the hassle.
(07:19):
Grow your business with paymentsolutions at jmoneyllc.
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Brother.
I want to talk a little bitabout the steel tariffs.
That's the topic for today.
I know we talked about itbriefly in a previous episode
(07:40):
but looking at the newsreels,this is June 9th that we're
recording, so you guys are goingto get this towards the end of
June.
But steel tariffs took effectJune the 4th.
We kind of knew it was coming.
We had talked about it, I think, back in April, something like
that.
We just touched on it brieflyand I think we felt a little bit
(08:03):
of hesitation and maybethrowing it out there as much as
we are now.
But I think it's really hittingthe forefront.
I mean as somebody who is inthe line of fire every day, like
you and I, we're feeling it.
Manufacturers are squeezing.
You do a lot of sales.
I mean you are the top salesguy at Dayton Barns.
You're all over Facebookmarketplace.
(08:24):
You're all over the place.
What are you seeing right now,brother?
Pricing buildings, talking tocustomers.
What's your, what's yourfeeling?
Eric (08:30):
You know, um, I'm still having a ton of convos, but it's
definitely a talking point Um,not from a customer standpoint,
but from a pricing standpoint.
Um, not from a customerstandpoint, but from a pricing
standpoint.
Um, I think a lot of people andlet me just say this, the steel
(08:52):
tariffs is just one of themthere, there's tariffs on
everything there, and if youjust do a quick Google search, I
mean, uh, solar panels, um, EV,got their remove.
You know, there there's notremoval, but things are shifting
on like, uh, like a productbasis, um, and, and so there's
other, like semiconductors.
There's, um, there's notremoval, but things are shifting
on like a product basis, and sothere's other, like
semiconductors.
(09:12):
There's tariffs on that now,and I think those are even
higher than the steel ones.
So, I don't know if getting intothe politics of it, but
certainly people are shoppingwith caution because prices are
a little different.
With caution because prices area little different.
So, a lot of times people onFacebook are like hey, my
neighbor got a building andthey're going into it with this
preconceived notion that that,that it should be the same price
(09:33):
, and so there's a little extrato overcome.
And so, I would say you knowI'm.
I'm selling one a day out ofOregon.
I'm fortunate that the tariffhasn't affected that particular
area of the United States, butcertainly some of the suppliers
are either removing theirdiscounts or lowering them in
response to it.
(09:54):
It's probably a good time to bediversifying what you're
selling, and we're lucky to bein a couple different things.
Jared (10:04):
It's hard to put a tariff on a tree, so if you're buying
something with wood, that's uhif you're in the I mean, I just
want to say this too if you'rein the Ohio area, contact the
guys at country cabins.
Um, if you're not selling woodsheds, I know that they're open
to working with you.
Um, if you're working withsteel manufacturers, right now
is the time when you need to belooking across the board to
maybe take a pivot.
(10:25):
We're still super happy withour, with our guys over at
American steel.
They're still doing a great jobfor us, but they, you know,
they, like everybody else, youknow kind of cutting down on the
discounts, giving us a littlebit less leverage to work with.
And you know the differencebetween us and somebody sitting
and listening to the podcast.
You know you have to be on thefly, willing to adjust pricing.
(10:51):
You have to be on the fly,willing to eat into your
commission levels, because youare going to get beat right now.
There's always going to besomebody lower.
I don't care what productyou're selling, whether it's
woodshed steel buildings, polebarns.
You know the competition'snever been tougher, and now with
this, it's going to get eventougher, cause I mean, you know
we were talking sitting back inthe end of March and you and I
were like man, we're gettingready to get busy and you know
(11:12):
taxes are coming in and you knowwe're starting to ramp up a
little bit, like you know, likenormal, but it's not at the
level it's been the last coupleof years.
I I mean we're noticing itpretty significantly at this
point.
Eric (11:26):
One of our bigger suppliers, um, or one of our
bigger partners, um, feel freeto mention the name, but they're
, they've had a discount goingfor quite a while.
Um, yeah and um, and that'sgoing away, which is kind of
shuffling some things around, soopening the door for some other
things, other, um, maybe somepeople we haven't been using as
(11:50):
recently, so it's going to benetworked as well.
So, I think this is going tostretch us in a different way.
But I mean, like you know, wewoke up today.
We've got plenty of orderscoming through, we sold a ton of
buildings last week and um andso, uh, we're fortunate to be
pivoting.
So, if you're an individualseller or a small time, now it's
time to you know, don't freakout, just look around, look
(12:14):
around, get on some forums.
Call us, call Jared, call youknow, call myself.
Jared (12:17):
And yeah, email us.
You know we got dedicated.
We got dedicated podcast emailsnow.
So, I'm Jared@the steel kings.
com, he's eric@ thesteelkings.
com.
We want to hear from you guys.
If you guys got a cool story,if you guys are out and about,
if you guys got a cool lot, giveus a shout man.
We'd love to have you on thepodcast.
We are open to everybody.
We welcome Competition isfriendly.
(12:40):
We're not going to be looking totake any of your leads or sell
any of your buildings.
There's plenty of buildings tobe sold.
I think right now, what I'mseeing, or what I'm feeling, is
that the cream is really goingto rise to the top.
You got to be better than yourcompetition, not just on price,
because, buddy, right now theywant to know that the building's
coming and they want to knowwhen it's coming.
And I think that's been thebiggest struggle from a
(13:02):
conversational standpoint.
I've got several projectmanagers in here that are
working leads all day and that'sthe number one question.
I get like, hey, can I promisea lead time?
And most of the buildings arefour weeks or less with a slight
picture and a down payment.
Most everybody that sells steelbuildings knows that, but at the
end of the day, we're competingagainst people out there that
(13:23):
may not be given all the truth,maybe, maybe not.
You know, and again I wouldchallenge you if you are
struggling that way, you'renever going to get beat with the
truth, because you'll feel goodat the end of the day If you,
if you lose the deal, at leastyou told the truth.
You know, and Eric and I haveboth been in situations where
we've probably spoke out of turn.
(13:43):
Um, I don't want to act likethis isn't a Dayton Barns or a
Jared or Eric problem.
You know, I've been insituations where I've made
promises that I ended up notbeing able to keep because
somebody didn't keep theirpromise to me.
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Jared (15:07):
you know and ultimately you know that's really.
you're only as good as the wordof the person you're working
alongside of.
That's why I love working withEric, cause when Eric tells me
something, I can write it downand it's gospel right.
But if you don't know thesemanufacturers that you're
working with, if somebody coldcalled you one day and said hey,
we'd like you to sell metalbuildings for us and we'll give
you a higher dealer commissionthan what you're getting from
your current supplier ormanufacturer it isn't always
(15:31):
going to be like tall grass andtall cotton, right?
I mean, it's going to be one ofthose things where you really
need to do due diligence on whatyou're selling.
Believe in it.
I love what I do here, so Idon't struggle with it.
When I tell a customer certainmanufacturers are 12 weeks or
less with a site picture I don'tblink my eyes twice.
(15:51):
I know that if I'm going totalk to a customer, I give them
what I tell them I'm going toand if not, I'm going to stay in
touch with them.
We had one come up recently Eric, I know you wanted to talk a
little bit about this.
One had a deal on the table.
I think it was out west, maybeOregon.
I think you've been really hotout in Washington, Oregon,
places like that.
We had a deal on the table andthe customer was balking he had
(16:14):
a cheaper price and get tolooking at the contract and the
contract basically States likehey, we can change the price
anytime, anywhere, any, any,anyhow.
Like there was so much, youknow, there was so much verbiage
in that contract.
Tell me about that.
Eric (16:30):
So, I was thinking while you were talking.
You know, I think, when, sixyears ago, when the steel metal
building game started exploding,I feel like the companies that
were at the top, a bunch ofpeople left.
Those companies started theirown thing, and there were so
many suppliers and so manypeople selling that it was a
(16:53):
race to the bottom.
What I can say now is it'sgoing to be a race to trust,
because a lot of people are notnetworked like we are, and a lot
of companies are not networkedbecause they put all their eggs
in one basket, and when peopleget reeling and they're not
righteous, humans slashcompanies.
They will lie, and so a lot ofthings are.
(17:15):
There's going to be moreripoffs.
Now.
I can tell you that right now,for a fact that I that that
people are gullible.
They've never bought metalbuildings before.
If you're perhaps a customer,make sure you do your due
diligence.
Let me touch on what Jared justsaid.
You know, and I can't remember,what the company name was.
I want to say it.
I don't remember, though, and Idon't want to missay it.
Jared (17:38):
Describe it to me and I'll decide if I want to share
that.
Eric (17:41):
Okay, so the company.
Jared (17:43):
The company, the name you were competing against.
Eric (17:45):
Yes, I can just tell you this?
Jared (17:47):
I can just tell you this.
Eric (17:49):
I've been doing this now.
They've been doing this now.
I don't remember who it is, butI've been doing this now.
Jared (17:53):
I've been doing this now for about four years, with you
or so, right around that point.
Eric (17:59):
And I read these people like a book.
Jared (18:01):
You have gotten a quote like if you're dealing in high
volume metal building sales andyou've gotten a competition
quote, you've come up againstthese guys and again don't want
to badmouth anyone in particular, I'm not going to share their
name, but I will tell you thisIf you're dealing with somebody
who's got a significantly lowerprice than you, listen to what
Eric's about to say, becauseit's going to be something to
(18:22):
pay attention to this guy.
Eric (18:25):
This particular customer had committed, he got reeled in.
He committed to a buildingprice, got onto a contract with
a company and there was not onlythere was a couple parts, but
the main part was that inasterisks Okay so.
So, for example, I rememberback in the day when a when a
(18:45):
company would sell you abuilding and they would want
vertical siding, they wouldleave off the word vertical and
then, after the person purchasedthe building, they would add
vertical siding, would add like1600 bucks, and that's how
people would sell the buildingto the customer.
Sepa is they'd hide a detailuntil after the signature on,
(19:06):
and then they would hide behindthis asterisk.
It buried in their contractdetails that said a company has
right to change the price at anygiven time, and so, instead of
saying you know, we're lockingin on this very project for
three to six months, orsomething like that, they would
basically put in there that wecan change the price, and then
(19:27):
they would plan to screw youover.
They would literally plan toadd something later and then
threaten never to give yourmoney back.
I mean, this is exactly whatthe guy did.
So, the guy, the customer, hadthis price.
And I said, sent me, send me,send me the contract, let me
look over it.
And, red flag after red flagafter red flag, the number one
(19:48):
thing was that after the guybought it, they called him back
and said it's going to be a 2300more box or something, whatever
the cost was extra.
And I said, well, why wouldthey do that?
He said, well, I would havebought it from because the guy
got a quote from me before.
And so he said, well, I boughtit from you.
And I said, well, why did youbuy it from them?
So we had a cheaper price.
And I said, well, that didn'twork out because what you signed
(20:10):
was basically a variance, likewe're gonna, we can change the
price anytime.
And so, at what happened afterthat was that is exactly that.
So, um, the seller lied to thecustomer to get them to commit
and then change the game on themafter the fact, and uh, and
blame engineering came back andsaid this is what we need to add
(20:32):
.
It was totally phony.
I'm glad you said we're notgoing to rip the company's shed,
but they've done that, man,it's so heinous.
Jared (20:42):
They were the first company that I ever came up
against a metal building quoteon.
I remember Colin.
I remember Colin, a tip of theday, and you guys are already
doing this.
But I mean, just for those ofyou that aren't, I call dealers
all the time.
You've probably talked to mematter of fact and it's not a
matter of I'm trying tonecessarily close the sale,
(21:07):
don't get me wrong.
Like, that is absolutely whyI'm trying to find the
information.
But, like, if you're a dealer,your due diligence is to supply
the customer with all of theinformation necessary to make a
good and educated decision.
If you call Dayton Barns, we'regoing to tell you exactly who's
manufacturing your building andwhat to expect when they come.
We don't hide behind the cloakof well, you know, got to close
(21:31):
you.
Before I give you that info, Imean, just think about that.
If you're sitting where we'resitting and you're working
selling metal buildings, if youwere buying a metal building,
wouldn't you want to know whowas putting it up?
Wouldn't you want to know thereputation of the people who are
installing the building?
We've talked about it before.
I can't say it enough the mostimportant part of a metal
(21:52):
building process, from start tofinish is the install crew.
If you don't know anythingabout your install crews, you
need to figure it out.
Some of the most talented metalbuilding salespeople that I've
talked to learned from spenttime with they know exactly who
the install crews are for themanufacturers they work with and
they're able to supply thatinformation.
Not only that we've got installcrews, that we have their
(22:13):
numbers, so that way when theinstall crew gets there we know
when they're on site with ourcustomers.
We go get building pictures, wemeet and greet with the
customers.
We go out of our way to makesure that that process is
seamless, truly from start tofinish.
And I know you're sitting therethinking well, Jared, Eric, I'm
one guy sitting in the middle ofnowhere and you know I sell a
(22:34):
couple of buildings a month.
I get that.
I get that we can't go to everysite that we.
Eric's not going to Oregon,right, he sells a lot of
buildings in Oregon.
He's not going there Now.
He just went cross country fromDayton to Washington and back
and did stop at some customersproperties in Wyoming and Idaho,
and that's a one-off.
We know you're not going to beable to travel all over the
(22:55):
country but at the same time, doyour due diligence.
Man, I can't tell you enoughLike the quality of the industry
will rise if everyone getstogether and says you know what?
We have to be better.
We want you to be better and wewant to help you with that.
That's why we're on thispodcast and and you know, we, we
talk and we talk, and we talkabout the same type of type of
(23:17):
topics because it's important tous and it should be important
to you.
Um, you know and I'm not tryingto tell you how to feel or think
, and neither is Eric but Ithink if you can hear insights
from somebody who is doing it ata high level and you might be
doing better than us we mightlearn something from you.
Very, very good possibility ofthat.
But at the same time, um, youknow, I feel a calling on me.
(23:39):
I know Eric does too.
This podcast is meant to callyou out and get you motivated to
sell metal buildings.
Eric, tell me a little bit moreabout that deal, cause there
was one specific thing about it,and if you don't touch on it,
I'm going to.
But go ahead.
Is there anything?
Eric (23:55):
else I know I cut you off.
You got to refresh me.
I pulled up the convo.
I was trying to read through it.
Jared (24:03):
Well, okay, so your customer was dealing with
another dealer and that dealerkind of, and I think that the
sales rep, I think that thesales rep and all and all
truthfulness probably just doingwhat he was told.
You know, I don't think that hewas being malicious or anything
like that.
He probably knew that that wasthe policy but at the same time
(24:24):
he wasn't necessarily beingmalicious, so I don't want to
throw that out there.
I will tell you, if you're notfamiliar with the state of
Oregon, they need seismic andsite specifics on almost every
single building in Oregon.
I think that that's what itcomes down to.
A lot is that we do the duediligence upfront so all my guys
know how Oregon works.
(24:44):
We've got spreadsheets forpretty much every state that we
service.
You know Florida, Oregon, partsof Texas, New York State, New
Jersey.
There's a lot of a handful,maybe two handfuls of states
that require random odds andends.
In Oregon.
We always price site specificsin seismic because more often
(25:06):
than not you need it and ifyou're buying a $30,000 building
and you're not told that you'regoing to need $3,500 worth of
blueprints, you're talking abouta 10% difference in the price
of the building and most ofthose manufacturers need that
cash, need that money for thosesite specifics upfront.
So, we go out of our way tomake sure that the customer
(25:26):
knows hey, you're not only goingto be paying us, you know, a
few thousand dollars down tosecure your order, get it coming
, get it on the way, but you'realso going to have to have
$3,500 ready for some sites.
Eric (25:40):
So, this company okay, I'm reading the combo now I've got
to pull it up.
Number one they didn't offerthe door size.
So, the guy wanted a 14 wideroll-up door.
I know everybody, we knoweverybody that goes to Oregon.
The guy wanted a 14 wideroll-up door.
I know everybody, we knoweverybody that goes to Oregon.
There's not a 14 foot wideroll-up door.
Those things it unless youbought your own.
And since the company, I knewwho they were.
(26:00):
I knew who they, who were theywere using.
The customer didn't know whothey were using.
I knew who they were using justbased on the quote, because the
line items matched up with whowe were going to use, and so the
guy lied blatantly.
It was the same company we wasquoting.
Same exact building, differentprice.
The guy was lying.
You could tell sold from adifferent so that sold from a
different dealer.
(26:20):
So I start to chat and I, youknow, I, I and I'm just reading
the the question um, oh, now Igot the quote.
I'm pulling it up now, um, andit said he won't tell me the
manufacturer until I make thedown payment.
That's a huge red flag.
You're not going to tell me whois going to put up my $20,000
(26:42):
building.
What kind of ridiculous crap isthat.
I want a sedan, let me buy asedan.
I need a four-door with AC, aBluetooth, low miles.
And they're like, yeah, I gotsomething for you, can't you?
Until you, until you give mesome cash, I'm not going to tell
you the make and model.
Like, you are an absolute idiot, turd, you're a turd, nothing
(27:05):
burger, if that's what you'redoing, you're an idiot, like,
literally, this poor guy, thispoor guy.
Dear Rokey, thank you for yourinterest in our metal building
services.
We have requested your quoteand then, oh, by the way, we're
changing your price also, andokay.
So laughable point here is thatif you act that way, you're
(27:27):
going to get busted Facts andthen you just make it easy on me
, a person, that's like, yeah, Iget the most likely tomorrow.
I just look back man, I'm justmaking me sick.
He says this makes me sick.
I'm just, I'm sorry we're gonnahave to get some filler because
there's a lot of combo.
(27:47):
I really cared about this guy.
I cared about this guy so muchman.
Jared (27:53):
What you end up with.
What you end up with is you endup with not just a happy
customer, you end up with anextremely happy customer who
then gives reviews, who thentells all of his friends, family
, neighbors and otherwise hey, Igot my building from Eric.
He's a great guy.
He told me the truth.
I did pay a little bit more,but I got exactly what I asked
for.
And then some, I got apermitted building.
(28:14):
I got it up in a quick amountof time and it wasn't any more
or any less than we agreed to.
It was the exact penny that Ipaid.
And speaking of that, I want togive a quick shout out to the
guys at J Money.
If you're struggling withfinding the financing, contact
the team at J Money.
You can get upfront payments,not just as a dealer, but as a
(28:35):
manufacturer.
If you're selling inside, thoseguys can help you get deals
across the table when thecustomers are struggling with
funds.
I know that RTO is popular.
We use RTO here, but I can tellyou the guys at J Money know
exactly what they're doing.
I also want to give a quickshout out to our newest sponsor
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(28:56):
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um, I wanted to catch up, let me, let me.
Jared (31:25):
I wanted to catch up a little bit for you.
No, keep going, brother so.
Eric (31:28):
So I he sent me the quote and I don't normally ask for
quotes.
I just there was some red flags.
The guy sent me the quote,quote.
I read it and I said if youwant the 14 tall, I'll sell to
you for 17 K, but keep in mind.
And I said it says 17, six onthe page.
I said I'll do 17 K.
X Y Z company and me are sellingyou the same building, same
company, same installers.
(31:48):
Fyi, they are not going to tellyou that, but I'm telling you.
And he said how are they ableto do the roll-up door?
And then I had I had Michellecheck.
I said I just called XYZ.
They do not offer a 16 by 10roll-up door.
So, then I was like, Hmm, whywould they tell this guy that
they can do something they can't?
And so, it made me think thatthey just wanted the money.
I said well, can you find outwho they're selling?
(32:10):
Manufacturer wise for XYZcompany?
Apparently they cannot do a 16by 10.
I'm wondering about them.
I said I want to earn yourbusiness, I will care about it
more.
And he said he won't tell methe manufacturer until I make
the down payment.
And I said, wow, that's insane.
You obviously want to verify.
I'm curious for multiplereasons, but now I'm like why
would you hide that information?
Lol, I'm on the phone with theother owner.
(32:30):
We're trying to figure this out.
That's you, Jared?
I said I can't figure out,Unfortunately.
I think it's bad business to notshare who it's installing the
building.
I'm transparent about it.
I could care less if you buythe building from me, but you
should not buy it from them.
Is a generic plan buildingstamped by engineering?
I said in all cases, yes, hesays that matters.
And I said, at worst, thiscompany is scamming, they're
(32:51):
being deceptive.
Yeah, they have good reviews,so I don't want to say too
negative.
I love the industry.
So, I want to stay positive.
This is me saying this.
I'm saying this time I want tostay positive, I love the
industry.
Under the customer info it says24 by 50 by 12, but in the line
items it says they don't evenhave prices anyways.
It shows a 26 by 32 by 14,which is not the same, it's not
(33:13):
the same building, and so,anyway, let me call you, so I'm
getting close.
Jared (33:23):
I haven't told you about this, eric, it just literally
popped into my mind.
So, we're trying all kinds ofavenues on advertising.
So, this is all.
Again, we want to circle backto the main topic, which was
steel tariffs how to compete.
Yeah, sorry about that.
No, no, no, bro.
I want to talk about stuff likethis because firsthand
experience is what I want toshare and what we should want to
(33:44):
share.
I can tell you this we work onMeta, google, all the
advertising platforms.
We've tried a little bit ofeverything.
One thing we tried recently andI haven't shared this with Eric
, so I'm excited to see his, I'mexcited to see his reaction to
this.
So we recently set up TikTok,and Eric and I have both been
kind of Uber opposed to TikTok.
It's not something that eitherof us use as a social media
(34:07):
platform.
It just kind of, for whateverreason, just hasn't suited our
fancy.
We're more Facebook guys.
I think maybe it's because ofour age or whatever, but we set
up TikTok.
We have a guy in our lives, oneof our project managers, who is
really aggressive on socialmedia.
Super nice guy, Chris.
I got to give you a quick shoutout, brother.
(34:28):
I know you love podcasts, sohopefully you're listening.
But I can tell you this hereally got me motivated about
TikTok.
We set we uh set up Tik TOKshop.
We set up, uh did a couple ofpaid ads and then things got
some good traction.
Uh got a couple of leads.
It was pretty solid Um.
But when you set up Tik TOKshop, just tools of the trade,
(34:49):
um set up Tik TOK shop, they canbuy from Tik TOK shop, they can
buy and pay on tiktok shop.
So we get a call in the shopand the customer's like yeah,
you know, I was reading yourpost on tiktok.
And he's like yeah, I paid, Ipaid for the building, and like
I just wanted to get some info.
And I'm like, brother, I don'thave a clue what you're talking
(35:10):
about how much money did he give?
us like Like 4,600 bucks.
Eric (35:14):
He paid it over the internet.
Jared (35:16):
Yeah, with Apple Pay Didn't call it and talk to
nobody.
Eric (35:20):
Pro tip get a TikTok account.
Jared (35:22):
Well, let me share this.
Before you just run out and geta TikTok shot, you got to make
sure that the customers arereading.
Eric (35:28):
I am not going to do it.
Jared (35:29):
So, I personally listed the building.
I gave him a pretty gooddiscount on it.
I think it was a 30K building.
It was one of our dark nightsand the customer didn't read the
description all the way and hesaid I didn't realize that the
building was going to be 30K.
And he's like I'm a contractor,I'm in the Louisiana area, what
can you do for me?
I said, brother, I don't haveyour money.
(35:51):
I said as far as I'm concerned,you can call your credit card
company and cancel thetransaction because TikTok's
wanting to take a really highpercentage off that payment.
Anyway, I hadn't set up Nowlisten, this is the crazy part
had not set up purchases, hadnot set up a bank account, had
not set up nothing.
And this guy had almost $5,000of his personal money inside
(36:12):
TikTok and TikTok didn't evennotify me.
Now, I'm just some guy in anoffice.
I love helping customers.
I called the customer.
I said look, I'm going tocancel the order here on TikTok.
I don't have your money, tiktokhas your money.
But I got to talking to thecustomer.
Customer is a contractor, doesconcrete, does all kinds of
(36:33):
stuff in Louisiana area.
He's part of a conglomeratethat services like 12 different
locations.
They do like nationwide work.
I just got to talking to him.
I said, brother, stay incontact with me.
I shot him a text.
He said I'll let you know assoon as I get the money back.
But he wants leads on concrete.
So, he and I are going to worktogether on building projects in
his area to see if we can'tconnect customers with concrete,
(36:55):
and he's going to end up buyinga building from me.
We're just going to work it outa little bit differently.
Probably get him one of ourpole barn kits and just a super
nice guy.
But I can tell you we saw theflashing lights and everything
of TikTok and thought, man, thisis going to be awesome.
You can create yourself acustomer service nightmare in a
(37:16):
real hurry.
The guy was super nice and wewere on top of it.
But man, I'm telling you, yougot to be mindful of what you're
doing out there, because I cantell you, it's not always going
to be rose colored glass, I canpromise you.
Eric.
I want to hear your opinion onthat.
I mean, I know what you'rethinking, man.
(37:37):
We should list a bunch ofbuildings on Tik TOK.
We'll get a bunch of orders.
But I will tell you this Is itnot crazy that a company would
take payment and I've not evenauthorized them to do that?
It was supposed to be a leadgen.
Eric (37:50):
Where did the money?
Jared (37:50):
go it was in a holdings account with Tik TOK.
Same on Tik TOK.
Ago it was in a holdingsaccount with tiktok.
Eric (38:00):
Same on tiktok dude.
Crazy, crazy.
I didn't notify me, didn'temail me.
Full disclosure.
Jared (38:02):
I'm gonna check out tiktok now yeah, yeah, for sure,
I mean for sure, like at leastcall us and buy now we're not
getting, yeah, we're not gettingoff, did the guy?
think he was buying a buildingfor 4600 yes, yeah, swiped his
apple, pay, that's like a 30freaking wide swipe swiped his,
swiped his car or tapped hisapple pay and was on it and,
(38:26):
like I was asking him, I said,man, do you really make a habit
of doing this?
He's like I just thought it wasa deal that was too good to be
true.
And I said, brother, it's adeal that's too good to be true.
I can't sell you that buildingfor 4k, I said.
I said that's what I'm gonnamake on it.
Eric (38:38):
I said that's what I think you can get a team metal
building for 46 yeah I mean youcan get a metal building, but
it's gonna be like a rickety.
Jared (38:45):
You know it's gonna be something you put together.
Yeah, gonna be some kind of,some kind of put it together on
your own kind of a kit you getfrom a big box store or
something I don't know.
I again, I can't stress to youguys enough, being on top of
things in your business rightnow, with everything going on,
man, people are looking.
They're looking for our product.
(39:06):
People still want and needmetal buildings.
They still want the size of it.
it was a dark night, 30 by 50 by12 30 okay 30 by 50, by 12,
lean to, he's gonna buy, youknow I've always been fascinated
that people are getting youknow Carvana.
Eric (39:25):
You just buy a car online.
You don't even test drive.
They literally drop it off it'sinsane because I think,
mechanically speaking, I wouldmuch rather buy something that
doesn't require constantattention, like a car, I mean,
unless you just trust it.
Maybe you got Carfax.
But it's fascinating to me howpeople buy big items from the
(39:49):
couch these days and how peopletrust it or they want to trust
it Well, with cars, withanything really, you can put a
return policy on and how peopletrust it or they want to trust
it.
Jared (39:56):
Well, with cars, with anything really, you can put a
return policy on it.
I think Carvana, a lot of theonline dealers they'll do a
three-day return policy,something like that.
But when you get this buildingfolks, it's there, I can assure
you it goes into the ground,whether it's an auger anchor,
whether it's concrete, whateverit is.
(40:17):
That building's there to stayand it's not meant to be picked
back up and taken back away.
And I can tell you there's nota whole lot of returns in the
metal building world.
I mean, we've had a coupleprobably I don't know, probably
two or three that I can recall,where customers didn't pay their
bills and their buildings weretaken away and I got a phone
(40:37):
call.
And I mean those calls arefunny because you know customers
will call and say, hey, my rollup door isn't working, or hey,
my man door isn't working, orwhatever.
Okay, well, how's everythingelse Building's fine, other than
that?
Well, I'm also getting callsfrom the manufacturer that the
same person hasn't paid theirbill.
So, I have to tell the customerlook, you know the.
(40:59):
The warranty is only appliedonce the building's paid for.
You know you, you can't get awarranty on something that you
haven't paid for Like.
Come on Like you know, if youdon't pay for it, chances are
they're going to take it away,chances are they're going to
show right back up, load itright back up and they're going
to drive your building back towhere it came from, cause, at
(41:20):
the end of the day, nothing'sfree, eric.
Nothing at all.
Nothing at all is free.
Eric (41:26):
And I think metal building doesn't cost 4,600.
Jared (41:28):
That is, that is correct.
So, you know I was thinking brofor about $4,600,.
I can send you a scale model ofthe Dark Knight, the.
Eric (41:37):
Lego version.
Jared (41:48):
I can send you a really cool version of the Dark Knight.
That's about a 30 inch by 50inch by 12 inch tall metal
building scale.
He understood and he was a niceguy.
Like I said, I made a goodconnection.
The guy was a nice guy.
Like I said, I made a goodconnection.
The guy was super nice.
He's going to leave us a review, just kind of outlining his
experience and thanking us forour help.
And again, there are so manycompanies out there.
If you happen to be a customerand you come across our podcast,
(42:08):
we'd love to sell you a metalbuilding.
There are lots and lots andlots of reputable metal building
dealers out there.
Chances are there's one in yourlocal community.
But give us a call.
We'll help you on every aspectof it and we're not going to
just tell you hey, they suck,they're terrible.
We don't do that.
You know, we want to work withyou.
We got a handful ofmanufacturers that we really
(42:28):
trust and enjoy working with.
Eric (42:31):
Like I said, we were trained today, we were framed
from name dropping today.
So we don't want to, we don'twant it.
Jared (42:38):
That's right.
We don't want to be.
We don't want to be anythingmore than good stewards for the
industry.
Metal buildings is a greatindustry to be in right now, I
know.
With the tariffs and everything, it seems tumultuous.
It seems like we are headed offthis cliff right now and we
need a parachute.
I tend to trust and have faithin what's going on here and I
(43:01):
think it's going to rid us ofsome problems.
I tend to be a little bit moretrusting than most folks.
I think we just trust theprocess.
At the end of the day, theprices on steel, the prices on
buildings, probably needed to goup a little bit anyways, I know
a lot of the manufacturers thatI've been talking to are
feeling the squeeze.
They're feeling the squeeze ofpercentages when you talk about
(43:25):
if there's 100% pie and a dealertakes 20% and install crew
takes 25%, that doesn't leave awhole lot of meat on the bone
for these manufacturers.
That have payrolls to meet,they have facilities to maintain
, they have all kinds of billsand expenses that a dealer, a
small time dealer and you knowwe're a medium sized dealer, we
(43:47):
do what we do really well, but Imean you know their, their
bills super, exceed ours.
So we have to work alongsidethose people because if they
decide one day that they don'twant to do this anymore, then
Eric and I are looking for newpartners.
You know, that's just all thereis to it, because we want to
stick with the people thatbrought us to the dance.
Those folks like American Steel.
We can't give enough love tothose guys.
(44:08):
If you are in need of a metalbuilding supplier, contact the
team at American Steel.
They will get you what you need.
They service almost all theUnited States.
We've got a lot of otherpartners.
Reliable Metal Buildings Lovethose guys too.
I want to give those twocompanies a really good shout
out, because right now they'rekeeping us in the game.
(44:28):
They're keeping us steady,keeping us on our toes.
Bro, I think we're going towrap this one up, eric.
I think we've touched base onthe steel tariffs.
We've given a little bit of alowdown on what we're doing.
You got anything else before wefinish up this episode, brother
?
Eric (44:44):
You know, I think that's a good stopping point.
You know, my final words are isdefinitely, if you're a
customer, there will be more.
There's going to be an increasein spam and scam now because
people are going to be grippingtight to trying to keep up with
sales, because prices are goingup.
So just make sure you do yourdue diligence.
(45:06):
And if you're a dealer, youbetter be transparent, because
something else is coming yourway.
So we want the industry tosurvive, so that's all I got.
Jared (45:20):
Get out in your communities.
Be a good neighbor, be a goodfriend, be a good protege, be a
good, whatever it is that you do, big brother, big sister,
brother, sister, mom, dad,whatever you're doing, get out
in your community.
I want to give one last shoutout to our friends over at Cold
Spring Enterprises, the industrypros behind the versa bend, the
(45:41):
most efficient square tubingbender on the market.
If you're still using a fivebend method to shape bows,
you're wasting time.
The versa bend makes a completebow in just three bends.
That's right.
Faster bends, less downtime andprecision every time.
Built to handle two inch, twoand a half5, 2.25, square tubing
plus 2x3 rectangular tubing in12 and 14 gauge, the VersaBend
is made for real builders doingreal work Switching sizes,
(46:03):
tool-free and done in seconds.
Adjust angles with the built-instops and center marks to hit
that perfect roof pitch everytime.
If you want one, theVersaBend's $19,500.
If you're outside SouthCarolina, there's no sales tax.
Average shipping's around $600.
Give the team over at ColdSpring Enterprises a call.
Check out our friends at JMoney for all your financing
(46:24):
needs.
We will be back at you next weekwith another episode of the
Steel Kings podcast.
I am Jared, he is Eric.
We are the Steel Kings and forthis week we're out, peace out.
Guys, have a great week.
All right, talk to you later.
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