The quality manager on your job site preps harder than your average rep. I asked her what she's thinking when she walks up to your installer.
Callie Johns runs the quality program on a hyperscale project at JE Dunn Construction. She's 10 years in. Started as a project engineer, hated pushing change orders, fell for the exterior enclosure mock-up, and asked to be in quality the week COVID hit. When her boss quit three months into that first quality job, her dad encouraged her to throw her hat in the ring. Gotta love girl dads.
Walking a Site With QC Was the Scariest Part of My Job
In the 46 minutes Tim Seims and I were on with her, I said something on air I've never admitted in public. Walking a site with the QC person was the scariest part of my job as a rep. I did it several times a month for years as a tech rep, and then later as a sales rep. It never got less scary.
But Callie's answer was surprising. Turns out it's scary for her too. Walking with a tenured super, she feels the same imposter syndrome we all feel.
Why She Reviews Plans, Shop Drawings, and Install Instructions First
So she does the homework. Prior to meetings and walk-throughs, she looks at plans, details, shop drawings, install instructions, pre-install minutes. All of it, before the conversation. Then she listens.
This is why project fluency matters for anyone in building products sales. The person waiting for you on the other side of that walk-through has already done their preparation. They know what's supposed to be there. They know what questions to ask.
If Your Product Gets Installed by Someone Else, She's Waiting
Check out the latest Build Perspectives episode. If your product gets installed by someone else, Callie Johns is the person waiting for you.
The lesson here is simple. The quality manager on the job site has done her homework. She's reviewed the plans, the shop drawings, the install instructions. She's not walking up to that conversation unprepared, and neither should you. Whether you're stuck in an echo chamber of office meetings or you're out on sites regularly, preparation separates the reps who earn trust from the ones who lose it.
