He Went from Building a Bar to a Top Salesmen | Richard Durfee Ep 13

In this episode of Power the Network, we interview Richard Durfee, an account manager at CBM who has been with the company for nearly 9 years. Richard shares how he got into the industry, transitioning from construction work into sales, which initially made him apprehensive. He credits his mentors like Brett Cooper for helping guide him, as well as his coworkers who he can call on for assistance.

Richard discusses the importance of building long-term relationships with customers, treating them like friends and family. He emphasizes being honest and not overpromising. Richard talks about the ESOP program at CBM which gives employees ownership stake, providing them flexibility and incentive to think about the company's long-term success. He stresses the unique collaborations they can do across divisions given the ESOP structure.

Richard shares advice for new hires to reach out for help from coworkers, ask questions, and take time to develop in their role over 2-3 years. He highlights the great team at CBM which makes work enjoyable. Richard offers perspective on balancing work and family life on the road. He gives credit to his wife for her support and guidance through the years. The key message is building relationships, providing value and service that benefits all parties for the long haul.

Don't be a stereotypical salesperson - build genuine relationships with customers like friends
Be honest and don't overpromise - deliver a fair deal that benefits all parties
ESOP provides employees ownership stake and incentive to think long-term
Unique collaborations across divisions are possible because of ESOP structure
New hires should reach out for help, ask questions, and give it 2-3 years to develop
Support at home is crucial to balance life on the road
The team at CBM makes the job enjoyable
Focus on value, service and long-term relationships

Welcome to another episode of Power the Network.

UH.

This week, we've got a special opportunity.

We're bringing in one of CBM's finest, mister Richard Durfy.

He is an account manager in Oklahoma and Kansas on our communication team.

He's been with us about nine years now.

It's been a great opportunity to watch him grow as a salesperson and he really is one of the best.

Let's get into our conversation with Richard.

Richard, great to have you in studio today.

Thank you so much for coming in.

I mean, it's great to have one of our own, uh, you know here on the podcast.

What's it been nine years now that you've been with CBM?

Nine years in June?

Nine years in June.

I can't believe it's it's been that long already.

Time flies when you're having absolutely you know, before you came to CBM, you were running around building cell tower sites.

That right, that's correat.

Tell me a bit, tell me a little bit, like what drew you to CBM?

How was Ironically it was an unforeseen deal.

I stepped out of what I was doing.

I really wasn't doing anything at the time.

My wife and I were working on building our restaurant and bar, and I really wasn't looking for another career at the moment.

Bar.

Yeah, we're just gonna run the bar, have a little fun, you know, do that thing for a while.

And ironically, one of your alls, or one of our past coworkers from utility side, his daughter reached out to me and was like, my dad's company is looking for work for workers.

You should really apply.

So I thought about it for a little bit and I thought, let me look and see what this is.

So I googled CBM yeah and exact words.

My wife was, oh, hell no, there's no way I'm qualified to do this.

I mean, these are this is some pretty intense stuff.

So my wife was like, what's it gonna hurt?

Reach out to them.

So I called Bill Andrew and he recommended I reach out to Brett Cooper, our new newly appointed VP at that time.

So I reached out to Brett, send him my resume, and probably within thirty minutes he called me we need to meet.

Yeah.

So again I talked to my wife and I'm like, I don't know about this.

She's like, oh no, you're going to meet these guys.

You're going to see what they have to say what they have to.

That's what I love about your wife.

She'll pretty much tell you what you're going to do.

Thirty years later, I'm still going down the same road she tells me to go down.

So but bless her heart, she looked everything over.

So I met.

I met with Brett, and then he called me back and said, hey, we'd like to do another interview up in Kansas City.

Sure.

And one of the things that stood out to me.

I walked in there and all the names on the wall years of service, Yeah, I said, And and I look at it and I'm going, holy cow, these people never leave kind of company, is so.

I mean, at that time we had people twenty some years, you know, on and on the least was just a couple of years.

So I'm sitting there thinking, if you have a company like that where the people are still around after twenty plus years and a majority of them, they must be doing something here.

So I was fortunate enough to meet Brett again and then met the president of the company, Marla.

We went to lunch, and then after that it was probably about a month went by, and I kind of figured they probably made a decision in that and I'll never forget it.

I'm working on the bar.

I'm forty feet up on scaffolding.

Brett calls me back and he's like, hey, what are you doing.

Well, I'm happy to be doing some drywall.

So he's like, you want to go to work.

We're sending you an offer.

Look it over, see what you think.

And I still had apprehensions.

I'm thinking, what is this kid from Oklahoma going to do for a company like this?

Right?

A little bit.

Some of the things somilar to what I used to do in my background, but some of the things completely different.

I was not a salesman going in.

That was my biggest apprehension.

So again, my wife, she sets down with me.

We drew it out on paper, pros and cons, and you figured out, let's how some of our decisions are made in our household, So pros and cons.

She writes down the pros, we write down the cons.

Well, of course the pros outweighed the cons.

And she looked at me and she says, you were going to be there at least six months to a year before you do anything.

Yeah, and now we're going almost on nine years.

But it's it was the draft when I first looked into it, I thought, there's no way in that this is going to fit.

Yeah, well, we definitely saw a diamond in the roof.

And I give bred a lot of credit for finding you, because I mean, you're truly one of the best.

Uh and uh, we're so glad to have you.

You know.

One of the things probably is you're looking through that that offer package you noticed was our Esop.

The ESOP stood out, Yeah, what did that mean to you?

Two things?

I guess what did that mean to you?

Then as you were looking at, you know, a possible new future and what does it look like now that you've been here for almost a decade.

When I very first looked at it, I had to actually look up what I'm actually ESOP was.

And my wife and I always sat there share and I sat there and talked about it, and she was like, do you put this in perspective?

I was getting like two percent at the most with a match, so you're talking like way down here.

And then when I really dug into it and see what it actually was and what the contributing was at the end of the year or the contribution at the end of the year, I was astonished.

I was looking at that going this is why nobody leaves.

You take care of your people.

They're happy, great retirement.

And not only that, but as we got to look and diving in more to it, we are the actual owners of our company.

Yeah, we have our head figures, you know, your VP Marla Brett, Tim Drake, but as a whole, there is nothing as far as in your territory that they don't really give you rain to run it like at your own company.

And that really stood out to me.

That's one of the that's one of my favorite things.

You know, we've always you know, we coin it as you know your kingdom.

You know, we've we've had those jokes around the around the office before.

But I mean there's literally nothing that you can't do, you know, in your world.

It's like running your own business.

Uh.

And you've got that flexibility.

That's one of the things I love most about about the company.

And as time went on, like the first year, I mean's I'd only been there six months and the contribution at the end of that six months, I was shocked.

I was I was literally shocked.

So then the second year, the third year, but then when as you get closer to that be invested as we as we have the six year for being invested, Yep, it really sinks in like that fourth and fifth year because you're looking at that and you've been here for fifteen years now, sixteen sixteen.

So for guys that have been there over that being invested in that, it's huge.

And if our younger guys coming in, we have some really great talent that that has come on board that are let's face it, they're still really really young compared to us.

So if you look at those guys who are coming in, they are if they run with this the rest of their career and ride it to the full end, they are going to be in an unbelievable position.

I mean, barring everything you know from years and years how it filters out, but looking at it now, I can't believe what I hesitate?

Oh absolutely.

You know.

The other thing, you know, just for a perspective of the manufacturer, you take a family owned business and you've got, you know, one guy that runs the place.

Maybe it's kids working for him or whatever, but there's really what's the plane, what's the legacy?

You know, how's that going to work?

You know?

For us, it makes it real easy for you know, you know, the leaders of the company to step over and retire and bring the next people forward.

And it's really an easy transition for the manufacturers too, frankly.

So there's some value you know, both ways when you when you get into that.

But absolutely, and I look at it this way too.

Even though we are we are an employee owner, pretty much everything that goes on with our company affects each and every one of us.

It affects our families and so on.

So bringing the good principles to our manufacturers, not only our manufacturers, but also our customers.

If we give them a great package and give them the honest package, as I call it, Yeah, then it's a no win for everybody.

I mean, everybody is a winner.

And it's it's no short term stint, it's long term.

Yeah, we're always thinking long term relationships.

So for me, I was like, so when I grew up, my dad was a salesman for ditch, which, uh you know, I'd get to ride along with him in the summers and we'd go and I just saw, like I just remember like he was just always having fun.

Uh, you know, his customers loved him, always joking around, always top salesman.

I think of his twenty years, I think he was, you know, salesman of the year probably seventeen of those twenty years, like untouchable.

And you know with that growing up, I just always knew I wanted to be in sales.

But you said that scared you to death?

Scared me to death?

Well, how did you?

Because frankly, right now you're one of our top producers, right, isn't it scary?

So how to tell me about that transition?

And I think I know the answer, but you know, tell everybody what, so what what it did?

What did it for me?

Because I hadn't been here very long.

I came in, did a lot of service work in the beginning, helping you know, service department now, and then as I started transitioning more and more into sales, I traveled with you.

Yep, I traveled basically, you were one of the only ones I traveled with.

My very first day, I traveled with Brett on the way up from Oklahoma back up to Kansas City to the office.

But what stuck out in my mind is it wasn't like we were going to sell the stuff.

We were going to see a buddy.

We were going to go see a friend, and for me, that's when it just was like the light bulb went off and it was like, you know, if we treat these guys like they're our neighbor, like there our our cousin or buddy next door or somebody.

You know, that's when it really hit me that it doesn't have to be It ain't got to be hard.

The high pressure sales and that's what scared me to death coming in.

Yeah.

Now it's like if you're not in sales and you think, you know you people have the you know, typical used car salesman in their head or you know, real pushy, high pressure stuff and and really that's not what it is.

That's one of the things I love most about my career here is I've met some incredible people, you know, across the country that are friends now.

And you know, there can be some dynamics within that when you're doing business with friends that can kind of you know, muddy the waters a little bit.

But those relationships, you know, I've watched you over the years and I mean you've just mastered them.

I just I just had it in my head that I didn't want to be a car salesman.

Yeah, and it was always that thing.

We've all probably been there when you walk off, let's face it, the car lot and you're going, damn, that guy really caught me.

He really snookered me, right.

Yeah, I never wanted that.

I never cared.

My dad worked in a hardware store for probably about sixteen years, and I always remember as a kid going in there and it was always the little old lady come walking up there and asking him, excuse me, can you and he'd be absolutely, what do you need?

And then that always kind of stuck out in my mind as far as if you treat them like family, it's a lot better, you know what I mean, Like, don't try to don't try to promise them something you can't produce, right, just be honest up front.

You can't give them the moon, but you can try to get them close.

Yeah.

Well, and I think part of it is just caring.

You know, you may swindle somebody, not purposefully, but you know, perspective is relative, right, so you know, my perspective on a situation might be different than yours, but perspective is reality.

And you know, over the years, there's been a dealer here that's went bad.

But what what I see and when that happens is your heart.

You know that if if there's a customer situation, somebody's upset, or we've screwed something up, the fact that you care shows me, frankly, everything we need to know.

That's unfortunately sometimes that's out of our hands, whether it's a deadline didn't get met or or something.

Yep.

What motivates you?

What makes you get up in the morning, because I know you get up early, get up early?

You know what motivates me.

I love sometimes when we have those challenges where people call us and they're like, you're my guy, what can you do to help me remedy this situation that I'm in?

This is this is where we're at, and I just really look forward to that.

You never know what today, tomorrow, or even by Friday something completely different.

That's what's so dynamic about this job is it changes every minute every day.

It's never cookie cutter, and that's kind of what motivates me.

How do we how do we drive the success that we need to make our business grow, but yet get up and do it every day?

And I personally think it's just the relationships, you know, going out and doing what we have to do to make our company succeed.

So not only for me, my family, your family, everybody involved in in the CDM as well.

Yeah, now that that's I mean that you hit the nail right on the head there for sure.

The one thing you mentioned, you know, when you first started and you come up and you traveled with me.

You know, that's the one thing that makes us unique where because of the ESOP.

Frankly, we're able to use our assets.

You know, we're not stuck in a given role.

Uh, you know, we can take our expertise from one area to another and really help each other out.

And I think everybody grows from that.

You know, we've got some new folks.

What are you doing to mentor those new folks in your group too, you know, kind of nudge them along, help them learn.

Ironically, I think it was you and I.

We were we were at a show somewhere and we were talking about it, and then all of a sudden it hit me that, damn, I am one of the old guys, been here long enough that we've got so many new faces.

And you and I were discussing it, and I'm like, oh boy, that's kind of a scary thought right.

The guy that came in, they didn't know anything.

But we've got guys that come in and I think we have just across the board, we have just some of the most amazing people, all different varieties, you know, for everybody, where their background is, where they came from, what they did before, and some of these new guys.

I love the fact that we can kind of take that mold as you will, that lump of clay and kind of help them along because, as I stated earlier, if we can get them thinking and working now, their future is unlimited if we can just mold them and help them along.

So one of the things I like to do is obviously I'm not afraid to help anybody if you need something, first one to be there every time.

Just how I was raised, you always help those need and even if they're not in need, if you can nudge them or help them.

Now, sometimes we may be criticize a little bit because we would have done it differently, but overall, if we can build them up and grow them along, it's it's just going to be better for the future.

Yeah, that's our future.

That's our future, that's our retirement, yep, target that's the whole company.

So if you get anything out of this episode, you know, just remember that we work in several different markets.

We've got expertise in many areas, and if we don't, we've got the relationships to find the answers that are right for you.

We go really deep with our relationships and that's really what we value here at CBM.

If we can be of service to you, please reach out cbmrep dot com.

Give me a little more definition, then, So what would be your message to some of the newer folks, And keep in mind, we've got guys that have been here, you know, three years are longer, and we're still calling them new you know, but it takes time to develop, frankly, But what's your message to them?

My message of them would be, don't be afraid to reach out to your co workers.

Obviously, if you feel like you have a never be afraid to ask a question.

I was always brought up that there really is any silly question.

Well, there might be a silly question, but always don't be afraid to ask the question.

So my encouragement to them would be is to reach out to their peers and their other coworkers ask for that guidance if they're struggling with anything, and basically the whole balancing of everything.

I mean, let's face it, when you have multiple lines, you're doing multiple things.

So when you've got different factory responsibilities, just make sure that if you're not certain of what needs to be done, don't be afraid to ask.

Yeah, that's certainly one of our biggest challenges as a rep is.

You know, we've got multiple companies that we work for.

You know, they all want our mind share, and you know, how do you balance that time and devote you know, everything you can to each one of those manufacturers?

Time management have a focus every day.

Try to plan out your day, and not even just that day, but try to I typically try to do it two weeks or more on my calendar.

It just helps me because if you don't prepare, then you're going to get blindsided.

So if they take a little bit, ten minutes of preparation can save you hours in the long run.

Because you know, one of the things I learned from you when I started, when we go into a customer and stuff, when you're taking your notes, you're just simply asking them.

You already have a predetermined on what to talk about on the lines to cover, make sure all the lines are covered and that stuff like that.

If they can pick up on the little things, then it'll help them in the long run sell the whole package.

Basically, yeah, for sure.

You know, planning, planning is critical.

Uh.

If you're walking into a customer and you don't know why you're there, then frankly, you're wasting your time and their time.

Absolutely, And I think that's why salespeople get kind of a bad rap a lot of times, just because frankly, you're just wasting their time.

You know, people are so busy these days.

They don't want you just you know, showing up to show up.

You know, what's the agenda?

What what can we what can we help with the best thing is trying to be like you're saying, is have a you want to go there with a predetermination of what you're talking about or trying to discuss with them, not just show up for a free lunch or just to chat.

I mean, some of our newer people have reached out and it's you know, they'll ask you certain times like how do you how do you do this?

You do that?

And it's the only advice I can try to give them.

Is it takes time.

Yeah, this wasn't invented overnight.

Tell new people that takes, you know, it's two or three years to really develop a territory and and really get in the groove.

And everybody's like, ah, you know, that's and then two three years in they're like, well, yeah, you're right, you know.

And it's ironic because in the beginning everybody you would tell me that, different people like give it two years, you're going and then it was almost like clockwork.

After two years, your phone doesn't stop breaking, and you're like, oh my gosh, you were right.

It's it literally will come at a point.

Don't try to force it early.

Just try to do what you have to do to make sure everybody's taking care of those.

Learn what you can, you know.

And that's one thing I've noticed with you.

You know, some of the products that that we rep you know, you weren't an expert on those.

You didn't I mean most of them, you probably hadn't even heard of a lot of them, know, you know, how did how did you how did you become so good so quickly with just your your product knowledge is frankly better than mine.

So it's might sound a little crazy, but I mean we spent a lot of nights in motels.

Yeah, I mean, on average, over one hundred plus nights or more.

What do you do in the motel besides watch the idiot box you get bored.

In my early days, I would take whether it be that pre Form catalog or whatever manufacturer's catalog, and you just find yourself reading that instead of watching the TV, you know, maybe having off for background noise.

And then as you start going in and learning and seeing stuff, you're like, ah, that's that product, that's how it works.

And as you start talking to those customers and they're asking you about an MST or they're asking you about some some bridget, your mind goes back to where you start reading that stuff.

And that's what I encourage the younger guys.

One of our new guys that's been with us just not even a year yet, he asked me the same question, and I said, take this book and read these at night.

Just just read through them, familiar, get familiar with what the product is and what it does, and pretty soon you'll see it in real life.

And the kind of learned from from air basically.

Yeah, So that's kind of how I picked up on some of that.

And one thing I would say too is don't be afraid to ask the customer.

You know, sometimes we can't be an expert on everything.

And uh, you know, one of the one of the things from doing this podcast, you know, I've met a bunch of different folks and several different markets, and I'm not an expert in in many of it.

So you have to be open to learning and not feel like you know you can.

And even if it's a customer, look, I'd like to understand how this works for you, you know, help me, help you some you know.

So, yeah, that's a that's a great and I think that goes back on the mindset.

Honestly, if when you're when you're beginning, if you are just honest with them and up front, like we've all been there, you walk in there and you try to sell somebody this thing that you have really no idea you know how it works, but not to you're just praying, go, oh my goodness, I hope they don't ask me.

I hope they don't ask me.

And you if but I find in the beginning, if you go in there and just say, hey, look, I'm an expert by no means, but I know a guy, right, so I think you gotta be some more ease and then they're like, you're not in there trying to sell me something that I'm obviously not going to be using because I don't you know, Yeah, I think that goes along ways.

Well, when you build those relationships, you'll find later that you can bounce things off your customers too, you know, whether whether you're looking at a new line or whatever, you can call some of your good customers up and just get their perspective on different things and they'll give you honest feedback as well.

Absolutely, so that's a win win win.

You know.

One of the things that that I think is neat uh, you know, for what we can do.

You know, we can put our resources in where they need to be, right so not everybody, you know, everybody within the team has kind of got a different area of expertise, so you know we can we can use those resources across company lines or across territory lines or whatever, and that put the right people in the right places, and I think that gives us some flexibility.

What's a good example of that in your world?

Honestly, I think it's when you and I went out to Kansas and we worked with our utility team on a new jetting they had no never been in the jetting field.

I mean, I thought that was a great example.

Yeah, we took two different sides at the house, so to speak, Utility and communications merged together, went out, did it, got the got it done, and the customer at the end of the day was just like, wow, yeah, you know, does it usually work that way a lot of times?

Maybe?

Not?

Maybe, but stuff like that is where, like you said, we're not afraid to reach outside of our box and grab those other people that we can maybe bring in there to help out on certain scenarios.

I mean, how many times have we done different demos and like either jetting or whatever classes and we do a combined group.

That's what I love about the most is we're so dynamic that we can mold to wherever needs need.

And I think we're really starting to kind of tear down the silos a little bit.

I mean just last week, you you know, you were working on a deal in Cahoot's with one of our utility guys, and you know, it's great to see that collaboration.

You know, like I said, not everybody's an expert on everything, so we can put our resources where they need to be.

And that's what I love about the way that we're structured.

I've gone to classes in a three year classes, you know, trying to advance that and seeing the dynamics of how different companies operate.

We are completely different.

We are so unique that they allow was our management and are.

The way we're structured allows us to think outside the box.

There's some people that all they can do is focus straight ahead of what they have and they can't be a right or left.

It's straight on And I love that about us.

As we're over here, we can be here, we can be here here.

It doesn't matter as long as at the end of the day, we're trying to do what's best for our company.

Yeah, and that's what I love, the free rant of it.

Yeah.

No, that's that's you hit You hit it on the head again.

That's exactly right.

Many times, you know, being in a sales role, people just think it's a party every day.

Uh, you know, you're out golfing every day.

What other things do you like to do for fun when you're messing around as a sales guy?

Well, you know, a good fishing trip down and then wouldn't be bad.

Let's be honest.

I mean, I mean, you know, customers like to finish.

But yeah, I mean it's it's my sister who lives not far from me.

She thought in her head that that's pretty much we we uh are always gone staying in hotels.

Is just this glamorous lifestyle that travel, travel, travel, and then when I'm home on the weekends, she's just like, well, what are you doing relaxing relaxing?

So but yeah, it's outside of you know, whether you take people golfing or whatever.

Yeah, it's a good fishing trip now and then or but the reality is it's not a party.

It's not a party, it's work.

You're away from your family, away from home.

Uh, you know, how do you how do you balance that?

That's always something I'm interested in is is you know how people manage their life?

How do you balance work?

I struggle with that.

I'll be honest with you.

My my wife will be the first one to just get on me.

She I mean, it's, well, you're working this weekend.

It's not so much that you're you have to, it's just that catching up on stuff because you're gone all week I mean not every weekends that way, but when I'm home and we're focused on other things, I mean we're either we're going off roading and with the razor or stuff like that, you know, just out trying to spend time together, or or just hanging out having you know, enjoying time together.

So yeah, when you have to be present no matter where you're at, whether you're at work at home, you know, you have to be present where you're at exactly.

What do you love most about the job.

What do I love most about the job?

Besides our AESOP, I love the people.

I think we have, hands down, just some of the best people I've ever been involved with.

I mean we've all had those jobs where you just dread going, Yeah, crap, it's Monday.

When we have company events, it's like a little mini reunion so to speak.

Look at our summer our ESOP summer party, our party in the park.

Yeah, that's one of the funnest things I look forward to.

I mean that to me is just fun.

Do the games with you know, the cornhole and everything, and then the barbecue.

It's just nice to get together and see everybody.

And when we get together at the middle of the year and the end of the year.

It's just almost like you're seeing that extended family.

Well it's nice to you know, because you know, you're, like I was remote, work from home, not really tied to the office very often, you know, occasional trip in for this and that.

But it is nice to have that where you feel like part of the group.

You know, when you're off in your own little world for so long, Yeah, you kind of lose sight of that.

So I think it's important that we do that to to kind of connect our outside folks back into the company.

You know, absolutely, I like that.

I like that too.

Did you have any mentors?

Yeah, I mean there's a couple when you know, when I first came here, I mean, obviously Brett, he was a big, big part of my success.

You as well, because I picked up stuff from you traveling with you that that few times and weeks in here and there.

But what about what about before before CBM?

Who's for CBM?

Yeah, who really paved the way for you?

Who put you in the right direction?

Probably my wife.

When I met my wife, She'll put you in the right direction.

I met my wife, I was, hey, let's go drink everything, and you know, just crazy.

Right, Let's let's start partying on Friday and not quit till we gotta go to work on Monday type thing.

When I met my wife, she changed me a lot, I mean for the best, right.

And I'll give her the credit because she put me in that mindset of work now because there's going to be a later when you need it, save today for tomorrow.

And she she's probably one of the biggest ones.

I mean, she really everything to my successful no matter what I've done over my over my years, alwaystood behind me always, you know, had my back, that coached me along that way.

So well, that's great.

Well that's a big shout out to share.

Thank you, Sharon, thank you for pushing into CBM.

We appreciate it.

But no, that's important.

I know.

You know when I started a similar similar deal, Larry Robinson was the president or I guess he was the vice president of the communications troupe at the time, and he reached out to me.

I met him for dinner.

You know, he was in Ames close to home.

I met him for dinner, and then what stuck out to me is when when he had me come down to Kansas City for an interview.

He insisted that my wife come along, and so, you know, they take me down in the basement.

I'm going through testing and they're running me through the ringer, and the whole time they're just wheel and Sarah around the office and showing around.

Great it is, you know, and and uh, but it it really and it makes sense now because if you're going to be on the and you know, frankly trusted to do what you got to do day in and day out, you've got to have that support system at home or you're just it's not going to work.

For years, I worked with guys on the road that wasn't that way, and you knew the ones that would make it and the ones that weren't going to make it, because if they weren't happy at home, there was the chances that they didn't make it, like over two weeks, months and so on.

So yeah, but I would agree with that if you don't have that structure at home and that stability, it doesn't matter what you go out and do as long as when you go home, if you're if it's just miserable or you don't enjoy what you're doing, it's not worth it.

As much time as we're on the road.

So yeah, you got to have that support.

So that's that's a great answer.

It surprises me a little bit, but it doesn't surprise me that if that makes any sense.

I mean, my dad was a good one too.

I mean my dad he did a lot of things growing up, you know, as I was growing up in different jobs and that, but he always taught me no matter what, still, you don't get out of life unless you put in for it.

You know, whatever you put into, yeah, you're going to get out.

So if you don't try, obviously, you're not going to go anywhere.

You reploy yourself.

Absolutely, and that really stuck with me growing up.

You know.

So, what's one thing you'd like to see different at the company?

A company jet would be great.

I mean, I'm just throwing it out there, but I mean, let's face it, I will see what we can do there.

One of the things.

I mean, again, we're structured so differently that I don't feel like you can never walk into the president's office and sit down and say, you know, how you doing or how's it going, or where are we at because they're always willing to share that with you.

That there's no hidden mirrors or smoking mirrors when it comes to that kind of stuff, and that's why we're so different.

That'd be a hard one.

I don't know what.

Seems like you were just in the office the other day chirping about it's something, but I was actually yes, no, no, that I mean, that's great.

I think you know, obviously, you know, we're very proud of our company.

We're very proud of you, uh.

Sitting back on the sidelines and watching you develop over the last nine years, it's just it's been great, and I cherish our relationship.

I think we're you know, it's family to me too, you know, and I love that about you, and I think you have that same same level of respect for your customers.

What what would you say to your customers?

Like, what would be your message to them, King of Oklahoma speaking to uh, you know, all the telcos out there, just how much I enjoyed doing business with them.

I mean, they have options of where they want to do their business and stuff like that.

But it's just the fact that building those relationships take time.

And let's face it.

I mean some of the customers, you go to see them and it's you know what their kids are doing, or where they're at in school, or what they're doing for sports and so on.

That doesn't come just for everybody, right, I think it takes time to grow those relationships.

But I like to like to let them know that we're not in it for the short term.

I'm looking at twenty years down the road, you know what I mean.

We want to build that up for these young guys that are coming in in our group so that they have this success because of the relationships we're building now and going forward.

That's the one thing I try to stress to them is I don't want to just hey, thank you for the po and let's move on.

No, let's work on this for the next fifteen or twenty years, as long as our run is here together.

Yeah, that's that's one thing.

No, I totally agree.

It's going to be you know, your picture on the wall that's got the thirty years and we're just sliding up.

I mean, it's it's a shocker.

Yeah.

So for those of you that that haven't been to our office before, when you walk in, you know, uh, right there across from the front desk, it's we've got a display everybody every employee in the company has got their picture.

It's actually in order of uh, you know, service years of service and uh, everybody takes that very serious, like where their position is on the on the actual wall.

Uh and if if you were to maybe move a picture, you'll get your hands lapped.

So that's that's for sure.

But it's you know, it shows a lot about the people that we have and how much they care.

But you look at that and you remember when you were that guy.

You were that, you were the guy on the bar.

I'm never gonna move up.

These guys never leave.

And now we're both over on that second side on the you know, on the law I'm on and then we're you know, as you just keep moving up though that.

But that's the thing, you know, and it's it's kind of interesting when we see these new guys come in.

The ones that have been there a couple of years were newer, and they're not the new new anymore.

There's somebody else was that guy that one position?

The differences all the different two most important positions, the one very up here in the left and the one on the bottom right.

So you know, yeah, oh that's exactly right.

I remember, h one of our former VPS of our utility group.

Uh, Larry back in the day when he was the president, you know, he he I was that guy on the on the bottom right and and uh he was up on the top left and he defined it says, you know the bookends that that keep the rest of the company together.

And I think it's still that way, you know.

So you you've kind of nailed that one too, So I would agree it's it's uh.

And as like I said, that was one of the things when I very first walked into our old office and very first time walking in and seeing that wall of fame in the years of service and just thinking, and then as we got hired and thinking, oh man, yeah, it's gonna be forever before I'm all the way up here.

And then as time goes on, you're like, wow, you're it.

You know, you're moving quite along in the in our journey.

So yeah, yeah, no, that's great.

Well, Uh, you know, I can't thank you enough.

I know you've got some traveling dude yet today in a long, long road ahead.

It's the life we live.

But uh, you know, I love you like a brother.

We're so proud of you what you've done here, and I appreciate it, and UH just can't thank you enough for everything you do.

I always look forward to, uh the opportunities I have to spend with Richard.

He truly is one of the best.

He would literally give you the shirt off his back if he thought it would help.

He's just that kind of a guy.

He's real special, UH, and we're proud to have him on our team.

I think he really highlights of what we do here at CBM, and hopefully you've all got an opportunity to get to know him a little bit better once again.

You know, I'll remind you that if you're looking for representation here in the Midwest, you know we've got a great team.

I think Richard defined that well.

Reach out to us here at CBM at cbmrep dot com.

He Went from Building a Bar to a Top Salesmen | Richard Durfee Ep 13

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