Steve Broom: The Elevator Industry is a Great Business to Be In

Intro:
Steve joined the elevator industry 25 years ago after spending his early career as a golf professional. Starting as a sales representative, he worked his way up to the executive team with a major elevator company.
Steve recently transitioned to a consulting role, which allows him to work directly with clients again and have more impact. In consulting, he appreciates the strong team and resources available at his firm, which helps him provide the best possible solutions for clients.
Steve’s advice for newcomers to the industry is to find a mentor, be ethical, and have the humility to ask questions and learn.

Summary:
Steve Broom, a regional sales manager with VDA, discussed his 25-year career in the elevator industry, starting as a sales representative and rising to executive roles. He emphasized the importance of building relationships, mentorship, and ethical conduct. Steve transitioned to consulting to re-engage with clients, leveraging his extensive experience. He highlighted the growth of independent elevator companies and the competitive dynamics in the industry. Steve advised newcomers to find mentors, be ethical, and seek continuous learning. He expressed satisfaction with his career progression and the supportive team at VDA, which enables him to provide effective solutions for clients.

Transcript:
Steve Broom 0:00
I’d probably let them know, the elevator business has been good to me. I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve met a lot of great people, both clients, people that I’ve worked with, competitors. It’s, it’s a big business, but it is. It’s still a very, you know, niche business. If somebody were looking to get into it, I’d say it’s, it’s very stable. There’s room for growth. And then once you get into this business, there’s different paths that you can go. You can go down to be a supplier. You can stay as an elevator contractor. You can move into becoming on the consultative side of the business. There’s so many different avenues to go that, yeah, it’s been a great business, and it’s, I think it’s going to be around for years and years to come.

Matthew Allred 0:43
Hello and welcome to the Elevator Careers Podcast sponsored by the Allred group. I am your host, Matt Allred in this podcast, we talk to the people whose lives and careers are dedicated to the vertical transportation industry to inform and share lessons learned, building upon the foundation of those who have gone before to inspire the next generation of elevator careers. Today, our guest is Steve Broom, regional sales manager with VDA based in Dallas, Texas. Steve joined the elevator industry 25 years ago after spending his early career as a golf professional, starting as a sales representative, he worked his way up to the executive team at a major Elevator Company. Steve recently transitioned to a consulting role which allows him to work directly with clients again and have more impact in consulting. He appreciates the strong team and resources available at his firm which helps him provide the best possible solution for clients. Steve’s advice for newcomers to the industry is find a mentor, be ethical, and have the humility to ask questions and learn. Steve, welcome to the show.

Steve Broom 1:47
Hey, Matt, thanks for having me on.

Matthew Allred 1:49
Yeah, no, I appreciate it. I’ve always enjoyed working with you, you know, in your previous roles, and I’m excited to be able to dig in a little bit more to your career and and some of the things that you’re seeing.

Steve Broom 2:01
Well I appreciate it. The feeling is definitely mutual. I’ve always enjoyed working with you through the years.

Matthew Allred 2:05
Thank you. Thank you. Well, let’s, let’s just start at the beginning. So how did you get started in an elevator industry in the first place?

Steve Broom 2:13
Well, I’m gonna take it one step further back. It’s I started in the golf business, and I tried playing competitively that didn’t pay the bills. Became an instructor. Absolutely loved teaching golf, but there was just no money in it, unfortunately, as well as I gave lessons when all my clients were off of work, which was night and weekends, and that was time that I kind of wanted to kind of as a family man, I was looking forward to having that with my wife and my kids. So one of my clients was actually in the elevator business. He worked for Dover elevator, and as time grew he said, Hey, have you ever thought about looking into this line of work? And one conversation led to another. Next thing, I interviewed with Dover elevator and started my elevator career back in the late 90s.

Matthew Allred 2:59
Wow, that’s awesome. I know for me, if I was relying on my golf game to put bread on the table, I’d have died within about two days.

Steve Broom 3:07
I was about four days so not too far behind you.

Matthew Allred 3:11
That sounds, sounds fun. So where were you located when you started with Dover? How did where did this all take place at

Steve Broom 3:17
So I started in the Dallas branch back in the late 90s, and I started with as a sales rep. With it was Dover for a very short period of time, and then it transferred to, or switched to tis and Dover, then we went through the final merger of tis and crop, and I spent about little over seven years.

Matthew Allred 3:43
So those first months, weeks. I mean, did you ever shake your head and go, Oh my gosh, what have I done? This is just such a different industry than where you’d come from.

Steve Broom 3:54
No, I didn’t actually, you know, it was the exact opposite. I actually loved it because I was getting to build relationships with clients. It wasn’t a hard cold call every single day, grind, grind, grind. It was more about building relationships and moving it forward. Help solve problems, be there for your clients. And that was something that I really enjoyed. I’ve always enjoyed people and this kind of fed right into that, into that relationship building. We’re also dealing with contracts. So it could be, you know, two years, five years, seven years, until you get an actual client to come on board, but it was the relationships that really, really I enjoyed.

Matthew Allred 4:34
It’s cool, that’s cool. So what was it that was kind of that first light bulb that goes, oh my gosh, I chose correctly. This is amazing.

Steve Broom 4:44
It was probably going to be just a couple months after I started, and there was a hospital that they had been working on that I came aboard and was able to go out, visit with, talk with them. And be able to finally close the contract. And it was absolutely I was on cloud nine. First of all, it’s the biggest check I ever had. Oh, sure. This commission was great, and it was just an honor to be able to feel like, okay, I’m contributing. I’m a part of the team. I’m making an impact. And that was, that was probably when the light bulb went off said, this is this is fun. I enjoy this.

Matthew Allred 5:20
That’s awesome. And so what is it that’s kept you in the industry all these years? I mean, have you ever thought about, Hey, maybe I ought to try something different.

Steve Broom 5:28
You know, I never really thought about outside of this. Once I learned this business, I was very intrigued. I felt I had a great team around me. I continued to grow. I was promoted, and it was, it was the relationships, both clients, as well as my internal relationships with the companies that I was working for. It’s awesome when you believe in what you do, it’s, there’s there’s no reason to keep on looking I wasn’t a Job Hopper. I didn’t want to go one to the next to the next, the next. Yeah, I stayed for seven years with, with ThyssenKrupp, great run both. Or excuse me, Fuji Tech had a had an opportunity for me to be able to grow, and I took it, and I spent, goodness gracious, 17 years with, with Fuji tech. Yeah, thoroughly enjoyed it.

Matthew Allred 6:17
Awesome, awesome. Who are some of your real mentors that because, I’m sure, you know, drinking out of a fire hose, learn a whole new industry. You know, parts, pieces, everything. Who are some of those people that that kind of pulled you on through or just helped you, you know, in those challenging times?

Steve Broom 6:34
Well, I definitely tell you, there were two people early on that really made an impact on on my career, being in the elevator business. And the elevator business. And the first was a gentleman who hired me as a gentleman by the name of Richard Stinger, and he was the branch manager for Dallas, and it was just he took me under his wing. He truly spent time with me, he talked with me, he educated me, and he really kind of pushed me to believe that I can do more. And so he was a big part of early on. And then there was a gentleman by the name of Jim seal that took over as branch manager. That was a former property manager that really kind of gave me the insight. He was heavily involved in the organizations with Irem and BOMA, and really preached how important that was. And so I took a lot from Jim seal. So hats off to both of those guys. They were both retired now, but both were incredible mentors and a big part of my early on career. And then as I progressed, when I got over to Fuji tech, there was a gentleman by the name of Joe Rennecamp, who was a regional VP that really helped me as, not only as in the elevator business, but also as a friend. And then obviously the President of, you know now, Fujitec, Gary Krupp, he was instrumental in in my growth, in pushing me to be the best that I could be in the business. So those two later in my career were huge impacts. And believed in me

Matthew Allred 7:55
yeah, yeah. And that’s, that’s huge. I mean, just just that you had those people there believing you in really helping you believe in yourself, because they saw something in you that maybe especially as a new, you know, a new hire. It’s like, oh my gosh, what is this? That’s a that’s a huge thing to have

Steve Broom 8:14
Yeah, all four, and there was others along the way as well, but those were primarily the main ones in the business that were made a huge impact on me

Matthew Allred 8:24
Yeah, What were some of the biggest lessons you learned early on that, you know could have been, you know, if you’re like me, it’s usually from mistakes I made fall on my face and they’re like, Oh, hey, I’m going to tie my shoes from now on, or something like that.

Steve Broom 8:39
Well one of big ones that stands out to me and is in this business, do not fake it until you make it. You hear that you know, joking all the time. This is not a business to be joking around if you don’t know it, let the clients know. One of the things that I always took pride in was if I didn’t know if I wasn’t 100% for sure, I’d always let the clients know. Hey, I feel pretty good about the response, but give me just a little bit to make sure I’m 100% and that way I can either ask a superintendent, a mechanic, somebody in the office, just to make sure. But my biggest thing is, do not fake it until you make it. Be honest with your clients. They’ll understand.

Matthew Allred 9:17
Did you have an experience where that kind of slapped in the face, or was it just from a place of caution? You’re like, No, I’m just not going to fake it

Steve Broom 9:25
No, it did, but it was, it was not a flat out. Just guess I had a pretty good idea, and thankfully, I was correct, but they started asking more questions that I did not know the answers to. So I felt like I got myself in a position where, if up front, if I would have said, and this was early on, if I would have upfront, said, I’m not 100% positive, let me find out for sure, or better yet, let me get them on the call with us, way we can make sure we’re, you know, all square on this. But I tried to answer it, and then more questions came. I just

Matthew Allred 10:01
You kind of guessed yourself into corner and like, Oh, crap

Steve Broom 10:04
Exactly and at that point I had to come clean and say, let me get somebody else who can better answer these questions. But yeah, it was, I wish I would have done that the very first time rather than trying to assume something. So, yes

Matthew Allred 10:18
No, it’s good. I mean, we all learn valuable lessons, clients. Yeah, yeah, that’s a good one to learn. And especially, it wasn’t super costly. It was a little bit humbling. And you know, maybe you felt a little embarrassed that like, oh, great, right? But good way to learn that one.

Steve Broom 10:34
Yeah, I will say I’m glad that that manager has now since retired, so they can’t hold it against me. But yeah, we joke. We thank goodness my client understood we joked around about it for years, and so it became kind of something joking, but it could have been something a whole lot worse, and I’m glad I realized it right then and there. Don’t assume be truthful with your clients if you don’t know, get the right people on the call or find out before you respond.

Matthew Allred 10:59
Well that’s the opportunity to learn, right? Just being humble enough to ask the question, you know, if you’re, if you’re guessing and making stuff up, that’s not the right attitude in which you’re gonna really learn and be taught. And so being humble enough to say, Hey, I’ve, I don’t know, I need to find that out, asking the questions, you got it? Awesome, awesome. So I’m curious what led you, I mean, obviously a long run with TK, a long, longer run, almost about twice as long with Fujitec. What led you to choose consulting after such a long run and with the contractors?

Steve Broom 11:35
Like I said, both ThyssenKrupp and Fujitec were both very good to me, both great companies, and still to this day, both powerhouse companies. For me, I had grown to a level with Fujitec, overseeing the south and the west coast, where I got so removed from what I loved most about the business, which was the clients my my responsibility at that point is truly P and L, looking to, you know, where can we better the company, what can we do? And my heart was still with the clients, and so it was, you know, 25 years. I loved it, but then when I started looking at where I wanted to be for the next 10 to 15 years, I wanted to be back engaged with clients again. And what better way to do it than in the consulting world where I could truly feel like I had purpose, make an impact and truly make a difference, and bring the 25 years of experience to help my clients.

Matthew Allred 12:31
Yeah, absolutely so. And you’ve kind of touched on this already, but I’m just going to ask direct, what do you love most about consulting?

Steve Broom 12:40
I know it’s probably cliche, but I love what I’m doing. I love the company that I’m with, and I think it goes back to that last statement that I made it it has to do with feeling like you have purpose with your clients. It’s when I met with clients. I had a meeting earlier today, absolutely amazing, great clients, and it was, we were working to solve a problem together, and unfortunately, you know, the contractor was making some mistakes and billing some things that shouldn’t have been built. But when we started truly looking at it together, we were able to save some money, push back on some things and truly help the client. It was amazing, like, it’s just you have purpose, and you’re making an impact with your clients. You know, the best thing for me about VDA is the team that I’m surrounded with. I mean, as you both, as we both know I’m months into this industry, or excuse me, into this, you know, consulting side of the business, and it’s having those resources to be able to that’s pretty much handled any type of scenario out there. You know, I’ve got, you know, a couple 100 plus people that I can call to say, Hey, how did you handle this? Would you would you solve with this? And so it’s, I feel very blessed and grateful to be with this company.

Matthew Allred 13:54
That’s cool. So when you said we’ve got 100 plus people, I thought you were talking about years of experience. And so I thought he’s probably got like, 400 years of experience he can draw from.

Steve Broom 14:05
I think there’s even quite a bit more than that. But yes, it’s there’s a ton of experience. There’s a ton of resources. The structure is set up, great. Yeah, I’ve just absolutely loved it. The reputation is very strong. It’s like what you’re talking about. I believe in my company, and I believe what we do truly helps clients.

Matthew Allred 14:25
Yeah, yeah. So you talked about solving the problem with with the client, you know? And I’m curious, because I I see consultants kind of riding this razor thin line, because you can’t alienate the contractors, and you can’t, you know you want to, you want to help the customer, but sometimes customer may be wrong. Come you know customer be may be expecting something that’s above and beyond what, what’s been agreed to, how? How have you found that in your first few months, just being able to ride that line and still, you know, keep, keep all parties, you. If not happy, at least playing in the sandbox together.

Steve Broom 15:02
Of course, you’re right. It is a fine line. It’s ultimately what we want to do is we want the elevator contractors to fulfill their contractual obligations. We hope that they’ve bid them correctly, to be profitable by them. I think the biggest thing that I say when I’m meeting with clients or even elevator contractors is, I’m firm to follow the contractual obligations, but I’m fair. As long as we’ve got communication, you know, going backwards and forwards, we can come to resolutions, but you’re right. A lot of times, the elevator contractor is correct. You’ve got to break bad news to the client, but hopefully you’ve got that relationship with the client, where the client believes in you, they trust you, and they know what you’re saying is in their best interest. So I think that would be the key. Is, obviously we want the clients to have the best experience possible, to make sure they’re getting what they’re paying for. But at the same token, we do want the contractor to succeed. If the contractor succeeds, the building’s going to succeed. So that’s, you know, that’s when I say, we’re firm, but we’re fair.

Matthew Allred 16:07
Yeah, now what? And it sounds like that the, what I call the razor thin line, really, is the contract. What did you agree to? Right? What are you paying for? What did you agree to? That’s, that’s where we meet. And, you know, as long as long as we can abide by what we agreed to, then, you know, you can’t go, you know, astray, I guess sticking to the contract

Steve Broom 16:28
Absolutely, absolutely, I will tell you, that’s one of the things moving into this that you’ve that I’ve realized, is how important a contract is to an asset, that’s been really interesting to learn.

Matthew Allred 16:41
Yeah, yeah, that’s got to be an interesting perspective to you know. And maybe there’s some contracts like, whoa, you know, maybe you shouldn’t have agreed to that, and yet you did. So here we are

Steve Broom 16:51
Correct, and that’s exactly so in that regard, we’re going to be firm, but if we’re communicating and you need more time for something, or it all depends on the scenario, but we want to be fair, but you did bid on a contract at this price, with these terms, with this scope of work, and we want to hold you to that.

Matthew Allred 17:09
Yeah, yeah. I mean that to your point, that’s firm, that’s fair, right? So makes sense. What are some of the big trends that you’re seeing in the industry?

Steve Broom 17:20
Great question. One of the ones that jumps out at me first would be, I’m seeing a lot of independents moving into new markets. It’s the growth of the independents is has been substantial.

Matthew Allred 17:34
Now I’m curious, what do you think’s driving all this growth? You know, it sounds, it sounds like this is a little bit of a new thing, right? Maybe independents kind of stayed put in the old days, and all of a sudden it’s like, what I thought they were over there, and now they’re over here.

Steve Broom 17:49
I think what’s happened is a lot of the older independents were gobbled up by by the majors. Now, this is kind of a RE, you know, another coming of another round of the independents, and they seem to be doing a great job, if they really are. Now as consultants, one of our main goals is, when they come into a market, we need to vet them out when we’re talking to our clients. Do they have the manpower? Do they have the resources? Do they have the background? Do they have the insurance? Can they can they sign contract terms? These are all going to be really important questions that we want to identify as consultants before we recommend anybody to a new property. But it’s been nice to see the growth, because with growth, that means there’s more options, both for us as well as our clients.

Matthew Allred 18:37
So do you? It sounds like you and I’m just kind of interpreting what I’m hearing, but it sounds like you as a consultant, you have, especially as you vet them out, it’s like, okay, instead of just maybe four, maybe we really have eight options, or, you know, we have more to choose from. And maybe even as you get to know them, realize that, hey, this company actually excels in this one particular area. So I’m gonna, I’m gonna recommend them higher than maybe these, these others. In that way, you’re able to give more value to your customer

Steve Broom 19:08
Absolutely, 100% now, once again, there’s different types of pieces, there’s different applications. What we’re looking for is to make sure we find the best option for our clients. And I think the more options that you’ve got, the more choices, or better yet, the more choices that you’ve got, we can find a better suitable fit for that property and what that property needs.

Matthew Allred 19:30
Oh yeah, I like that. So, so back to that question. Then just the the big trend you’re saying is just all this growth, more more, I guess, competitors to choose from, and it’ll be interesting to see how it, how it plays out. And I think, you know, kind of like we had talked about before, you know, there seems to be a lot of investment money, a lot of lot of growth. And from what I can tell, it’s a little bit of a new dynamic in the industry. It, you know. Prior to four or five years ago, I didn’t see that happening much. And I’ve been recruiting, you know what, 12-13, years or something in the industry, you’ve been here a lot longer. But is, are we seeing a new dynamic that that maybe hasn’t been there before?

Steve Broom 20:13
We could be it’s the biggest thing is going to be as they come into these new markets, what is their mindset? Are they trying to grow by low price? Are they trying to grow by being the Mercedes in the market? Are they trying to buy their contracts? What type of manpower do they have to fulfill the contracts? Now, most of the ones that have come into the markets as of recently have been doing a great job. It’s it’s been a nice, fresh change of pace. It’s been enjoyable working with these with these independents, as well as the majors. It just gives more options, both to us and to the real estate community. And that’s a win. Win.

Matthew Allred 20:53
Yeah, well, and it seems to apply a little bit of pressure. I mean, competitive pressure, I think is a good thing for everybody, because it keeps everybody honest

Steve Broom 21:02
Absolutely, And once again, it’s when you have that competitive nature, and the more competitors that you’ve got. Obviously we’re going to harp back on, have you priced it correctly to fulfill the contractual obligations that as consultants, and that is the building professionals, or the real estate professionals, they want to make sure what they’re paying for they’re getting, and so it’s in that competitive nature, that’s our main goal. And if everybody’s pricing competitive and we’re fulfilling the contractual obligations, it’s going to be a win.

Matthew Allred 21:34
Awesome, awesome. So kind of looking back at the beginning of your elevator career, if you could start over from the beginning, what would you do differently?

Steve Broom 21:48
Matt, I gotta admit, I probably wouldn’t change a whole lot. I’ve enjoyed the 25 years on the contractor side. I really enjoyed it. I learned so much as I grew through the years from a sales rep to running, you know, the south and the west part of the country. It’s not a lot I would change. I’m grateful where I’m at now. I look forward to this next chapter, and I think this could be really, where I truly make an impact is, is in the consulting side of the business, and that’s the goal. But no, I don’t know if I would change a whole lot, And I’ve enjoyed my career.

Matthew Allred 22:25
Awesome That’s, I think that says a lot. It says a lot about where you’ve been, what you’ve done. It’s funny, I was talking to a gentleman the other day, and there was a similar question that came up, you know, why didn’t you get into consulting sooner or something? Because he loved consulting. And it’s like, you know what? It’s a journey, you know? And I wasn’t, wasn’t ready for the the end, in his case, until I’d gone through the the rest of it. So, you know, you can’t really shortcut where you are, right? You’re you’re where you’re at, because that’s where you’re at.

Steve Broom 22:56
And those 25 years led me to where I am now, which I think now actually even makes me more of a an asset to a client, is what I’ve learned along the way, and what I can bring to the table in regards to understanding the mindset of the elevator contractor.

Matthew Allred 23:15
Yeah, yeah. That’s great. That’s great. What would you say to help convince someone who’s, maybe they’re a golf pro. Maybe they’re, you know, outside the industry, looking in, going, what’s that about? What would you say to them?

Steve Broom 23:30
I’d probably let them know. The elevator business has been good to me. I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve met a lot of great people, both clients, people that I’ve worked with, competitors. It’s, it’s a big business, but it is. It’s still a very, you know, niche business. If somebody were looking to get into it, I’d say it’s, it’s very stable. There’s room for growth. And then once you get into this business, there’s different paths that you can go. You can go down to be a supplier. You can stay as an elevator contractor. You can move into becoming on the consultative side of the business. There’s so many different avenues to go that, yeah, it’s been a great business, and it’s, I think it’s going to be around for years and years to come.

Matthew Allred 24:13
Yeah, yeah, I would think so. So my final question is, is similar, but it’s, what? What advice would you give to somebody who, you know, maybe they’ve just started, maybe they’re one month in, and still, you know, again, drinking from the fire hose. You know, not sure they’ve made the right choice. What would you say to them?

Steve Broom 24:33
First thing I would say is, you gotta get a mentor. You gotta have somebody. You gotta find somebody that believes in you gotta find somebody that you can ask questions to. You’ve got to find somebody that, yeah, ask questions too. That’s, that’s the biggest thing is, because there’s so much being thrown at you with this business. It’s, you’ve got to learn the clients. You’ve got to learn the types of equipment, you’ve got to learn the vintages of the equipment. You’ve got to learn codes. There’s so much to this business to learn. You’re not going to. It right away. You’re, yeah, I’m 25 years and I think I may have scratched the surface, but it’s there’s so much to learn in this business. So the first thing I would say is get a mentor. The next thing is, be ethical. Be ethical in everything that you do. Be honest with your clients. Be honest with your team. If you screw something up, it’s, I promise you’re probably not going to destroy a company. They may not like it, but I don’t think you’re going to shut the doors on a company. So be honest with everybody all around and create that, that reputation, that you’re ethical. I think that’s huge.

Matthew Allred 25:36
Yeah, Thank you. And I, part of what I’m taking from that is, is you’re not going to succeed alone, not going to succeed on your own. You know, when you’re saying, ask the questions, find a mentor, have the humility to to ask, to learn, be taught, and that that sounds like the recipe for success.

Steve Broom 25:56
It’s so far, and now it’s worked for me. I don’t know where it goes from here, but I can tell you now, even at VDA, I’ve got some amazing people to count on, and I’ve got people that I’m looking as as mentors here, and that’s 25 years in the business, but, you know, months into the consulting world, and without these couple people surrounding me, I don’t think I would be successful, but early on, they’re taking my phone calls, they’re answering my questions, they’re allowing me to bounce ideas off of them. They’re always responsive. They’re always looking saying, hey, try this. Have you thought about this? And it’s been fantastic. So the team that I’m with, the mentors that I’ve got within VDA is is fantastic. Is absolutely fantastic.

Matthew Allred 26:45
Steve, thank you for being with me today. I appreciate your time. It’s, it’s good to catch up again. I’m glad to know this. This latest job move has been a great one for you and and thanks again for being here.

Steve Broom 26:58
Well, hey Matt, thanks for having me on as you know, it’s always a pleasure talking with you, and I appreciate you allowing me to the time to be able to do this

Matthew Allred 27:06
Awesome Well, thanks again, and I wish you the best as you continue to learn this, this new part of the business.

Unknown Speaker 27:12
Thanks, Matt.

Matthew Allred 27:14
Thank you. Thank you for listening to the elevator careers podcast, sponsored by the Allred group, a leader in elevator industry recruiting. You can check us out online at elevator careers.net. Please subscribe and until next time, stay safe.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai