Open door

Executive Summary
Issue. Branding Industry. Garage Doors Key. Company is diligent about separating itself from competitors.

Bob Briesacher never pictured himself starting his own company.

His dad, uncle and cousins, after all, worked at a phone company in St. Louis. He figured that's where he would end up, too.

Then, in the 1980s, when the manufacturing plant he ran closed, he found himself out of a job with a new house, motorcycle and truck. He needed to find a new gig, quickly. That's when he started working with garage doors.

He worked for Cox Brothers Overhead Door, which was eventually bought out by Overhead Door St. Louis. He discovered he loved being in the field, in sales. He later moved to Florida to help manage Overhead Door Clearwater. In 1992, with help from his mother-in-law, Briesacher launched Overhead Door of Tampa Bay, a distributorship business.

The 56-year-old Briesacher, now with 30 years' experience in selling garage doors, remains at the helm of the company. It has offices in Tallahassee, in addition to Tampa, and is on track to surpass $6 million in revenue this year, up 10% over 2015. Briesacher is considering adding a territory in Mobile, Ala. “Even when the bubble popped, we still grew a little bit and never had to lay anyone off,” Briesacher says.

Big jobs include contracts with Tampa International Airport, Tampa Sports Authority, jobs with the city of Tampa, Oldsmar, and Temple Terrace on firehouses, Port Tampa Bay and University of South Florida. The company operates with a “no job too small, no job too big” mindset, Briesacher says.

Overhead Door of Tampa Bay has been in the top 10% of distributors for Overhead Door for a number of years, and annually purchases more than $1 million in products. The company operates on a closed distribution model, selling exclusively Overhead Door products, which includes commercial, residential and heavy industrial doors.

Briesacher sits on the Council of Distributors for the brand, meeting two times a years at the national headquarters in Dallas. “He's very passionate about his business,” says Mark Sendar, Overhead Door's vice president of customer service, who has worked directly with Briesacher for more than a decade. That passion, adds Sendar, is what “makes a ribbon a ribbon,” referring to the company's red ribbon trademark.

Briesacher ran a unit for Overhead Door in Daytona, and once oversaw a $1 million project there, but he sold it to a business partner. He says he wasn't able to spend enough time in person there to make it work.

Despite his duties running the company, Briesacher will also go out in the field. “I love selling,” he says. He has some clients he still services, such as Vigo Foods' manufacturing facilities. “That's my baby,” he says. “I've done their business from day one.”

Reputation control
Though the company's name and reputation can be traced back to the 1950s in the Tampa Bay area, the company's biggest challenge is branding, in its name and protecting its reputation.

A big issue: Briesacher says there are a handful of “Overhead Door of...” something,” even if those companies aren't official Overhead Door distributors. And some competitors, Sendar says, add to the confusion or play off the names to get an edge.

The “Overhead Door” in the name is “becoming generic, like Kleenex,” Briesacher says. That's one reason he's so big on telling people to make sure there is a red ribbon in the logo if you want an official Overhead Door product.

The issue goes deeper than Tampa and Tallahassee. A significant challenge in the industry is that people don't verify that they have contracted with a “reputable business,” says Chris Long, administrative manager of the International Door Association. Says Long: “Many times homeowners do not verify the credentials of the business and find themselves being under serviced, and in some cases being charged for service and/or parts that are unnecessary.”

Briesacher is concerned poor work and service from technicians from other companies may result in bad reviews for Overhead Door by mistake from the closeness in company names. He says he once met a trainer for a competitor, who told Briesacher some of the tricks of the trade. The list includes identifying vehicles in the driveway to pick a price and pressuring women to sign contracts without consulting with their spouse.

Double growth
To keep up with the competition, the real Overhead Door spends a significant amount of money on advertising, mostly in social media and radio, and “monitors it every month,” Briesacher says.

For social media the company invests in Facebook, Houzz and Thumbtack ads. In recent years the company backed off both Angie's List and Sherpherd's Guide (a Christian Business Directory) because Briesacher felt they were going downhill. A competitor, says Briesacher, spends between $20,000 and $40,000 on TV spots, but Briesacher doesn't think people watch commercials anymore to make that investment pay off.

Word of mouth, he says, is the company's best advertisement. When Overhead Door techs or customer service reps ask customers how they heard of the company, the top response is word of mouth; the second is stickers put on garage doors after installation; and the third is from seeing the firm's trucks.

The company is currently working on an advertising deal with iHeartRadio. It's a test of a special ad program, with spots only on the Ron Diaz show, to provide more accurate return on investment data.

Another big challenge, much like other contracting-related firms on the Gulf Coast, is to find and retain top employees. “We could double growth if we could find more qualified people,” Briesacher says.

One issue is the work can be grueling — especially when you are on top of a garage in the Florida heat. Briesacher tries to combat the heat with a 2,000-pound ice machine and he buys Gatorade mix in bulk. But he says he always sees a downturn in production when it heats up. Says Briesacher: “It's not a sexy job.”

The hunt for top employees, Briesacher says, is further squeezed because the company's candidate pool drops significantly after a drug screen and a check for valid driver's license with a clean record.

The company advertises its open positions with help wanted ads on the back of service trucks, and oftentimes puts a “now hiring” plug in radio ads. Briesacher has found Indeed to be the best job board for new employees, Monster for hiring executive level. Craigslist usually provides the “bottom of the barrel,” he notes.

Employee engagement
Briesacher says the company works hard to attract good candidates and differentiate themselves from other construction companies. One way it does that is through offering full benefits to employees, including a profit sharing program.

The company also emphasizes employee recognition. Hanging in the office is the “Atta' Boy board,” which has individual posters for employees who received positive feedback from a customer. If a customer calls in and provides positive feedback, the employee also earns a small bonus. If someone writes a letter, the employee can earn even more, Briesacher says.

To encourage feedback, all employees have a feedback form saved to their desktop, which they are supposed to use when a customer calls in. When the company sets an appointment, they send a picture of the technician to the customer, and use it as an appointment reminder. Following the job, a thank you is always sent, with a request for comments.

Internally, Briesacher wants the business to feel like a family. “If you need help,” he says, “I'm the guy to go to.” When an employee ran into money trouble once, for example, Briesacher offered to help out.

The perks and family environment have aided employee retention: Out of 40 employees at the company, four have been there at least 22 years, and only five have worked there less than five years.

The family atmosphere is also literal at Overhead Door. Briesacher started the business with his mother-in-law, his daughter worked in accounting and now he's teaching his son how to be a buyer and purchase new products.

Running a family business has its ups and downs, says Briesacher.

At dinnertime, his wife would often ask for a daily update. His daughter would give her version, then his son would give his version.

Briesacher says that pattern started to invade on family time. So he made up a new rule: After 7 p.m., no one talks about Overhead Door.

As part of the work-life balance, on Sundays Briesacher doesn't carry any cards to church. “Bob the business man” and “Bob the family man” can be a tough balance, he says. “I struggle with that.”