Build Perspectives Podcast

Tim Seims and Carolina Baffigo
  • 5.0 (27)
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We bridge Wall Street and Job Sites. Real stories, real numbers, real consequences. Hosted by Carolina Baffigo and Tim Seims. https://tinyurl.com/Build-Perspectives

  1. JAN 28

    The Human Element Behind Every Building Product Decision

    Most building-product strategies fail because they ignore the human element inside construction systems. This episode is about seeing what actually moves projects, before you try to change them. 📅 ADVANCING PREFAB - DALLAS, FEB 2-4, 2026 Use code: BUILDPERSPECTIVES10 for 10% off! Register: www.Advancing-Prefabrication.com Key Topics Covered: • How construction projects quietly shape material decisions long before a spec is written • Why sales language, technical fluency, and innovation strategy must converge  • The hidden learning curve behind product adoption and market intelligence  • How ecosystem thinking reveals overlooked commercial opportunities  And what it takes to observe real problems before trying to "innovate" solutions. Take the Project Fluent

    55 min

  2. JAN 16

    Leadership Red Flags Every Building Products Sales Leader Must Know

    Real leadership isn't LinkedIn Oatmeal. In this episode, we share stories from 50+ years in building materials: the bosses who gave us range at 24, had hard conversations, and rewarded behavior over politics—plus the red flags every sales leader needs to recognize.   📅 ADVANCING PREFAB - DALLAS, FEB 2-4, 2026 Use code: BUILDPERSPECTIVES10 for 10% off Register: AdvancingPrefabrication.com About Build Perspectives: Thought leadership from Carolina Baffigo & Tim Seims on building products, sales, and construction. 50+ combined years of experience.

    1h 3m

  3. 12/22/2025

    Stop Treating Prefab Events Like Field Trips: Pros Turn Conferences into Deal Flow

    Brought to you by Advancing Prefabrication, Feb 2-4 2026 in Dallas. Use the code BuildPerspectives10 for 10% off at checkout https://advancing-prefabrication.com/register/ On that note, most people wander through Advancing Prefabrication, IBS, or AIA hoping something "clicks."  In this episode, we break down how industry insiders actually plan events—mapping tracks, speakers, ICPs, and conversations. So, each conference becomes a strategic asset instead of an expensive field trip.  We get into why healthcare and data centers are leading prefab adoption, how to navigate the compressed decision cycle, and what sales leaders need to understand about timing, sequencing, and stakeholder pressure. We also share our introvert-friendly networking playbook: how to reach out to speakers authentically, how to make conversations effortless with statements instead of questions, and how to become the person people want to introduce—not the one they avoid. If you want to level up your prefab IQ, build relationships that matter, or turn events into real ROI, this episode gives you the blueprint. Connect with us: Email: tim@buildperspectives.com or carolina@buildperspectives.com Find us on LinkedIn/Carolina LinkedIn/Tim Subscribe and leave a review to help us grow!

    36 min

  4. 11/17/2025

    How Subs Get Blindsided: Contract Risk & Jobsite Secrets (with attorney Megan Shapiro)

    🔗 Take the Project Fluent Assessment at projectfluent.scoreapp.com Brought to you by Advancing Prefabrication, Feb 2-4 2026 in Dallas. Use the code BuildPerspectives10 for 10% off at checkout https://advancing-prefabrication.com/register/ Most construction pros are never formally taught how contracts actually work—or how risk gets silently shifted onto the people doing the real work. In this episode, we sit down with construction attorney and UC Davis instructor Megan Shapiro, who has spent 15 years litigating disputes and helping subcontractors, manufacturers, and trades avoid the same avoidable mistakes she sees every day in court.  We talk about why some manufacturers absolutely belong on job sites, the dangerous myths around "no redlines," and how Megan's OWN framework (Optimize, Weigh, Negotiate) helps subs protect their business without walking away from the work they need to win. We also get into power dynamics across the construction food chain, navigating contracts in high-pressure environments, and what it's really like to be a woman showing up with authority in a male-dominated industry. And of course, how Converge Construction Summit went from an offhanded LinkedIn comment to one of the most energizing collaboration hubs in the industry. 🔗 Take the Project Fluent Assessment at projectfluent.scoreapp.com   Connect with us: Email: tim@buildperspectives.com or carolina@buildperspectives.com Find us on LinkedIn/Carolina LinkedIn/Tim Subscribe and leave a review to help us grow!

    43 min

  5. 11/04/2025 · VIDEO

    Reducing the building products sales cycle and other existential questions

    Brought to you by Advancing Prefabrication, Feb 2-4 2026 in Dallas. Use the code BuildPerspectives10 for 10% off at checkout https://advancing-prefabrication.com/register/ Tired of 2-year sales cycles? Losing deals because you're not speaking the right language? In this episode, Tim and Carolina breaks down Project Fluent - the training framework that helped her become the top salesperson at her company and now helps building product sales teams accelerate their speed to cash. The 4 Key Areas You Need to Master: Stakeholder Savvy (who matters when) Market Intelligence (where to focus your energy) Technical Mastery (credibility without overcomplication) Job Site IQ (the most underrated sales accelerator) Whether you're new to construction sales or leading a team that's stuck, this framework gives you control of your pipeline. 🔗 Take the Project Fluent Assessment at projectfluent.scoreapp.com Connect with us: Email: tim@buildperspectives.com or carolina@buildperspectives.com Find us on LinkedIn/Carolina LinkedIn/Tim Subscribe and leave a review to help us grow!

    45 min

  6. 10/09/2025

    We're Back! The Real ROI of Job Site Visits (And Why Your Reps Aren't Going)

    Brought to you by Advancing Prefabrication, Feb 2-4 2026 in Dallas. Use the code BuildPerspectives10 for 10% off at checkout https://advancing-prefabrication.com/register/ We're back! And we're starting with the uncomfortable truth: your salespeople might be collecting hotel points instead of closing deals. Join Tim and Carolina as they unpack why job sites are where the real intelligence lives, how to get out of industry echo chambers, and why curiosity is your competitive advantage. After taking a break, Tim Seims and Carolina Albano are reuniting to bring you fresh perspectives on the ConTech and building products industry. In this relaunch episode, they tackle one of the industry's biggest challenges: getting salespeople out of the office and onto job sites where the real opportunities live. In This Episode: Why job site visits are the most underutilized sales tool in building products The shocking gap in sales training that's costing manufacturers millions How to break out of industry echo chambers and avoid the "rut" trap Why software salespeople need job site skills too The difference between commission breath and actually adding value How curiosity and learning create competitive advantages Insights from the Venveo Building Products Customer Workshop The timeless fundamentals that AI and software can't replace Key Takeaways: Manufacturers are sitting on 70,000+ leads without a strategy to work them The building owner, GC, architect, and installer all speak different languages—and you need to learn them all "Don't assume other people know what you know"—your experience is someone else's gold A rut is just "a grave with the ends kicked out" Whether you're in commercial, residential, sales, technical, or leadership, this episode will challenge you to think differently about how you engage with customers and invest in your own growth. This episode is brought to you by Job Site IQ - Take the assessment at JobsiteIQ.scoreapp.com to discover your job site intelligence and learn how to add more value on every visit. Connect with us: Email: tim@buildperspectives.com or carolina@buildperspectives.com Find us on LinkedIn/Carolina LinkedIn/Tim Subscribe and leave a review to help us grow!

    48 min

  7. 06/06/2025

    The Musical Chairs of Building Products - Why Everyone's Changing Jobs (And What It Means for Our Industry)

    The Musical Chairs of Building Products - Why Everyone's Changing Jobs (And What It Means for Our Industry) Recorded Live at AIA 2025, Boston Featuring special guest Michael Russo, National Sales Manager at Longboard Architectural Products The Big Idea The building products industry is experiencing a massive talent shuffle. From the Rockwell acoustic booth at AIA (where you can literally hear the difference good products make), to LinkedIn feeds full of job announcements—everyone's moving. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. What You'll Experience in This Episode We recorded this live from the Rockwell booth at AIA 2025—the first time any of us had been to the show in 6+ years. You'll hear the actual difference between being inside an acoustic booth and walking onto the noisy show floor. Because some things you just can't market—you have to experience them. The Career Carousel: Where We All Landed 2019 vs 2025 - The Shuffle: Tim: Nichiha → Nichiha (leading Interiors Strategy) Carolina: Porcelanosa Facade → Nichiha → StoeCorp (leading VTECH team) Michael: Nichiha (13.5 years) → Longboard Architectural Products We're all competitors now. Same customers, same projects, different products. But that doesn't mean we can't talk about what's really happening in our industry. Why Everyone's Job-Hopping (And Why It's Actually Good) The Family Decision Reality Moving companies isn't just a career move—it's a family decision. Michael's perspective after 13+ years at one company: the first 60-90 days define everything. You're not just learning products; you're establishing pace and direction. The Win-Win Dynamic When experienced professionals move, both sides win. Companies get proven expertise. Veterans get validation and appreciation for their accumulated knowledge. It's not just about changing jobs—it's about leveraging your "body of work." What We All Have in Common: Pumpkin spice lattes (Carolina always sends the first text) Fall season excitement 15+ years of relationship-building in a tight-knit industry The ability to spot our cladding systems on family road trips The Long Game That Keeps Us Here Why We Stay: Always work: Construction happens everywhere Making a difference: Helping architects, designers, building owners create better spaces The relationships: Small industry, long relationships, specification sales The payoff: Driving by buildings you helped create The Industry Reality: People don't leave architecture to become builders. Builders don't become architects. Building products people stay in building products. It's hard to get out because once you're in, you see the impact. The Talent Problem Nobody Talks About Everyone discusses labor shortages on job sites. But what about us? Building products manufacturing, sales, and marketing face the same challenge. How do we attract young talent to careers they don't know exist? The Solution: Have these conversations publicly Share the rewarding reality of the work Show the financial mobility possible Highlight the gratification of seeing your work built Walking through AIA 2025, we saw plenty of young professionals asking questions and moving with purpose. The next generation is here—we just need to be more vocal about the opportunities. The Experience Economy in Action You can't print or market the acoustic difference you experience in the Rockwell booth. You have to be there. That's why events like AIA matter—not just for networking, but for experiencing what products actually do. After a day of "constantly grinding" and networking, the unexpected reward: 12 genuine hugs from industry relationships built over 15 years. That's the human infrastructure that makes this industry special. The Bottom Line With $5 billion in commercial facades construction over the next 3-4 years, there's plenty of work to go around. The career mobility we're all experiencing isn't disruption—it's evolution. The industry is strengthened when experienced professionals bring their expertise to new challenges. We might be competitors, but we're all trying to create better spaces for customers. And in a relationship-driven industry built on specification sales, collaboration makes everyone stronger. About Our Locations Tim: Interiors Strategy at Nichiha USA  nichiha.com Carolina: Leading VENTEC team at StoCorp - High-performance building envelope solutions Michael Russo: National Sales Manager at Longboard Architectural Products - Expanding into interiors and landscape architecture applications Sponsor Spotlight Advancing Prefabrication: Unitized Façades & Panelization June 9-11, 2025 | Dallas, Texas Part of the Hanson Wade suite of construction innovation events Use code BP10 for 10% off any Hanson Wade event registration advancing-prefab-unitized-facades-panelization.com Build Perspectives explores the innovations, relationships, and career realities shaping construction. Sometimes recorded in acoustic booths, sometimes on noisy show floors—always authentic to the industry we love. "Perspectives - something my dad says you can never have too much of."

    16 min

  8. 05/29/2025

    The $2.2 Trillion Venn Diagram - Why Everything You Know About Construction Silos Is About to Change

    The Big Idea The construction industry's 40-year experiment with specialization is ending. What I'm calling "encroaching vertical integration" isn't just a trend—it's a fundamental reshaping of how projects get built. And the companies that miss this shift will find themselves squeezed out of the value chain entirely. Why This Matters Now Most commercial construction projects finish over budget and over schedule. That wasn't happening 40 years ago when GCs self-performed everything from grading to casework. The "ballooning" of our industry through specialization created layers of margin, scope gaps, and coordination nightmares that are finally forcing a correction. The Three-Front War for Control 1. GCs Going Rogue Companies like Swinerton, DPR, and Windover aren't just managing projects anymore—they're bringing building envelope, carpentry, and concrete work back in-house. They're buying panel machines, butterfly tables, and steel rollers. Why? Because being a project manager with no control over performance is the least profitable way to build. 2. Trades Playing Offense Drywall contractors aren't content being subs anymore. They're positioning themselves as prime contractors, offering GC services to owners directly. The specialists are becoming generalists again. 3. Manufacturers Thinking Like Boeing Take Sango Ben's prefab partnerships. Manufacturers who traditionally just made "stuff" are now doing full wall assemblies. They're moving from component suppliers to system integrators—and that's where the real margins live. The Dark Horse: Distribution's $100B Opportunity Here's what nobody's talking about: QXO's acquisition of Beacon isn't just about scale. It's about positioning for the biggest disruption in construction distribution since Home Depot. Imagine ABC Supply or QXO calling on architects like manufacturers do. Running lunch-and-learns. Writing specs. Building primary demand instead of just fulfilling orders. Most distributors are glorified logistics companies collecting AR. The winners will become strategic partners who can prove ROI to manufacturers through specification influence. The math is simple: If you control specification, you control everything downstream. Case Study: The Future Happened in Dallas A 1000-room resort north of Dallas proved the concept. They built an assembly line right on the job site—welded tables, crane-ready facades with windows, waterproofing, rock wool, and cladding integrated. Two and three-story unitized assemblies installed like Lego blocks. This wasn't just efficient construction. It was manufacturing mindset applied to building. And it's scalable. What This Means for You If you're a manufacturer: Start thinking assembly, not components. The companies buying just your product are becoming your competitors. If you're a GC: The question isn't whether to self-perform more. It's which trades to bring in-house first. If you're in distribution: You're either becoming a strategic partner or a commoditized middleman. There's no middle ground. If you're an investor: Look for companies crossing traditional boundaries. The biggest returns will come from businesses that control more of the value chain. The Bottom Line We're watching a $2.2 trillion industry reorganize itself in real time. The silos that defined construction for 40 years are converging into something that looks more like manufacturing. The companies that understand this shift aren't just adapting—they're designing the future of how we build. Sponsors & Partners Nichiha USA - Where I lead Interiors Strategy, focusing on mass timber integration and adaptive reuse projects. Our fiber cement architectural panels are enabling the prefab revolution. nichiha.com Advancing Prefabrication: Unitized Façades & Panelization June 9-11, 2025 | Dallas, Texas The event where these ideas get turned into action plans. Use code BP10 for 10% off: Register here Build Perspectives explores the technologies and strategies reshaping construction. Hosted by someone who's spent years in the trenches—from swinging hammers to building go-to-market strategies for the industry's most innovative companies. Subscribe, rate, and share if this resonates. The construction industry deserves better than "that's how we've always done it."

    14 min
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About

We bridge Wall Street and Job Sites. Real stories, real numbers, real consequences. Hosted by Carolina Baffigo and Tim Seims. https://tinyurl.com/Build-Perspectives

Information

  • Creator
    Tim Seims and Carolina Baffigo
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    89
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright of Buildperspectives.com
  • Show Website
    Build Perspectives Podcast