Straight Talk – an ISSA Podcast

Dean Mercado is the CEO of Online Marketing Muscle and has years of experience coaching both residential and commercial cleaning companies on how to market their services and land clients. In this episode of Straight Talk!, Mercado lays out what all business owners need to know to ensure they are targeting with the proper messaging and advertising platforms.  

Chris Arlen, the founder of revenue-IQ, "invites" Jeff Cross to his own program and asks some tough questions.

Dave Kahle is a leading sales consultant who helps sales teams to connect the dots to customers. In this episode of Straight Talk!, he explains the value of sales managers visiting customers, and why both the sales manager and the sales person having a solid working relationship with customers.

Justin Douglas is the Co-CEO of Corvus Janitorial Systems. In this episode of Straight Talk!, he shares thoughts on what it takes to build a successful cleaning company.

Luke Hansen is the founder and CEO of CompanyCam, a cutting-edge software company focused on the restoration industry. CompanyCam provides everything you need to document your jobs, provide proof of completion, store and share photos and videos, and more. When it comes to dealing with any insurance challenge you face as a restoration company, CompanyCam has it all, packaged and ready to go, easy t...

Brock Tully is a vice president of Bunzl Cleaning & Hygiene and serves as the Canada Director for ISSA, his first term on the board of directors. In this episode of Straight Talk!, he discusses the industry, the impact of ISSA on cleaning, and the special milestone of ISSA's 100 year anniversary in 2023.

Tom Friedl is the president and CEO of Hospeco Brands Group, and serves on the ISSA board of directors as the executive officer.  Friedl knows the value of milestones, as Hospeco as a company reached its centennial in 2019. In this episode of Straight Talk!, he discusses ISSA's 100 year anniversary in 2023.

Kimberly Thomas, MPA, CEFP, is recently retired as the senior director of services, facilities management, at the University of Georgia. In this interview on Straight Talk!, she outlines her career path, what motivated her, how ISSA and especially CIMS certification, helped her to fulfill her dreams and ambitions. Along the way, she came to tremendously value her staff and university executives wh...

In this episode of Straight Talk, sponsored by Core America, get the strategies you need for workloading the cleaning and maintenance programs for your facility. Tony Maione, president, along with Carl Keil, associate vice president, share concepts and the science behind doing more with less but also keeping the quality of cleaning and maintenance high. Core America is available for consulting and...

The Restoration Industry Association (RIA) has released a position statement on the cost of doing business, a common exclusion claim made by some insurance adjusters. In this episode of Straight Talk!, Ed Cross, an attorney who works closely with the RIA, explains the details and provides important guidance to the restoration industry. RIA Position Statements are an exclusive RIA member benefit. T...

Peter Crosa, AIC, RPA, is an active independent insurance adjuster and works closely with the restoration industry. He knows the struggles and understands the ongoing hostile restoration and insurance landscape. In this episode of Straight Talk!, Crosa shares critical details that any restoration professional can use in their company.

In this first of several planned episodes concentrating on improving indoor air quality in buildings, learn important details about IAQ terminology that relates to technology. Dr. Gavin Macgregor-Skinner, the senior director of GBAC, along with Doug Hoffman, the executive director of NORMI, team up in this episode of Straight Talk! and discuss details you need to know about right now.

Robert Kravitz is the president of AlturaSolutions Communications, and specializes in connecting people and companies and is a thought-leader who knows the building service contracting industry inside and out. He shares some important business building strategies in this episode of Straight Talk!

Mark Warner, the national sales manager of The Bullen Companies, has teamed up with expert industry consultants to address a concern about the "custodial closet" and what needs to happen in the industry to create a proper area for provisioning cleaning equipment, tools, products, and all that is required by cleaning and facility maintenance staff.

The number one way owners and managers of building service contractors think they differentiate themselves to clients to win contracts may not be the complete picture. Chris Arlen with Revenue-IQ offers some insight into how BSCs can open doors and win contracts with a multi-faceted approach. The survey referenced in this episode of Straight Talk is the 2022 Building Service Contractor Benchmarkin...

Jill Frey is the president and CEO of Cummins Facility Services and in 2022 she served as one of the judges of the ISSA Innovation Award program. She shares the experience as a judge, and how she values it, in this episode of Straight Talk!

Renue Systems is a company that specializes in the hospitality industry, providing deep cleaning of any type of surfaces. David Grossman, the CEO and president, is proud of how responsive his franchisees are to customer requests and how success has empowered Renue to expand across borders, opening international locations. This is the Renue story.

Andy Clement is the Chief Customer Officer at Kimberly-Clark Professional. In this episode of Straight Talk!, he joins Jeff Cross in discussing how KCP has impacted the industry over the years and how the company has reached a 150 year milestone. ISSA is celebrating 100 years as an association in 2023, and both Clement and Cross reflect on what this means for the industry.

contracting company in Texas that has enjoyed tremendous success over the years, in part due to its partnership with ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association. One component of EPSI's success is implementing the ISSA’s Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) certification. Watch and learn from Saia as he describes his company's journey and how a focus on employees must be an...

Robert Tillis is the Chairman of Imperial Dade, a distribution company that is rapidly acquiring companies across the industry but doing so strategically with a focus on all employees involved. In this episode of Straight Talk!, taped at ISSA Show North America 2022, Tillis describes the journey and how much Imperial Dade values ISSA as the association enters its 100th year in 2023.

Roger Berry is a founder and the CEO of Sudoc , a different kind of chemical company. In this episode of Straight Talk!, Berry describes cutting-edge technology specifically with two products, and shares details about emerging innovations. From mold remediation to pet odor removal and more, Sudoc is creating solutions to challenges that have baffled the industry for years.

Laura Craven is the vice president of marketing and communications with Imperial Dade, and an industry professional who serves as a distributor director with ISSA, the global cleaning industry association.  As Imperial Dade grows and ISSA celebrates its 100 year anniversary in 2023, Craven recognizes the valuable partnership as a member company with ISSA and looks to the future of the industry. Sh...

Nicole Goulet is the vice president of marketing with Diversey, and has been a longtime supporter of ISSA.  As an incoming board member, she looks forward to advancing clean and driving innovation with ISSA as both the association and Diversey continue to work together on common goals, now and in the future. She shares thoughts on current and emerging programming and also the milestone of ISSA&apo...

Saji Daniel is the chairman of the board and Mike White is the senior vice president of sales with Vanguard Safety. Together, they describe the journey of Vanguard Safety, PPE trends, employee safety tips, the relationship between manufacturers and distributors to ensure PPE is readily available to all in in the industry, and more.

Jennifer Gordon knows bugs. She’s an entomologist with Bug Lessons Consulting and in this episode of Straight Talk!, she discusses clothes moths and how they can be a cause of damage to rugs, clothing, and fabrics. Every cleaning professional should be aware of what clothes moths can do and how a cleaning program can help eliminate the risk.