Don grew up in Southeastern Wisconsin and went to Brookfield East HS where he started dating his now wife. They have stayed in the area since then and have raised three kids who also went to the same high school! 

When he first began his career, Don went into the trades as a Tile Setter and worked for a family friend. What had started as a first job turned into a job that lasted over 20 years. Not going into an office and learning a trade while earning a good salary had its perks! Don was able to experience installing new types of flooring and wall tile while working indoors and outdoors when needed. New home construction was his specialty, and being able to see a project from beginning to end was exciting. The transformation from the beginning of a high-end home to the end of the project was one of his favorite parts. 

After he tore his ACL and couldn’t kneel at work every day, Don started working for Sterling Services. Don’s transition from installing tile and grout to selling SaniGLAZE restoration was easy. Because he had the experience before, he was able to understand the porosity of grout and all the different types and shapes of tiles, whether they are quarry, granite, porcelain, or ceramic, which was a big help when he first started. However, going from a 40+ hour a week job site every day to sales was a big difference for Don. But, it made it easier with the help he received with learning to work with contacts and at trade shows. He spent the first few weeks working alongside the technicians, learning how to install the flooring, and understanding how important their job is, which helped him learn more about the job that he needed to do. 

Since Sterling Services has now expanded into Epoxy flooring, Terrazzo restoration, and Concrete polishing, it has given Don and the team more flexibility to help customers fix whatever the “pain point” is. With sales, Don has perfected building a relationship and building trust with customers and stopped trying to act like a “salesperson”. His expertise lies in discovering customers' “pain points” and then offering them solid solutions with the products Sterling Services offer so that the customer can make a decision easier. 

Don likes to think of himself as old school; he still writes everything down. Not just work-related items but he loves to journal too. He hasn’t missed a day of journaling in over 35 years, “it’s fun to be able to look back over my life with family vacations and special events, but also remember the early days of working for Sterling Services and all of the experiences that I had back then and still have to this day.” 

Check back each month to learn more about our team members!