RTO National was founded in 2003 by Phil Falls, an entrepreneur with a background in finance. He thought there was an opportunity in the market for shed financing, but at the time, the only financiers for shed sales were the manufacturers. Falls began his enterprise by building a company that both manufactured and leased sheds.
Starting a company from scratch in an unfamiliar field could be daunting, but Falls just rolled up his sleeves and dug in. An important ingredient in the formula that made the company successful is the talented people he found to help him set up manufacturing and the people he hired for transportation, accounting, and every other part of the business. Many long days went into getting the company up and running.
Focus On What You Do Best
In 2008, the company moved away from manufacturing to focus on offering Lease Purchase and Finance options to other dealers. By concentrating on those services, they were able to prioritize meeting the needs of dealers and customers nationwide.
RTO National has a vast network of retailers, some large national companies, some big regional companies, and many small retailers. They focus on supporting their dealers, offering technology that helps them manage their business, a knowledgeable team that is ready to train dealers, and a dedicated customer support team to help customers through the length of their contract. Falls said they can do all these things; they’re all in their wheelhouse, but that isn’t good enough if they’re not treating one of their most important resources right — their employees and coworkers.
RTO National Inside Sales Team
RTO national headquarters.
One Challenge Led to Another
One of the company’s biggest challenges has been figuring out when to grow and when to hold off. Demand can be high for their services, and they need to ensure they are properly staffed to care for their dealers and customers. On the other hand, timing is everything. How do they add people or know when to recruit and when to hold off to ensure the increase in demand isn’t temporary?
When the company decides the time is right, they will add more resources. Falls, both founder and president of RTO National, said sourcing employees has not been a problem. They’ve found many talented people who have contributed to the company’s success. Where did the company find so many brilliant employees to help them grow when many businesses struggle to find the right talent? Falls lived his whole life in Greenville, South Carolina, so he had a network of people to draw from.
The other part of the challenge — retaining employees so you don’t have to recruit so often — is resolved in two ways, according to Falls. First, the company treats employees like the important resource they are, providing them with good salaries, bonuses, health insurance, 401ks, and a pleasant environment in which to work. The goal is that everyone treats everyone with respect, and that starts with management.
It is also extremely important to use the right technology to improve workflows and optimize everyone’s time. This has been a focus for RTO National, not just for employees, but for dealers as well. Falls said when they first got into the business, there was a lack of good software for shed dealers, so he and his team developed their own system, then modified it to help their dealers. Today they have seven software engineers to develop and maintain their systems and those of their customers.
Core Values and Culture
The company has based its intentional culture on five core values:
1. Candor: Self-reporting is common and encouraged because, while nothing is perfect, admitting mistakes and determining their causes can prevent the same mistake from happening again and again.
2. Integrity: This means that employees are to be honest, fair, and follow through on the things they have said they will do. This applies to customer service as well as internal interactions.
3. Respect: Every person on the team is expected to treat everyone with the same respect they would like to be treated with themselves.
4. Accountability: Teams are expected to problem-solve, identify areas for improvement, and take ownership of projects.
5. Creativity: Errors or bumps in the road can create an opportunity to identify better solutions. Brainstorming and new ideas are highly encouraged.
When new hires come on board, they usually say, “Wow! There are really talented people here.” Many are pleasantly surprised by how much people care about the business and how they help each other. There are no departmental silos; everyone works as a team, yet there is an intensity, a strong sense of purpose as everyone works to meet their deadlines. Part of creating a great team is ensuring everyone knows what they’re supposed to do and that they have the tools and proper training to do it.
Industry Insights and the Company’s Future
As prices go up, people tend to think twice about buying new things like sheds, so the industry tends to take a hit. However, RTO National is in a good place; it has a national presence and is continuing to grow on the West Coast and in the heart of America. As fewer people buy sheds outright, more people will Lease Purchase. Falls believes this will likely be the case throughout 2025 and into 2026.
Watching the industry, the economy, their own performance, and the performance of their various dealers since the last half of 2022, Falls and his team of five experts in business intelligence and financial planning realized that price increases were on the way. They have put a lot of time and energy into improving customer service and technology so they would be prepared, setting up the company to be ready to be very competitive and grow through acquisition.
The future looks bright.
