How Chad St. Martin Became One of Property Damage Appraiser’s Top-Performing Franchisees

Chad St. Martin wasted no time jumping into his Property Damage Appraisers (PDA) career after college. The Monday after his Saturday graduation from Dakota Wesleyan, St. Martin joined his mother in her place of work in the Minneapolis PDA office during one of Minneapolis’s largest hail storms in history. On his first day St. Martin jumped in to work with customers dealing with damage from the storm. This fueled his passion to continue to help the PDA customers. In 2012, 14 years after working as an employee, St. Martin purchased and now owns and operates the Minneapolis, St. Cloud, Rochester and Omaha offices. He is currently one of the top performers in the company nationwide and became a member of the Million Dollar Club in June 2018.

St. Martin knew he never wanted to be just a cog in the corporate wheel; having a seat at the table of a small company was important to him. He started as the youngest employee in the office, and quickly became the office manager, implementing computers and other technology to set them up for success. St. Martin believes his continued involvement in the office and genuine interest in keeping his employees feeling happy and appreciated is directly reflected in his success within both the company and the community.

1851 Franchise: Tell us a little bit about your background.

Chad St. Martin: I grew up in Savage, MN and went to Burnsville High School. I went to Dakota Wesleyan in South Dakota for college where I obtained a business degree in finance and management.

My mom worked at PDA as a secretary for the franchise owner at the time, and when I graduated college, my mom helped me get a position there. I graduated, moved home, had one day off and the next day started working at PDA. 

Minneapolis had one of the largest hail storms in history right when I started. I jumped right in, answering phone calls from upset customers worried about the damage caused by the storm. At the time, cell phones were a novelty, and we had computers and email but we didn’t really know what it was. I introduced technology to the office, getting rid of unnecessary paperwork and switched our processes to implement computers and email. 

About a month into my job at PDA, I got a computer, and utilizing my finance degree, I did payroll and office work. About a year later, I became the office manager, a position I held for 14 years. In 2012, I was able to buy the franchise and became a business owner. 

My mom worked for me for four years right when I purchased the franchise but she retired about four years ago. I have a wife and three kids ages 16, 13 and nine. PDA allows me to have a nice work-life balance and spend time with my family. 

1851: Why do you think you’ve been so successful as a PDA owner?

St. Martin: My background in working at the office set me up for success. I've been doing this for almost 22 years now and the previous owner of the business gave me a lot of responsibility and taught me how to run the business. I have been in the top 10 in revenue with PDA every year. Minneapolis isn’t the largest market, but I am able to stay at the top by following processes year in and year out. 

Most people don’t stay in the same job for their whole life, but PDA is different from most jobs. When I started, the appraisers were a few years older than me and they’re all still working here. One of my biggest successes has been keeping the appraisers motivated and appreciated. The combination of having great appraisers and office staff and paying them fairly has led to very little turnover.

1851: How else are you involved in your local community?

St. Martin: My kids attend the local schools where they are involved in different athletic programs. I sponsor basketball tournaments. I have FSHD muscular dystrophy and my support is through monetary donations to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. 

1851: Where does most of your business come from?

St. Martin: We work with hundreds of insurance carriers. Heavy equipment is a top priority for PDA each year and I was number one in the country for large equipment.

We have a lot of hail activity. I had a huge claim for 265 heavy equipment units, that was the largest invoice I had last year. 

1851: What types of claims are most frequent for your office?

St. Martin: Auto claims are the most frequent for our office, but I have a really good mix of HBRO as well. Our mix of business used to be 90% auto & 10% heavy equipment, specialty, boat, RV & property. Now the mix has moved to be 50% auto & 50% heavy equipment, specialty, boat, RV & property.