Starnet Dream Teams are collaborative partnerships between a Starnet commercial flooring contractor and a Starnet Preferred Vendor Partner (a flooring manufacturer or supplier). These teams are recognized annually by Starnet for their exceptional teamwork, strategic selling, and ability to deliver outstanding customer experiences and business results. This series explores the 2025 Starnet Dream Team Winners. 

2025 Starnet Dream Team: Jennifer Talley of Image Flooring and Jenny Wolff of Milliken & Co. 

In the flooring industry, partnerships built on genuine trust and shared expertise can transform business trajectories in remarkable ways. The collaboration between Jennifer Talley, account executive at Image Flooring in Lenexa, Kansas, and Jenny Wolff, account manager, Milliken & Company, and exemplifies the essence of a Starnet Dream Team, demonstrating how deep industry knowledge, unwavering communication, and strategic relationship-building can drive extraordinary results—including an impressive 350% sales growth over just two years.

Wolff brings a formidable 25 years of combined experience across the carpet and furniture industries to the partnership. Her expertise spans building and nurturing end-user relationships across diverse sectors including government, K-12, higher education, and corporate markets. What sets her apart is her willingness to step in and directly engage with end users when dealers face challenges, demonstrating a proactive commitment to ensuring success for all parties involved.

Talley complements this foundation with her own impressive industry experience and unwavering professionalism. Her strength lies in clear, effective communication—both listening to client needs and conveying critical information with transparency. She's consistently upfront about what will and won't work for quality installations, helping manage expectations and enabling informed decision-making that leads to outstanding results and satisfied clients.

Together, they create a partnership where trust serves as the cornerstone of their collaboration, allowing them to approach each project with unmatched expertise and confidence while maintaining the highest standards of integrity.

Strategic Communication and Collaboration

The Dream Team's working relationship is built on consistent, multi-layered communication. They maintain weekly office meetings at the dealer's location to review project strategies, align goals, and address challenges. This regular face-to-face time ensures everyone stays coordinated and strategies remain effectively aligned.

Beyond weekly meetings, they maintain constant contact through frequent calls throughout the week, ensuring all project details are connected and responsibilities are being followed through. Monthly collaborative calls and in-person meetings further strengthen their plans and maximize their efforts. This blend of regular meetings, constant communication, and collaborative sessions keeps projects moving forward efficiently and effectively.

Their strategy centers on complete project transparency among all team members. Everyone remains fully aware of project details, progress, and potential challenges, creating a collaborative environment where each member understands their role and contributes effectively. When clients or designers have questions that one partner can't answer directly, they can count on the other to provide necessary information quickly, putting clients and designers at ease with timely, accurate responses.

This Dream Team finds significant success outside traditional general contractor bid models by taking a personalized, relationship-focused approach. For each project, they discuss in detail who should work with the end user, architect, and general contractor, ensuring the right expertise and focus at each project stage.

Their philosophy centers on truly getting to know end users rather than viewing them as just another sale. They focus on building relationships and understanding specific needs, guiding clients to make the best flooring selections for their spaces. This personalized approach adds real value to the client experience and ensures flooring solutions meet actual requirements, strengthening client relationships and setting them apart through tailored, thoughtful service.

Proven Results Through Partnership

The numbers tell a compelling story. In 2022, the addition of new team members reignited their partnership, resulting in an impressive 350% growth in sales by 2024. Their success stems from working together weekly at the dealer's office, sharing ideas and leads in person, and maintaining a goal of taking at least one client per month out to lunch together through successful joint calls.

Their strategic approach was evident in a corporate regional office remodel project where the dealer had a longstanding relationship with an end user whose corporate office no longer had a designer. Recognizing the opportunity, they collaborated directly with the end user, dealer, and manufacturer to develop standards for both open office and private office spaces. When the customer needed to visualize multiple colorways in the carpet field, they used the vendor's website visualizer to show carpet set into photos of the actual space before ordering. This visualization tool proved crucial in helping the client feel confident in their choice, ultimately leading to a purchase of more than 12,000 square yards of carpet.

Long-Term Partnership Excellence

The foundation of their partnership runs deep. The Image Flooring dealership was founded by a former Milliken account manager, establishing strong brand alignment from the beginning. Even after the founder's retirement, they continued prioritizing this manufacturer relationship, fostering a long-lasting and valuable partnership.

The durability of their approach is evident in their track record—many customers still enjoy carpets installed more than 24 years ago that continue performing exceptionally well. This validates their confidence in recommending products and underscores the strength of their ongoing partnership.

Early in their relationship, they recognized the importance of trusting and relying on one another when collaborating with end users, architects, designers, and general contractors. Initially challenging because they were accustomed to managing projects independently, they quickly understood that winning required strategizing and determining who on the team was the best fit for each task. Trust became the cornerstone of their success, enabling them to rely on each other's strengths and build a winning track record.

Looking ahead to 2025, they plan to host a CEU presentation to a facility managers group, including architects, designers, and contractors, demonstrating their commitment to continued growth and relationship building.

The partnership between Wolff and Talley represents the best of what Starnet Dream Teams can achieve: combining deep industry expertise with strategic relationship building, transparent communication, and unwavering trust to deliver exceptional customer experiences and remarkable business growth. Their 350% sales increase over two years stands as testament to what's possible when partners truly commit to each other's success and their customers' satisfaction.

Read More: Meet the 2024 Starnet Dream Team Winners