The Fire Time Podcast

Everyday leaders are trying to change their business' momentum because they feel like they're stuck in a rut. Changing the pace of a business to operate proactively isn't difficult, it just takes a commitment. In today's episode, Tim sits down with Kevin Obee (General Manager of Fireplaces & Lighting at Benson Stone) to breakdown the culture of meetings he has implemented within his workspace to t...

How do you know if you're successful or not? Too many business owners base everything entirely off of feel when there is much more to the equation. In today's episode, Tim sits down with Grant Falco (Owner, Falco's Spokane) to break down what a business scoreboard consists of, and why it is an essential element for any leader looking to run a better business and generate more revenue.  This episod...

What is it that makes a good sales rep? Product knowledge? Communication skills? Responsiveness? The truth is that all of these things are needed, but only a few reps have mastered them. In today's episode, we sit down to discuss the value that a good sales rep brings to the table with Art Ratcliffe (Mendota Hearth Products). Art is one of the best in the game and his value to customers is legenda...

Anyone involved with new construction work has been seeing incidence rates (the % of fireplaces being installed into new construction homes) free fall over the past 10 years—and if you haven't then you've been living under a rock. In today's episode, Tim sits down with Tim Rethlake & Jeni Forman of HHT to discuss possible ways to stop the bleeding and grow Incidence Rate back to where it has been...

Everyone wants to be part of something that matters, but most people don't have the endurance to get there. The truth is that creating a legacy is something that takes laser-like focus day in and day out at the goal at hand. In today's episode, Tim joins Nick Bauer (the owner of Empire Comfort) to discuss what it is like to be a family member in a legacy business, along with what goes into acquiri...

Many businesses today exist for themselves when in reality they need to be operating for the sake of others. In today's episode, we examine the major benefits of what happens when you begin using your strengths not for yourself, but rather for service.   A weekly Zoom Call Community focusing on generosity, gratitude, and growth was a silly thought Alex Judd had one night when the effects of COVID-...

Many businesses today can't tell you if they're making money or losing it every month. Not tracking your business expenses and revenue line-by-line will never allow you to get ahead—and it always results in getting dragged by your business instead of driving it. In today's episode, Taylor and Zack Estes (Owners, Barncat Financial) lay out the basics of what your business needs to understand about...

With COVID-19 taking its toll on business owners of all sizes it is interesting to look at what allows some companies to continue to thrive while others have begun to nosedive. Being prepared for the worst sounds like something that every business owner would take as a given, but after further examination, most people still miss it...  In today's episode - recorded prior to COVID-19 - Henry Hall (...

When a customer makes the effort to make it all the way to your showroom floor, you better understand why they are standing in front of you. Understanding the customer's intentions without bias, and then finding a polite way to eventually ask for the sale is the key that so many salespeople are missing out on. When selling fireplaces, BTU's aren't everything—the experience the product will deliver...

Every season of this podcast wraps with a Q & A episode—and this is no different! In today's conversation, Tim Reed and Grant Falco (Falco's | Spokane, WA) sit down to answer questions like: How do you actually execute on the information you learn in a podcast? What is the best way to spend my time if not all of my accounts want to get better? Should a salesperson be a project manager or is that a...

Most hearth companies today are drowning in the rising costs of advertising with no one to help them. No matter what you do, you can’t seem to get the results that you want while, all the while, advertisement costs continue to skyrocket. In today's episode, we close our series on the eight departments of a winning hearth business by talking with Grant Falco (Owner, Falco's) about marketing. The tr...

Every retailer in our industry is looking for ways to grow sales. While it can be useful to think about marketing spends and sales initiatives, improving your showroom is low hanging fruit that offers a huge payoff. In today's conversation, we sit down with Grant Falco (Owner, Falco's) to talk about what a showroom needs to have in order to succeed.  Don't miss this! Most showrooms in our industry...

Want to know the secret to running a smooth business? Have a great support staff! Many business owners today are running around with a fire extinguisher looking for the next blaze to put out rather than working on the things needed to grow the business. Building up your Support Staff is the key to streamlining your systems and processes and allowing leaders to get above the fray and see what's rea...

Everyone is looking for an edge today, but the truth is that many retailers in our industry are running so fast that the little things (that make them money) are being left behind. In today's episode, we address department number 4 (of 8) on your route to building a winning hearth company: Grounds & Warehouse. Now, most business leaders don't think of Grounds & Warehouse as a department in their c...

If you're looking to grow your business in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, you've got to be taking service seriously. For many companies, service is a necessary evil that they offer with gritted teeth (because they feel that they have to), while for others, it's a profit center that leads to repeat business and customers for life.  What's the difference? Intentionality. In today's conversation,...

Companies in our industry are losing money every day because of second trips and call backs on installations. You know it shouldn’t be this hard, but it seems to happen over and over again. In today's episode, we sat down with Grant Falco (Owner, Falco's) to discuss what it takes to build out an installation department that takes your company to the next level. If this sounds like your world then...

In today's market it's absolutely critical that you have an effective sales team. The problem is that most companies don't provide their team the tools needed to succeed and, as a result, the team stays "busy" doing things that aren't relevant to their job (which is selling). In today's conversation, we sit down with Grant Falco (Owner, Falco's | Spokane, WA) to talk about the tools that every lea...

Everyone is looking to build a winning business, but the question is where do you start? Over the next eight episodes of the podcast, Tim Reed and Grant Falco will outline how to build out the departments necessary to running a winning hearth company—and the first department is Leadership. Most companies fail when it comes to motivating their team members because they don't have an effective leade...

If you've been in the fireplace business for any amount of time, then the name Tom Pugh (1952-2012) should mean something to you... He's the man who invented the clean face fireplace, created HPBA's Government Affairs Academy in Washington, D.C., and helped hearth dealers across the country grow profitably with his playbook: "Blueprint for Success". Tom was someone who could see further down the r...

When COVID-19 hit, it left everyone reeling. For those of us who went to the HPBExpo in New Orleans, we came home to a whole different world. Every business leader was forced to face the fear of disruption that was forced on them, as the dynamics of their business changed overnight, and find new opportunity. In today's episode, we sat down with Casey Harvey (Director of Sales, Ray Murray) to discu...

In light of the COVID-19 crisis, everyone has been flooded with Zoom calls and webinars like never before. Many of them have a speaker stumbling over the technology while their audience is distracted by other things on their computer. Whether you've been the stumbling speaker or the distracted audience, today's conversation is for you. We sat down with Ryan Borawski (Digital Sales Trainer for Libe...

Our industry is at a turning point. All over the country, aging business owners are beginning to think about an exit strategy and wondering if it's too late. In today's conversation, we sit down with Daniel Hammer and Mike Duval (Owner and former Owner | Sutter Home & Hearth, Seattle, WA) to talk about how to transition a business from one generation to the next. In this conversation: Learn when i...

As the crisis rages, everyone is looking for a way to get ahead and the truth is that it's easier to do together. In today's episode, we sit down with Dominique Pagé (Owner, United Buyer's Group) to hear about how two dealers getting worked over by a manufacturer a few years ago was leveraged into a network of hundreds of businesses that combine their buying power—so no one is left in that situati...

This week, we sat down with world famous architect Wayne Visbeen (Principle, Visbeen Architects) to discuss how an understanding of architecture can help your retail space stand out from every body else. Wayne uses a "live design" process that creates an amazing customer experience and forges and instant connection between him and his clients. He's designed retail spaces all over the world for com...