The Fire Time Podcast
Tim Reed
Are you tired of presentations that are only half relevant to your business? Many speakers are not practitioners of their material, simply teachers—not so with The Fire Time Podcast. This podcast is for the hearth industry and by the hearth industry. Host Tim Reed has over a decade of experience in the hearth industry, making conversations with guests relevant and extremely practical. In Season One, Tim speaks with twelve hearth industry leaders and provides content relevant to any position, whether on the retail or manufacturing side. Hearth companies everywhere are lost because the landscape of business has changed dramatically in the last ten years. They are trying hard, but they just don’t know what to do. The Fire Time Podcast equips hearth companies to win by sharing ideas and innovation from the best minds in our industry. This podcast will give you the tools to move the needle in your company and win in the changing landscape. This podcast is the first of its kind—specific to the business that you work in every day and simple enough to teach you what’s needed to succeed. Do not miss out on The Fire Time Podcast, available for Apple and Droid devices or at www.itsfiretime.com/podcast. The simple and repeatable steps provided will empower you to grow the bottom line of your company and inspire the team that you lead. ABOUT: Tim Reed is the Retail Sales Leader at Fireside Home Solutions in the Pacific Northwest where he helps his team members make it so stupidly easy to buy from them that there is no excuse not to. Starting as individual salesperson in an empty warehouse, he has grown Fireside’s Retail division by millions (after cutting his marketing budget by 90%). Tim has been invited all over the country to teach companies how to market effectively to their customers and sell more than ever before. His YouTube videos, sales blog, and “Fire Time Podcast” have become a resource for the industry and are actively helping thousands of people rethink their paradigms so that they can grow their businesses in the changing landscape. Tim learned “just enough to be dangerous” about sales, marketing, web development, and leadership from years of playing guitar in a failing punk band—which he swears has uniquely qualified him for his job today. Now considered one of the most innovative minds and compelling communicators in the industry, Tim uses his platform to serve others, helping them create clear messages that are wildly compelling to their audiences. Tim lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife, Jessica, two children, Olivia and Luke, and his 90 pound Golden Retriever, Walter. He still plays guitar in a failing punk band. CONTACT: tim@itsfiretime.com | www.itsfiretime.com
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 30, 2023 • 41min
Johnathan Sanders - Invest in Video and Photography
A lot of businesses settle for bad stock photography because it’s what’s available. Producing quality content in-house is much easier than you might think, and its benefits will quickly become apparent once published. In today’s episode, Tim chats with Johnathan Sanders (Production Specialist, Spark Marketer) about why quality, locally-produced content is so crucial for hearth businesses to flourish.In this episode, you’ll learn:
What photography and video are for (this content is far more versatile than you think).
How to start creating quality content (this advice is for any business of any size).
Why content lets the customer experience your services before they commit to them (this is huge for increasing sales).
Right now, the economy is uncertain at best, and it’s more important than ever your business stands out. Listen to this episode to learn one of the most impactful ways to stand out.Spark Marketer’s WebsiteAccess the WhyFire Sales AcceleratorSign Up For The Fire Time WorkshopSupport The Fire Time Podcast FinanciallyClick Here to Join The Fire Time Network
May 23, 2023 • 37min
Stove Team International - Saving Lives One Stove at a Time
Smoke from indoor cooking fires kills more people annually than AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. These deaths are easily preventable, and our industry is perfectly positioned to help prevent them.In today’s episode, Tim talks with Shelby Curtis and Mike Hatfield of Stove Team International about their efforts in facilitating the placement of low-smoke, fuel-efficient, and safe cookstoves in collaboration with local communities to support families and protect the environment. After learning about Stove Team International’s mission, the conversation progresses to how the Hearth Industry can become more involved in this noble cause.In this episode, you’ll learn:
What Stove Team International does to bring safe cookstoves to those in need (and how half of the world’s population needs such a thing).
The amount it costs to bring a stove to a family in need (this will blow your mind).
How to orient your business so that you can support Stove Team (this will allow you to never apologize for your prices again).
In our industry, it's so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day, but we need to take a moment to back up and think bigger. By making tiny tweaks to how we do things, we can make significant, life-saving changes for those in less privileged parts of the planet.Donate to Stove Team International
May 16, 2023 • 59min
Commit to Sales Practice (Building a Framework of Sales Management Part 7)
Being confident in sales skills is common, but reflecting on and critiquing them to get better is not. This is why committing to practicing sales day in and day out is critical to success.In today’s episode, Tim takes on something we have never done on the podcast before: he has a live sales practice with Curtis Coomer and Quinn Lackey of Barnhill Chimney.In this episode, you’ll learn:
The rhythm of a good sales practice session (this is something that has taken Tim years to master).
What needs to be put in place to commit to a regular sales practice with your team (this will allow your salespeople to grow drastically).
How to get past the awkward beginnings of a sales practice (this is what separates those who succeed the most).
What we do in this episode is something you must do if you want to go from playing defense to playing offense. Regular sales practice will take your team to the next level if you can stick to it. Listen to this episode to learn from some of the best at implementing a regular sales practice.Access the WhyFire Sales AcceleratorSign Up For The Fire Time WorkshopSupport The Fire Time Podcast FinanciallyClick Here to Join The Fire Time Network
May 9, 2023 • 39min
Run a Regular Sales Meeting (Building a Framework of Sales Management - Part 6)
Not regularly meeting with your sales team is essentially giving up on where your business is going. Meetings are the place to make changes in your company, and not having them will keep your business stagnant.In today’s episode, Tim builds on previous episodes of the Building a Framework of Sales Management series by discussing how to run a regular sales meeting.In this episode, you’ll learn:
How frequently sales meetings should be held (and how long each meeting should be).
What meeting invites must contain if you want genuine buy-in (and other tips to making meetings something all team members look forward to).
Why making time to air grievances in meetings is crucial (and how consistency is key to making this productive).
As we near the end of this series, you should be able to take away at least something from each episode to help your business’s sales management go from being defensive to offensive. Listen to this episode to learn how to run regular sales meetings—one of the most important yet overlooked steps.Access the WhyFire Sales AcceleratorSign Up For The Fire Time WorkshopSupport The Fire Time Podcast FinanciallyClick Here to Join The Fire Time Network
May 2, 2023 • 39min
Operate Off of Key Measurements (Building a Framework of Sales Management - Part 5)
What separates hearth professionals and business people working at Fortune 500 companies is that most hearth professionals were never professionally trained in sales. Far too many hearth companies operate their sales processes as if they are driving by looking through the rearview mirror. To operate effectively, they also need to pay attention to metrics telling what’s happening and what’s ahead.In today’s episode, Tim talks about key measurements and how they can transform the effectiveness of a sales team. These key measurements allow you to go from driving using the rearview mirror to driving with total awareness of where you’re at and what’s to come.In this episode, you’ll learn:
The four most important key measurements (Tim has seen these measurements drastically improve sales teams).
What lead and lag measures are (these two, put together, will paint a complete picture of what’s happening).
How to start taking key measurements (this isn’t as difficult as you might think).
You'll go from playing defensively to offensively with your sales processes by listening to all episodes in the Building a Framework of Sales Management series. Listen to this episode to continue your journey to achieving this. Access the WhyFire Sales AcceleratorSign Up For The Fire Time WorkshopSupport The Fire Time Podcast FinanciallyClick Here to Join The Fire Time Network
Apr 25, 2023 • 40min
Coach the Right Behaviors (Building a Framework of Sales Management - Part 4)
Many business leaders have expectations in mind and may criticize their team when those expectations are not met. However, until they sit down with each team member and coach them on the specific behaviors they want, a lack of alignment in expectations will occur.In today’s episode, Tim talks about how to coach the right behaviors once a business starts to operate from a sales dashboard. This is how you can go from having a disconnected team to a connected one that plays offensively.In this episode, you’ll learn:
The four specific behaviors you need to coach to your team members (Tim has seen these make all the difference).
Why meeting with team members regularly is crucial to ensure expectations are met (team members cannot read your mind).
What a weekly progress report is and how to make one (this will take your team from guessing how things are going to knowing how things are going).
The step discussed in this episode—part four of the Building a Framework of Sales Management series—can be time-intensive as it requires creating a regular cadence of meeting with team members to set expectations and then coaching, affirming, and correcting them. Not many business leaders achieve this, but if you can, you’ll get one step closer to making your business play as offensive as possible.Access the WhyFire Sales AcceleratorSign Up For The Fire Time WorkshopSupport The Fire Time Podcast FinanciallyClick Here to Join The Fire Time Network
Apr 18, 2023 • 41min
Utilizing a Sales Dashboard (Building a Framework of Sales Management - Part 3)
“Guys, there is over a million dollars of lost business in here,” was all that one of Tim’s former colleagues had to say while cleaning out a wastebasket to make him realize how much money his company was losing by not having a sales dashboard.In today’s episode, Tim explains how to utilize a sales dashboard. This tool will allow you to track opportunities that have not closed in a much more granular way, making your life easier and making you more money.In this episode, you’ll learn:
The things you should consider when creating a sales dashboard (this is everything you need to see and everything you don’t).
How to rate the attractiveness of a job (this is a systematized way of always knowing what customers are the highest priority).
What software solution is right for your sales dashboard (this is not as important as you think).
While sales are still slow, it’s the time of year to make change. Listen to this episode—part three of the Building a Framework of Sales Management series—to help you close more opportunities.Access the WhyFire Sales AcceleratorSign Up For The Fire Time WorkshopSupport The Fire Time Podcast FinanciallyClick Here to Join The Fire Time Network
Apr 11, 2023 • 40min
Utilize a Documented Sales Process (Building a Framework of Sales Management - Part 2)
Do your salespeople have the liberty to sell however they please? While that may occasionally work, having a consistent sales process can regularly work. This doesn’t mean your salespeople become robots; it means they have a flexible framework to solve every customer’s problem. They go from thinking, “This is how I do it,” to “This is how we do it.”In today’s episode, Tim will teach you how to develop and document your company’s sales process to hold all salespeople accountable to a performance standard.In this episode, you’ll learn:
The five steps of utilizing a sales process (this will allow you to go from having nothing to everything).
The structure of the document you need to create to document your sales process (this will become your salespeople’s bible).
The sales process that The Fire Time Magazine utilizes (this process works very well for our industry, and you can replicate it).
As the economy continues to tighten up, now more than ever, we need to play offense if we want to be successful. By choosing not to build a sales management framework, your company will likely not grow in the long term. Listen to this episode—part two of the Building a Framework of Sales Management series—to learn how to lead your sales process and company to success.Sign Up For The Fire Time WorkshopSupport The Fire Time Podcast FinanciallyClick Here to Join The Fire Time Network
Apr 4, 2023 • 51min
Sales Goals and Compensation Plans (Building a Framework of Sales Management - Part 1)
Support The Fire Time Podcast financially: https://www.patreon.com/itsfiretime.
Mar 28, 2023 • 35min
Tim Reed—Respond to the Market or Capitulate to Irrelevance (2023 Fire Time EDx)
Support The Fire Time Podcast financially: https://www.patreon.com/itsfiretime.
