How a Leading Exterior Door Manufacturer Uses Storytelling to Drive Sales

00:00 – Building a Legacy at ProVia
04:40 – Marrying Heritage with Modern Marketing
09:20 – Standing Out in a Crowded Dealer Channel
13:15 – Turning Website Traffic into Real Pipeline
18:00 – Branding and Consumer Psychology in Building Materials
22:00 – Advice for Marketers in Family-Owned Businesses

Jake Calhoun didn’t start in building materials—he came from the world of peanut butter and deli meats. After years in consumer packaged goods at brands like Smucker and Hormel, Jake joined ProVia, a family-owned manufacturer based in Amish Country, Ohio, best known for its doors, windows, siding, and stone.

Since joining, Jake has been helping ProVia navigate the intersection of tradition and transformation, bringing modern marketing strategies to a values-driven company while staying grounded in what made the brand trusted in the first place.

ProVia is a company where many employees have worked for decades. Jake came in as an outsider with fresh ideas, but he quickly recognized the importance of honoring the brand’s foundation. With leadership support and a strong cultural commitment to long-term thinking, he’s been able to advocate for modern investments without losing sight of what matters most to the team.

The result is a marketing strategy that blends core values with forward-thinking execution.

Coming from the world of food and beverage, Jake was used to thinking in terms of the end user. He brought that same mindset to ProVia—starting with a deep understanding of the contractor and homeowner, and focusing less on segments or personas and more on behavior.

At ProVia, that meant listening to the dealer network, identifying service gaps, and thinking about marketing as something that should help solve real business problems—not just promote products.

In categories like windows and doors, most dealers carry multiple competing brands. Jake and the team at ProVia knew that product alone wasn’t enough. So while innovation and performance remain priorities, the real differentiator has become the company’s commitment to service.

From responsive marketing support to real-time logistics, ProVia leans into the details—both in how it serves customers and in how it talks about itself. Dealers may come for the product, but they stay for the relationship.

ProVia is leaning into a space that’s new for them: lead generation. The team is focused not on buying traffic, but on capturing the traffic they already have. That includes improving website engagement, leveraging design tools to identify high-intent visitors, and exploring ways to pass that demand directly to their dealer network.

Rather than over-indexing on ads or automation, Jake’s focus is making ProVia’s digital presence more actionable—helping dealers close deals without losing what makes the brand trusted in the first place.

One of Jake’s most powerful insights is that building materials can learn a lot from CPG brands. In a world where every window meets code and most products look similar on paper, the brand is what sets you apart. Consumers don’t just want a good product—they want to believe in the company behind it.

For ProVia, that belief is rooted in values. And the job of marketing is to help connect those values to every audience, whether it's a builder, a dealer, or a homeowner dreaming up their next renovation.

Jake’s advice for marketers working inside a long-standing or family-owned business is simple: take your time, and learn the story. Get to know the people, the why, and the legacy. That understanding isn’t just about respect—it becomes a foundation you can build from. When you understand the brand’s heritage, you can communicate it in a way that’s honest, compelling, and future-ready.

You can reach Jake Calhoun on LinkedIn to continue the conversation and learn more about ProVia’s approach to modern marketing in building materials.

The Smarter Building Materials Marketing podcast helps sales and marketing professionals find better ways to grow leads, sales and outperform the competition. It gives insights, examples and shares stories about how to create a results-driven digital marketing strategy for building products and construction companies of any size. SBMM is co-hosted by Venveo’s Founder, Zach Williams and Venveo’s CEO, Beth PopNikolov.

Thanks for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode and want to catch future insights, be sure to like and subscribe to the Smarter Building Materials Marketing podcast wherever you listen. Got questions or suggestions about today’s episode? Drop us a line at [email protected]—we’d love to hear from you!