How a Leading Fireplace Brand Helps Builders Sell More Homes

00:00 — Welcome + what HHT does

01:00 — Direct-vent origin; go-to-market via dealers/distributors

02:00 — What builders still expect: on-time, quality, no callbacks

03:00 — Presale → spec shift and how it changes the sell

04:00 — Designing for attached housing: venting, gas, fit

05:00 — Competing for the whole home budget; perceived value at best total cost

06:00 — Training sellers beyond specs: mentoring, ride-alongs, short modules

07:00–08:00 — Market swings and staying proactive with builders

08:30–09:30 — Don’t treat all builders the same; segment by buyer first

Kurt Stauffacher, Senior National Account Manager at Hearth & Home Technologies (HHT), has spent more than three decades helping builders create the “heart of the home.” HHT invented the gas direct-vent fireplace (Heat & Glo) and sells through local dealers and installing distributors nationwide.

Expectations haven’t changed: show up on time, install it right, and don’t come back for callbacks. That’s been the bar for quality suppliers from day one. What has shifted is the market mix—affordability pressure has pushed many builders toward entry-level product and a heavier spec/quick-move-in strategy. That reality changes how fireplace manufacturers earn their place in the plan.

When presale was the norm, a fireplace could live as a profitable option. In a spec-driven environment, it becomes part of the base—and the sell must move from “this drives profit” to “this delivers the value buyers expect when they enter your home.” As Kurt puts it, you can’t rely on the old margin story; you have to sell the feature’s value to the homebuyer.

Fireplaces historically slotted easily into single-family detached. Today’s growth in townhomes and attached product introduces venting paths, gas line constraints, and tighter footprints that can derail a good idea late in the process. HHT’s response is to engineer SKUs and install solutions that fit these plans so builders don’t have to value-engineer out the focal point simply because it’s hard to route or service.

Kurt is blunt: you’re not just competing with other hearth brands—you’re competing with every line item in the home. The winning case does two things: it helps the builder sell homes faster by creating a memorable focal point, and it carries a high perceived value so builders can hold price and protect shrinking gross margins, all while delivering the best total cost through efficient installs and low callbacks.

Spec sheets alone won’t cut it. HHT ramps new sellers with mentor ride-alongs and in-market coaching, supported by short (10–30 minute) e-learning modules—because, as Kurt says, “unless you got your hands in the dough, it’s hard to get a true understanding.” This is about judgment: knowing when to lead with speed-to-sale, when to lean on perceived value, and how to map the pitch to the buyer the builder is targeting.

Many manufacturers miss this: not all builders are the same. HHT breaks it down by builder type (custom vs. production, spec vs. presale) and, more importantly, by homebuyer—entry-level, move-up, luxury, or active adult—then tailors products and messages accordingly. It’s “right product, right buyer,” with the buyer profile leading the SKU list and the talk track.

You can reach Kurt at [email protected] or on LinkedIn. 

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!