NFI Hearth Design Specialist
New Certification Available Now
The Hearth Design Specialist is one of the most, if not the most important staff member of a hearth business. As a Hearth Design Specialist, you will be the cog in the wheel. You will establish the client’s account profile and direct the business relationship by being the conduit between your team members and the homeowner/client.
The Hearth Design Specialist is usually the first point of contact with a homeowner who is interested in purchasing a hearth system, acts as the liaison to the fellow staff members and is most often responsible for nurturing and maintaining the relationship with the client. The Hearth Design Specialist has the most consistent communication with the homeowner throughout the entire process. He or she is the person who guides the client through the process of determining exactly which hearth appliance is best for them and leading them through the sale, to the subsequent installation and into satisfied ownership of the hearth system. He or she has the opportunity to turn the client into a customer for life.
Hearth Design Specialist training will provide you with:
• Technical and safety information about each of the three fuel types of hearth systems
• The skills to qualify the client based upon technical knowledge of the hearth systems
• Installation and service information that will allow you to guide the hearth sale from start to finish
• Assistance in addressing client concerns regarding features, benefits, operation and maintenance before and after the sale
The Hearth Design Specialist as a Sales Person
A Hearth Design Specialist is much more than a salesperson. He or she develops a relationship that gives the client the peace of mind that comes from working with an expert. A successful relationship is the key objective. The Hearth Design Specialist has the duty of guiding the process in a manner that facilitates success through the entire sales process. A Hearth Design Specialist makes lifetime customers out of clients. In general, you will:
• Carry out the initial meeting and client qualification
• Guide the appliance choice for maximum client satisfaction and hearth system effectiveness
• Design the installation plan based upon your knowledge of both the client and the appliance. Your design will include venting and decorative options to create the entire hearth system
• Educating the client about features, benefits, operation and maintenance
The Hearth Design Specialist as a Facilitator
Because the Hearth Design Specialist within the business guides the complete process, he or she must be proficient in all three fuel types and have the organizational skills and attention to detail necessary to ensure the proper products and protocols are followed. We will concentrate on the characteristics and information about wood, gas and pellet further in subsequent chapters. The Hearth Design Specialist certification assumes you have a basic understanding of the technical knowledge regarding hearth systems. If you do not feel confident in your base knowledge of hearth systems and the sales of them, you may want to go back and review those skills. This certification involves taking those basic skills to the advanced level. Becoming a Specialist involves taking that knowledge and putting it to work on the sales floor.