Shopping for a Pool anytime soon?
Shopping like you are buying a car.
Swimming pools are custom construction projects and are built by many individual trades and pool contractors with different standards. All pools are not built the same, unlike an automobile which is manufactured in a factory under controlled conditions. With a swimming pool much of what you do not see will impact the cost of pool ownership.Not asking enough questions.
Do not assume every builder is going to give you an education or is capable of giving you one, for that matter. The more you know and understand the better buyer you will ultimately be. This helps you and your pool contractor. Do your homework. Your resources are endless, so use them!Paralysis by analysis.
This is when someone gets 10-15 or more estimates for swimming pool construction and than cannot make a decision because they have become so confused. Do your due diligence and get 3 or 4 estimates from reputable swimming pool companies. Then make your decision and go with it.Not checking out the experience level, history, or background of a Contractor.
What makes them qualified to build swimming pools? Consider the saying, “If you think the cost of a Professional is expensive, wait until you hire an Amateur.”Shopping based on price.
Usually if a deal seems too good to be true, it is! If you shop for price alone you are destined to be disappointed. Bottom line: you usually get what you pay for.Shopping over the phone for a pool.
It is impossible and a waste of time. Visit the swimming pool builder or have them come to your home to provide you with an estimate. Visiting a contractor’s place of business will tell you a lot about the type of business it is. If they don't have a place of business, don't panic just go check out some of their work and talk to references.Assuming swimming pools cost less to build in the wintertime.
We have seen increases in steel prices, concrete shortages, gas increases, and insurance premiumhikes. Pools don’t get cheaper as time goes on; swimming pools will never be less expensive than they are today.Not reading contracts.
Make sure you understand what you are getting into. Make sure everything is in writing. It is very difficult to cancel a contract with many contractors after the obligatory 3-day rescission period. The contract should protect you AND the contractor.Focusing on the aesthetics and not the mechanicals of the project.
Hydraulic design, flow rates, pipe size, pump and filter types, chemical management systems, and many other factors will make a difference in the ability of your swimming pool to stay clean and sanitized.Not thinking about safety.
Swimming pools can be a great place to recreate, exercise, and just enjoy the outdoors. They can also be dangerous. Make sure you know what your City requires for barriers and fencing. More importantly, make sure you protect the ones you care for, and protect the ones that cannot protect themselves.
The more your customers know the better buyer they will become and you will look like a hero in their eyes...
Comments
This was a great write-up, Kevin. Thank you for this. Looking back on my own pool I had built - I wish I would have asked more questions, but the builder asked plenty. How would we use the pool? Would we expect large gatherings? I think the more questions we answered, the more it made us think, and we ended up with something we thoroughly enjoy.
Scott, this is very good and sincere input. I hear you my friend. Sometimes we need to go back to the basics as well as a process and make sure we are following through with our intent. Everyone falls into slumps or a rough spots in all kinds of sales. My experience has been to be though in every way and to give each new prospective client 100% of my attention. As you know in this industry it can become easy to get distracted. In this day and in this economic climate we have to be on our game at all times, if not the customers will pick up on it and that can be disastrous.
A suggestion I have is to write down your current process, if it has gotten boring then create some ways to change it up or revise it.
Your comment on communication is right on as it is key.
To be successful and to achieve your goals you have to find a way to differentiate yourself and your company. There are many ways to do this.
Best of luck to you in 2011!!!
Kevin...
I've sometimes felt that the time I spend educating a buyer often seems unproductive, repetitive, and boring after I've gone through the same topics again and again. The thing that makes me do it everytime is that when I've gotten lazy about it before, and something went wrong, the painful reconstruction of the problem can often be traced to a miscommunication. It isn't all my fault, and the person might have expected something I know to be unreasonable, but if I had taken the time to explain it, they might not have expected too much. If I had built some rapport with them, they might have trusted me more. If I had taken the time to show them I want to do a good job, they might have liked me enough to reach a reasonable compromise.
Scott