Posted by Mark Welch on November 5, 2008 at 2:00pm
It was only 5 years ago that I was installing 50 pools and selling 100 spas a year. I was comfortable in my own little world and was not ready to think outside the box. I live in a resort area and every house had to have a pool and a hottub to increase the rentals . The builders I worked with thought of pools as a necessary evil and wanted to do it as cheap as possible. Imagine $750,000.00 to $2,000.000 dollar rental homes that sleep 25 with a $ 20,000.00 12x24 non cantilevered pool job,This was the norm not the exception. Ray Cronise had been pushing me to separate myself from the 30 pool builders on the island.He was talking hydraulics,water features and new milestones in the fiberglass industry. AT first these ideas were met head on with great resistance, I was making money and honestly not ready to change anything. Ray gave me the phone number of another pool dealer who had made this leap of faith a year before,and suggested I give her a call.Her response was"It was the best thing we could of done" .She had gone from competing with the 25,000.00 pool projects to her packages starting at 45,000.00 with customers lined up willing to spend. I took classes on hydraulics and constuction and made the change. I over came the fear of the unknown and dove right into head first .The first gunite pool I did had a 27' negatvie edge on it. I'm thankful I finally listened and made the change.Even though things are tough in economy If you are willing to set yourself apart from the rest ,your chances for survival will greatly increase.
Mark, how did you go about making that change. I understand the hydraulics and construction education I am looking more in the sales end. What exacly did you do to change your number from 25k to 45k and get the response (right feedback) from the clients. I am seriously think about going in this direction but I think my major drawback is the customer. In our area everyone starts low and then goes adds on and on and on. I tried a few years back the complete package including some major add ons and did ok but a lot of the custoers got sticker shock initially. The problem was by the time their project was complete and all the add ons they did they were right there where I was originally.
Niche players will always survive so long as they understand basic business principles. In tough times like we are now facing Sales Training is the real key to insuring success.
Mark it has been a pleasure working with you for all of these years and you can count that my personal drive to "get it right" will not be diminished by those that think good is "good enough." Having dealt with years of people that preached excellence and lived mediocrity, it is refreshing to have watched you continue to push yourself WAY out of your comfort zone. I admire and applaud your achievements.
Those that did take the high road and sell value (which is completely different from selling only expensive pools) have been able to weather the economic storm. Many others were simply washed away by the tides.
The question for many is do they see what this next opportunity on internet really means for their business? Pool Genius Network and builders dedicated to continued education and daily interaction and improvement will be the future of our industry. It is all about learning and instituting fundamental behavioral changes that propel companies, like yours, with change and success.
Mark, continue on this path and you WILL continue succeed. Let those that chose mediocrity, simplicity, and complacency. The "we're good guys, come buy our pool" message is dead. Tell your customer why YOU are the right company for them. Sell you and your company first.
Now everyone is building high-end pools, where are we going next now that that market is saturated; I'm thinking car washes, still has something to do with hydraulics and you don't hear of kids drowning at the car wash. (Sorry, this is my first blog)
It is the story of success, and at it's core is your belief in yourself. You believed enough to know and embrace that you did not have all the answers, but the answers were there. You invested the time and money to learn and sharpen your skills. You energized your actions to make the changes you saw now as possibilities. I hope others reading your story will see the power within themselves, take courage, then take action.
Comments
Those that did take the high road and sell value (which is completely different from selling only expensive pools) have been able to weather the economic storm. Many others were simply washed away by the tides.
The question for many is do they see what this next opportunity on internet really means for their business? Pool Genius Network and builders dedicated to continued education and daily interaction and improvement will be the future of our industry. It is all about learning and instituting fundamental behavioral changes that propel companies, like yours, with change and success.
Mark, continue on this path and you WILL continue succeed. Let those that chose mediocrity, simplicity, and complacency. The "we're good guys, come buy our pool" message is dead. Tell your customer why YOU are the right company for them. Sell you and your company first.
Ray