I read an article a few years back that was written by a man named Vance Gillette, (Surely you know who he is). Anyway, the article was titled "Pass The Passion". In the article Mr. Gillette made the point that the pool guy down the street is not necessarily the competition you should be concerned with. Instead you may want to take a look at the other industries that may be taking a bite of your bank account. Take for example the travel agent in your town that is sending your customers on that once in a lifetime (yea, right), trip to the Bahama's or Jamaica Maan. Those are your competitors that are really put'n the hurt on you. Sure it's a nice trip. The warm breeze, the soft sand, (in your shorts), the beautiful sunset, the Pina' Colada's brought to by Juan Jiminez while you sit on the beach.Sounds great right? The only problem is..............It's over in a week or less.I ask myself; "Self, What are you doing to get those potential customers to spend that money on their Backyard?". You know, the place that they can enjoy everyday of their life. The place that they can retire to every day and feel the warm breeze and hear the soothing sounds of water in motion (because you sold them that beautiful water feature).Getting the picture yet?The point is, there are so many of us that get caught up in trying to take the pool sale away from the next guy that we end up doing a dis-service to the consumer. In the long run that really doesn't benefit any of us. Push the envelope a little. Start talking about the things that can really create something the consumer can enjoy for years to come.Just as a side note; There are a lot of pool builders that are doing these things and much more. To those builders I say Thanks. You're making a positive difference for the rest of of us.I'll leave you with one final thought. Wayne Gretzky once said "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take". It worked for him. Think about it.Mike R.
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