Water, fire, lighting, and automation
Depending on the size of the project, some tend to be staged over two to three years to accommodate the homeowner’s budget and/or the project’s time constraints. With this in mind, it is savvy business thinking to prepare for future sales at the time of the initial pool construction or start of a renovation.
For example, Chase Mariano of Blue Diamond Pools & Landscaping, a pool design/build and landscaping company in Barrie, Ont., finds water and fire features, in addition to lighting and automation products, are now in high demand by clients who had their pool built five to eight years ago when these products were not readily available.
“Our company services all the pools we build and every summer our clients ask us to add coloured light emitting diode (LED) lighting and automation systems to their pools because the technology was not as common when they had their pool built,” says Mariano. “We can set-up an automation system in half a day. Our service technicians will also offer a chemical automation system while they are at it, which results in a job worth $5000 in profit and only requires one person on-site.”
These products not only return a profit, but they also help bolster the client’s enjoyment of, and satisfaction with, their pool without experiencing any downtime.
“We always try to include a waterline that is buried and capped at the time of the initial build,” says Mariano. “We mark it on the plans, even if the customer doesn’t initially want a slide or water feature on their pool when it’s being built.
“Many customers tend to call a year or two later inquiring about a water feature; therefore, by preparing in advance for the likelihood of this happening, it makes for a profitable opportunity in the near future. With the waterline already installed, the addition of a slide or water feature can be completed within three to five hours.
“Towards the end of the first phase of a pool project most customers feel over-budget so it’s important to help them plan for future options, which results in additional profits for our company.”
Kjelland agrees and says customers do not want to feel pushed into spending all of their money on the project upfront; therefore, providing the ability to add these products in the future, without any downtime, makes them feel even better about their initial investment. This is also true for fire and water features.
“Running a gas line or waterline for a future fire or water feature is not a hard sell,” he says. “In fact, running a gas line is much more inexpensive than adding propane-powered fire features later on—even if the client thinks there is a remote chance they will want a fire feature near the pool.”
With the huge trend in outdoor living spaces today, it is easy for consumers to see they will be spending more time enjoying and entertaining in their backyard and their pool will be the centre of it all.
