This might be the most important piece of pool sales information you will ever receive.
If I were to ask you who your biggest competitor is, you might be inclined to give me the name of another local swimming pool company. I'm going to suggest that you might be wrong.
There is consistent market research data put together by well-known market research firm P.K. Data that has been substantiated by an APSP research study on the swimming pool industry.
According to surveys of prospective pool buyers (people actually in the market to buy a pool),
58% elected NOT to buy a pool at all because of perceived maintenance hassles!
To illuminate just how big of a concern that is, the next biggest concern was the short season, at only 9%.
Your biggest competitor is not the company down the road – your biggest competitor is the fact that people often choose not to buy a pool at all because of the perceived “work” of pool ownership. So you are probably asking (or you should be asking) yourself: What do I do about this?
What do you think these consumers are thinking about when they say “perceived maintenance hassles” stop them from buying? I feel very confident in saying this pertains to two major items:
Keeping the pool clean
We might not have the completely maintenance free pool yet, but we need to be able to show otherwise qualified pool buyers that pools are getting easier than ever to maintain. That means you, as the trusted advisor, must make a complete presentation that effectively addresses the ease of maintaining water chemistry, the ease of cleaning and the ease of enhancing water circulation to your prospects.
Advertise and offer "a pool that cleans itself" with a full in-floor cleaning and enhanced circulation system (see full disclosure below).
Discuss maintenance-friendly, swimmer-friendly and eco-friendly water purification options like Ozone and UV systems.
Offer, as many swimming pool companies do, 90 days, six months, or even a full year of free pool service, including cleaning and chemical service.
I won't tell you how to sell a swimming pool (there is already great inspiration in this blog), but I urge you to be proactive in addressing this major concern. The more proactive you are with advertising and social media, the more your prospect will appreciate your knowledge and be more likely to trust you as a result. And remember: shoppers don’t necessarily always tell you their concerns.
But the data is clear: more than half of pool shoppers aren’t buying at all due to maintenance concerns. Whether your prospect brings it up or not, you had better address it.
In fact, by addressing potential maintenance concerns you are also addressing the second most common concern, the short season. Doesn’t easy maintenance mean more time to enjoy the pool?
Just Sayin'!!
Good Luck and Good Selling this pool season.
Full disclosure: I could be said to be biased, as the director of sales at Paramount, which is, as many of you may know, the leader in in-floor cleaning and circulation systems. We stand by our solutions that, when presented properly, could help you overcome your buyers' pool maintenance concerns.