ou can’t put a price on safety, but you wouldn’t guess it by the way most builders sell pools. Typically, when it comes to safety, builders either try to sweep the issue under the carpet, or they don’t have good information for their clients.
But I think those builders are only hurting themselves, and their bottom lines.
The truth is, with the right information, safety equipment is an easy sale. Regardless of how much of a budget there is for plaster, tiling or new filtration systems, those things can get put off. When parents have small children, safety issues don’t get put off because they recognize the importance of securing the backyard.
I don’t think any project illustrates this more than the Williams project, which recently won a gold award for safety from the Western Pool & Spa Show in Long Beach, Calif.
When I met with the Williams family, we had a plan: a beautiful, basic rectangle with large pots and a lot of travertine marble. It had an Italian flair to it. I knew going in that we had a budget. Time and time again when we dealt with the value engineering and other matters, we were reminded of the budget, which was about $120,000.
At the time, Mrs. Williams was pregnant with their second child, and they had a 2-year old. As we progressed into the sale, I asked if they were concerned about child safety. They said they were very concerned. As we ran through the options, they elected to pick three full layers: door alarms; a $14,000 motorized cover with a walk-on lid tray built into the pool; and a sonar system. When it came to the safety items, the money seemed to come out from under the mattress — we added more than $20,000 just in safety devices. Mrs. Williams had her baby just two days after we completed the project, and we were able to greet the newborn with a completely safe pool.
The interesting aspect of this project is that to this day, the Williams’ do not count any of the child-safety items as part of the budget. In fact, if you ask them how much they spent, they’ll still say $120,000 when, in reality, the safety equipment bumped the cost to about $142,000.
For them, child safety was not considered part of the budget. It was just a given.
Securing the dream
I find that the question of safety is always in the consumer’s mind, especially this time of year. That was the case even in my service tech days, when customers would always approach me, asking what they could do to make the backyard safer.
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| The owners of this award-winning pool placed no price on child safety. Thus, they chose an automatic cover among other safety options. |
But despite their fears, families still want to live the California dream, including the BMW and a swimming pool. So they fight themselves all the time and kind of sit on the fence about whether or not to build a pool. But if you address the issue and help them decide how to make the pool safer, you take some of that anxiety away — and gain new business.
Besides, I think selling safety is an obligation. In the pool industry, we have to recognize that while we build these fabulous, beautiful creations, they can also be dangerous. People can die in the product that I build, and I have to take some responsibility for that.
Plus, safety works as a sales tool, so it’s something we, as builders, should be using. We know consumers these days are extremely intelligent and they want to deal with someone who has the answers they’re looking for. Having information about child safety — and what kinds of options parents can choose from — is an aspect of the business that gives me an advantage at the close of the sale.
Unlike some, I don’t fear conversations about safety at all. In fact, whenever I’m in a sales meeting, I ask the client directly if they are concerned about safety. Most of the time they say, “Absolutely. We have children,” or “We have grandchildren.” They want to know their options.
We feature safety equipment in every presentation book, so we can go through those options. That way, when we start to head down a certain avenue, such as fencing, I can show how we applied that product to a past project and explain how we would apply it to their project.
Clients typically take one to four of the safety options, and we sell safety equipment on roughly 60 to 70 percent of the jobs that we roll on.
In the 15 years I’ve been building pools, I have never, ever seen a client become uncomfortable when discussing safety. I’ve never lost a sale from addressing safety issues. In fact, I think discussing safety has made some of my sales.
But pool and spa safety is still a sensitive subject, so you really need to know your product and be completely confident with the subject. Consumers who are concerned about safety want the answers and if you flinch when they ask you about it, or you don’t know, or you avert your eyes, it really scares them.
You need to have all the answers about safety and you need to be the one to bring it up. That way, you show the client you’re not afraid of safety, which makes them less afraid. It also allows you to have the conversation on your terms instead of theirs.
Laying out the options
When making our presentations, we briefly run through the different safety items available. Then they usually decide which avenue they want to pursue. Most of the time, our discussion doesn’t take a lot of time.
To help them understand their own responsibilities and the importance of the subject, I also stuff their pool owner packets with product literature and brochures about safety from the Red Cross, Children’s Hospital of Orange County and the National Spa & Pool Institute.
We always explain that nothing will take the place of parental supervision. Without parental supervision, all the equipment will fail. All we’re trying to do with safety equipment is buy a little bit of time in case parents lapse in their responsibility of watching the child.
I also explain that when it comes to safety, we want as many layers between the child and the pool as possible. I don’t think there’s any one item that fits every backyard, or that will completely safeguard the yard on its own. Usually, it takes a layering of devices to make a backyard safe.
As a custom builder, I approach safety the same way I do any other features in a pool. I recognize that every situation is different, try to get inside the customers’ heads and give advice when needed.
For instance, I was at a job where the pool had a motorized cover, but the spa was left open. The homeowners have this little sheltie and were worried that the dog would fall into the spa. They were thinking about putting netting over the spa. I knew that wouldn’t work because they wanted something that would keep their dog out of the water. I told them snap-down covers that meet ASTM standards and match the pool cover are available. They said, “That’s what we want!”
Rather than just saying, “Good idea,” and selling them the netting they wanted, it just makes more sense to step in, act like the experts that we are, and help figure out the best option.
