Swim University does not offer a four-year degree or doctorate; no sheepskin is earned and there are no football tryouts. Instead, Swim University offers a flood of knowledge from its founder and creator, Matt Giovanisci. If it has to do with the operation of your pool, Giovanisci’s media-rich and enlightening website, swimuniversity.com, probably has a…
How can a small insect wreak so much havoc on swimming pools? For two years, I have been explaining to customers why their pools are turning green and their patios are turning black: The whitefly infestation is taking Florida by storm. After about two months, I gave up and called around for help. I couldn’t…
What is your policy or how do you respond when a customer asks for part or model numbers when you’ve recommended they replace a piece of pool equipment? / What’s your policy on installing and/or servicing parts and products you did not sell? “Some people call to ask for a quote for hot tub covers,…
The landline is dying. Lack of mobility pushes many service industries, including pool professionals, to rely heavily on mobile devices to communicate with staff and customers. The downside? Everyone has your cell-phone number, and you can’t transfer or forward calls like your office setup. That’s where cloud-based phone services are coming into play, offering businesses…
Brett Lloyd Abbott, president of MYM Austin, Inc., a marketing firm geared toward pool builders, focuses exclusively on pools in order to garner better marketing results for his clients. “We’re selling a product that most people would deeply emotionally love to have,” he says. “You don’t have to do a whole lot more than show…
Ask a pool builder about the controllers they install on a build, and they’re usually committed to the models available from the pool companies they represent. Hayward Pool Products has erased these borders with the release of OmniLogic, its controller for pools and spas. You might be one of the hundreds who spent some up-close…
No. 1: The Pool-Buying Process Is Unique. Can you think of any other product or service that has all of these unique marketing challenges? • It’s a large purchase. This means it’s similar to just a handful of other high-dollar items, such as homes, automobiles, boats and recreational vehicles. • It’s a rare purchase. You…
Tom Cucinotta never could have envisioned the popularity that came with winning the 2012 Pleatco Perfect PoolGuy award. For the owner of Cucinotta Pool Service in Lake Worth, Fla., it’s been an influx of recognition both in face and name: magazine and radio interviews, and speaking engagements. It started 16 years ago when Cucinotta and…
Flashback: 2008. Recession hit, and the banks and market collapse under the weight. River Pools & Spas co-owner Marcus Sheridan says his business lost 80 percent of its market because “homeowners just couldn’t get loans. No one had equity due to the housing crash. In an industry where literally anyone could get a loan for…
Photography by Rodrigo mendez What is Mari Lange’s worst nightmare? Being strapped to a desk at a nine to five. “I’m just not one of those people who can sit and do nothing,” Lange, owner of Algae Eaters Pool Service, says. “I’m not a clock-watcher, I have to move all the time.” And she certainly…
When you live near the ocean, it’s always in the back of your mind that you could see “the big one,” or the storm to end all storms. But after a few false alarms and storms that seem bad at the time, you build up a resilience and resistance to news of something heading your…
Sometimes, life gets in the way. Things change and you have to adapt. Growth happens and you have to make room. • Sometimes, you need to sell some of your pool routes. • Whether motivated by retirement, a shift in your business focus or an unexpected illness, there may come a time when you’ll need…