Mid-Atlantic Pools

Anyone who is in the swimming pool industry can probably remember the first time they had to determine how much it was going to cost them to build the project before they even thought of proposing a cost to the client. I do; it took me four days of combing through lists of materials and triple checking everything in fear of missing something big that would cost me a fortune and ultimately make my efforts worth near nothing. Once I had those costs it took me another three days to put something together that I thought was professional enough to present to the client. That was allot of effort to end up without the contract and I would go through at least twenty more similar rituals before finally landing my first piece of business.

It didn’t take me long to realize that calling distributors every time I needed a quote wasn’t going to work for me, it was a waste of their time as well as mine. I set out to create a list of commonly used materials that I could refer to every time I needed to bid on a project. It turns out there was about one hundred and eleven such common items and with that information I was on my way to ridding my dependency of distributors who make you wait for a return call with their quote just so I could prepare mine.

I sat down to read the latest edition of “Excel for Dummies” and began building my first spread sheet. I compared my list of materials to factory build sheets that included more than one hundred typical swimming pools built in kit form. It took me weeks to comb through each list of materials and when it was all done I had the strongest sales tool I could have ever imagined. The spread sheet not only allowed me to account for every nut and bolt needed to build a swimming pool but my labor costs as well as my overhead were also included. I had even taken the time to go through each of those one hundred plus pools and calculate the minimum amount of concrete needed to create a standard three foot concrete apron. Nothing was left unaccounted for.

There are many advantages of being able to bid proficiently; you can’t even begin to imagine the freedom such a tool can offer you. Any time the cost of a nut or bolt changes you can instantly go into a program and change the price of that one item when needed. Every pool programmed will raise or lower its total instantly and across the board. You could have the freedom of sitting down with a potential client and knowing to the penny whether or not you could build a swimming pool profitably without jeopardizing your profit margins. Better yet, it’s a tool that can allow you to gauge what your competition is doing. Learn over time if they are bidding like a healthy company or one that is desperate to stay in business.

Having those answers as a small company, any sized company for that matter is a critical competitive advantage. Learning what to do with that information takes experience, experience that Mid-Atlantic Pools has spent the last ten years developing to help you become a successful company within the swimming pool industry. This information is beyond Small Business 101 but under our program we will work with you until you fully understand everything that has made us what we are today; a series of small and profitable construction companies that are filled with happy families.

To learn more just click on our Franchising Link found above and apply today to become a member or the Mid-Atlantic Pools team!