The Art of Asking for Money Practical collection tips that will get you paid without losing customers. by Cristina Rizen It’s unlikely that retailers will find themselves making collections calls on a hot tub purchase, but what happens when you stop getting paid for completed maintenance and service calls? Don’t panic. There are always options. Be prepared One ...

A Spectacular Service Department Give your service department a fresh start with these money-saving tips. Service is often described as a necessary evil and it’s certainly not as fun as selling a hot tub to an excited customer. The service department typically gets to see the Mr. Hyde of customers who are Dr. Jekyll during the sales process; besides having to deal with the disposition ...

WHILE EVERY STORE HAS DIFFERENT NEEDS AND CHALLENGES, THERE ARE SOME TRIED AND TRUE TASKS THAT A RETAILER SHOULD DO ON A DAILY BASIS. BY KIRSTEN KOROSEC DIVING INTO A NEW BUSINESS endeavor can be rough even in the best of economic times. These days it’s crucial for first-time hot tub retail owners to make the right decisions from location and displaying product to sales strategy and proper ...

Save the Sale Strategies to help you identify and overcome common objections. by Marco Longley As a sales professional, dealing with objections is a part of our business that will never go away. Overcoming objections is a necessary and valuable component of the sales process. You have two choices when it comes to addressing objections: either fully understand what they are, what they ...

The Steps of the Sale A tried and true method of getting customers to say yes. by Marco Longley The steps of the sale are the essential building blocks or sequence of events that will move your prospect towards making a buying decision. Understand the different steps of the sale and how to move or transition from one to the next. The steps of every successful sale should include: ...

Now What? Part II Part two of what you can do now to prepare for a great 2010. By Danielle Lavallee Wasson It is here. 2010 is now upon us and time is flying by quickly. Hopefully, you have already taken the time to analyze your business structure; you have defined the type of business you really want to be and reinforced this message to your entire staff. If you read Part I of ...

From Lifeguard to Guardian Jennifer Hatfield turned a passion for aquatics into a career looking out for the industry. If the name Jennifer Hatfield sounds familiar, it might be because it’s come up a lot among industry insiders recently. Hatfield got her start in the industry as a lifeguard in her teens, but her resume now includes a degree in government from the College of William & ...

Banking Buff Dan Ford, a community banker, answers some of the most frequently asked financial questions. By Megan Kendrick In the last few years, getting financing has been difficult in the hot tub industry. Some floor financing companies have pulled out, so where do you turn? Many have gone to their local bank only to find that their 30-plus-year relationship doesn’t carry the ...

Protecting the Hot Tub Industry The newly appointed industry watchdogs for the international hot tub association. By Alison Stanton For many companies, dealing with the day-to-day issues of running a business can be more than enough to contend with. Keeping tabs on any government legislation that might impact your company may seem daunting and overwhelming. This is where Connie ...

What should the government’s role be in small business? We had so many great responses to our survey that we couldn’t fit them all. So here are some of the leftovers that we thought you’d enjoy. Keep in mind, survey respondents were given the option to sign their name to their comments. “Provide consumers with the cash in pocket they need to make disposable purchases. ...

Promoting Employees From Within Five Common Faux Pas (Mistakes) By Shari Roth Promoting employees from within is an effective way you can maximize the use of the talent in your organization, create employee satisfaction, be recognized as an employer of choice and save money. In order to be effective in promoting from within, there are a few things that you want to keep in mind. First, ...

Join the Fight Small business owners tend to be independent do-it-yourselfers. You take care of your business, your employees and your family, which is a lot of responsibility so it might be hard for you to throw your hat into one more arena. However, supporting an industry association (any association) can save you time and headaches down the road. Association of Pool & Spa Professionals ...

The New Product Prowl Looking for a new product line to carry in your retail store? The IPSPE is the perfect place to investigate new companies and products. The international pool | spa | patio expo is a great place to find new product lines to carry in your retail store. Many hot tub retailers have turned to backyard and health products to help maintain revenue when spa sales are slow, ...

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year Ease holiday stress by finding Christmas decorations for your retail store now. With the Christmas season less than six months away, it is time to start preparing your retail store for all of the hoopla. Obviously, this doesn’t mean decorating now, but it does mean you should start the preparations. Setting up shop for the holiday season takes time ...

Online Resources for Events Scour the Internet no longer; a selection of resources for putting on your next event are outlined below. For your next home show or fair, look no further than the Internet to find products for displays, giveaways and attracting customers. Using web resources is a popular way to discover unique items that will help grab the passerby attention. Many of these ...

Keeping With the Times This established retail group uses changing technology and buying habits to their advantage. photography by ian crysler The Arctic Spas Oakville group is comprised of seven hot tub showrooms throughout the Greater Toronto Area. The newest of their stores is the 5,000 square foot location in Vaughan, which opened in 2008. Melanie Fogolin, sales manager at the Vaughan ...

Palatial Presence With 26 years in the business and six locations, Spa palace has positioned themselves to make an impact for years to come. photography by Tim Reese After having traveled on the road as a rep for a hot tub manufacturer, Michael Wiege, president and co-owner of Colorado-based Spa Palace, decided to settle down and start a his own retail store. “Being in retail ...

Multiple Solutions By having several locations and hot tub brands AquaQuip has been able to direct customer traffic, hire the best employees and stock the right products. Approximately 10 years ago, AquaQuip’s Brian Quint made thedecision to join forces with a competing retailer. He felt that Kathleen and Erik Carlson’s three locations combined with his five would make for a stronger ...

4 Ideas to Beat the Off-Season Revenue Slump When hot tub sales slow down are you ready? Whether your store has an off-season or not, these ideas can help you generate revenue. By Megan Kendrick A television never goes out of season. No matter what the weather does, people find a reason to sit and watch, wishing for a bigger screen, 3D capabilities or whatever the newest TV tech hype ...

Denver’s Hot Tub Retailers Sound Off on the Mile High Market For many industries and professions, New York City is the pinnacle, the “if you make it here, you can make it anywhere” place. But for the hot tub industry, that place may be Denver. The Mile High City is a market that many look at with envy and we explore why. By Sarah Protzman It’s no wonder that ...

Rotomold to the Rescue Over the past few years retailers have been trying to get their feet back on solid ground. Could rotomold hot tubs be the answer? By Rochelle Belsito The stormy economic climate has taken a toll on consumer markets, hot tubs included. During this time of economic downturn, consumers have tightened their budgets and reevaluated spending money on big-ticket items. ...

Savvy industry veterans offer priceless advice regarding what to do - and not do - to sell spas at a home show.

NORTHEAST FACTORY DIRECT Gulf Coast/Dimension One/Master Spas Cleveland, Ohio (216) 941-77277 Alex Nemet, owner of Northeast Factory Direct and an extreme desert marathon runner, would never have imagined that this year would be his most successful yet; his hot tub sales are up almost 60 percent. Nemet says the important thing is investing in your customers and not a fancy showroom. HOW IMPORTANT ...

In 2003, Mike and Britt Graham, owners of Graham Cracker Backyard & Patio in Springdale, Arkansas, were finishing up an exhibition at a county fair. After the show ended, they faced an all-too familiar spa retailer situation: they were exhausted, but still had to load up their eight display spas. "We spent the better part of the evening moving all those hot tubs," recalls Mike Graham. "We decided that wasn’t ...

On the eve of the hot tub industry’s historic marketing summit, SpaRetailer sat down with Bill Weber, President and CEO of APSP. Our exclusive interview touched on topics ranging from the current marketing initiative and state of the industry to past association mistakes and his vision to showcase hot tubs to the world. Sparetailer: Why do you think there is so much optimism surrounding the ...

To meet the specialized education needs of the hot tub technician, the APSP Service Council and the APSP Hot Tub Council joined forces to develop a comprehensive technical manual that offers a "one-stop-shopping" resource for information and guidance. Developed over a period of nearly three years, the Hot Tub Technician Manual is the result of their efforts. With special attention given to installation, ...

Showroom Derby Racing Who would’ve thought you’d need a “no roller skating in the store” sign when your ad rep comes for a visit. By Troy Derheim • Owner Tubs of Fun! • Fargo, ND We opened up a derby store inside of our pool and spa store; both myself and my girlfriend skate roller derby. So half of our store has concrete as the floor. I had my ...

The Great Balloon Heist Bullfrog Spas of Ogden/Layton took a bad situation and found a way to turn it into a marketing strategy. by Shawn Maynard Bullfrog spas of layton was just waking from it’s long winter hibernation, Wednesday, March 17, the snow had melted away and we had our first 50-degree day. Time for a spring parking lot event! The new store location has great visibility ...

A Cow of a Time Livestock in the basement? Only in the hot tub industry could you find a cow trapped in your latest delivery. By Doug Anderson We have a couple that bought a hot tub while they were building a home and they put the hot tub in the basement, sunk it in the floor. There were French style doors on the outside of the house that lead to the room with the hot tub. Unbeknownst ...