KNOWING SOME BASIC ERROR CODES CAN SAVE YOU LOTS OF TIME WHEN YOU’RE OUT SERVICING A SPA. BY ROBERT STUART IT’S SATURDAY AFTERNOON, you’ve just kicked back with a cold drink to watch a game and relax after a stressful week when your cell phone rings. It’s the salesman from the store saying that he has an upset customer from a new delivery with a weird message on the topside ...

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 ...

FOLLOW THESE STRATEGIES AND YOU’LL LEAVE A LASTING IMPRESSION ON THE DISCERNING CUSTOMER. BY KELLY REHAN WHEN A CUSTOMER utters the phrase, “I’ll be back,” it often translates into “Thanks, but no thanks,” to the ears of spa retailers. And while it can be disappointing not to make the immediate sale, there are things you can do to increase the chances of a customer ...

THE NEWLY DEVELOPED SPA LEVEL-R HELPS KEEP SPAS FROM CRACKING AND SAGGING. ALL IT TOOK to dream up the concept for the Spa Level-R platform was two men, two hot tubs and two sloping concrete patios. Michael Wegner and David Hess, neighbors for over 20 years, grew tired of the bases of their hot tubs becoming water logged and rotting due to their sloping concrete patios collecting water. So, the duo ...

THE GOVERNMENT PROGRAM HELPING YOU HIRE ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES. DUE TO NEW REQUIREMENTS for validating an employee’s citizenship status, it’s important to check if the person you are hiring is actually allowed to be a part of your work force. The E-Verify program – run by the Department of Homeland Security in partnership with the Social Security Administration – can help you take ...

Invent, Reinvent and Repeat UNAFRAID OF CHANGE, ALEX NEMET HAS SEEN HIS BUSINESS AND THE PRODUCTS HE CARRIES GROW. You often hear in the hot tub industry about how a retailer got started in their garage. Well, Alex Nemet proves that this industry isn’t alone in stories of humble beginnings. Nemet started selling furniture out of his roommates garage using a few thousand dollars he cashed ...

IT USED TO BE THAT GETTING A SALE WAS THE TOUGH PART, NOW RETAILERS ARE CRINGING WHEN IT COMES TIME TO FINANCE THEIR CUSTOMERS PURCHASE. INTERVIEWED BY CLAY DILLOW “Credit is still out there. Those with really excellent credit are getting financing, but it can’t just be a good [credit score]. It has to be a really excellent score. And people can still put it on their credit cards if they ...

CREATE A SHOWROOM THAT IS BOTH APPEALING AND ACCESSIBLE, COAXING CUSTOMERS IN AND GENERATING SALES. BY LINDA CAHAN A GOOD STORE LAYOUT encourages and allows customers to flow freely throughout your space. This is something that can be easy to succeed at, but it’s sometimes difficult to see where your store falls short. A major influence on a store’s layout is the placement of the front ...

WHEN OVERHEAD NEEDS TO BE CUT, RENT IS A GREAT PLACE TO START. WITH THE RIGHT APPROACH AND MAYBE EVEN SOME HELP FROM AN EXPERT, YOU CAN WORK WITH YOUR LANDLORD TO FIND A RATE THAT HELPS OUT BOTH OF YOU. BY ELLEN BOLAND THE SLOWDOWN IN RETAIL SPENDING has put ‘For Lease’ signs in many store windows. Is this good or bad for spa retailers? Both. No one wants to watch businesses suffer, but ...

MAKE YOUR ADVERTISEMENTS VIRAL BY CREATING AND SENDING OUT E-BLASTS TO PROSPECTIVE AND CURRENT CUSTOMERS. IN A MATTER OF MINUTES have your marketing messages and promotions sent to the in-boxes of hundreds of your potential and current customers through e-blast marketing. This modern day advertising campaign sends an e-mail message to a target audience and gives them an easy way to respond while ...

MAKE YOUR HOT TUB STORE’S WEBSITE INFORMATIVE AND INTERACTIVE BY ADDING AFFORDABLE VIDEO. WITH THE GROWTH of web-based technology, it seems as if text-based websites are becoming ancient history. Innovative applications to enhance web pages are starting to emerge and include video-based products. Incorporating video on your website could help your hot tub retail business grow. Opting to use ...

MITCH BROOKS, CEO OF VISIONEERING CONSULTANTS INC., EXPLAINS WHAT MOTIVATES HIM, WHAT HIS COMPANY DOES, AND HOW HE IS HELPING THE HOT TUB INDUSTRY. BY ALISON STANTON Up at 5 a.m. on most mornings, Mitch Brooks, 45, hits the pool at the local YMCA for an hour before heading to Visioneering Consultants Inc., in Port Charlotte, Fla., where he serves as chief executive officer. Once inside his VCI ...

Passion in all phases of business.NEW RETAILERS, VETERAN SALESMEN, SINGLE STORES, MULTIPLE STORES, STORES THAT FOCUS ON SERVICE OR OWNERS WHO OPERATE LIKE THE ENERGIZER BUNNY – WHAT DO THEY ALL HAVE IN COMMON? THIS GROUP OF RETAILERS HAVE AN INCREDIBLE FERVOR FOR WHAT THEY DO. TO THEM, SELLING HOT TUBS IS NOT A MEANS TO AN END, BUT A PUBLIC SERVICE. BY MEGAN KENDRICK MULTIPLE LOCATIONS FITNESS ...

MANAGE YOUR FINANCES WITHOUT THE HASSLE OF FREQUENT TRIPS TO THE BANK. SINCE THE OCTOBER 2004 INITIATION OF CHECK 21, a federal law that allows banks to electronically deposit checks, banks have opened the doors for businesses to make their deposits more efficiently and accurately through remote deposit banking. This type of banking allows business owners to add funds to their company accounts ...

A checklist of four recession survival strategies to increase your sales today. BY DAVID CARLETON Last week I was speaking to a dealer who is obviously struggling. Leads generated from his factory are off, response to his advertising is almost non-existent and store traffic is down 75 percent. “Joe” asked me to put together a proposal for turning his business around quickly. In a few ...