Here's How You Grow Your Pool Business by 50% - Laci Davis

This Myth-busting episode reveals how pool pros can maximize their relationships with manufacturer reps to grow their business, increase margins, and avoid costly mistakes. Laci Davis (Grit Game) shares practical tips on finding, evaluating, and leveraging reps effectively.

Keywords

pool industry, manufacturer reps, business growth, sales strategies, industry relationships

Key Topics

• Types of industry reps and their roles
• How to identify a good manufacturer rep
• The importance of follow-up and relationship-building
• Strategies for leveraging reps to increase sales and margins
• Practical steps to find and connect with reputable reps

Sound Bites

• "Good reps have real industry experience"
• "Follow-up shows a rep's diligence"
• "Don't treat reps like transactions"

Chapters

00:00
Introduction to the Grit Game and Pool Pros

03:50
Understanding the Role of Reps in the Pool Industry

06:37
The Importance of Building Relationships with Reps

08:50
Identifying Quality Reps and Their Impact

11:32
Maximizing the Value of Reps for Business Growth

13:41
Finding and Connecting with Reps

15:07
Conclusion and Call to Action

The Grit Game
The Grit Game, is not just playing the game, we’re changing it. 500+ years industry experience,

Revdup Apparel
a custom apparel company built for the pool industry. Founded by pool professionals

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:53

Hey pool pros, you're used to hearing Miss Natalie Hood at the Grit Game on Wednesdays, but Miss Natalie is spending time with her beautiful family this week, including her awesome dad, who, if you've listened to a couple of Natalie's episodes, you know has had a big impact on her love for water and pools. We wish them the absolute best memory making this week. My name is Lacey Davis, and I am one of the founders of the Grit Game, and I am so excited to make Miss Natalie proud this week as we bust a new set of myths on the Talking Pools podcast. Sweek's a doozy. This is one of those topics that can make a big difference if you're open-minded and interested in making more money. Far too many pros don't know how to use their reps. And I mean that with all the respect in the world, but it's true. You've got access to people who can help you grow your business, and most of the time they're completely unutilized, or worse, ignored or treated like an annoyance. So let me break it down into types of reps that you most commonly deal with real quick. So we're all on the same page. You've got your distributor reps, these are like your BDRs working with the distribution center. You have your factory reps, which work with one manufacturer like your Hayward or your Pinter reps, and then you have what I do, which is your manufacturer reps. These are also called independent reps. So manufacturer reps are hired by multiple manufacturers at a time to help raise awareness, teach you how to use products, troubleshoot issues, help you buy smarter, and ultimately help your business grow. All of these different roles matter because all of them can truly help you. But today, we're going to talk about how to get the absolute most out of your independent manufacturer reps. And before you consider letting this episode slide by, I'll have you know that I wasn't always on this side of the game. Once upon a time, I was on the Pool Pro side, your side. And man, did my reps help me make a lot more money than I would have without using them? And now being on this side, I only wish that I had known how to use them even more.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

Who teach you when you didn't order it? Who showed you how to build what you got today? From the grind to the game, how the message spread. It's not just what you sell, it's the words you say. From the sunshine stay when the hard work broke, she flipped the whole script. Now the whole world knows. Now we teach, then we lead, then we plant that seed. From content to connection, now the vibe run deep. While the old school hustle still stuck in sleep. Building with a voice, let the truth come true. If they trust what you say, they gon' follow you. Used to be a rap with the catalog hand. Now we story education, make them understand. Not pushing product, now we solving pain. That's the shift right there. That's the grid game. From the field to the feed, let the knowledge flow. If you help them grow, they're gon' let you grow. And no one do with the boss.

SPEAKER_02 3:49

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SPEAKER_00 4:19

Once upon a time, I was on the pool pro side, your side. And man, did my revs help me make a lot more money than I would have without using them. And now being on this side, I only wish that I had known how to use them even more. So today I'm going to give you the shortcut, what I wish I knew then, as well as how to find them, how to know when you've got a good one, and how to actually use them to make more money. Here's the reality that most people don't say out loud. Most pool pros are leaving money on the table because they're not using their reps correctly. And here's the kicker: if you learn something and you don't apply it, you didn't really learn anything. You just passed time. So if you've ever had a rep come in, had a great visit, but nothing changed, that's what we're gonna talk about today. So myth number one, reps are just salespeople. This is a big one. It's honestly the elephant in the room. And honestly, it's gonna be the one that holds most pool pros back. Because, yes, there are reps out there who just act like salespeople. They drop brochures, they tell you to call distribution, and then they disappear for about a year. And those aren't the ones I'm gonna be talking about. We're talking about the good ones. They've been in the field, they've sold products, they've worked with builders, service pros, distributors. They've seen what works and sometimes more importantly, what doesn't. And just to make this a little more real for you, these aren't people who just woke up one day and decided to carry a line card, which is the piece of paper that lists everything they can help you with, right? These are people who have run businesses. They've managed teams, they've worked inside distribution, they've worked for manufacturers, they've worked retail counters, they've been out in the field solving real problems in the backyard first hand. They've sat at kitchen tables with homeowners and they've sat in the boardroom with executives. They understand multiple sides of this industry, and that's why they can be so damn good of a resource if you let them. The really good ones genuinely care about your business doing well because they know if you win, they win. So now, because every good story starts a certain kind of way, we're gonna start this next one this way. Once upon a time, long before the grit game, my husband Johnny and I worked for Pool Corp's third largest customer in the country at the time. And we knew how to use our reps. All of them. But I'm gonna tell you about one in particular that really stood out, and his name was Gary Thomas. For a long time, Gary worked at Cine Sales, a manufacturer rep firm based in the Southeast before he bought the firm and became the owner. And he was one of our most valuable reps. Gary never overwhelmed us with too many product options at once. He he was a really great listener. He paid attention to what we were already offering to our customers, and then he showed us easy add-ons to what we were already doing. Real, vetted products. And he didn't just show them to us, he taught us the benefits. He showed us and our team how to present them to our customers, how to position them so the customers could actually see the value. In essence, he taught us how to sell them and he also helped us buy better. Sometimes when we had the option to buy direct, because we were such a large customer, he helped us navigate that. And oftentimes helping us to see when it made more sense to still go through distribution because he knew those programs too, those programs they have on the back end. So he would help us negotiate different deals. Because he worked across multiple product lines, he understood a fuller picture. And he made such an impact on our business that when Johnny and I got married, which was during COVID. So for those of you reading between the lines, aka, that means we had a much smaller guest list than we wanted. Gary was there. And so was our DCA rep, Chet Williams. That's another independent manufacturer rep. So were our cover star reps, those are factory reps, our pool corp reps, so BDRs, general managers. And the point I'm trying to make is when we had to decide who'd made the cut for our wedding guest list between friends and family, these people, these reps had become that important in our lives. They weren't just reps anymore. They were partners, real partners in our success, and they were our friends. And Gary, hell, two years into the grit game, we had the honor of bringing Gary Thomas on as our VP of sales because we wanted our team to learn from someone who genuinely moved the needle for us as pool pros. And that's the difference. That's what a great rep looks like. And that's why this matters, because good ones aren't just simple salespeople. They can change your business and make the process enjoyable at the same time. Myth number two: all reps are the same. They're not, not even close. There are reps out there who will change your business, like Gary and Chet did for us. And there are reps who won't move the needle at all. And the truth is it takes a little bit of effort to figure out which is which. But that effort, it's so worth it because the right rep can help you make better product decisions, help you avoid costly mistakes, help you increase your margins, and help you stand out from your competitors. At the same company we were formerly at, we had recurring meetings with our best reps set up at least once a quarter, as well as meetups planned during all the trade shows we attended. But when we were getting to know a new rep or one that walked in off the street with no appointment because he was in the neighborhood, we always took the meeting. But my husband Johnny also had a pattern. So Johnny and I would talk about wanting to offer a new product to our customers. Let's use hot tubs, for example. Sometimes we already had the hot tub brand picked out that we were most interested in. But when that brand's rep came in, every time, without fail, Johnny would ask them something that required the rep to have to follow up. He would give them a task. And I remember watching this pattern for so long before finally asking him, what's the darn point of the follow-up? We already knew we wanted to offer that hot tub line, right? I didn't really see the point of not just getting the deal done. And Johnny's answer has just stuck with me over time. We wanted to make sure it was not only the right product, but it was through the right rep. And his thought process was if a rep wouldn't or was too busy to follow up with us when there was a sale on the table, they weren't gonna follow up when we needed something fixed or if we had a problem or we needed help finding a solution. And delays in those departments have real monetary consequences. So it wasn't about the product, it was about seeing the due diligence of the rep, the person who was gonna be the liaison between us and that brand. So the reps who followed up, they got the business. Every time, no questions asked. And the ones who didn't, they come in a year later trying to pick up where they left off just to get the same follow-up task again and usually miss the opportunity again. And we would find another similar product, also known as a competing line, and would set up an appointment with that rep instead. For example, to make this a little more real, if we wanted to start offering hot tubs to make our, you know, enhance our customers' backyard experience as well as provide us with another revenue path. But one brand's rep didn't follow up, but Sunbelt Hot Tubs rep. They got back to us. Well, we're stocking up on Sunbelt because we can count on the rep. Because at the end of the day, that rep is more important than the product. It's the rep you're betting on. They're gonna be the ones that's gonna help you move mountains and be there when you need it. Myth number three. I only need my reps when I need something. And this is where most people get it wrong. Most people working with reps get it wrong because the moment you need something, you're already behind. Since coming on this side of the game, I see more pros only initially reaching out when something goes wrong, when they need troubleshooting. But the real value of a rep happens long before that moment. It's when you're planning, when you're learning, when you're deciding what to offer. Because you are working with someone who has held multiple roles in this industry. They have been in countless backyards and sat at even more boardroom meetings. They have more insider knowledge on more products and companies than most people in the industry. And you want to just call them when your pool light was wired backwards? Well, you know, not you fine folks, but others out there not taking full advantage of the resource available to you. And, you know, did I mention that these reps, these resources, they're 100% free for you to use as a pool pro. And people are like, Lacey, how's that possible? How are they free? Everybody gets to get paid. You write. But the manufacturers that the reps present on, the reps are paid by those manufacturers to know their product, know how to service it, and know how to teach you how to sell it to your customers. So that means that you have these people at your beck and call for absolutely no cost to you, aside from the time you give them, which, as I've shared, can be well worth the investment if you do it right. So, how do you actually use a rep? How do you do it right? All right, let's make it practical. Here's the shift that will make the biggest impact for you and your bottom line. Don't treat your reps like transactions. Everybody in the history, well, reps are so transactional, they just want to sale. No, no. The assumption you're making is making it that way. Don't treat your reps like a transaction, treat them like a relationship, right? Like a real, honest, friendly relationship, because you can't have a good relationship of any kind without putting in quality time and actually letting the other person understand you. And when you do that, when there's real trust, you start having better conversations, the kind where you can ask, how do I make more money doing what I'm already doing? Right? Ask them that. How do I make more money doing what I'm already doing? You can tell them what your business looks like, what you install or offer to your customers already. What are your customers asking for? Where are you struggling? What problems do you regularly run into? Because if you're not asking these questions, you're not getting the full value of the relationship. But when you do ask these kind of questions, the conversation changes completely. Now your rep knows you mean business and now they can actually help you. So where do you find them? How do you get in contact with them? There's there are rep groups all over the country, and getting to know them means getting to know who is in your corner. We have a full directory at thegritgame.com that connects you to every known reputable group in the country. And because I love you all, I wanted to make life easier, they are all organized by region. So if you're in the Southeast, you can go and see all the rep groups in the Southeast. If you're on the West Coast, you can see that, et cetera. So head over to thegritgame.com, click on our resources tab, find our blog, it'll be there. But the point is, this is not just about the grit game. The wisest pros get to know the reps available to them. All of them, not just one, and not just when you need something. Build the relationships. They will change your life, they will change your business. And I'm gonna leave you with this. The most successful pros I know from my previous life in the pool industry to now, the most successful pool pros I know, they don't operate in isolation. They don't try to figure everything out on their own. They build relationships, they ask better questions, they lean on the people around them. There are people in this industry, reps included, who genuinely want to see you win. But you've got to meet them halfway. You've got to let them go. So reach out, ask better questions, build the relationships, and go make more money. My name is Lacey Davis. I wish you more success than you ever thought possible. And if I can ever be of service to you in your business, you know where to find me. Stay gritty.