Aqua Magazine Article

Guys check out my article in aqua magazine.  It is an industry specific trade magazine with a target audience of other designer/builder/retailers in the pool industry. I am also proud to announce that I have been informed that I should start thinking about topic ideas for my next article.   :o)
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Aqua Magazine Article- The Complete Backyard

5 tips for a great client consultation

I am venturing away from my normal audience (The Client) and posting up an article written for my peers (designer/builders) that has a possibility of being published by AQUA magazine (fingers crossed)..  feedback is appreciated..  Blogging has been a venture that unexpectedly turned into an adventure.. :o)

Five Tips for a Successful Client Consultation

The art of design is very much dependent on creativity. However, in most cases, there must be a clear understanding of the prospective client’s expectations in the design.  In order to establish this starting point in a project, you must intentionally listen to, and then communicate back an educated, firm guideline that you will follow. I cannot tell you how many times a client has told me I got the job simply because I listened to them at our initial consultation. While there are many aspects to making your initial consultation a success, these are the five most important strategies I employ in creating a great client relationship.

Get to know your client. For me, this is a constant battle.  After years of sales seminars and training that I have put myself through, I have been programmed to immediately tell the client about my product and why it is superior to the competition’s. While this is an important step, people become much more responsive once they feel like they know you on a personal level.  I have had to reprogram myself, and focus more on friendly conversation instead of going directly into my sales pitch.  I try to spend at least 15 to 20 minutes just getting to know my client.  Not only does this lighten the mood and allow the client to become comfortable with you, often times it provides you with clues about which direction to take their design.  Remember, when you walk through a clients door you are literally walking through a door into there world.  Take note and key in on particular interests your client may have.  For example, mention the flag they have flying outside from their alma matter.  Let that be a conversation starter and lead into wherever it may go … college football, where they grew up, sports their children play.  Ask about the wine collection that they have prominently displayed in there great room, or their hunting trophies hanging on the wall.  These types of conversations can lead to valuable details, puts your client in a place of comfort, and may make the difference in a great “custom” design vs. a great and personal “custom” design.  Nine times out of ten, the client has decided whether or not they will pursue a relationship with you before you walk out of the door at the first consultation.

Remember, you are the Pro. As a design/build firm, my company has chosen to emphasize the attributes of design over high pressure sales. Our target client is usually budget minded, but still willing to spend a little more to get what they want. They often come with big ideas. It is my responsibility to know how to bring their ideas to life through interpreting their thoughts and injecting some of my own. Using a balance of the two allows us to come up with what we all feel is a winning formula, and everyone is able to walk away happy.  Clients who have built a pool before expect to be guided through the process, and clients who are building their first pool need to be guided.  You are the professional, and keeping them informed is part of the service they are paying for. Do not be afraid to share your ideas with the client and give them feedback on their own.  I have learned some valuable design lessons from working with clients throughout my career, but have also had to tell clients when an idea of theirs is not a structurally sound one.  The client very often knows what they want, but not how to execute the idea.  One of the best things that I have done for myself and my clients is to stay educated on cutting edge products and materials. While many consumers are savvy researchers these days, always looking out for the best buy and great ratings, it is still your job, as the professional, to be educated so you can inform the consumer of their options.  I make a point to know what is going on in my industry in technological advances, pros and cons of the latest and greatest, and apply these cutting edge ideas with design.  I believe that it is a professional responsibility for designers and builders alike to attend trade shows and subscribe to trade magazines, such as Aqua Magazine, to get all the latest information on trends, technology and techniques. Your client will appreciate having a designer/builder who is knowledgeable and confident in their trade. Be the professional from the beginning.

Help your client set expectations. When I meet a client for the first time I always make a point to ask if they have ever built a pool before.  Many times they have not and have no idea what to expect.  As their designer/builder it is important to immediately help them develop a set of expectations.  I begin by explaining the process to them. They need to understand that there are many people, each with different responsibilities, but working as a team to complete the project. For instance, many companies have one team member who works on the design, another who schedules subcontractors, and yet another who oversees the project.  It is important to explain to the client the different roles that will be involved through the project, and who they should contact for specific questions. With the numerous stages of pool construction, it is virtually impossible to build a quality product in a timely manner with out a good team behind you, especially if you are working on more than one project at a time.  Clients should have the timeline of their project clearly explained at the initial consultation. In my local market we work on projects that keep us in backyards up to six months at a time.  Recently, I had a client who, in talks with other builders, was told to expect their project to take 40 days.  In most cases, this is more then enough time to finish a project.  However, after talking ideas and budget with that client, I realized that a forty day timeline was not reasonable.  I had to explain why I felt the standard amount of days was not enough, and give them a timeline I could live up to, and they would be happy with. When setting a client’s expectations, you are obligating yourself to those expectations.  If you tell a client their pool will be complete in 40 days, but it takes longer, do not expect a smooth end to the project. It is a good business practice, in fact to give yourself a reasonable amount of time, and then complete the project well before the deadline when possible. Your clients will feel you have gone above and beyond for them, and you will be on to another project.  Consider setting these expectations to be proactive measures, answering client questions and uncertainties in advance.

Help your client to establish a real world budget.  I recently had a conversations at the Sunday dinner table with my father-in-law about how much his pool cost to build back in the 80’s. Like most people who are just beginning to toy with the idea of having a swimming pool built, he is quite shocked at the cost of new construction.  (I, in turn, was shocked at what he paid in the 80’s.  My how things have changed).  A tactic that I always employ when meeting with a prospective client is addressing a realistic budget for them.  I often deal with customers who are paying cash for there pool and know exactly what they have to spend.  Other times, We have a more fluid budget to work with.  No matter which case it is important to establish these parameters up front.  I try to stay away from giving a client a “ball park” figure as this sets a subconscious price point expectation that may or may not be met.  They will often tell you that “I wont hold you to it”, and they may not intend to.  But ultimately, they will remember that number.  A better way I have found is to work off of a budget that they are comfortable with and ultimately, they may exceed there original figure to get what they want.  By using this strategy vs. giving them a shoot from the hip number pre-design you have kept them comfortable, not shocked them with any high figures up front or post design and showed them what is possible within there budgetary allowance.  Another technique that I commonly employ before a client consultation is pre qualifying the prospective client to insure a good match for our style of construction.  I often visit real estate websites such as zillow.com to get an idea of the house value, type of architecture, materials employed, etc.  This will help you establish a design theme and even a realistic budget for the pool based on an approximate home value price.  In most cases the consumer living in a $250,000 house is not going to spend $150,000 on a swimming pool.  I have found that a realistic expected budget for swimming pool construction usually falls between 25% to 35% of the home value.  When helping a client establish a budget, be open and honest, but more importantly be realistic.

Follow up. Your first impression opportunity does not end just because you walked out the front door. Within 24 hours of that first meeting, send your potential client a thank you for meeting with them. Not only does this put your name in front of them again, with a positive presupposition (“I look forward to the opportunity…”), it also says to them that you are willing to communicate with them, and opens the door for them to continue communicating with you. It can be as elaborate as a thank you gift package, or as simple as an email. The point is to get your name in front of them and leave them, yet again, with a warm confidence that you will be the one that takes care of them.

Employing these techniques in your initial client consultation will give you an upper hand with your competition every time.  Will you get every job?  No.  but with these techniques you will learn to key in on what a client expects from a design and leave them feeling confident and informed and that is never a bad thing.

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Coping is the key

         In part 2 of my blog about materials we are going to discuss Coping material.  Coping can be stone, brick or even decking that sits on top of the beam around the edge of the pool.  This is possibly the most noticeable part of a swimming pools construction.
        Through the years there have been many trends as far as coping goes, but 3 materials have remained steadfast as the leaders in popularity.  Pre-cast concrete coping, stone, and brick.  By far the most popular is stone.  There are many different option when it comes to stone ranging from affordable to extremely expensive.  Oklahoma flagstone is one of the more common stones used in southern regions and is quite versatile in application.  It is one of the denser flagstones and can be harvested in many different shades from light to very dark.  Because of the broad shades of natural (earth tones) colors you can get from one pallet of flagstone and its reasonable price tag it is a very common selection amongst people installing a new swimming pool.  There are numerous other shades of flagstone to choose from such as Tennessee (gray/slate color) Arizona buff (generally lighter tone than Oklahoma) Arizona pink (the name speaks for itself) and Granbury limestone (white/yellow tones).  Another popular but more expensive stone selection is travertine.  Travertine is a limestone generally put through a tumbled process and requires a coat of sealant as it is quite soft and takes stains quite easily.  That being said, travertine is easily my favorite.  It comes in numerous colors from ivory to chocolate and numerous textures from tumbled to honed.  Travertine coping can be cut to most any shape needed to cope a pool and is generally installed in a square cut pattern. Most of our high end projects use travertine as the pool coping and often time as a cap for walls and kitchen counters as well.  I have an ivory travertine coping on my own outdoor kitchen in my backyard  (left over from a job of course  :o)

          Precast concrete coping is exactly what it sounds like.  A mold poured piece of concrete often poured with a color infused die to give it different shades.  This is a fairly basic material (sometimes simple is good) and can be used in most any application from free form to geometric shaped pools.  They can be used in 6" up to 24" pieces and even larger can be custom ordered.  There are many shades available to make use of the color detail designed into the pool concept..  I have even seen people use multi color bricks in both regular and irregular sequence, though I caution using to many different shades to avoid making the pool look to busy..
          Brick coping is actually quite similar to the brick that you would use on the outdoor walls of your home.  It is essentially fired clay and is very cost effective.  Brick has its place in the market but I generally push my clients away from it as it does not age well and has very little visual interest in my opinion..
           Traditionally, people have used a gray mortar joint for there coping and vertical veneer in there swimming pool, but guess what.  You CAN add color.  One of my favorite looks is a dark mortar trim joint with a darker material such as the darker shades of Oklahoma.  Another popular option with the Oklahoma flagstone is a buff mortar joint (sand color) that really blends the mortar joint into the stone giving it a very natural look.  adding color to your mortar joints is not a very expensive option and can really add some flair to the pool coping and vertical veneer.
            Stay tuned for my next material blog.  We will be tackling a material that many people struggle to make a decision on.  Concrete decking.  There are many different styles, patterns, and colors to choose from.  Next time we will be breaking down some of the more common and in my opinion, best looking and most versatile.

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MATERIAL SELECTION PART 1

       When designing a swimming pool, there are more things to think about then you realize.  One of the most important factors visually is material selection.  Lets face it, We all want a pool as a place to cool off on those 105 degree days but we also want it to be as visually appealing as possible.  Many times, in an effort too cut cost, the material selection is the first item to be downplayed.  Often times, when trying to work within a budget this is unavoidable but as a designer I really push my clients to think about the aesthetics of the pool.  You want a pool that functions well and is as efficient as possible but you also want to make sure you are getting something that is also visually appealing.  Over the next few blog posts I am going to attempt to break down some key elements of swimming pool material selection.

       Today we talk tile.  Tile is probably the most under appreciated part of the swimming pool as far as trim go's.  Most people want to make the tile either match the interior finish or the coping selection on the swimming pool.  To me, I hear this as " I want the tile line to dissappear".  I believe this to be flawed logic.  There are so many different types of tiles to choose from these days and I believe that there is no reason to shy away from a bold tile.  One of my favorites is a glass tile preferrably in 1".  A popular selection amongst the glass tiles is a gloss black.  This tile lends a very clean look and is a very versatile tile.  It is often used not only as tile line tile but also as spa veneer, ledge veneer, negative edge weir walls as well as veneering entire pool bottoms ($$$$$$).  I have found a number of translusent glass tiles that really pop in the sunlight as well.  These tiles can not even be assigned a color because depending on where you are standing you will get a different color response.  One of my FAVORITE tiles that I have used to date however is a  horizontal bar travertine/glass mix.  This tile was picked up by the client on clearance at a builder surplus store in fort worth.  (learning point..  listen to your clients..  sometimes they can pull you into another realm of possibility that you may not have thought of.. lots of creative people out there and there's always more than one way to skin a cat)  upon first glance I thought that the tile would not look good with what she was trying to do.  Boy was I wrong.  Looked great!  Lesson learned.

There are lots of options when it comes to tile selections so dont let youself get pinched into a " ceramic tile" corner. Be bold, be creative, be original..  Tile can sometimes be the difference between your pool "standing out" or just "blending in"..

Part 2 coming soon.  In the next blog I will delve into some of the design options that are out there for swimming pool coping.. 

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                Obviously in today's market swimming pools are considered a luxury item. With the cost of material goods, gasoline and labor driving prices up it is getting harder and harder for the white picket fence American family to justify the cost of installing a pool. For this reason you should have a hands on designer/builder to help conceptualize and develop a plan for the project that will not only suit your families needs and desires as well as be aesthetically pleasing to look at. In most case you only get one chance to do it right. :o)
              While the physical correlations are not there, there are some philosophical similarities in purchasing a swimming pool and purchasing a car. Not all Cars are built the same, in turn not all builders are the same. Every builder has different specs. that they choose to build to. So when deciding on a builder for your project it is always important to look for the builders emphasis on quality standards in there projects. For example, many builders build every pool the same regardless of the conditions, while others look at the conditions of the soil and other factors to develop the steel matte and shell thickness. Obviously, the later is more concerned with long term structural integrity of the swimming pool. It can be very easy to be persuaded by the rock bottom cost associated with an under built pool, but very much in the construction industry the old saying rings true, "you get what you pay for". Always know what your looking at when you are comparing bids. A under built pool will always cost you more.. eventually.
               As a designer, aesthetics are very important to me. I feel that a prospective client deserves the time from me to nail down a preliminary plan with a budget. Upon confirmation of budget and the desire to move forward then we can sit down and delve in the minute design details such as material selection and colors.. Many companies like to come into a home, slap a stencil down and give you a prefigured cost.. There is a market niche out there for these builders as they generally have a very low price based on there building standards. I like the hands on approach to the design process though and feel that there are many aspects that should be addressed during this phase of the project. I often run across many different types of architectural elements when working around custom homes and not all houses are well suited for an altadina (kidney bean shaped) pool. In the last 10 years free form pools have been the norm but on almost all high end projects we end up with a very linear (geometric) shape to the pool. Geometric pools age very well and can be very complex or very simple but either way (with the right material selection, features, etc..) always scream "classy". On the flip side though, sometimes the clients personality may drive the direction that the design takes. I often find that clients with a more structured personality tend to like the geometric design while people with a more laid back personality tend to gravitate towards the flowing design of the free form design.
                In the end, a well designed swimming pool should not only be a place for friends and family to gather and have a good time but with a little thought and quality control can (and should) also be a work of art. Aquatic art.

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