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Talking Pools Podcast | Myth-Busting Wednesday with Natalie Hood
If you lose $3 every time you service a pool, what happens when you add 50 more to the route? Dan Lenz has a few things to say about that.
This week, Natalie Hood calls in the pool industry’s Batman. Dan explains how a two-week summer job breaking concrete turned into nearly four decades in the pool business and how a Polaris Slingshot earned him the nickname. Then they get into the stuff that can cost a pool company real money: assuming an inspection tells the whole story, matching a competitor’s rates without knowing your own costs, and mistaking a packed schedule for a profitable one.
Dan shares how he stretched a short Chicago pool season, why a clear quote and a firm appointment can win a job, and what happens when a tech takes the time to tell a customer their heater is on its last legs before it quits. And yes, Batman gets his own song.
In this episode
- What a passing inspection tells you and where engineering, installation practices, and workmanship come into playHow to set service prices around your own costs and explain what customers get for the moneyHow to spread out seasonal bookings and use the slower months to train your crewWhy a clear price, a firm date, and a returned call can matter more to a customer than the lowest bidHow documenting what you see on a service call helps customers plan for future repairsHow to tell whether more pools, more equipment sales, or more hours are actually improving your bottom line
Chapters
- 00:00 — Natalie tees up the myths02:56 — How Dan Lenz became Batman04:40 — The two-week pool job that turned into a career08:38 — Does passing inspection mean the pool was built well?16:55 — The race to the bottom on pricing19:29 — Giving customers a reason to buy from you23:25 — Making the most of a short pool season28:41 — Off-season training and getting your crew to trade shows31:54 — What customers value when they call for service37:12 — Bat Dan gets a theme song39:19 — How communication keeps customers coming back42:45 — What a tech can spot beyond the original service call50:39 — More sales, more stops, more profit?55:31 — Dan’s advice for techs, builders, and business owners
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