Buenos dÍas See Spain images inside

www.1Paramount.com 1.800.621.5886

Mijas, Spain

neW

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introducing the

2 | Paramount's Gone Coconuts

3| Bill’s Sales Corner

4 | Pool of the Month Winners

5 | Passport To Paradise Spain Images

6 | Sales Award Recipients

7 | Creative Environments Building a Pool on a Hill

8 | Memorial To Shawn McCarty

9 | Builder Spotlight Premier Paradise

10 | Buzz Words

In ThisIssue

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FINANCE YOUR POOLYour Link to saLes

Use creative buttons on your webpage to get your customers attention and drive sales. Most popular buttons are:

Finance your backyard dreamNo Equity RequiredFinancing Available.

See More At:www.newpoolfinancing.com

FInAnCE TIP

Peak selling season is uPon us and I hope everyone is excited about the oppor-tunities that lie ahead. I just read an inter-esting article in which more than 1,000 de-cision makers were asked to describe what it means to be a great salesperson in one word or phrase. Here are the top 10 responses: 

Knowledgeable: Prospects gravitate to sales-people who are considered experts in the field, which is why ambitious salespeople look for opportunities to boost their credibility by speaking at conferences, joining industry or-ganizations, gaining professional certifications and contributing to industry publications.

Professional: Handle every account like you would want your account handled and keep prospects in the loop every step of the way. Make respect and integrity the cornerstones of your approach.

Thorough: Make sure you cover every detail with prospects and you follow up (and follow through) on every promise you make to them and their requests for more information. Of-fer solutions that speak directly to each pros-pect’s specific needs.

Results-oriented: Quantify the type of ROI a prospect can expect, and provide some refer-ence points so prospects can see how much money they stand to lose by not agreeing to do business with you.

Problem-solving: Don’t just offer a product or service; offer solutions that can help address your prospect’s needs and concerns.

Relationship-oriented: Plan for the long term. Build the type of relationship where loyal customers think of you as a trusted advisor in your area of expertise. They will be much more likely to send referrals your way as a result.

Customer-focused: Put the buyer’s needs be-fore your own, and always present value propositions in a way that explains how each feature and benefit works to the prospect’s ad-vantage. Work as an advocate who the buyer can trust to create a working relationship where everyone walks away a winner.

Responsive: Take personal accountability for handling customer requests, and follow up with each customer personally to ensure he/she is satisfied with the outcome.

Good communicators: Determine which mode of communication the prospect prefers (e.g., e-mail, cell phone, text, etc.) and use that as a way to stay in contact. In addition, keep prospects on top of any changes that may im-pact their project. The less buyers are taken by surprise, the better.

Reliable: Do what you say you’ll do, when you say you’ll do it and how you say you’ll do it. Let customers know they can count on you to get the job done — and better than anyone else.

None of this is really revolutionary. But I thought it would at least serve as a useful re-minder of the characteristics that can help you become a better salesperson as we head into spring and summer. Good Luck and Good Selling,

Director of Sales & Marketingbburt@1Paramount.com

salesperson

3 \\ BIll'S SAlES CoRnER

to be a great

Pool Environments Plano, TX | APR 2012

McGee Pools McKinney, TX | FEB 2012

Unique Custom Pools Mesa, AZ | MAR 2012

Premier Paradise Queen Creek, AZ | JAN 2012

MonTH WInnERS // 4Pool oF THE

Enter your latest creation in the Pool of the Month Contest and if chosen it could be showcased on our next Dealer Insider cover.

To enter, just e-mail your high resolu-tion pool photos to Molly Hammant at mhammant@1paramount.com.

Get Your pooL featured in a DEALER INSIDER

see LarGer pooL of the month imaGes at: www.facebook.com/1paramount

Besides being featured in the Dealer Insider, these winners also receive:

•100pointstowardthenextPass-porttoParadisetrip

• Winning pools are showcasedonourwebsiteandinour“PoolHallofFame”atourcorporateheadquarters

downriGhtGreat pooLsfRom ouR mAtES DowN uNDER

www.1Paramount.com 1.800.621.5886

SUMMER 2011 IntERnatIonal ISSUE

YoURPool IMaGE

HERE

LotS more PictureS onLine At www.1PArAmount.com/buiLderS/PASSPort/

We extend a grateful “Thank You” to all of our guests and Vendor Partners who

participated in our Passport to Paradise adventure to Spain. Over 300 people

arrived in Barcelona to enjoy the spectacular sights of this vibrant city.

The

Awards Banquet, held at the incredible Cava Codorniu, provided for a very

memorable evening highlighted by a live Skype video call with Buzz who was

unable to join us. Then it w

as off to Marbella via our private high speed train

approaching speeds of 195 mph! People relaxed along the Mediterranean

coastline or were busy on excursions to Gibraltar, Mijas, Tangiers, La Alhambra,

and other locations. We look forward to seeing you in Hawaii this coming

January or in Switzerland in 2014.

We're Back From Spain

JANUARY 2012 PASSPORT TO PARADISE

5 \\ PASSPoRT To PARAdISE- SPAIn PICTuRES

LotS more PictureS onLine At www.1PArAmount.com/buiLderS/PASSPort/

LotS more PictureS onLine At www.1PArAmount.com/buiLderS/PASSPort/

Thank you for all your Facebook Posts!

see more at:PassportToParadise2014.com

SAlES AWARd RECIPIEnTS // 6natIonal BUIldER of tHE YEaR: Hamlin Pools PV3 Premier Pools (Multi Location) PV3 natIonal SYStEM awaRdS:

The Poolman PCC2000 Cody Pools PV3 Aqua Pools Cyclean Seasonal World Vanquish Cherry Hill Pool & Spa Vantage

IntERnatIonal awaRdS of ExCEllEnCE: Compass Pools Pool Water Products

REGIonal awaRdS:

Northeast Maryland Pools PCC2000 Andrews Gunite Co. PV3 Colley’s Pools Vanquish

East Florida Pools By John Clarkson PCC2000 Holland Pools PV3

West Florida Tropical Pools And Pavers PCC2000 Tampa Bay Pools PV3

South Central Morehead Pools PCC2000 Platinum Pools PV3 Burton Pools & Spas Vanquish Robertson Pools Cyclean Southwest (AZ/NM) Paddock Pools & Spas PCC2000 Unique Custom Pools PV3 Southern California Avanti Pools PCC2000 Alderete Pools PV3

Midwest Barrington Pools PCC2000 Pools Of Fun Vanquish Northern California And Northwest Lifetime Pools PCC2000 B&B Pools Vanquish Southeast Region Year Round Pools PCC2000 Adcock Pool, Spa & Billiards Vanquish Kobs Pools PV3 Blue Haven Pineville Cyclean

Southwest (NV / UT) Sunset Pools & Landscaping PCC2000 Laguna Pool And Spa PV3 Blue Haven Pools Cyclean

7 \\ CREATIVE EnVIRonMEnTS

Day 1 we were trying to determine just how this swimming pool was going to fit in the space that was allocated for the building envelope. Thanks to my old pal and landscape architect, Terry Camp, we were able to get out the shoe horn and slide this baby in here. I've always said that where there was a willing client and a reasonable budget and a creative contractor, there will always be a swimming pool that can be built. Thanks also to my engineering buddy, Art Lobo for helping us anchor this structure to the hill side.

This was our access from the street, the front yard was actually manufactured with several layers of geo-grid to build up this slope. When we cut in the access road we had to make sure that we didn't disrupt the layered geo-grid embedded in the slope. Here is the access that we had to work with. Thanks to the landscape rebuilding of Jim Zygutis and Gary Cartwright's crew. As you can imagine shuttling the dirt out of here was difficult so we tried to stock pile dirt and were selective when we ran dirt out of the back yard. Thanks to my buddy, "Digger" Dan for all the great logistics and all his specialized equipment for getting in and out of this small back yard.

This pool was held in place with over 30 piers that were 20'+ deep throughout the bottom of the pool. In the old days we would stab 2-#4 bars down a hole when we were pouring the concrete, however today Art designs the piers to have 6-#6 bars with a 1/2" wrap holding these cages together.

The pool was tied in both 1/2" and 5/8" steel and although the forms look weak, they are designed to be taken away during the gunite process so we can finish the entire pool in one pour.... this is actually very uncommon in certain parts of the country. I actually have to thank my friends at Prestige Gunite for figuring this one out...

Whenever I do a Vanishing Edge pool, it becomes very important to not see a pool cleaner running around the pool doing its job. I always use the help from my friends at Paramount to help design a PCC2000 cleaner for most of my pools but always on a VE pool. You will never see the cleaner on this pool and  yet it is always spotless. We even figured out a way to install a separate cleaning system in the catch pool to always keep that area spotless as well. Thank Buzz and John for the help....

Here my good friend, Doug Cole and his crew helped in the installation of the stone and glass tile. As I noted earlier, you need a willing client to

pull off a job like this and we were blessed with a client that had the willingness and budget to add to the project as we were under way. Doug's crew manufactured the precast coping and created a color that our clients wanted so it would match the pool colors and the surrounding house and patio colors.

I loved the way that we cut in this tile to the rock work. I learned this technique from my good friend David Tisherman on one of his earlier projects using a round cobble stone.... early on most contractors would use a pebble finish on the back side because no one ever saw the back side and it was an inex-pensive way to cover the wall. Turns out that we can create a wonderful artistic water wall if we use just a little imagination in how we set the rock work. I can't emphasize enough all the time we spent water proofing this VE wall from both sides of the wall. 

When it came time to do the plaster finish, our client went back and forth on several colors and finishes.... in the old days it was too simple.... we offered any color you wanted as long as it was WHITE.... today with the advent of all the rich and wonderful pebble plaster finishes that are in our industry, any color you want is available..... In this case, my friends over at Burkett Plastering helped with a custom blend Primera Stone finish with abalone shell in the mix. When the job was plas-tered you couldn't see any of the stone embedded in the plaster and then the next day the crew came back and used special tools to hone the surface to a smooth finish and exposed all the stone. It's no wonder this is their most expensive finish.... there's a lot of work put into each pool that gets this fin-ish.... Thanks Shaun.

Here is the first day that the pool was fired up. I still have the hose in the pool from the filling. If a VE pool is designed and built correctly and if the knife edge is perfect then you can run just a few gallons of water over the edge to keep the pool looking like this. 25 years ago we used to design these pools with several 3 hp pumps to drive water over the edge.... today I install a 1/2 hp pump and it runs twice a day to keep the edge wet and send a trickle of water over the edge..... We designed this pool with a "Baja Shelf" (my good buddy Lew Akins showed me how to build these 25 years ago, when he called them "Shamu Shelves".... silly name). We also installed two umbrella holders in the shelf so our clients can enjoy sitting out in the shelf area with a nice canopy of umbrellas..... Not every project we build is this complex but it's nice to know that when you hire a swimming pool contractor to build for you that he has the talent and skill to build something this "Creative"..... 

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building a pool on a hill

 Chuck Baumann

South Central Morehead Pools PCC2000 Platinum Pools PV3 Burton Pools & Spas Vanquish Robertson Pools Cyclean Southwest (AZ/NM) Paddock Pools & Spas PCC2000 Unique Custom Pools PV3 Southern California Avanti Pools PCC2000 Alderete Pools PV3

Midwest Barrington Pools PCC2000 Pools Of Fun Vanquish Northern California And Northwest Lifetime Pools PCC2000 B&B Pools Vanquish Southeast Region Year Round Pools PCC2000 Adcock Pool, Spa & Billiards Vanquish Kobs Pools PV3 Blue Haven Pineville Cyclean

Southwest (NV / UT) Sunset Pools & Landscaping PCC2000 Laguna Pool And Spa PV3 Blue Haven Pools Cyclean

Owner & President - Creative Environments

In MEMoRIAM To SHAWn MCCARTy// 8

He will truly be missed. May he rest in peace.

Shawn McCarty - 53 - passed away unexpectedly on March 11, 2012. We were shocked when we learned of Shawn’s passing as many of us worked closely with him during his 15 years with Paddock Pools and Spas in Scottsdale, AZ. After leaving Paddock Shawn moved on to Premier Pools and Spas in Chandler, AZ. As an avid supporter of Para-mount Shawn often participated in our Passport to Paradise trip.

After graduating from Moon Valley High School in 1977, he played football at Phoenix College and Ft. Hays State University. Prior to his successful career in the pool industry Shawn began his career in the oil field industry working in Wyoming, New Mexico and Prudhoe Bay, Alaska for 10 years. Shawn spent a lifetime pursuing his love of sports which included cycling, swimming and weight-lifting. Shawn had a great love for animals, especially for greyhound dogs. Over his lifetime, Shawn had rescued over 6 greyhound dogs. Shawn's passion for life was only surpassed by his love for his wife Rita and his family. Shawn married the love of his life, Rita in Hawaii on Sep 10, 2006. Shawn is survived by his wife, Rita, his mother, RuthAnne, his siblings Pat, Suzy, Debbie, Laura & Butch, his nieces Katrin, Ashley and Christina. He is preceded in death by his father, Fred McCarty.

Premier Paradise, Inc. was created in 2007 with the idea of pro-viding every homeowner with the opportunity to own a “Cus-tom” pool. Every customer has different idea of what their “Para-dise” is,  it is our job to make sure we do everything we can to deliver. Owner Jeromey Naugle believes that by providing cus-tomers with only the best products as a standard option rather than an upgrade every customer will feel like a VIP. “Whether our customer's budget is $20k or $500k we want to show them things they have never seen.” Who wants the same pool their neighbor has? We build pools and paradises that your family will love and that your friends will talk about for a lifetime.

We don’t “sell” pools at Premier Paradise, we educate people first then let them make their own decisions. We find that when cus-tomers are properly educated they will always make the right decision and they do not need to be sold anything. Every pool we have built since day one has had a Paramount PV3 system! We are very proud and honored to work with a company that takes as much pride in what they do as we do. Our pools are always clean and our customers are always happy. Thank you Paramount for your continued support.

Building pools that incorporate ideas no else has seen or tried to do is what we are about. Innovation and communication is what this industry needs to survive and grow stronger than ever before!

9 \\ BuIldER SPoTlIGHT

nEW PARAMounT TEAM MEMBERS

Salvatore di amoreProduction Worker

nathan dunnFacility Maintenance Tech

Ron MangusoLab Tech

Nelsen Paradise

Ryan osmun, CAD Manager

John PeroPurchasing & Inventory Control Manager

Paramount Promotions

Ryan has recently been promoted to manage Paramount’s in-floor system CAD design service. He has been a part of the Para-mount team since November of 2005 starting in the warehouse shipping department, moving to CAD. He has training in several CAD programs and frequently helps with 3D design work for both R&D and Marketing.

Every customer has a different idea of what their “Paradise” is, it is our job to make sure we do everything we can to deliver.

In a challenging business climate, the best companies find a way to sustain a significant competitive advantage. Forced to do more with much less, the business owners that have managed to survive and even thrive during those tough times have recognized one important fact: You can’t always compete on price but you can compete on service and the best thing about great customer service is that providing it doesn’t cost you an extra penny.

While your competition may be scrounging for customers, you have to hold your customers and even your prospects close, and that begins and ends with great customer service.

Business owners must understand that cutting costs will not be the only thing that could help us survive or even thrive. We must remember customers are also concerned about their own financial security. When they call or walk into our busi-ness they need to feel cherished and special. They need to be “hugged” by great customer service. Not everyone is looking for the best price, but everyone expects to be treated with respect and made to feel special.

Great customer service doesn’t just happen. It starts with staff that has been trained in the science of service. I believe in a culture where the customers are “kings and queens” and employees/managers and leaders treat them like royalty. We should all have a laser sharp focus on great customer service doing everything we can to ensure our customers are made to feel special. Here are some customer service tips that I believe will help you beat the competitors to great customer service.

Provide special training for employees Employees who interact directly with customers are essential for our businesses. Their attitudes, communications skills and style of service are what customers are going to associate with your business. Make sure employees are trained to handle the potentially stressful task of working with customers.

Compensate for mistakes Never ever short change your customers. If a mistake was made, find a way to make it up to them.

Provide solutionsNever make your business problems or an employee problem your customer’s problem. Allow your employees to have the latitude to provide your customers with immediate solutions.

Happy employees = Happy CustomersEmployee satisfaction translates to great customer service. Creating a culture of happy employees will pay you back ex-ponentially.

always respond Quickly Always address the customer’s questions and issues as quick-ly as possible.

Make it easy to do business with youNever make a customer jump through hoops to do business with you.

Keep customers informed of what is happeningWhen customers know what is happening it reduces their anxiety and when they’re less anxious, they’ll enjoy doing business with you.

Use technology to provide quick, efficient Customer Service Service can be provided more quickly then ever before by efficient use of email, social media, message boards, on-line FAQ’s, and even on-line stores.

Make your customer feel valuedUnderstand that each and every one of your customers is spe-cial. As the late business guru Peter Druker said, “The sole purpose of business is to serve customers”. Make sure your employees understand this and that above all else they must focus on making your customers feel valued and appreciated.

In today’s “New Economy”, you have to do everything you can to hang on to your customers and to encourage them to keep coming back to your business. There is no better way to do that then through consistently providing great customer service.

I do not believe you have to slash your prices lower than those of your competitors so long as you create added value. And one way to create value is to make the experience of do-ing business with you superior to all others. Never be afraid to take your customer service to new horizons.

Start “Hugging”

Buzz WoRdS // 10

“Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” | ralph Waldo emerson

President of Paramountbghiz@1Paramount.com

295 East Corporate PlaceChandler, AZ 85225

1.800.621.5886 www.1Paramount.com

PassportToParadise2013.com

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