Dollars and Sense: Increase Your Profits with Upgrades, Accessories (and Education)

As a contractor, if you want to be successful and the best you can possibly be, you have two responsibilities: to your customers and to yourself.

To your customers, you want to ensure that you are providing them with the very best product and the very best service. To yourself, you want to be certain that you can earn enough from your business to make a good living. After all, you didn't go into this line of work simply for the enjoyment of it - you went into it to make money.

How can you succeed at being true to both your customers and yourself? Well, a wide array of irrigation professionals across the country have found that simply offering the right Hunter products to their customers can help do the trick. It's all in how you do it.

Easy as 1-2-3

There are three simple topics to stress to your customers: 1) ease of installation, 2) upgrades and 3) add-ons.

Products such as I-20 Ultra rotors, SRR remote controls and adjustable arc nozzles for SRS or Pro-Spray sprinklers are time-saving, and thus money-saving, products; they are all simple to install and use (and in the case of the SRS or Pro-Spray nozzles, they also eliminate the need to stock so many different nozzles). Upgrades very often cost you, the contractor, just a little more, but can ultimately bring in considerably more revenue on each job. Add-ons of complimentary products and accessories are like icing on your invoice cake. Each topic, however, means the same results to you: increased profits!

When Everyone Zigs, It's Time to Zag

In a city familiar with running a profitable operation on turf - ever hear of something called Notre Dame football? - Dean Kutz of Midwest Irrigation in South Bend, Indiana has become rather profitable himself by upgrading his customers to I-20 Ultra rotors.

"Everyone here bids regular residential rotors," said Kutz. "We want to offer customers something different that will make our proposals even better. With I-20 Ultra, we tell them they can get a better head and a better value. It really helps place our business in another league."

Kutz noted his customers have been particularly impressed with the I-20's FloStop feature. Since the majority of the systems his firm installs tend to be owner-maintained, customers typically look for the most durable, dependable products their money can buy. However, they also insist these products be easy to understand, operate and adjust. "FloStop fits my clientele's needs perfectly," he said. "Offering I-20s makes it a slam dunk for us to get winning bids."

Chris Villeneuve of Nutrilawn in Ottawa, Canada, says he uses Hunter pre-fabricated SJ Swing Joints whenever he can instead of fixed risers. "Heads are less prone to breakage in the short term and easier to service over the long haul. Plus, the mark up over cost makes it quite profitable for us."

Paying More Can Cost You Less

"With Hunter products, plain and simple, you get a better quality solution," said Randy Farmer of The Greenhouse in Las Cruces, New Mexico. "There's virtually no maintenance required, so when we're finished installing the product, we're essentially finished servicing the product. It's durable, reliable and performs so well for them we never have to go back."

Farmer said he typically has to explain to customers how much more costly a system can actually be if they choose to put in less expensive, yet technically inferior products.

"With stainless steel I-20 Ultra, they get the best in its class," said Farmer. "It may cost more up front, but their system will need virtually no repairs and little, if any, servicing. They just have to be educated that, if they do it right the first time, they won't be paying for all the 'next times'...what really makes a cheaper system cost more in the long run."

Sell 'em a Tie to Go With Their New Suit.

A good salesperson will do it all the time. How about some headphones to go with that new stereo? Some pie a la mode to cap off dinner? Do the same thing. Don't pass up the opportunity to market appropriate accessories to go with your customer's main order.

"The SRC is the most friendly clock on the market," said Midwest Irrigation's Kutz. "Thus, it's an easy sell. And, since I don't have to spend time selling the virtues of the product, I can concentrate on selling such 'add-ons' as the SRR (remote control) and Mini-Clik® (rain sensor)."

The SRR makes nozzling, periodic system checks and other routine functions quicker to perform, since trips back and forth to the controller become unnecessary. Homeowners can easily start a zone or run an entire program manually without needing to access the controller. Contractors can complete services such as winterization without having to enter the home or garage while the homeowner is away. Plus, since work can now be performed by a single person, it will also be done more efficiently. Mini-Clik provides the simplest, most effective way to prevent sprinklers from coming on during or after precipitation. It easily installs on any automatic irrigation system, then shuts sprinklers off in a storm and keeps them off, automatically compensating for the amount of rainfall that occurred.

"These accessories help make it easier for the homeowner to operate their system - that's the benefit for them," said Nutrilawn's Villeneuve. "And they will be highly profitable for my business each time I sell one - that's the benefit for me."

Show Them the Difference.

Some contractors present two different bids to customers. One is a "standard" system with PGP rotors and an SRC controller. The other, a "premium" system with upgrades like I-20 rotors and the new industrial-grade ICC controller. Homeowners can then weigh the additional costs and decide if they want to take the step up from "better" to "best". Of course, some contractors have taken it even a step further.

"We've gone to selling I-20 exclusively," said Chris Reitzel of Reitzel Brothers in Charlotte, North Carolina. "We don't even sell PGP anymore. It only costs us about 50 cents more per unit to stock an I-20 instead of a PGP and our net return in profit brings in much more than that. On personal economics alone, selling I-20 Ultra makes a lot of sense."

But, Reitzel pointed out that selling I-20 also makes lots of sense for his customers as well. Especially where the warranty - a prime consideration - is concerned.

"Most contractors here install products that offer only a one-year warranty," he said. "The I-20 gives a full five years. When folks hear that, they figure if a company stands behind their product that much more than the competition, it's got to be pretty good."

Hunter encourages you to use these postcards to improve your service business and build relationships with your valuable customer base. Each card includes an area where you can affix your company information on a label or with a rubber stamp. Order yours today by visiting our On-line Store or by calling Customer Service at 760-744-5240.