Many pool owners would love to start using their pools earlier in the spring‘extend’ and extend their swimming season into the fall and by being able to open and close their pools easily when temperatures are mild. This is particular true in many parts of the country where pools are closed for as long or longer than the swimming season itself.  

Automatic pool covers lend themselves to extending the swimming season while also providing safety, beauty, cost savings and convenience to pool owners. Savvy pool professionals are promoting the season-extending benefits of automatic pool covers because keeping pools open longer provides additional opportunities to sell more products and more services to pool owners. Here are five other selling points to automatic pool covers. 

1. Keep the pool open longer. Today’s consumers are looking for maximum enjoyment from their swimming pool investment.  Maximizing their investment means spending as much time as possible in the pool swimming! Understanding this reality is why the demand for automatic pool covers is growing exponentially for the past few years.  The fact that the automatic pool cover can be opened and closed on warmer fall and spring days, means the pool owner is able to extend their swimming season, conveniently.  They no longer need to close their pool completely for the winter at the first signs of a snow flurry.  Pool professionals also find they are more likely to sell a pool heater so that the pool owners raise the water temperature in the fall and spring knowing they can contain the heat with an automatic pool cover.  Additionally, the automatic pool cover opens or closes in less than one minute, and does not require the consumer to store safety cover in their garage or pool house during the summer.  The auto cover makes it easy to extend the swimming and keep the pool open longer.  

Pool professionals regularly say that their customers really want to maximize their investment in their pool.  Not only want to extend their swimming season, they want to actually use their pool year round!  It all starts with what we call NPO syndrome—or New Pool Owner syndrome.  We build their pool and they tell me they want to warm the pool up to 90degrees and swim in New Years Eve.   If they truly want to do that, they are going to need an automatic pool cover.

Automatic pool covers (APCs) are the most convenient pool cover available.  This opening and closing convenience not only allows pool owners to use the pool more in the spring and fall, but it also helps maintain the pool clean and keeps the water chemistry balanced more easily. Savvy pool professionals selling automatic pool covers should take the time to explain that APCs help keep debris out of the pool water when the pool is not in use.  This is especially important in the fall months when trees are shedding their leaves. Pool service professionals love opening pools with an automatic pool cover in place—because they are so easy and fast to open.  Pools open faster and cleaner allowing pool owners to get into and start enjoying their pool sooner.  Once consumers realize they will be able to extend their swimming season and will spend less time keeping their pool clean, it becomes much easier to sell an automatic pool cover.  

2. Making pool safer

Automatic Pool Covers are also very much purchased for their safety benefits.  Pool owners need to recognize the safety benefit that comes with an automatic cover when closing their pool when it’s not in use.  It’s important to pool professionals to emphasize safety as much as convenience when selling automatic pool covers. The security of knowing the automatic pool cover cannot be re-opened without a code or a key gives pool owners peace of mind.  Selling this safety aspect to a potential customer is an essential part of closing the sale.

When asking pool owners why they want a pool cover, the main response is always safety.  When pool professionals take the time to explain an automatic cover is also a safety cover, pool owners overwhelmingly chose an automatic pool cover as they get the added convenience of not having to manually remove a mesh cover each time they want to use the pool.  While seasonal safety covers are a good option for 6 months out of the year, their non-use during summer months provide no safety.   However an automatic pool cover is a safety cover that also offers the versatility of a finger touch open and close year-round.   When potential pool owners hear that it only takes 45 seconds to open or close the cover—they are sold.

3. Reduce overall operation costs

The automatic pool cover may be unrivaled in the savings they provide to a pool owner. 

It is essential for pool professionals to remember to promote the many savings benefits of automatic pool covers. The added benefits of the cover actually reduce the overall costs of maintaining a pool.  Automatic pool covers help retain heat when the pool isn’t in use and keep chemicals and water from evaporating, which together contributes to a reduction in the operational cost of running the pool. 

Studies show that gas heated pools with automatic covers save approximately $2,000 in heating costs per year.  Studies also show that automatic covers save approximately 8,000 gallons of water evaporation throughout the year.  And best of all, the annual cost to operate an automatic cover?   It costs only about  $5/year to operate an automatic safety cover!  By being able to cover a pool with an automatic cover in 45 seconds, consumers save thousands of dollars on unnecessary pool utility bill.

4. Improve pool aesthetics

Though it is not necessarily among the top reasons a pool owner chooses an automatic pool cover, the product does have an added ‘aesthetic’ bonus that it can ‘disappear’ when the cover is open.  This aesthetic appeal often ‘seals the deal’ of an automatic pool cover on a new pool.

Pool professionals encourage customers that are trying to decide on whether or not to choose an automatic pool cover, to do so prior to the construction of the pool.  This allows the cover to be installed under the coping with hidden track.  If they wait to add the automatic cover later, they will need to contend with a track on their deck, which is not as appealing for those who are concerned with the aesthetics of their pool.  An automatic pool cover seals the pool safety and securely and also has a beautiful finished look that won’t be an eye-sore to look at in the winter months.

Finally, with so many color choices available today, cover colors complement the backyard design and complete the look of the entire pool area.  The color options for the cover are an added aesthetic benefit that pool owners can easily choose for the perfect design. 

5. Outsourcing Installation & Maintenance

Installing automatic pool covers does require a certain amount of skill and ability.  As with any installed product, the question that pool professionals need to determine is whether they want to sell, install and service the automatic cover - or simply sell the APC and outsource the installation and ongoing service.  Some pool professionals sell and install automatic pool covers while others decide to outsource both the installation and the maintenance of the APCs.  With tight labor markets, many pool professionals are now opting to outsource the installation and service of automatic pool covers so they can focus on their retail or building business.  Outsourcing allows pool professionals to concentrate on what they do best.  Even builders with service departments—those service departments can focus on their core competency and just outsource and profit from the work done by the cover company –which can be treated as a sub-contractor.

Like any installed product, service and maintenance are a part of any automatic pool cover.  Those companies that offer service might prefer to service the covers.  While others would prefer to just outsource the service.   For example, if your company doesn’t work on automatic pool covers daily or even weekly, a simple pin adjustment or replacement by a cover company that is just a 10-15 minute service call might take a regular service professional more than a hour—keeping them from a more profitable service call.  Again, it all comes down to looking at your business, your market and the profitability of taking on the installation and service of automatic pool covers. 

Fortunately, there are now many pool professionals throughout the US and Canada who now exclusively install and maintain automatic pool covers.  It’s now much easier for pool professionals to subcontract this portion of the job allowing them to offer automatic pool covers and profit from selling them, without having to train or have staff on hand to install and maintain these covers.

6. Convenience, safety & beauty

The market demand for automatic pool covers continues to grow rapidly, year over year Pool professionals have a tremendous profit potential by adding automatic pool covers to their offering to quickly increase profits this next season.  Look at the automatic pool cover as a way to increase customer satisfaction with their swimming pool investment.  Not only will they enjoy and extended swimming season, they will also enjoy the added convenience, safety, and beauty of their pool with an automatic pool cover. Pool professionals agree that the automatic pool cover is one of the main reasons customers are always super pleased with their overall swimming pool investment.  This season, offer automatic pool covers to your customers.  Whether you install them yourself or outsource the work to a cover installer, you will increase your profits and have a happier customer.