Hot tub industry - careers

[D.P. Roberts]

After spending the last 8 years or so involved in retail management, I'm looking to make a change. I've gone as far as I care to go in my current company (any advancement from here would mean relocation to NY, which I'm not interested in). I like the idea of sales and customer service, and my several years-long interest in hot tubs has me wondering about starting a career in the hot tub industry. From what I've read here, it sounds like most dealers aren't doing very well. Is this a bad time to enter the business? Is it better or worse in certain areas (I'm in central Ohio)? Can spa salespeople earn a decent living? What are the significant hurdles to becoming a dealer? Any advice - either here or via PM - would be greatly appreciated.

[wmccall]

I wonder if MJB sitll checks in here occasionally. He worked at All Seasons Spas for a few years, before moving to Arizona.   I'm sure he could give you some insight.

[drewstar]

HymBaw could also give you some interesting personal insights into what it takes to be successful in the hot tub industry.    I haven't seen him around here lately though....

[Spatech_tuo]

Do you mind working weekends?

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 Being a spa salesman I can tell you I do pretty good, not rich by any means, but we live very comfortable.  The wife owns her own childcare and that helps of course.

 As for opening a business in the spa world I would say you can do anything you put your mind to the key would be location.location,location.   And a good product.
 The spa industry is down from what I heard about 20 to 30% least up in this area it is.  I have been selling spas but not as many as I would like.  

 Others I hope will chime in as to how there sales are doing, and from what I understand only having sold spas for only 4 years now,the spa industry goes like a roller coaster up for 4 to 5 years then a down trend and back up agian??

Any truth to this??   Dan,Term??

[Brewman]

HymBaw could also give you some interesting personal insights into what it takes to be successful in the hot tub industry.    I haven't seen him around here lately though....

 

(snicker)
I KNEW you were going to say something about that!

I'd have been dissapointed if you hadn't, forcing me to.

[LtDan]

HymBaw could also give you some interesting personal insights into what it takes to be successful in the hot tub industry.    I haven't seen him around here lately though....

 

Ouch! Wheres the love?  

[MostlyLurkingGal]

LtDan....thank you for changing your avitar.....that last one kinda grossed me out

[D.P. Roberts]

Do you mind working weekends?

I work evenings and weekends all the time anyway. I don't mind the job, I just have no chance of ever earning a decent income, or any opportunities for advancement, or any possibility of ever being my own boss. I seem to spend most of my free time on hot tub forums anyway, so it seems like something to look into.


It just seems like there are a lot of salespeople and dealers here. For those of you in the business- do you think that most salespeople are planning on making careers (such as becoming dealers) out of what they're doing, or are they basically just happy doing what they're doing, & they move on to something else?

Or, to look at it the other way, are most dealers people who rise up from the ranks of sales or service people & eventually start their own business? Or, are they people from other areas (i.e. "small business" people) who decide to start a hot tub dealership?

For example, for most franchises (like fast food) your experience with that particular business is almost irrelevant- if you have the business skills, the willingness to sign the loan papers, and a good location, they will teach you how to run the business. You can make subs for years and years, but you'll never own a Subway until you can help get the cash.

Alternately, there are some companies where a proprietorship/dealership is more of a promotion. You work your way through the ranks, and eventually earn your own dealership- working your way through the ranks and knowing all the ins and outs of the business are more important than your financial status or outside experience.

Those are oversimplifications, but I'm just wondering how this business works - there aren't any books on it, and I can't find anything on the internet either. Any help or advice of any nature would be greatly appreciated.

[ndabunka]

As I understand it, there is a SIGNIFICANT difference between "being a spa salesman" and OWNING your own Hot Tub business.  It seems that like any other retail, you MUST generate volume in order to be successful.  Selling only 3 or 4 tubs a month would not support your own storefront (not even a cheap one) but a single salesman selling 3-4 tubs could likely make enough to keep at it ($3 to $5K/month depending on the split with the owner of the business).  If you want to run your own storefront for a reasonable company, it will take about $80K to get started and then require anywhere from 6 to 10 tubs (minimium) to stay afloat.  Location is also VERY important as you need visability to the public for a successful shop (IMHO) and therefore, rent will also be more than a warehouse somewhere in an industrial complex.  Reading other posters it appears that the sucessfull guys do sell between 10 and 20 tubs a month on average and they therefore probably do bring in a healthy income (even without owning the company) but they do have a number of factors in their favor (time in business, size of business, support staff for not just sales but repairs as well) and often even have off-season (is there such a thing) things in their shops like fireplaces, patio furniture, etc

By the way - I do not sell tubs nor do I own a dealership.  I "had" investigated it pretty deeply a couple of years back.  I have managed (and even owned) my own retail storefronts in the past (Computers) so much of the details were VERY similar for the two industries.  Both use floorplanning, both have local competition, both "could" be considered simple "commodities" and therefore price competition could be a factor in your area.  #1 thing you MUST do BEFORE entering into the business it to first understand your own local market, local competitors, etc to determine if there is any opening for the product you want to rep for.  If are the "major" retailers already have sufficent representation, you may not have any "good" options.  Nobody wants to have to sell a Phoenix or SunBelt Spa as their PRIMARY spa (for a number of reasons).

[D.P. Roberts]

As I understand it, there is a SIGNIFICANT difference between "being a spa salesman" and OWNING your own Hot Tub business.  It seems that like any other retail, you MUST generate volume in order to be successful.  Selling only 3 or 4 tubs a month would not support your own storefront (not even a cheap one) but a single salesman selling 3-4 tubs could likely make enough to keep at it ($3 to $5K/month depending on the split with the owner of the business).  If you want to run your own storefront for a reasonable company, it will take about $80K to get started and then require anywhere from 6 to 10 tubs (minimium) to stay afloat.  Location is also VERY important as you need visability to the public for a successful shop (IMHO) and therefore, rent will also be more than a warehouse somewhere in an industrial complex.  Reading other posters it appears that the sucessfull guys do sell between 10 and 20 tubs a month on average and they therefore probably do bring in a healthy income (even without owning the company) but they do have a number of factors in their favor (time in business, size of business, support staff for not just sales but repairs as well) and often even have off-season (is there such a thing) things in their shops like fireplaces, patio furniture, etc

That's basically what I thought. In other words, becoming a salesperson would provide me with useful experience and insight into the industry, and plenty of cash to save up [compared to my current salary] towards opening my own business. The only issues are whether I can find a job with a local spa dealer, and whether I could be a successful salesperson.

By the way - I do not sell tubs nor do I own a dealership.  I "had" investigated it pretty deeply a couple of years back.  I have managed (and even owned) my own retail storefronts in the past (Computers) so much of the details were VERY similar for the two industries.  Both use floorplanning, both have local competition, both "could" be considered simple "commodities" and therefore price competition could be a factor in your area.  #1 thing you MUST do BEFORE entering into the business it to first understand your own local market, local competitors, etc to determine if there is any opening for the product you want to rep for.  If are the "major" retailers already have sufficent representation, you may not have any "good" options.  Nobody wants to have to sell a Phoenix or SunBelt Spa as their PRIMARY spa (for a number of reasons).

That's what got me thinking. As I've been shopping for a tub I've discovered that several of the better-known brands - Marquis, D1, and Arctic among them- don't have local dealers. I'm in a small town (outside of Columbus, Ohio) that's growing rapidly and doesn't have any dealers at all yet. I'm not sure if the town (and surrounding population) is still too small to support a hot tub dealer.

I've done a lot of market research for other businesses I've investigated- a bookstore (a very bad idea) and a paintball field (a very good idea, but has several startup difficulties I can't overcome at this point). However, market factors are entirely different from one business to the next, so I'm starting over at square one with hot tubs.

[hotubinn]

 Selling only 3 or 4 tubs a month would not support your own storefront (not even a cheap one) but a single salesman selling 3-4 tubs could likely make enough to keep at it ($3 to $5K/month depending on the split with the owner.

Holy smokes, first I read a techs pay is around $70k, NOW you can sell 3-4 tubs and make $3-$5k a month.....Man am I in the wrong area of the world!!!

[D.P. Roberts]

Holy smokes, first I read a techs pay is around $70k, NOW you can sell 3-4 tubs and make $3-$5k a month.....Man am I in the wrong area of the world!!!

Is that not accurate? Most of the posts I've read seem to indicate that salespeople earn a commission of about $1000 per tub for the higher-end tubs (I assume $10,000 or so). Is that not correct?

[ndabunka]

Not certain of the "current" profit but when I was investigating the actual GROSS profit (before ALL expenses) of a $8-$9K tub, it was anywhere from $2,500 to $3,000.  In most retail businesses, the sales reps make anywhere from 25%(1st year rep) to 50% (sales Manager) of the sale in commissions and NO base pay at all.   Figured I needed 10 tubs a month to bring in the minimum $15K to $20K in gross revenue to keep the doors open.  Since I don't actually run a shop, some of the other guys on here might be give better estimates.  I've also heard that some dealers simply give their sales people a flat $500/tub (no matter the size) in an effort to keep them form trying to up sell (when the client doesn't need or want to be up-sold).  So, I'd say the bottom revenue to the salesperson "could" be as low as $500/tub and therefore 4 tubs/month would only yield around $2K before taxes and I don't think that $24K a year is much above poverty levels so I don't think you'd get "quality" reps at those levels (at least not around here).  I expect that most Spa reps make anywhere from $40K to $80K/year.  Owners sellign 200 tubs a year bring in around $150K AFTER all expenses.  IMHO, i'd rather make a buck fifty working for myself than these corporations.

[Micah]

Holy smokes, first I read a techs pay is around $70k, NOW you can sell 3-4 tubs and make $3-$5k a month.....Man am I in the wrong area of the world!!!

I have been in this industry over 20 years.  I have many salespeople that work for me.  As far as I know, no salesman in the spa industry makes 3-5k for selling 3-4 tubs. Thats about double of what the good ones make