They Ask, You Answer, 2nd Edition

67 A Revolutionary Marketing Strategy

As I look back on the past decade, it almost seems like a dream. One day, I’m a pool guy on the brink of losing my business. The bank is calling. My credit cards are maxed out. My employees are sitting home. As a father and husband, I’m failing.

And then, what seems like the next day I’m traveling the world and helping businesses become their best selves while speaking to audiences of hundreds or thousands of people. It’s amazing. Really amazing. More important, as a father and husband, I’m present. Believe it or not, I’m home way more now than I ever was as a struggling pool guy.

Simply put, we are happy. We are blessed.

The River Pools and Spas story became very well known in the digital space when I experienced a very fortunate event in 2013. That year, I was speaking at a conference in Dallas, Texas. After my talk, a reporter came up to me and said he would like to do a story on how we were able to save River Pools through such a simple strategy as listening, teaching, and transparency.

Frankly, I didn’t think much of this reporter’s request until we spoke on the phone for 90 minutes a few days later. A few days after that, he sent a photographer to my swimming pool company.

What happened next is when my life changed very much.

Four days after the photographer showed up at River Pools and Spas, the following article (see Figure 67 .1) appeared on the cover of the small business section of the New York Times:

Figure 67.1 River Pool ...