Many regions have a need for installed water softeners, since mineral-laden tap water will affect many aspects of daily living. Hard water, for example, can clog drains and faucets. In addition, hard water can contribute to health issues such as gall stones and kidney stones. Make sure there is sufficient need for water softeners in a given area, and do all of the research needed to effectively begin a marketing campaign. Word of mouth will be the best advertising method, so sell water softeners that clients can enthusiastically recommend. Check out consumer reports to find out which models are best.

Things You Will Need

  • Consumer reports on water softeners

  • Business license

  • Office and retail space

  • Trucks

  • Brochures

  • Business cards

Review all brands and models of water-softening equipment. Attend home shows to inspect the equipment and talk with dealers. Study equipment in every price range to define what potential customers will likely find appealing. Talk with a business mentor about acceptable profit margin, considering overhead and startup costs will need to be subtracted from the total revenues.

Select the water-softening equipment to be sold or leased to customers. Obtain an agreement for a dealership or franchise in a given area before applying for a business license. Find office space and retail space for the business that will be centrally located to potential customers in the region.

Hire employees to begin training sessions. Lease or buy trucks for deliveries. Have professional brochures and business cards printed for the business. Start to solicit business via other professional contractors, such as plumbers or home-building contractors once employees are ready to begin work.

Register as a vendor at local home shows to demonstrate the equipment and products. Educate local citizens via interviews in the news media about the ill effects of hard water and the advantages of soft water. Advise potential clients to wash their hair, for example, in soft water provided to them. Show them how soft water leaves hair soft, rinses much cleaner and affects the look of styled hair.

Offer discounts to customers who enlist their friends and associates to buy or rent water-softening equipment. Strive to build the business by recruiting entire neighborhoods to install water softeners, if hard water is a problem there. Use before and after pictures of clothes washed in hard water vs.clothes washed in soft water, for example. Figure out ways to demonstrate how different fabric and detergents are affected by water softeners, so potential customers will understand the new impact of soft water on their clothing.

Tip

Potential customers with hard water problems are probably aware of the effects of these minerals in their water supply. Make the water softeners affordable to them, since convincing them that they need one is probably not necessary in many cases. Help them set up a rental plan or payment plan that works for both the company and the homeowner or business owner, so that it will be easy to get customers to comply with the program.