A Pool Salesperson Is Selling a Pool. Who Is Helping You Plan?

By Jeremy Ruben, Founder of LANDOVA Design & Planning · October 20, 2026

Before You Call a Pool Builder · Part 3 of 7

Jeremy brings firsthand experience as a high-performing pool salesperson and designer. During his time on a pool sales team, he closed deals at nearly three times the rate of the rest of the team.

A talented pool salesperson can make a project feel real very quickly. They listen, sketch, explain equipment and help you picture weekends beside the water. I know that work well. I did it successfully.

But a homeowner should ask one question before confusing a productive sales appointment with a complete planning process: what decision is this person being asked to help me make?

For the salesperson, the business objective is usually a construction sale. Your objective is a backyard that fits your life, property and investment. Those objectives can align. They are not automatically identical.

Understand the role before judging the advice

A salesperson may be knowledgeable, conscientious and a capable designer. Working on commission does not make someone dishonest. A builder can also provide excellent design services.

Still, every business has a scope. A company’s preferred construction methods, available products, subcontractors and sales process can influence the options it presents. If your yard needs a broader conversation, you need to know whether that conversation is included and who is responsible for it.

The useful distinction is not “salespeople bad, designers good.” It is whether the service you are receiving matches the decision you are trying to make.

Ask what happens if you are not ready to buy

Suppose you love the proposed pool but remain unsure about the surrounding space. You need to compare two layouts, decide whether a kitchen belongs in phase one and understand the total investment.

A planning process should give those questions a defined place. What revisions are included? What will you receive? When do you approve the layout? When do material selections become a pricing basis? What remains unresolved when bids are requested?

If the only clear next step is signing a construction agreement, ask for a clearer description of the design service before proceeding.

Five questions that reveal the difference

1. Are we designing the whole yard or only the work your company sells? Get a specific description of the deliverables.
2. What can I review before making a construction commitment? Ask about layout alternatives, visualizations, revisions and cost checkpoints.
3. Who can use the drawings? Clarify ownership, permitted use and whether other contractors can price the documents. Never assume that a drawing belongs to you because you saw it.
4. How do we handle an option your company does not provide? Understand whether it will be coordinated, separately priced or omitted.
5. Who carries the decisions into construction? Ask how approved selections, exclusions and unresolved questions reach the people doing the work.

Your approval should have a clear meaning

“Looks great” can mean several things. You might be approving the general feeling of the yard. A contractor might hear that you have accepted a layout. Neither necessarily means you have selected every finish or agreed to every cost.

Separate those decisions. Approve the layout as a layout. Review the visual character and material direction. Reconcile pricing and scope. Then consider the construction agreement with the appropriate professional advice.

This does not have to create endless meetings. It can reduce circular conversations because everyone knows which decision is in front of them and what information it needs.

Why I built a different starting point

During my time on a pool sales team, I was closing deals at nearly three times the rate of the rest of the team. I know how to help someone feel ready to say yes. LANDOVA uses that experience to help homeowners understand what they are saying yes to.

We organize planning around the property and the homeowner’s priorities. We develop the design, make it easier to review through visualizations and bring trade input into estimating. A shared project basis then supports controlled bidding.

Ask us the same questions you would ask anyone else: what is included, what costs extra, what do you receive and what remains the responsibility of the construction professionals? Clear expectations should apply to your planning team too.

You should not have to become an expert salesperson to buy a backyard confidently. You should have a process that makes the important decisions visible.

Start with a LANDOVA planning conversation.

Read the complete series

1. Buying a Pool? Why a Pool Builder Shouldn’t Be Your First Call
2. You Want a Backyard. The Proposal May Only Include a Pool.
3. A Pool Salesperson Is Selling a Pool. Who Is Helping You Plan? — You are here
4. Three Pool Quotes Can Mean Three Completely Different Projects
5. The Pool Price Isn’t the Backyard Budget
6. Five Stars for the Sales Pitch. But Has Anyone Built the Pool Yet?
7. The Better Way to Buy a Pool: Plan With LANDOVA, Then Choose Your Builder

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