Have You Hugged Your RO Today?

Dec. 16, 2002

About the author: Carl Davidson is the founder and president of Sales & Management Solutions. This New York-based company has been offering video and live training for the water equipment industry for almost 20 years. To find out more, call Davidson at 800-941-0068.

As you have read many times in this column, you have to be completely sold and very enthusiastic about your product in order to be able to sell. I thought you might be interested in how I was made more aware of just how wonderful it is to own an RO system.

Recently, my wife and I moved to our new home. The first thing I bought for our new digs was an RO unit. Due to delays in moving, we missed our install date; so, we had to live for two weeks without this indispensable apparatus. It gave me a new sense of why everyone should own one. Here are a few ways we missed it and some of the ways it helped us when it was installed by the good folks at Roy's Plumbing.

The first thing we noticed about the dark days without an RO was the incredible cost of drinking. The first day we moved in, we went to the supermarket and bought 24 bottles of house-brand bottled water since we do not like to drink straight from the tap. The cost was $8.00. We also bought 24 cans of cola at a cost of $7.24. We have no children, so we thought that would last a long time, but we were wrong. It didn't last one week. We moved in September, so it was still quite hot. The next day as I made my morning coffee, I noticed I needed a lot more coffee grinds than usual. I'll be honest, my wife and I drink 12 cups every morning--in case you were wondering where all my energy comes from at seminars, now you know. No matter how much coffee grinds we used, it still tasted bitter without the RO water.

Not only were we enjoying beverages less without an RO, we were spending dramatically more. In the first week alone, we spent $15.24 more on beverages and about 50 percent more on coffee. This expenditure of more than $60.00 per month alone is enough to more than pay for an RO.

In addition, we were drinking less. Without an RO, we found we would drink a lot less water every day. We were worried subconsciously about running out of bottled water. We cut back from drinking about 6 liters of RO water per day to drinking only about 2 liters of bottled water. Doctors confirm that drinking more is better for your health, and I definitely found this to be true.

That's not all. My wife accidentally spilled a loaded roller full of black paint onto our new white carpet. (Maybe it is too much coffee.) We immediately picked it up with a cloth and RO water. It left no mark on the carpet. Those of you that take out stains with RO water for your customers know that RO water is far superior to anything else for cleaning up stains. Thank goodness our new RO system had been installed before the mishap.

Why do I mention all this? First, I want us all to appreciate the fact that even though we usually sell ROs on the basis that they increase health and produce better-tasting water, the fact is they pay for themselves. In my two weeks without one, it was very clear to me that buying an RO would make me money, not cost me money. Make sure you can work the numbers and explain this to your prospects.

In addition to saving money, I had forgotten how much an RO adds to the quality of life. I guess you have to have one and then be without one to really appreciate it.

Second, I want to encourage each person reading this article to make sure he has an RO system in his home and that every employee at his company does as well. You simply cannot sell ROs without experiencing the pleasure and savings they produce. At a recent seminar, I asked the attendees how many had one in their home, and I was shocked to see that almost 40 percent of the salespeople in the room did not own one. Many had intentions of getting one when they "had the money." How can we ask customers to part with their hard earned money to buy a product we would not invest in for our own families? If you really believe in the product, get one installed today. If you own your company, create a plan to help your employees own or rent an RO.

These are a few stories from my own home as to how an RO unit helped us live better and save money. I know it is helping our health as well. We made arrangements to get our new RO system months before we moved. Due to delays in moving, we had to live for two weeks without one, and they were two long weeks indeed.

Our RO is one of the most prized possessions of our new home. Sell yourself until you are enthused about RO, too. See the difference owning one makes and then you will feel as I do: that you would never drink from the tap and that you would spend your last dollar acquiring an RO. If often you are told by customers that they cannot afford one or want to put off the purchase, it means that you are not sold enough to sell them. Have you hugged your RO today? If not, go home and hug it now.

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About the Author

Carl Davidson

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