When people hear, “Las Vegas,” they tend to think of gambling, great shows, Frank Sinatra and Lady Luck. When Eric Triplett, The Pond Digger, headed for Vegas, lucky for us pond enthusiasts, it wasn’t for any of that. The Pond Digger headed to Vegas to support Helix’s 2017 contractor of the year, Hector Mardueño, in a DIY Pond Clinic at American Builders.
Hector has been growing his pond contracting business by leaps and bounds over the past couple of years. Having only recently made the transition from an electrician in the local union to a specialty contracting entrepreneur running his own company, building ponds and transforming landscapes. His desire to grow his empire is insatiable.
When Mardueño approached The Pond Digger looking for advice about growing his business by building a display pond at a rock yard in the middle of the desert, Triplett knew exactly what to do. The plan was to establish Hector and his team as experts in his local community by offering a pond-building class — a Do-It-Yourself Pond-Building Clinic.
With one quick phone call, Hector had the Helix Nation team Vegas-bound. Helix Life Support was more than excited to promote the 2017 Helix Contractor of the year and market his achievement to local potential clients.
Not only were Triplett and his team of experts on-site the day of the event to help Hector with the DIY Clinic experience, but a few big names also showed up, including the amazingly talented Larry Carnes from Illinois, Kent Wallace from Las Vegas and the 2016 Helix Pond Contractor of the Year, Levy Estrada.
The pond build at American Builders boasted the newest innovations from Helix Life Support, the BioMech-X Waterfall Filter and the patented Helix Pond Skimmer, and introduced Hector as an Authorized Helix Contractor for the Las Vegas area.
Contractors and hobbyists who attended the clinic were directed to reach out to Hector for professional advice, service, installations and products, not only to boost his business, but also to grow his company brand.
The water feature was installed at an active rock yard and is now a great permanent advertising tool for Hector’s installation company, his proposed retail location, American Builders and Helix. This method of supporting DIY training for hobbyists has given The Pond Digger his unique notoriety as a teacher in the pond world.
Triplett saw a new path to communicate with hobbyists and contractors and help them understand his personal vision of how to filter ponds and keep fish healthy. In turn, the homeowner can spend more time relaxing and spend less time working on their pond. Overall, this was a way to rebrand The Pond Digger’s tutorial strategies while staying relevant in the marketplace.
The decision to change “seminars” to “clinics” seemed minor at first, yet it created a huge transition. Everyone suddenly looked at the training event as a whole new animal rather than the same old-school seminars that they had been attending for years.
In the old days, all you had to do was have the biggest ad in the phone book. But today, the algorithms used by Google, YouTube, Amazon and Facebook, are constantly changing, forcing you to keep up with the current to stay relevant, or risk being swept out to sea.
This technique of teaching DIY clinics has resulted in many installation contracts for The Pond Digger, as attendees see the work involved in the dig and moving rock, ultimately deciding against doing it themselves. Hector has experienced the same reaction, as his company has attracted new interest due to the DIY Pond Building Clinic and the permanent display at American Builders.
The Pond Digger’s success shows that sharing your knowledge and teaching is one of the best ways to grow your company, as people begin to recognize you as an expert in your field. We are excited to watch Hector’s company grow to match his enthusiasm and his propensity for expansion in the upcoming years.
Congratulations Leslie on winning this quarters spotlight in Pond Trade Magazine. I love stories. I especially enjoy reading them when they involve people I know and admire. You and Eric are quite the team. Or, as your bio states a match made in Heaven.