{"id":154,"date":"2016-05-05T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-05-05T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/selectivedesigns.com\/creating-the-wow-factor-how-shane-leblanc-uses-vip3d-to-win-clients\/"},"modified":"2022-08-26T20:00:14","modified_gmt":"2022-08-26T20:00:14","slug":"creating-the-wow-factor-how-shane-leblanc-uses-vip3d-to-win-clients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/selectivedesigns.com\/creating-the-wow-factor-how-shane-leblanc-uses-vip3d-to-win-clients\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating the Wow Factor: How Shane LeBlanc Uses Vip3D to Win Clients"},"content":{"rendered":"

Designer Shane LeBlanc has built a career that takes him both around the country and around the world to design the spectacular pools that have helped him grow from a once-small landscaping company into an award-winning outdoor living design company winning seven-figure contracts.<\/p>\n

\"Shane When LeBlanc started out in landscaping in the mid-90s, he started his own company, Selective Designs, where he established himself as a designer by working on small projects. But when an opportunity came to work at Delta Airlines, he temporarily left landscaping to work as a mechanic specializing in electronics, wiring, and pumps.<\/p>\n

Those practical skills he honed at Delta sparked his interest in returning to landscaping in 2005.<\/p>\n

However, successful as his re-entry into landscaping was, the recession that hit three years later meant LeBlanc needed to move quickly to expand his business enough to stay competitive.<\/p>\n

In order to do that, LeBlanc looked for ways that he could inspire his clients to choose his designs \u2014 even during a recession.<\/p>\n

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Looking for New Opportunities<\/h2>\n

One factor that LeBlanc felt was limiting his growth: hand drawings.<\/p>\n

Whether he was designing landscapes or outdoor kitchens, drawing designs by hand was not giving him the results he wanted. He says, \u201cmy hands were always tied. I can draw by hand, but it\u2019s not that WOW moment or that WOW Factor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Spectacular<\/p>\n

What LeBlanc wanted was a new way to communicate his vision to his clients \u2014 one that would not just amaze his clients but would also help him achieve for his clients the spectacular results he knew were possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe took off like a rocket for about two or three years,\u201d LeBlanc says. \u201cThen the recession hit and we had to scramble to do everything just to survive. I couldn\u2019t live on just landscaping so we started doing outdoor kitchens. I needed another avenue.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Discovering<\/p>\n

Discovering New Paths to Success<\/h2>\n

LeBlanc had found, in those first three years of his return to landscaping, that many clients really wanted complete outdoor living projects: kitchens as well as swimming pools. \u201cI kept finding out more and more and more that if I wanted to do Outdoor Living, then I would need to add the aquatics side.\u201d<\/p>\n

In order to offer his clients great pools, LeBlanc returned to school. He attended the Genesis school, and took the Waterscape program, where he studied with talented designers whose work inspired him to achieve the success they showed him was possible.<\/p>\n

That education, following his schooling for Delta as a mechanic, and his business management schooling, as well as his childhood training growing up on a turf farm, was how LeBlanc prepared himself to succeed as an outdoor living designer: \u201cI just kept going back to school,\u201d LeBlanc says, joking that he began to call himself \u201cThe Outdoor Doctor\u201d because of how much schooling he pursued.<\/p>\n

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\"Finding<\/p>\n

Finding Motivation<\/h2>\n

One important motivator for LeBlanc, as he continued his education and completed the rigorous Waterscape program, was the desire to earn for himself the success he saw his teachers enjoy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had an instructor named Michael P. Johnson who did really beautiful work. He was actually a professor at Taliesin West, which is [part of the] Frank Lloyd Wright School in Arizona.\u201d After seeing how Johnson\u2019s beautiful pool designs earned him glowing reviews and positive attention online, LeBlanc set his sights on achieving the same for himself: \u201cI said to myself right then, \u2018That will be me one day. I have to have that one day.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

In order to reach that level of success, LeBlanc realized, he would need to differentiate himself. Initially, he said to himself, \u201c\u2019Well, I\u2019m going to try these really unique pools just to build my portfolio.\u2019\u201d From there, LeBlanc began to achieve his goals: \u201cMy portfolio started growing and growing and, before you know it, it got to where it is now.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"3D<\/p>\n

Building His Reputation<\/h2>\n

As he focused on his desire to achieve success, LeBlanc realized he needed to find a new approach that would help him create and share his impressive designs.<\/p>\n

He was, initially, dubious of the merits of 3D design software.<\/p>\n

After he bought a small pool company, he says, his new partner suggested that he give Pool Studio a try: \u201c[he] kept telling me, \u2018Hey man, you got to try this.\u2019 Then I kept saying, \u2018Are you crazy, I\u2019m not using that, I\u2019m drawing by hand! That\u2019s how we\u2019ve done it for years!\u201d<\/p>\n

However, LeBlanc also realized that drawing by hand was a lot harder than designing with software and he decided to try out Pool Studio.<\/p>\n

\"Design<\/p>\n

Pool Studio was not, in fact, LeBlanc\u2019s first introduction to design software. While studying at the Genesis School, the program required him to choose to study CAD, Pool Studio, or SketchUp \u2014 and LeBlanc, who initially tried only SketchUp, was not impressed.<\/p>\n

Following his new business partner\u2019s advice, he turned to Pool Studio. \u201cWhen I did,\u201d he says, \u201cThe sky was the limit from there on. It was everything I needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Imediate<\/p>\n

Seeing Immediate Results<\/h2>\n

The difference between drawing by hand and designing with Pool Studio and VizTerra was immediately evident to LeBlanc, who used both programs in order to design outdoor living projects for his clients.<\/p>\n

When Vip3D<\/a> was released, LeBlanc was very pleased. Vip3D, for LeBlanc, offered him everything he was looking for in one package: all of the landscaping tools and pool design tools he needed, plus extra outdoor living tools that he found to be \u201cfreaking awesome!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"High<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a matter of fact,\u201d he says, of Vip3D, \u201cI got really into trying to find different things. For example, I\u2019m importing chairs and stuff like that from SketchUp,\u201d in order to personalize his clients\u2019 designs with the special touches that help him create that \u201cWow Factor\u201d he seeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe speed of what Vip3D does is unbelievable. It\u2019s just unbelievable compared to what you have to do in a program like CAD or something like that. [Vip3D] allows me to put all my ideas on paper easily.\u201d<\/p>\n

LeBlanc has been so pleased with his results, he says, that he is now at the point where he is \u201cconvincing a good bit of my buddies that are Landscape Architects to just try it,\u201d especially since \u201cit\u2019s really easy for sharing files as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Buidling<\/p>\n

Reaching VIPs with Vip3D<\/h2>\n

As LeBlanc began to use Pool Studio, VizTerra, and then Vip3D, he realized that taking advantage of 3D design software was giving him a significant edge.<\/p>\n

That edge meant that LeBlanc had expanded enough to take on interns, as well: \u201cAny of my interns that come in were raised on 3D Max and some other stuff. I just tell them, \u2018This is the program you need to use.\u2019 And they love it. Now they\u2019re using it and I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"High<\/p>\n

The speed with which LeBlanc picked up on the merits of Vip3D meant he quickly saw new opportunities: not only was he winning contracts to do high-end residential pools, but he also realized that he had what he needed to take on corporate clients, too. \u201cI\u2019m actually taking Vip3D and doing commercial facilities now. I have designed 3 or 4 commercial facilities that are finished and they look unbelievable,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

That speed, and that \u201cWow Factor,\u201d are what make it possible for him to work with both corporate clients and homeowners at the same time.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my clients is ClubCorp, which is one of the largest owners of golf courses in the world. The program allowed me to get to the corporate level because of my speed. I could draw a preliminary plan quickly for them to be able to send to corporate. So it worked really, really fast and they were just amazed at it because, from anywhere else, it would take thousands of dollars to get [a design from] a landscape architect and have it done it in Revit or 3D Macs or other programs, which would [also] take a lot more money and time.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Vip3D, LeBlanc can cut the time \u2014 and the cost: \u201cI, on the other hand, can finish something in a course of a weekend to give them what they need. That\u2019s neat!\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Pool<\/p>\n

Communicating with Clients<\/h2>\n

The size of the projects LeBlanc undertakes mean he also seeks out new ways to make sure he and his clients stay on the same page.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the time,\u201d he says, \u201cpeople are hiring me based off my existing portfolio and they want that. Then I have to it change it little bit because I never design the same thing twice.\u201d<\/p>\n

The wide variety of clients LeBlanc works with means that, often, just talking to the client about what they want is only part of his strategy.<\/p>\n

\"High<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you notice my portfolio, I have a huge variety of styles and it comes from the client. It is from contemporary to Rustic to formal,\u201d LeBlanc notes. So when clients approach him because they like what they see \u2014 he then needs to narrow down what they like in order to find their personal style.<\/p>\n

While using Vip3D means he can personalize every detail, LeBlanc also takes advantage of social media tools that help him discover and understand exactly which features, finishes, and details he should add to a client\u2019s design.<\/p>\n

One way LeBlanc handles the practical details of learning what a client really likes is to use social networks, including Houzz, to get his clients discussing both what they like \u2014 and what they don\u2019t:<\/p>\n

\u201cI typically send them to Houzz and have them pick out 75 pictures of projects that they like and then have them send me 5 of them. That means they have to flip through all the ones that they don\u2019t like. I also get them to label inside each picture. For example I\u2019ll say, \u2018If you like the pillow cushions on that picture, fine. But tell me that it\u2019s pillow cushions that you like and not the shape of the pool because a lot of times they\u2019ll send me stuff that has nothing to do with the shape.\u201d<\/p>\n

By encouraging his clients to interact with online portfolios, LeBlanc can discover both the large-scale features that his clients admire as well as the seemingly minor details \u2014 like pillow suctions \u2014 that help him discover \u201cthe wow factor\u201d that make his projects so successful<\/p>\n

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\"the<\/p>\n

Achieving the \u201cWow Factor\u201d<\/h2>\n

Creating that \u201cwow factor\u201d has helped him achieve the success he sought when he returned to school: \u201cLo and behold, that [decision to differentiate myself] was 5 years ago. Now if you Google my name as \u2018Shane LeBlanc designer,\u2019 I have more pictures than . . . my teachers that taught me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reputation he\u2019s built designing with Vip3D has helped LeBlanc achieve results he takes pride in: \u201cI worked and I worked and I worked,\u201d because, he recognizes, \u201cYou\u2019re only as good as your portfolio.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cImagine somebody giving you a quarter of a million dollars. You\u2019re an artist and everybody needs a canvas, but everybody can\u2019t get a canvas. Well, for somebody to give you the opportunity, to say, \u2018whatever you\u2019re thinking in your head, we will give you a quarter million dollars to put in my backyard\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

As a designer, LeBlanc especially enjoys seeing the final results for his clients: \u201cChristmas Day is when we get to turn the pumps on. For me, I get to see what I designed as far as water and transit, and that\u2019s my Christmas Day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPlus, I get to build it and get to [be] hands on, playing with my piece of art. So not only do I get to draw it, I get to get inside of it and see how it goes, the whole nine yards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Imagine what your own \u201cwhole nine yards\u201d might look like \u2014 try Vip3D for yourself and see what you can create.<\/p>\n

\"New <\/a> <\/span>