training manual...table of contents i. intro to pest control page # about us . . . . . . . . . . . ....
TRANSCRIPT
Training Manual
Table of Contents
I. Intro to Pest Control Page #
About us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
What is pest control? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Why sell for us? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
The customer experience and process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Pricing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
II. Training
Door approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Dissecting the second part: after “how much is half price?” . . . . 9
Overcoming objections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Butter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Midwest Positives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Positives about our company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Switching to a quarterly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Being observant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Nonverbal communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Asking good questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Switch-overs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Closing: turning negatives into positives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Phone sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Overcoming the “Big Three” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
The Card Trick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Great closes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Finalizing the sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Door approach turn downs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Be the expert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Assume the sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
III. Additional Training and Information
20 reasons you will sell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Goal setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Attributes of a good sales rep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Keeping yourself motivated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Knowing how to find good area and area management . . . . . . . . . 54
Start your prices high! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Two year agreements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Avoiding chargebacks and cancels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Wet weather treatments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Cold weather treatments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Specific bug treatments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Product guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Functioning in harmony with your co-workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Getting customers on AutoPay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Convenience pay (monthly billing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
A few words from the owners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
I. Intro to Pest Control
About Us
We are 6 Brothers: Aaron, Bryan, Dennis, Barry, Grant and Mark Christensen. We are from a big family with 3 sisters - nine children total. Our roots go back to Nampa, Idaho where we grew up. There, our dad was a farmer: sugar beets, potatoes, alfalfa, wheat, and so on. We also grew up raising cattle. In 1997 our dad bought a black angus cattle ranch in Arkansas. That’s where our Midwest roots began.
We come from a big family and we have big families. Aaron and Bryan are twins and each have 8 kids - Bryan even has a grandchild (old fogey), Dennis has 6 kids, Barry has 4 kids, Grant has 3 kids and Mark has one kid. We all served missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Brazil, France, Jamaica, Missouri, Brazil and Spain respectively.
The roots of our business begin at BYU in the early 90’s when Dennis Christensen was approached by a recruiter where he was told that he could make up to $20,000 selling pest control door-to-door in California. It seemed like a scam, $20,000 in just one summer when dad was paying $5.75/hour on the farm? Dennis gave it a try and had an extremely successful summer. All the brothers, at some point, dabbled in summer sales in many industries: pest control, roofing, electricity and garbage services.
In 2004 the four older brothers decided to start their own pest control company, A Plus Pest Control based out of Oklahoma City. In 2009, the two younger brothers opened their company, Midwest Pest Control, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 2016 we all merged into one company. Combined we have over one hundred years of pest control experience. We’ve used this experience to build the best pest control service in all of the areas we touch. We love working together as brothers. Besides pest control, we have several ranches in Oklahoma and run over 2500 head of cattle.
Pest control has been a great blessing in our lives. Sure, we worked hard, but we have been very fortunate to have people around us who have put a lot of work into this business. From the technicians, to the office staff, to the sales reps themselves - we couldn’t have done it without them. We truly feel like they are all part of the family. We hope that you get that feeling too.
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What is Pest Control
In all of our markets, pest control is a necessity. We go to the home and service it on a regular basis: either once every two months (bi-monthly) or once every three months (quarterly). We bring out our truck with a 50 gallon power sprayer in the bed and a big box full of products (chemical, glue boards, traps, spray cans, etc.)
The initial service is performed inside and outside the home. We use a broom to de-web the outside patio, porch, eaves and windows, knocking down any webs as well as wasp and mud dauber nests. We then use the power sprayer to put 15-20 gallons of product around the perimeter of the house: around the doors and windows, under the eaves, in the shrubs and bushes, about 5 feet up the walls and 7 feet out. We treat the patio areas well. This is the “basic” outside service that establishes a barrier around our customers’ homes. Other things can be included if the customer requests it (see “Add- Ons”).
On the inside of the home we use a handheld tank and service all corners and entryways within the home. These are areas that all insects cross at some point.
This is the initial service. We provide this same service on a regular bases (except the inside, which is free by request). If they ever see a bug between treatments, we will return to the home free of charge to spray again. That’s our guarantee.
You can take comfort in knowing that our service is the best in the metro. We use the best products and have the friendliest service. To be honest, these people are paying us good money and we want to do everything in our power to get rid of their pests safe and effectively and do it while providing excellent customer service.
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Why Sell for Us?
1. Pay. Probably your main concern is how much money you are going to make. Our payscale is extremely competitive. Remember, it isn’t where you start on the pay scale, it's where you finish. Selling door to door isn’t easy but that’s why it pays SO well. Work hard, be personable, be thick skinned and the sales will come. 2. Lifestyle. You are NOT required to work 10-hour days. We don't want this job to ruin your summer. Most reps for other companies say they hated their summer. That's not how we roll. We want you to LOVE being out here so you come back, again, again, and again. That's why we give you all morning to go swimming in the apartment pool, wakeboard with the owners, paintball, sleep in (not recommended), go to six flags, hike a mountain, I don't flippin' know. We are not discouraging people that want to work all day, we are just not requiring it because most guys would prefer to be fresh going into their 6 hours. 3. 85 work days. Other companies make you commit ALL summer long, if you leave early for school or a family reunion you might just be giving up part of your back-end check. We only require 85 work days out of about 105 days. Also, where else are you going to find a high paying job for four months?
4. Working for a smaller, family-owned company. Lots of guys go to sell for marketing companies or huge pest companies where they have never met the owner and have 0 vested interest in the company or the owner. We want you to want to help us out and feel a little pride in helping to grow an outstanding company. You may have heard of guys getting "screwed" by sales teams. I don't think anyone can say that about us. We will make darn sure that everyone gets every dollar they earned. 5. Best service in town. We have good competitive prices. Our service goes above and beyond all other companies (local or national). I have yet to find a company that puts as much into a service as us. We will also retain nearly 95% of serviced customers (not many charge-backs). If a salesman makes a sale, we will do everything in our power to get it serviced. Same-day and Next-day services. 6. Sport. Door to door sales is tough, if anybody tells you differently they are lying! We like to make it a SPORT! Competition drives your sales UP! We want you to be the best you can be, beat your selling partner, beat the office, be # 1 in the company! Competition among friends only makes you sell more and everybody earns more! 7. Training. We want you to be the best sales rep you are capable of becom-ing! We will offer several pre-season trainings throughout the spring as well as pre-season sales opportunities. Daily trainings in the field from top reps and corporate motivational meetings and incentives to maximize your sales. Nightly meetings will be held for those who wish to have additional training (bagel meetings). Managers or team leads will go out on the doors with you if necessary. 8. Incentives. Our incentives are first class. We don’t know a company out there that offers incentives like we do. Skydiving, big screen tv’s, laptops, phones, shoes, gift cards, CASH, etc, etc, etc. 9. Fun. We have a really fun time, ask any former sales rep! Waterskiing, floating the river, paint-balling, Lake Powell, basketball leagues, movies,
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dinners. We understand that selling can be a grind – having fun is an important aspect of keeping spirits high and the sales pouring in!
10. Area. A lot of other companies make you stay in one little quadrant of the city for weeks at a time even if you're not doing very well. We understand that when you are happy and successful we are also successful. If you aren't doing well in an area we will move you or do whatever it takes to get you selling.
11. It’s an adventure – do something different! Get to know a different city and area of the country. Getting out of town to work is fun and makes you more focused on your goal of making money. 12. Free rent at awesome apartment complexes--(Gated, Pools, Hot tubs)--Great living conditions (often-Indoor b-ball court, Golf, Theater Rooms) 13. Security. A lot of guys have heard horror stories about a company with-holding their back-end check or promising something that they couldn't deliver. Knowing the owners goes a long way and understanding that they're honorable and will do whatever it takes to get their salesman paid. 14. Resume builder. Its nice to be able to put on a resume “Worked as a door to door sales rep for Six Brothers Pest Control and brought in over $125,000 in new revenue in four months.” We have written many awesome “Letters of Recommendation” for our past sales reps. 15. Looks great on applications. If you ever have to apply for med school, law school, or any job; having door to door experience can often times put you ahead of another applicant with a similar education. 16. Sales make the world go round. Every business on earth survives on sales. No matter what your future profession is, the ability to bring on clients and customers is invaluable. 17. Great for your career. If you treat your work during the summer like “your own small business”, not only will it benefit you while you are selling, but it will prepare you for future business endeavors. 18. The lifestyle. Most sales reps are young college age students. Because you are able to make so much money during the summer you can go to school without having to get a part time job which allows you to take more credits and graduate faster. You will have the ability to spend money on things that you normally couldn’t, you can enjoy your college years more (date, ski, etc) because you aren’t so stressed financially. It allows you to prepare financially for marriage, buying a house or saving for graduate school. Excelling in summer sales just makes your life easier. 19. Your personal life. The confidence that you gain as a summer sales rep is unmatched in any other profession. Those who excel can parlay their talents into other areas of their life, like confidence in front of the opposite sex, school and work projects, interviews, social relationships, etc. 20. Bless the lives of others. If you make a lot of money one summer or over the course of several summers with us – remember others. There are so many people in the world who are in desperate need of assistance. If you are willing to give now at the beginning of your professional career, it will be easier to give later. Gregg Popovich, head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, was asked why it’s important to donate to charities and he said, “because we are rich as hell and we don’t need it all, and other people need it, and you’re an ass if you don’t give it, pretty simple.” The billionaire Jon Huntsman said, “the time to give
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away money is when you make it.” We don’t want to preach to you, it’s your money and you can use it how you want – just think about it.
Training Ideas: How do you think summer sales will advance your life? Who do you know who has had summer sales help them in an interview or on a job re-sume? What other positives of door to door sales are not listed here? What are you going to do with all the money you make? How can you use your money to help others?
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The Customer Experience and Process
The first contact that the customer will have with our company is through the sales rep. A good sales rep will answer all of their questions appropriately and have them excited about the service. You are the face of our company and we want you to be a good representation of it. The sales rep will schedule the customer for a specific time through the online app SalesRoutes. The technician will go to the house at the scheduled time and perform the treatment. The service technician always knocks the door first to let the customer know that they are there. Usually they will start on the inside with the handheld sprayer. Often, they will invite the homeowner to follow them around to view the service. When the customer can see how thorough the service is, they are always impressed. The technician will then go outside and treat the home with the power sprayer. The first service usually takes about 45 minutes. Within the next business day or two, our office will call the customer and talk to them or leave a message about the service performed and what to expect. The script goes something like this:
“Hello, this is __________, with _____ Pest Control. I’m calling you today to thank you for your business and make sure your initial service performed on _________*(Tuesday) was completed to your satisfaction. Just to let you know, it is common to see a slight increase in insect activity for a few days after your first treatment. Your regular services will be every other month (or every 3 months-look at contract), beginning next month for the next 24 months as outlined on your agreement with us. We will give you a courtesy text, and e-mail in advance to remind you we are coming. Normally our thorough exterior service will suffice to keep the bugs out of the inside of your home, but let us know if you ever need the inside done, and we’ll do it at your convenience for no extra charge. If you have any questions or concerns or need a re-service, please don’t hesitate to call our office at__________________”
Before every regular treatment the customer receives a text, phone call or email the week leading up (whatever their preferred method of contact is). They are sent another reminder the day before their service is due. The reason this is done is to give the customer notice that we are coming out but also to remind them to leave side gates unlocked so that we can treat the entire perimeter of the home. It also gives them the opportunity to schedule an inside service, if needed.
After every regular treatment, the customer receives an email with the service description, target pests, products used, locations treated, and technician notes. An invoice is also attached. The customer's credit or debit card is charged the day following the service. As always - the customer can call in at any time for a re-service.
Training Ideas: Can you explain this process to a potential customer? How could passing this information onto the potential customer make for a more solid sale? What else could the customer know? Role play confirming the service using the “customer experience and process”?
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Pricing
General pricing guidelines: (Subject to change per location. Avg. contract $515) Frequency $ Per Service $ Initial Service Contract Bi-Monthly Pest $99 $90 $684
Quarterly Pest $125 $90 $590
Monthly $65 $90 (Reg $170) $805
ONE SHOTS $180 $180 (Occ. Disc) Pest Plus Termites- $10/month added to their regular pest control plan (example, $119 bi monthly pest plus termite). *Not permitted in some areas.
Termite Home Protection Plans- (HPP) $23/month ($276 annually) If sold without Pest Control Service. If people just want the Termite warranty and no pest service, the charge is $276 per year (paid upfront).
Residential and Commercial- are properties under 5,000 square feet. Properties over 5,000 square feet will be quoted separately. (add
$10/1,000 sq. ft.)
Duplex and trailer homes will be serviced for $75 bi-monthly and $99 quarterly.
7% Discount given with Year paid in advance. No Credit Card Discounts given with this option
Additional $10 off the initial service with regular VISA/MC/AMEX/DISC payment authorization.
One Shot services have no “Service Guarantee” May have $20 to $30 discount available… Commission paid over $140
Yard Sprays- ($49 extra – Up to 50 gallons per acre...2 acres is $98 etc.) Add to Regular service (no stand-alone yard sprays). Multi house discounts- $85 Bi-monthly $99 Quarterly
Mole Treatments- Call the office
Mosquito Treatments- $99/treatment with a one month guarantee. If they are already on service we can do it for $79/treatment. We use a 3 pronged approach: 1. Cedar mosquito granules; 2. Power spray or fogger with Archer; 3. Mosquito “dunks” (these are tablets that are thrown into areas of standing water that help get rid of mosquito larvae).
Bed Bug Treatments- get their info and have the local manager call them to set up an inspection. Sales reps will receive 5% commission on sold leads.
Check with sales manager to find out additional pricing discounts.
Training ideas: What are our prices in your market? What are the prices of your competitors? What are special discounts in your market that you can offer? Role play breaking down pricing (sometimes that is helpful to customers). Role play adding on services (it will make you a lot more money).
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II. Sales Training
Full Sale– Skeleton
1. Door Approach
1a. Introduction
1b. Customers
1c. Bugs
1d. Discount 1e. Close
WAIT: Let them ask you “How much is half price?” This is the question you want. 2. Pricing
3. Service Agreement 4. Guarantee
5. Service Explanation
6. Bugs
7. Positives/Butter 8. Close
Full Sale Example
(1a Introduction) “Hi, I’m with 6 Brothers’ Pest Control (1b Customers) we are treating several customers in your neighborhood
(1c Bugs) for spiders, fleas and wasps tomorrow and Thursday. (1d Discount) While we’re here we’re offering half off our initial inside out-side service (1e Close) would tomorrow or Thursday work for us to come treat your home at half price?”
Customer: “How much is half price?”
(2 Pricing) “Normally our initial service is $180 but since we’re here in your area we can do it for just $90, that’s half price! (3 Service Agreement) We then service your home every other month for just $99! (4 Guarantee) We guarantee that you won’t have bugs all year long and if you do, we will come back in between those regular services for free! (5 Service Explanation) Our initial service includes an interior and exterior treatment. On the outside we use a 50-gallon power sprayer and de-webb your eaves. It’s very thorough. On the inside we use our handheld spray-er and treat entryways and corners which are high-traffic bug areas. (6 Bugs) The bugs we take care of include ants, spiders, fleas, ticks, wasps, mice, rats and many more. (7 Positives/Butter) You’ll love our customer service and the fact that we’re locally owned. We’d really appreciate your business and we are going to take great care of you all year long. (8 Close) Is tomorrow morning or afternoon better for you?”
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Dissecting the “Second Part” (after “How much is half price”)
The importance of this section of the sale cannot be overstated. It must be said very clearly. Pricing and Service Agreement information must be the first thing out of your mouth - and in a way that there is no way that the customer can misinterpret it. If for some reason you don’t bring up the fact that it is a recurring service commitment until later in the sale, you run a very high risk of losing the sale. People will feel like you are deceiving them. No one likes a shady sales rep. Be clear and upfront! (see training materials “full sale”). Here’s an example:
“Normally our first service is $180 but since we will be treating your neighbor (Bob Vance) tomorrow, we can offer that service to you for only 90 bucks! That is HALF PRICE. We then treat your home on a regular bi-monthly service where we come back once every two months for just $99. The best part about this service is that if you ever see bugs in between our regular bi-monthly visits, we will come back for FREE
A few things to point out here: 1. After they ask “how much is half price”, you must tell them immediately. Don’t dance around it. The more you avoid answering their question directly, the more they think of you as a “shady salesman.” (This same rule applies to ALL questions that a potential customer could ask). However, do start out by saying the higher regular price, ”Normally our initial clean out service runs you $180 but while we are here, we can do it for ½ of that price”, then give specific details to the service and why it is WORTH $180 and they are actually getting a KILLER deal at only $90. 2. Notice how many times the word “service” was mentioned (4 times). Notice how many times the word bi-monthly or “every other month” was used (3 times). It is very important that the customer understands that this is a service, so mention it a lot. This is a subtle way to do it. Also, make sure that when you first use the word “bi-monthly” you also say “once, every other month.” Many people don’t know what bi-monthly means. 3. If after you give your door approach they tell you something other than “how much is half price,” (“we have ants”, “we aren’t seeing bugs”, “where are you located”, etc…) you still must get to the pricing/service agreement quickly after answering their question.
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Sales reps should have the “full sale” memorized before their first day of sell-ing. The better you know this on day one, the more likely you are to make sales. While we encourage new reps to memorize this part - more experienced reps can use the same format and personalize it as they please.
Some reps chose not to say “I’m with 6 Brothers’ Pest Control” but instead go straight into the pitch in an attempt not to sound like a salesman. Generally they will just say, “Hi, we are going to be treating a few of your neighbors homes for…”. This is an acceptable door approach.
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Customer (after door approach): “We haven’t seen a lot of bugs around here.” You: “Really? That’s actually surprising. A lot of your neighbors, including (Bob Vance) have been seeing spiders, ants, fleas and ticks - to name a few. And you know how the summers are around here, if you don’t have bugs now; you will definitely have them when these hot summer months come upon us. There’s no better time to get started on a service than right now because we will be spraying in your area and doing it at half price. Normally our first service is $180, but since we will here tomorrow….”
This is a good example of how to answer their question quickly and then getting back to the sale. Remember: you control the sale, not them. Take the sale where you want it to go.
After the pricing and service agreement are explained, the rest of the sale (until you shake their hand after having made the sale) is dedicated to backing up and building value into the price that you just gave them. Explain what we do!
“Our initial “CLEAN OUT” service includes a full inside and outside treatment. Our regular service is less expensive than Terminix and Orkin, and we are a LOCAL, family-owned company. Each time we come to your home, we do a full POWER SPRAY, and sweep your webs down from your porch, patio, and eaves. We have a 50 gallon POWER SPRAYER that will give your home and family an effective barrier and protection. Our treatments guarantee all ants, spiders, fleas, ticks, wasps, roaches and more. The products we use are completely safe for pets and children. The best part of the service is if you ever have any bug problems in between our regular treatments, we will come back and service your home for free. It’s a guaranteed service! If we can get you on our schedule now, we will give you HALF OFF our initial service. Would tomorrow morning or afternoon work better for you?”
A few things to note: 1. Notice all of the keywords: “clean out”, “local”, “family owned”, “power
spray”, “barrier”, “protect” etc.. These words are very effective in getting across the importance of the service and can be visual for the customer.
2. Many items were covered here that are important for the customer to know and that you can cover in more detail later. Just give them a snippet. By the end of the sale they are still on the fence - many of these things can be explained further: less expensive than Terminix and Orkin, way more detail on the inside & outside service, safe for pets and children, etc…
3. The guarantee was mentioned again (you can’t say it enough). 4. Half off was mentioned again (you can’t say it enough). 5. The close was effective and a little different than the first close. (If they
hear the exact same close 5 times, it makes you sound like a salesman -
“So would tomorrow at 3 work?” 5 times…too much). Another great close is just getting right down to it “so what’s the address here and I’ll make sure we’re here at 4 sharp.”
The “Second Part” shouldn’t be necessarily memorized, but it should be worded very similar. You should be able to spout it off in a way that it comes naturally, quickly, and clearly. Once you’ve mastered the “Full Sale,” the customer has enough information to actually sign up and be a good customer. After this sec-tion, the rest of the sale is just answering their questions, spinning to positives, and closing until they say “yeah, tomorrow afternoon is good for me.” Training Ideas: What are some ways that you can subtly mention that this is a service agreement throughout the sale? Do any of you have experiences where you lost the sale because the customer didn’t know that it was a service? Do you sound robotic? Do you emphasize certain words and phrases? Are you going into too much detail? Role play the door approach and second part frequently - even if you are an experienced sales rep.
Overcoming Objections
Most of the following objections are brought up after the first paragraph in your door approach. Memorize each of these responses “word for word.”
1. We wouldn’t be interested
2. How much is “half price”?
3. Does this hurt my cats/dogs/kids?
4. Do I have to leave?
5. What do I need to do before you come?
6. Do I have to sign up for a year? What does the service entail?
7. What if I want to cancel?
8. What does your service include?
9. I need to ask my wife/husband
10. What if it is raining?
11. Service in the winter months?
12. We don’t really have a bug problem
13. We don’t have money right now (fixed income). 14. We have a company
15. You’re coming back in 30 days? I thought it was bi-monthly?
16. We do our own spraying
17. I’ve never heard of you guys? How long have you been in business?
18. How do you bill for your services?
19. Can I have a quarterly service? Bi-monthly is too often. 20. I just want a ONE TIME SERVICE
21. I’ve already had several salesmen knock my door! 22. What if I see bugs after your first service?
23. Can you treat my garden?
Short and simple answers are often the best. Most of the time customer objections are not “NO’s”, but only their way of asking for more information.
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Memorize these good explanations. You will increase your selling power if you know this stuff before you knock your first door. Customers will see your confidence and trust you if you look them in the eye, and KNOW what you are talking about. (Winging it won’t get you the trust and respect to make lots of sales). Remember to always say “WE”, not “they” when referring to 6 Brothers’ Pest Control. Practice your door approach and these objections out loud with a friend. After each response is given, close the sale again. Keep closing, closing, and closing (i.e. would tomorrow morning or afternoon be better for you?). It may seem forward and overly aggressive, but if the customer's concern has been resolved they will either say “tomorrow morning is best” or they will ask you additional questions, to which you will respond and close again (i.e. We will have a truck spraying the Jenson’s on Thursday at 11 a.m., could we come right after that?)
1. We wouldn’t be interested…. Oh, okay we actually are treating your neighbors and they have been seeing spiders and ants and we are offering neighbors a HUGE discount while we are here working this week. We will treat the inside and outside of your home for half price. Would Friday work better? WAIT (Give every potential customer a second chance) (If they decline again say)…No Problem, if any of the bugs move your direction or if you need any help later this summer when it is HOT and the bugs are invading, here is a coupon you can use anytime this summer. Thanks for your time. (If the person ever asks you a question at any time, assume they are slightly interested, and instantly move up closer to them and go “full force” toward the sale again). (Always give a card/flyer, to every person you speak to all summer long, but don’t even show them the card until you have gotten at least two “No, thank you's”. They may not have bugs now, but they most likely will at some point during the summer, and you will have an easy sale when they call you).
2. How much is “half price”?
Normally our initial inside/outside cleanout service is $180, but since we will be here in your neighborhood with our trucks, we can do it for only $90…, that is HALF PRICE! Our service comes with a 100% guarantee. We guarantee you won’t have bugs ALL YEAR LONG. Our regular bi-monthly service is only $99 every other month, and we GUARANTEE you won’t have bugs. If you do, we will come back in-between our bi-monthly services for FREE! That’s our Guarantee. Our initial “CLEAN OUT” service includes a full inside and outside treatment. We treat along the baseboards of your entire home, including the garage and underneath all the sinks, kitchen and bathrooms, and anywhere the plumbing penetrates the walls. We get all the cracks and crevices where bugs hide or enter your home. This interior treatment will eliminate the bugs currently living inside your home and help prevent future bugs from entering your home. Our exterior service includes de-webbing the eaves, and a Full “Power Spray” around the base of the home. We put a 5 to 10 foot BARRIER
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around the entire home. We are a local, family owned company and would love and appreciate your business. Would Monday or Tuesday work better for you?
3. Is this safe (cats, dogs, kids)?
Our products are completely family and pet friendly (never say “safe”) for people and animals. Most of our customers have dogs and cats and kids. In fact, our products are very beneficial to animals and your family in protecting you from biting spiders, ants and insects and stinging wasps and scorpions and from disease carrying ticks and fleas, and germ spreading ants and roaches etc. (Let that be enough, unless they need more details). All the products we use are bio-degradable, odorless and stainless. Most of our products are derived from the chrysanthemum flower. We spray animal shelters and daycares. We have sprayed hundreds of thousands of homes and have never hurt a human or an animal. We are licensed, bonded and insured and only use products registered with the EPA. Do you have any fish or reptiles (snakes, turtles, lizards)? These animals are somewhat susceptible to some of the products we use, but we are very careful around them. If you have fish, we ask that you turn the bubbles (air) off, while we are spraying inside, you can cover the tank with a towel. After we leave, you can uncover the tank and turn the air back on. Fish in ponds outside will be noted on the agreement, where we will not apply any products near them. Covering the indoor reptile’s cage while we spray will be sufficient as well. (Let us know if they have a KOI Pond on their property…we can still treat them, we just use a small hand tank around the pond instead of the Power Sprayer). 4. Do I have to leave?
You do not need to leave your home. Our treatments will be water-based, and applied low to the ground around your baseboards in the corners and entryways of your home. The products we use are odorless and stainless. You may see a little residue on the bare floors (wood and tile etc.) and you should keep babies and animals off those areas until they dry (which may only be 15 to 30 minutes). Our interior service takes about 20-25 minutes. The exterior takes about that long as well, 45 minutes on average.
5. What do I need to do before you come? How long does it take?
You don’t need to do anything major before we come. If you can pick up loose objects near the baseboards like clothing, dog dishes and toys, so we can move more quickly and thoroughly around your home. You don’t need to move any appliances, dressers, couches, beds or piano’s, the wand on our spray tank is long and narrow and we can reach around, under and over those pieces of furniture. Your initial service will take about 45 minutes to one hour to do the inside and outside of your home.
6. Do I have to sign up for two years? Is this a contract? Yes, we do ask you to try us out for 12 regular services. Most of our customers stay on with us for years and years because they love not seeing bugs…
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EVER. (Let this suffice, but if they still have reservations about the year of service, continue with..) The only way we can give you any kind of GUARANTEE, is on our regular service program. This is STANDARD in the pest control industry. The half price initial treatment we are currently offering is for new customers starting our regular servicing program. Our service guarantee states that if between regular services you are seeing any bugs…we will come back to your home FREE of Charge (point to the service guarantee on the AGREEMENT). In order to rid your home of pests, a maintenance service is required, and this is standard in the pest control industry. The service agreement guarantees all these bugs (point at the list) and guarantees your price will not increase for at least two years as well. A one-time treatment would cost you $180 and will not give you ANY guarantees (the only guarantee with a one-time treatment is that you WILL have bugs again soon). There are no products that have much longer than a two-month residual, which is why the only guarantee comes with a regular treatment schedule. We are local, family owned and operated and less expensive than Terminix & Orkin. 7. What if I want to cancel?
We certainly hope that never happens, and we will do everything we can to keep you as a long lasting satisfied customer. We do understand however, that if you lose your job or have to move out of our service area before the term is up on the agreement, you may need to cancel your service. If this happens, we are not going to charge you the rest of the balance on the contract. It’s simply $125 early termination fee. After you try us out for 8-12 services, you can cancel at any time, but like I said, most of our customers just stay on service for years and years because they love NOT seeing bugs and we treat our customers like family. 8. What does your service include?
When we come out for your initial service, we will do an inside and outside flush out service. We will use our hand tank on the inside of your home around the baseboards, corners, and entryways. We will treat all the cracks and crevic-es where bugs hibernate and hide or find entry into your house (upstairs and down-if applicable). We do the same in your garage. This interior treatment will eliminate the insects in your home and will effectively seal off the inte-rior of your home. On the outside of your home we…(read regular service be-low). Our regular service includes inside and outside treatments, however, usually our customers only need the INSIDE of their home treated on their INITIAL service, then maybe once or twice per year thereafter. This is because our regular bi-monthly exterior service prevents bugs from EVER coming inside your home. On your initial and regular services, we power spray around the entire foundation of your home. We apply a 5 to 7 foot BARRIER around your home that protects your home and family from insects. Our products have about a 2 month residual, we re-apply the barrier every
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two months. We also make sure to sweep down any webs or Mud Wasp nests under your patio, porch and eaves each time, protecting your home and keeping it clean and bug free. Any bugs that you may have now, or see in the future are covered. If wasps build a nest on your home, we will take care of that as well. You don’t have to wait until your regular service to have any problems alleviated either, just call us and we will be right out…NO Charge! Free unlimited re-services! * In general, most of our customers only have the inside sprayed on their initial service. That is the way they want it and we want it (as long as they are not seeing bugs). They don’t want to schedule an inside treatment 6 times per year, they want the inside pests gone though. This is why the bi-monthly service works great to keep their home completely pest free without needing the interior treated after the initial service (this is a great selling point). We are happy to go inside whenever our customers want or need it for no extra charge and at their convenience. Our initial service will get the bugs out of their house…the regular service keeps them out. We cover ants, spiders, fleas, ticks, mice, rats, black widows, roaches, centipedes, scorpions and all these insects listed here (Point at all the names of the bugs on the agreement. Note: it is important to have a bunch of bug names in your head that you can rattle off at any time.). 9. I need to ask my spouse before I commit to anything. No problem, I totally understand. Is she home right now? I would love to talk to her and answer any questions she may have. (No she’s gone)…Can we call her now?... (No she’s at work) If you would like, I would be willing to get you set up right now, and get you on our schedule. I will stop back by this evening (or give you a confirmation call this evening) to make sure it is alright with your spouse and answer any questions they may have. Is tomorrow, Friday or Saturday a better time for us to come and treat your home? (If this doesn’t work for them, ask them for their phone number, and tell them when you will be calling back. After getting their contact info, give them a flyer. Many times they may say they need to ask the spouse just as an excuse to get rid of you. If you try to give them a little more information, and they start asking more questions, try to close again without the spouse, now that you have convinced them how great the service is, they know their spouse will be okay with it. If they do go ahead and schedule a treatment close it like they never mentioned the spouse. 10. What if it is raining?
Most of our products are water based, so it would take “torrents” of rain to do any major diluting. In the case that it is raining very hard, we may use a water-activated granule spread around your home and lawn. We are always willing to comeback for free in-between services if you feel that you need a re-service for any reason.
11. Why do I need service in the winter months?
Although you might see fewer insects in the winter months, it does not mean that the bugs aren’t there. Often, spiders, ants and mice try to find their way into the
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house when the temperatures drop. Our service guarantee is based on “full” service. When regular services are skipped or missed, infestations can build up again that are difficult and costly to break down. Many pests are less active, in egg or pupa form and hiding, but still very much alive. With regular treatments, you won’t ever have a “costly” infestation treatment. It is standard in the pest control industry to have regular service even when the bugs are “less active”.
12. We don’t really have a bug problem. Really? (Act surprised). We actually are treating several of your neighbor’s homes for spiders, ants, crickets (name any and all bugs the neighbors have seen and use neighbors names-pointing down the road). We are offering $90 off (half price) our initial inside/outside treatment while we are here. This treatment will take care of any bugs you may currently be seeing and will also be a great PREVENTATIVE treatment to protect your home and family from any pests. (Just continue on like they never mentioned they don’t have bugs. Sometimes they realize after you list all the bugs around that they have seen them, or they start thinking about the bugs they will see, like every summer, or they may just have needed a little more “selling”). 13. We don’t have the money right now. I’m sorry to hear that. This “half price” deal we are running now may be as good of a time as any if you want to have your home treated and save money. We are much cheaper than Terminix and Orkin and we are local and do a much better job. We are happy to accept all CREDIT & Debit CARDS if that helps. In fact, if you join the auto-pay program I can give you an additional $10 off today’s service. (Sometimes “too expensive” is just a front, and they need to be convinced of the value our service).
14. We have a company
Oh, I wouldn’t doubt it! There are so many bugs around here; you really need a service to protect your home and family. Actually, many of our current customers are those who have upgraded from other pest companies to ours. We are a full service company, local, less expensive, family owned and operated, and we provide a much better service than anyone in town. People switch to our service because we do a full “power spray” on each service. Other companies like Orkin and Terminix use a small hand-held sprayer and give you a 6 inch strip around your home. We bring out our 50 gallon POWER SPRAYER. Our 5 to 7 foot barrier is much more effective pest control. Our full service is less expensive than their service. You’ll see your bushes, shrubs, flowers and plants growing healthier and greener with our service as well when we power spray the bugs. We will sweep these pesky webs down on our regular services. Normally it would cost you $180 to start up with us, but if you are switching over, we can simply put your home on our service schedule, at just $99 bi-monthly. We would appreciate your business, and would love to keep your money local. (If they are on a quarterly service and like quarterly, it will be $125 quarterly. Sometimes if their service has been really bad or they
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haven’t had a service in over 3 months, we will need to perform an initial service and their first regular service within 30 days, like a normal sale, if their service has been regular, they may just need to slide into our regular service schedule). s, shrubs, flowers and plants growing healthier and greener with our 15. You’re coming back in 30 days? I thought it was bi-monthly?
An important part of ridding your home of unwanted pests involves breaking down the life cycle of the insects. The eggs that are currently in your home will hatch within 2 to 3 weeks, and we need to return before those insects can reproduce, which will end the egg cycle. The products have little effect on most insect eggs (some are hard as sand and hidden well). We schedule your first regular service the month following your initial service, and then we will return every two months to treat your home. This is standard pest control service. (The customer needs to know that this is not a free service. Make sure to stress that it’s the “first regular service.” Also, this service is usually mentioned at the end of the sale when you are filling out the schedule.) 16. We do our own spraying. Yeah, you really have to stay on top of those bugs; they are terrible around here (sound agreeable). We would love to help you out. We have a license to use some more effective products than you can get at Wal-Mart or Home Depot, and we guarantee that you will not have bugs while on our service or we’ll come back and treat your home for free in-between your regular treatments. We treat your eaves each time and get those pesky webs down. We have a 50 gallon Power Sprayer that we use to place a five to seven foot barrier around your home. We would appreciate your business and love to save you the hassle. We are a lot cheaper than Terminix and Orkin.
Explain that we use great products (see Product Guide Section). Our microencapsulated products are water resistant and extreme weather resistant, meaning they are not only waterproof but hold up in really hot or cold weather. The stuff you buy at Home Depot will break down in water and extreme weather. It’s a waste of money.
17. I’ve never heard of you guys? How long have you been in business?
We have been in business since 2003. We have sprayed hundreds of thousands of homes. We are a local business, family owned and operated. We are licensed, bonded and insured. 6 brothers own the company (I’m a friend of the family, helping them grow their business). We offer a better service at a better price, with a “one of a kind” service guarantee in writing. If you check out our reviews on Angie’s list and Online, you will see straight A’s! We have lots of ads in your phonebooks, on google, and a great website where customers can view their service schedule, pay their bill, and contact us.
18. How do you bill for your services?
We require a Credit or Debit card. This is the safest and easiest way to process your payments. Most of our customers prefer to have a credit or debit card on file for their regular services. We simply run your card after each reg-
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ular service (Remember you will rarely get cancels, charge backs, or late pays when you have customers on automatic payments). If you cannot use a Credit/Debit card, you may pay with a check or cash now or after the technician performs the service.
19. Can I do it quarterly?
We actually have found that our bi-monthly service is much more effective at keeping the bugs away. Most pest products have about a 60 day residual and sometimes even shorter during sunny, windy and high temperatures. After that, you are virtually unprotected. Our longest lasting and most satisfied customers are on our bi-monthly service. (Let that suffice if possible, if they persist that bi-monthly is too often, offer the quarterly service at $125 per treatment). Our quarterly service is just once a season and comes with the guarantee that you will be pest free. Instead of $99 once every two months, it’s just $125 once every 3 months. That will save you nearly $100 on the year!
20. Why is it more expensive to have a quarterly service?
We will still give you the full discount on your initial service that I quoted, but your regular services, every three months will be a little more per service. You actually will spend less on the year, on our quarterly services, only 4 regular treatments per year, instead of 6, and we will still give you our FULL SERVICE GUARANTEE. If you do have bugs between your regular visits, we will return for free to re-service your home (Unlimited Free Re-services). *Although we offer quarterly services, you should never offer this service on the door approach. Quarterly services are not as effective. If our products only have a 2 month residual, and we are scheduled to service their home every three months, they often have problems in-between services. About 25% of our customers are quarterly. (Service every 3 months…still requires back to back services – initial and 1 quarterly the next month). 21. I just want a ONE TIME service
We really don’t do one time treatments. We have found that the only thing that we can guarantee with a one time treatment is that you will have bugs again! It actually gives our company a bad name when we spray people’s homes and they think they should be bug free forever, and then when they see bugs again, they assume we don’t know what we are doing. A one time service is usually just a waste of money. (Go back to the benefits and guarantees of a Regular Service). * Never bring up ONE shot services. If the customer insists that they will only do a one-time treatment, we will do it for $180 with NO guarantees (you will get paid anything over $140—excluding additional services.)
22. “I’ve already had several salesmen knock on my door!”
This is mostly a concern for later in the summer or in “really good” areas. Don’t be afraid of these kinds of areas. The reason it has been hit several times is because it’s probably really good area. It’s important to go into these kinds of areas with “guns loaded”. Try changing up your approach:
“Hey there, we are spraying some homes for bugs out here tomorrow and I know I’m probably the 4th bug guy to come to your door (smiling) - the reason that I’m here is because almost everyone out here already has a service and we are just trying to find the last few homes that need the service. Since we are spraying your neighbor John Smith tomorrow at 10 - I can offer the first service to you for just half price. One thing our customers love about our service is…....”
Service). 23. What if I see bugs after your first service?
Actually, it’s quite common to see bugs after the first treatment (set correct expectations). That’s completely normal, don’t be alarmed - it usually takes about 10 days for the product to cycle through. This increase in bug activity shows that the products we are using are working: we are getting rid of them and disrupting their habitat. If the problem persists after about 10 days, just give us a call and we will get back out here to retreat your home at absolutely no additional charge.
24. Can you treat my garden?
We would be totally happy to treat the yard and around your garden. It’s actually good because it will reduce pests that would hurt your fruit and vegetables. While the products are completely safe - company policy doesn’t allow us to treat the garden directly.
Training Ideas: Go over each of these objections before your first door knocked. Know these really well within the first few weeks of selling. Role play activity: the manager is the customer and points to a sales rep and asks them one of the objections - the sales rep has to answer the question and close the sale smoothly.
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Butter
In every single sale, it’s necessary to help the customer feel comfortable about signing up with 6 Brothers’. Whether it’s a switch-over, someone fence sitting, or just during the course of a regular sale - their decision can be swayed if you show some personal touch and make them feel comfortable. Sometimes they will switch to our service because they like the sales rep and for no other reason. Examples:
“I’m confident that if you try out our service for two years, you will be so pleased that you will be a customer of ours for years to come”
“We would love to have your business”
“Let us prove to you that we will take care of your bugs”
“You won’t regret going with us”
“We will bend over backwards to make sure that your home is bug free and that you are satisfied with our service”
“As a family owned business you can be sure that we will do everything that it takes to make sure you’re a long time customer of ours”
“Honestly, we have the best service in (Tulsa) - Let us prove it to you”
“When people try us out for those first 8 (or 12) services, they stay with us for an average of 5 years because they love not seeing bugs and having us keep their property and family bug free. Let us do the same for your family”
There are many different things that you can say that will sway a potential customer's decision. Anytime someone has a question for you or shows some negativity - answering their question quickly, spinning on to other positives of our service, buttering them up, followed by a strong close is a sure fire way to get them to commit to the service. Training Ideas- Why is this important? If you were a potential customer, why would this aspect of the sale be important to you? When is a good time to lay this on a homeowner? Do role plays with a “homeowner on the fence about signing up,” giving him some personal touch to close the sale. Do any of you have recent experience where doing this or not doing this made or broke the sale for you?
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Midwest Positives
Miscellaneous
Family owned Locally owned
Licensed and bonded Great customer service. Friendly office staff Highly reviewed online: -A+ rating with BBB and Angie’s list Tulsa People Magazine best Pest Control Company $125 cancel fee- Cheaper than oth-ers. Preventative treatment
Technicians
Technicians are certified with the state Professional, courteous, friendly Clean Cut Drug tested. Background tested.
Service
Free re-services between regular visits. 50 Gallon power sprayer Cheaper than Terminix and Orkin Sprayed thousands of homes Included in the service that others don’t: Garage, eaves, 15 gallons used. No extra charge add-ons: Attics. Fence line. Play houses. Out sheds. Pool perimeter. More bugs than anyone. Incl: Brown recluse, black widow, snakes, mice, rats, roaches, fleas. No need to move furniture.
Discounts
Half price initial discount!! Credit Card auto pay discount Year in advance 7% Switch to quarterly Monthly subscriptions (charge monthly) Senior citizen and military discount $5 off-service Referral discount- $20 off next service.
Products
Products are safe for plants, kids, animals - We spray daycares, animal shelters, child clinics. Good for children and pets: Keeps bugs away from them Products are EPA approved Must have license to use products (Professional Grade) - Can’t buy products at Home Depot/Wal-mart Products are odorless and stainless
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Positives about our Company
It’s very important to know a lot of positives about the company. If you are doing a switch-over, have someone on the fence, are lost and don’t know what to say, or just want to fill your sale with good information - having lots of positives about the company on the tip of your tongue can be extremely beneficial. Sometimes the best way to start listing positives is by saying, “One thing that our customers love about us is that …”
Locally Owned. “Unlike many national companies such as Terminix and Orkin, we are a locally owned company and would love to help you keep your money in the community by going with us.” Mention where the office is: “we are right there off of 55th and Mingo” (know where the office is located) -etc.
Family Run. “The company is owned and operated by six brothers. They are great guys. As a family run company, you can take pride in knowing that we are going to treat you right and give you the best possible service…”
Service Guarantee. “The absolute best part about our service is our guarantee: if you ever see even the shadow of a bug, we will come back to your home free of charge to re-spray your home.” Remember, most companies don’t offer these free re-services.
Power Sprayer. “Most other companies use a handheld or backpack sprayer to “spot treat” the outside of homes. Not us, we don’t cut corners. We will use a 50 gallon power sprayer and put down about 15-20 gallons around your doors and windows, eaves, shrubs and bushes, giving your home a large protective barrier that will keep bugs out of your home.”
We treat more bugs than anyone. “We will take care of any bug problems you may have. Spiders, ants, fleas, ticks, mice, rats, snakes - pretty much every creepy-crawler (have a list of bugs that you can spout off at any time). Most other companies charge extra or don’t guarantee certain bugs like fleas, ticks, and even spiders like black widows and brown recluse. We take care of all of that on our regular service.”
Half Price Discount Great for shrubs and bushes
Less Expensive than Terminix and Orkin
Family and pet friendly
Licensed, bonded and insured
Great Customer Service
These are just a few. There are MANY more positives. Making a long list of these and more positives and having them in a place where you can review them in-between doors will be very helpful, even for the seasoned salesman.
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Switching to a Quarterly
Switching to a quarterly is a great option for potential customers who have a problem with price or being serviced too often with a bi-monthly. Sometimes when a customer is on the fence and you are having a very hard time getting them to commit to a bi-monthly, selling them on a quarterly service is a great way to make the sale. There is a sure-fire way to get someone excited about a quarterly - here are the three steps:
1. Quarterly will save them money on the year. $99 bi vs $125 q
2. Less visits to the home. Instead of once every two months, we come once per season
3. Same guarantee as the bi-monthly. “We’ll come back in-between those regular visits for free if you ever need us.”
Customer: “I’m just not sure if I can commit to a service - that’s a lot of money!” Salesman: “I understand. You know, we have a service that might actually be exactly what you are looking for. We have many customers who go with our Quarterly service and they LOVE it. Instead of servicing your home once every other month, we service it once every three months, or once per season. It’s less expensive too! Instead of paying 99 bucks once every other month, it's just $125 every three months. That will save you about a hundred bucks on the year! The best part about the quarterly is that it’s the same great guarantee: if you ever need us in-between those seasonal treatments, we will come back to
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Training Ideas - Why is it important to know lots of positives about Midwest? When would it be beneficial to tell the customer positives? Activities: take turns naming one positive about Midwest until there’s one person left - give that person a prize. Point to a salesmen and say one of the positives and have them expound upon it in role play form. Who has an example of making the sale because of listing positives about the company? Can every salesman spout off 10 positives from memory kind of like a bug-list?
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your home absolutely free of charge to re-treat. (SPIN). One thing that our customers love about our quarterly service is how thorough the service itself is: we use a 50 gallon power sprayer and give your home a thick barrier of about 15-
20 gallons of our product. Most other companies use a handheld sprayer to spot treat around the outside. We also spray on the interior around the baseboards, corners and entryways and the garage - sealing off the inside of your home from bugs. (STRONG CLOSE) You are going to absolutely love our service and I’m confident that you will be a customer of ours for years to come. So let’s go ahead and save you money by giving you that quarterly, what’s the address here?”
It’s important to remember that once you decide to sell the quarterly, there’s no going back to the bi-monthly. You need to make it sound like it’s the greatest service ever. At the beginning of every sale you must assume the bi-monthly. Only switch to a quarterly if it’s called for. A lot of sales reps have it in their heads that a quarterly is easier to sell and they don’t assume the bi-monthly from the start and that’s the only thing they sell all year. You are costing yourself a lot of money by decreasing the contract value. Training ideas: Question: When should you switch to a quarterly? Have any of you had recent success with this switch-over method? Role play a switch to quarterly keeping in mind the spin and close technique.
Being Observant
This is a very helpful aspect of the sale. Sometimes salesmen can start to sound robotic and talk for long periods of time. Being observant helps involve the customer and makes the sale much more natural while showcasing what the service can provide for each unique customer and home. Things to notice:
Out sheds
Swimming Pools
Fences
Gardens
Playground equipment Visible webs and nests
Hardwood floors
Animals
Children
Neighbors with overgrown yards
Outdoor Kitchens
Decks and Patios
B-B-Q areas
Dog Runs
Bodies of water nearby (ponds, rivers, streams, etc…)
Areas conducive to pest infestation
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Mulch
Trees (webworms)
Log Piles
Attics
Garages
New Sod
Use the things that you notice about each house to your advantage on EVERY single sale you make. It will help out exponentially. Example:
Customer: “I’m going to need to think about it before I commit.” You: “I totally understand - that’s natural. I know that you won’t regret going with us. We are going to take such good care of you. We really go above and beyond with every single service we perform. I noticed that you have playground equipment in the back, do you have kids?
Customer: “Yes, a son and daughter.” You: “That’s awesome - your backyard is so nice, I bet they love playing out there during the summer. One thing that we can do for you that our customers love is we can spray down that playground equipment back there. That will keep dangerous spiders, ants, and all other bugs off of that play equipment and away from your children. What we can also include in your service at no additional charge is a fence line spray. I noticed that you have a pond behind your property. By spraying your fence line, it will keep pests from that pond and from the neighboring properties from entering your yard. I see you have a nice barbecue on your pack patio - I’ll bet you have some fun get-togethers back there when there’s good weather, right?”
Customer: “Oh yeah, I’m a big B-B-Q’uer.” You: “That’s great. That sounds like a lot of fun. One thing that we can do for you that I’m sure you will love is giving that back patio area a very thorough spray with our power sprayer each time we come out to treat your home. You know what too, if you are ever planning a get together or party in your backyard this summer, give us a call a few days before - even if you are in-between your regular services and we will come treat it for you. That will eliminate all bugs and help keep mosquitoes away. (CLOSE) We will truly do whatever it takes to make sure that you are a satisfied customer. As a local, family owned company, we are going to treat you right and you will not regret going with us. So let me mark down that we will be spraying the playground equipment, fence line and patio… are there any other places that we need to concentrate on?”
Hopefully it’s clear to see through this example the power of being observant.
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It can change the mind of the customer as they see all that our service entails. When they can visualize how the service can benefit them specifically, they will want it. Training Ideas: Why is it a good idea to be observant? List as many things to be observant about as possible and how you can apply it to the sale. Ask about recent success stories through being observant. Go through a full sale roleplay taking note of all the ways the sales rep was observant.
Nonverbal Communication
Studies have claimed that 66 percent of all communication is nonverbal. This can include body position, eye contact, facial expressions, hand movement and appearance. You can SAY all the right things but if you do it while looking at the ground, shuffling your feet and have a bad facial expression - making that sale will be extremely difficult. Body Position- it's important to be as “non-threatening” as possible. After knocking the door/ringing the doorbell, I would take several steps off the front porch - giving them plenty of room to open the door and step outside with you. This is especially important if you are tall. Standing right on the doorstep can be intimidating to people.
Eye Contact - steady eye contact is important in establishing trust with the customer. If you are talking about the service agreement or price and your eyes are darting all over the place, it seems shady. Having great eye contact will make you sound more confident.
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Facial Expressions - sometimes customers will sign up with you because they like you. Try to always have a smile on your face. It's very inviting. Even if you just got yelled at on the previous door you must shake it off and treat each potential customer with an inviting, pleasing demeanor. When they ask a question or show a concern - your facial expression should reflect their mood. Show excitement and happiness and you will be rewarded with more sales.
Head Nod - a little head nod as you are explaining something is a good way to get the customer to agree with you. For Example: Customer: “Is this a contract?”
You: “Yes it is! (while smiling and nodding). We ask you to give us a try for two years on our regular service, which is the only way we can guarantee to keep your home bug free. In fact, when customers try out our service for two years they usually stay with us for several more years because they love not seeing bugs. I’m confident that if you try us out for a year you aren’t going to want to cancel (shaking your head). You’re going to love our service and be extremely satisfied (nodding and smiling).
Hand Movement - this will take attention from your face and makes you sound more interesting. When explaining the service - use your hands to show eve treatments, cracks and crevices, etc… When referring to a neighbor or saying that your “truck will be on the street tomorrow”, use your hands and point. This draws the customer’s attention way more than a stiff body talking to them on the door. Mirroring - when they laugh, you should laugh. When they scowl, you should scowl. When they fold their arms, you fold yours. This is a small way to show the customer that you are on the same page with them.
Appearance - how you look on the doorstep can make or break the sale for you. Be sure to look professional. Be clean cut: shaved face and short hair. Some people like to go for the “technician” look. That’s great - just make sure you look nice. Clean clothes, tucked in shirt, etc. Don’t wear anything that can be distracting: large jewelry, sunglasses, and so forth.
How you are speaking - even though this is verbal communication it seems necessary to state here. If you are speaking monotone you will not make sales. You can spit out the sale word for word beautifully but if you are not interesting then you won’t be listened to. Make sure you speak loud and clear and put emphasis on the right words. Be dramatic at times. Be funny. Be engaging. Be anything but boring and monotone. Training Ideas: Do a full sale paying specific attention to nonverbal communication. List all of the forms of nonverbal communication. Does anyone have an example of making a sale in large part due to non-verbal communica-tion? Which sales rep is a good example of nonverbal communication?
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Asking Good Questions
Questions are useful in trying to seem more relatable and personal with a homeowner, in breaking up your “sales pitch,” and in finding out more useful information. You never want to seem like you are “pitching” someone. If you are speaking for long periods of time without any customer participation - that can be a bad thing. In the section “Being Observant” we learn that asking questions about the customers family and property can be a good way to be personable and involve the customer. Examples
“I see a swing set in the back - do you have kids?” --- “we can spray that down really well and keep all of those harmful bugs off your small children.”
“Wow, you’re house looks brand new, did you guys just move in?” --- “It’s so nice, I love the landscaping. We would love to help retain the value of your house by keeping mud wasps, webs and nests from off the property..”
“I saw a bunch of trees behind your house - a lot of the neighbors told me they see fleas and ticks during the summer, how often do you see fleas and ticks?”
You can also use questions that aren’t pest control related to get to know the customer better. You shouldn’t use these right off the bat. They are better for once you’ve been on the doorstep for a while. Again - if they like you, your chances of signing them up increase dramatically. Have some basic knowledge of things that are going on in the area. Being able to small talk makes you seem more approachable, friendly and less awkward. Examples
“I saw an OU flag flying in front of the house - what do you think about their Quarterback situation?”
“I love your truck in the driveway - I’ve been thinking about getting an F-
150, how do you like it?”
“I saw your Thunder license plate on your car - how do you think we will do against Golden State tonight?”
Questions are also important in knowing where you stand and where to go. Examples
Switch-Overs - “Oh, you already have a company? That’s good, you definitely need somebody with all the bugs that are out - Do they service your home once every two or three months?” Their answer will tell you a lot and where you need to go. If they say “We have it sprayed quarterly”, you know to talk about how great OUR quarterly is. If they say “I just call them when I need them”, you know that they actually don’t have a company and you can sell them on the value of having a regular pest control service.
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Do it Yourselfers - “Oh, you take care of the bugs yourself? That’s great! What kind of bugs do you usually have to spray for?” Their answer will help you a lot. “I’m sorry to hear that you get ants - they’re all over the place right now. We will be treating several of the neighbors for ants tomorrow. One thing our customers love about our ant service is that we use a product called Termidor…”
Asking the WRONG questions can destroy your sale. Try to avoid them. Examples
“Oh, you already have a company? How much do you pay them?” People don’t want to tell someone they just met how much they pay for something. Even if they do tell you how much they pay, it doesn’t help you at all - it puts you in a worse situation.
“Do you guys get a lot of bugs around here?” If they say “No”, where do you go from there?
“Are you satisfied with your current company?”
“When are you due to have that baby?”
Asking too many questions should also be avoided. If you’re not careful, it will start to sound like an interrogation.
Training Ideas - Make a list of several good questions that you could ask a customer. What are some bad things you could ask a customer? Do any of you have recent experience with making or breaking a sale based on the questions you asked? Role play a sale concentrating on questions that could be helpful.
Switch-Overs
If you can learn to get people to drop their current service and go with you, sometimes at a higher price, you will make lots and lots of sales. Convincing someone that they need pest control is one thing but switch-overs are a whole different animal. Switch-overs involve almost every aspect of salesmanship - think of it as an art form. If you assume that ⅓ of the doors you knock “already have pest control” - being able to switch people over to our service will in-crease your potential sales pool dramatically.
There are a few things to consider: 1. Get information - “Oh, you already have a company? That’s good, you
definitely need somebody with all the bugs that are out - Do they service your home once every two or three months?” Knowing how often they are treated will help you to move forward comparing us to them - apples to apples. Other follow up questions can be “when they first started coming out, what kind of bugs were you seeing?” This might give you more ammunition.
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2. There are bad questions with switch-overs. These questions can lead you to a brick wall: - Oh, you have a company, how are they doing? “Doing great. Bye” - Are you still seeing bugs? “Nope. Adios.” - How much are you paying? “None of your business.”
3. We switch people over all the time! - it’s important to let them know that switching companies is something that people do often and that it’s no big deal.
4. What makes us different than other companies?
- Power sprayer - Local - Family Owned and operated
- Cheaper than Terminix and Orkin
- See the “Positives” section for more
5. Build value into the service
6. Ask good questions
See “Asking Good Questions” section
7. Butter See “Butter” section
8. Being Observant See “Being Observant” section
9. Great Close
See “Great Closes” section
Example
“Oh, you’re smart to have a pest control company - these bugs can get really bad if you don’t take care of it. Does your company come out once every two or three months?” “Once a quarter”. “That’s awesome. We do a great quarterly service as well. In fact, a lot of people switch over to our quarterly service because we have a guarantee that if they ever even see the shadow of a bug in-between their quarterly visits, we come back to the home free of charge. We do our quarterly service at $125 and I’m confident that we have the best service in the city. Unlike other companies who use a handheld sprayer to spot treat the outside of your home, we use a 50 gallon power sprayer and put down 15-20 gallons around the perimeter of your home giving it an effective barrier. We also treat the inside. We guarantee more bugs on our regular service than anyone else: spiders, ants, fleas, ticks, mice, snakes, wasps - And people LOVE that we are local and family owned with great customer service. You know what, we would love to earn your business. I’m confident that if you tried our quarterly service, that you would be a customer of ours for years to come. Like I was saying - we are treating your neighbor Bob Vance tomorrow at 3 - does 4pm work for you?”
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If they show interest after this - start reeling them in. The rest of the sale should be dedicated to accentuating the positives of 6 Brothers’ PC, being ob-servant, talking price, answering all of their questions, spinning onto other pos-itives, pestimony, and great closes. Be sure to get the price out as early as possible so that you can spend the rest of the time building value into that price. Don’t worry about what they currently pay - they will bring it up themselves.
Training Ideas: Role play switch-overs a lot! (this is one that you can do all summer long - everyone needs help with switch-overs because it involves so many aspects of making a sale). Who has had a switch-over recently? How did you do it? Does anyone have an example of how they blew the sale because they said the wrong thing or weren’t prepared for the switch-over? What are other good questions to ask to elicit more information from the homeowner?
Closing: Turning Negatives into Positives (spin, positives, close)
This is the biggest problem for new salesmen. Anyone can spout off information. The ones who can close really well are the ones who are able to convince people to sign up. You will never go through a sale without confronting a question or facing some form of negativity from the customer. This is normal. It’s not a problem and shouldn’t make you nervous. All of the questions presented in the training materials should be dealt with using this procedure, i.e. “Is this a contract?” “Is it safe for my kids?” “Can I have a one shot?” Procedure:
1. Answer the question or address the criticism or negativity quickly
2. Spin onto another subject (usually positives about the service, in depth detail about the service itself, or by being observant. A good way to transition to these positives is to throw in one of these phrases: Another thing our customers love is... OR, You’re gonna love the fact that we use a 50 gallon power sprayer.)
3. Throw some butter phrases in there (Example, We’d really appreciate your business and we’ll do a great job for you!)
4. A strong close (see Great Closes, training materials)
Example: Customer: “Is this a contract?” You: (ANSWER QUICKLY) “Yes! - we ask all of our customers to try us out for two years on our regular service. It's the only way that we can guarantee to keep your home bug free. When customers try out our regular service they end up staying with us for several years because they love not seeing bugs. (SPIN TO POSITIVES) One thing that our customers love about our service is that it's guaranteed: if you ever see bugs in-between services we will come back to your house free of charge to re-spray the home. (BE OBSERVANT)
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I see that you have a shed in your backyard, let us go ahead and include that in the service. We will use our power sprayer on it which will keep all those bugs from getting inside. I also noticed that you have some playground equipment in the back, when we come out we will spray that down to make sure that spiders stay off of you and your children while you’re playing back there. (BUTTER) We would love to have your business. We will bend over backwards to make sure that your home is bug free. I’m confident that you will be pleased with the service you are given. (CLOSE). We will be at Debby Johnson's house at 3 pm tomorrow, would 4 o’clock work for you?” It’s important to use this procedure. The idea behind it is that you turn their negativity into positivity and get their mind thinking about something else. By time you make them feel comfortable and close - they can’t help but agree. Training Ideas: point to a salesman, ask them a question and have them try out this procedure. Every salesman should know how to do this well. Why is it important to do this?
Phone Sales
Of course closing the sale on the door is the preferred method - but occasionally you will have to call the customer back at a later time. Generally this happens when you are talking to the spouse and they “can’t make the decision” without speaking to the other spouse first.
There are a few things to consider before getting the phone number: 1. Make sure that when they say “oh, I need to talk to my husband (or wife)”
that you say “Great, is he here right now?” You would be shocked to know how often the spouse is home. Of course follow up with “I would love to talk to both of you for just a second. Can you get him really quick?” The chances of you making the sale increases dramatically when both people are on the door with you. It seems like neither person wants to be the “bad guy” so they talk themselves into doing it.
2. If the other spouse isn’t home - have them make a call on speaker phone to the other. This is a better option than doing a call back because you are speaking to both of them at once.
3. Do everything you can to not have to call them back. Continue making the sale on the doors and convince them.
4. Go backs are better than call backs. It's better to find a time later that night when their spouse is home or they’ve had enough time to “think about it.” Make sure to schedule your go back for a time when it won’t interfere with knocking hours (you want to maximize your time on the doors, especially during “prime time”).
The devil is in the details. Make sure that while you’re getting the phone number that you get and write down as much pertinent information about the customer as possible.
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1. Their name
2. The spouse's name
3. What time they will be home/what time you’ll call 4. Who will you be speaking to when you call?
5. Information you have gleaned while talking to them: kids, ants in the kitchen, never had a service before, new born baby, etc, etc, etc.
6. Information you have gleaned from being observant: back fence, dogs, hardwood floors, attic, out shed, etc, etc, etc.
7. Subdivision name
8. Street name
9. Neighbors being serviced
10. Anything else that could be used (they have an OKC thunder flag flying in front of their house)… ANYTHING!
This seems over the top, but don’t be fooled, those who make the most detailed call back notes have a much higher chance of making the sale. You think you will remember all of the information you talked to them about but you’ll forget by the end of the night. That’s why it’s so important to write everything down.
Doing the call back. Study everything out in your notes and be prepared. Assume they don’t know anything, treat it like a door approach.
Example: “Hi, is this Greg?” -yes it is. “Greg, this is Rob with Midwest Pest Control. I stopped by the house today and talked to your wife Amy for just a second - we are going to be spraying Bob Jones’ house along with a few other neighbors there on Hickory Way tomorrow afternoon. Amy told me that you guys have been seeing a lot of ants and spiders this year. Since we will be there already, we would love to offer you half price if tomorrow at 3 works for you.” -how much is half price?
“That first service is usually 180 dollars but, like I said, because we are treating Bob’s place tomorrow, our trucks will be in the area and we can do it for just 90 bucks, that’s half price! After that, we perform a regular service at your home, once every two months for just 99 dollars. The best part of our service, if you ever see bugs in-between our bi-monthly treatments, we will return to your home free of charge to retreat. Our service is the best in the industry: we de-web the outside of the home and then treat the outside with a 50 gallon power sprayer - we will put about 15-20 gallons around the perimeter of the home, around doors and windows and shrubs. We also treat the inside of the home. Amy was telling me that you guys have seen a bunch of spiders and ants already - Bob has been seeing them too. We do a great job on them and will guarantee to get rid of them or we will return to your home free of charge. We’d love to have your business. We will take good care of you and bend over backwards to make sure that your home is bug free. We are doing Bob's place at 3, we could do a 2 or 4 pm, which one works best for you?”
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This is a good example of how to “get into” the phone sale. Most of the time the customer will have additional questions and it won’t be as smooth and easy as this example. Remember to use your detailed notes during the phone sale. The items listed in bold were things that were written down on the doors. Again, the more info you write down, the easier the phone sale will be because the customer will feel much more comfortable with you if you are listing things that may be of concern to them. Each additional question that the customer asks over the phone (Is this a contract? Is this safe for my kids? etc.) - answer the question and then spin onto positives of the company, be observant (using your notes), butter them up, and close again.
Compare this example to a rep who doesn't take detailed notes: all the note says is the customer's name and phone number. That rep is fighting a major uphill battle.
Make a goal each day for number of phone numbers you collect (obviously you want to close the sale rather than just “getting a phone number”). Sometimes a phone sale will come out of the most unlikely callbacks - maybe it was the early afternoon and you talked to a woman who said “my husband isn’t here and I think he has someone that sprays” - it would be easy to just leave a card and be on your way, but you were persistent, got the husband's phone number, and to your surprise, he wasn’t satisfied with the company and it was an easy sale. B
e on
Try to get to the point where you can “rely” on one or two phone sales every single night. This will require some major persistency. It should be a habit to call ALL of your call-back’s every single night. At the end of the summer you should be making 50+ calls per night. Call them until they buy or tell you to get lost. What’s the point of getting a phone number if you never call it? Don’t let darkness stop you from calling. The first hour of darkness after you’re done selling is the perfect time to call people back.
If you have an out of state number, consider using the app Sideling, or similar, which gives you a local number and allows you to make and receive calls with that number from your phone. Other options include buying an inexpensive prepaid phone from the store. Sales reps who come out and don’t have a way to make calls using a local number shows that they aren’t serious about sales.
Training Ideas: What percentage of your sales are phone sales? What can you do to get more phone numbers everyday? What can each sales rep do better to get more phone numbers and phone sales? Are you getting too many phone numbers? What is the correct process for signing someone up over the phone (salesroutes)? Which sales rep is the best at getting phone sales and what’s their secret? Role play an entire door/phone sale. What are the major differences between making a sale on the door versus the phone?
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Overcoming the “Big Three”
In the NBA, there has been a long standing argument of who is the original “Big Three.” Most people believe that it was the 80’s Celtics with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish. Others believe that it started with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen of the 2000’s Celtics or Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat. There are actually TWO big three’s: 1. Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony of the 2017-2018 Oklahoma City Thunder and the “Big Three Objections”:
1. Not interested
2. Need to think about it 3. Do you have a card?
We will be talking about these objections as if they had been given later in the sale, not right off the door approach (see door approach turn downs). These three objections are usually the very hardest thing for new salesmen to overcome. It takes grit, stick-to-it-iveness and confidence to continue past these objections and close the sale.
Generally these objections come out after explaining the price and service to them. They have shown some kind of interest and are now using one of these objections to end the conversation. You need to get them back on quickly.
Method: 1. Cut them a deal - a majority of times the issue is price and most people
want to feel like they are “getting a deal” - so give it to them! A few months ago a door-to-door salesman stopped by my house and pitched me on spraying my yard for weeds on a regular service. He gave me the price. I had no idea what the going rate for weed control was but I immediately asked for a discount. He gave it to me and I signed up (this isn’t a huge surprise, I buy everything from door-to-door salesmen). People generally don’t know how much pest control is so give it to them cheaper and let them know they are getting a good deal. Always start your prices high! Because most people are looking for a deal, if you start at a rock bottom quarterly price you have no room to give a discount. The best salesmen always leave something in their back pocket that they can whip out if they need to push someone over the fence.
2. Create urgency - a lot of times people who give these objections aren’t opposed to having the service, they just aren’t in any hurry to have it done. Give them a reason to get it done!
Now is the perfect time! - Use the time of year to create urgency. There is always something unique about the time of year: a. Beginning of the summer, “Now’s a perfect time to get going before
the hot summer months come upon us and the bugs are everywhere!”
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b. Middle of the summer, “Now’s the perfect time to get going because we are in the middle of these hot summer months and we want to get rid of these bugs as soon as possible…”
c. End of summer, “Now’s the perfect time to get going because we will get rid of any bugs that you are currently seeing and being on our yearly service will allow us to take care of your home for the next two summers!”
Keep your eye out for what the local department of agriculture has to say about pest control for the year. A lot of times they will issue statements about “increased bug activity due to a mild winter…” etc. Always be up to date and educated on what the experts have to say and use it in your pitch.
Half price! Make sure to mention the half price several times during your pitch, especially when trying to create urgency. If the potential customer calls in without a coupon and wants the service, we will charge them full price on the initial.
We are currently in the neighborhood/We are servicing several of your neighbors. It’s weird that people are more urgent about getting the service done while we are in the neighborhood because it is convenient for us.
d. Convenient - sometimes it helps the customer to literally tell them why it’s important for us to get their house treated tomorrow (or whenever) while we are there. “Honestly sir, when we are able to do more services in a smaller geographical area, we save money and can pass those savings onto you. We save money on labor and gas. Heck, we are doing your neighbor Bob Jones’ place and we could put the truck in neutral and coast down to your house!”
e. Be observant and use add-ons as a way of creating urgency (see the section below). “I’ll tell you what, if we can get you going tomorrow, I see you have a fence around your property, we will give you a free fence line spray. That will do a great job in keeping pests out of your property. That’s not usually included in our regular service but I can do that for you if you can do it tomorrow.”
3. Add-ons - there are plenty of things that you can “throw in” to sweeten the deal for the customer. Some add-ons are available for all offices and some can only be used in certain offices.
Shed Sprays
Fence Line Sprays
Yard Sprays (very small yards only - if larger, charge $49)
Free Year of Termites (check with your office)
Dog Runs
Play Sets
Swimming Pools
BBQ Areas
Porch
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Attic and Crawl Space Fogger
There are many more things that you can add on. As you are making the pitch, be aware of your surroundings and provide add-ons that you know the customer would be interested in.
It’s important to let them know that these are things that you are offering which are outside of what we normally do. It’s something special that you are offering just for them. It’s also important that when you offer an add-on that you take time to explain why it’s important to have. Example: “I’ll tell you what, sir, if we can get your home treated tomorrow, I will include a dog-run treatment. I see you have a dog in the backyard with a play area and dog house - We will come out and spray that area very thoroughly, which will take care of any fleas, ticks or other unwanted pests from off your dog and property. That service isn’t usually included on our initial treatment but we are willing to offer it to you if we can get you on the service tomorrow at 3.” If you include ANY additional service you must enter it into the notes section so the technician can read it and knows what to do.
4. Butter - after really working with the customer, laying on some butter will smooth everything out and get them prepared to say “ok” to the service. Think of phrases that you can use that will make the customer feel comfortable about going with us, after all, when they opened the door to you they probably never thought about getting pest control - you’ve got to convince them. “We would really appreciate your business!”
“We will treat you right!”
“We will bend over backwards to make sure that your home and family is completely bug free”
(After talking about the add-ons) “that’s what you get when you deal with us - we will do anything in our power to make sure the service is satisfactory”
“I’m confident that if you try out our service for just those (8 or 12) regular services that you will be with us for several years after that because you are going to love our service”
Always be thinking of new ways to make the customer feel comfortable saying “yes” to the service.
5. Close - (see “Great Closes”) The close should always flow well at the end of your butter. Never close with a yes or no question. Usually close with a time in mind - “does tomorrow at 3 or 4 work better for you” “are you usually home in the morning or the afternoon.” Sometimes the best closes are just to assume the sale. Think of something you mentioned during the pitch and use it to transition into getting their information - “We are going to do a great service for you, I know that you will be completely satisfied.
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So I mentioned that we would include an attic spray, let me just make sure to mark that down (on your tablet) - what did you say your name was, sir?”
Know these 5 points like the back of your hand. Practice and role play this situation often. Managers: make sure to go over this all the time. Reps, put it into practice on the doors! There have been so many reps who sound awesome during role plays in training but don’t make any sales because they admit that they aren’t being aggressive and doing this technique in live situations. Generally speaking - this is what separates the big fish from the little ones.
Training Ideas: What makes this section the difference between sales reps who sell a lot and sales reps who don’t? Why does this work? Who has had recent success using this method? What tips can you give new sales reps? Role play this entire situation ALL SUMMER LONG!
The Card Trick
We will provide you with cards that you can take with you as you sell. They contain the business information as well as discounts that you can offer potential customers. You shouldn’t let these cards be in a visible location as you are pitching the customer. Keep them in your back pocket or in your notebook/tablet cover. If they see that you have a card they will ask for one as a way to get you to leave. Often times we tell new sales reps to not even carry cards with them when they sell because they give them away too easily. Once a customer has a card they are much harder to sell - “thanks for the info - I have your card and will call if I need anything.” It leaves the sales rep dead in the water.
That being said, sometimes they can be very helpful. You will often find yourself in a situation where the customer shuts you down hard - “I’m not interested!” It’s hard to continue selling when they've said no or asked you to leave. When this happens, take a step back from the door or off the porch (creating a sense of space from the customer) and offer them a card. Seeing this as a sign that you’re about to leave - the potential customer lets their guard down - giving you room to throw in a few positives about the company or information that might catch their interest.
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Example: Rep: Gives the door approach. Customer cuts you off: “I’m not interested in anything you’re selling!” Rep, stepping back: “oh, yes sir, I understand, no problem. Let me just leave a card with you in case you need anything.” The customer almost always will say something like, “sure” Rep: “Great, let me just write my name on here in case you need anything” Rep: (as they’re writing their name on the card): “You know, right now we are offering a free year of termite protection to anyone who starts a regular pest control service with us. Terminix charges 25 bucks per month for a similar guarantee. We’d love for you to take advantage of that and we could start you tomorrow.” Customer: “how is this different than Sentricon, which is what I currently have?” Bam! - there you go. You are having a conversation with him. The possibility of making the sale goes way up.
There are many things that you could say as you are writing your name on the card: local bugs, neighbors, one or two of the MANY positives of our company, etc.
You will be surprised how many sales you make that you normally wouldn’t have made. You will make many sales to customers while still holding the card in your hand - you never gave it to them because you started talking with them. It’s important to remember to only use this method as a last resort because, again, once they have a card - they now have an “out.” Seasoned sales reps will know when to use them and know when it’s not necessary because they can continue without it.
Training Ideas: Who has had recent success using this method? What additional advice can you give? Who has used it in the wrong situation and lost the sale? Role play using this technique. What is some good information that you can give to potential customers during the card trick?
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Great Closes
Is tomorrow or Wednesday better for you?
Will you or your wife be home so we can give you this great deal tomorrow or even Saturday?
We will have a truck down the street at the (Blake’s) home tomorrow
morning at 10, can we come by at 11 a.m. or at 9 before we treat their home?
We will have a truck here tomorrow to take care of those (Black Widows) you’ve been seeing; is morning or afternoon better for you?
Normally our initial service runs $180, but if tomorrow or Thursday works for you, we will do it for just $90. What day is better for you?
We would really appreciate your business and will do an excellent job for
you all year long, and we will be here tomorrow. Is morning or afternoon better for you?
The service should take 40-50 minutes. You don’t even need to leave the
home while we treat. Will you be home tomorrow afternoon?
Our truck schedule is filling and I’d like to reserve you a time so you can
take advantage of this half price deal. Would 10am work tomorrow?
Right now is a perfect time to take care of those bug problems while it’s still
hot. We can squeeze you in this week for half price while we’re in the area if this weekend would work better for you.
You can use all of these closes on the same customer. Each close may bring up new questions that you can resolve, then CLOSE AGAIN. Sales reps who don’t “ask for the sale” will not make sales. Very rarely will somebody say “YES” to your door approach. They will instead say “yes” to a time that works for them. Your close should be straightforward and involve a specific day.
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Finalizing the Sale
Most sales take less than 10 minutes, and you rarely need to leave the door-step. 90% of all sales are completed outside the customer’s home. If they invite you in, and you feel comfortable it is much easier to close the deal in their home (It is policy that female reps stay outside of the home unless another adult female is present in the home). Remember most of the time the customer never says the word “yes”. You close with questions like “Is Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning better for you?” When they say “Tuesday”, you start filling out the agreement. “Great, let me just get your name and address here, and I will put you on our schedule, this will just take a minute.” Before you leave the home of your sale, make sure you have done the following:
1. Written clearly all required information in the app. This includes, name (first and last, husband and wife if possible), address, phone number, alt number, cross streets, subdivision, your name (printed) date, service date, credit card and exp. date, and mark the appropriate boxes.
2. Get signature and initials on the agreement in appropriate places (extra signature if using a credit card for payments).
3. Collect payment, or remind customer that payment will be due after the initial service is performed, and make sure they know how much they will owe.
4. Briefly go over the entire agreement with the customer, pointing to the term, the months we will be coming out, the charges they will incur and the service guarantee they have with this agreement.
5. Reconfirm the date and time with them and let them know that we will call if we are going to be more than 15 minutes late, but we are usually quite punctual.
6. Make sure you have the customer on your schedule so you don’t double book
7. Ask for referrals - this is the easiest way to make sales - just ask for them! “Do you have a neighbor or family member who would like to take advantage of this discount?”
8. Thank the customer for their business and reassure them that we will be there and do a great job for them, and we are anxious to serve them for a long time to come. Shake their hand and get going (The next few doors are your best chances to make additional sales).
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Door Approach Turn Downs
“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Don’t give up too easily; persistence pays off in the end,” Thomas H. Palmer.
I would venture to say that 90% of total sales come after being shut down on the door approach. Getting turned down after the door approach is just part of the game. People are generally leery of door to door reps - you have to work for it and earn that sale. This is when being “thick skinned” makes you a lot of money. If you can push through the initial turn down and continue selling, you will be surprised how open people are and how many people you will sign up.
The goal of the door approach is to get them to ask “what’s half price?” But let’s be honest: that’s the best case scenario. Usually they will say:
I wouldn’t be interested
I already have a company
I do it myself We aren’t seeing anything
No thanks! Do you have a card?
There are a ton of different things that they will tell you to try to get you off the door.
Try one more time!
All it usually takes is effort. Instead of saying “Ok, have a great day” and leaving the doorstep - make one more attempt at the sale. It’s important to make your move quickly by throwing out a couple positives about the company - something to catch their attention. Let’s assume that they say “I wouldn’t be interested” after you give your door approach:
Things to say: Oh, I understand, sir. You know, I just wanted to tell you that if you get
on our pest control service right now, we will include a free year of termite protection for your home. Terminix usually charges $27 per month for that service - we would love to offer it to you for free. Who do you have for termites?
I understand. I just wanted to let you know that the Department of Agriculture is expecting this to be a terrible year for bug infestation due to the very mild winter we had - so now is the absolute perfect time to have us start, and we are doing it for just half price! Would tomorrow morning or afternoon work better for you?
I see. You know, we are a local, family owned company and we would love to have your business. We treat our customers right and guarantee
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our results. Generally when people try us out on our regular service, they stay with us for years because they love not seeing bugs. We’d love to bring you into our family and we can get you started this afternoon. How does 4 sound?
I get it. I’ve been talking to a lot of your neighbors here and I would say that about 60% of them are already on a regular service with other companies. With all confidence I can tell you that we are the best pest control company in the metro. We use a 50 gallon power sprayer and will put down about 20 gallons of product around the outside of your home. The best part of our service is that it is guaranteed, meaning that we will come back to your home free of charge if you ever see anything in between our regular services. We will be doing your neighbor, Bob’s house tomorrow at 3, how does 4 sound?
Oh, no problem. Ya know, we take care of pretty much every bug you can think of: spiders, ants, fleas, ticks, mice, rats, snakes, scorpions, roaches - and its all included in our regular services. We would love to get these out of your house and keep your family pest free. We can get that going for you tomorrow at 5 - will you be home at that time?
I see - do you know your neighbor Brad across the street? “Yes.” They have been a customer of ours for 5 years, in fact, you’ve probably seen our trucks all over your street because we have so many customers right here. They love not seeing bugs and it would be our pleasure to offer you the same great service that they are getting, and we can do that for you tomorrow at 4, if you’ll be home?
The goal is to grab their attention as quickly as possible. Don’t waste any time. When someone says “I’m not interested” after your door approach (or similar) it’s important to say something that may spark quick interest.
Try to avoid asking them questions. They’ve just turned you down and want to get you off their doorstep - if you ask them “Oh, do you already have a company?” or something, that isn’t helpful to you.
Practice what you will say when someone turns you down after the door approach. There are a ton of things that you can say and a lot of them depend on what objection they give you (“I’m not seeing anything”- you, “oh really, that’s very surprising. Your neighbor Doug across the street and James a few doors down have been seeing a ton of ants and spiders. In fact, the Department of Agriculture has warned…”).
The more responses that you know, the better you know them, and the quicker you can give them to the potential customer, the more likely you are to grab their attention and continue making the sale. This is a great time to list several positives about the company.
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Training Ideas: Who thinks they give up too easily after being told “no” on the door, by a raise of hands? How does being aggressive as a sales rep usually result in more sales? Does anyone have recent experience making the sale after being told “no” on the door approach? What are some methods that could be employed to get their attention and continue the sale? Role play: have each sales rep do a door approach and turn them down - have the rep employ this method and continue making the sale.
Be the Expert
If you’ve read this entire training manual then you know more about pest control than 99% of people. When you’re on the doors, reflect this knowledge. Be the expert because you are the expert! If you don’t know all the information in your first few weeks, it’s ok - just keep working, studying and learning all you can so that you are able to answer any questions potential customers could have.
When people say “I have ants in the backyard” - you should say “I’m so sorry to hear that. Can I go back there with you and take a look?” Look at their problem and tell them why they’re having it and how we can fix it.
If someone says “My wife is pregnant and we don’t feel safe having chemicals in our home” - you should say something like “Congratulations on having a baby! That’s great to hear. As far as us servicing your home while she is expecting - no worries. Our products are family friendly! We have serviced thousands of homes over the years. We even service daycares and clinics in the area…”
Some of the best sales reps try to get the customer to assume that they are the technician and not a sales rep. This is a good strategy. If you are dressed the part (long pants, tech shirt, boots, hat, work belt) their first impression of you will be different than it would be if you were dressed in a polo shirt and shorts carrying a clipboard. You look like a friendly technician “helping out the neighborhood” rather than a door to door solicitor. If you dress like a technician and are “the expert” then people will trust what you have to say and it will give you a leg up from other pest control sales reps in the area.
It’s also important to control the conversation. It’s very easy to let the customer do a lot of the talking - but not usually productive. Be the one to steer the conversation. If it gets off track - get it back on track. Ask questions that will lead the conversation where you want it to go. Your pitch should flow in a way that makes the customer ask questions that you are expecting from them. If your sales are taking longer than 15 minutes, then you are spending too much time on each door and may be potential sales from doors you won’t have time to knock.
Training ideas: What are some other reasons why “being the expert” is important? What are some situations where “being the expert” has helped you make the sale? How does the way you dress reflect what you wish to get across to the customer?
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Assume the Sale
Everyone needs pest control. If they don’t currently have bugs, they will have them soon. Probably 50-60% of homes already have a regular pest control service and most of the other half “do it themselves”. This is great news for sales reps! There’s no need to create a need for pest control, it’s already built in.
It will be helpful for sales reps to always “assume the sale.” Knowing that people need it and that we provide the best service in town should be on your mind and in your sales pitch constantly. Your attitude on the door will help with this.
If you walk to a door thinking that you won’t make a sale then you probably won’t. The best salesmen always expect to make the sale and tailor their pitches accordingly. It’s almost a surprise when a person declines the service.
Use phrases that assume that the customer wants/needs the service:
Most people out here have a regular service
I’m sure you’ve seen our trucks servicing your neighbors homes…
It’s not a matter of if you have bugs but when - so let's get you taken care of tomorrow at 3pm…
I’m guessing you already have a regular service (door approach if you are in an area that is knocked a lot) - We are trying to find those that don’t have service yet or want to switch from their current companies to ours…
Training ideas: What are some examples of language that doesn’t Assume the Sale and would make the sale harder to make? What are some examples of assuming the sale that will be helpful?
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Terminology
Practice using these words in your door approach and in answering questions.
Treat (Not Spray/Fumigate) Products (Not poisons, chemicals) Seal (Interior service) Barrier (Exterior service) Customer Service Agreement (Not Contract) Protect Safe
Prevent Less expensive
Guarantee
Free (Re-service) Bi-Monthly (Every two months) Quarterly (Every three months) Price Guarantee
Service Guarantee
Initial Service (In/out treatment) Regular Services follow
Local Family owned and operated
We appreciate your business
Is Thursday or Friday better?
Protect your home, pets and family
HALF PRICE
Full Service
Power Spray
Clean Out Crack and Crevice treatments
Preventative
Healthier flowers, bushes and shrubs
WE (not they) Bio-degradable
Spiders, Ants, Fleas, Ticks, Mice, crickets, black widows, brown recluse, wasps, roaches, silverfish, and scorpions.
$90 OFF! Standard pest control procedure
Licensed, bonded and insured
Will you be paying with a Credit or Debit card?
You’ll love this point…
This is my favorite part of the service…
Your neighbor John really appreciated…
Another thing that people love about our service is…
Training Ideas: Which of these words or phrases could you implement more into your sale? What are other words or phrases that you have found to be effective? Role play using these words and phrases naturally in the sales pitch.
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III. Additional Training and Information
20 Reasons You Will Sell
1. Customers like you (trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly…scout law…clean cut, confident, successful, organized)
2. They have bugs (Their bugs are our bread and butter) 3. Discounts (1/2 off, credit card discount, year in advance discount, coupons) 4. Everybody’s doing it (List 2, 3, 4, 10 of their neighbors on our service) 5. Local Company (Don’t underestimate what people will do to support a local
company) 6. Family Owned and Operated (Talk about owners and your relationship with
them. People care who they support, and want to help the “little guy”). 7. They DON’T have bugs (and they don’t want them…ever…
PREVENTATIVE) 8. Protect their family, pets, plants, and assets (Safety, Infestations,
Diseases, Contaminations) 9. Convenient (We will be here anyway) Saturday is not a problem. Regular
services easy. 10. Service Guarantee (One of A KIND) Free, Unlimited Re-services. Quick
Response
11. Less expensive than the big boys (Orkin, Terminix) and better service
12. GREAT SERVICE (50 gallon Power Sprayer) Clean up webs and wasp nests
13. You are successful (People will buy from somebody who sells everybody) Success builds!
14. They HATE Bugs! (One ant on their property is one ant too many) 15. We are here to HELP (People hire lawn companies, maids, security and
pest companies because they don’t want to do it) let the Pro’s handle it! 16. Top Quality Products and Services (We have the products, training,
licensing to do a much better job, with better results than customers can do with a can of RAID from Home Depot)
17. Free Switchover: Upgrade to a FULL SERVICE company now. Even if you’re paying $35 quarterly, you’re getting ripped off if you still have bugs. (Ours comes with service guarantee, power spraying, web and wasp nest cleanup etc.).
18. It is summer: Bugs are horrible. They annoy, pester, sting, contaminate, infect and multiply like crazy this time of year. Customers need a service to have any real “guaranteed” results
19. YOU are MOTIVATED and Goal Driven: Work the hours and EXPECT results. Get better each day. Study this manual and ask the top reps to critique your approach and responses. Figure out what selling is. Don’t believe that selling has anything to do with LUCK. It is about work, persuasion, and trust.
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20. Why do you think anyone would buy from you? List more reasons here
1. ________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________________
Goal Setting
Setting a goal before the summer and following up on it and possibly even re-setting it can be the difference between a successful summer and a mediocre one. A good way to set a goal before the summer begins is to look at past statistics and compare yourself to them: our average 1st year salesmen sells between 115 and 130 sales. Where would you put yourself? Are you energetic, outgoing, hard working? Do you communicate well with others? If so, set your goals high, there’s nothing wrong with that. “You have to set goals that are almost out of reach. If you set a goal that is attainable without much work or thought, you are stuck with something below your true talent and potential.” Steve Garvey.
Make yourself stretch. Make yourself uncomfortable with a high goal. Be accountable for attaining it.
We have a google doc entitled “Sales Pay” that we update every Monday. As owners, it’s always easy to see who is following up on their goal setting because we can see those individuals “logged in” looking to see how many serviced they had the week before. The ones who care are the ones who are trying to reach goals. The ones who care and reach their goals are the ones who make the most money. The ones who don’t care about their goals always make excuses for a mediocre summer. A first-year salesman named Steve Hall made a solid goal of 200 sales before the summer began. He didn’t just set the goal with no plans to achieve it. He broke it down. He knew how many days he wanted to knock (85) which meant
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It must be borne in mind that
the tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The
tragedy lies in having no
goals to reach.
(Benjamin E. Mays)
that he needed to sell about 2.3/day. He understood that some of those “sales” don’t go through, so just to be safe he bumped it up to 3/day or 18/week. He planned on working 6 hours/day. That’s one every couple hours. He understood that the best selling time (prime time) was from 5-dark, so he always had a goal of getting at least one sale before 5pm. He was religious about scoping out areas and keeping detailed knocking notes. He had a giant list of callbacks and he made phone sales regularly. He kept a giant pie chart on a poster board hung up in his room and updated it every night until it was filled in completely. He got his 200 sales in just under 80 days. All his sales for the next week were just gravy on top.
Another former/experienced salesman called us and asked if he could work for two weeks in between the end of school and the start of a new job. He made a LOFTY goal of 100 sales. He had 12 working days to do it. He understood that he would need to work all day to achieve it. He left his house at 8am to scout out area for the day and started knocking at 9 and continued all the way to dark, with a few breaks in between to eat and rehydrate. The first week he sold 49 accounts. He kept working hard and sold 40 the next week. He had to leave to start his job but didn’t forget about his goal. After work, he would get on his phone and make sales from his contacts and notes from the weeks before. After a couple weeks, he sold 11 more on the phones. He could have easily given up once he left for home – after all, 89 in two weeks is amazing! I’m convinced that he wanted to hit that 100 mark almost entirely for his personal satisfaction – and in the process made an armful of money on those 11 accounts.
Make goal setting a part of your regular routine. Create hourly goals and as you achieve those, your daily goals will be met, as will your weekly, monthly, and summer goals. Training Ideas: Why are preseason goals important? Why is it important to reassess your goals mid summer? Why should you always know your goals and be looking at it? Why is it important to attach an “item” to each goal (pay for school, car, wedding, etc..)? Discuss all of your goals with the group. Why would that be helpful? What are some “non-traditional” goals that motivate you (goal of making at least one sale before a break..)?
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Attributes of a Good Sales Rep
Obviously, there are a lot of attributes that you could associate to a good sales rep – but for our purposes, I’d like to focus on three universal traits:
1. Personality. Be outgoing and energetic. Make sure to always stay positive and have a good attitude. Smile on the doors and make the customer feel comfortable. This comes to some people naturally while others have to “turn it on.” It’s ok if you consider yourself a little bit introverted – just be willing to flip a switch the second you get out of the car. Sometimes you have to take on the persona of someone else. A lot of reps turn into “cheeseballs” on the doors, when normally they’re not. That’s ok! You are giving the client the best version of yourself for those circumstances. That’s how you should act at your in-laws house! 2. Thick Skinned. Upon meeting new reps – it can be hard to tell who has thick skin and who can get rattled easily. Sales are hard! That’s why is pays so well! After the first few days of knocking, if you feel like you get down or unmotivated easily – make a change. Decide to be happy. Decide not to let people or circumstances get you down. You might get shut down all day long but if just 3-5 people a day sign up, then your day has been a smashing success. If you get yelled at on 19 straight doors, knock that 20 th door as if you just made a sale on the previous door. Your attitude will reflect upon the client and they will be far more likely to sign up with you. 3. Hard Working. “I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.” Thomas Jefferson. Hard work is another trait that is hard to notice in new salesmen. It usually manifests itself quickly, though. We have had many sales reps in the past who make up for their lack of personality with really hard work. While the other guys are skating by on their strong personalities, the hard-working reps are up early, out late, and knocking doors in-between – and in the end, usually are the top reps in their offices. Consider this: most reps aren’t from the city where they are selling. They are away from their families, friends, and usual activities. What’s the point in even being here if you aren’t going to work hard? You are just wasting your time! Make the most of the time you have. Trust me, when you are back in college after the summer (or wherever you are) you will never regret working your tail off and earning lots of money during the summer you were away.
“The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Here’s the good news: if you feel like you are lacking in one of these three areas, decide now to work on them. Some of these attributes can overcome your shortcomings in another, but when you have all three of them – anything is possible.
Training Ideas: Self-introspection: which of these are you good at and which can you work on? If you are in a sales slump - how could focusing on these traits help you get out of it? How could this section apply to more than just summer sales?
Keeping Yourself Motivated
As a sales rep, it’s important to find out what motivates you. As owners and managers, we will also try to find out what motivates you.
Competition- Some reps thrive in competition. We will try to create healthy competition between reps and branches. Locate a good sales rep in your office or in the company and decide to outsell that person. Personal pride can be dangerous or it can help drive you to make a ton of money. If you are selling with a buddy, create competition between each other while also cheering and pulling for that person. You want to be better than that person at their best. Maybe put a small wager on it – “Whoever gets the fewest sales before 4:30 buys drinks at the gas station.”
Incentives- It amazes me how incentives can bring out the best in people. It’s funny that a $10 movie ticket will drive someone to get an extra sale at the end of the night instead of all the money that they get from that sale. That’s the power of incentives. We will create lots of incentives to keep you motivated and working hard. Sometimes we can tailor make incentives for you. Usually our best weeks of the year are accompanied by a great incentive. If we aren’t doing an incentive on a particular day – make yourself an incentive and stick to it. “I really want to eat at Texas de Brazil, if I get 5 sales today, I’m going!” We want our reps to go home with a bank account full of money and a car filled to the brim with crap they won from incentives.
Money- “Money is the great motivator,” the Dali Lama (just kidding). Do you know how nice it is to go back to school with a bunch of money in your bank account? Do you know how nice it is not to have to work while you’re in school? Some reps use their last summer of sales to put nice down payments on their houses. When you’re in the “dog days” of summer - try to think of all the things you will be able to buy and do with the money you’re making. Think of the freedom that money can bring you. Often times that is enough of a motivator to get you to work harder.
Think of what you have to lose by not working hard- Sometimes motivation comes from a place of fear. If you can harness that fear into hard work, you will be all the better for it. Try to envision how your life could be more difficult in the future by not working hard today.
Doing Fun Things- sometimes planning fun activities before, after, and even during selling will help you through the summer. Try to be proactive
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about doing fun things and being productive. Wake up early and exercise, play golf, explore the city - whatever you want. Again, one of the great things about working with us is our hours allow you to have a good time in the mornings before work starts. Some salesmen chose to sleep in late and come into training looking like zombies - they are at a disadvantage compared to someone who woke up at a reasonable hour, went to the gym, showered up and had a good lunch and then came to training prepared. During work try to do things that keep you happy and thinking positive. Often times we will do silly incentives like “whoever gets offered the most unique drink gets 20 bucks.” You can do fun things with your selling partner too. “Try to use the word ‘strategy’ on a door today.” Things like this can help break up the monotony of sales. After work - plan activities like: volleyball tournaments, basketball at the local church, tennis, going to dinner, going out to see the town, etc.
Some days you simply won’t have motivation- That’s ok because you’ve got your eye on the prize. The summer can be a grind and you need to have the philosophy of working hard EVERY SINGLE DAY even when you’re not feeling it. Powering through these days can help your sales tremendously.
Training Meetings- Go to training ready to learn. You will be inspired by others successes. If you had a bad selling day yesterday, come to training today and learn from what others did. Be willing to share successes and failures. Lets build each other up!
Training Ideas: What motivates you?! What can you do daily to keep a positive attitude? Think of other sales reps - what motivates them? We will try our hardest to keep you motivated but what can you do on your own? How can this section help you outside of summer sales?
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Knowing How to Find Good Area and Area Management
The best reps can go to almost any area and make sales. For everyone else, especially new reps, finding area can be a challenge. Generally we categorize area into two types: “Daytime” area and “Prime Time” area. Daytime usually includes older homes in well established neighborhoods. Prime Time includes homes or subdivisions with significant “new construction” or areas where the company already has several customers. Generally more people are home during Prime Time hours, between 5 and dark - so a rep will obviously want to save the best area for those times of day. Why is new construction good? Because people are moving into or have moved into recently a new home and often don’t have a company yet and are looking to protect their investment. These areas and sales are “low hanging fruit.” Selling in areas where we have a lot of customers should also be saved for prime time hours. Being able to name drop will increase your chances of making the sale.
Take good care of your area. Don’t burn through it, only knocking homes where cars are in the driveway, and never going back. Not only do you completely waste a lot of good homes, but it is a very inefficient way to knock doors. Use the sales app to your advantage. Use the sales app markers after each door.
One of the best salesmen in company history was this kid named Adam Anderson who was married with three kids and going to dental school. He worked nights when he got out of class. He was very detailed oriented and scouted out and knocked area religiously. He would use google earth to find areas that were hidden. He would stay in one small subdivision for a week. The first day he would knock the entire subdivision and get a bunch of sales. The next day he would go back to the area and knock the neighbors to the sales that he had made the day before. He would do that again and again. After a few days he had talked to basically every person in the area. No one could even re-knock that area later in the summer because of how thorough he was.
Know which areas are best for you. Some people like smaller “cookie cutter” type houses, they like to volume knock. Some people do better in areas of wealth with big estates. Some reps like older homes where they aren’t knocked as hard as other areas.
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Training Ideas: What do you consider “good area”? What advice can you give the other sales reps that would help them sell better in different areas? (“I use a lot more ‘butter’ in older neighborhoods”, etc.). Who has had recent success re-knocking an area? Why was it so successful?
Start Your Prices High!
“The moment you make a mistake in pricing, you’re eating into your reputation or your profits.” - Katharine Paine
Reputation - You are selling a guaranteed product, meaning we will come back for free if the customer needs us. Truly, I would stack our service up to the best in every city which we service. We are not a fly by night company nor a “mom and pop” company. We are a premium service and the price should reflect that.
When you start your prices out low - the perception by the customer is a lower end product. When you start at full price - the price reflects a premium product. The best part is: generally, our “full price” is still much cheaper than the competitors that almost everyone is familiar with (Terminix and Orkin).
Profits-
It would seem like the easiest thing to do for a sales rep would be to offer the cheapest service at the cheapest price possible. The problem is, that will always result in less money overall for the sales rep.
Customers almost always want a discount - even if they have no idea how much the going rate is (see “Cutting them a deal” in the “Overcoming the Big
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Three” section). If they want a discount, give them a discount! The problem is, if you start out pitching them on a cheap quarterly, you have nowhere to go from there. If you sell them something less than a “cheap quarterly service” you will make a much smaller commission and the owners will be upset with you.
On the flip side, if you start at a full price bi-monthly service - if a discount is necessary to keep them interested or they ask for a discount - you have plenty of room to work. You can drop their bi-monthly price a bit. If you need to cut them even more of a deal you can switch them to a full price quarterly. If you need to cut them another deal you can sell them a discounted quarterly. Customers want to feel like you are working with them. When you start high and whittle it down - people will appreciate it and want to sign up with you because they felt they were treated fairly.
A few summers ago a sales rep named Jonny Layne was selling a lot of quarterly services and his overall contract value was low. The owners encouraged him to sell bi-monthlies. He made his mind up to do it and he did: the next week about 22 of 25 sales were bi-monthlies and his contract value was much higher. All it takes is effort! Have it in your mind that you are going to sell full priced accounts and you will!
Training Aides: What does the local competition cost? Why should you feel confident selling a high priced service? What’s the advantage to starting high? Do you know of anyone who is successful implementing this idea, salesmen or otherwise? What can you do better to increase your contract value/commissions? How does persistence and staying aggressive with pricing help your commissions? Why? Role play a sale using high contract values.
Two Year Agreements
Two year service agreements are now the standard in the pest control industry. The companies that are not doing them as the default agreement are dinosaurs. We will still honor a one year agreement but expect every rep to get at least 70% two year agreements.
First year reps probably will have no issue with this at all because they have no preconceived notions. Experienced reps are usually the ones that have any issue at all. All you have to do is say “we ask you to give us a try for 12 regular visits (or 8 visits)” instead of saying “we ask you to give us a try for a year.”
Sales reps will be paid their normal percentage based on the one year service agreement but as a bonus, we will give each sales rep $20 per sale for every 2 year agreement that they generate. That $20 is not “included” in your pay scale percentage - it is on top of it.
Two year agreements are a benefit to the customer and the company. The customer can enjoy the service and not worry about their price going up for two
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years. It will also allow us to perform free re-services for that entire time period. It is beneficial to the company because it prevents other sales reps from switching the customer over the following summer.
Most of the time the contract length isn’t much of a concern to the potential customer - if there is a “service agreement” concern it is usually about a one time service vs a regular service (see the Objections section). When concluding the sale it would be helpful to say “now we can lock in the price for either 4, 3, or 2, years - which would you prefer?” Don’t even give them the option for one year.
Training Ideas: Which sales rep has a high percentage of two year agreements? What are they doing to achieve it? What do you need to do to increase your percentage? What are the positives for the customer, company, and the sales rep by doing a two year agreement?
Avoiding Cancels and Chargebacks
We have talked about the importance of being “thick skinned” as one of the attributes of a good sales rep - this characteristic will come in handy when it comes to cancels. Sometimes they are just completely unavoidable; it happens even to the best sales reps. Keep your head up and don’t let it derail you.
Getting a sale means nothing if you don’t end up getting paid for it. Make sure that you are signing up people that know and understand the agreement. If you are about to leave a door of a sale and it feels shaky, it definitely is shaky. Instead of crossing your fingers and praying that it goes through, try some of these suggestions. There are some things that you can do to avoid service cancels as well as chargebacks:
Cancels occur when a customer cancels before their initial service is performed:
1. Get a signature on the agreement. If the technician goes to a home to perform the service and there isn’t a signature on the agreement, that’s a really bad sign.
2. If you need to talk to a spouse first, do it. If you are talking to the wife and she says “yea, this sounds pretty good but I’m not sure what my husband will think about it,” then don’t sign them up. You would rather talk to the husband first and confirm it rather than putting it on the schedule.
3. Avoid “putting people on the schedule”. When you put shaky sales on the schedule the chances of them not going through are obviously much higher. If they are on the fence about doing it don’t say “well, let me just put you on the schedule and we will see if you are ready by then.” Never leave the technician in a position where he has to save the sale for you. They are not trained like you are and will have a very hard time convincing the customer to be serviced.
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4. Confirm the time. A lot of times cancels occur because the customer wasn’t home - maybe because they forgot when it was. When you finish making the sale on the door or phone, always close by saying something like: “Mr. Jones, thank you, we really appreciate your business. We will see you tomorrow at 5pm.”
5. Confirm the sale. Sometimes when making a sale you can just feel that the customer doesn’t fully grasp what’s happening. If you ever get the feeling that they aren’t sure about something, stop, and re-explain the service. Never leave the door thinking “boy, I hope that one goes through!”
6. Give them more material. There are many resources that the customer can check out to give them more information or make the company feel legit. Refer them to our website, our google reviews, BBB, Angies List page etc. Keep in touch with the office technician managers to see if we’ve received other rewards, recognitions, or stories in the local news or paper.
7. Build a relationship. Remember to be friendly with customers. Get to know them. Give them sincere compliments about their house, yard, kids, animals, etc. Have some familiarity with local sports teams, etc. If you just take a couple minutes to become friends with the customer - it will help them remain loyal to their commitment to you. Only do this at the end of the sale when you are solidifying it. “I just wanted to let you know, I see hundreds of homes a week and I can tell you that your yard is far and away one of the best. What do you do to keep it so green?” - figure out what people’s passions are - if they have a great yard then they probably put a lot of time into it. Customers love it when their passions are recognized.
Chargebacks occur when a customer cancels after the initial service is performed and the money paid to the sales rep is refunded to the company:
1. Sell in good areas. If you are selling in low income areas, the chances of you getting chargebacks is very high. Sure they have all the bugs under the sun - but don’t have the money to pay for it. Low income areas are fools gold. Avoid them at all costs. If they don’t pay us we don’t pay you and you are wasting your time. Generally speaking, when someone tries to pay in cash, see it as a red flag.
2. Get the customer on autopay. The number one reason a sales rep gets a chargeback is because of a balance on the customer's account. We have a thorough collections process but it will never compete with the ease of autopay. Simply put: the more accounts you have on autopay, the less chargebacks you will have! It’s worth taking extra time to convince the customer to get on autopay. It’s easier for them, for us, and for the sales rep.
3. Give them realistic expectations. Tell them exactly what takes place during the service. Never tell them anything that isn’t true or that we don’t do. Be careful with the guarantee: the guarantee isn’t that their home will be bug free after the first visit or that they will never see bugs again - it’s that we will return to their home between services free of charge if they ever need it.
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4. Don’t over promise. Don’t tell the customer that we can get rid of their roach problem after the first treatment - we can’t! Some of our treatments take months to get rid of the infestation. Occasionally reps will promise things that aren’t offered: boxes of glue boards, free yard treatments, free mosquito treatments, etc. If a customer calls in and cancels because they were promised something that we don’t provide - that will cause a chargeback.
5. Make sure the customer knows that it’s a service. If you don’t tell them that it’s a service or you didn’t explain it well, the customer will likely cancel. They never want to feel mislead. Be VERY clear during the sale that it’s a regular service. You don’t have to say “I just want to make sure you know what you are getting into: I’m signing you up on a bi-monthly contract for two years…”. Be subtle. Use phrases like: “the best part about our guarantee is that we will return to your home in between those regular bi-monthly visits if you ever need us free of charge”, or “we are so glad to have you trying us out for those eight quarterly visits. I’m confident that you are going to love the service and be with us for years to come!” Refer to the service often during the course of the sale.
Training Ideas: Introspection; what can you do to avoid cancels and chargebacks? What bad habits do you have that leads to cancels? Why is it important to understand why selling a solid customer is so important? What lessons can you learn from experienced sales reps about cancels/chargebacks? Role play full sales - focusing on how the rep talks about the service. What can you do to solidify EVERY sale that you generate?
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Wet Weather Treatments
A common question people ask is how effective our products are in the rain. Our technicians are trained on which products to use in different climates and weather. There are some products that are enhanced by moisture, which make the treatment more effective. Our technicians will generally treat with a liquid product by the home’s foundation and on the base of the windows. They will also use this treatment for the eaves of the house and entry ways. Water enhanced granule will be spread out from the foundation into the yard to create a barrier around the home. This treatment method is extremely effective and very important in preventing future infestations. Some people see an increase in insect activity just after it rains. This is usually because rain disturbs insect dwellings and the reproductive cycles of the pests near your home. It is important to have already applied the treatment in order to minimize invading pests. If, for any reason, the customer feels that they are experiencing abnormal amounts of insect activity during wet periods, we are more than happy to return to their home and retreat free of charge
Cold Weather Treatments
The colder temperature in the winter compels pests that normally dwell outside the home to seek refuge inside. Because of this, the fall and winter months are considered rodent season. While your garage and attic are generally too hot for mice and rats to dwell in during the summer months, they become the primary areas where rodents are found in the winter. Ants, spiders, earwigs and other pests can become an increasing problem inside the home during the winter as well. Our winter method of treating for these common pests is extremely effective. We focus our treatment in areas closer to the home where pests are reproducing and nesting. In addition to a barrier which we maintain around the home, we have an injection system that consists of tools which inject treatment into the cracks and weep holes near the home’s foundation. Many specialists believe that the winter treatment is the most important because as the weather begins to warm and pests become more and more active, with the treatment in place, the pests will come into contact with the products as they emerge from their nesting areas before they have a chance to multiply and dwell inside the home. By choosing a year-round treatment schedule, the customer will enjoy the benefits that hundreds of our customers who are already part of the Midwest family enjoy.
Training Ideas: How can you implement these two sections into your sale? How could knowing this and passing it on to customers make for a more solid account? Role play situations in which this information could be useful to a customer.
Specific Bug Treatments
Roach Treatment If we treat the home for Cockroaches, we will need the customers help to eliminate the roach problem. It is crucial for them to understand how the process works. Given that most roaches have an extremely rapid life cycle, a combination of innovative products must be used to break down this cycle. A mixture of Suspend (residual control), Nyguard (integrated growth regulator), and Exiter (contact killer/ flushing agent) are key ingredients for maximum control. Although these products will begin working right away, the flushing agents in the products may increase roach activity for a short period. Another application 30-60 days later will also be necessary to exterminate any recently-hatched eggs and to eliminate the remaining population. The growth regulator contained in the pesticide will keep the roaches from reaching maturity, making reproduction impossible. For this reason, it is not uncommon to see more juvenile roaches than before. An alternative food source called Advion Roach Gel may also be used as a bait to eliminate surviving roaches. It is imperative that the house be immaculately clean. Roaches prefer leftover food to the bait that we put out. Keeping the home free of any food source, is crucial for our success.
Rodent Control Mice are one of the most economically destructive rodents in the United States. Mice enter homes in the cooler months of the year. Any opening larger than a 1/4 inch is large enough for them to squeeze through. All mice produce pheromones in their urine which attract nearby mice. They are known carriers of 55 different diseases, contribute to an estimated 1/5 of structural fires, and contaminate food supplies quickly as they produce up to 30 droppings a day and urinate over 100 times a night. Treatment for mice is most effectively achieved through baiting. Bait stations have openings large enough for mice but too small for children and pets to get into. Other methods are also used depending on each case.
Flea Treatment Even though we use the best products available for flea control, there are a few things the customer can do to help us. First and foremost, given that each of their pets can carry thousands of fleas, it is essential they be treated with some sort of flea product. They should consult a veterinarian or check with a local pet-supply store for treatment options. Regular vacuuming can also help us dispose of flea adults and especially eggs--which can sometimes be resistant to our products. Simply walking on the carpet can create enough vibration to hatch eggs and begin their development into adulthood. The more they vacuum the better. We recommend that they vacuum at least daily and dispose of the vacuum bag frequently. Wash all bedding, clothing, and washable upholstery. These items provide an ideal breeding environment, leaving fleas undisturbed even after treatments are complete, creating future infestations.
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Flea Treatment continued
We apply a variety of products including Exciter, Nyguard, and Suspend, which act in concert with each other to ensure maximum control. Exciter will kill any insect that comes in contact with it. Suspend is also a powerful contact killer, but maintains a better residual--eliminating insects that come into contact with it in the future. Nyguard is an IGR (Integrated Growth Regulator) which will cause morphological abnormalities, essentially sterilizing affected fleas and eggs. We normally perform a blanket application including all carpet, drapes, and any upholstered furniture that can’t be washed, as well as an outside barrier treatment. Please keep in mind that the customer doing their part can make the difference between one or two highly effective treatments or multiple less-productive visits.
Ant Treatment Our goal at Midwest Pest Control is to keep the home pest free. We can accomplish this by using a common product on most household insects. Sometimes these products, unfortunately, are less effective on ants since the repellant in the insecticide often fractures their colonies and kills only those in direct contact with the product, leaving a majority of the colony unaffected. Today, however, we can treat the home with Termidor and Phantom. These products are specifically designed to manage your ant infestation. These innovative pesticides are intended to be slow acting so ants in the treated areas usually will not die upon contact, but live long enough to spread it throughout the colony--ultimately destroying the entire ant population. This process usually takes 10 to 15 days to be completely effective. We, therefore, hope the customer will be patient during this process and inform us if further treatments are needed after that period.
Spider Treatment The U.S. is home to many varieties of spiders from common House Spiders to Black Widows and Brown Recluse. Black Widows have a red hourglass shape on the underside of their abdomen. Black Widows are extremely venomous. Each of our services target areas where these and other spiders live and breed. The products used are effective, safe for pets and children, and environmentally friendly. Brown Recluse, or Fiddle-back spiders gets its name because of its reclusive habits and its dark violin/fiddle-shaped marking on top of the thorax. These spiders are also considered dangerous to humans. Control for Brown Recluse includes the same procedures as other spiders along with glue board placement throughout the home for trapping purposes. Control of severe infestations can take weeks.
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Mole Treatment Mole treatments consist of treatments once every two weeks. We use a combination of trapping and baiting. Talk to your local office manager for more information on mole treatments and pricing.
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Bed Bugs
Do we treat for bedbugs? Yes…but not on our regular service. Bed bugs are extremely hard to get rid of and requires a lot of work on our part. If you talk to a homeowner who thinks they have bed bugs - get their information and have the office call them to set up an inspection and service.
For your information: Cost - we charge about $500/room that we treat. Discounts can be given
if they are doing multiple rooms. Process - we first perform an inspection then provide a thorough
treatment. The treatment includes heavy spraying in infected bedrooms along the bed, box spring, mattress, furniture, etc. Often times we have to pull the carpet away from the walls and disassemble furniture so that we can treat it well enough. We use liquid products as well as dusts. We also use a product called “Nuvan Strips.” Any bedding or cloth material that is in the room is put into a bag and a Nuvan Strip is placed inside of the sealed bag. After the technician is done treating he will hand several strips throughout the house and turn the thermostat up. The homeowner must stay out of the house for at least 36 hours. The technician then returns to the home to take out the strips and air out the house. A follow-up inspection is performed a week later.
Guarantee - we give a 30 day guarantee. If after 30 days bed bugs are discovered - it’s because they have been “re-introduced” to the house and will require another paid treatment.
Pay - any rep who produces a bed bug lead will be paid a flat 10%
Termites - if the customer doesn’t have termites but wants their home protected they can get on a “pest plus termite” plan. If they are on a regular service with us (either bi-monthly or quarterly) we will add a charge of $10/month onto their bill (instead of $99 bi-monthly it will be $119 - instead of $125 quarterly it will be $155) and we will treat their home for termites for free if they ever get termites. Non customer cost is $25/month. Usually a termite treatment costs the customer several thousand dollars depending on the size of the home. Again, that will be a free service for them if they are on our pest plus program. Every time we go out to the home to perform a pest control service, our technicians will look for termite activity. In some offices, the pest plus termite plan can be thrown in for free if it will help the sales rep close the sale. Check with your manager to see if this option is available to you.
If the customer thinks they do have termites - get their info and the office will contact them to set up a free inspection and treatment.
The Cost - if a house has termites and they aren’t a customer of ours or they aren’t under a pest plus termite plan we charge around $7 per linear foot (it can be more or less depending on several factors).
The Treatment - we provide a liquid Termidor treatment for all termite jobs. We dig a trench around the entire perimeter of the house and fill that trench with liquid termidor. The trench is then backfilled with dirt. In areas where a
trench cannot be dug, we use a rod every 1.5 feet. If they have lots of bushes we go behind the bushes with the rod and shove it down into the ground and shoot out the spray underground. If they have pavement, patio or other concrete areas around the side of the house, we drill a hole through the cement, stick the rod down through the hole and into the soil, and inject the termidor. We then refill the hole with cement of the matching color.
The idea is to place an uninterrupted barrier of termidor all the way around the perimeter of the house. Termite colonies live in the ground outside the house but their food source is the wood (cellulose) making up the house - so they travel in between the ground and the house. By putting a barrier of a slow acting, non-repellent product like termidor around the house, the termite goes through the termidor and doesn’t even know it. It will take the termidor back to the colony and infect the entire colony eradicating it within weeks
What’s the difference between a Liquid Termidor treatment and Sentricon?
You will often come across people who have or have had a termite service called “sentricon” who want to know what the difference is between the two: Sentricon is a baiting system. The company will install monitors around the outside of the home every 5-10 feet. Upon inspection if it’s ever found that one of the monitors has been “hit” by termites, the technician will replace the wood cartridge with a bait cartridge. The colony is eradicated over time using these baiting cartridges.
Sentricon is very expensive. Around $1,000 to install and several hundred per month to monitor. Our Pest Plus Termite program is only $10/month.
With sentricon, if you have termites and get rid of the colony, the home is still virtually unprotected. If the homeowner decides not to continue using Sentricon - there is no protection around the house. With Pest Plus Termite - if we end up treating the home, there home will be protected by that treatment virtually forever (we provide a one year guarantee - it could be a “forever” guarantee but it’s impossible with construction, mulch, new dirt around the house, or anything that disrupts that barrier.
Once the customer understands the difference between the two - they will be excited about the possibility of saving lots of money while protecting their most important investment, their home. Many times the offer of “free termite protection” will be the reason that they sign up for the regular service.
Pay - The sales rep will be paid full commission if the pest plus termite program is added onto the customer's regular bill (a $119 quarterly plus the $90 initial is a $804 contract!). If a treatment is rendered from a referral from a sales rep - they will be paid a flat 5%.
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Training Ideas for the Bugs section: Why would knowing this information be useful to each sales rep? How can you insert this information into your sale? When would it be appropriate to go into great detail about specific bugs? Why would that be useful? Role play specific bug situations and how to turn those issues into sales.
Product Guide
Active Guard BB Cover - treated mattress cover for bed bugs
Advion Ant Bait Station - Ant bait station - synthetic food source
Advion Ant Gel - synthetic gel food source for ants
Advion Roach Bait Station - Roach bait station - synthetic food source
Advion Roach Gel - Roach synthetic food gel Alpine Dust - General pesticide in dust form - best for cracks and crevices
Alpine Flea Aerosol - Flea aerosol broadcast treatment Archer - IGR (insect growth regulator) - mostly used for mosquitos
Bedlum Plus Aerosol - Bed bug specific aerosol Bifen IT - General exterior pesticide
Bifenthrin Granules - General exterior pesticide - in granule form
Contrac Bloxs - Mice bait blocks
Crossfire Aerosol - Bed bug specific aerosol Delta Dust - Deltametherin - general pest dust used mainly for roaches and
bed bugs
Demand CS - Generally used for mosquitoes - outside residual Demon Max - Spot treat only, contact killer - mostly for roaches
Exciter - PBO (piperonyl butoxide) flushing agent (disrupts harbor areas), fleas/roaches
First Strike Soft Bait - soft mice poison
FMC Residual Foggers - Aerosol residual fogger for general use (attics/crawl spaces)
Gentrol - IGR (insect growth regulator) - fleas and roaches
Glueboards - sticky traps
Gopher Omega Grain Bait - food source poison for gophers
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Gopher Scram - Natural gopher repellent Imaxx Pro - termite pre treats
Invader Aerosol - Spot, crack/crevice aerosol - roaches
Maxforce Fly Spot Bait - Fly specific bait - aerosol Mole Scram - all natural mole repellent Mosquito Granules - cedar granules to repel mosquitos (smells great!) Onslaught Fastcap - residual control plus flusher (pbo) - general pest Phantom - interior only for Ants
PI Aerosol - Roach aerosol Premise - termite pre treats
Rodent Bait Station - Housing for baiting mice
Snake Out - snake repellent applied outside the home
Stryker - Flushing agent for roaches
Summit Mosquito Dunks - larvaecidal - thrown into areas of standing water to kill eggs
Suspend Polzone - microencapsulated interior product for general use
Suspend SC - microencapsulated (repels water and holds up in extreme weather)
Talon G - Soft mice bait Talpirid Mole Bait - mole food source, poison worms placed in mole runs
Talstar - exterior general for power sprayer Tekko Pro - IGR for general use
Termidor Foam - Foam for termites inside walls, etc. Termidor SC - Main termite product - used exterior for ants
Wasp Freeze Aerosol - Wasp specific aerosol
Training Ideas: How could this information be useful to you as a sales rep? How many of you have actually seen or helped perform a service? How could that be helpful? Role play situations in which this information could help you make the sale. Functioning in Harmony with your Co-Workers
“Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people” - Steve Jobs
There are many people who are involved in creating a good company. In our company it involves the owners, the branch managers, the office managers and staff, the sales reps, the sales managers, and the technicians. All work jointly to create a good product, grow the business and keep our customers satisfied. Make sure to treat everyone with respect - treat them how you would want to be treated. Try to be understanding and see their point of view if a problem arises. If someone does a great job, let them know about it! People love recognition! Technicians love working with sales reps who are kind to them and treat them with respect. Those sales reps can enjoy maximum effort from the technician. Think of ways to keep on good terms with technicians (and everyone else). Some sales reps will give many of their daily incentives directly to the technician who has been working so hard for them (movie tickets, food gift cards, etc.).
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Encourage your fellow sales reps. Be happy for them when they do well and help them when they are struggling.
Training Ideas: How can you be a better team player? Why is it important to have good relationships with others? What can you do with the technicians and office staff to have a better relationship? Who has examples of good or bad work environments? What can we learn from it?
Getting Customers on AutoPay
Getting customers on autopay is easier than you might think. In this day and age, customers are used to using their credit/debit cards for purchases. There are many advantages to them getting on autopay with us:
1. Convenience - Not only is it much easier on our end - it’s a lot easier and more convenient for the customer. No keeping the bill laying around, having to find it, writing out the check, putting it in an envelope, stamping it (who does that anymore?), then taking it to the mailbox only to wait several days for your account to be posted. With autopay - you just collect debit/credit card information or a voided check - and that’s it!
2. Safer - It is much safer to use a credit card when making payments than by check or cash. Credit card companies are very good about reversing fraudulent charges for their customers.
3. Wasteful - The paper involved in sending out statements, invoices, checks and envelopes is completely unnecessary.
4. Everyone else is doing it - 75% of our customer base is already on autopay. When the customer understands that most customers pay that way - it doesn’t seem as bad.
Always assume autopay and don’t give them the option to pay by check.
Rep - “Ok, it looks like we’ve got you scheduled for tomorrow at 4pm - now if I could just get a credit or debit card from you, I’ll put your account on autopay. (smiling)” Customer - “Can I just pay with a check?” Rep - “Sure, if you’d like to give me a voided check then I can withdraw it from your account after each service.”
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Customer - “I don’t think I want to do autopay - I’d rather you send me a bill” Rep - “I understand what you’re saying. We are a green company and try to do everything paperless - invoices and billing is wasteful. Also, almost all of our customers use the autopay system because it’s very convenient. We run your card the day after each service. It’s also completely safe. In fact, if you want to type in your credit card information in yourself (handing them your tablet) once you enter it in there it becomes secure and we can only see the last 4 digits for your safety.”
That is usually sufficient enough to get them to type in their credit/debit card info. If they absolutely refuse to give you autopay information - we will accept a check or cash after the initial service and then bill them after each regular service.
GET PEOPLE ON AUTOPAY! We cannot overstate this enough. It is extremely important for your backend pay. By far the number one reason sales reps have cancels or chargebacks is due to the account being past due.
Training Ideas: Who has the best autopay percentage? What are they doing to get their customers on autopay? What can I do to assume autopay? What are things that I need to implement to get more people on autopay? Role play credit card situations all summer long!
Convenience Pay (monthly billing)
Some customers prefer to have their bi-monthly or quarterly bill broken down into monthly payments. Sometimes people on a budget would rather put their credit card on file and have it charged $38.3/month instead of $115/quarter. We can accommodate! In fact, this can often be a selling point to people tight on finances or who get paid irregularly.
Make sure to be clear with the customers: They will be sprayed once every two months (bi-monthly) or once every 3 months (quarterly) but their bill will be broken down into monthly payments and we will charge their card on file. Convenience pay is only available to customers with a card on file or ach (autopay).
The initial service must be paid in full. The treatment schedule cannot be changed- the first regular treatment must begin 30 days later! If a customer is put on monthly billing and their treatment schedule has been changed - the sales rep will receive no commission.
Training ideas: When would offering Convenience Pay be helpful? What are some situations where offering Convenience pay would be a good or bad idea? Role play offering convenience pay in a situation that might help you make the sale.
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A Few Words From the Owners
“Selling pest control will give you a head start in life. I sold pest control as a college student and graduated with no debt. I even had money to buy a house. Work hard and you will not regret it. For the rest of your life you will be thankful for the lessons you learned, the fun you had and the financial blessings that moved you forward” – Bryan Christensen
“Three tips to an awesome summer: 1. Work hard all summer, you won’t regret it. 2. Be positive. Negativity can creep in and sabotage the summer. 3. Enjoy your off hours. Be
productive. Have fun!” – Mark Christensen
“Hard work pays off in the long-run but laziness always pays off right now! Just kidding. Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve! Thanks for all your work.” – Barry Christensen
“Hard work always pays off! It obviously benefits you financially, but also it develops your character, strengthens your sense of self-worth, and prepares you for whatever career you
pursue. Work hard and you will have a great summer! Thanks guys!” – Aaron Christensen
“Welcome to the Family business! I hope you feel like part of our family as you represent all of us when you make friends with all the new customers this summer. Your clean-cut look, courteous and respectful behavior is OUR first impression. And first impressions can never be re-done. Thank you for working hard and putting in an honest day. No matter what your success level is, we appreciate your willingness to stay positive and keep smiling. Success will come as you learn the materials, listen to your managers, trainers and others who are having success and put in the WORK! We hope that you too will share what is working for you with the rest of us, so we can all become better in our business.
As soon as you truly believe that you are not a nuisance and a pest yourself to everyone who's door you pound on or whose doorbell you ring, but that you are a humble guy, trying to help out your friends with their problems, you will double your sales. Be professional and helpful and friendly. Assume the sale. Keep smiling and keep knocking!” - Dennis Christensen
“We have been in the pest control business for years and would not be where we are today without the help from our previous sales reps. The future growth of our company depends on you. You are the lifeblood of our business. Take pride knowing that you are working with a family owned company. We want to take care of those who work for us and our customers who pay the bills. Selling can be tedious, but if you keep your head down and work hard – it will bless your life now and in the future. Thank you so much for all you guys do!” – Grant Christensen