How to close more sales and get more customers.
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Glenn Laney reviewed Pestgeekpodcast — 5 star
I’ve listens t about 5 episodes now and don’t have a single negative thing to say. Pestgeekpodcast provides GREAT information while entertaining and engaging the audience . . . all without being the comedy hour that some other podcasts lean in the direction of. Not that I don’t like comedy, but the stuff you provide here can be shared with technicians as useful training time when they are stuck behind the windshield.
Nicholas Vasquez husband, father, pest control specialist with Sprague Pest Solutions, coach of many sports
Email Bag
Hello Frank! Just wanted to thank you for your contributions to the pest control industry with the podcasts you provide. I have been listening for over a year now and as a small family owned mom and pop company, the insights and advice you give is invaluable. Having been in business for over 15 years and little contact with other companies or technicians it is very valuable to have a fresh set of eyes and opinions to listen to on how I run things. I’ts great to hear how things I have done and learned over the years are some of the things suggested by you, and even better, it gets me thinking on how I can do things to provide a better service to my customers and my bottom line. The day to day work can get repetitive, but the podcasts remind me not to take things for granted and always try to look at things as a professional, business owner and a technician. Keep up the great job and keep the podcast coming! Gratefully, Mike Mannering
Tech Tip
Dr Austin Frishman
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/throwback-tv/tbtv-dr-cockroach?source=searchvideo
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Book of The Week
Made to Stick Written by: Chip Heath, Dan Heath
Pest Alerts
APHIS Declares Eradication of European Grapevine Moth (Lobesia botrana) and Eliminates All Quarantine Areas in California
EGVM is a significant pest of grapes and other specialty crops. In October 2009, APHIS confirmed the first detection of EGVM in the United States in major grape production areas of Northern California. In June 2010, APHIS issued Federal Order DA-2010-25 which established the requirements of the regulatory actions and quarantine boundaries. Since then, a series of Federal Orders and Letters to State and Territory Agricultural Regulatory Officials (SPRO Letters) have refined the program. APHIS has partnered with CDFA and the affected counties to work closely with industry, the University of California, and other stakeholders to eradicate this pest within California. Consequently, APHIS is rescinding those Federal Orders and SPRO Letters that regulated the outbreak of EGVM in the United States.
Under IPPC standards, Lobesia botrana is considered to be a pest that is abscent: eradicated from California and the United States.
http://www.pestalert.org/oprDetail.cfm?oprID=678
News
Traveling Bees Have More Stress and Shorter Lives
Research from North Carolina State University, published in Scientific Reports, shows that travel can adversely affect bee health and lifespans.
In one experiment, bees from commercial colonies that had traveled to pollinate almonds in California and then in Maine were compared to bees from colonies that remained stationary in the NC State apiary. Bees from traveling colony bees lived about one day less than the stationary bees.
https://entomologytoday.org/2016/08/24/traveling-bees-have-more-stress-and-shorter-lives/
ORKIN ESTABLISHES FIVE NEW INTERNATIONAL FRANCHISES
rkin, expanded its presence in South America and Asia with the addition of five new franchises. The new franchises are located in Bauru, Santa Catarina, and Parana, Brazil; Mongolia; and Pakistan.
http://www.rollins.com/news/2016/08-24-2016-213031761
How to close sales and get more customers.
“Nothing Happens Until Someone Sells Something” Henry Ford.
1 The key to closing more business is to find more qualified prospects.
Prospecting 101 it sucks get over it.
Prospecting is a mining term you have to move 200 to 250 tons of dirt to find a 1 carot diamond. That’s 500,000 pounds.
What is a qualified prospect.
1 One that has a need or wants what you are selling.
2 Has the ability to pay for what you have.
3 Is willing to pay what it cost or what you charge.
The reality is that only about 3% of people will have a need or want what you have when you call on them.
That’s 3 out 100 so cold call prospecting has a 97% failure rate.
That is 97% of your efforts will fail that is a cold hard fact.
Flyers
Business cards
Mailings
Phone calls
Emails
Social Media
Web site
Door Knocking
Vehicle Signs
e right person with the right copy and the right price with the right call to action. You won’t get a call.
The reason a graphic artist creating a post cart doesn’t understand direct marketing.
Are you willing to design 4 add and perform A/B split testing to figure out which post card will convert the most customers.
That’s just that have a need or will acknowledge they have a need.
That doesn’t include ability to pay or willingness to pay.
2 Ability to pay and willingness to pay.
You get a phone call and the client has a bedbug problem and asks you how much does it cost to spray for bed bugs.
Do you quote a price.
Do you consult.
Do you go and inspect.
I consult first.
Is it a single family home, town home, apartment or condo.
Find out when was the first time they remember getting bitten.
How many bed rooms does there home have.
How many people live there.
What is the address.
What are the bed sizes 2 full 3 twin.
Is anyone sleeping on the couch.
Then I explain the protocol on how we perform or bed bug service and how long it will take.
Then I explain what the prep that they will have to do. I need a 100% no problem on this.
2 The phone is faster than the car.
Learning to efficiently qualify the prospect.
But you don’t understand I’m so much better face to face. No your not you just think you are.
A 10 minute phone consultation at $65 per hour is $10.83
A 30 minute drive and 15 minute sales pitch cost $48.75
Tele sales to restaurants 50 calls every morning for 1 hour cost you $65 and generates only 1 prospect.
Compare that to riding around town dropping off business cards to 20 restaurants a day making sales pitches. That cost about $325 for 6 hours and get nothing.
Which is more efficient in getting a maybe. You can go in person only if you get a qualified prospect.
Cost of making the sale
How much did that lead cost. 10%
How much did the sale cost. 25%
How much does it cost to service. 25%
That’s 60%
I’m losing customers what can I do.
I got a call from a PCO who is a listener of the podcast and he told me he was loosing customers because he was being a nice guy. After several emails, and two calls realized what is going on.
He heard the podcast on automating the billing to automatically bill his customers on a monthly basis and thought that was the key to stop them from canceling their services. He also had a contract with them.
He’s not losing customers he’s selling one time services to one time buyers disguised as requiring customers.
How many times have you heard these words from a prospect mouth if you give me a good price I will have you here every month performing to perform a preventive service only to find out when you call them next month you did such a good job that they don’t need you any more.
This could be uncovered in the sales process and by having a one time price for one time services and giving a lower price for contracts or charging for the time you spend in the home you will make money on both types of customer.
And you will know up front whether they are serious about having a preventive strategy.
