PCT Growing Your Business Summit

Staying ahead of the curve – and your competitors – can be tough, especially in a down economy. Pest management professionals have to constantly evolve and innovate their businesses to just stay afloat, not to mention grow. If they don’t, they risk stagnation and, ultimately, failure.

To help PCOs succeed at this effort, PCT magazine will host the Growing Your Business Summit, a multi-day conference where industry colleagues share their valuable insights on successful growth strategies for entering specific niche markets and other rapidly expanding services.

“During these challenging economic times, forward-thinking PCOs are considering a wide range of add-on services to not only protect, but grow their bottom line. Our goal in creating this conference was to approach PCOs who have had success launching add-on services and ask them to share their best practices with others in the industry so as a group we can continue to expand the market for professional pest management services,” said Dan Moreland, publisher of PCT magazine.

The three-day conference will be held Feb. 11-13 in Orlando, Fla. Registration costs $295 per person, $275 for the second person from the same company and $250 per person when registering three or more people from the same company. To register, visit www.pctonline.com/events or contact Lola Wenham at lwenham@giemedia.com or 800/456-0707.

“We’ve asked each of the speakers to share their successful business model – whether it be for mosquito control, bed bugs services or wildlife management – with their peers so attendees can benefit from their ‘real world’ experience,” Moreland said.

ADDING ON ADD-ONS. Topics covered at the conference include wildlife control, rodent exclusion, lawn care, cross selling your company’s services and mosquito control. A list of sessions follows:
• Public Attitudes & the Role of Sustainability in Today’s Pest Control Companies, Cindy Mannes, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer, Arrow Exterminators
• Preventive Rodent Control: Promote It and They Will Come, Bobby Jenkins, President, ABC Pest & Lawn Services
• Bed Bugs Are Back! Profiting from This Re-Emerging Pest, Phil Cooper, President, Cooper Pest Solutions
• Urban Wildlife Control: A Rapidly Expanding Market, Kevin Burns, Senior Vice President, Arrow Exterminators
• Green Pest Management: A Market Opportunity, Dean Burnside, Owner & President, Macy’s Termite & Pest Control
• Residential Mosquito Control: What Business Model Works for You?, John Wilson, Division Vice President, Orkin Pest Control 
• Professional Lawn Care, Anthony L. Massey, President & Chief Operating Officer, Massey Services
• The Art of Cross-Selling Services, Steve Good, Vice President, Terminix International
• Strategic Business Planning: Laying the Groundwork for Growth, Dan Gordon, President, PMP Wealthbuilders, Newton, N.J.
• Breaking Into the Commercial Market: What You Need to Know, Brad Chalk, PCT Editorial Contributor, Baltimore, Md.
• Food Plant Pest Control: How to Get Started, Pat Hottel, Technical Director, McCloud Services

OTHER AREAS OF EXPERTISE. “Green” pest management is the industry’s fastest-growing new service offering. But what does “green” mean and how can you make money at it? Dean Burnside, owner and president of Macy’s Termite & Pest Control, North Venice, Fla., shares his professional insights and business plan on this important topic.

Burnside said his company changed its service frequency, the products it uses and converted 3,000 residential customers to a green program. The challenge was educating those customers on why the change was coming, and marketing it to new customers.

His session will “focus on the business of getting into the organic/natural green business,” he said. “It’s more conceptual on why should people consider adding that model to that current business model or changing it pretty radically like we did. We want to be at the front edge of the green wave that’s coming.”

Another add-on service that PCOs can learn more about at the conference is wildlife control. In 2008, Arrow Exterminators’ Wildlife Management Service Centers generated more than $3.7 million in revenue. Kevin Burns, corporate development officer at Atlanta-based Arrow, will discuss his company’s entry into this sector – and share some pitfalls. Like, it’s important to secure traps for roof rats in a drop ceiling. If not, they can flail around and drop into inaccessible wall voids.

“You have got to secure the trap to the drop ceiling,” Burns said. Otherwise, you get “a little bit of the odor issue. It’s always the little things.”
CONCLUSION. “These are business sessions, not technical sessions, designed to make a tangible difference in a company’s bottom line. In this way, we hope conference attendees will return home armed with the necessary information to grow their businesses in 2009 and beyond,” Moreland said.

“The conference also will feature tabletop exhibits from leading companies offering products and services for these important growth markets,” he said. “So it should be a productive meeting for anyone who decides to attend, generating a tangible return on their investment.” PCT

Schedule at a Glance
Wednesday, Feb. 11
3:00-3:30 p.m. Conference Welcome and Add-On Business Opportunities Market Overview
3:30-4:30 p.m. Opening Keynote Address: “Public Attitudes & Role of Sustainability in Today’s
Pest Control Companies”

Thursday, February 12 — Residential Pest Management Market Opportunities
7:00-8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast
8:30-9:15 a.m. Preventive Rodent Control: Promote It and They Will Come
9:15-10:15 a.m. Bed Bugs Are Back! Profiting from This Re-Emerging Pest
10:15-10:30 a.m. Break
10:30-11:15 a.m. Urban Wildlife Control: A Rapidly Expanding Market
11:15-12:00 p.m. Green Pest Management: A Market Opportunity
12:00-1:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00-2:00 p.m. Residential Mosquito Control: What Business Model Works for You?
l2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. Professional Lawn Care
3:00 p.m.-3:15 p.m.Break
3:15 p.m.-4:15 p.m. The Art of Cross-Selling Services
4:15 – 5:30 p.m. Exhibitor Roundtable Discussion
5:30-6:30 p.m. Cocktail Reception
6:30 p.m. Dinner on Your Own

Friday, Feb. 13 — Business Planning & Market Expansion Commercial Pest Management Market Opportunities
7:00-8:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast
9:30-10:30 a.m. Breaking Into the Commercial Market: What You Need To Know
10:30-11:30 a.m. Food Plant Pest Control: How To Get Started
11:30-11:45 a.m. Conference Wrap-Up

For more information, and to register, visit www.pctgrowingyourbusinesssummit.com.