Selling pest control services is an art form that can never be truly mastered. But working toward mastery of it can be tremendously rewarding. There is, after all, nothing that compares with hearing that magic word, `Yes.'
Large or small, the lifeblood of any pest control operation is selling. We may employ and develop the finest force of pest control technicians. We may have reason to boast about the streamlined, cutting-edge computerized technology that drives the office. Our modern, sharp-looking service vehicles might turn heads. But if we don't constantly sell new customers, we're doomed.
Pest control salespeople come in many flavors. Relatively few pest control companies employ full-time salespeople; the sales responsibilities are usually part-time responsibilities shouldered by the boss and shared by managers and subordinates. Regardless of who is charged with selling, however, this important aspect of running a business is a never-ending concern for PCOs.
After serving 40 years as a salesman in the pest control industry, I am convinced that selling pest control presents special challenges. Consider the fact that what we sell is an intangible; we're not given to showing samples that lend themselves to seeing, touching, smelling or tasting. When we're contacted by distraught clients to put out "fires" in the guise of insect and rodent flare-ups, the going is easy. But when a prospect is not faced with an acute problem it is up to us to "romance" them into buying a service not too many customers like to brag about. And nowadays we often must contend with a morbid, irrational fear of pesticides by an increasingly misinformed public.
In case you haven't been watching, the very term "salesman" (or "saleswoman" or "salesperson") is being redefined. That person with endurance, the guy or gal who sells life insurance, has more than likely been replaced by the chartered life underwriter and the professional sales planner. The furniture salesperson of yesterday is today's interior designer. The party who once sold you paper bags is now, if you please, a packaging consultant. Today's salespeople are, on the whole, a more knowledgeable and better educated lot than the old-time hucksters. Now, it seems, rational persuasion has taken the place of beating the prospect over the head to make a sale.
With these tonier titles the modern salesperson aspires to a dignified professionalism unknown to the pitchmen and peddlers of yore. In fact, it is not uncommon nowadays for the modern salesperson to even advise a prospect against buying, even though a sale might easily be made, on the theory that there is no better way to win the confidence of customers than by proving their interests are uppermost.
As in many occupations, there are the "order takers" and the salespeople in the pest control industry. In many cases we encounter panic buyers who demand immediate relief from what they regard as a threatening pest problem. These folks will readily sign any order taker's agreement form. On the other hand, there are the buyers who recognize that they have a problem or that their operation should have professional protection against pests. They have the time and inclination to consider value and price. Typical in this area are termite buyers and purchasers of service in the food and hospitality industries. They compare and challenge and need the right push from a salesperson. In any case, the successful pest control salesperson selling to these people must be very knowledgeable, tactful and persuasive.
SOME BASICS. It is a corollary that the successful delivery of good selling techniques is directly dependent on the personal characteristics of the good salesperson. What, then, are the some of the qualities, characteristics, aptitudes and abilities that make up the effective salesperson? Most should be self-evident. Although well-worn, they are worthy of repetition:
• Appearance. First impressions are critical. Salespeople who know they are neatly groomed exude self-confidence. Well-groomed hair and a freshly shaven or trimmed beard or moustache for men, and discreet make-up for women are in order. Let the full-length mirror be your guide before a day of calling on prospects.
• Clothing. The keynote is appropriateness. Garish clothing or clothing that calls attention to itself can distract the party you are trying to sell away from your message. Regarding female dress, John T. Molloy, who wrote the popular Dress For Success, suggests that the saleswoman "should not dress as if she were attending a cocktail party or evening social function, yet she should avoid going to the other extreme by dressing too severely."
One other caveat ought be mentioned. Salespeople should avoid wearing strong cologne, aftershave lotions and perfumes. We once walked into a prospect's office on the heels of another pest control salesman seeking to land a hotel account to find the buyer coughing into a handkerchief. When he came up for air he told us that he not only didn't buy, he was within an inch of tossing the competing salesman out the door for "stinking up the place."
• Voice and Conversational Habits. Strive for friendliness, warmth and personality, and bear in mind that lower tones sound warmer than higher tones. Avoid mumbling, talking in a monotone, talking too fast, mispronouncing, overuse of slang, and vocal lack of enthusiasm.
• Manners & Mannerisms. These encompass such factors as being a good listener, acting natural, avoiding any appearance of vulgarity, and avoiding of nervous habits. Probably most important of all is giving the impression of confidence. If the prospect is not confronted by a confident salesperson, he can have no faith in that salesperson or in what he or she is selling.
• Imagination. The ability to originate ideas of value to the prospect is a hallmark of successful selling selling that solves problems as seen through the eyes of the prospect.
• Resiliency. The good sales representative isn't easily discouraged. He or she unwaveringly adheres to the fair price quoted for the value promised. In the face of rejections, the salesperson remains unfazed and moves on to the next prospect with confidence.
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. Has a salesperson ever embarrassed you by demonstrating a lack of knowledge of pest control through misidentification? We've seen a salesman sign up a customer for a clothing moth control job when the offending insect was an Indian meal moth. How about the neophyte who can't distinguish between dry rot and termite damage? Such flagrant cases have an adverse impact not only on the salesperson and the company, but on the entire industry.
As Robert L. Shook, author of How To Be The Complete Professional Salesperson, puts it, "There is no more self-defeating practice than sending out a sales representative who is not thoroughly familiar with his product and his company. It invites disaster."
Clearly, no better preparation for pest control selling can be had than requiring a salesperson to undergo technician training followed by a period in the field as a service representative.
The first thing a salesperson learns is that purchasers are always concerned with what a product will do for them. Prospects want to know what benefits they will get out of the deal. Accordingly, a computer salesperson is not selling a sophisticated office machine, he's selling improved business efficiency, better service to customers, and tremendous savings in record keeping expenditures. A customer for a power drill in a hardware store isn't interested in an advanced unit with a reverse upper ratchet sprocket on the tidlum; he's interested in making holes in the wall and wants the best holes he can get at the lowest price. The pest control customer is most interested in the freedom, comfort and peace of mind derived from eliminating the premises of a pest problem. He doesn't give a fig if you're using an adulticide, a growth inhibitor, or the latest in aerosol technology.
TYPES OF CALLS. Some pest control operators have faith in cold canvassing. They play a numbers game in the hope that a salesperson rapping on doors all day long will eventually strike gold. In this day and age, most professionals consider this a waste of a salesperson's time. The modern way is to use the telephone and the mail to set up appointments.
Telemarketing, while a better tactic than cold canvassing, gets a mixed reception. Some take the position that using the phone to line up appointments for the sales force is productive. But because this method of intruding on prospects has been overused and abused by salespeople in widely disparate areas, its impact is often called into question. As for the telephone, sales professionals have found that the use of the medium for a follow-up appointment after sending an initial sales letter is the preferred route to take.
On the subject of mailings, thanks to the wonders of computer software programs that are capable of creating professional looking sales pieces, it is no longer a big deal to tailor handsome and impressive sales brochures to mail to prospects. A company only has to lay out the message following a suggested template, buy a quantity of attractive cardboard paper stock, and have the quick print shop produce a good looking piece for mailing. Supplemented by a brief cover letter, the resulting sales brochure can do wonders to support the selling effort.
We were given to collecting testimonial letters that we used when making sales calls. With precious little opportunity to give demonstrations, we came to rely on letters from customers expressing satisfaction with our service. We mounted this correspondence in plastic sheets carried in a loose-leaf leather binder, and found the device effective.
Pest control salespeople should always bear in mind that commercial customers live in homes subject to pest invasions, while occasionally residential customers own businesses and buildings. A satisfied customer in either camp should be a "natural" for selling service in the other facility.
What about that fat list of ex-customers who for one reason or another have cancelled service in the past? Rather than regarding them as unhappy memories, they ought to be looked upon as grist for the future-sales mill. Things change. Many have forgotten you and have lost records of past service. They may just be ready for another go.
SELLING IPM. In today's climate, anyone attempting to sell pest control services should play up the "Guardians of the Environment" approach. Whether we wish to admit it or not, the public is becoming increasingly frightened of pesticides. As part of selling, stress the industry's safety record and promise and practice the environmentally concerned approach that espouses the principles of integrated pest management.
A moot issue in the industry has been how involved technicians should be in selling. It has been our experience that technicians should be given the opportunity to do service work without being hampered by having to close sales. On the other hand, they should be encouraged and rewarded for turning in leads for further action by salespeople.
Once a sale has been consummated and the service has been performed, it is important to thank the customer for the order and to maintain contact. A follow-up letter expressing appreciation for the order is always a good idea and always makes a hit. But don't let the relationship wither after that. In the interest of maintaining goodwill, periodic check-backs on the account are a sound practice. These are the considerations that get current customers to recommend other customers.
A company's sales effort can be aided by exposure to the public. Understandably, the boosters, the joiners, the people who volunteer to make life better in the community, are favored. A salesperson can never have too many contacts.
Howard Strelsin is the sales manager for Terminix International. Successfully running the giant company's sales organization for several years, Strelsin also was one of a selected group of national sales managers interviewed a few years ago by Porter Henry, the author of a book entitled Secrets of the Master Sales Managers. We asked him what he considered the most important attributes of the successful pest control salesperson. "Motivation and ability," said Strelsin. "And I'd assign 90% to motivation and 10% to ability."
The Terminix sales chief correspondingly recommended other qualities: passion to succeed, enjoying the job, and opportunism. He went on to suggest what he considered the four essentials for success in pest control selling:
• A thorough knowledge of your company and the services it offers.
• Knowing the marketplace and who you are selling to, including an understanding of the trade jargon and how the customer does business.
• Knowing the competition and their strengths and weaknesses.
• Being aware of the different categories of potential pest control customers and their needs.
On the subject of price, Strelsin declared that price is not the main reason for losing jobs. He said the price objection is given as an excuse when the customer feels that the sales proposition is not offering fair value.
Dave Flowers, the sales and marketing manager for Waltham Chemical Co. in Waltham, Mass., says he has two types of salespeople: the sales representatives who work off established leads and take the orders from mostly residential customers, and the commercial salespeople whom he characterizes as a group of prospecting, organized self-starters. He refers to the latter group as "people who work hard over long hours shaking the bushes for big accounts."
Flowers points out that sales personnel at Waltham undergo a 90-day matrix training program and run through the "Seven C's" sales program sponsored by Copesan. Supplementing this training, salespeople receive technical training and perform as service technicians in the field, and are required to take Purdue University's structural pest control and food plant pest control correspondence courses.
"Our residential sales people go out to sign up customers who have called us," said Al Murray, who is the sales manager for J.C. Ehrlich Co., the prominent mid-Atlantic pest control firm headquartered in Reading, Pa. He noted that commercial salespeople work in tandem with Ehrlich's active telemarketing effort in which the telemarketers line up appointments. While service technicians are not required to sell, they are encouraged to turn in leads. Leads that result in successful sales bring extra compensation. According to Murray, new salespeople undergo a 10-week training program, receive technical training, and serve a period as pest control technicians. He pointed out that the sales force is certified by the state, and sales representatives have successfully passed the Purdue University structural pest control correspondence course.
Successfully selling pest control can be a slow, arduous process beset with blood, sweat and tears. The true salesperson has to face rejections, disappointments and dry spells. But there is nothing more fulfilling and creative than making the big sale. Indeed, to hear the winners tell it, for the dedicated man or woman who believes in the company and its service; for the motivated person willing to learn the tricks of the selling trade and combine them with a sound knowledge of pest control; and for the individual ready to put in long, hard hours to nail those juicy accounts, there is a special gratification above and beyond monetary earnings. PCT
Bob Berns is a staff correspondent for PCT magazine.
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Sales Myths
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As in pest control, selling is beset by popular myths, which have been well delineated in Selling: Principles and Practices, a standard textbook on the subject by Frederic A. Russell, Frank H. Beach and Richard H. Buskirk. Among those myths: • Salespeople are born, not made. This is a miscalculation that leads the uninformed to believe that all a person has to do is pick up a sales kit and plunge into the field to meet with success. But selling is a complicated art that takes a long time to master. While the principles of salesmanship can be learned just as surely as those of other disciplines, it is necessary to spend years studying and practicing to become a proficient salesperson. • Good salespeople have a gift of gab. Contrary to popular opinion, you don't have to be glib to be a winning salesperson. Good salespeople are good listeners. True selling has been defined as " the art of asking the right questions." As Richard H. Buskirk, a professor of marketing at the University of Southern California, puts it: "When you, the salesperson, talk, only you feel great. The customer is apt to get bored and you are not learning much that will help you get the sale." Buskirk goes on to point out that when the customer does the talking you learn; (1) What the prospects want. (2) What the prospects are thinking about. (3) You allow yourself time to think about the sale. (4) The customer feels you are trying to really understand his or her problems and is made to feel important. • The good salesperson can sell anything. A successful salesperson is the person who develops enthusiasm about the product or service being sold. Unless the salesperson believes in his service or product and can wax enthusiastic about it, the chances are 100-to-1 against succeeding. • A good salesperson can sell to anyone. A good salesperson doesn't even try to sell to everyone. True salespeople spend their valuable time exclusively on good prospects people or companies who can use their products and services and can afford to pay for them. • The good salesperson never takes no for an answer. There isn't a salesperson alive who makes a sale every time. The simple fact of the matter is people will turn you down if your proposition is not right for them. The real pros ignore rebuffs and don't regard themselves as failures if someone refuses to buy. • People don't WANT to buy. Most goods and services are bought, not sold. A salesperson doesn't have to twist arms to make them buy. All sorts of people need all sorts of things, and it is the job of the seller to locate them and sell them what they want. Salespeople, in the final analysis, aren't selling their wares because of their selling talents, but because the market wants what they are selling.
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