Pest Management Professional, December 2012

A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR with Mark Boyd Looking Forward After spending years in a holding pattern PMPs need to make sure they are prepared for the coming economic rebound and structured for growth Mark Boyd CEO of Control Solutions Inc CSI a Houston based manufacturer and formulator of products for the professional pest management market answers some questions about growing in a difficult economy the future of the industry and how CSI is making a difference What are the most important factors for preparing companies for growth MB Pest management business owners must have an infrastructure that is capable of sustaining growth The first thing that you have to do to grow is take care of your customers All of the departments in your company that support customers accounting distribution logistics prevention etc must be prepared for growth It takes all of them working well together to service the customer properly What challenges do you see in the next year that could hinder growth for companies MB There are a few challenges pest management professionals PMPs are going to face next year The economy is still not functioning fully Many homeowners are looking for ways to cut their household costs Their salary increases are not keeping up with inflation and service businesses tend to suffer Additionally some of the expenses PMPs face are climbing For example health care and vehicle costs fuel and maintenance are rising What factors do you see affecting profitability in 2013 MB Two major challenges for PMPs are health care and fuel costs A third obstacle is government interference in how PMPs run their businesses Government interference isnt always bad Every company faces the same challenges The ones that run their businesses best actually grow even when government interference is at its most oppresive What can companies do to maximize their profitability MB It all comes down to the people you hire The more productive the people you hire the less it costs as a percentage of revenue The more productive people you have in your company the easier it is to make money Without good people growing your company will never happen Looking for good people is a full time job What opportunities can PMPs take advantage of to accelerate growth MB The housing market is showing some life Thats good news for PMPs In the United States we havent built many houses in the past six years Were about to catch up This creates opportunity for PMPs The pendulum has swung toward a poor economy for at least four or five years Well start to see it swing back over the next several years To build a business PMPs need to be creative in their marketing and the services theyre offering to homeowners PMPs are the best entrepreneurs in the United States Theyre always looking for new ways to create value with their services As the economy picks up what can CSI do to help PMPs MB The professional pest management market is very important to CSI and we are always striving to provide more value Weve always provided quality products at a great value to help protect the bottom line with products like Dominion 2L Cyzmic CS and Taurus SC Recently we hired a technical service representative to service the market even better by working with companies to solve tough pest problems Were also conducting research on new products that have greater efficacy and smaller chemical application footprints Whats next for CSI MB For the past five years CSI has had a very strong product development department Were working on new products that create value for PMPs Over the next several years well be introducing new innovative and non generic products They will contain new chemistry and new mixtures that will help PMPs be more effective while using less product www mypmp net Pest Management Professional December 2012 S3