Pest Management Professional, October 2017

Brought to you By Consistency counts for McNeely Pest T he good news this year for McNeely Pest Control is that the firm is building a training center The bad news this year for McNeely Pest Control is that the firm is building a training center When Pest Management Professional magazine reached out to President Scott McNeely in July he was trying to get service quotes from electricians and plumbers They dont call you back McNeely told us We may be going to the bathroom in the woods Restroom facility planning aside McNeely has been in the industry long enough 37 years to develop some very firm positions on what works and what doesnt work in pest management There is no silver bullet he asserts You just have to be consistent tell people what you are going to do and then do what you say McNeely says his employees are young driven and his companys biggest asset What we have tried to do is hit the right level of growth so we can financially support that growth internally without seeking outside revenue he says We also try to manage the volume of growth so we can maintain a high quality of service and staffing He likens the balance to a teetertotter If we maintain somewhere between a 13 percent and 16 percent growth rate we can maintain a modest level of profitability and still support our operations effectively Now 59 McNeely has no trouble hiring and retaining millennials His turnover rate is low with 110 employees fanned out among headquarters and five branch offices Other than Vice President Frank Fowler and a recently hired sales manager most of our management staff is in its 20s and 30s he reports I worked with the Boy Scouts and youth groups coming up and this is just a big extension of that McNeely Pest Control currently offers the core services of general pest control termite control and urban wildlife It recently discontinued fumigation because of a lack of demand in the market The company also offers such add on services as gutter cleaning and crawlspace encapsulation as a natural progression of its core offerings But standard treatments for such pests as mosquitoes and bed bugs are keeping employees busy The bed bug issue is continuing to grow in the Southeast though we no longer see explosive growth McNeely says In 1980 he graduated from North Carolina State University with a degree in entomology and went to work for Wilson Pest Control He opened McNeely Pest Control in 1999 By 2001 Fowler joined him and then McNeely says Weve always strived to work hard and work smart And here we are today PmP Mix a 2005 PMP Hall of Famer an be reached at pmpeditor@ northcoastmedia net The North Carolina firm ensures solid quality by focusing on employee training and growth By Jerry mix Editor At Large McNeely Pest CoNtrol Headquarters Winston Salem N C 2016 reveNue 79 million ProjeCted 2017 reveNue 91 million ProjeCted iNCrease 15 percent 3 busiNess tiPs 1uNCoMProMisiNG quaLitY serviCe My dad taught me when you have a phone call from a prospect and a phone call from a customer always respond first to the existing customer Our philosophy is that sales follow service We service then we sell 2PLaN aHead aNd eFFeCtiveLY iMPLeMeNt We completed our strategic planning for 2018 this summer We have a theme every year For 2018 our theme is Raising the Bar 3deveLoP taLeNt FroM WitHiN Use existing staff and empower them We work together I work with McNeely Pest Control not for McNeely Pest Control scott McNeely has nearly four decades of industry experience mypmp net Pest management Professional October 2017 GL9 PhOTO MCNeely PeST CONTROl