Pest Management Professional, September 2014
s p o n s o r e d b y Theres really one way to deal with termites Martin says Your mindset must be to treat inch by inch not foot by foot An inch is an opening for termites Do we fail Sure we do But it is a small percentage of the time In 50 years weve made all the mistakes so weve corrected them Wilson and Markowich emphasize following procedures to train and document Monitoring work is key too On every job you must make sure there are no hazards you constantly supervise Markowich says Avoiding mistakes According to Townsend when PMPs make mistakes with termite treatments they generally fall into three areas selling their work too cheap not taking the time to do it right and failing to find the infestation source Too often companies dont offer termite contracts that cover future damage nor do they have quality control programs Some companies dont have detailed termite management guidelines Martin says Procedures must be written If you follow the guidelines and open your mind when the glove might not fit perfectly youre going to be OK Another mistake companies make is not taking the time to find and hire the best people Youre more likely to hire the first person you meet with than you are to conduct 10 or 15 interviews Markowich says A lot of people know theyre making less than the best hiring decisions but the moves seem quicker and easier in the short term Taking your time will save you money headaches and clients in the long run When the economy is good and pests are on the move any sales team can look good But too often Payne has seen a companys sales force lack aggressiveness Its a problem when salespeople sit around the office waiting for the phone to ring Smart business Termites arent always easy to control and exclude For those new to the market segment or those interested in entering it Townsend suggests taking time to do the job right the first time Be an investigator he says Hunt them down and dont stop until youve found them If you dont you might be writing a check later Markowich says referrals are a must Unless you have a strong base you cant compete with the bigger guys he says Its difficult to appear in the upper levels of a Google search As long as Ive been doing this 75 percent of my business is through referrals Martin advises to be ready for interesting but difficult work You must have the correct Continued on page TM10 Training should be ongoing as a refresher course and to learn new techniques Allot the time necessary for your techs to do a thorough inspection and treatment the first time to avoid callbacks www mypmp net Pest Management Professional September 2014 TM7 Photo courtesy of Terminix Photo courtesy of Terminix
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