Pest Management Professional, September 2015

Scherzinger Face OFF By Kurt and Eric Scherzinger contributors The Call vs The Visit ERIC You know what really grinds my gears Its when service shows up to a customers location and then has to call a salesperson to get clarification Why cant they figure it out themselves KURT It would be easy to figure out if salespeople could fill out the simple paperwork created to let us know what to expect Just filling out part of the paperwork doesnt give the full picture If we cant plan for the job of course we have to call and ask for clarification ERIC Theyre supposed to be the experts on service We try to underpromise and overdeliver but sometimes salespeople need to promise the world so we can get the sale KURT I couldnt have said it better myself They promise the world to get the sale and then we are left trying to figure out how were going to get it accomplished and still make enough money to pay everyone at the price for which it was sold ERIC Life would be easy if we had a schedule of appointments the office made for us Like in volleyball the sales department sets the ball up and the service departments job is to spike it KURT Spiking the ball wins games If all you were doing were setting the ball it would hardly get over the net The service side of the business is over here sweating about scoring the point the revenue for the company ERIC We just worked our butts off trying to establish the upsell on the initial service and then the service department wants to take credit for the sale Really We explained everything to them for you What you were doing was restating what they already know KURT If that were true and sales were so good at closing why did we have to restate everything Why didnt they sign up with you initially Possibly because the person that will be doing their service is the person in which they have the most confidence They go with the service specialists trusted opinion to upgrade service ERIC OK again marketing is so much harder and more important than operations Yes operations are important to an extent But come on really Just act like a professional Do you need to split hairs on the little stuff KURT As stated before we wouldnt have the funds to spend on marketing if it was not for operations and the backbreaking work we do to make the company profitable Reviewing proposals from media outlets and pointing to the one that looks the best sounds really backbreaking ERIC I mean the important thing is all of our marketing Without studying the best options for pursuing new customers in the most cost effective way we wouldnt have an operation to worry about Its all about product placement for customers who want and need it KURT Although it can take some work to get the right message out there delivering that message through service and appearance can be challenging In operations we have to make sure that the vehicles are looking good uniforms are in order and we are delivering a consistent message through our service to all of our customers This is why any business would fail without operations Well PMP readers who won this debate Lock in your vote at MyPMP net and well announce the results in the October issue 148 September 2015 Pest Management Professional mypmp net