April is National Pest Awareness Month. During this time we celebrate pest control owners, operators, technicians, and office staff who strive to efficiently and professionally rid pests from the homes of their customers. In honor of this special recognition, we interviewed pest control owners from all over the country to bring you insights on how to enhance your business this summer.
Over the next 4 weeks, we’ll be sharing tips and strategies for structuring services packages, evaluating pricing, increasing close rates, and dealing with abandoned calls.
Tip #1 Create Service Packages That Sell
After digging deep into our own analytics we discovered that the average price for the most popular pest services can vary significantly based on location, season, and market. Check out the average total price for the most popular pest control services in this table.
| Service Type | Average # of Services | Average Initial Price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Termites | 10.3 | $512.28 | $1,055.57 |
| Mice/Rats | 8.4 | $219.01 | $843.30 |
| Hornets/Wasps | 7.5 | $188.27 | $824.62 |
| Roaches | 7.6 | $140.08 | $681.40 |
| Scorpions | 7.4 | $97.11 | $669.84 |
| Beetles | 6.6 | $152.04 | $652.47 |
| Spiders | 5.5 | $140.83 | $599.71 |
| Ants | 5.6 | $135.04 | $578.45 |
We asked owners and managers how they structure their service packages to sell.
Streamline Service Packages
Matt White from The Killers Pest Control in Oregon explained that his team’s approach is based on keeping it simple, “We’ve streamlined and simplified our packages for our customers’ benefit. The easier you can make it for clients to buy, the easier it is to sell. We have three main packages with some add ons, but 95% of our jobs are standard services.”
Simplicity is key when determining which services to offer your customers. Keep in mind the season, your service location, and the market, then create relevant uncomplicated packages for quick sales and satisfied customers.
Offer One Of A Kind Solutions
For Will Haynes of Modern Pest Control in Maine, creating commercial services that are proprietary to Modern Pest gives them an edge on the competition, “How do we provide a best in class solution for our commercial clients? We offer a service that no one else has. With our SMART technology we monitor 24/7/365 which means they have fewer interactions with pests because we’re always there. It’s a value savings to our clients.”
Offering customers unique services that set you apart from other pest control businesses in your area is a great way to attract and keep customers coming back year after year. Whether it’s by investing in new technologies or applications to market as available only through you or including free upgrades and services to new customers, there are many ways to differentiate your pest control business and deliver an enhanced experience for you customers.
Will goes on to explain that for their residential customers Modern Pest likes to go above and beyond expectations in what he calls the “Give them the pickle philosophy.” He explains, “We’ve started offering free tick services after noticing that that particular service wasn’t selling well. This has created more opportunities for us and saves the client about $200. Offering a little extra goes a long way in customer satisfaction.”
Conclusion
Evaluating your service packages to ensure they are relevant to your customer’s needs and easily understood is a sure fire way to sell more this summer. Providing exclusive services will differentiate your pest control company from others in your area attracting new customers and inspiring loyalty in current clients. Don’t be afraid to sit down and take a look at your current offerings, then make adjustments where you can to streamline your services.
Next week we’ll be sharing tips on how to increase close rates this season with after hours sales and support. Stay tuned!
