Lessons learned from watching a pest control company grow over 10 years.
Pest control is an ideal industry to work in. The service is straightforward, the business model is predictable, and all property owners NEED pest control service.
You’re putting in long hours, but you seem to be noticing more competitors’ trucks on the road, and you see new companies creeping into your service area. Your staff and revenue remain stagnant. What’s holding you back?
1. Time
There is never enough time for a pest control company owner. Running and owning a small company requires wearing many hats: the technician hat, the accountant hat, the customer service hat, the billing department hat, the marketing hat, the advertising hat, the sales hat, and the human resources hat.
You need to re-allocate time from running your business and use it to grow it. First, you will need to develop a long-term growth and organizational chart to plot your next hires.
There needs to be a day when you can only wear the “President” hat.
2. Lack of Purpose
Owning a successful company is a lifetime commitment. Business owners never get to clock-out.
Can you grind out day-to-day, 4,000 hours a year, for 30 years without a purpose? Money can’t be the only thing that makes you wake up in the morning.
Wanting to grow to obtain wealth isn’t going to motivate you. You need to find a real purpose. Employees need to be able to rally around this purpose.
3. Lack of Mentorship
You know where you want to be, but you don’t know how to get there. You need to talk to someone who has walked the same road like the one you are on.
4. Weak Branding
Is your company name memorable? Does it stand for something? National franchises have marketing brains and budgets behind their decisions, do you?
5. Inadequate Capital
Strong businesses borrow money. It builds credit. Are you borrowing the right amount of money to buy vehicles and real estate?
6. Lack of Leadership
You can’t be the only leader in your company. You have to find the right department heads who encourage people to grow, love the brand, and rally around the purpose. They need to let go of their responsibilities and delegate.
7. Defined Processes
The first few years of a small business, knowledge is transferred organically through experience. Once rapid growth is happening, you need well-documented processes and training so that every customer gets the same great experience.
8. Lack of Innovation
Customers have several options when choosing a service company. What makes yours stands out and what makes it easier and better for the consumer?
9. Measurement
In the end you made your decisions. But how do you know they’re working? Does your CRM tell you?Does your marketing team tell you? Do you have marketing dashboards with KPIs like conversions and CPAs?
If you would like more insight and details on our personal experiences growing a pest control business, talk to us! We can show you how.
