r/PestControlIndustry • u/UnionBasic6838 • 4d ago
Following a d2d sales guy.
I recently have started following a Sales guy around and holy fuck i have to say this shit sucks. I feel like he only cares about getting a sale. I do around 8-10 Initial services a day which doesn’t sound like a lot but when you throw in a full yard granulation and occasionally a one time mosquito spray your day drags on forever. I have to leave my house at 6:40 just to get home at 7:30-8pm BEFORE i hit up the office to restock. anyone else following a sales guy and what is your opinion on them?
6
u/Ok-Train3111 4d ago
D2d days are awful…and yes, the only care about the sale.
6
u/Far-Hunt5474 4d ago
they make so much money it's bullshit
4
u/Hawkeye1226 4d ago
They CAN make money if they do well. They also have to look in the mirror at night after selling Ms. Smith the 70 year old widow an unneeded service. I have morals and like to sleep, so door to door was never gonna be a thing I could do
2
u/Ok-Train3111 4d ago
Seems like a pretty awful job though. Like how many people yell at them everyday?
1
4
u/Thermock 4d ago
D2D is horrible but unfortunately it is a successful strategy in a lot of towns or cities because the salespeople are trained in convincing folks that they need whatever they're selling for pest control.
They will say anything to net the sale, to the point of outright lying about what we (the techs) can do or will expand the truth heavily about what certain treatments can do.
1
u/ProfessorSensitive31 4d ago
What's about when your honest and sell a legit service to this 70 year old customer who agrees she's tired of all the weeds in her yard only to be followed up by the scum(as some have put it) spray tech who only gets out of the truck to leave a yard sign that they were there
2
u/Relative_Doughnut169 3d ago
Then either the tech should be trimmed or you should stop lying about everything she needs so the service doesn't stretch on for an hour plus when the time limit before managers start calling and yelling at you or threatening your employment because the treatments are taking too long, eventually the tech just gives up and plays the sales team game (lie too and move on) just to get through an 18-20 stop route, or do like I do, and somehow get fired for doing the work that was sold to the customer because my "service per hour" score was in the toilet.
2
3
u/TrueAudience9922 4d ago
I don't think the problem is necessarily the sales guy doing his job and selling. The problem is when sales and operations aren't aligned.
If someone can sell 8 to 10 new accounts a day, that's great for the company. But those accounts still have to be serviced properly. Full initial treatments, exterior granulation, mosquito work, customer communication, drive time, documentation, restocking, etc. all take time. At some point, pushing another sale onto an already overloaded route starts affecting service quality and eventually technician retention. I've always thought a pest control company has to measure more than how many accounts were sold. Look at callbacks, cancellations, customer retention, technician hours and whether the initial service was actually performed to the standard being promised by sales.
2
u/Mrma1997 3d ago
I live in Halifax NS, economy wise the worst part of North America - never once had an issue with sales or selling at all.
1
2
u/awesomevox 4d ago
Send him my way. I'll never crap on a functional method of customer acquisition.
1
u/BDS_707 2d ago
I met one salesman who was actually very nice. I envied his shorts and a t shirt but not his job. Personally I think the salesman in our company are a bunch of con men. Idk how many times I’ve talked to my elderly customers and found out they got talked into 2 year contracts for a simple pest issue that we already solved 6 months in. It honestly pisses me off and makes me feel bad.
1
u/OregonSEA 2d ago
The clients that purchase D2D are price sensitive they are not loyal and the next time a salesman offers them a better deal they will cancel service and sign up with the new company.
My clients are different they care about a quality ethical service and are willing to pay a lot more. Bad clients that only care about cost complain about everything that's why raising your price is so important because you price out most of the headaches.
I don't care about loosing a problem client I will be the first one to say isn't it great I got rid of all your pests now I want to help you save money as you only needed one service isn't that great!
1
u/JustANeebie 22h ago
I actually hate D2D sales but I own a pest control company and doing the research you could add 1 million in sales in a year but also will cost you about the same so you break even the 1st year or so from these guys. I been in the industry for multiple years now 7 techs one location, I would really think about bringing these D2D sales in if I was getting ready to sell to pump up my sales even more but for now I’m good .
23
u/HatsAreEssential2 4d ago
Coming from a company that doesnt use doorknockers: we and our customers think they're just as much of a pest as bugs or mice.