What’s the best piece of industry advice you received?

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November 2, 2017

Frishman cow

In 1963, a pre-“Doc” Austin Frishman was involved in livestock entomology at Cornell University. PHOTO: DR. AUSTIN FRISHMAN

On p. 10 of our November issue, you’ll see great responses from Dr. Austin Frishman, Paul Hardy and Dr. Doug Mampe. But several more of our columnists weighed in on the topic of “What’s the best piece of advice you received when you started out in the pest management industry?”

  • Stuart Aust: “When I started out in business, I spoke to a friend from church, Lance Pennington. Initially I was selling the accounts, providing the service, billing, etc., as most sole proprietors do. Lance encouraged me to take a leap of faith and hire someone to handle the service work. This was definitely the best advice that was given to me, and I have thanked Lance many times over the years — as this enabled me to start growing my business.”
  • Frank Meek:Remember where your book is. Write down in your book everything you committed to do, everything you asked someone to do. Review your book daily, and remember where you left that book.”
  • Eric Scherzinger:If you don’t know, ask. Don’t guess if you’re not sure what type of pest it is or what material or product to use. Excuse yourself and make a call.”
  • Kurt Scherzinger: “Don’t ask someone to perform a job function you would not be willing to do yourself. Others will follow your lead, and strong leaders lead by example.
  • Pete Schopen: “My dad always told me that no matter how nasty, disrespectful or downright rude a client behaves, if the client pays you at the end, you win!
  • Mark “Shep” Sheperdigian: “My very first employer in the biz told me, ‘I’m not gonna be mad if you make a mistake. I’m gonna be mad if you don’t do anything.’ And then there’s ‘It’s not about the bugs, it’s about the people,’ from H. William Ives, and ‘Killing bugs is easy, getting and keeping clients is hard’ from Dave Luker.”
  • Dr. Stephen Vantassel:Charge more. It’s better to work less for the same money.”

Got something to add? Sound off in the comments section!

About the Author

Heather Gooch

Heather Gooch is the editor-in-chief for PMP magazine. She can be reached at hgooch@northcoastmedia.net or 330-321-9754.

Leave A Comment

  1. Danny Jaso says:

    After 10 years as a technician and 14 years as a Service Manager for a large national pest control company, I have decided to start my own pest control business. I look forward to reading these type of articles. Send me more. Thank you!