Does your company train your employees about what to say? I’ve found writing suggested responses often helps employees do a better job when obstacles arise — and they will.
Do you have role-playing or simulated sessions to review various scenarios of customer comments or objections technicians, sales and office staff will receive from customers? Give them the help they want and need: Employees’ confidence will grow if you provide the basics of what to say and how to respond to questions and objections they’ll encounter in the field. Consider the following situations, and how your employees might respond:
Customer: “I want to cancel because I don’t have bugs anymore.”
Employee: “That’s right. We did our job, and now our objective is to make sure pests stay out. You don’t want to cancel your service now because the problem could return. Many pests, such as German cockroaches, are brought into the home; therefore, the risk of reintroducing pests into your home always exists. Allow me to continue your service, and you’ll continue to have a pest-free home.”
Customer: “I want to cancel because I can’t afford to pay the amount due.”
Employee: “Let’s see if we can agree to a payment arrangement so we can keep you as a happy, stress-free customer. You can pay using a credit card if that is easier for you.” (Continue to offer other easy-pay plans your company has available.)
Customer: “I want to cancel because I’ve decided to do it myself.”
Employee: “Many people try to take care of a pest problem before calling a pest management professional and find there are many problems they can’t eliminate on their own. I’ll continue to take care of your (targeted pest) and remove wasp nests, spider webs, treat your accessible attic and crawlspace and do other tasks you probably don’t want to fool with.”
Photo courtesy of, and copyrighted by, Gene White, pmimages@earthlink.net
Customer: “I don’t like the price increase.”
Employee: “The cost has increased because of our rising costs in products and equipment. Isn’t it worth a few dollars more each month for the peace of mind of having a pest-free home?”
Customer: “I want to skip this month’s service.”
Employee: “Why do you want to skip a service?” (Listen for the real reason. Then, explain to the customer that skipping a service provides chances for new pests to enter and old infestations to re-establish. Remind him skipping also cancels the guarantee. Finally, offer to make a payment arrangement so the customer remains on the service schedule.)
Customer: “Please skip our service this month because we’re going on vacation.”
Employee: “Because you’re going to be on vacation, let’s reschedule a time now when we can perform a thorough inside and outside service before you leave. Then, while you’re away you won’t have to worry about returning to any pest problems.” (This is also a good time to remind the customer that the annual service agreement he entered with your company is based on regular service intervals with no interruptions. Remind the customer that if he skips services, you’ll charge an initial fee to restart service.)
Customer: “I don’t think I should pay because you only did an outside service.”
Employee: “Because 90 percent of indoor pest problems originate outdoors, our company has developed a perimeter defense system that sets up a protective barrier around the outside of your home preventing pests from coming inside. Treating the outside of your home is an extremely valuable part of our service and we guarantee it. If you ever have a pest problem inside, our company promises to return and service the inside at no extra charge.” (You might also want to point out many customers only want outside service once they understand pests prefer their natural habitat: the outdoors.)
Be an educator
As pest management professionals (PMPs), we simply want to educate and help customers work through their concerns. A final effort to save a skip is for the employee to ask, “If it weren’t for (the objection), would you be willing to continue your service with us?”
Next month, we’ll cover the collections process with examples of how to ask for payment at the time of service.
You can reach Johnson, a past president of the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) and current president of Sevierville, Tenn.-based Johnson Pest Control, at ray@johnsonpestcontrol.com.
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