5 questions with David Helt

David Helt, president of Santa Fe Springs, Calif.-based Target Specialty Products, spoke with Pest Management Professional recently about the company’s partnership with WorkWave’s PestPac MarketPlace, wherein Target offers exclusive inventory and pricing to users of the business software system.

David Helt

1. When and how did this partnership come about?

It all started at the National Pest Management Association’s Legislative Day event in Washington, D.C., in March 2020. WorkWave was considering getting involved with an industry distributor to heighten its value to customers. WorkWave CEO David Giannetto met with us there, and our teams immediately saw benefits for everyone involved. We were on the same page from the start, and hit it off immediately. While it took several months to get the process fine-tuned and up and running, David and I have been working together closely ever since. The initiative officially went live online at PestPac.com/marketplace on March 17, 2021.

2. By “benefits for everyone involved,” do you mean expanding Target and WorkWave’s respective audiences, as well as for pest management professionals (PMPs) who use both companies?

Exactly. Now that we are integrated into the PestPac Marketplace, all PestPac customers have the ability to register for the program, giving us the chance to show PMPs who may not have previously worked with us all the value we bring, and vice versa. WorkWave benefits from us having more than 40 locations throughout the U.S., and from our dedicated marketing department. Both companies co-market in partnership to drive each other’s business. We believe we each have a lot to offer growing PMPs.

3. Are customers of Target Specialty and/or PestPac automatically enrolled in the program?

We have a special Target Specialty “Store” website that is password-protected and dedicated only to new and existing PestPac customers who have opted in. These customers receive exclusive deals and incentives. There also is a seven-tier rebate program based upon the amount they purchase from us. The savings are designed to not only cut costs and improve their profitability in the short term, but also allow PMPs to reinvest money into key areas of business growth long-term. Both the Target Specialty team and the WorkWave team want to be long-term partners of PMPs, facilitating their success.

4. Does this replace the other ways PMPs can order from Target? In other words, do your customers now have to use PestPac?

Not at all. This new venue is additive, not substitutive. We’ll continue to support our longtime e-commerce site on Target-Specialty.com, and PMPs also can work with their Target Specialty sales reps online, by phone or even in person when buying from a branch location. Target Specialty’s sale force has long offered white-glove, “valet” service to our customers, regardless of venue. We see this customer-first approach as the cornerstone of our success, and that is not going to change just because we’ve added to our digital space.

5. In what ways do you see this new partnership evolving and growing in the coming months?

David and I foresee multiple phases for expanding this program to benefit customers. Even though the initiative has  only been live for less than a month, we’re already starting to identify areas where we can add value via an online platform.  Honestly, e-commerce received a “steroid shot” because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so we are exploring the many ways in which the platform can provide opportunities to help our customers. We are looking for ways to help them continually become more productive, more efficient, better trained, choose better products and of course, save money. We already have a long list of options on how to provide digital value that we need to consider and prioritize. Right now, though, our sole focus is to keep inventory options and order fulfillments running like a well-oiled machine for all customers.

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