Stop under-valuing your services

Illustration: Leo Michael

“It’s tough work. Price accordingly.” That’s the advice Pest Management Professional (PMP) Editorial Advisory Board (EAB) member Doug Foster, owner of Burt’s Termite & Pest Control in Columbus, Ind., gave us for our August “Question of the Month.” We asked our contributors and EAB members for a bed bug business tip, and you can see responses from several of our other experts in the August issue.

“Too many companies feel like they have to sell every job or keep their competitors from getting the work by pricing bed bug jobs cheap,” Foster adds.

This is hardly a new problem, and it’s not limited to bed bug service. Owners often acknowledge professional-level pricing in the big picture, but when it comes to their own customers, they err on the side of under-valuing their services. That said, if there’s a silver lining to be found in this current, inflation-addled economic climate, it’s that you should be able to raise your prices guilt-free.

Any customers who might have threatened to take their business elsewhere had you raised prices a year ago are likely not going to bat an eye. Rather, they will respect that you looked at your costs — fuel, labor, materials, time — and are charging a price that is in proportion to the knowledge and efficacy that you bring to each jobsite.

Now is the time to remind yourself that you are a public health protector and a problem-solver. You are good at what you do, and you work hard to continually get even better. Get paid what you’re worth.