[Business Growth] Systems Analysis

Anyone can spend a ton of money on a computer system that promises the lofty prize of business automation. The real trick is being able to select and apply the proper technologies, design your business systems and develop internal procedures that will make it a profitable endeavor. If you’re lacking in any of these areas, the challenge of automating your pest management business will just become another source of frustration in your life.

What if you could systematize your business and make it run like a machine? To achieve real growth you will need to install systems throughout your business. Systematize everything and anything you can think of. Formalize your businesses processes and make sure they become institutionalized within your company. It may seem difficult, but without formal systems your business will never be able to grow.

START WITH GOOD PEOPLE. We are in an industry with low barriers to entry. This means that it’s not very tough to enter the market and become a pest control technician and/or business owner. It may be tough to become a good pest control technician or business owner, but it’s not a tough market to enter.

So, as you hire you’re going to bring in a lot of people who may not fit the bill for the long term. But the idea of building your team is to bring in one person at a time. These will be people in whom you can instill your vision. And then you bring in the next, and the next, and so on.

Some of these employees will show tremendous loyalty — those are the keepers. So be sure that the people you surround yourself with are great people. In this or any industry, doing that can be a challenge, but they are out there. You may have to search a while to find worthy employees, but they are well worth the wait.

DEVELOP AND COMMUNICATE YOUR VISION. Create a vision for your business. Make sure this vision of yours is communicated throughout your organization. Ensure that your workforce understands and is onboard with your vision. Print it, frame it or even put it on a mug. Whatever it takes, marketing your vision internally will ensure that your employees understand what the main objective is. Most importantly, enable your employees to carry out your vision by giving them the resources and processes they need.

PLAN YOUR OFFICE LAYOUT. The way you go about setting up your office is vital to enabling your organization. Everything from filing systems to intercom configurations can make your company’s workforce efficient and productive. Think through every minute detail, from the flow of foot traffic through the office to the positioning of phone and data jacks.

When you’re a small company, what you do is pest control. Maybe you’re a one-man show, so you organize yourself and your truck and whatnot.

As you get bigger, just as important is how you organize your office. Think about the workflow of your business and how that impacts your office. Remember, there are two areas of consideration in office setup. One is the physical setup, meaning office space, desks, chairs, water coolers, phones, faxes, computers and all that good stuff. The other is the dynamic flow of information. This means incoming calls, voicemails, e-mails, instant messages, intercoms, escalating and filing paperwork, and other activity-driven facets of the office.

Setting up an office in a correct and efficient way is paramount to succeeding in the pest management business. So, where do you start? First, ask yourself some questions about how your business operates:

• When a phone call comes in, who answers it? What does he/she say?
• How do your technicians or salespeople get their assignments?
• How is work posted?
• What paperwork comes back to the office after the service is performed?
• How do you file that paperwork?
• How do you bill the customer?
• How do you process payments?

This is merely a small sampling of the activities that need to be worked out. Think through your company’s specific workflow and plan your office accordingly.

ORGANIZE YOUR INFORMATION. Organizing phone calls is a big task. The way you organize the flow of phone calls can be difficult, but it is very important. Use an automated call system and set it up so that the volume of calls going to the front desk is minimal. Every call should instead be routed to the appropriate customer service representative (CSR).

Toward this end, have a CSR devoted to each specific program that you offer so that each CSR knows every particular thing about the service they handle. You want your CSRs to be knowledgeable and you want them to develop relationships with your clients. This way, when pest control clients call in, they speak to a general pest control CSR, or a lawn care CSR, or a termite/wood-destroying organisms CSR, or a deck washing and sealing CSR or whatever other lines of business you have. If you don’t have that many CSRs, make each one responsible for being an expert on a few services and have basic familiarity with the others in case someone calls in sick.

Another way to manage incoming traffic is to use instant messaging through your Web site for customers who don’t want to wait on the phone. Set it up so that customers can go online and be connected with a rep at the click of a mouse.

FIND THE RIGHT TECHNOLOGY. Cell phones, PDAs, GPS devices, laptops…you name it. There are all sorts of technology tools available that can increase productivity and enable your business. On the other hand, poor planning, lack of knowledge or improper application of technology can be a hindrance. The key is finding the right places to implement technology solutions and how to do it.

If you can increase productivity with technology, then it is worth it. There are many great nice-to-have technologies out there. The key is to make sure costs are under control and you don’t spend a ton of time getting the technology to work. This is an important point: Don’t be fooled because perhaps the price is right for the software or hardware. Keep in mind that there may be hidden costs coming down the road. For instance, will you have to hire a technical guru to install or maintain the system?

You can’t have technology run your business. If you don’t have willpower and discipline, then you may just find yourself implementing technology for the sake of implementing technology. This is not what you want to do.

Technological solutions must be deployed to serve a business need. The only reason to use technology should be to help improve upon your business. If the technology doesn’t move you closer to your business goal, then perhaps you should hold off on the initiative.

The authors are principals of PMP Wealthbuilders, Newton, N.J., a firm that aims to help pest management professionals make their businesses more profitable.

For a checklist you can develop to ensure an accurate monthly closeout, visit www.pctonline.com and click on “online extras.”