What drives pest control prospects toward potential companies can vary wildly. Sometimes it’s a customer’s immediate need for services; sometimes customers are merely exploring commercial options. But no matter what brings a pest control lead into your sales pipeline, there’s no doubt that saying the right thing can make all the difference in closing a deal.

How do you make sure agents say the right thing? With pest control sales scripts, of course—the right ones.

Tips for selling pest control over the phone

Rely on call scripts

Why use scripts? Ultimately, it’s about providing agents with support—and not just support to make a sale.

Rather than something to follow word for word, the best sales scripts are those that equip agents with an overall call strategy, one that covers virtually any scenario that unfolds on a call. Not only will it provide agents with sales pitches that you’ve tested for effectiveness, but it will offer guidance for handling objections and support for state-level and federal TCPA compliance.

No prospect or sales call is exactly the same. But you can ensure they all have the same potential for success by providing your agents with pest control sales scripts.

Get help from software

And when we say “scripts,” we don’t mean something overly simple, tedious, or manual. Gone are the days of agents keeping a Word doc open in the corner of their screen—or at least they should be gone.

Today’s pest control businesses can harness the power of the latest software tools to make sticking to the right messaging as simple as possible. Look for a call center solution that delivers dynamic scripting software. This tool will automatically pop scripts of your creation that update in real-time as you progress through a conversation.

Working in tandem with third-party integrations from providers like Observe.AI and Balto, teams can get further real-time guidance and post-call analytics that fuel even better conversations.

Personalize your approach

Whether you’re in pest control or any other area of home services lead gen, there’s no getting around the fact that personalization is more important than ever. According to McKinsey data, a whopping 71% of consumers consider personalized experiences a basic expectation. What’s more, 76% are frustrated when they don’t receive personalization.

Taking added care—and using the software described above—to personalize your scripts as much as possible is crucial to meeting consumer expectations and making sales. So, if your current scripts and overall sales process do not draw on the data and insights contained within your CRM, it’s time for a rethink.

Measure your results

Just as customer insights should inform scripts on the front-end of the sales process, data about call outcomes should help you make improvements on the back-end. There’s no pest control sales call, whether it leads to a conversion or not, that’s not useful in this regard. With robust call center reporting tools at your disposal, information gleaned from each call can be understood as part of a trend—or as a one-off anomaly. Either way, by measuring performance, you’ll be able to implement changes to lead to greater chances of success.

What to include in your pest control scripts

So, how do you translate these tips on how to sell pest control into actual scripts? Start by using them to inform these essential elements of any sales scripts:

A strong pest control sales pitch

Opening strong is perhaps the most important part of the call. Even if you’re dialing interested prospects that have recently requested the call, you need to quickly get leads’ attention and get them to stay on the line. Use your opener to remind them of their interest in your services, point out any available offers or highlight benefits, then move to the next part of your call.

Qualifying questions

Making sure your reps in the field meet only with high-quality, qualified leads is key to getting maximum value out of your calling operation. Develop an iron-clad list of qualifying questions that get you the info you need without trying prospects’ patience.

Tested rebuttals

Even if a lead has opted in to being contacted, there’s still always a reasonable chance of them objecting to a sale. That’s just how sales goes. Make sure your script paths are padded out with rebuttals that agents know how to deliver confidently—even if it’s with the help of their dynamic script.

An efficient close

Once a lead is ready to take the next step, you can’t afford to make any missteps or delays. They’re ready to close, so close it and move on to the next call. Avoid open-ended questions about scheduling like “When are you available for a rep to come by?” Instead, take the initiative yourself: “I have a technician in your neighborhood on Thursday. How is 3:00 for you?”