Driving Revenue with Online Training

 

That’s clearly not a lot of time. So exactly what can be accomplished in less than five minutes when a technician needs to refresh their knowledge base on pest identification, PPE usage or safe driving practices? Actually, quite a bit.

 

Research shows people are better at absorbing lots of small chunks of information than they are a few larger ones. Need to brush up on the difference between pavement and carpenter ants? A five-minute refresher online could do the trick.

 

The convenience of using the growing number of online training tools from videos to apps on mobile devices makes delivering training easier and offered with greater frequency.

 

What does this mean for your business? A better trained and more knowledgeable technician is going to deliver a superior service and that means higher customer retention rates and improved chances for upselling additional services.

 

It’s widely accepted that companies that invest in training for their employees experienced improved revenues compared to those that didn’t.

 

For example, a technician who is able to correctly identify the ant referenced earlier may have just saved his or her customer money and a lot of headaches. A misidentification could have allowed a carpenter ant colony to go unchecked and threaten the structural integrity of the customer’s home, leading to costly repairs.

 

The investment of time or money to have the technician attend an online training class or reference an app on their phone or tablet would be well worth it.

 

Lauren Thrasher of Thrasher Termite & Pest Control of Southern California in San Diego says the investment in seeking additional designations for the company’s more than 30 technicians would pay off with commercial clients especially.

 

“Commercial clients want to know more of the why behind what you are doing and having a technician with advanced credentials would be able to share that information more easily and also be better prepared to tackle extreme problem solving,” says Thrasher. 

 

Andy Witcher of Scorpiontech in Mesa, Ariz., says customers are more confident when they work with a company and technician who can display designations such as Associate Certified Entomologist (A.C.E.) and/or other advanced training.

 

“Customers attach a value to working with companies that invest in training and education for their employees,” says Witcher. “It separates you from the competition and it helps retain both employees and customers.”

 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Witcher, whose company services the Phoenix metro area focusing primarily on scorpion, termite and general pest control, has participated in several virtual events looking for ways to grow his business.

 

“Suppliers are doing a nice job of offering webinars to explain new service opportunities,” says Witcher, who considered adding disinfection services after participating in a webinar on the topic. “The convenience factor and ability to tap into experts you may not have a chance to talk with unless you attended an event is appealing.”

 

Having additional resources at his disposal is important to a company the size of Scorpiontech that needs to maximize how it spends its training and development budget.

 

“We have five technicians and a couple of office staff, and we want them to stay on top of the latest trends,” adds Witcher. “The online training options that are available today help me achieve that as well identify ways to grow the business.”