Pest control services company Rollins’ Sales Management Workshop was created to help develop organizational leaders’ sales acumen to enable them to build a sales culture and lead with a sales growth mindset while maintaining a commitment to service for customers. The workshop is a requirement for all branch manager trainees and service manager trainees as part of the Leadership Development Program.
Program Details
The workshop originally launched in 2017. However, in 2020, this program underwent a full overhaul—from content revisions to facilitation for a virtual environment. The goal for the overhaul was to:
- Align training with a remote workforce
- Direct leadership focus from expense management to sales
- Increase technician sales through training and role-playing with sales peers
- Focus more on managing bundled service offerings (e.g., mosquito, bed bug, pest control)
The workshop now focuses on the Seven Keys of a Successful Sales Mindset:
- Data-Driven Mindset
- Transparency & Alignment
- Shared Vision (Collective Results)
- Healthy Competition
- Feedback & Coaching
- Adaptability (Adjusting to Trends)
- Positive Reinforcement & Celebration
Each Rollins sales professional has an Apple iPad that houses proprietary apps used to present solutions to customers, outline treatment plans, and present pricing and financing. During the discovery phase, the Learning team recognized the need for managers to better support their remote sales staff, particularly with feedback and coaching during sales presentations.
Managers were not allowed to be present with employees and customers due to company COVID-19 protocols. Leveraging the iPads and Microsoft Teams, managers were able to attend sales presentations virtually. This allowed managers to see what was being presented and hear both the sales professional and prospect during the call. Attending virtually also expanded the number of proposals and employees a manager could support in a day.
Previously, a manager would spend a full day with one employee observing their proposal performance. The Sales Management Workshop introduced this new coaching technique, allowing leaders to coach multiple employees throughout the day and provide real-time feedback and support.
Regional sales managers also adopted the virtual attendance methodology, which allowed them to support multiple branches without the need for travel. Daily virtual meetings with branch leaders increased the focus on sales coaching, training, and best practice experiences, which also are shared with division leaders.
Results
Rollins now is seeing more mosquito services paired with general pest control, which equates to a 5.9 percent increase over the prior year and a 19.4 percent increase in mosquito sales. In 2019, 62 percent of technicians met their monthly sales goals. In 2021, 79.7 percent of technicians met or exceeded their monthly goal—a 17.7 percent increase in the last two years.
Mosquito sales now equate for 3 percent of Rollins’ recurring revenue, exceeding its goal. And increased mosquito revenue propelled the ancillary services share of total revenue from 17 percent to 21 percent.
