Exit Polls for BBU Indicate Exisiting Members Benefit From Attendance

Long-time bedbugFREE Members Attend Bed Bug University to Refine Treatment Methods and Business Practices.

Friday March 19 2010 @ 08:04 AM Source:Bed Bug Central

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Lawrenceville, NJ—With the most recent BedBug University: Boot Camp (BBU) seminars for December and February in the bag, BedBug Central instructors have noticed a new trend—long-standing bedbugFREE members attending BBU well after membership approval.

 The obvious question becomes, why would a bedbugFREE member attend BBU after becoming approved for membership? Our exit surveys have shown that pre-existing members attended for two primary reasons:

1.      To ensure the correct people are attending the classes that will be most appropriate to their job duties and/or

2.      To reinforce or expand their bed bug treatment protocol or maximize their business and sales practices.

Interstate Pest Control (IPC) has been an approved bedbugFREE member for more than a year. The company also attended one of the first Bed Bug Universities, where they were approved for membership shortly after.

However, this year IPC attended our February session to review several sales and business strategies that were not relevant to that single technician they sent the year prior.

“When we first attended BBU we sent a technician who did an excellent job retaining the technical information for treatments,” said Brad Thorstenson of Interstate Pest. “However, because he is more technical, he more-or-less glossed over the business portion. So this time we sent a sales representative to attend the business portion so we could better utilize that information.”

Since resending the appropriate staff to attend BBU, Thorstenson acknowledges that the sales team has been able to utilize master agreements more effectively and convey their importance.

Based on Interstate Pest’s experience, it is important to consider which staff you select to attend BBU. Phil Cooper, president of Bed Bug Central recommends that at least one person who handles technical protocol and one person who handles business development attend.

“As companies attend BedBug University: Boot Camp, it is important to consider that we are instructing them on more than just protocol,” said Cooper. “We are also addressing, in detail, marketing, pricing and legal issues for your overall bed bug business strategy.”

For bedbugFREE members such as Pioneer Pest Management, attending BedBug University: Boot Camp served as an opportunity to refine their treatment protocols, increase logistical efficiencies and hash out legal concerns.

Pioneer Pest has also been a member for more than a year. Bruce Head, of Pioneer Pest, acknowledged that he and his business partner attended BBU to gain an overall perspective of a different bed bug management program.

Head’s interests included fine-tuning his treatment protocol execution with onsite observation. He also attended to streamline his logistical operations by using PestPac Software more efficiently. Particularly important for Head’s attendance was the proper use of the documents package and the legal ramifications behind the paperwork.

“When you receive the document package you kind of scratch your head a little bit asking, ‘Gosh what do these mean?’ As a result, we were not using them correctly,” said Bruce Head.

“If you are using these documents out in the field it’s so important to understand the ramifications of declaring control, what it means to officially have elimination in play and what happens when forms are incorrectly submitted,” said Head.

The BBU exit survey with pre-existing members indicates that current bedbugFREE companies can still garner valuable take-home information. The most valuable information appears to protocol refinement, documentation review and business practice logistics. For more information on Bed Bug University: Boot Camp please contact Rob DiJoseph at robert.dijoseph@bedbugcentral.com or 1-800-949-2667.

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About BedBug Central

BedBug Central serves as the nation’s most authoritative information resource and website available to the public for information concerning bed bugs and bed bug related issues concerning health, prevention, and treatment methods. More information can be obtained at www.bedbugcentral.com.

About bedbugFREE Network

The bedbugFREE Network is a nationwide network of like-minded pest management firms that adhere to the philosophies and treatment methods developed by Bed Bug Central entomologists. These guidelines include using a multi-disciplinary approach to treatment, of which EPA approved chemicals are a small portion. For more information on our guidelines visit: http://www.bedbugcentral.com/bedbugfree/