The pest control sales script that survives “we spray ourselves”

Most pest reps don't lose the door on price. They lose it in the first eight seconds, before the homeowner has heard what they do.

We found this out building our pest buyer. To make an AI homeowner that fights back the way a real one does, you have to listen to a lot of real doors. The pattern was the same every time. The rep opens with the company name and the word “pest.” The homeowner hears “salesman” and reaches for the fastest exit. In pest, the fastest exit is “we spray ourselves.”

Here's the open we trained the buyer to beat, and what it does at each line.

Line 1. Name the street, not the company.

“Hey, I'm Gannon. I'm the one that's been working the houses over on Elm this week.”

You're not a company yet. You're the guy from down the street. That buys you one more sentence.

Line 2. Say what you saw, not what you sell.

“Couple of your neighbors had scorpions coming in through the garage this month, so we're doing a quick walk on the outside of houses on this block.”

Now you're the guy who knows something about their street. No pitch yet.

Line 3. Ask for the small thing.

“I'm not here to sell you anything at the door. Can I take two minutes and show you where they're getting in on yours?”

The ask is two minutes and a look at the outside of the house. That's it. Everything else happens after.

That's the whole open. Three lines. Reps who get through all three are in a conversation. Reps who don't are talking to a closed door.

These are the lines our buyer throws. It throws them in a random order and it does not let up when it hears a canned answer.

“We spray ourselves.” Don't argue with it. Agree, then narrow. “Good, most people do. The stuff at the store is a repellent, so it moves them to the neighbor's house for a couple weeks. What I'm looking for is where they're coming in. That part's free to look at.”

“We already have a company.” Never trash the other company. Ask one question. “Nice, who do you have? ... How often do they come out?” Nine times out of ten the answer is quarterly and they haven't seen the tech in months. “I'm not trying to switch you today. If I find something on the walk your guy should know about, I'll tell you and you can call him.”

“We don't really have bugs.” “That's exactly what your neighbor on the corner said. Scorpions don't knock. Can I show you the two spots on the outside of the house where they get in?” Back to the small ask.

“How much is it, just tell me at the door.” Answer it. Dodging price at the door is the fastest way to look like every other rep. “Starts around [your number] a quarter for a house this size. Before you decide if that's worth it, let me show you what you'd be paying for.”

“My HOA handles that.” “They usually do the common areas. This is your foundation and your garage. Two minutes and I'll show you what I mean.”

Because the first time they hear “we spray ourselves” for real, it's on your route, on a house you paid to get them in front of, with the homeowner watching them think.

The fix isn't a better script. Every pest company has a script. The fix is reps hearing that line a hundred times before it costs you a door. That's what we built the buyer for. It says “we spray ourselves” in a bored voice at 9 in the morning and it does not care that your rep is new.

Steal the open. Print it, tape it to the dash, run it on your next new hire in the parking lot before their first street. If you'd rather have a homeowner that does it for you, that's what we do.

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