The Power of Recurring Revenue

Recurring revenue is the “name of the game” in the pest control industry. After all, selling one-time services is well and good, but they only produce one-time revenue. As a pest control business owner, you know that unlocking your company’s full potential involves cornering recurring revenue. But harnessing the power of recurring revenue can be tricky, which is why we’re going to discuss how to sell it.

Selling Recurring Revenue

Growing recurring revenue grows your business because of its compounding effects.

If we do our job in pest control right, our customers don’t see bugs, which can create an issue when the payment is associated with the service. A customer could reevaluate whether they need our services, not realizing that their bug problems return without us. So, how do we steer clear of promoting one-time sales? We make it a point to advertise and sell recurring services.

There are two primary ways to sell recurring revenue in our industry:

• Paid When Serviced: These are sold based on when you provide the service. For example, if serviced quarterly, a customer will pay quarterly; if serviced every other month or tri-annually, the customer pays every other month or tri-annually.

• Monthly Payments: These are sold based on a monthly payment regardless of the actual service frequency. It’s like setting your customer up with a subscription they don’t have to think about actively.

Monthly payments are beneficial because they disassociate the service from the payment amount. They offer a steadier form of recurring revenue as they increase monthly cash flow and reduce those peaks and valleys created by sales that are paid when serviced. In most cases, monthly payments also increase customer retention.

Collecting Payments

How you collect payment is a significant factor in sustainable recurring revenue.

When you charge for services monthly via the monthly payment model, the customer no longer evaluates the service when making the payment. If you collect payment on a credit card or ACH, they most likely don’t even see the payment, putting your services truly “out of sight, out of mind” as their bug problems remain fully managed, thus promoting retention.

Keep Your Customer Informed

A vital aspect of harnessing recurring revenue’s power lies in promoting strongly advised customers and company managers.

It’s important when selling anything to have Service Agreements (not contracts) so the customer understands when service is received, the company’s guarantee, how often the customer pays, and how much. Agreements confirm how both parties do business and remove any misunderstandings. The customer and company manager should sign all agreements, regardless of whether it is physical or digital. There are plenty of digital signing programs available, and most of the industry service software offers digital signature options.

Taking the time to inform customers is also essential to your reputation and service longevity. According to Yahoo! Finance, one-third of Americans pay for subscriptions via their credit cards without knowing it. You don’t want your customers to fall into this group, which is why you need to ensure they understand what they are purchasing from you. Strongly informed customers and company managers coupled with Service Agreements will reduce the risk of a truly disgruntled customer.

Tools For Streamlining Recurring Revenue Sales

Recurring revenue sales will become a built-in part of your point of sale, which means you’ll need to organize and streamline the sales process.

Based on what we’ve discussed, to successfully leverage the power of recurring revenue, you will need to sell services built for recurrence with monthly payments while also keeping customers and managers informed. You will need to create internal policies and checklists to ensure no steps are skipped as your team sells and retains recurring service sales.

The Pest Control Business Tools’ Company Management App is a great tool made for precisely this purpose. It can help you manage reports, SOPs, and company policies, all in one easy-to-use mobile space that your team to access and use on-demand. Why not check it out?

[See Our Company Management App Now]