Peter McCarthy of Pest IT shares his tips on how to successfully enter the bird management market.
Bird management in Australia remains a challenging, specialised and profitable area of business for pest managers. However, we at Pest IT often meet with professionals who refrain from chasing bird work. Often this is due to poor earlier experiences, lack of training and support, lost profitability due to miscalculations on previous jobs, or the significant size of potential projects being too daunting. All of which results in a lack of confidence.
To gain new business when the economy (both in Australia and internationally) is slowing, or to remove the typical ‘seasonality’ of pest management, bird work is ideal and offers year-round business potential.
Elements needed to succeed in bird management are many. Initially, three areas to focus on may include a site visit, a professional proposal and your support network.
Site visit
Visiting the site is the first step in developing your relationship with the client and working towards offering a solution. To improve the accuracy of your assessment you will need take photos, make plans and drawings with dimensions, take down an address for Google Earth viewing (before and after your inspection) and note the processes that take place at the facility (i.e. food production, car park, office building, retail, logistics, etc).
From your client, you will need a working budget (if it exists), an understanding of previous attempts of bird management on the site, the bird species and their site history, an estimated population number, and observations of the bird behaviour being exhibited.
You can use the site visit as an opportunity to estimate the access equipment needed to complete the works as well as the labour intensity and project timeline. These aspects are a great starting point for you when considering an appropriate solution and installation plan. This information will also assist your product supplier if you are seeking assistance with product selection, quoting support, installation planning or onsite training.
Professional proposal
Your proposal will include the conclusions you have drawn from your site assessment. It should outline your installation and product recommendations, including specifications and warranties. It is also important to give details relating to local legislation and animal welfare regulations, and specific WHS considerations. It is a good idea to outline your company’s professional experience and share positive customer testimonials.
Competition in bird management is fierce, therefore a proposal will need to include all these elements to set you apart from others in the field.
Support network
Your support team may include your employees, colleagues or a product supplier who can assist with mentoring you as you enter into bird management.
From Pest IT’s perspective, we have been assisting professionals in all aspects of bird management for 15 years. This includes species identification and product recommendations, developing quoting templates, offering photos of previous installations, product images and specifications, site visits and client presentations, and technical assessments. We have recently given presentations and written discussion papers on topics including ‘Bird Management – Quoting with Confidence’ and ‘100 Tips for Bird Professionals’ that will assist your entry into bird management or help update your existing expertise. Copies of technical papers or presentations are available on request.
With unrivalled expertise in bird management, and celebrating our 15th year of supporting the Australian pest industry, Pest IT is your ideal support partner in all aspects of bird management.
Peter McCarthy, Director, Pest IT
