In the highly competitive pre-construction termite market, most operators fight on price – “price is everything”. Except it’s not. As with any sales opportunity, understanding the needs and issues of your customer is key. By promoting products and services that meet their needs and solving their problems you can promote the value in your services and focus less on price. In the pre-construction market, Greenzone Termite and Insect Repellent Barrier is creating value for builders and more profit for pest managers.
Time is money for builders. Delays in construction can be very expensive. As we know, most delays in construction are often due to project management issues and/or being let down by one or more of the other trades. If the builder or project manager can trust you to deliver the correct termite protection solutions and make their life easier – by being flexible in your application timing, quick in installation and responsive to help solve problems – you really start to add value. Using Greenzone as a key product in your pre-construction armoury can certainly help.
Greenzone Termite and Insect Barrier is a compressible expansion joint foam impregnated with bifenthrin. It’s value in pre-construction is three fold. Firstly, it is quick and easy to install – just simply peel off the protective layer and use the self-adhesive backing to stick in place. Secondly, it is flexible in both use situation and timing of installation. And thirdly, it is a combined expansion foam and termite barrier, removing need to install both an expansion foam and termite protection product in slab connections.
The biggest cost in pre-construction jobs is labour. With its quick and easy installation, the labour saving when using Greenzone is significant. “As an example, last week we completed a job protecting 16 penetrations and laying 25 lineal metres, all completed in only one hour,” said Stewart Paterson, Greenzone business manager.
This job also highlighted the flexibility in use. The same product was used for both perimeter and penetration protection. Although Greenzone have pre-made foam socks in 40, 50, 80 and 100 mm sizes, the Greenzone foam roll can be used no matter the penetration diameter. Pest managers can improvise with having a single product on the truck, knowing it has the flexibility to deal with a range of unknown issues that may be spotted when on site.
“One of the increasingly common uses for Greenzone is as a replacement for reticulation systems. When reticulation systems are being considered as a perimeter protection under hard surfaces such as paths or driveways which will abut a slab, the use of Greenzone represent a far cheaper option. Reticulation systems require trenching, laying and charging. Greenzone simply has to be stuck to the slab edge, often where expansion foam was going to be used anyway,” said Mr Paterson.
Not only is it flexible in application situations, it can be applied before the installation of formwork, providing flexibility in installation timing. For the pest manager, this wider application window not only helps when booking in single jobs around other work, but on multi-unit sites it will often mean that even if the units are at different stages of development, Greenzone can be applied to all the units in a single visit.
Builders love, or often demand, their contractors to be responsive. With its ease and speed of application it makes it a lot easier for pest managers to meet these requests. Knowing that a Greenzone installation can be completed quickly, they can often be en squeezed into a work day at short notice.
Referring back to the earlier example – 16 penetrations at $15 per penetration and 25 lineal metres at $20-25 / m, for an installation completed in one hour, is very profitable business. Not only is there increased profitability on the individual job, the speed and ease of a Greenzone installation makes it possible to fit more profitable jobs into the week.
Whether you’re established in the market or looking to enter pre-construction, with Greenzone you can make more money in precon.