How To Build a Million Dollar Pest Control Company: Allan Draper

May 7, 2025

Hey everyone, Danny here! Welcome back to Pest Control Legends. I recently sat down with Allan Draper, co-founder of Proof Pest Control, a company now valued around $100 million. Allan is also behind Lizard SEM, Bug Books podcast, and actively owns over 25 businesses, many in pest control and home services.

In our conversation, Allan shared powerful insights on building a successful pest control company, from starting strategies to scaling tips. Here are the top takeaways:

/ / / / / / / /

How to Start a Pest Control Company Today

Allan emphasizes focusing heavily on marketing first. Forget overly complex business plans—instead, craft a solid marketing strategy. With an initial $10,000 budget, Allan recommends concentrating on Google Ads and Local Service Ads (LSAs), as these platforms offer the highest immediate return on investment.

He advises against early-stage use of Yelp or platforms like Thumbtack or Angie's List, as they typically require significant upfront time investment and offer lower-quality leads.

Door-to-Door Sales: Pros and Cons

Door-to-door sales was key to Proof Pest Control’s explosive initial growth. Allan highlighted several benefits:

Controlled geographic growth: You choose exactly where you want customers.
Route density: Maximizes technician efficiency.
Low financial risk: Compensation is result-based.

However, it can be expensive and challenging to manage effectively. Despite this, Allan sees continued value and will maintain door-to-door strategies at Proof.

Industry Trends and Challenges

Allan noted several trends affecting pest control companies:

Increasing competition: Especially for skilled technicians, driving up labor costs.
Rising lead generation costs: Particularly LSAs, pushing the industry to innovate.
Inflation impacts: Rising operational costs require frequent price adjustments.

To handle these challenges effectively, Allan stresses the importance of knowing your numbers and financial metrics to maintain profitability.

Importance of Branding and Reviews

Allan believes branding is crucial, even for small pest control companies—but not in the traditional expensive-logo sense. Your true brand is your customer service, technician professionalism, and online reviews.

Allan’s strategy for getting reviews includes:

Technicians personally requesting reviews directly after service.
Incentivizing techs through competitions and bonuses.
Automating review requests through emails, texts, and service reports.

Great reviews not only improve customer acquisition but dramatically boost customer retention.

Hiring Tips and Best Practices

Allan’s hiring philosophy is straightforward yet impactful:

Prioritize hiring good people over industry experience.
Look for job stability and strong personal character.
Align company and individual goals to maintain long-term employee satisfaction and performance.

For technicians, administrative staff, and sales roles alike, Allan emphasizes the importance of aligning personal and company values and clearly communicating your business’s core principles during hiring.

Software and Operational Tools

Allan advises investing early in quality software that scales with your company, specifically recommending FieldRoutes and QuickBooks Online for pest control CRM and financial management, respectively. Switching platforms mid-growth can be costly and disruptive, so he advises choosing wisely from the start.

Residential vs. Commercial Pest Control

While commercial pest control can be lucrative, Allan warns against diversifying too soon. He recommends:

Niche down and specialize first.
Avoid "shiny object syndrome."
Focus heavily on mastering your primary service before adding new offerings or markets.

Essential Business Books

Allan highly recommends several books for pest control entrepreneurs looking to scale:

"Delivering Happiness" by Tony Hsieh
"Good to Great" by Jim Collins
"Procrastinate on Purpose" by Rory Vaden
"Who Not How" by Dan Sullivan
"The E-Myth" by Michael Gerber

Continuous learning and personal growth are key, but Allan insists action is equally vital: implement what you learn promptly.

Final Advice from Allan

Allan’s most powerful parting advice is to enjoy the journey. Entrepreneurship can feel tough and uncertain, but it’s these early days of challenge and growth that you’ll eventually look back on as your most rewarding and impactful moments.

Embrace the struggles and lessons of today, knowing they're shaping your successful tomorrow.