Business Networking for Pest Control: LinkedIn, Tenders & Winning Work | Trudy Martin - Pest Perspectives

Hello and welcome to Pest Perspectives episode #62 Now I've got the podcast numbers right. I've been messing that up recently. So this week I have all. Now you're all going to say this is a little bit out-of-the-box because lady coming on is not in pest control, but I think that the industries have kind of merged similarities between the different industries and when it comes to marketing and network and it's all kind of kind of the same. So this week I have on Trudy Martin, right, is the Business development and Marketing manager or MBS Grounds Masons Limited.

You may do more than that. You've got titles quite often. There's a lot more entailed than that, and. I think business development, it can just be a bit of everything really, can't it? Depending where you work there you can. Be Before we get into what you do at the grounds maintenance, how did you have you always been in the ground maintenance industry as such? Have you always been there or not? No. So when my youngest son was going to nursery and wanted a part time job and there was a local plant nursery up the road.

So I went into the plant nursery, started there in marketing and I'd go out, take photographs of the plants from the nurseries and I taught myself all the Latin names. So from there they also owned a landscape company. Latin names press control. Press control that. That's a weakness for mine. That is, that's a weakness for mine. But well done on the Latin names. I can sort, I can read them, I know what they are, but I can't say them. They're. So hard. But yeah, from there they owned a landscape company, so I went into hard landscaping a bit, design work and from their grounds maintenance, because we're all sort of linked in one way.

So it's hors culture, hard landscaping, grounds maintenance. I love it. Yeah, no, you've got to love it because I've seen you. Obviously your content, that's how I found you. Don't remember. You appeared on my feet one day and we kind of say hello back and forth. I'll tell you what everyone, if you might get jealous now, I once got a reply off Trudy in the DMS do.

You know who I got a reply from yesterday? Amanda Bynes. Amanda Bynes, I think she was Hannah Montana. She was a famous American actress. Oh, right. Yeah, she's on LinkedIn. Yeah, this. Person. Yeah. Hi, Sean. Your linked there you go. Let me tell you that. Well, that's that's cool guys. I know and. I think the cheeky. Girls are on there too are. They. Yeah, that's interesting. They work in car in the car industry now. Oh, OK, a long while ago now, weren't it? Cheeky girls it was.

Oh, there we go. We're getting all the celebrities in the building. Here we go. Hello, Joe. Hi, Joe.

But no, I didn't realise Joe was not on LinkedIn. I used to follow her. I followed her on TikTok and you've recently found out she's a LinkedIn person.

She does all her little dances every Friday. That's where I say it on on on TikTok. I think on one of my accounts I've got AI have but no, it's obviously a passion because you can you can you can see it within your content. It's. I love it, absolutely love. It so you built up that knowledge, but do you actually? I'd say obviously you did the market and you've learned everything from that perspective. Do you actually do any of the work? Have you done any work in gardening as such? Last two weeks, yeah.

So the last two weeks I've been out weeding. I'm too old to kneel down now, though, so I'm lying in flower beds. You're not that. Old Don't be so stupid. A bit crinkly now you're fine. And I've been doing litter picking and emptying bins for the last two weeks with my daughter because she's never worked before to give her a little bit of work experience, so she's loved it. So obviously being marketed, but this like what I was trying to say is because you obviously need the, the do you need the ground experience on the ground to go and try and sell jobs, you need to know what's involved or not.

I think it really, really helps. So because I've always sort of priced up jobs, I know the make up sort of how to build a patio, how to build a wall, what plants go where it it really helps. But a lot of people in my sort of position, they haven't had the knowledge and they're doing quite well. So I don't think it's necessary, but it definitely helps. I know I've stopped that. That's quite fair. Thanks, Jason, for popping in one of the regulars listening. But yeah, no, that's good to know that is.

But obviously you probably know every situation and probably anything they can ask you, you could answer. Yeah, if not, I just giggle Sean and get out of it. Yeah, or AI. Use AI. Oh. No, I don't, right? No, I think it's going to take away all the kids jobs and things, so I'm still a bit scared of it. It can. It can enhance their jobs too because they can use it as they can use it as part of their job as well. Cheating though, isn't it like pretender writing and things like that? It was like, oh, I bet you used AI.

I'm like, no, I didn't read it and you can tell. We, we were having this discussion on the podcast. I do like a little round table within pest control. A lot of us have started to use AI in treatment reports, things like that. But it's like you can get the nuances to the level where it will mimic nearly exactly what you would write on LinkedIn. So we were talking if you get get it correct. But if you wrote a really good treatment report and you writ it by hand or writ it on the computer and you were really proud of it, it took you a few hours.

Would the people reading reading it? No Would they think this is great? He's wrote that? Would they think even if he wasn't using AI, as he used AI, it opens up the question because everyone's using it now. People may its benefits are great, but I'm I'm pleased to know that you don't, you don't really use AI. Yeah. I'm trying to avoid it for as long as possible because it stops you using your brain, doesn't it? And it's like they tell people to do mind games every day and things just to keep your brain active.

And I think it's just going to make us kind of a bit lazy. Well, no, it's true. I mean, obviously with a treatment report, but I do feed in all the information and I proofread it to make sure it's all correct. But yeah, immediately I do use AI for it because everyone else. Hello Andy from LinkedIn. Thanks for popping in. Hi, Andy. Thanks Martin for popping in, mate. Hello, Everyone's coming in now. Look. Hello. Hello. But no, I just thought I'd ask you that one about AI because it's growing thing.

Turn myself into like a lollipop lady and things like that. But. Did you make one? Yeah. Did you make that trend where everyone was making himself a Funko Pop or something like that? Did you do that one? No, I started one where you had to ask chat GTP what animal you look like. I started that. 1. I didn't do that one. There was a caricature 1 wasn't there as well. I did not look at mine, so I never showed it. Oh, you should.

Hello, Trevor. Hello, Andrew. I've never had so many people on LinkedIn before.

So for anyone that obviously we've talked a bit about your background, what would you say your actual role is if you were just going over to everyone within the business you're doing now? Is it like many wearing many hats as well within that? Yes. So I was sort of, I go out networking, I tender, I put planting plans together, I do a bit of contract management, account management, a little bit of everything really. But that's the way I like it, because if you've got your finger, you're not surprised you know what's going on.

Right there, you've got a bit of variety you've got so we're one of the biggest thing and why why I wanted to get you on is the power of LinkedIn is how you're on this podcast. You are. So do you. I know the answer because I asked you before the podcast, but I know you do a lot of LinkedIn content for obviously to get some get work, but do you actually get work from from LinkedIn? You do. Yeah, amazing. Yeah. Because what I do, I, I get really annoyed with myself because I do like a selfie every day.

And the reason I do that is because it sticks in people's minds. So like the yellow arches to McDonald's. So I do it in the hope that if someone's thinking I need someone in grounds maintenance who's that annoying lady that posts her face every day, Trudy. And it works. They did it like based off that. Do people actually DM you? Yeah, like what? You. Oh, and you read them, do you? So I've never. I've never ever chased work, I've never cold called anybody, I've never gone door knocking. All I do is post about my day and from that people come to me and say Oh my grounds need taken care of or that's brilliant.

That is brilliant. That is brilliant. I need to be posting a selfie every day. You don't think I'll put people in like you do? But your face are sticking people's minds, Sean. Yeah. Old head. Yeah. Sure will, but no, it's I've seen that one recently you had with the pyjamas on. Somebody told me not to wear the pyjamas on the podcast. OK, but it sticks out, isn't it? You know, posts like that because everyone thinks LinkedIn. I've not been on it probably 2 years. I've, I've not, I wasn't very well known to start with, but I would say, but LinkedIn, everyone thinks it's this boring

business platform for jobs, finding jobs. And, and it is a lot of it is, but Linkedin's kind of changed to a medium between business and I think Facebook, because I, because I post my gym stuff on there. I post whatever I want. I'm not bothered, but it has changed because imagine you've been on LinkedIn quite a long time. Has it changed changed over time? It has, yeah, but I love it the way it is. I normally try and do business posts in the week, and if I'm going to do something fun, I'd say that for the weekends.

But during the fun post you get to know people and it's that way. I think you start, yeah. So you start feeling like you know somebody and that you want to work with them. So I think being a little bit personal there, some people don't agree with it, but I I think it works. I do because it's like Joe's just said it here, being yourself online as you are in person works is true. It is true. Hopefully, OK, it's fair. Although it's not LinkedIn, I've got work off other platforms through through that.

It gets your face out there and

I do agree it should it should be able to post whatever you want, obviously within reason, you know, but the majority of this stuff you're fine with posting. But it's you are right, it does, it does show more personality and it makes you. Stand out a little better than people remember you as well. There's not many people post LinkedIn content, did you know that? Really. They reckon it's I might be wrong. It's obviously I think they've got like a billion users or more something like that or half of or 500 is or 4 hundreds of millions.

I'm sure it's something like only two to 5% of people post on the platform That's content. That's what they say. Because I. Think you've got your lurkers, haven't you? The watchers who are the powerful ones, and you've got the commenters and then the posters. So it's like we've all sort of got our own little jobs on there. There is, because I obviously spot some of them and I do actually call them out. I'm like when they reply, but you ask ChatGPT for that reply. No, I haven't. And every reply is ChatGPT.

You can see it. And I don't use ChatGPT. They start messaging me in the DMS. I'm like, he's trying to comment with me to try and work with me, which I get. But some of the messages, they weren't very personal. They were, Yeah. You've got to know how to know how to do it. Is there? Yeah. So it's all about being more personal with LinkedIn is hold on a minute. I'm just ringing with it. I'm not answering it right. So here's one for you. So I've been to networking in Rutland. We've got this think Rutland scheme.

I've only joined recently have in like October and I've got a grant. I've got a drain camera, you know, you get a business advisor. But I've been to the networking events and like seminars. I'm how do you get more confident at like talking to people you don't know? Because I'd go and I talked to the couple. I know I should really be introducing myself to everyone, but it's very daunting. A lot of them are like, oh, I'm a tech consultant. I'm this and that. I have spoke to a few more, but you just like, what do you say?

Hello, I'm so and so you know, it's it's daunting. It is scary so I normally try and ask questions about them because I am more of a listener than a talk. And if you start asking people questions about themselves, if they like their job, do they come here often? Which sounds a bit cheesy. It's just a line opener. And then they're sort of carry on talking and I can just smile and listen.

But yeah, also also you could try the evening networking events where it's a bit more relaxed and they're normally held in pubs, so that can help something else. Well, it can, yeah. Yeah, it's, I'm guessing that most of the networking events you go because you're going, you're going to want tomorrow. I'm going to an Expo tomorrow, the workplace Expo in Birmingham. Oh, OK, have. You got your own stand there, Trudy. Oh no. I'm. Not that confident yet. Sure, I want to get there. Yeah, I'll just be going around getting all the freebies.

Oh. That's exactly the same what everyone does at Pest Control Expo. They they go around for for freebies. You just come home in. Bags for and then you think, what am I going to even do with this have like 20 hats and. Yeah, no, you're right. You're right. So that's, so that's let's try and have some questions or introduce yourself like that. It's like, because it is quite daunting, isn't it? It's like, yeah, I've spoken to a few more than I normally do, but it hasn't. But it is, you know, quite scary from that point of view.

But I've just got to probably say hello to a few more people next time I go. Yeah, I mean. Do they wear name badges, the one you go through, sort of a job title or a company? That can be an icebreaker sometimes, yeah. Some of them do, but yes, it's got a. Company name, you can say, oh, I've heard of your company or what does your company do? And that's sort of a, yeah, a little icebreaker. I think I should probably do that next time because I didn't I didn't have anything. I just open pest control like worked up on that was it that maybe that was part of it come to you.

But there was there was there was a few people or said new off me it. Was so so you could post on online before you go and say I'm going to this event tomorrow as anybody else go in. Fancy grabbing a coffee before we go in or come say hi to me to see something Like people to talk to you before you get there? Yeah, that's a. Good idea.

Yeah, that's a that's a great one. That is. There's no end of comments here. You know who else we got? Hello, Greg. Hello, Trevor. Who else we got? There we go. Another one there was I don't know who this is, they're not anonymous, but it's coming up as that. And thanks Darren for popping in. I know you've had a you're doing a training course today, drain training course. He does drain training. He does the chairs for popping in. But notice there's a lot you've brought a lot of people to come and say hello.

You have It's the most about a LinkedIn thing, but.

Well. Darren is, yeah. And you know Joe, Yeah, I know. Yeah, I do know Joe, you're right. So with tenders, how do you approach tenders? Do you say that it's a like an online bidding portal you is that how it works or do? Companies. Contact you or is. Anything valued over sort of £30,000, it has to go on the government website. So the government port, I think it's called Gov tend.co.uk, that's free to go on there and see what tenders are available. You can sort them in your area, sort them by what type of tenders they are.

So I'll scour that. Sort of weekly, see if there's anything suitable for us. There's also a couple of other free sites you can go on to like Proactics. So there's a proactive N yeah, so that's free as well. So that's a really good one. And they're the lower value contracts. But then you do get portals trying to make you pay to join but I find or the paid ones you can find for free anyway if you know where to look. So they're probably. Just trying to. They're trying to make it like they're pulling them all into one place.

Yeah. Basically aggregation, that's what they're basically doing. They are, but they're is there a lot involved in that? Is that like a whole site survey and you have to offer different packages or pricing? How does it work with tendering?

I've never. Done it, You've never done it.

My advice though, to anybody who wants to do a tender, first look at all the specifications because quite a lot of them will require you to have certain accreditations to even be accepted, and you don't want to spend days and days working on a tender. I need to come to the end and be like, oh, I haven't got that accreditation. I've just wasted three days. So it's best read in the documents before you make a start. Some of them can take you weeks, some can take a long, long time because they want to know all your health and safety procedures, environmental procedures, your method for if you were to secure the job, how are you going to carry out?

They want to know your training history, sickness history, financials, So can be very, very involved.

Yeah, it does sound like a lot of work. Yeah. There are simpler ones though, Sean. They're not all like that.

What's the big Have you ever done any really big tenders like, you know, 100 grand, 200 grand, really big one. It gives us I. Think 6,000,000. Yeah, big, big, big one. That was hard landscaping a few years ago, but I think that's because it's central London, because everything in London is just. Everything is expensive, Expensive. If you go into London you've got to pay God knows how much money. So oh. Yeah, and every Rd you go down, you're going to get a fine because you're not allowed down there.

I keep getting them. Yeah, I wouldn't have to drive in London, just get it wrong. Just going the wrong bit. There's cameras watching you, but not everyone's an expert on London roads. But I think, I don't think you get you. I don't think you get points. You just get fines. Don't in London you don't. They want the money. They do, and even. Parking you can pay sort of £20 an hour in some places. It's it's mad so people just park now to get a ticket because it's cheaper than paying to park. Actually I've seen what I watch some youtubers.

What? What's his name? I watched used to watch Daniel Asheville. Whenever you watch his channel he doesn't really do he was construction but there was a Stella scaffolding that you ever seen him go car and he sometimes gets tickets but apparently he said it can be cheaper just to get the ticket. It's. Madness it is. It is crazy.

I hate tenders, used to do them for 25 years ago.

They are boring. The chatter on LinkedIn does sound it, but I imagine that you've got to have like they've contract or chance or something for a lot of them, I would imagine. And the The thing is, sometimes it can end up cost in a company. So if you're doing a tender and it takes a week to complete, that costs the company a lot of money for you to actually complete it. And you're not even guaranteed a win at the end. So they can be quite costly as well. Yeah. I know you are right, because if they're that you know, big and time consuming and yeah, you're right, you may not get it and tell you if you were electrical, I imagine your precision workforce quite, quite big.

Is it? Is it? So we've got 75 guys now and we've got 3 depots. There's one in Chelmsford, Dunstable and down in Maidstone, so we can cover the whole of the South. Don't. Live. Down. South, but, but in the real world, you'd be called a small company still, wouldn't you? You would, Yeah. You. Would. But but to me that's massive. That is, it's crazy. It is. But do do you you know when you're doing does the company you work forever have and the crossover where you're doing some work and you have to hire a pest control company or if you found some rats or moles or something, have you ever had that?

I'm sure we. Definitely would need to, but I'm not sort of involved in that part. But then I think grounds maintenance guys, we're sort of the first ones out there. We find the habitats in the vegetation, we can find Wasps nest in the ground. So it would be us sort of recommending a pest controller or calling one out ourselves. Yeah, I have quite a few people do that that recommend us. But what's nest moles? All sorts. But that's the best way to do business, sort of. Gain. Relationships with other industries who you think may be able to help you, and I've done that quite a lot through my life.

I've got landscape friends, we don't do landscaping so we can help there. You always get. Asked for cleaners. I've got cleaner friends. It's yeah. Yeah, I mean. I've got I. Don't do it because a lot on, but I've got a company that does biohazard clearances as well, even though as pest controllers we should, we should do it, but our company doesn't as such. But that we're only small time. But yeah, yeah, you're right. But I have got a company that we go to that they that they do a lot of the work and I've got, I should say people can recommend.

I don't like it when I can't. They haven't done work for me because like there is these, but I've never done work. So I can't guarantee it's going to be they're going to be good. They have got people know that are good. So that's. Another thing that you can do on LinkedIn though, if you know sort of pest control and Brown's maintenance go hand in hand, you can forge some relationships with Brown's maintenance companies in your area. So if they ever do need to call out, you're there in the front of their minds.

Exactly. I need to get a speaker to some more of them, I think. I don't know. Quite a few of them I do because I'm on social media a lot. A lot of them recognise. Me from, you know, from. Next door and Facebook and stuff. You can ask. It's a. Merch on Get lots of merch that you can sell online. Tell you one thing I have I haven't got it on at the minute but I have got a pest perspective hoodie for the for the podcast. You should give it a. Go though see if like because you're doing the podcasts and things and you're getting a following, people might want to buy them.

Someone did actually. Someone did from someone in the Isle of Wight. Someone wanted the actual podcast. No, they they paid for it and all that and they they wanted one of the IT was Fred employee. He loves our podcast, but I'm still waiting for the photos and reaction. Apparently he nearly fell off his chair and he got there. Oh, it's brilliant. Yeah, yeah.

I've still, I've got to text him and see if you've got any photos or anything. Yeah, and. You have to put it up with your page on. I'm surprised. They haven't they know me, I'm not anything social media wise. Just pull it up. It doesn't bother me like when they it's powered now the the software I'll use and last Pestech in November, they they had this box out everyone was going to get like a cup and everything. They made sure that I was one of the first to get it and they were trying to track me down.

They were flacking me down. Come down here. So I had this box, I had a photograph of it and it went on. It went on. All the socials and emails and all that. It did what was in. The box though, ah, it was a. T-shirt that wouldn't fit me in the million years, but still it was a it was a cup like a tea cup, some pens and pencils, a hat, a yellow hat, which came in Andy in winter because their brand's yellow. So they've got yellow shades with black and. And. And some cups of tea, Yorkshire tea in it as well.

It was, yeah. It was good. Jason's also saying here that's how I got the B job for Friday Shore. I bought a ground bloke. Yeah, he's got a ground bloke he's doesn't work for. Oh, you're right there, Jason, Good mate of mine there. Yes. But yeah, it's all about relationships. Is it is And I'm. Thinking what companies might need your service? So then it's connecting with the right people in the areas you want and.

It is. So it's like, obviously I'm going to have to do a lot of cold calling. Something you've never done before. You never knocked on doors. You ain't. But that, that's a scary thing. I'm going to start doing it. Although we've got like 36 monthly contract. I could do with some more, but you know, but that's why I'm asking all these questions to learn how to how to do it more. But I would have bought you the cold cold. But that really surprised me that you never have. No, no, I'm not a salesperson at all.

I'd hate it. I'm I'm more about building the relationships with people and friendships. And yeah, I suppose that that. Is a way because obviously when you make a relationship, you don't always have to ask for the work. They say, Oh well, I know Trudy can help me. Yes, it could be from that perspective, but you don't need and then they come into. You because they want you. You're not pushing them for something they don't want. So it's a lot more organic and nice and you're starting off on the right foot as well then.

No, you definitely are because I do know that you're not even when you do cold call, you're not supposed to like ask for the you know, you're supposed to go like it's, it's just a compliance check or it's a pre audit. It's not a sales call and things like that. But I haven't done much of it yet, but I'll give it. I'm going to give it a go but got a bit of price in jobs.

You should post your results like today. I called 100 people, 90 come up on me, one told me where to go and I've got, I've got, I've got a mate though. Who works in who works in sales for it's like shipping or whatever. And he's like he's been doing it for years and he says good one is a lot of the time they hang up on him, right. But my mate is that bullish. You don't care. He rings back and he goes, I think we got cut off there and he says they don't know what to say. So he said, I said start talking.

He says they feel bad behind, they don't. He says they don't think you'll ring them back. And he says then you build up, you build up. You don't talk about what you do is you keep ringing up. What he does rings up week by week. He starts having a laugh with them. He says eventually sometimes I get to go and you know, tends for them or quote for them or whatever. But he says he's very yeah. My mate Simon, he's he's, he's been doing it a long time now. Yes. So you got to be quite a bit of skin then.

Yeah, bit tough. So I think this one hung up on me. I'm being really upset and sad so because I'm a bit soft. So I think he's a bit bit tough. So you can take that rejection.

Yeah, you are. Well, they say it's part of the learning process, but you know, I need to do better content. Truly, clearly, I need people to message me on LinkedIn and like, you know, they're. Going to they're going to competition or something, Sean. The rules these days, I'm not sure if are you allowed to, I don't know. This is the. Thing because I always see like spinny wheels going around with people's names on them. And you might you. Might be rules, but these days it's like, you know, if you've got content, say like on YouTube or Facebook, it doesn't actually matter about followers or subscribers.

You know, because. You know, like this show on on Facebook. We've only got, I think not far off 400 followers. We get the reach of the page because of these short content too is about 350,000, so people see it without even following it but. That's the same with LinkedIn, I think. Like the number of likes you get doesn't matter because a lot more people are seeing it than the physical likes that you're seeing there. Because I've been approached by people out and about. They're like, oh, Trudy, I love your post.

You've never liked any of them. You've never commented. I don't even know you exist. Because they are. They're watching, it's called. Have you ever heard of a guy called Gary Vaynerchuk massively into social media? But he said he runs like a billion, some billion dollar business and he works for his company works for like Coca-Cola and all like really good guy started off for nothing. And he he said that social media is gone. It's it's called the interest graph. So if you watch certain kind of content, say I was to watch your content, which I do and I've now starred it recently.

So it flashes up. It doesn't always flash up. It doesn't. If you can more you keep watching it. Even if we don't follow, they will keep serving you that kind of content or that person. You're not incentivized to press subscribe or follow anymore because it just keeps showing you what you want. I just didn't. Know who you're sort of the same as then? I don't know these technology is it's all I'm going to say it again, it's it's all AI driven AIS are working it out all the time. It's even Google search, it's run by AI.

You know that normal search now run by AI? That's who the AI thing runs it. It does. So it's Rambo AI, everything is there, but in a way someone. Told me, like if you generate one image, like an AI image, it uses about 10 gallons of water to create one AI image because they're calling down the data stations for the generation of it and that's quite scary. Yes, I have. I have heard that, but I don't know if to I don't know if to believe it. It's one image. It's a lot of water in it it. Is, yeah, and we're going to run out of water soon.

But the data centres are massive. They're so big. So the problem. Is even if you don't want to use AI, you're using it even even like say you listen to Spotify, everything it's in every app now.

I hope the robots don't turn against us. We'll be knackered. I. Know Taylor Swift copyrighted herself today, didn't she? Against AI, he might I tell. You what she she is one of the most cleverest women in business. He's she's a billionaire and what else to do that? No, but she's a. Billionaire. She's like, you know, you know how a lot of them are just artists, don't they? You know, she does a tour. She owns the production company. He owns all the staff. She's paid some really good wages. She's, she's literally one of the clever as artists you'll meet and she she would do that.

We can also follow her footsteps and I'll copyright ourselves if. I can, but like, even with my podcast, you see technically my voice would be nicked and altered for different videos. Yeah, I'm in it about me saying it, but I'm hoping people would now wouldn't talk about anything but pest control, but who knows. But so with regards to got some more questions here, not too many. So obviously you, you started at a different time with with this because you said that you you grew up down. I grew up about social media too.

I mean, in this role, I mean, do you think you'd find it a lot if you were starting out? Like say you're starting out today, do you think you'd find it a lot harder, you know, in this landscape you're in? Or do you think you just build your social up like you have now? Think it a lot harder? Can I just find it? Harder, yeah, because I'm like, I'm a bit old and Neutron, so I was born without the AI and everything as well. And I've always done everything myself, researching myself so I can go out.

I can identify a plant by leaf. But now people have an app that they can use to identify that plant. What happens if you dropped your phone in the river or you're sort of stuck, aren't you? You've got no backup there if you're relying too much. No, you. Are right because I don't know, obviously I don't know if it's AI app. That is one thing in pest control AI gets wrong. You know a lot of the insect app when you ask it is this so and so like say a bedbug or say they think it's a bedbug. AI would just say it's a bedbug.

They get a lot of that wrong. You see, when it comes down, you know it's. Fun because you've learnt your trades with that AI, but then the new people aren't. They're going to rely on it, aren't they? A lot of false. Positives and there might be false positives with these apps. With Leafs, a lot of that might make mistakes. It might have said that with image recognition, it's massive. It's massive difficult because it can make mistakes. If someone doesn't know, they're just going to say, oh, it's this and they're like.

Much on it, don't they? So they're not even going to know it's wrong. Exactly. But no, you've, you've built a good brand up online. Well, what would you say to people? How to make posts? Just just put yourself out there and show Be yourself. Be yourself 100. Percent be yourself, because you'll end up meeting people you're connected to in the real world, whether at an event or just meeting for coffee. And if you turn up and you're someone totally different than what you're coming across as in your posts, you've lost that trust instantly.

And I think by being yourself, by being different, it's what gets you remembered. And I think it's lovely. We're not all the same. If you've got too many people the same, they're just, no one's going to stand out. You just want. To be they're very good points they are because obviously I am who I who I say I am and if you see me offline, I am the same I am because I got called the next door. I went to do a job once and I said oh next door celebrity. So do you really? Next door celebrity? Oh, you're that one that posts on Next door all the time.

Since you haven't been posting much recently, I thought I'll sort that out. I will. And they'll. Recognise me, I'm sorry, I'm not saying everyone, but I I literally got called it or three Times Now next door celebrity, you know, but you've also got to not care what people think as well to a degree, because obviously, as you know, I'm in pest control and I have been slacked off for certain things, but I just come back with this is for public health. Sometimes I think people think that I kill things just to kill things.

It's not public health risk related. It's not like I go through the forest with a backpack every wast nest in the forest. I don't, but some people might make might think that's true. It's not it's, it's misfaced. And at least we've got the block button, Sean, so if anybody ever did something horrible, you can just block them. Yeah, I don't generally. I don't a lot of them what I've got. I've got a tip for people what you should do, you should be fine as you possibly can back and responsive and often they're either message you back feeling really bad or they just won't reply.

Yeah. And then you've been nice. So you can't, people can't say, oh, he was nasty to me even though they were being nasty. That's kind of how you deal with it. If you have that situation. It is. You've probably never had that. I don't think you've probably, I don't think you've probably ever had that before, have you? I've been involved in. 22 little rows on LinkedIn. OH. I don't off the. Fence don't come off the fence very often, but I've got jumped in twice now. But yeah, I think if you don't like something we don't agree.

Rather than say something horrible, just carry on swiping because it could. Make the post. A bit bad as well. You can obviously, if it's, if you've actually got, you know, a way of conveying what you think and why it, you know, in a nice way, being constructive, that helps. But as you know, a lot of people don't word it like that, do they? Because I think once they're behind the keyboard or the phone, I think, I don't know if you agree with me or not, but there's like a disconnection. It's like they don't really think there's a real person behind that account.

They can say what they're like and there's no feelings. I think it's got the stage with some people where it's completely detached, where they don't think about what they've put and there's actual human behind it. I might be wrong, but I think that's how some people think because. You hear about all these teenagers and people who are getting trolled, they end up taking their own lives because of it and I think if the people posting these things realise what they were doing they wouldn't do it. But they obviously don't think as a real person they are trolling.

I've been called nasty stuff online before but it never bothered me by the poster. Got on on Instagram over 100,000 views and it was me talking about virtual reality. My son has VR headset and I was just telling because I I'm a gamer too. I play Xbox sometimes and not as much these days. But I was saying what I was seeing the is 8 the younger generation are coming through and this VR might not be the level what you're thinking. This VR is going to be mainstream eventually where everyone does it.

I said, oh, no, it won't. But it says, well, you're older. I'm on about the younger kids coming through. They're what what you got to look at. I'm not even allowed on the VR. I had to say it makes me dizzy. But, you know, I don't get it. But that's who I was looking at. Oh, tonnes of times. I did turn the comments off in the end. But but yeah. But have your posts ever got real big views? Like, you know, hundreds of thousands of views on LinkedIn or anything like that? Yeah, my biggest one, my biggest reaction was a comment that I left on somebody else's post.

I've got 750,000 reactions to a comment, so there's no picture, just a comment that I left on somebody's post. Must have been. Great. Must have been great. No, it's. Very common. It's the only time I've jumped off the fence. Sean. Oh, OK. Well I bet you must have thought your phone was broke or they don't have applicants. Were applied to them and then I gave up. Well, yeah, there's that many. Yeah, I'd like. To thank the poster for that one because it kept me busy a lot of. People start following you then, yeah.

Yeah, trying to. Connect. Yeah, I've got fussy over time of who I connect with now of you. Did you connect with everyone or some or just so no? Just some, I mean, the majority of my connections are sort of the industry I need. So the majority are in construction, landscaping, FM and then I just have other connections, not in industries I need, but people who I enjoy following their journeys. I like to see them when they get up there. That's good. But. I used to every, I used to connect with everyone and I just.

I'm more picky now because when I first you know how LinkedIn is. When I first joined, people were adding me just to ask me for a job in the UK, different countries. And. No one does it no more. I don't add. I don't add everyone anymore. If I only think if you're relevant, I will. But a lot of times I feel like, are they just going to add me to ask me for a job? If you look on my web, if you look on me, just say that I'm, you know, I don't run a big a lot of them talk. I'm a big, you know, I'm a big national.

I'm not. But I suppose some people may feel that because I help, you know, a trade body, I might I might seem to look bigger than they am, but. You know, but. I've learned. For one day. One day, you know. But yeah, it's good to hear you used to get that asking for a job. And I think now if you ever post a job on LinkedIn, all the applicants, I don't think any are in this country and they're all asking if you can sponsor them to come over to England. No, it's, it's a grand maintenance job. You have to.

Actually the best tip for that is even though they they will still ask is but you have to be AUK resident. Yeah, UK in Ireland I. Think Yeah, I think? Esther asks. Though they will still. Ask. I've seen it before. I have Darren listen to this episode tomorrow on the way to work. Cheers mate, hope you have a good one. Another one of my mates. Yes, can. People do that, Sean. Can they listen on the radio?

So at this podcast I will download this, I will upload it to Spotify and then Spotify it moves it from Spotify to Apple Podcasts and it will be on all them platforms too. So a lot of people listen listen to it in the work done as well. They do. Oh wow. Yeah, it's very. Clever do. You use Spotify? I do. But I I've sort of downloaded all my songs on Spotify, so I've made my little libraries, so I just listened to them. Oh, so you don't? You don't listen to podcasts on there? No, I. I wanted to because everyone said I should when I drive so I thought who's can I listen to and the only name that popped in my head was Katie Price and I don't even like Katie Price.

A lot of fun. Yeah. That's the only time I've tried. Well, that's fair. I mean I listen to too many, but I need to explain why. You've learned. Something though there was plenty of learning podcasts and stuff you can learn stuff. Yeah, on the this, this it's a lot of video. You see Spotify does video. They really invested heavy into video so that this podcast here my my past perspectives is is apparently according to Spotify in the top 15% globally of video podcasts. Apparently that's what it means.

Oh, well done. I don't know what that I don't really know what that means. But they start paying you like royalties like YouTube. Eventually this podcast may get that way, but you have to get like 3 to 5000 watch hours. Like on YouTube I've got to get 1000 subscribers first, then 3000 hours of watch time. So eventually, eventually, but I don't know, for fun I do. But yeah, cheers for that.

But no, it's it's it's amazing what countries listen like people from America, Australia, Germany, all sorts of different countries listen to this broadcast. I do very interested. So if someone. Listened to it in China. Would they put like subtitles on it? Good question. If you were on YouTube you could, but I don't know if YouTube's allowed in China. They never quite suggested, oh, China's got, China has the communist country. So they, they actually have Internet, Internet blockers. So they, they, they put up what they want people to see.

So any controversial content or anything they don't want them to say, they can't. Kind of place where? If you watch the wrong video, they can knock on your door and arrest you. It's a bit not as bad as career, but sort of. Yeah, I know. Wow. But you know I. Don't know, but yeah, if you're invested in China, stay alone.

Yeah, so, but yeah, done. It's been good through DS. Oh, thank. You. I think you do a really good job on LinkedIn and with your networking and everything in general. Oh, thank you. Sean and you and hopefully you're going to smash it, get loads of new followers and get your royalties on YouTube I. Will say you never know but have you got any lasting comments you want to say to help people if they I know you give a lot of advice away ready you got any lasting thoughts or anything? One, a lot of people have said to me they're too scared to do something like this.

I'm too scared. I've done it. And I think the only way you can break free is by actually just jumping into it and giving it a go because it's not scary, and then you're going to come away stronger. And stronger. And confidence will grow, No, I told. You it was not scary at all closer with that because. It feels like we're just having a chat. You don't know that there's other people watching that is. The idea that is, Yeah. There we go. There's. A good comment there as well. Look, smashing it. Oh.

Thanks, Joe. You have to invite Joe on Sean. Rudy should make a grounds maintenance podcast. I've been showing on any feature Darren. I should. You'll have to teach me how to do it, Sean. Well, yeah, I can. Do yeah, I will take 21 now I can. Basically, it's to keep up the commitment. You see, there's a lot of podcasts don't make it past five episodes. Statistically, a lot of people give up. They think that they think that their podcast is going to blow up overnight. It doesn't work like that unless you like Spotify studios, you work for them.

You know, it's over time, but this is educational. And you just never give up. Even if you've got no viewers, just don't give up. Just keep going and going. And then one day you're going to hit that sweet spot and then.

Got a Lamborghini outside. I'm joking, I'm joking. I don't want one of them. Oh, I still want to pick up now that was. Mentioned, actually, where was it? Joe mentioned it. Was it? You mentioned it further up about you getting a pickup truck. Where was it? Where? Was it? There we go. Got it. There you go. No, I've tested. Pestered my boss for a pickup truck because everyone else in the industry has fun and I'm sort of jealous of them because I love them. I just did your boss. Follow you on LinkedIn.

Yeah, he might be on here. I can. Make this a clip. You know you.

Could do a little beam like put me put me in a pickup.

But I think it's a. Tax. They've changed the. It's not a commercial vehicle, was it? Yeah. So you just be taxed so much, everyone? Yeah. Everything's changed with that. But let's not get on to a depressing subject. I know. Oh, do you want to? If anyone's watching and wants to get your services, etcetera, Do you want to tell people where they can find you? Yeah. So you can find me on LinkedIn on Trudy model TIN at MBS. You can also go on our website which is WWW dot MB S gm.com. We carry out tree surgery work, grounds maintenance and landscaping work all across the South of the UK there.

You go perfect. That was that was that was good well in the Spotify feed and that I'll try and I'll get your details dropped in as well. Oh, thank. You. Yeah, because LinkedIn is the only platform I use. I don't use anything else. I don't think I'd have enough time. Does take a lot. Of time GG you schedule a lot of your posts no yes now and. Again now and again. Really. Well then. Really. Well then most people schedule very quick at. Typing because some people say they spend ages writing a post.

Mine just comes in my head. I'm actually did it send so it doesn't take long at all to send them. Oh, OK. So I know now every post you make is you there and then 90. 9 percent, 99 Percent, 99%. So right I'm getting. The podcast now, but thanks for coming on Trudy, you hold on for the. Thank you if. You hold on just for a minute while I end the stream. But thanks everyone and I'll see you. I'll see you next week. If someone on the podcast, I could not remember who at the minute but I've got someone on.

Thanks everyone.

Business Networking for Pest Control: LinkedIn, Tenders & Winning Work | Trudy Martin

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