How to Turn 2025 Metrics into 2026 Milestones

By Eddie Wooten

In golf, the mechanics of a swing or the approach to playing a hole will differ among members of a foursome. But the goal is to get the ball into the cup and post a winning score at the end of the round. 

In pest control, KPIs that measure performance or strategies that achieve success will likewise differ among companies. But the goal is to drive growth and post a winning number at the end of the year.

Golfers, of course, will analyze their performance, build on what worked, or change what didn’t. Pest control companies do the same. 

Alongside some strategies they’ve put in place, here’s how a selection of FieldRoutes customers analyze one year’s performance and look ahead to a new one to post winning numbers on their scorecards.

Champion Pest & Termite Control

In reviewing the company's annual performance, Champion Pest & Termite Control examines spaces serviced; subscriptions, including recurring vs. non-recurring and residential vs. commercial; the number of customers on AutoPay; and average number of stops and production per route.

Champion, founded in 2008 in Pickerington, OH, and a FieldRoutes customer since 2018, uses information found in that platform and in Marketing Pro, says Helen Holloway, who owns the company with her husband, Dwight.

"I can see all of the appointments we've got scheduled in advance," Helen Holloway says of FieldRoutes reporting. "We know what our job pools look like. It helps us forecast what our recurring revenue is. Those are all super helpful. 

"I live in the reports and the customer reports—‘how many subscriptions do we have?'— and the sales reports to see what our sales have looked like for the past week or month or quarter. All of those things are super helpful."

Champion also uses QuickBooks and Google Analytics, and it has just integrated Applause.

"We've had an amazing 2025," Holloway says. "Central Ohio is a growth market. And so as that continues to grow, that's very helpful."

She cited year-over-year revenue growth of 12%, although some one-time commercial business pushes that number toward 30%. Champion's "healthy stretch" goal for 2026 would be about 15% revenue growth.

The Holloways are the primary goal-setters for a new year for their four-technician, 10-employee company. They began the process early in the fourth quarter of 2025, when 80-85% of the year's revenue was in hand.

"A lot of it is just, 'Where do we win? Where do we feel like we didn't win?'" she says. "What do we really want, and how do we want to manage it and how do we sustain? 

"Our goal is just to continue to grow. So how many trucks does it take and how many stops would we need? All of those things are part of the discovery process for us."

Go-Forth Home Services

Planning for a new year typically begins in September for Go-Forth Home Services, based in High Point, NC.

"We actually started earlier because we have to order trucks, we have to plan out branch openings," says Chase Hazelwood, the third-generation co-owner with his wife, Leah.

"But we don't wait for things like sales reviews. The only thing that's trailing that we even look at is the finances. Everything else is leading indicators and activity metrics that are a little more forward-focused."

Go-Forth projected to hit $40 million in pest control revenue for 2025, Hazelwood said. But a number that big doesn’t come as a result of a super-sized meeting, either.

"I don't typically do a big annual session," Chase Hazelwood says. "We do a big annual session with our mid management, all branch managers. But it's mostly leadership development and rollout of our annual plan. But the annual plan, I mean it's not that big of a deal."

Go-Forth places heavy emphasis on execution of strategy.

"That's how we roll," he says. "And so at the front line, we do daily check-in. The next line, they're doing weekly check-in. And then I do weekly with every single, every direct report I have is weekly."

Kwik Kill Pest Control

As of 2025, Kwik Kill Pest Control in Madison, WI, implemented the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), which has significantly enhanced their strategic planning and goal-setting processes. 

"EOS has helped a lot in having strategic planning and goal-setting throughout the organization," says Breanna Neerland, Kwik Kill's vice president and second-generation leader.

The integration of EOS with FieldRoutes has been a game-changer for Kwik Kill, she says.

"When you couple EOS with FieldRoutes, where you have your forecasting report and you can see your metrics and analytics growing daily, it works really well together," she says.

This combination allows the company to review a current year's performance and set clear goals for the next year, she says.

The forecasting report provided by FieldRoutes plays a crucial role in planning.

"You get to see your growth, and you can start to plan for the number of technicians you'll need to hire," Neerland says.

This is particularly important for Kwik Kill, because operations in Wisconsin are highly seasonal.

"There's not a lot of insect pressure in the winter months," Neerland says. "It's really nice to be able to forecast your services and see where you’re at."

Besides the forecasting report, the dashboard feature in FieldRoutes provides real-time insights into the company's performance.

"The dashboard is wonderful to always know where you're at on your month," she says. "You can change it very easily to see your year, quarter, and constantly be staying on top of your metrics."

RIDD Pest Control

Dan Farah, chief administrative officer of RIDD Pest Control, based in Lehi, UT, emphasizes the importance of data-driven decision-making when it comes to reviewing performance and setting goals. 

"With all the data FieldRoutes does give us, it definitely goes into all of our goal planning," Farah says. "It's got to be supported by some sort of data." 

For RIDD, the primary focus is on customer retention. 

"We're trying to keep the customers we work so hard to get," Farah says. "We're really digging into a lot of our attrition data. How many customers have canceled within a certain amount of time? Why have they canceled?"

Farah and his team analyze cancellation data in detail, looking at reasons for cancellations, the technicians who serviced those homes, and the markets where cancellations are occurring. 

"We really want to see where these kinds of customers are, why they're being canceled, where they're coming from," he says. "Is it a certain market that we need to do something different in? Because we're in a couple of different markets, in a couple of different states."

RIDD Pest Control also continues to prioritize growth with customer retention and satisfaction a primary focus. In 2025, the company added 10,000 to 15,000 new customers, and they aim to maintain similar growth in the future. 

"We'll keep growing, but the bigger focus for 2026, now that we have a bigger platform established, is keeping those customers for as long as we can and keeping those people happy with our service and with everything that RIDD does for them," he says.

Natural State Pest Control

Transparency and teamwork are key to reviewing performance and setting goals at Natural State Pest Control, and it’s all a function of keeping track all year.

"We as a group have a collective scoreboard of what our sales goal is for the year," says Brittney Oakley, director of commercial sales and marketing for the company based in Lowell, AR. "We have it like a thermometer where it's rising up."

Natural State provides updates on an office whiteboard and in Microsoft Teams. Asked in early December how Natural State was faring for its 2025 sales goal, Oakley grew excited.

“Oh, we're so close,” she said. “Oh my gosh. We are right there.”

The company holds a January kickoff meeting to finalize year-end numbers and set goals for the new year.

Oakley credits some of Natural State’s recent success to its door-to-door sales team, which began work in 2024 for the company owned by Amanda and Trent Ragar. A team featuring a manager and eight employees led those efforts in 2025.

"It's something we did in the early days, and then we backed off and went more digital," Oakley says.

"And then we went back to basics. And Trent is such a back-to-basics kind of a guy. When he's not seeing the growth he wants in one area, he's like, 'Let's just redo this strategy. Let's try something else. And let's invest in a team that is dedicated to door-to-door, boots-on-the-ground sales.' 

“And it worked." 

Yardline Pest Control

Sam Rankin, president of Yardline Pest Control in Ankeny, IA, takes a highly data-driven approach to reviewing performance and setting goals. It’s similar to his leadership of 7-year-old ETCH Outdoor Living, which uses the Aspire platform that is part of the FieldRoutes and ServiceTitan family.

"I'm a numbers guy. It's pretty fun to have all that information right in front of you,” Rankin says.

“I'm very relentless on making sure our data and our information inside both FieldRoutes and Aspire is accurate because I want to be able to take accurate data to make forecasting decisions on,” adds Rankin, whose company received the FieldRoutes Rookie of the Year Award at Ignite after opening for business in March 2025.

Two of Rankin's key focuses regarding performance are on recurring revenue and active subscriptions.

"We're a young new business. We're in growth mode," he says. "We are trying to get to critical mass very quickly so we can support the staff for technicians. I don't want to have just one person in the field out spraying, quoting, doing customer service, forever. That's not very stable."

Average contract value and accounts receivable also get prime attention.

When it comes to performance metrics, Rankin has shifted the language his team uses to focus on accountability and results. Rankin believes in empowering employees to set their own objectives, which fosters ownership and accountability.

"We've started to go away from the term 'KPI' and instead are using the term objective, because it's not a goal. This is what you're going to deliver," he says.

Looking ahead in this new year, Rankin leans on his experience as leader for ETCH Outdoor Living. Among the priorities will be new accounts and door-knocking success.

"I want to make sure (employees are) being rewarded and compensated off things directly in their purview, things they can impact," he says.

Trees Hurt Too

Trees Hurt Too, in Fort Worth, TX, sees the opportunity for a fresh start as each year closes and a new one approaches.

"We review every customer’s service history, update property notes, and make sure each lawn and landscape has a customized plan ready for the upcoming season," says Ken Hewlett, president and owner.

"Our team analyzes what worked, what needs adjusting, and what emerging pests or diseases we expect in the new year.

"By staying proactive—not reactive—we hit the ground running each spring with better strategies, better products, and better results. That’s how we stay ahead of problems and deliver the level of care our customers expect."