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Carl Barton, president of Aardvark Sweeping Service, Memphis, TN, is well into his first year as president of the North American Power Sweeping Association (NAPSA), and part of what he hopes to do during his term is instill in other contract sweepers some of what Aardvark Sweeping does on a daily basis.

"Very few companies help the sweeping industry by expanding their category," Barton says. "Most people chase work by lowering their price and then we all end up fighting over the same little anthill.

"At Aardvark Sweeping we don't look at the sweeping business that way. We look at our market and we see there's pavement all over the place and it all needs to be swept. Now, the owners and managers of that pavement might not realize it needs to be swept and that's where our job comes in. We talk with them and try to educate them on what sweeping can do for them and in that way we not only obtain new customers but we're expanding the market. We're not interested in fighting over the same little anthill."

Barton says his sales force regularly targets commercial customers who never have had their parking lot swept before, talking with them about why they need to sweep.

"That's how we managed to grow," Barton says. "Most people don't know why they need to sweep. They think it's because of the trash, but the trash is the least important reason they need to sweep and we talk with them about that. We tell them they need to sweep because of asset management, because of risk management, because of the environment, and then we talk about the aesthetics of the property.