CHAPTER
Selling Security Guard Services
Requires Good Listening Skills
Over the past few decades, there have been hundreds of books and articles written about “Consultative Selling.” While it’s a sales technique that requires sales professionals to know their products and services in great detail, it demands that they know their customers even better. It’s my preferred technique for selling security guard services as it relies heavily on salespeople seeing themselves more as problem solvers. In fact, with Consultative Selling, the service or product that you’re selling is incidental to the services that you provide.
The consultative sales process is based on six principles:
1. Research
2. Ask
3. Listen
4. Teach
5. Qualify
6. Close
For this post, let’s focus on principle number three. In my experience, if salespeople who are selling security guard services train themselves to listen better, they can overcome many of the obstacles to closing a sale. For more information on the other principles, you can refer to the article The Consultative Sales Process.
Many buyers have come to expect that anyone selling security guard services will do nothing but go on-and-on about the benefits of their services and why they should buy from their company.
Unfortunately, some salespeople don’t disappoint. However, in today’s market, buyers are often as informed about the products and services that they need as the salespeople themselves. Rather than selling to a buyer, a salesperson’s real job is to help that person find solutions to some need that has gone unfulfilled. The key to doing this is by listening to the buyer and asking questions to gain a deeper understanding of their real challenges.
Tip: If you’re selling security guard services and leave a meeting without being able to articulate at least three challenges that your prospect is facing, chances are you didn’t listen well enough.
The “ACID TEST” for Selling Security Guard Services
To help improve your listening ability, try using the “ACID TEST,” which is an acronym that represents the process for active listening. Active listening is a communication technique that’s often used in counseling or conflict resolution, but it’s also highly beneficial to use in business. The acronym stands for:
• Analyze
• Concentrate
• Interpret
• Deliberate
• Theorize
• Exercise
• Study
• Tune In
Analyze – As the client is speaking, analyze what they’re saying. Are they providing you with facts, opinions, or assumptions?
Concentrate – To help concentrate on what the prospect is saying, pay attention to their voice and their intonations. Also, make sure that you’re making eye contact and paying attention to their gestures and body language.
Interpret – In many cases, people don’t always say what they mean. I’ve learned that the challenge that someone is discussing might not actual y be the problem that needs to be addressed. Make sure that you understand their “true” challenges by asking probing questions.
Deliberate – Create a mental checklist of all the key points that your prospect touches on, especial y if they repeatedly mention certain topics. Make sure that during the course of your meeting, you repeat back to them their key phrases to prove that you’ve been listening.
Theorize – As your conversation continues, you should develop theories about what your prospect has or has not said. For example, if the prospect never mentions any issues with their current provider, does that mean that they’re satisfied and are just talking with you as part of a buying process?
Exercise – Listening is both a mental and physical exercise. While listening, consciously use your body to mirror the movement and gestures of the prospect. According to Neuro-Linguistic Programming experts, by doing this, you’ll be able to build trust with the other person.
Study – While deliberation requires a slight mental withdrawal from your prospect, studying requires that you actively and intensely think about what he or she has said.
Tune-In – This implies that you’re empathizing with your prospect. Putting yourself into your client’s shoes to see the world as they see it helps to convey that they’re more than just a sale that has to be made.
By using the aforementioned listening techniques while selling security guard services, you can position yourself as more than just a salesperson who is attempting to gain business. Your prospects will begin to see you as a trusted resource who is interested in helping solve their challenges. More importantly, the knowledge that you gain from the meeting will help you develop a proposal that speaks to your prospect’s needs in addition to helping you get closer to landing the sale.
Asking The Right Questions
Helps Sell Security Services
In the previous article about the importance of listening to your clients when trying to sell security services, we outlined the six principles of the Consultative Sales Process:
1. Research
2. Ask
3. Listen
4. Teach
5. Qualify
6. Close
For this article, I thought we would focus on one of those principles – Ask – to see how to use it to better sell security guard services.
It’s been my experience that buyers often believe that salespeople are more interested in making a sale than helping solve their problems.
In order to be successful in selling your company’s services, you must get your buyer to see you as more than just a salesperson. So how exactly do you do that? The only way to do that is to actual y be someone who wants to help them solve a problem.
However, in order to truly help the buyer you have to understand their business and the obstacles they face. The research that you do prior to your meeting will provide some general knowledge about their business, but in order to real y be of service, you’re going to have to dig a little deeper and ask the buyer some very thought-provoking questions. It’s an exercise that’s going to be crucial for opening a dialogue and gaining the insights that you need to help them.
Types of Questions
Your capacity to sell security services will depend on your ability to master asking three types of questions: Fact finding, Open-ended, and Closed-ended. Once you do that, you can establish yourself as a consultant who is looking to help them, rather than a salesperson just looking to sell them something.
Starting With Fact Finding Questions
Fact finding questions are very general and are meant to provide a verification of information that you may already have. Some examples are:
1. What time are the officers expected to arrive on post?
2. Who manages the security contract?
3. How many employees do you have at the facility?
4. What type of incidents typical y occur?
Selling with Open-Ended Questions
Open-ended questions are the real foundation of consultative selling. They provide you with the information that you’ll need to develop a proposal that includes the answer to the buyer’s problem. These questions usual y begin by asking who, what, when, where, why, and how. After asking a fact finding question, probe for a deeper understanding of the buyer’s business by following up with an open-ended question. For example, the fact finding question might be, “How many security guard providers have you had over the past 5 years?” Depending on the response, your open-ended question might be, “What has contributed to such high/low turnover?”
Beware Of Closed-Ended Questions
Closed-ended questions can be counterproductive when trying to establish a dialogue with a buyer as they’re usual y answered with a simple “Yes” or “No.” Keep in mind that closed-ended questions should probably not be asked unless you already know the answer.
They typical y begin with words such as “Do,” “Are,” or “Is.” Examples of closed ended questions are: Do you currently use security guards at your property?
Are you satisfied with your current security provider?
Now imagine getting a “Yes” answer to the last question. It would essential y close any real opportunity to have further discussions about your services. Again, be careful about the close-ended questions that you ask.
To effectively sell security services, sales professionals need to move away from the transactional approach of selling to a more consultative approach. The transactional approach is based on telling buyers about your service’s features, benefits, and pricing. It’s very seller focused and ignores the needs of the buyer.
Conversely, practicing consultative selling combines your company’s interest with the buyer’s interest. In the end, the goal of asking questions is to get your buyer to explain to you how your company can help them solve a problem. If you sell security services and walk away from a meeting without knowing at least three problems that your buyer faces, you didn’t ask enough questions.
The Worst Sales Experience
That I Have Ever Had
Back in late 2014, I sent an online request to a company for information on a service that I was interested in purchasing. Little did I know that my request would lead to the worst sales experience that I’ve ever had. I’ve been involved with sales and marketing for more than two decades, and during that time, I’ve never seen a sale go as badly as this one did.
My first phone call with their company salesperson – let’s call her “Regina” – went fairly wel . Regina did a great job of telling me about the company and explaining the benefits of using their services. The phone call ended with me asking her to follow-up with me in a week to further discuss purchasing their service. It was all downhill from there…
Unfortunately, I was unavailable to talk with Regina the day she called. As I would have expected, Regina left a voicemail, but then proceeded to call back 14 more times that day. The next few weeks were pretty much the same thing, numerous cal s back-to-back on both my office phone and cell phone. I can now say that there is nothing more annoying than being on the phone with a customer and having a salesperson REPEATEDLY call you.
Don’t make the same mistakes Regina did. When you’re a salesperson, there are several lessons to keep in mind that can help you be successful at your job.
Lesson #1
Keep in mind that prospective customers have dozens of tasks that they need to accomplish daily. If they don’t get back to you immediately, just leave a message and call back in a week. Now that you’ve connected with them, your job is to occasional y remind them who you are until they’re ready to talk.
When we eventual y reconnected, Regina was completely unprepared for our cal . It started off with her explaining to me how our competitors were using her company’s services. That would have been a great way to explain the value of their business, but the companies that she named weren’t our competitors. Not only did these companies not provide security guard management software, they weren’t even in the security industry.
Lesson #2
Research your buyer’s industry and competitors. Understanding both will give you insight into what challenges the buyer may be facing.
After I told Regina that she hadn’t actual y named any of our competitors, she said that in her database, it looked like those companies were, indeed, our competition. When I asked her if she had a chance to look over our website to see what we did, she said that she hadn’t…
Lesson #3
Research your buyers to understand what it is that they actual y do. With the availability of company websites and social media, you can develop a great picture of who your buyer is and what their needs might be.
Further along in the conversation, Regina asked me if the price of the service was the reason that I wasn’t ready to buy. I explained that price wasn’t the issue, but the problem was that the services didn’t align with my current priorities. Rather than ask what those priorities were, she explained how they could spread the payments out over several months.
Lesson #4
If your prospect mentions goals, objectives, or priorities, take the opportunity to ask them what they are. Having conversations about how your services help the buyer accomplish their goals will always be more fruitful than talking about discounts, features, and/or capabilities.
After I failed to commit to buying the services based on the offer to extend payments, Regina rudely asked, “If you didn’t want to buy our services, why did you even say that you wanted to be contacted?”
Lesson #5
No matter how bad a meeting or phone call goes, NEVER lose your composure.
Once Regina posed that question, I knew that it was time to get off the phone. I politely ended the conversation and let her know that when I was interested, I would give her a cal .
Sales is a full contact sport that requires effort, preparation, and commitment. When you lose a sale, (as Regina did), it’s easy to blame the buyer (which she probably did). However, if you’re honest with yourself, you can identify and learn from the mistakes that you made to better develop your sales skil s. Hopeful y Regina learned something from our interaction.
Dealing With Rejection When
Selling Security Services
If you are not using a lead generation company, one of the toughest things about selling security services is constantly hearing “I’m not interested,” getting hung up on, or a variety of other rejections that occur on an hourly basis. It can happen so often that some take it to heart and think that they’re never going to be successful.
Let me fill you in on a little secret. When I first started selling security services, I thought I was doing something wrong every time I got rejected. Imagine my surprise when I learned that EVERY salesperson hears “No” more than “Yes.” That one revelation helped ease my feelings of frustration and anxiety. I also realized that if my competition felt the same way, that I could possibly build a competitive advantage by developing a system to help deal with rejection. As a result, I developed my 9-point approach to dealing with rejection. My approach is divided into two sections: Mindset and Tactics. Check it out below.
Your Mindset Before Selling Security
1. Realize that everyone gets rejected. Rejection is happening all around you, all the time, so you’re not alone. Even that great salesperson that you look up to has dealt with plenty of rejection in the past, maybe even in the last hour. In all honesty, sales professionals tend to have great stories about their wins, but seldom talk about their mistakes, dropped bal s, and miscues.
2. Don’t try to avoid rejection. The discomfort you feel when you’re rejected is created by your ego and innate desire to be accepted. Trying to avoid rejection will only limit your ability to be successful.
3. Don’t take it personally. Of all the points, this is the most important. A lot of the rejection that you hear is simply because of bad timing. For example, if you ask a coworker to go out to lunch with you but they’ve already eaten, they’re probably going to decline your invitation. It has nothing to do with who you are, it was just bad timing, so never take rejection personal y or second-guess your abilities.
4. Be kind to yourself. Although receiving any kind of rejection can be disappointing and frustrating, don’t beat yourself up. Focus on the positives. Maintain confidence in who you are and what you have to offer to potential clients. Tactics After You Start Selling Security Services
5. A “No” is one step closer to a “Yes.” As a sales professional, you must learn to fall in love with the word “No” because it means that you’re one step closer to a deal. This is certainly the hardest part of becoming successful at selling security services. However, part of getting to love hearing “No” is knowing your numbers.
6. Know the numbers. After you’ve been calling for a while, you’ll begin to understand that you’re required to make a certain number of cal s to get someone to say yes. When I was selling security guard services, I knew that I had to make 35 –40 cal s to get someone to take an appointment. From there, it would require 10 – 15 appointments to close a sale. So if you aren’t hearing “No” enough, you won’t be closing any sales.
7. Listen to rejection carefully. When you’re rejected, which we’ve established is inevitable, the reason behind the rejection is important. When someone says “No.” or “I’m not Interested,” are they saying “No, not now.” or “No, never.” If you can’t tel , all you have to do is ask. This is key in learning the difference between initial resistance and actual rejections.
8. Differentiate between rejection and resistance. If you don’t know the difference between the two, here’s an example for you. When you go into a store and a sales rep asks, “Can I help you?,” you might respond by saying, “No, I’m just looking.” That type of response is just an initial reaction or resistance. When you’re selling security services, the “No” and “Not interested” works the same way. Resistance is not rejection, so don’t take the first “No” as an actual no. Acknowledge it, then find out if it is a “No, not now.” or a “No, never.”
9. Try again. Many of the most successful sales professionals, business professionals, and entrepreneurs have had their fair share of rejection. However, instead of giving up, they pushed on to achieve their dreams and goals. With that said, when you get hung up on or told “No,” just move on to the next cal . What is the worst thing that could happen?
Selling security services and learning to accept rejection takes practice. Very few people are born good at it, most of us have to go out and work at it. Think of it like a sport; the more you practice, the better you get. So go out and get some exercise for your sales muscles!
How To Hire Successful Sales
Professionals
If you’re a small or medium-sized security guard company, chances are you’re either considering hiring sales professionals or you’ve already done so. If you have any personal experience with sales, you already know how hard it is. Combine that with the difficulty of finding great sales professionals in the security guard industry and you’ll eventual y find yourself wondering how your business is going to survive. Before you throw your hands up in disgust, let me give you four tips on how to find the right sales pro.
1. Adjust Your Hiring Process
When you’re looking to hire great sales people, you have to look in the right places. Typical y, they’re not trolling the help wanted ads of your local newspaper. When you find them, you need to be prepared to give them a reason why they should entertain an opportunity with your company.
After you’ve found some good candidates, put thought into how you’re going to conduct your interviews. Keep in mind that great salespeople are cold-blooded calm and good at thinking on their feet, so don’t use your usual list of interview questions. Come up with scenarios that make them demonstrate how nimble they are when faced with tough questions.
2. Find the Right Personality Type
Sales professionals in the security guard industry must be true hunters. There are very few companies who can rely on inbound leads to stay in business. The following are character traits that the right sales professional will have:
• They make good decisions. Sales professionals must be able to assess an opportunity and quickly make the decision to pursue it or move on.
• They’re outgoing. Great salespeople have the ability to exude warmth and quickly build rapport with potential customers. However, the greatest asset they can have is to know when to stop talking and start listening.
• They’re excellent at creative problem solving. We all think that our companies have the best services, but a great salesperson needs to be adept at thinking outside of the box and explaining how those services solve the prospect’s problems.
3. Get the Compensation Right
Many companies struggle to find the right compensation package for sales professionals in the security guard industry. Typical y, compensation comes in the form of base pay plus commission. Base pay is usual y between $45k and $80k a year, while commission can vary from .5% to 3%. To get a better understanding of total compensation in your area, enlist in the services of a security executive recruiting firm.
One strategy that many companies talk about using is commission only sales professionals, but I have yet to hear of any company implementing this strategy successful y. Hiring commission only sales professionals in the security guard industry is usual y a bad idea based on two factors. The first is that, because of the long sales cycle, not many people can afford to wait around for that first commission check, and this means that they don’t stick around for very long. Secondly, because it will take a long time to get paid, most of the people who apply for the position probably don’t real y need the money. Many times, these candidates are just looking for a way to augment their primary income. They want to make money without necessarily having to work too hard for it. Those aren’t the people you want on your team.
4. Manage Your Expectations
Once you’ve found and retained that perfect salesperson, make sure that you’re ready to give them some time to close that first sale.
Unless they get lucky, you’re probably looking at 6 – 9 months before you begin to see any results.
Although there are many excellent candidates for operational positions, it’s difficult to find great sales professionals in the security guard industry. Despite that, finding the right person is the fastest path to growing your revenue. Taking your time, finding the right candidate, and giving them the support and tools they need will work wonders for your sales.
7 Keys To Building A
Sales Team
I once had a manager tell me that very few small security guard vendors are successful at creating effective sales teams for their organizations. It’s a fact that many of the successful small – medium sized security guard vendors that I’ve known grew their businesses through the direct efforts of their ownership team.
Many companies begin to encounter problems continuing to grow when they reach a point where the owner can no longer simultaneously manage both the sales and operations functions.
When that point arrives, many owners will hire a business development manager or sales executive to come in and continue that growth. Unfortunately, many business owners don’t understand the dynamics involved in building a true sales team. Don’t fall into that trap of believing that because you were able to hit the street and “Just make it happen” that everyone can do the same thing. The truth is, as you may have learned by now, it just doesn’t work that way.
The following are seven steps for you to follow to help ensure the success of your sales team.
• Hire the right people. Keep in mind that unless the salesperson has come from a small business like yours, working at your company could be a bit of a culture shock. Make sure that you let them know that the sales effort will be more col aborative and possibly less structured than what they’re used to.
• Give them the right tools. Make sure that you have the necessary tools that they’ll need to win business:
1. Technology in the form of cell phones, laptops, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, etc.
2. Col ateral such as business cards, presentations, and brochures
3. Leads or a way to generate them
• Give them proper training time. It might be tempting to hire salespeople and let them loose as quickly as possible. However, unless they understand your customers, how you want them to sell your services, and how you want them to document their activity, you’ll be setting them up for failure if you don’t give them enough training time.
• Define the process. Have a predetermined map of what a sell looks like from beginning-to-end and what is required of the salesperson at each stage. Make sure to convey that clearly.
• Give them the metrics. Your sales team needs to understand how they’re being measured. Make sure you explicitly explain how you’ll be evaluating their efforts. Are they expected to make a certain number of cal s per week, schedule a certain number of appointments, etc.?
• Give them time. Remember how long it took you to get your pipeline filled and make sure that you don’t have unrealistic expectations. Although there may be some short— term success, the work that your salesperson does now will real y start to pay off in 6 months to a year.
• Coach, Coach, Coach. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. Go out on sales cal s with your salespeople so they gain a clear understanding of what it takes to be successful selling to your customers.
Starting a sales team can be both a rewarding and frustrating experience. Take the steps above and tweak, massage, and reshape them to best fit your needs and help move your organization toward success.
Differentiating Your Security
Company From Low-Cost
Competitors
If your security guard company has been around for more than 30 days, you probably already know how competitive the industry is. In fact, most of the security guard companies that I talk with typical y have one thing in common: they’re being undercut by low-cost competitors.
I considered writing about ways to differentiate your security guard company from the “bottom feeders,” but I recently read an article that outlined some great strategies. With that said, I thought I would share just some of the highlights from that article instead.
Although the original article titled “9 Ways to Stand Out Among Lower Cost Competitors (Without Lowering Prices)” is applicable to any industry, the following three strategies are especial y true for security guard companies.
1. Provide Value and Customer Service
Both you and I know that when your competition is undercutting you by 20% – 30%, the service they provide is going to be seriously lacking in some areas. Most of the time, the quality of their officers, customer service, and quality assurance will be what suffers most. Rather than attempting to lower your billing rate, contrast your ability and the low-cost provider’s ability to prevent problems and solve any that may arise.<