This article originally appeared in the September 2021 issue of Security Business magazine. When sharing, don’t forget to mention Security Business magazine on LinkedIn and @SecBusinessMag on Twitter.
How well do your sales team members know your product offerings? Do they understand all the different challenges and solutions they can address when consulting with the prospect or client; or, do they simply drag out the meeting with technology jargon and the mechanics of how things work? If the latter is their approach, they are missing the mark for successful sales: focusing on the experience.
According to the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton magazine: “true experience is where the expected value proposition is the experience itself; not just the product or service, but all of it.” For the systems integrator, that means a consultative, relationship-building approach, solutions-based selling and top-notch service, facilitating a long-term client post-purchase.
Sales is so much more than pushing product; instead, integrators need to focus on the integrated management solution that help users better manage their facility or address an ongoing security issue or challenge. Too many sales professionals talk about how things work and get the prospect’s head spinning. Couple that with multiple sales presentations from numerous companies and it becomes difficult for the prospect to remember anything more than price when staring at numerous proposals to make a final decision.
“Convenient and easy system management is important to the end-user,” says Carl Conti, Sales/System Design at SMG Security Holdings, a systems integration company specializing in commercial and residential security, fire alarm, access control and video surveillance systems and services in the Chicagoland area.
“Being able to use a robust app provides the user-friendly application customers are looking for,” Contin says. “Instead of always having to be on site, they can use the app on their cellphone to control systems remotely. Customers with multiple locations especially like the ability to view all of their systems from their home or office,” Conti said.
With continued disruption of the traditional security installing market, systems integrators need to devise new ways to get the attention of prospects and customers so they can keep them for life. As we well know – or have learned – existing customers are valuable. It is much easier to grow a customer and their integrated systems footprint, rather than solely courting new clients to supplement sales numbers. Tuning into the experience of the user and what they can expect to achieve from the installed solution and possible future services can move the needle forward significantly in sales.
Remember to also look beyond their needs today. Show the customer your system is expandable and new services can be brought right into the existing management interface and provided by your company.
What is the Security Experience?
You hear about experience in many types of service businesses. For the systems integrator, the experience is tailored to the customer and is all about providing security, convenience and safety. The truth is, the customer does not care what the technology is by name – they want to know what they are going to experience after the system is installed. Solutions need to be convenient and simple, or any perceived value will quickly lose steam from cumbersome operation or a user who needs to constantly contact support for routine operations.
The cloud provides a solid value proposition – a streamlined solution that is easy to control and manage, which is the kind of stellar experience every user is looking for. The cloud also allows security sales reps to put the solution in the hands of the prospect, with interactive selling tools so they can actually see what it can do and understand the benefit it will bring to their business or facility.
If you are not yet leveraging the cloud and all its benefits, including better cybersecurity and flexible system scalability, you are definitely missing out.
Crafting a Stellar Experience
Security integrators need to think beyond the pure mechanics of the product. Throughout the sales process, they need to look at the project in respect to what the customer will gain from the implementation. Hone in on how easy it will be for users to administer permissions systemwide and the fact that they can access information from multiple services and facilities.
When the sales process is specific to a market vertical, you can discuss the value-add services, for example, the bank or financial institution that will be able to batch data to multiple locations from one single platform; remotely dial into the system from any web-enabled device, even smartphones; and adjust permissions without being onsite.
Of course, the best experience always starts with getting to understand the prospect, their facility and ultimately what they want to accomplish. Once you have this snapshot, you can begin to formulate a plan to address risk and vulnerability. That process means sales reps and even technicians need to know the ins and outs of what you offer.
For example, maybe your prospect is interested in access control or intrusion detection, but they mention that they also have refrigeration units that need consistent temperatures for compliance and regulations. If the sales rep does not know that this is actually a possibility, they will be losing out on another potential source of revenue and an additional service that adds stickiness to the contract and an improved experience for the user.
Engage and Connect
Selling the experience also means taking advantage of interactive tools and processes that immediately identify with the prospect and can be seen as beneficial to their business.
While other sales reps are parading into prospects offices and leaving behind brochures and marketing slicks hawking products, you can differentiate yourself, your company and your proposed service with real-life demos, interactive tools and short videos.
Sales reps and technicians can pull out a tablet, smartphone or laptop and demonstrate examples of problems and solutions being solved, simply, even specific to their vertical market or facility and using the exact solution you are providing. Leveraging the latest interactive tools is a way to show them, not just tell them.
Customers want data to help them easily manage their facility and control the population’s activities and movements enterprise wide. It would be great if you could actually show a prospect, on the smartphone via demo, how they can batch data across their sites easily, or how they can access and manage all their systems – including video, access control, intrusion, via an interface to extract critical information and assess situations and risk?
Show the user who struggles with energy costs how energy management devices can easily be incorporated with security intrusion by integrating HVAC controls and critical environmental monitoring. When you can assimilate to the challenges and illustrate exactly how technology solves problems, you are on your way to sealing more deals.
Selling a product or service as an experience is not just a current trend with an expiration date; it is a commitment to better serving the customer and a companywide cultural approach. Systems integrators need to position themselves as problem solvers. Of course, with the experience comes ongoing support and service, giving the integrator the opportunity to build a close bond with the customer that evolves into an ongoing, long-term business relationship that benefits all.
Mike Simon is the managing partner of Connected Technologies LLC, a company he started after selling his long-running systems integration business in the Chicago area. For more information visit www.simplifywithconnectone.com or visit www.securityinfowatch.com/12026973.
