Find news and information for the executive corporate security director, CSO, facility manager and assets protection manager on issues of policy, products, incidents, risk management, threat assessments and preparedness.
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22 Security Dealer & Integrator / www.SecurityInfoWatch.com February 2018 they will (hopefully) realize that they should leave the job to the profession- als; however, it is important they reach this conclusion on their own. Again, if you challenge them, they will be more driven than ever to prove you wrong. 3 As a last resort, let them do it – and let them feel some pain. If there is nothing you can do to save the work, wish them luck and let them do it. Check in about the job later (read best practice #2 again first). Continue to check in every couple of months. Once they run into a prob- lem that arises because of their shabby work, let them feel a little pain. Do not just roll over and give them a ton of service for free, hoping to win back their business – charge them your reg- ular T&M; prices. If you don't, you will be teaching them to continue this pat- tern. If they don't feel some pain, they will not return to you. A final comment: make sure you are delivering services your custom- ers truly need. e DIY guy may be right – maybe they can do the job just as well. If you are losing business to the do-it-yourselfer, then you need to move up the food chain of accounts, change your messaging, and identify more complex problems to solve. If your services are beyond the abil- ity of most DIY guys, or not worth their time, then try the three best practices above, and watch this threat begin to dissolve. ■ » Chris Peterson is the founder and president of Vector Firm (www.vectorfirm.com), a sales consulting and training company built specifically for the security industry. Modern Selling BY CHRIS PETERSON I have a friend who likes to do everything himself – partly because he is cheap, but mostly because he is proud of his skills. He is a true Do-It- Yourself (DIY) guy. A few years ago, he designed the logo for his wife's com- pany. Although they saved money, the logo looked like it was designed by a DIY guy – not a professional. As usual, he was proud of his work and kept say- ing: "I need to get into marketing." My friend is like most people that take on a job themselves instead of hir- ing a professional. ey are proud and truly believe their work is as good as or better than a trained specialist's work. When trying to sell to this type of personality within a business-to-busi- ness setting, here are three best prac- tices that will increase your probability of keeping the business: 1 Navigate and build multiple relationships throughout your accounts. Today, an organiza- tion's security system impacts multi- ple departments; therefore, owning a reliable system and providing ongoing maintenance is critical to the entire business – including facilities, human resources, IT, finance, executive man- agement, and of course, security. If something goes wrong, many people beyond security are affected. How to Sell to DIY Guys 3 ways to deal with those pesky customers who think they can do it better than a pro One of the most effective ways to overcome the DIY guy is to have rela- tionships throughout the organization. When one of your contacts goes rogue and wants to do it themselves, you will be able to utilize your other relation- ships to counter their approach. Even if they cannot stop the attempt before it happens, they will be able to hold the do-it-yourselfer accountable for their potentially lackluster job. You, on the other hand, cannot do that. You can't point out their mistakes, which brings us to… 2 Never challenge a DIY guy. Many salespeople will say things like "you get what you pay for" or "our technicians are well-trained profession- als." When making these statements, you are actually building the appetite of the DIY guy. Instead of challenging the DIY guy, support him with authority. Use a statement like: "Some projects can be handled by sharp teams like yours; how- ever, some have hidden challenges that create nightmares for the most capable teams. Walk me through the job, and I will give you my input. If we can help, I'll tell you; if it is something you should do on your own, I'll let you know also." is will not work every time, but oen they will welcome your input. Aer understanding the complexity, When one of your contacts goes rogue and wants to do it themselves, utilize your other relationships within the organization to counter their approach."