Commercial Integrator + Security Sales May 2024 - 72

BETWEEN US PROS by Scott Goldfine
Getting Customers to Drink Your Kool-Aid
MY JOURNEY from the security industry trade media world
to being a key member of a systems integrator and monitoring
provider these past several months has been - to say the least
- an eye-opening experience.
The old adage " practice what you preach " comes to mind. Aſt er
spending 25 years advising, guiding and making recommendations
to owners and operators of professional installation fi rms and central
stations, I am gaining, day by day, a better
understanding of the real-world challenges,
constraints and realities of implementation,
execution and consistency.
The journey thus far has been equal parts
exciting and fascinating. But, sometimes, it's
also quite frustrating. There are complexities,
dynamics and variables at play that you can't
possibly fully grasp unless you are actually in,
or have been in, the proverbial trenches.
To a large extent, I certainly realized that.
they must learn themselves by suff ering the consequences of
their ill-advised actions.
Nevertheless, you have to maintain a positive outlook and
Even if you
hope that the prospect will see the light - hopefully, sooner
rather than later. Even if that never happens, if you have always
conducted yourself in a professional and ethical manner, then
maybe, just maybe, they will mention your company to another,
more sensible target.
Another caveat brings me to this month's
third adage: " Read the room. "
It's why I always strove to make sure that
Security Sales & Integration brought readers the
industry's deepest well of in-the-fi eld experience
through its columnists, subject matter
expert sources and Editorial Advisory Board
members. That tradition continues today, and
I am pleased to have recently been appointed to the SSI board.
legitimately have
the customer's
best interests at
heart, it doesn't
necessarily mean
they're going
to engage your
company.
The School of Hard Knocks
Taking a page from the school of hard knocks,
I have acquired a newfound appreciation of
the criticality of verifying in advance precisely
who within the end user organization will
be present during your company's demo and
sales pitch, as well as what their role(s) are.
Having an advocate might get your foot in
the door, but that door can slam shut awfully
fast if you're not prepared for naysayers who
have unanticipated objections or alternative
agendas. Once you're caught on your heels,
backpedaling, it can be diffi cult - if not
impossible - to recover and salvage the business.
A corollary to that is making sure your sales or marketing
The Most Enlightening Aspects
One of the most enlightening aspects of my new role has been
more closely interacting with commercial security end users in a
sales and marketing capacity. That brings another adage to mind:
" You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink! "
I have come to learn that, even if you legitimately have the
customer's best interests at heart - even if you grasp their needs
and pain points; are totally transparent, honest, helpful and
responsive; spell out the value proposition; justify the return
on investment (ROI); and bring a market-leading, diff erentiated
product or service that clearly represents their optimal solution -
it doesn't necessarily mean they're going to engage your company.
Besides not winning that business and potentially having wasted
your precious time and breath (along with that of others within
your organization), you then have to demonstrate the seemingly
superhuman restraint not to ask, " Are you an idiot? "
The conundrum of contending with prospective clients who
seem to lack common sense can be compared to dealing with
naïve, foolhardy children. Regardless of how much impassioned
wisdom you impart to them, drawing on your own
fi rsthand experiences, they oſt en turn a deaf ear. That means
message gets to the right person within the targeted customer's
organization. For example, if you're emphasizing reinforcing the
perimeter or solving access control tailgating, get the ear of the
security director.
If you're focusing on leveraging video surveillance for compliance
adherence, aim for the COO. If the off ering features
technology that saves money and boosts effi ciencies by reducing or
eliminating manned guards, seek out the CFO or CEO.
Whoever it is, you want to help them come off as a hero - even a
genius - to whomever they report to or are beholden to.
My belief is that the ultimate satisfaction comes from knowing
your organization and you are doing the right thing for the right
reasons. That is especially critical in a business such as security,
where the overriding mission is to protect lives, well-being and
property, as well as to deliver peace of mind.
Assuming that you have the right off ering, success - even if it
may not happen overnight - will eventually come. SSI
Elite Interactive Solutions' marketing director, SCOTT GOLDFINE, is
an SSI Industry Hall of Famer who spent 25 years as Security Sales &
Integration's editor-in-chief. He can be reached at sgoldfi ne@eliteisi.com.
Commercial Integrator + Security Sales & Integration, (USPS 005-160) (ISSN 2994-1881), Vol. 14 No. 4, is published monthly and bi-monthly in Jan/Feb and Nov/Dec by Emerald X, LLC., 100
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72 Commercial Integrator+Security Sales & Integration | May 2024

Commercial Integrator + Security Sales May 2024

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