selling security

[haz701]

Has anyone got any tips on how to approach a possible client when selling security services. is it better to contact them by phone/letter first or to go directly to them face to face. i am only asking this because i have just landed a job working for a new company and i am trying to aquire some new mobile response sites. Any tips would be great.

thanks

Haz

[Longmoor]

Haz

It depends on who the guy is. If you can just pop in for a face to face then that is always best. he may not take cold callers though.

The way we do it is drop the guy an email or a letter introducing yourself. Write the mail in such a way that references you to other clients to create confidence with the target. When writing it try to atract his interest by saying other other clients are experiencing a,b,c.

Let him know you would like to meet him and give him a call. Give it a few days and then call him, qualify he is the person to make the decisions and book him for a meeting, just 30 mins. if you have worded the email corectly he shoude see the point and meet with you.

Remember Man, Need, Appointment, Timescale, Competition, Budget when you meet with him.

Man = Is he the one to make the decision? If not get the man in.
Need = Does he have a need for your service, if yes it is an easy sell. if not it is harder! Look for a compelling event a reason for him to buy.
Appointment = Once you have booked him try to get another appointment to present the proposal/ solution.
Timescale = What is his timescale, it will help you to get a decision from him if the procurement cycle is long in your industry.
Competition = Who else is he seeing? Cheap or expensive?
Budget = Does he have one. Can you be in his budget and is it realistic.

If you need anymore help Haz just holler.

What are you up to? Seem to remember you wanted to get into CP.

Longmoor

[haz701]

Thank you for that advice, it will come to very good use.

one more thing, say i was to try and get a mobile patrol set up in an industrial estate and i know that there is another security company operating in that particular site. how would i approach that issue, would i go to each company in the estate or would i have to contact the manager of the estate(i'm not sure if it run independantly or buy my local council). also i dont know if the companies in the estate use the same companies or different ones.

i've just started working for a new company that have just started trading within the past 2 months, doing a bit of Door Supervision and just started "trying" to get some new contracts for them. i'm very fresh to the sales part of security so any advice would be brilliant

i am still looking to do a CP course but i'm having difficulty getting the money together for it. tried getting loans for it but nobody would go near me. looking up a company called sds solutions, they "apparantly" do an easy payment option but i cant say how long it would take me to pay for it.

Thanks alot

Haz

[Longmoor]

Haz

Who to approach depends on who is the "Man!" Who makes the decisions, whoever decides on who is awarded the contract is the man you should approach. My advice would be to call the comoanies in turn and ask to speak to the person who deals with security, usually facility managers or security managers. Speak to them and ask the questions, that should give you a clue as to whether it is an individual thing or group purchase. You could try to speak with the estate manager he might tell you all you need.

If cold calling does not help, pop into each office. Try the recepyionists also some give away loads. if you need anymore help mate give me a call in the office.

[Carl Dowd]

HAZ701, If I may I would like to give you this piece of advice about selling which I learnt very early on in my business career and that is:

PEOPLE DO NOT BUY PRODUCTS, THEY BUY 'BENEFITS'

Think about that one mate and apply it to all that you sell whether its a 'Product' or a 'Service'...if it doesn't make sense to you then drop me an email. Good luck with your selling...