For the most part, security integrators belong to one of two groups: they don’t use a CRM system, or they have one and are not using it effectively… and I can’t blame them. Here is a common scenario…
Someone thinks that they need a CRM system and the company buys one. Usually, the person that recommends it comes from an operations background or from a larger organization like Tyco, Siemens, etc. The CRM system gets implemented and set up by someone that doesn’t understand the sales person’s needs, or by an organization from outside the security space. A few months go by and the company realizes that the sales people are wasting a ton of time and the information isn’t valuable. The system either gets abandoned or it’s used as a glorified opportunity management tool.
The original vision is usually cast by someone that didn’t have to develop a process or implement change within a sales organization before. Perhaps their system in operations works well and they feel sales should be doing the same thing, or maybe a new employee came from one of the big boys where the process had put in place years ago after spending $500k on development and training. The combination of a high expectation of the deliverable and an unknown expectation of how hard it is to build a process that the sales team will embrace leads to failure.
Vector Firm’s Sales and CRM Process program has helped several security integrators increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their sales people. Our philosophy is to create a process for the sales people, while making sure management gets what they need as a by-product of productive time spent by sales. We first analyze your current process, understand the culture of your business, analyze the capabilities and concerns of your sales people, and establish criteria of success for our project. After we’ve built the entire process (including key performance indicators per sale person, reports, workflows, meeting protocols, and about a dozen other items), we train the team on the utility. Finally, I personally stay involved for four to six months to hold you accountable and coach you through this difficult first stage of implementation.
Of all our programs, this is the one that virtually every security integrator needs. If you’re interested in learning how our Sales and CRM Process could help your group, please click here.
