Have Business Disruptors in Your Market? Sign Up for Y.O.G.A. (No, Not That Yoga)

Find out the three disruptors that threaten any security business.

LAST month, we talked about shaking things up. Disruption does a great job of that for us. Think of the movie “National Lampoon’s Animal House” and how the fictional Delta Tau Chi fraternity disrupted the entire college campus. (And if you haven’t seen this classic 1978 comedy, go watch it!)

Technology marches on without regard to assumptions, geography or traditions we hold near and dear to our business. We pay attention – some more than others – to how proactively we can adapt or adopt new tactics faster than our competitors so we might answer the door when opportunity knocks. Sometimes change is like those robo-marketing calls we all get that annoy us to the point of not answering the phone at all. Like it or not, forces that disrupt our business world are not going away. They are persistent, only you can’t keep ignoring these calls.

3 Big Disruptions Threaten Your Business
Are you being as persistent in recruiting, drafting, selecting and training the right team to win this new game of change? Are your current sales teams answering the knock or call of changing market opportunities? How well do they position your company brand in the disruptive buyer’s perception?

Darn good questions, Paul! Thanks, but credit must be given to my clients. They ask these questions quite often. As a coach and consultant, I reply with more questions, which is the beauty of being a coach and consultant. You may want to ask yourself some of these questions. Go to your quiet, happy place and let’s get started.


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1. The narrow-minded trap. Do your salespeople focus on only one relationship with your strategic customers? If so, you should rethink this situation. Relationships are key to selling, but also represent a single point of failure with disruptive buying practices. Business situations change in the blink of an eye. One day you are at the top of your game, and then suddenly people won’t take your calls. Hmmm, what happened? Perhaps your customer just got acquired or filed for bankruptcy; or your key customer contact moved on; or they got a new boss who wants to shake things up. Sound familiar, like a scary B-movie plot? Call this Disruption No. 1.

2. New kid on the block. A new technology provider shows up splashing around like a 5-year-old child learning how to swim in the hotel pool. Lots of noise has everyone’s attention, and no one can take their eyes off this interloper to your peaceful vacation. Now nobody is paying attention to you or your drink order, which can get pretty darn frustrating. Kind of like that new sales proposal contract you are waiting to be delivered, when suddenly a new “unbelievably” priced 3-megapixel camera is available at half the price you quoted. When your sales team is focused on selling hardware and depending on narrow relationships you may never see that drink with a tiny umbrella in it. Call this Disruption No. 2.

3. You’ve got company. Distribution channels for new technology can be inherently disruptive, like a 16-year-old with car keys. Your “strategic” supplier relationship that has been faithful to you for many years of your business marriage is suddenly seen out wining, dining and dancing the night away with a neighbor, spelled competitor. How could this happen? How could anything get worse? You might not think it could, yet the next week they are also out schmoozing your high school sweetheart, spelled customer. Call this Disruption No. 3.

Time to Sign Up for Y.O.G.A. Class
Need a prescription to counteract disruptions in your market health? Take a deep breath. Really, take a deep breath and practice some Y.O.G.A., which is your new acronym and exercise program:

  • Y ou must take action and not panic; your people will follow a calm, decisive leader.
  • O rganize your SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity and threat) team to help analyze the situation objectively.
  • G ain outside perspectives on key issues; two heads work better than one, so feel free to give me a call.
  • A ct on the findings and advice you have received on these three disruptions.

One of the simplest next steps is to ensure that your sales team is wide and deep with clients. Does your sales team have one or many customer contacts with their strategic or strong tactical accounts? We call this 5UCR – “5 Under the Client’s Roof.” If your sales team is not building multiple relationships and influence within a company, then batten down your hatches. Did you know that companies with 100-500 employees typically have seven people involved with buying decisions?

So get your disruptive “Y.O.G.A. party” on today, or stay in the dorm and study for that calculus test. You don’t have to be a Delta Tau Chi to Y.O.G.A., Y.O.G.A., Y.O.G.A.!

 

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About the Author

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Paul C. Boucherle, Certified Protection Professional (CPP) and Certified Sherpa Coach (CSC), is Security Sales & Integration’s “Business Fitness” columnist. A principal of Matterhorn Consulting, he has more than 30 years of diverse security and safety industry experience including UL central station operations, risk-vulnerability assessments, strategic security program design and management of industry convergence challenges. Boucherle has successfully guided top-tier companies in achieving enhanced ROI resulting from improved sales and operational management techniques. He is a charismatic speaker and educator on a wide range of critical topics relating to the security industry of today and an accomplished corporate strategist and marketer whose vision and expertise in business performance have driven notable enterprise growth in the security industry sector.

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