3 Tips to Sell Access Control to Small Businesses
Here are three techniques security systems integrators need to keep in mind when talking to a small business owner about their physical security needs.
President Barack Obama declared “National Small Business Week, 2015” in a White House press release. In the release he points out that America’s small businesses are the backbone of our economy, representing the quintessential American ideals of hard work and ingenuity.
No matter the industry, small businesses are a target market for sales teams because they share many of the same needs as larger businesses but offer a more personal level of interaction. This is especially true when it comes to cloud-based physical access control because ensuring assets (including employees, customers and products) are secure could make or break the success and growth of a small business. So how can a sales team make this case? Here are three techniques to keep in mind when talking to a small business owner about their physical security.
1. Know their pain points and cater to their needs.
Access control is a concern for businesses of all sizes, from small to mid-sized to enterprise, and each business shares similar concerns – they want to improve security in as simple and seamless of a way possible. However, larger enterprises tend to have more tools, time, money and human resources than small businesses, making it more difficult to educate SMBs on the available solutions.
When selling access control to small businesses, put yourself in their shoes. Know the three main pain points – simplicity, convenience and cost savings – and show how your system caters to those needs. The access control system should be easy to install, learn and use on a day-to-day basis, ensuring small business owners don’t need to take out the time to learn how to operate a complex system. For example, an SMB owner may not have a firm understanding of cloud-based systems, but clearly demonstrating how to bridge the gap between the physical and virtual world can help educate this market.
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Small business owners shouldn’t have to spend hours managing credentials, and should have access to the system’s dashboard at any time from any place. Convenience is key. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, showcase the cost savings that a proper access control system can realize for the small business. Affordable systems with proven ROI are available through SaaS offerings, which are less expensive to install and maintain.
2. Go beyond the obvious benefits.
While some of the above pain points may seem obvious for a small business owner looking to invest in access control, it’s also important to go beyond to show how much physical security can do for a business. For example, sell the system by proving how it can improve employee management and give peace of mind through knowing when and where employees are in the building, keeping them and all physical property safe.
The right system can also help to streamline operations by leveraging data collected through the dashboard to analyze incidents and foot traffic. Note how this information can be evaluated to improve operations on the manufacturing or retail floor. Lastly, and not so obviously, access control can actually help to increase profits when both employee management and streamlined operations are combined. When employees are happy they are more productive, and when quality control improves along with operations, customer interactions can be fine-tuned to increase sales. Access control also means that there are fewer false alarms and both intrusions and threats are thwarted, keeping reactive costs down.
3. Make it about the customers.
Any small business owner knows that customers are their most important asset. When making key decisions for the business, customers’ thoughts are taken into account, and this should be no different when it comes to buying physical security systems.
“Cloud-based access control gives small businesses the ability to better service their customers in different ways like extended business hours. Providing safe access to customers should be a top concern, especially in small businesses such as gyms in which customers are directly using access control systems. As mentioned before, the data pulled from the access control system can also provide insights into customer behavior, allowing for a deeper look into how to operate your business in a way that best suits your customers’ needs.
Every small business is different and has different requirements and business goals. However, physical security is a unanimous need no matter the size of a business. When it comes to selling access control to small businesses, keep the three techniques above in mind to close the deal.
Bill Yesnick is vice president of sales at at Brivo.
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