When it comes to upselling integrations, the basic sales strategies apply. The job of an integrator, in any situation, includes relationship development and getting to know the customer. Beyond that, it becomes a matter of digging deep to truly understand the nature of their business, how their teams are set up, how they are using the systems, etc. This will help an integrator identify what systems are standalone versus those that can be linked today, or suggested as an improvement tomorrow.
Following are six more strategies that will help integrators identify and upsell integrations:
1. Make Education a Priority
Staying up to speed with how the security industry is evolving will help you keep an eye out for greater opportunity. Manufacturers are constantly releasing new plugin options, so it is important to stay abreast on integration trends. Equally important is educating your customers. Consider hosting educational conferences to spread the benefits of the latest integration, or doing some form of marketing to advertise your integration skills and how your customers can benefit.
2. Think Holistically on Site Assessments
If you are going into a sale that only requires video surveillance, take a step back and look at the big picture. Get to know the pain points of the security department, but don’t stop there. Understand their interactions with other departments and find out what systems they rely on daily to identify improvements.
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3. Identify Long-Term Opportunities
Any proposed integration might not be an immediate priority or financially viable. However, in making your initial site assessment, it is important to introduce your integration ideas from the start of the project. Understanding the benefits up-front help smooth the discussion later on.
4. Show Them Your Integration Work
Talking about the benefits an end user can experience from a specific integration will only get you so far. If you have existing customers that have implemented and are benefiting from the specific integration that you are proposing, encourage your prospective client to take a visit and hear how significantly their operations can be improved.
5. Cost Out Efficiency Savings
Investing in security is almost always considered an expense. However, if you can concretely show your customers how they can capitalize on their investment to reduce their costs, you will likely see ears perk up. Applying dollar values to the efficiency savings is a solid strategy in upselling a new integrated system.
6. Stay Open to Partnerships
Depending on the type of integration you are proposing, it can sometimes be beneficial to partner with other integrators. Not every integrator will have your skills at handling a specific integration, so there might be room to explore upselling through partnerships. In similar respects, perhaps at some point you will need to rely on the skills of your partner when it comes to a specific system. The point is to be open-minded to cross-selling opportunities through partnerships. Winning a portion of a job is better than none.
