How to Fix the 5 Most Common Security Sales Team Defects

We work with numerous security alarm companies and while each is unique, we see several commonalities across many teams.

Here are five of the most common defects in security sales teams:

  1. Your salespeople aren’t asking enough open-ended questions.
  2. Your salespeople wait for leads to come to them.
  3. Your new salesperson didn’t turn out to be the person you thought you were hiring.
  4. Your salespeople go after the wrong deals.
  5. Your salespeople don’t close.

Problem #1: They aren’t asking enough open-ended questions.

Each of these possible causes for not asking enough open-ended questions has their own set of causes. For example, the salesperson may be insecure, scared, or have a need for approval that leads them to respond this way. Once you know what motivates your particular salesperson, you will be much better equipped to address it. A Salesperson Evaluation does just that. Learn whether your salesperson is likely trainable or whether there is an underlying factor that will continue to hold them back. If you want to see an example of the assessment we use at Braveheart, you can download one for free here.

 

Problem #2: They wait for leads to come to them.

We see this problem frequently with security companies, where the company provides a good source of leads.  Do you have someone on your sales team who relies solely on company generated leads? One who doesn’t like to hustle to generate any of their own leads, rather waits to receive what you dole out? Why are you allowing this behavior?

Create a plan with agreed upon activities.

Problem #3: They didn’t turn out to be the person you thought you were hiring.

The truth about hiring the wrong salesperson is that no matter how bad they are, it’s still the fault of whoever hired them. The good news is that when you start to hire strategically, you never have to hire another bad salesperson again.  The high cost associated with making poor sales hires is daunting.

Check out the original Candidate Assessment tool.

Learn how to set up a repeatable sales onboarding program.  Read our eBook here.

Problem #4: They go after the wrong deals.

Do you have a salesperson who is closing deals that you don’t even want? Don’t let your business be shaped from the bottom-up. Business leaders determine what kinds of business it makes sense to go after and Sales Managers make it clear to the sales team with consistent review and reinforcement.

Problem #5: They don’t close.

Most people perceive the inability to close as the problem. It’s more accurate to view it as a symptom of the real problem, which is the inability to properly qualify leads. Here are some of the reasons why your salespeople aren’t qualifying leads properly, which is interfering with their ability to close deals.

Find out what a candidate will or will not do through this candidate assessment.

Hopefully, this gives you some ideas about how to get started fixing dysfunctions in your sales team. If you have a problem with your sales team, a sales performance expert can help you uncover the true causes and address them with the best solutions based on your circumstances.