Are Relationships Really THE Most Important Thing In Security Sales?

Vector Firm

I've presented this question in other forums and have received pretty consistent answers. I'm very curious how the IPVM audience will answer it.

Over the last 20 years or so, I've heard many sales people resort to the "relationship" card when I ask about data surrounding an opportunity. For example: Question - "Why would you pursue this opportunity? The requirements seem outside your core competence." Answer - "I've got a relationship with the decision maker, and relationships are everything."

What do you think? Are relationship THE most important factor in selling security solutions?

John Honovich

IPVM

Good question. I'll refrain from this one but am very interested to hear responses. I've also added a poll below:

Ari Erenthal

Chesapeake & Midlantic

Anyone who answers "No" or "Don't Know" must be an engineer.

Marty Major

Teledyne FLIR

In reply to Ari Erenthal

I answered No.... and I am by no means an engineer.

What if the solution you are selling doesn't provide the best fit for the customers proposed application? (i.e. a manufacturer [or their reps], not like you have at B&H with many more options to choose from)

Relationships might get you a spot on the pitch floor, but if the stuff you are pitching sucks at (or simply isn't a very good solution for) solving the customers problems, relationships just get you the call back telling you the above - whereas without the relationship, you just get ignored.

Ari Erenthal

Chesapeake & Midlantic

In reply to Marty Major

if the stuff you are pitching sucks at (or simply isn't a very good solution for) solving the customers problems, relationships just get you thecall back telling you the above - whereas without the relationship, you just get ignored.

If the customer is savvy enough to realize that the thing you're selling isn't going to work for that application, OR if the salesperson is ethical enough to not push incorrect and non-applicable product. But we've all surveyed the wreckage of awful and unworkable installations, and discovered that the reason they installed ginormous PTZs right over every single counter is because some salesjerk was buddy-buddy with some manager.

Marty Major

Teledyne FLIR

In reply to Ari Erenthal

agreed.

Relationships are clearly important for successful long-term solutions selling, but the OP had the word THE capitalized, so as a literalist I was forced to vote No. :)

Michael Silva

Silva Consultants

For small to medium sized system sales, the purchasing decision is often made by a single person. In these cases, relationships can be the determining factor in the sales process. People tend to do business with people that they like and trust, particularly when buying a product that they have little or no technical knowledge of.

For most large systems sales, a team rather than a single individual often makes the purchasing decision. Having a good relationship with one or more members of the team can help, but relationships alone will rarely get you the business unless your proposal also ranks favorably based on other criteria (price, experience, depth of abilities, etc.)

It is important to remember that most buyers at larger organizations have to be able to justify their purchasing decisions to their higher-ups. Saying that you made a $500,000 surveillance system purchase because "the guy was my buddy" is rarely an acceptable answer.

John Honovich

In reply to Michael Silva

IPVM

Michael, thanks.

What have you seen in decision making when it comes down to 'relationships' vs 'technical fit'?

If relationships really are most important, a strong relationship should trump a weaker technical / product fit. Any thoughts on that?

Michael Silva

Silva Consultants

The decision making criteria obviously varies a bit from organization to organization, but for larger projects, here are the major factors that I have seen go into the decision making process, listed in order of priority:

#1 - Will the selection be seen as a "safe" one by senior management. This is the old "no one ever got fired by hiring IBM" mentality, and often causes the buyer to favor the larger national integrators over smaller companies.

#2 - Ability to meet specified needs and requirements.

#3 - Price.

#4 - Who is "Major Company in My Area" using? In the Seattle area, if Microsoft and Amazon are using a manufacturer or integrator, they must be good. (related to #1 above)

#5 - Previous experience and relationships.

#6 - Local presence. Even in today's cloud-based, WebEx connected world, being physically close to the project location(s) can be a strong advantage.

Ross Vander Klok

IPVMU Certified

Of course relationships are not THE most important thing in security sales, but relationships are very important. Hard to get in my front door unless I already know you. However, when it comes to my RFP's I will talk to or meet with anyone that comes back with a decently thought out quote.

John Bazyk

Command Corporation • IPVMU Certified

In the past I believed relationships were the most important factor. I now believe that while it is extremely important to have a good relationship your professionalism (especially in the security industry, you’re not just selling a widget, you're selling a security solution to protect what they hold most valuable) is the most important factor.

Relationships can get you in the door but they don’t always keep you there (or get you good referals); professional sales presentations, communication, appearance and performance of the installation are what make up a good relationship and keep you in the door. I have chosen my friends competitors over my friends because I like what the other guy had to offer and how they presented it. On that note, when my father left an employer over 25 years ago to start his own company, many of his customers followed him because of the professional quality work he provided.

Like Marty said, it is not THE most important factor in selling.

Jeremiah Boughton

No...Future relationships are.

Brian Rhodes

IPVMU Certified

Considering that a good chunk of the formal purchasing process is designed to prevent collusion or preferential treatment, I'd say the answer is academically 'not important'...

However, anyone who has responded to an RFP or solicitation knows relationship is at least a factor.

John Honovich

IPVM

What about the trend? Are sales becoming less or more relationship driven?

Ari Erenthal

Chesapeake & Midlantic

It has most certainly become less important, as technical information has become easier to come by, making it easier to compare apples to apples. Used to be a salesbro could BS his way into a sale, and no one would understand that they'd been bamboozled until long after the sale, if ever. Ten years ago, 200% markups were still standard industry practice. The internet has made it easier for the customer to do their own research, not just into price but into capability of the products, and to come up with viable alternatives the vendor never would have told them about.

But relationships is still the number one factor in who gets to pitch first, and that is the number one factor in whose bid gets accepted. Today, it's merely difficult, instead of nearly impossible, to poach a sale on the strength of nothing more than a more efficient and cheaper design.

Chris Peterson

•Jul 01, 2014

Vector Firm

John - this is a better question than my original post. I believe personal relationships have become much less important than they were 10 years ago, and exponentially less important since 20 years ago.

Ari states it well. In addition to access to the information, your points of contact are expected to do 50-75% of the research before calling a few sales people. 20 years ago when there was a need, they called "their guy" immediately.

Relationships are still very important. However, a sales professional better have substance and value for their point of contact today or there won't be a relationship - your poc's job depends on their competence today.

Rukmini Wilson

Yes, if the question is precisely, "Are relationships the single most determinant factor in winning jobs?" Since so far at least the only other contender for most important factor is technical fit/superiority, let's simply ask, which has the greater likelihood of success?

1. Good product and Great relationship

2. Great product and Good relationship

In my experience number one wins > 75%.

One reason is because from the perspective of the decision maker, the assessment of the relationship is one that they themselves determine, i.e. 'I like Bob, he's down to earth like me, and not a bullshitter. If there is a problem later, I feel like I could say WTF Bob? if I needed to..."

The better product/solution for the job though, is more subjective, and far more dependent on external evaluation of contradictory information.

Since both pitchmen are saying they have a Great Product, unless the deficiencies of the one product are glaring, you will believe the one that you trust more, usually the one you have a better relationship with.

Also, it should be pointed out that although the person with the Great relationship can get undeserved work by using the standard 'full-court press' after 'pulling out all the stops', this will lead to the loss of relationships and therefore is ill-advised... Unless the job is really, really big!

Daniel S-T

I believe relationships are important, but not the most important factor. I have seen sales go wrong because the relationship lead to the sales person cuttin things to bring the cost down.

Omar Yeinsip

I believe that professional relationship should be establish from the get go. thus, establishing through aforementioned relationship a degree of trust.

John Honovich

IPVM

With ~50 total votes, a pattern is beginning to emerge: integrators find relationships to be much more important than manufacturers.

~75% of integrators agree that relationships are the most important factor in sales but only ~50% of manufacturers agree.

I'd hypothesize that integrators are typically more sophisticated than surveillance end users, meaning that relationships are less useful / powerful for manufacturers. Agree/disagree?

Rukmini Wilson

I'd hypothesize that integrators are typically more sophisticated than surveillance end users, meaning that relationships are less useful / powerful for manufacturers.

In addition to being more sophisticated than end-users, they also have a upside-down pyramid advantage over them, since it takes many end-users to support one integrator. So integrators often become the sole source of information to the end-user, and that's powerful! Whereas on the other hand, integrators will have several channels for information, and cannot be as easily lulled by a single piper.

As for manufacturers let's not forget that they produce real tangible goods and are proud of it. They view themselves as the visionaries who guide the future through their creations, and are therefore cognitively biased towards placing the greatest value there...

John Honovich