It worked in Jim’s situation, however, because he wasn’t selling aimlessly without direction. “We developed a plan early on. We developed certain benchmarks. If you sell X, we’ll bring on support. Sell Y, and we’ll bring on more support.” The more sales Jim made, the more staff he was able to add for him to manage. With his destiny dependent on his sales success, Jim drove his career forward. “I went from sales to sales manager. Then to branch manager, vice president of sales, and on to senior vice president. I then started Secure Pacific as an owner.” The security industry is a much different market than some of the companies we’ve featured in the past. For example, last month, we featured the solid-state lighting company, Lumencor. The competitiveness in their niche market is based more on research and development than it is on pricing. With Sonitrol and Secure Pacific, they have to compete with a “race to the bottom” market. In a nutshell, companies will attempt to drive prices lower and lower to gain more customers. Whoever gets to the lowest price fastest — or in some COMPETING WITH THE RACE TO THE BOTTOM
cases, no price at all — wins. It places many businesses in a tight spot and leaves them unsure about their future. “I remember the first company to come to the market with low service fees and free installs,” recalls Jim. “We had many conversations about what we were going to do.” Eventually, all businesses in this spot get to a point where they have to decide what kind of company they’re going to be. Do they want to grovel for customers, or do they have enough respect for what they do and who they employ to put their foot down? “We decided to do what we’ve always done: Deliver the best product, provide our customers with value, and exceed their expectations,” Jim says. But making this decision hasn’t come without its hurdles. “Not everyone is going to buy from us,” admits Jim. “From a sales standpoint, our consultants have to be a step above the others out there.” A key concept we teach at Sandler Training is learning to qualify your customers, not having them qualify you. It’s a strategy that Sonitrol employs to great effect, but as Jim mentioned, it means your sales team has to be well-equipped for the task. Jim goes even deeper into Sandler’s methods when he says, “We’re not selling price. We’re uncovering pain and developing the right solutions.” acquisitions. Every time you bring on a new company and absorb it into your own, you have the potential to create a volatile situation. “Their company owners did a great job assuring them they were the best, too,” says Jim. As a business, when you approach this situation, it’s essential to employ Sandler’s methods of listening; otherwise, you could be creating an emotional gauntlet for new and old employees alike. INTERNAL SALES A large part of Sonitrol’s expansion has stemmed from
“I’m an Oregon Duck. I bleed green and yellow,” he admits. Now, I know what you’re thinking. But before you toss this in the garbage and set it on fire, read what he says next: “Boise State kicks our butt in any sport we play them in, and I don’t know why. I’ll just own that.” We’re sure Broncos and Vandals fans alike can appreciate that perspective. Our previous case studies featured a common trend that continues with Sonitrol. It seems as if wearing multiple hats is almost a requirement in the early stages of building a business. If you remember our May edition of the newsletter, Sarah Henry of Gaspar’s Custom Design Build Firm said, “As any small business knows, there are no official roles. You’re always wearing multiple hats.” The same held true for Jim. “I started as a field sales rep. Then Beau hired me as a sales manager. It looked great on a business card, but [it meant] I was the sales team.”
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