Hal's Asymmetrical Keys to Success and Failure in the Security World, Part Two

Last time around, we chatted a bit about five different Keys to Success in the Security World. This time, we're going to discuss the flip-side, the seedy underbelly, the Keys to Failure.

Hal's Key to Failure #1: Ignore the Engineering Firms and Consultants.

As the amount of security funding going to the public sector continues to climb, Engineering and Consulting firms are becoming more and more important. These third party groups are often given great amounts of power and control over the direction and initiation of security projects, recommending, specifying, and even acting as decision makers in the whole process. You may have an amazing relationship with the final end user, but that end user may very well have no influence on the project whatsoever.

How do you develop ties with the Engineers and Consultants?  It takes work, and it takes time, and you need to understand what they need. Engineers and Consultants are hired based on their reputation and the impression that they know it all and they've seen it twice. If you can provide these firms with the knowledge and tools to feel comfortable presenting your product as a solution, they probably will. Give them demo product, show them how it works, answer questions. You might even consider taking them on a tour of a customer site. Remember, these folks are going to put their reputations and their livelihoods on the line for you, and they might just ask a lot of you, but the payoff can be huge.

I was recently speaking to a friend in the industry who missed out on a very substantial opportunity because he ignored the Engineers and Consultants. He had a great relationship with the end user, and already had a small installation base on site. What he didn't foresee was that the engineering firm that was designing the overall security plan didn't know anything about his gear, but was intimate with his competition. Their recommendation? Integrate his small existing installation into the new gigantic installation of his competitor's product. You need to know all the players in the game!

 Hal's Key to Failure #2: Sell to the Month/Quarter/Year.

 We all know the realities of business. You need to keep the doors open, and keep the lights on, and you need to make money to do that. There are quotas to make, schedules to keep, and mouths to feed.

While reality states that you need to have cash flow, let's not be penny wise and pound foolish. While most security companies, be in manufacturer, integrator, installer, or other, all rely on small profitable projects to keep the company going, it can often be those huge projects that allow you to take your company to the next level. Here's the catch: if you are asking someone to write you a huge check, it's going to take a while to talk them in to it. Keep these folks close, and encourage your staff to do the same. If an organization would approach these opportunities with the heart of a teacher as opposed to the heart of a shark, they would find that they are landing those really substantial projects that allow you to advance your company in huge ways. If you let the $20 million project fall by the wayside so you can chase the $20 thousand project and make your month, you're going to spend the rest of your life begging for $20 thousand project.

I was involved in a large wireless video project a few years ago. This was a multi-million dollar project in a Top 50 city. The sales cycle on this monster was almost 26 months. Definitely not selling to the quarter! The payoff? Huge.

 Hal's Key to Failure #3: Change Management Philosophies Regularly.

 I touched on this subject in Part One of this article. To sum it up, you need to make a plan that makes sense, and follow it long enough to let it work. If you are continually changing directions, you'll never get anywhere. There are too many security companies out there today that are languishing and stagnant because they just won't pick a path and stick to it. Too many decision makers lack the content of character to stand behind what they believe.

Look at some of the famous historical figures that succeeded simply by sticking to a direction they believed in. Thomas Edison wanted to make electric light so cheap that “only the wealthy would burn candles.” The Model T was hardly changed during it's entire production period, and was using technology that was out of date by 20 years by the time Ford ceased production. Charles Goodyear was convinced he could make rubber usable, even in hot environments.

The blending of Security and IT has a lot of people scared, and they are making decisions out of fear. That, combined with the explosive growth in the security market, has driven many companies to make decisions that aren't just ill conceived, but down right idiotic. Don't make the same mistake!

 Hal's Key to Failure #4: Manage By Intimidation

 This is another one of those things that is true in all industries, not just security. Managing by intimidation is not a long term plan for success. Telling your crew that the top performer gets a Cadillac, second place gets a set of steak knives, and everyone else is fired is going to end poorly.

 Hal's Key to Failure #5: Rely on Your History but Forget to Move Forward.

 I cannot stress the importance of reputation enough. Many very good security companies have the ability to leverage their stellar history to continue the growth of the company. That reputation makes the phones ring!

Don't get so proud of your history that you forget to keep moving forward. I can name at least three major security manufactures who were key players 10 years ago, but stopped moving forward, and are dead or dying today. You can't expect to continue to sell the same product forever. The whiz bang camera of 2006 is nothing like the whiz bang camera of 2016. How many “Innovators” of 25 years ago are “Legacy Providers” today? How many of today's “Legacy Providers” will still exist in 2035?

If all you have to show for yourself is ancient history, and you're relying on momentum instead of building a new motor, get ready to get left behind.

  Hal's Key to Failure #6: Build Security Solutions That Intentionally Put You At Odds With Your Customer.

 I see this far too often. Hardware solutions with low upfront cost, but they require that you only use their hardware to expand, and expansion costs an arm and a leg. Service contracts that nickel and dime end users to death. Return policies that make it cheaper to just buy one of your competitors’ products than to work with you. The list goes on and on.

This is really just customer service, folks. If you find yourself trying to think up a really good scheme that forces your customers to fork over money without you really providing any value, please resign your position and go home. Proprietary solutions may have been just fine when there were only a handful of manufacturers out there, but you're going to have a hard time passing that today. In the highly competitive security world, there are a dozen other companies waiting to take your place when you screw up, and that number isn't getting any smaller. If you can't own up to the fact that you might just have shipped a defective product, then one of your competitors is going to offer to buy back the kit you installed, and they're going to make a small fortune putting in something else.

Security customers and users are getting more sophisticated every day. They are educating themselves on the market, and they already know your weaknesses. Unless you find a way to work with them as a partner, you'll never get anywhere.

I'm sure there are dozens of other practices that will send your company into a death spiral. I didn't touch on the danger of building a one-size-fits-all solution. I completely ignored the risks of tying yourself to a single vertical. Please add any noteworthy risks to the comments!