What to look for in a good security consultant

You want someone with a healthy level of dysfunction and paranoia. In normal society these character traits are not desirable, but in a person or company you are sourcing to protect your physical or intellectual property these are exactly the traits you want.

You would be better served by a person or company who wonders:

• What way are they trying to get over now
• How can I prevent this from being taken without seen
• What are the blind spots
• Can I place something here to monitor that is inconspicuous
• What area of coverage does this allow me
• How do I prevent people from tampering with either the feed or recorded information
• What about if there is a power outage
• How much is the loss of this costing in increased expenses
• How can I catch a lying or dishonest person
• What can I do to allow a dishonest person enough latitude to hang themselves

Bottom line you want a person or a company whose attitude is that of an auditor – I trust every word you say and because you are honest you do not mind if I verify and compare your words and actions to ensure alignment. Next time you retain a security professional just remember a person who trusts all people are people of their word and honest while they may do a fair job you would be better served by the personally referenced above.

That is not to saw an auditor like attitude means a person will be impersonal – far from it, just thorough.

Performance

So often consultants get this point confused and truthfully it is easy to do so. They think it is about the money for the clients and it really is not, the money you are paid simply represents a trust placed in you. Granted some argument can be built around the amount of compensation is directly proportional to the amount of trust, however that is not the issue. The true issue is the trust that is being placed in you and because of that trust it is in your best interest to perform at a minimum to but as a norm above preconceived expectations. If you are an ethnic minority this is even more true because if you do not the it will be that much harder for the people coming after you and yes there will be people coming after you sooner than you think – not to take your place but because you are an inspiration and they are walking in your footsteps. You never know how many people you touch just by your presence..

To quote Janaki Rangarajan - “One of the most valuable things that I have learnt during these years is that every performance is extremely important and the performer's enthusiasm or quality should not vary depending on the audience or the venue.“ Why – because at all times your best is expected your all. You do not get paid and them perform you perform and ten based on that effort or an agreed exchange rate of time for money you are paid. You perform because you are a person, a business of character and integrity. You perform because you want to set yourself apart from your peers who do not understand it is not about what your clients do for you it is about what you do for your clients..

Do you understand?

Communication, Self Control and Commitment

Did you know one of the main mistakes consultants make is their attitude. I am not talking about that positive attitude success self help, am speaking of confidence and mood control. Too often a consultant fails to understand that their mood affects not only what they hear, but that the client, the person they are there to serve reacts to their mood. If they are in a bad mood or a funk they convey that to the client and often the client reacts to their mood. This is why self control is an issue and never forgetting you are dealing with people. Are you really listening to what they are saying or are you looking for various points in what they are saying to justify a choice you already made. If you are doing the latter you are eventually doomed to fail - it is that simple!

People are difficult, complex and unpredictable to a large extent, but the one thing I can promise you if you try to control them short term that may work just fine, long term it will blow up in your face. Your best bet is to control yourself – I know self control is not something we talk about much today but it is an important part of your success in both life and business.

Now lets move on to commitment, you are retained to solve a problem, to make a headache go away. You are trusted to be there during the hard times. In previous posts I spoke on the fact that as a person it is not what you do when times are good that matters only when times are difficult that shows your character. Guess what, you are there because times are hard for your client – what are you going to do – are you going to dig in and stand with them or are you going to run and say it is not my problem it is yours. The second attitude will cost you a client. Fact is in a business or a personal relationship their problem is your problem their challenge affects you and if you cannot help resolve the problem or be a part of the solution there is no reason for you to be paid. This difference is often what differentiates a good from a great consultant. Ever deal with a business where a person took the attitude of its not my job like a phone or a cable company? How did it make you feel? Did you want to do business with them? Was their focus truly on the customer or themselves? Sure they were committed but not to the client to themselves and to the dollar.

Now you need to ask yourself this question – why are you in business?

The art of compromise

As a consultant you must remember that you cannot be right all of the time and rarely if ever will you be able to do things your way. In fact you must do things the way that the client wants – period because your role is to service their need, not for them to service yours.

Let me use an example – suppose you are designing a security system. The ideal system will cost $20K but the budget including labor is $15K. What you must do is work with the client to give them what they want within the constraints provided while working to make sure any key potential security gaps are closed as much as possible under the limitations provided.

Sure you could push for what you want and the full $20K system but if you were smart you would design the system such that you left room for it to expand to the ideal system with only the installation of new cameras and the configuration of the DVR and multiplexer if coax or the IP cameras and recording software if network based. The mistake so many make is thinking my way is the only way and if I do not do this they are wrong and it cannot work – they think in absolutes which causes them to crash and burn. Have seen many companies blow past me in revenue then go back the other way. Sure you can make quick money, sure you can do it all your way, sure you can be right all of the time, but rest assured you will be out of business soon enough with that attitude.

Your role as a consultant

As a consultant the first rule to remember is that your opinion does not matter never had, never will. It is not and never should be about making you look of feel good it is all about the client and what value you bring to them.

You should listen to what they are doing now, what they want to do and then find a solution that bridges that gap. If they are looking for a solution to their cabling trying to sell them candy is a waste of time and at best will only annoy them. Now that said if you help them solve their problem with the cable and in the process see that they have a lot of children that come in and them having candy for the children available would be nice, now you have something.

Communication in this day and time is a lost art. Listening and being non judgmental, which is why so many people go into and back out of business – why truly were not satisfying a need or listening to clients, they actually believed they were in business to make money and learned the hard way that if no one will do business with you there is no business.

So what is the secret? It is simple – all business is personal because you deal with people, their issues, their problems and their challenges. They do no go away once they start work they bring them with them. Your job is to listen to all of their problems until you get to the one’s that you can help resolve. When you hear them it is not your job to point out what they did wrong and how stupid they are – quickest way to loose a client. Once I was so caught up in what I knew and so insecure I actually thought that was what makes a great consultant and learned it makes a bad one the hard way, I lost that client. Your job is simple, listen and help. Help them accomplish their goal and help them see what they need to do to help themselves. Answer the value proposition – let them know what is in it for them and how this benefits them both now and in the future and often when you are real good you will have them fully buy in to the idea because they understand how it will make what they do better and more cost effective. Money is a tool and it represent the time people spend so they are hesitant to part with it unless they see the value of what they are investing in because just like your employees, your clients are an investment, in fact all relationships are an investment and you are the commodity manager – your job is to help that investment grow.

Ok, great words but how – step by step it is easy – the hard part is first getting the client – that is a whole other topic so am going to deal with once you have made contact and developed initial relationship

1) Listen to client as they tell you what they want

2) Do a site assessment to see what they need and can support

3) Do a GAP analysis to see where there is a difference between what they want, what they need and what you think they need

4) Create a unique solution to address their concerns

5) Make sure the solution integrates the KISS approach

6) Determine dependencies required for this solution

7) Report to client the custom solution proposal which addresses the want they mentioned while taking care of a known need and making provisions for scalability

8) Listen to client’s input which will be either proceed or revise

9) Repeat steps 2-7 until approved.

Sounds simple enough – right – wrong. See so many people hear what they want to hear instead of what the person is saying – this is a bad thing. Never forget you cannot separate people from the equation – ever. Never forget that your loyalty is to them and no they are not always right and they know that –which is why they are doing business with you or considering it, so telling them there is a problem – stupid – offering a value-added solution to protect asset, increase productivity, increase gross revenue or decrease expense – now we are talking something worthwhile. My final piece of advice is honest, admit your own shortcomings – that is not a sign of weakness rather one of integrity and strength which shows the character of your firm.

Business Tip: great consultants

A poor consultant does not listen, pushes their wares onto the client and exploits them

A fair consultant listens and pushes what they have to sell and exploits the client

An average consultant listens and tries to customize their wares to the client and exploits them

A good consultant listens to what the client wants and works to find a solution to fit their needs

A great consultant serves the client first making them a priority and their sole focus, the listen to the needs and work to hear what is said, they become partners with the client and work to create unique solutions custom tailored not only to fit their current needs but anticipate their future needs - they are loyal and consistent and know that the client is their reason for existing and it is only by excellence in service that they thrive and grow. They are recommended to other clients by word of mouth and achieve a sustainable organic growth. Their reputation and character are above repute and they are known as subject matter experts, people of integrity, people of character and are highly valued and sought after.

Spearman Enterprises is striving for that level of greatness.